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"Akutagawa-senpai!" Higuchi said as she walked quickly behind her senpai. "Why did we retreat? We could have taken the weretiger."
Akutagawa-senpai continued walking. He didn't turn around as he said, "No." Then he started coughing again.
"What do you mean? We're the Port Mafia, and they're the agency. So what if that Dazai was a former member?" Higuchi tried to get an answer out of Akutagawa-senpai. To her surprise, he started laughing. Not to her surprise, he also started coughing again. Akutagawa-senpai was doing a dangerous combination of cough-laughing, and Higuchi wondered if she should offer her senpai some of her favorite mandarin-flavored cough drops.
And then he'll be so happy and he'll ask me if I want to go on a date with him! Squeeeeeeee! Oh no no no Higuchi, you still need to capture the weretiger, and then senpai will love you! If you present the cough drops and the weretiger at the same time….
"Higuchi, why are you smiling weirdly?"
"N-nothing, Akutagawa-senpai!"
A few minutes of awkward silence later (in which Higuchi made heart eyes at Akutagawa from behind his back), Higuchi finally decided to ask another question.
"Why do you call him Dazai- san ?" Higuchi wonders, emphasizing the respectful suffix. "He's just another one of those annoying ADA members, isn't he?"
Akutagawa-senpai looks at her - squee! - before turning around again.
"When did you join the Port Mafia, Higuchi?" he asked.
"Huh?" Higuchi felt confused at the sudden change in conversation. "Three years ago."
"I thought so."
Higuchi almost squealed out loud. Akutagawa-senpai remembered when she joined! Maybe he's liked me since then too~! Nonono Higuchi, he's your senpai, you can't do this!!
Akutagawa-senpai suddenly changes the subject again.
"Have you heard of Soukoku?"
Higuchi frowned. She's heard subordinates and other Mafia members whisper about Double Black in hushed tones before.
"Yes, Akutagawa-senpai," Higuchi said. "Nakahara-san was a part of the pair, right? Along with the Demonic Prodigy. But, I heard they were disbanded four years ago, for some unknown reason."
"Well, I know why," Akutagawa-senpai said. "He defected."
"W-what?" Higuchi exclaimed. " The Demonic Prodigy defected? I thought he died. If he's still alive, why haven't we heard about his actions? There's a famous Mafia saying-"
"The biggest misfortune of Dazai's enemies is to have Dazai as their enemy."
"Yeah," Higuchi nodded, remembering a conversation she'd overheard back when she'd first joined. Then her eyes widened. "Wait, what??" Higuchi almost crashed into a random walking pedestrian.
"Dazai- as in that Dazai?" Higuchi tried to compare the image of a terrifying Mafia member to that crazy guy who proposed a double suicide with her.
"R-really? There's no way a Port Mafia member could get away with that type of weird behavior! Has he always been like that?"
"Well," Akutagawa said thoughtfully. "The third time I saw Dazai-san, he was busy jumping off a bridge… Chuuya-san was yelling at him from above."
"Um…" Higuchi still couldn't picture them as the same person. "So, why do you call him Dazai-san, then? Besides him being Nakahara-san's partner."
"Dazai-san was my mentor."
"H-HUH??"
"He also wasn't just Chuuya-san's partner, but Mori’s favorite executive. You know why there are only four executives right now?”
“Uh…” Higuchi was still trying to stop internally screaming at ‘Dazai was Akutagawa’s mentor. Akutagawa had a mentor? But he was so cold and ruthless and cool…
“He wants Dazai to come back.”
Higuchi nearly collapsed of a heart attack right there. Dazai used to be an executive? Mori wanted Dazai back?
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she decided to ask anyway. “What about the second time? When you saw him.”
“He was dodging bullets and Chuuya-san. At the same time,” Akutagawa sounded awed. “I think he stole some wine.”
“O-okay,” Higuchi managed to say. Wine? Wasn’t he underage? She wondered. D-dodging bullets?? She decided not to ask about the first time. Based on what she knew he probably met Akutagawa-senpai with a noose around his neck.
“I hope to earn Dazai-san’s respect.” Then Akutagawa must’ve seen Dazai because he suddenly started running, and he never runs unless it’s during battle. Maybe he’s found an enemy? Dazai was an enemy right?
Either way, Higuchi wanted to follow him. “Wait for me senpai!!” She’s not a stalker!!
She’ll give him the cough drops for Christmas.