Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue: The Package

Tapes.

Atsushi gripped the underside of the package with caution.

He'd grown accustomed to the occurrence of ability-users in his close proximity. It was to be expected when surrounded by an agency full of them.

Though through this awareness, there was always a demand for caution with the uncertainty that a box of tapes could propose so much more than they would usually imply.

The quiet creak of a door drew the eyes of onlookers as the boy made entrance into the office.

"A package?", a young woman perked as she'd exited an adjoining room. Her magenta eyes widened in curiosity at the item, gently tucking the strands of her black bob behind her ear. The quiet clicks of red heels echoing beneath her as she approached.

Atsushi looked down at the box of tapes, "It was outside the door. It doesn't seem to be addressed to anyone."

She swiped the package from his arms in hopes of gaining a closer look.

"Y-Yosano!", Atsushi squeaked out in caution as she tipped the box, the contents spilling out onto the floor. She examined the insides of the empty box, rolling her eyes as Atsushi backed away, glaring at the heap as if it would attack him if he dared turn his back to the pile.

At this point the rooms' other occupants had grown curious at the scene, forming a circle around the mess. That is, with the exception of one employer who was adamant on keeping to a schedule.

Two smaller hands had begun reaching into the heap, digging through with cautionary intent. Her vibrant blue eyes stared in fixed concentration, picking out each tape, inspecting each for any form of indication to what exactly they contained.

"The tapes are each numbered..." Atsushi thought aloud.

Kenji peeked over his form, making a confused expression as he stared at the foreign objects in wonder.

Kyouka came to a stop as her hands traced the underside of one of the tapes which she found held a slip of paper. It was messily-taped and secured with thick duct tape.

She began to tear away the tape and through closer inspection, it had become apparent what the slip was.

"An envelope?", answered Tanizaki from the circle of eyes, the uncertainty of the situation seeping through his voice.

The small hands continued to tear it from the tape before handing it up to Atsushi who's eyes widened at the envelope.

He smiled, "Thank you Kyouka" as he attempted to pry it open. Clumsily he began to peel back the seal as Kenji peeked over his shoulder eagerly.

An exasperated sigh fell from a voice behind him. Plain shoes tapped anxiously against the floor as the figure tore the envelope from the boy's hands.

The other employers stared at the man in confusion.

He sighed, "This is interrupting our schedule." And with ease he removed a letter from the envelope and cleared his throat as he began to read.

"I propose a better understanding.
What if you could see the past? See forward into the future?
A warning.
I'm proposing a possibility.
A possibility to better understand one another- to see forth each other's past into what the future holds to come.
You may accept or ignore this proposal but each tape holds a chapter, an episode of your lives that could be beneficial to the survival of the agency.
Now the choice is up to you."

Signed (A gifted):
"Memoir of an Unfolding"

"An ability?", Tanizaki questioned to no one in particular. "Survival of the agency? We should inform the president-"

"Informing me won't be necessary."

The room fell silent as their eyes met the honourable figure.

They continued to watch on, expectantly, as Fukuzawa then drew the room's attention to a man adorned in an iconic detective fit, leaving him the decision; the amount of trust he held in the younger, evident.

The man, Ranpo, smiled at the president, pushing up the glasses on his face, "They're safe."

***

The conference room was full.

Well that was with the exception of two seats. It was not unusual for one of the seats to be empty whenever the room was in use, however, it was "incredibly inconvenient", according to a certain 'idealist'. The other, at the end of the table, seated the agency's president whom had business to attend to in the meantime, whilst the agency was preparing the room for their tape viewing.

Kunikida growled glaring daggers into his phone, "he is not picking up".

"Who isn't?" Haruno asked, confused. "What's happening?"

"Dazai" Ranpo grinned childishly as he lazily handed the conversation to Atsushi with but a mere glance.

Atsushi sat up in his seat, "Oh, s-some ability user sent a package of tapes that shows the future...? I-I think?"

Haruno made an 'o' shape with her mouth as she angled a remote at the projector, illuminating the already bright room with a faint blue glow.

"Wait that's what this is about!" Naomi gasped. "Is something bad going to happen in the future?"

"We don't know", Yosano frowned, "Ranpo says they're safe". Ranpo lazily nodded his head in agreement.

