Chapter Text
Atsushi had come to terms with what he was doing.
Had come to terms with... his love for Akutagawa Ryuunosuke.
It wasn't easy by any means. If Atsushi were to be honest with himself, it was the most harrowing thing he'd done in his life so far. Byakko of course, didn't care that her user was having a crisis and instead told him to go get Akutagawa more food. His mate was so thin, she said. Which while she wasn't exactly wrong about the concerning thinness, Akutagawa wasn't his mate... yet. Heck, Atsushi had no idea if the mafioso even knew what he was doing. He probably didn't spend his free time googling "tiger courting facts". Atsushi had tried to tell Byakko this in an effort to get her to stop. It didn't work. If it did, he probably wouldn't be hunched on Akutagawa's apartments rooftop like a fucking stalker.
," Why Byakko, why?"
It was 12pm when the tiger decided now would be a great opportunity for more courting rituals.
," Go to mates territory." Right when he was falling asleep to," Byakko please, not when it's the middle of the night." But of course, Byakko didn't listen. She knew how inexperienced her cub was and so, it was her duty to push him on the right path. Even if her cub didn't exactly agree with the path yet," Yes, mate is vulnerable at night. Territory needs protecting." Atsushi hated how much he agreed with that. He knew Akutagawa was a skilled fighter, he'd seen Rashomon enough to attest to that, but that still didn't stop his traitorous mind.
," What if someone breaks in? What if he's not quick enough?" Atsushi felt his hand grip the door handle," When did I even... seriously Byakko? At least let me leave a note for Kyouka if she wakes up." He really didn't want to explain to her that the reason he had left in the middle of the night was because "his tiger told him to court her physiological abuser". Oh Gods that was a whole other can of worms. One he'd gladly figured out when his brain was functioning like a normal person. So instead, he wrote that he was on a walk to clear his head, kissed her forehead and left.
*crash*
Atsushi's head snapped up at the sound, tiger like eyes staring at the pathway," intruder" Byakko hissed, fangs bared. This was the 10th time shed reacted to some random person," Calm down, it's probably just some drunk person." Granted the person didn't seem to be drunk. Still, Atsushi would rather not intimidate some harmless civilian just because Byakko was being an overprotective shit. Regardless, Atsushi felt himself tense as the stranger walked up to the door," See, intruder!" Apparently, Byakko didn't seem to realise over people lived in the apartment complex ," This isn't just Akutagawa's apart- wait, what's he doing?" Instead of putting in a PIN number, the guy took something out of his pocket and oh hell no.
," Danger to mate!" One of the few times Atsushi agreed with Byakko. This man was clearly a threat. A threat that needed to be neutralised for the safety of both his mate Akutagawa and his territory home. Using his tiger legs to jump off the rooftop, Atsushi zeroed in on his target. He made sure that his landing wasn't a quiet one," What are you doing?" The man clearly wasn't expecting anyone to be out this late, judging by the "oh shit" look on his face. Or maybe it was because this stranger, who clearly had an ability, was staring daggers at him," I said, what are you doing?" Atsushi knew full well what this man was trying to do. But there was a part of him that wanted the stranger to say it. If he had a verbal confession, it would make his next actions way on his conscience less. Atsushi did get an answer, just not the one he wanted," Its none of your fucking business!" Eh, good enough.
Atsushi made sure the man didn't have time to get away as he lunged at him. His tiger was really coming in handy tonight. The intruder was pleading with him but Atsushi couldn't care less. He had tried to break into Akutagawa's home. He had tried to hurt him when Akutagawa had already been hurt enough.
Atsushi wouldn't allow that.
As long as Akutagawa would allow him to stay by his side, Atsushi would make sure the mafiaoso knew peace.
," Listen to me when I say this, don't ever come here again. If you do..." It didn't need to be said, his bared fangs were warning enough," I- I got it! You'll never see me here again!" While Atsushi was pleased with this promise, Byakko wasn't. She thought a mere warning wasn't enough. She wanted to make him pay.
," Suffer. He has to suffer for what he's done." Atsushi hated that there was a part of him that agreed. Hated that a part of him wanted this intruder to hurt. He was going to hurt Akutagawa wasn't he? It was only fair...
