Chapter Text
„I am Oda.“
The rough voice of the young man resonated in the long, dark hallways of the high building, which was the headquarter of the widely feared mafia in Yokohama. It was the first time for Oda to enter the said building which somehow gave him chills. He was ordered to come here even though he didn’t know the reason for the sudden ‘invitation’. He never even saw the boss of the mafia himself before. The fact that he didn’t know what was waiting for him beyond the next door wasn’t comforting. Not comforting at all. Additionally, two guns were pointing at him, ready to shoot and kill him any second. Also not really comforting. His heart sank. Again.
Two men dressed in black stepped aside after lowering their guns – better than nothing – and opened the heavy door they were guarding. It had to be impossible to enter the room of the mafia boss, for sure. There were tons of people who would kill anyone without hesitation anytime. And Oda was sure that there were even more people watching every step he took ever since he entered this building. He didn’t want to know.
The red-haired man took a deep breath and gathered all his courage before taking another step, entering the big, noble room. He quickly recalled what was told to him beforehand.
Say your name as soon as possible. Don’t make eye contact before you were greeted. And the most important fact: Don’t look at the little girl. …But wait, why was there a little girl with the boss? Well, he might find out soon.
He cleared his throat and took one more deep breath. “Boss, I’m Oda. I was ordered to come here”, he said loud and clearly.
Nothing. Silence.
“Please, Elise-chan”, he suddenly heard. “Come on.”
… What? Elise?
Oda dared to open his eyes for only one second and glimpsed a young, small girl with long blond hair. Was this the girl he was told about?
“No! I don’t wanna! I want cake!”
“I can buy you every cake and dessert you want if you just listen to me, Elise-chan!”
“Really everything?”
What a bizarre conversation. If Oda didn’t know better, he would think that he got lost on his way here and entered the wrong room. But that wasn’t even possible, right? Right? Whatever he was witnessing right now, he had to endure it, he had to wait until he knew how to act. Until then, he just had to be careful to not enrage the feared boss, hell, no. There were some kids waiting for him to come home.
Be careful, Oda.
Suddenly, he heard some fast steps on the floor coming closer and closer. Was someone else requested to come here? But why didn’t he hear anyone saying his name? Who the hell was this?
The door was opened without any knock or any other word. Who dared to enter the room of the mafia boss himself without permission? And how did this person manage to pass all those guards? Whoever it was, they could be dead any second! Oda closed his eyes because he expected a gunshot or an attack any second. Nobody was allowed to enter this room without permission. Everyone knew and no one dared to act differently.
But this person dared to act like this.
“Not again, Elise. We have work to do, so hurry up! I don’t want to work until the evening because of you”, he suddenly heard a voice he never heard before. This voice wasn’t rough and deep such as Oda’s voice. No, it wasn’t even the voice of an adult. This voice was… soft… and young?
“But Rintaro is such an idiot! He wanted me to eat this, but I don’t like it!”, he heard the young girl complain again. Okay, maybe he should stop bothering about the sense of this conversation about cake. Very mafia-like. Really.
“Then he should buy you ten tartlets as an excuse~”
“But Dazai-kun, that’s too much!”
Again, quick steps found their way into his direction until they stopped next to Oda, who finally risked to cast a quick glance to the man next to him. Maybe, he was curious who was allowed to act like this in front of the mafia boss. Maybe, he understood that this situation wasn’t as threatening as expected. Maybe, he felt the curious glance of the other one. He just wanted to know.
But when he opened his eyes and saw, who was standing next to him, he came to a standstill.
What...?
The person next to him wasn’t a scary, brute man against expectation. The person next to him wasn’t muscular and tall. No, this person was small, even smaller than Oda, much smaller. It wasn’t even an adult. It was a boy. A teenager. Small and slim. The first thing catching his eye was dark, thick hair. Pale skin, nearly transparent. Curious eyes which somehow saw through him in an instant. A long black coat, which was way too big for this small body. And bandages. A lot of bandages, that covered the pale skin. He looked so fragile. Why was such a young, fragile man in the room of the mafia boss?
Unlike Oda, the boy didn’t hesitate to look at him. He didn’t even try to hide his curiosity. Two reddish eyes were looking at him curiously, eyeing and sizing him up, before a soft, nearly invisible smile found his way to the lips of the boy.
“Mh? Interesting.”