"So, how does the ability work? Is it someone explaining what they saw or?" Haruno asked, clearly still confused.

"That- we are currently unsure of. But from the sound of it, they convert our memories to viewable footage... almost like a film adaption of our lives." Yosano replied.

Haruno made an 'o' shape once more.

Suddenly the door burst open. An upbeat and enthusiastic Dazai stepped through, dripping wet, "apologies, I just saw a really nice bridge and I just couldn't resist".

Kyouka leapt to her feet, exiting the room immediately. Kunikida was quick to his feet as well, ready to strangle the man already.

"And you couldn't answer my calls?"

Dazai shrugged as he flipped his empty pockets inside-out, consequently spilling more water onto the floor.

Kyouka returned, elegantly stepping over the puddle, as she handed a towel up to Dazai. "Thank you" he smiled innocently before walking directly towards the mess of objects at mention.

He peered curiously at the tapes that littered the table, frowning in a fictitious facade of confusion, "what's this?".

"Well you'd know that if you answered my calls now wouldn't you!" Kunikida sassed as Dazai poked his tongue out.

"You're wrong, I already know" he smiled innocently having just returned from an encounter with the president just outside the conference room as his coworkers shared a collective sigh at such childish behaviour.

Kunikida narrowed his eyes. "This isn't all some elaborate prank fabricated by you is it?" he stared, clearly unamused by the man's antics.

Dazai took an exaggerated step back, "you'd think so little of me?", he gasped.

"We're going to watch them," Ranpo smiled, staring straight through the man.

Dazai frowned and in a slightly more serious tone, he added "and I suppose I can't convince otherwise..?"

"Nope." Ranpo replied, placing emphasis on the 'p'.

Atsushi perked up at the suggestion, "don't you want to watch the tapes Dazai?"

Dazai fell back into his playful demeanour. "Don't you enjoy being surprised?" he teased.

"I mean, in some circumstances.." Atsushi mumbled, "...but I would rather save lives..."

"He's just concerned about the past Atsushi." Ranpo grinned, unwrapping a lollipop. "The footage contains a timeline of memories which would include past too."

"The past?" the tiger questioned.

Yosano defended, "It's reasonable. I'm sure you yourself would not like some memories dug up Atsushi."

Dazai pouted childishly at the man, "when did I say that?". He perked up, "maybe I'm worried about how watching these videos will affect the future we make instead".

The door opened, alerting a new presence in the room.

"Well, for the sake of our lives, I could get past it," Atsushi grinned confidently, or as confidently as the boy's self-esteem could get him "and besides, whatever bad future we may accidentally create, we can fix together" he smiled.

President Fukuzawa, the new presence, quietly made his way to his seat at the end of the table, observing the interaction.

"Let's raise our hands, my old village used to decide things that way!" Kenji smiled, saving any potential arguments from emerging.

"A vote." Kunikida corrected.

The president who nodded his head once in agreement.

Kunikida rose from his seat, polling the vote for the group. "Those who would like to view the footage, please raise a hand."

Atsushi, Kenji, Tanizaki, Naomi, Haruno and Ranpo were quick to raise their hands. With Kunikida and the president abstaining from the vote, this left Yosano, Kyouka and Dazai who would contribute little to the majority vote, regardless.

Kyouka, glancing over at Atsushi, hesitantly began to raise her hand which Atsushi noticed.

Kunikida sighed looking over Yosano and Dazai whom both seemed rather indifferent on the matter. "This is stretching enough into our schedule. Due to a majority vote, it appears the footage will be viewed" he stated as he gathered the tapes and prepared them for viewing.

Dazai sighed as he exited the room only to allow the wet towel to dry before returning to the scene and taking his place next to Naomi.

"Don't feel like you need to" Atsushi whispered to Kyouka, as he reach over to pat her back, "you can exit anytime, I'll even come with you! That is i-if you get uncomfortable or anything!!" he stuttered in a flustered attempt at support.

The corner of her lips curled in a slight smile. "It's alright. Thankyou."

Ranpo turned to Dazai, who's expression was as incomprehensible as ever, and with an almost apologetic expression Ranpo shrugged before popping his lollipop into his mouth.

He then sent a sympathetic expression in Yosano's direction, as her slight anxieties about what may be contained in the footage had began to show on her face. She smiled nervously in response.