," Nakajima?"
... Of course Gin would be staying over at her brother's on this night. Why not," Gin, please don't ask too many questions." Atsushi willed his fangs away, not wanting to freak Gin out more than he probably already has," Okay, just say this man was trying to rob you. Just be normal." Except, what came out of his mouth wasn't normal. Not even close," Byakko told me he was a threat to Akutagawa." Gin blinked. Atsushi stared. The man prayed.
... He just couldn't be normal, could he? Great, the sister of the man he was in love with probably thought he was crazy. Fucking fantastic. Luckily, Gin seemed to be either too tired to care or just didn't care at all," I see. Did you intend to break into my brother's apartment?" Gin didn't need a verbal answer to her question, one look at the man underneath Atsushi's claws told her everything she needed to know. A cold look crossed her face, a look that lasted for only a second but still made both men shiver. Gin turned her attention towards Atsushi and... bowed to him??
," Thank you for protecting my brother, Nakajima-san. I'll make sure to let him know."
Well, Atsushi was glad Gin didn't think he was insane and was even using honourifics with him!," Wait shit, Akutagawa can't know about this- BE QUIET BYAKKO!" Atsushi wasn't planning to keep Akutagawa in the dark forever and he was pretty sure Gin didn't know anything about tiger courting. He just... needed enough time where he wouldn't stumble over his words like an idiot," Hey, can you please not tell Akutagawa about this? I mean, just not the me protecting him part." Atsushi really hoped Gin could hear the pleading in his voice," Okay, I won't." It seemed she did, thank Gods," You should probably let him go now." Oh right, the whole reason why this was even happening. The threat.
," Hurt when she leaves." Honestly, sometimes Atsushi wondered if his ability fucked with him on purpose," No Byakko, we aren't doing that." Lifting his clawed hand, Atsushi watched as the man sprinted away. Even tripping over himself a few times," Damn, I really frightened him." Atsushi felt a lot less shame than he should have. More so, he felt pride. Pride that he'd been able to scare away the threat to his mate Akutagawa. Pride that his mates's Akutagawa's sister approved as well. An approval that his tiger very much appreciated," Nakajima-san?" Atsushi turned to Gin," Yes, Gin-san?" Said woman smiled, a smile that would probably make him blush if he wasn't already in love," I know my brother doesn't need protecting, but I'm thankful he has someone like you in his life." After casually dropping what is probably the best compliment of Atsushi's life, the door closes.
...
Maybe Byakko had a point after all
Usually, when he and Akutagawa fought someone together, they won.
They were shin soukoku, this generations newest powerhouse or whatever Dazai liked to rant about.
So why was this the 5th time his back fucking broke?
Atsushi grunted, feeling Byakko start to put his back into place. Gods, this woman was almost Chuuya levels of strong. His partner seemed to think the same. Akutagawa actually looked worried. Atsushi had seen him worried before, just at him and not an enemy. So one can imagine the unease he felt," Maybe we should call for backup?" Atsushi didn't know why he suggested that, he knew what his partners answer would be before he even opened his mouth," Just because you lack patience doesn't mean we won't defeat her." These words were said despite the fact Akutagawa's left leg looked one bad throw away from breaking and his coat had a ridiculous number of tears in them," Mate is stubborn." Indeed he was," Mate will get himself killed. Protect him better." Better!? Gods, What did Byakko think he had been doing?
," Weretiger!" Oh fuck the fight. Atsushi narrowly dodged a blade, the steel inches from his face ," I'll show you protecting him better." For the rest of the fight Atsushi made sure to cover Akutagawa as much as possible. Not in a way that would hinder his fighting, Atsushi knew his partner wasn't weak. But Instead, in a way where if he were to fall, Atsushi would be there to help him back up. It was their balance and he took great care of that balance.
That didn't mean it wasn't necessary to break it sometimes.
For example, Byakko was getting increasingly pissed off the longer Akutagawa was getting hurt," I said protect him!" Atsushi growled in annoyance,"I'm fucking try-" He stilled. Akutagawa was on the floor.
Akutagawa was on the floor and wasn't moving.
His mate wasn't moving.
Atsushi turned towards the women. The woman who hurt him. The woman who hurt Akutagawa.
," Kill her."
Ryuunosuke Akutagawa knew he wasn't the strongest ability user in the world. I mean, Chuuya Nakahara existed.
But he sure as fuck wasn't weak either.
," Come on you fool, get up!" Still, his limbs would not cooperate with him no matter how hard he tried. What's worse, Akutagawa felt the familiar feeling of a coughing fit starting," I swear this always happens at the most inconvenient of times." Akutagawa had long since accepted that he had been dealt a shitty hand by the universe but still," I don't hear any fighting. Did he defeat her?" Akutagawa had enough strength left to lift his head, albeit still painfully. What he saw made him have... mixed feelings.
Atsushi had the woman pinned down, full tiger features and was clawing her face off. He was even growling.
Very rarely was Akutagawa so shocked he couldn't speak. Seems like today was one of those days as he stared at his partner. Honestly it was kind of-NO! He had to make sure Atsushi didn't kill this woman when he clearly had no control over what he was doing. The kind-hearted idiot would wallow for weeks.
," Atsu-! Atsushi!" Gods, even speaking hurt. Said weretiger stopped his attack, ears going straight up. In any other setting, that would have been cute endearing. But now, it felt like a predator searching for his prey. Despite that, Akutagawa felt no fear. How could he ever feel fear when looking at his beautiful partner? Akutagawa watched as Atsushi slowly returned to him. Sharp, Gold eyes melted into the sunset that Akutagawa knew all too well. The sunset that inhabited his dreams.
," Jinko-" Akutagawa blinked and suddenly, Atsushi was inches from his face. He had never seen the were tiger look so concerned," Are you okay!? Fuck your leg looks bad! Do you want me to take you to a hospital?!" Seems like the weretiger's concern made him lose a few braincells.
," Stupid fool."
," I can't go to a public hospital. I'm still a wanted criminal, you idiot. Besides, I'll just fix it with Rashomon." Akutagawa ignored how he felt when Atsushi's concern visibly grew, there were more important matters at hand. Said matter currently chocking on her own blood," Great, this will be a pain to explain." Akutagawa summoned Rashomon, reaching her forward to pick the women up.
He heard a growl. Akutagawa didn't need to turn around to know where or who it was coming from," Atsushi, don't growl. The battles over." The growling didn't stop. Akutagawa sighed in annoyance, deciding to finally look at the idiot. The sunset had disappeared again, fangs glinting in the sunlight," What on earth has got him so riled up? The women... wait." Akutagawa had a theory. A theory that he decided to test by slowly moving Rashomon away from the women. The growling died down. He moved Rashomon forward. The growling started again," He's mad because Rashomon is close to her? No, that doesn't make sense. Is it because- NO! THATS A RIDICULOUS THOUGHT!" Akutagawa hated how much it made sense. Hated how it made his face warm and his heart stutter. Still, he needed to know if his absurd theory was right. Gods he hoped it wasn't.
," Atsushi, are you growling at this woman because you think she's a threat to me?" That seemed to snap him right out of it. Akutagawa had never seen Atsushi so flushed," It was Byakko, I swear! I know you don't need protecting but it's what she told me to do! I'm sorry!" Akutagawa listened to his partners never ending apologies. It was only when Atsushi seemed like he'd forgotten to breathe did Akutagawa say something.
." Weretiger." The weretiger in question paused, eyes blinking cutely owlishly," As much as I appreciate your endless apologies, we still have a mission to complete." A mission that the were tiger seemed to of forgotten about considering how long it took him to respond," Oh right, sorry!" Stupid jinko, always apologising. Akutagawa didn't know why that fact bothered him.
," I... appreciate Byakko's concern." Maybe that would stop whatever crisis Atsushi was going through. Instead, Atsushi stopped dead in his tracks and just... stared at Akutagawa. For a good minute," Did I break him?" Akutagawa began to feel a bit concerned he'd accidentally made the jinko go braindead.
," Do you... do you really mean that?" Atsushi's voice sounded oddly hopeful. Akutagawa scowled as he answered," Of course I do. You know not to doubt my word." Atsushi smiled. It was a beautiful smile.
," I never doubt your word, Ryuunosuke."