Dazai shook his head at the interaction, before leaning against his palm as he began tapping his fingers gently against the table, in an almost anxious fashion.

The tape labelled "1" was then inserted into the conference room's projector as a projection overtook the previously blue tint of the room. The lights were dimmed and then the first episode began to play.

Chapter Text

Season 1, Episode 1: "Fortune Is Unpredictable and Mutable"

He moved his head slightly to look into the camera.

“My name is Atsushi. And due to unfortunate circumstances, I’m about to die of starvation.”

A crunch sounded across the room.

A title card appeared on screen, “Fortune is Unpredictable and Mutable”.

“Each episode has its own title?” Haruno cooed, “this is just like an anime!”

Naomi clapped excitedly, “oh! It is!” She took a moment before tilting her head in confusion, “what do you think the title means?”

Haruno recited to herself thoughtfully, “fortune... unpredictable... mutable?”

“chance of luck, can not be predicted however it is liable to change” Kunikida reworded in an attempt to make the title easier to comprehend.

“I think I am beginning to understand why this episode is about Atsushi...” Naomi concluded as she searched the footage with intent.

“this must be about how your situation or ‘fortune’ changed when you came into our lives” finished Tanizaki, glancing up at Atsushi who was now lost in thought.

Ranpo leaned back in his chair.

The train blared by again.

“After being thrown out of my orphanage, I’ve had nowhere to eat or sleep and not even a cent on me. I don’t really have the courage to steal to survive. That is how I’ve arrived at my current situation.”

“the fortune...” Naomi frowned.

Atsushi shifted on the floor moaning, then punching the floor as hard as he can, pushing himself off the floor.

“However if I wish to live then I have no choice but to steal from others”.

“That’s the spirit!” Dazai cheered jokingly.

His face set in grim determination, shifted as a flashback began to form.

“GET OUT YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING! THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE IF YOU JUST DIED IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE”.

Atsushi flinched at the voice, the rest of the room glancing over at the boy in surprise while Kyouka began tugging at his sleeve nervously.

A child version of Atsushi stared up at several adults, their faces in shadow.

“not what I expected when you mentioned you came from an orphanage...” Tanizaki frowned sympathetically at the boy.

Atsushi looked down as Kenji reached over and began patting his back.

Naomi spurted out in shock, “orphanages shouldn’t be like that!”

Atsushi reluctantly nodded his head in agreement as he awkwardly shifted his focus back into the screen, not used to all the sympathy.

“Shut up.” said current Atsushi, standing up. “Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!” he screamed.

“Die in a ditch?” Atsushi’s fist clenched, “I’m not gonna die! I’m gonna live, no matter what it takes! Okay... I’ll rush the first person who comes along and rob them of everything they’ve got!”

Naomi giggled nervously as she scratched the back of her head, “wrong mindset, but you’ve got the spirit!”

“well I admire how Atsushi is aspiring to live rather than screw up my schedule each day with suicidal antics like some people,” sneered Kunikida glaring into Dazai’s direction who grinned back unfazed.

His eyes narrowed and his mouth set in grim determination, Atsushi turned towards the road behind him.

A car flew by. Atsushi closed his eyes in regret, “well, that was mission impossible. I can’t catch him on an empty stomach...”

“the empty stomach isn’t the only problem with that...” Yosano sighed.

“Next!” The next group ran by, a squad of military police. Atsushi looked terrified out of his mind, “I... I doubt military police’d be toting their wallets during training.”

“Not the only problem with that idea either”, Kunikida shook his head.

He excused himself, “But the next person who comes along... for sure!”

A noise behind him startled him and he turned around quickly, “you’re mine!”

He froze at the sight of somebody’s legs sticking out from the water, drifting downstream.

“And I wonder who that might be,” Tanizaki added sarcastically as the group sighed.

“He’s not what I had in mind.” Atsushi said, watching with a hilariously freaked out expression.

The bubbling noises of someone drowning came from where the guy’s head should’ve been. Atsushi watched him drift along.

“Maybe the next one?” he asked himself, the screen cutting back to the guy’s feet, which now had birds resting on him.

“He’ll be ok? FINE, damnit!” Atsushi muttered before running into the water to save the drowning guy.

The sound of a splash echoes in the silence.

The guy is laying next to Atsushi as a small card pops up next to him, “In the end, I saved a life.”

“you saved him?” Yosano snorted.

Atsushi nodded reluctantly.

Dazai leaned into his hand as it rested on the table, “and I was so close that time too…” he sighed.

The guy’s eye opened as he slowly rises up, a comedic sound playing as he does so.

Atsushi asks him, “Are you okay?”

The camera zooms in on his angry face, “I made it. Damn.”

Atsushi hears this and looks at the guy, “damn?”. His face contorts and his eyebrow raises.

“Tell me,” says he other guy, standing up as he does, “are you the person who interrupted my submersion?”

“...submersion?” Yosano asked the room, furrowing her eyebrows to form a jokingly confused face. “That’s a new one,” she snorted.

Dazai shrugged.

Kunikida seethed, “what the hell is that even supposed to mean?”

“Yes of course I saved your life? Wait? Submersion?” Atsushi stared at the man.

The title card pops up.. “Submersion?”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Tanizaki sighed.

“I was trying to kill myself,” the guy states as if it were obvious.

“Suicide?” Gets added to the card.

“You get used to that one real fast,” Tanizaki sighed.

Atsushi and Kyouka nodded their heads in agreement.

“Sure I was, and everything was going fine!” The guy sounded strangely enthused by this, suddenly his face dropped in discontent, “Til you interfered.”

The camera switches to Atsushi’s face, “Is he scolding me for saving him?” he asks himself as the title card reads, “Am I being lectured?”

“lectured? no, that’s Kunikida’s thing,” Dazai corrected.

Kunikida, not even drifting his eyes from the screen added, “well somebody has to tell people like you off when they do something stupid.”

“stupid? sounds nothing like me!” Dazai teased as he leaned back into his chair.

The guy sighs, “It’s not your fault. My goal is to have a clean suicide without bothering anyone, but unfortunately, I did burden you. I should apologise or at least make it up to you.”

“Well, that was surprisingly responsible for Dazai?” Yosano stared, “I’m expecting a catch.”

Kunikida sighed as he shook his head, “...I’m always the catch...”

Atsushi sways back and forth, his stomach letting out a rumble.

The guy speaks again, “are you by chance, hungry?”

“Well I haven’t eaten in several days.” Atsushi replies, as he gets interrupted by the guy’s stomach also growling.

“Wow I’m also hungry.” The guy agrees, sounding quite bored, “But I think the river ate my wallet.”

The room sighs.

He opens his pockets, frogs jumping out of them. Atsushi visibly deflates, “just my luck.”

“There’s the catch,” Yosano shook her head, “was there even any money there to begin with?”

“Well...”

“THERE YOU ARE, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASS,” shouts a voice, Atsushi turning his head to look.

“Kunikida,” sighed the room before the man had even appeared on the screen.

An arrow floats over another man’s head, pointing directly at him. “Hey,” says the guy near Atsushi. “YOU FOUND ME,” he shouts across the river, “NICE WORK KUNIKIDA.”

Kunikida screams back, “nice work? You’re the one who gave me all this work! You’ve disrupted my schedule with your shenanigans, you suicidal maniac!”

“Always the schedules,” Dazai shook his head.

As Kunikida keeps talking, the guy turns to Atsushi, “Kunikida is a colleague from work. Let’s have him treat you to a meal.”

Kunikida leaned into the palm of his hand, “wow, how generous,” he remarked sarcastically, remembering the debt.

A chibi version of Kunikida appears, rage evident, “ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?”

“So tell me,” says the guy, “what’s your name?”

Atsushi startles back, “It’s Atsushi. Atsushi Nakajima.”

“Cool!” the guy responds, “Come on, Atsushi. What would you like to eat?”

Atsushi looks embarrassed, “Tea on rice sounds great, right now.”

The guy blinks and then laughs. The arrow blinks, still pointing at Kunikida.

Atsushi looked embarrassed as he looked over to Kunikida, “I’m sorry!”

“Only a starving orphan would want a bowl of tea on rice, LET’S HAVE KUNIKIDA TREAT YOU TO THIRTY BOWLS OF IT.” He shouts the last part, making sure Kunikida can hear him.

“Thanks for that,” Atsushi meekly grinned, “you really didn’t have to buy that many, really.”

Kunikida shook his head, “anything to stop Dazai from interrupting my schedule any further”. Which was true- at that time however, the man would hate to admit just how much he really cared for the boy.

Kunikida then flies into a rage, “DON’T GET GENEROUS WITH MY MONEY, DAZAI!”

Atsushi turns towards the man, “you’re Dazai?”

"The one and only~"

“Yes,” says the newly-named, Dazai, a wind picking up around him.

He smiles at Atsushi, the wind whipping around him, “Dazai Osamu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Naomi glanced around the room, “That was uh- a little dramatic? Don’t you think?”

Yosano leaned forward to peak over Tanizaki and speak to the girl to his right. “For Dazai?”

“Yeah, actually I think I’ll take that back,” Naomi said as she glanced over at the man in question.

The screen goes black.

Then Yokohama at night shifts in, the sounds of the city calming, the camera heading to a restaurant.

Kunikida speaks first, “you are an unreliable fool, Dazai. Who just thinks ‘wow that’s a nice river, let me jump into it’ in the middle of a job. Now I’ll have to revise our whole schedule.”

“you’re speaking as if this is something new to you Kunikida,” Tanizaki raised.

Kunikida shook his head, “I wanted to remind Dazai of the stupidity of his actions”.

“fair enough.”

The camera shows Atsushi shovelling food down his throat as fast as he can. The camera then shifts to show Kunikida and Dazai watching him. Kunikida is furiously writing in his notebook, while Dazai just looks bored.

“You’re obsessed with those schedules, Kunikida,” Dazai returns.

Kunikida slams the book labelled ‘Ideal’ into the table, “This book isn’t some day-plan, It’s an Ideal, my sole guide in life. And nowhere in this book is there a sentence that says my coworker is a suicidal maniac.”

Dazai manages to pull off an extremely bored face. Atsushi leans to the camera, speaking in a muffled voice through the food.

Kunikida sits down again. “Quiet. Nowhere on my projected expenses is a million bowls of tea on rice for some kid.”

Atsushi responds back, mouth still full.

“Great and now he’s got questions,” Kunikida rolls his eyes.

Yosano looks to the duo in surprise, “how... are the two of you communicating?”

Atsushi spoke again, unintelligible.

“It involves the military,” responds Kunikida.

“How are you two talking?” Dazai asks. Both men look at him confused.

“Exactly what I was wondering,” Yosano repeated accusingly, pointing to the scene, looking even more confused.

Atsushi shrugged, “Kunikida didn’t have any food in his mouth, he sounded normal to me.” He looked over at Kunikida expectantly.

Kunikida sighed, “No clue either kid, I could just make out what you were saying.”

A pair of hands clapped in surprise, “wow, you must have good hearing!” Kenji smiled.

“Teaching might have had an impact on that,” Kunikida added as his voice softened.

The screen then shows the empty tea on rice bowls.

“I’m so full,” Atsushi sings, patting his belly, “I’ve had enough rice to last a lifetime.”

Kunikida immediately yells at him, “I suggest you show gratitude after you ate this on my dime.”

Atsushi looks downwards, “You’re a real lifesaver. I came to Yokohama from an orphanage and I’ve had nowhere to eat or sleep since. I thought I’d starve to death.”

Dazai asks the first question, “you’re from an orphanage?”

“I was, yes,” responds Atsushi. “They kicked me out.”

“Sounds like a real warm organisation.”

“Look Dazai, we’re not going around and helping people with hard luck cases,” he lifts his book up, “we have a job to do.”

Atsushi leans back, “that reminds me, what do you guys do anyways? I know it relates to the military..”

Dazai gives a smirk, “we’re private investigators!”

Yosano snorts as she raised a brow, “...private investigators?”

Kunikida interrupts, “we don’t handle lost pets and cheating spouses. Our office specialises in tough cases that not even the military would be able to handle. We are the Armed Detective Agency.”

Atsushi recoils in shock, “I’ve heard of them. I thought they were a myth”, Atsushi wondered, imagining a smoky background with four silhouetted figures surrounding one man in the centre.

“Is that us!” Kenji gasped, looking to Atsushi excitedly.

“They are said to have supernatural powers.”

The camera shifts to Dazai staring at a beam on the ceiling and Kunikida writing angrily in his notebook.

“Am I in the presence of two supernaturally gifted people?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought so either”, Ranpo shook his head in a disappointed fashion.

Yosano laughed in agreement, “not the best first impression”, she shook her head.

Dazai perked up, “check out that beam up there!”

Atsushi glanced upwards. Kunikida sighs, “don’t even think about hanging yourself in this teahouse.”

“I’m not, I’m thinking of the hanging health technique.”

Kunikida sounds amazed, “what are you saying?”

“YOU DON’T KNOW? It’s perfect for shoulder cramps.”

“That would be perfect for me.”

The room sighed.

Kunikida begins to write in his notebook, muttering to himself before Dazai promptly interrupts him, “I’m messing with you.”

The pen snaps and Kunikida grasped Dazai by the neck and screamed at him.

Yosano shook her head laughing at the man, “I don’t understand why you believe anything that comes out of Dazai’s mouth anymore.”

“It’s so easy,” Dazai laughed.

Sighing, Kunikida pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose, doing little to hide the embarrassment on his face.

Atsushi tries to interject, “so about the job, you are doing...”

“WHAT” Kunikida shouts with a furious expression as Atsushi apologizes profusely.

Kunikida seems to calm down as Atsushi makes mention of their job being classified, “actually we require no secrecy today, we are looking for a tiger."

“A tiger?”

Dazai nods, “a man-eating one that has appeared recently in the city. We’re not sure if its eaten anyone, but it’s cause general chaos. The authorities have a bunch of scary reports.”

Atsushi fell over, the bowls clattering.

Dazai looks more bored than normal, “what’s wrong?”

Atsushi tries to crawl away, “I’ll be leaving now.” He gets jerked back by Kunikida who grabs his shirt.

“Not so fast.”

Atsushi tries to run as Kunikida begins to interrogate him.

After Kunikida begins, Atsushi stops moving, turning around, his eyes showing real fear.

“You can’t stop that thing!”

Kunikida quirks an eyebrow, “really? Tell us what you know.”

Atsushi starts trying to run again, “that thing is after me! It tried to kill me! If it’s been seen then I should go now!”

Confusion crumpled Tanizaki’s expression, “huh?”

Atsushi flushed, lowering his head in embarrassment, “that’s- um… well…”

“How can the tiger be after you? You are the tiger..?” Naomi tilted her head to the side in a confused fashion.

Yosano watched the interaction with surprise, choosing to stare at Atsushi in disbelief, “…you didn’t know?”

“Nobody told me!”

Kunikida drops him and jumps on top of him, “pay for the food or I’ll take your arm.”

Dazai sighs, “now, now Kunikida, you always turn questioning into an interrogation. The boss has spoken to you about this. Let me try.”

Kunikida lets Atsushi up and Dazai sits next to him, “what do you know about this tiger?”

“The tiger attacked my orphanage, it ruined our vegetables and destroyed our chickens. We had no money left and we were already on a tight budget, they had to let some people go.”

Tanizaki pulled a face, “..what?”

The screen shifted to Atsushi standing in front of the gates of an orphanage, the adults who ran the place, screaming the lines from earlier at him.

“..oh..” Naomi looked over to the boy thoughtfully, though her sullen expression only showed sympathy.

Atsushi squeezed his eyes shut, taking in a deep breathe before brushing it off. “It’s fine.. I’ve had some time..” he trailed off.

Kenji reached over to pat the boy’s back.

Dazai interrupted the flashback, “that’s a tragic tale.”

Kunikida spoke next, “the tiger?”

Atsushi responded, “it shows up wherever I go, like it’s tracking me. I saw it when I was walking around the next town over.”

The flashback appeared, Atsushi looking distorted in a small glass orb on screen, a tiger’s growl reverberating throughout the scene.

Two eyes flashed in the dark and people screamed, “it’s the tiger! RUN!”

Atsushi ran as he narrated, “i’ve been seeing it for about two weeks before the orphanage kicked me out. My instincts tell me that it’s come looking for me.”

"Some instincts..." Tanizaki added sarcastically.

Atsushi shook his head, "well, I mean- I wasn't too far off the mark!"

Yosano raised her brow.

The boy lowered his head.

Dazai’s voice was eerily calm, “when was the last time you saw this thing following you?”

Atsushi looked up, “about four days ago, in Sudami.”

Kunikida looked at his notebook, “that matches our intel as well.”

“Atsushi, are you free later?” Dazai asked, almost at random.

“And Dazai’s already cracked it,” Yosano sighed.

Tanizaki shook his head, “yeah, typical of Dazai to figure things out himself and just not tell us.”

“I always wait until I have concrete evidence...”, Dazai pouted, “you wouldn’t just accuse Atsushi of being the weretiger without having proof!”.

“He’s got a point”, Ranpo added as he unwrapped a fresh lollipop. “Without evidence, the deductions are only accusations”, he shrugged popping the lollipop into his mouth.

“But it would help to have a little insight into your thoughts instead of worrying us”, frowned Atsushi.

“And wasting out time,” Kunikida added.

Dazai only shrugged in response, preferring not to dwell on the topic.

The camera zoomed in on Atsushi again, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Dazai turned his back on Atsushi, clearly writing something on a piece of paper. “As the target, you provide us with an excellent opportunity. You are going to help us find the tiger!”

“FORGET IT!” Atsushi stood up, looking terrified. “NO WAY!”

Dazai handed Kunikida the piece of paper he had been writing on, “Kunikida, please give this to the president.”

Kunikida looked skeptical, “you two are going to catch the beast? We should be confirming his info first.”

Dazai smirked, “it’ll be fine.”

Kunikida reluctantly took the paper.

“Are you kidding? You’re just gonna use me as bait!” Atsushi shouted.

Dazai gave a cheeky smile, “there’s a reward.”

Atsushi looked incredibly nervous at that as another title card popped up, ‘currently penniless’ it read.

“Re-reward?”

The people in the room collectively laughed at the pitiful scene.

Atsushi flushed in embarrassment.

“You can’t tempt me with money!” he shouted turning his back onto Dazai.

“But just so we are clear... how much is it worth again?”

Their laughter grew louder as Atsushi attempted to defend himself. “I need the money!” he cried.

Dazai’s cheeky smile grew, “about this much~”. He held up a piece of paper, which Atsushi slowly turned around to glance at.

His face turned to absolute shock at the amount.

Atsushi hid his face in shame.

A title card showed another shift in setting.

The scene of an old abandoned warehouse was shown. The lights of Yokohama danced on the water.

Atsushi and Dazai were shown, sitting on crates. Dazai was reading a book.

“Dazai, I’m sorry to interrupt, but what are you reading?”

“A good book.”

“Good book? More like a waste of paper,” Kunikida spoke under his breath.

Atsushi sighed, “I’m surprised you can read in the dark.”

“I have excellent night vision. Plus, I’ve read this book before.”

The book is shown, reading the ‘Complete Guide to Suicide” on the cover.

The people in the room sighed.

“Why are you reading it again then?”

Dazai sounded a bit annoyed when he replied, “a good book is always good.”

Atsushi smiled, before curing into himself. “Will the tiger really track me down here?”

“Yeah.”

Atsushi almost screamed in fear.

Dazai was calmly reading as he replied, “when it shows up, it will be no match for me. I may not look it but I am part of the Armed Detective Agency for a reason.”

Atsushi looked down again, “I admire your confidence. They called me good-for-nothing at the orphanage for as long as I can remember. Now, I don’t even know what my future holds anymore.”

Another flashback of the orphanage occurred, the se hate-filled words. Atsushi spoke alongside the flashback, “no one would mind if I died in a ditch somewhere.”

“Atsushi…” Yosano began.

Kunikida narrowed his eyes at the boy in a dismissive manner, “we do not need another Dazai.”

Dazai’s face showed no emotion as Atsushi said brokenly, “maybe I’d be better off eaten by a tiger.”

“Well, it’ll probably be soon.”

He looked up seeing the clouds shift and the moon shining through. A loud noise startled Atsushi out of his depressive state.

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

Dazai didn’t even flinch as he replied, “probably the wind.”

Atsushi screamed at him, “ARE YOU KIDDING? IT’S THE TIGER. IT’S COME TO EAT ME.”

Ranpo broke into laughter, "this is gold:.

Shaking his head, Tanizaki added, "it's so much funnier knowing he is the tiger."

Atsushi hid his face in his hands.

Dazai snapped his book closed. “Calm down. A tiger doesn’t just show up.”

Atsushi was growing frustrated as he yelled at Dazai, who calmly spoke.

“Your story doesn’t add up. An orphanage wouldn’t kick out a kid just because of a food shortage. Kicking out one kid wouldn’t put a dent. Instead it would make sense to transfer kids to a different orphanage. However, it is more likely they realised who the tiger actually was.”

Dazai jumped down from his ledge. Atsushi stared at him, “who?”

Dazai began explaining, “you and the tiger appeared in this city, two weeks ago.”

The moon glowed gently and Atsushi’s eyes seemed to glow blue as the moon covered them.

“The Armed Detective Agency handles those with supernatural gifts. The people at the orphanage didn’t tell you, huh.”

A pulse and Atsushi was surrounded by a blue ring as he began to transform. Dazai watching calmly from the sidelines.

And the tiger emerged, charging at Dazai who expertly dodge.

Dazai smiled, “you are the tiger, Atsushi.”

The tiger and Dazai danced around each other, Dazai commenting lightly, “Impressive. You could snap someone’s neck.”

Yosano sighed, "Dazai..."

He dodged again, his feet sliding into a wall. “Hm, this isn’t a bad way to die at all. Getting eaten by a tiger.”

"and full circle, it always spirals back to suicide with you," Kunikida adds exasperatedly, glaring over at the man.

"hey, it's not my fault I'm alive!" Dazai crossed his arms.

Dazai watched the tiger jump, its claws, and teeth sharp and ready for the kill.

“But you can’t kill me,” he said, activating his ability, its white light flooding the warehouse.

“My ability is...”

And a title card was displayed with the words, “No Longer Human” written on them, the symbols activating, sliding against each other effortlessly.

“No Longer Human.”

Naomi pulled a face, "you know, your ability's got a weird name," she stated, glancing over at the man.

"Don't they all?" Yosano replied, briefly tearing her eyes from the screen to make an uncertain expression at the girl.

"I suppose..." she glanced down thoughtfully, "its just... the name normally relates to the ability, doesn't it?"

"OH!" Haruno leapt out of her seat, "you're right!"

"right?" Naomi smiled in relief.

"beast beneath the moonlight..." Atsushi began to list off thoughtfully.

"...your ability lets you turn into a tiger, which used to happen during the night" Naomi finished.

Atsushi continued, "light snow?"

"Illusion projected into an area in which becomes affected with snowfall," Tanizaki adds.

"and demon snow?"

Naomi furrowed her brows, "is it the name of your uh... phantom?", she nervously asked Kyouka.

Kyouka nodded.

Yosano chimes into the discussion, "my ability, thou shalt not die, is pretty self-explanatory".

"See? The name normally matches up with the ability" Naomi reaffirmed.

Kenji slowly scrunched his face up in confusion.

"oh.." Naomi frowned, "okay, maybe yours just... has a weird name too...?"

"doppo poet" Atsushi finishes.

"alright, fair enough," Naomi frowns, "man, and I thought I was onto something..." she sighed.

With his fist glowing, Dazai punched the tiger in the face. His white light eating up the tiger’s blue light.

“I can neutralize anyone else’s ability. It works through a touch.”

The light show stopped to reveal Atsushi, with his eyes closed, Dazai’s hand on his forehead. Atsushi landed onto Dazai’s chest.

Dazai shoved him to the floor, I have no such tastes in men.”

“you just shoved me to the floor?” Atsushi cried out.

“HEY DAZAI,” said Kunikida’s voice as he and a group of people walked into the warehouse.

“You’re late, Kunikida!” Dazai called, “I’ve captured the predator.”

“It’s him?” Kunikida asked, approaching.

“Yep, he can change into a tiger,” Dazai shrugged.

Kunikida shook his head in disbelief, “I should have expected such”.

“Damn it Dazai,” Kunikida said, “you should be more specific about this note.”

“The tiger will be in the warehouse, secure the perimeter,” Dazai read off, “what a concise note!”

“Oh yeah?, Well I thought this would need tons of backup so I brought everyone, even people who weren’t on call.”

The group of people who had followed Kunikida inside stepped into the light.

“It’s us!” Kenji cheered.

“You owe them a drink.”

“Is that offer still valid?” Yosano smirked.

Ranpo noticed the smirk, “yeah, we never did get them did we?” grinning mischievously as he popped a sweet into his mouth.

Dazai scrunched his face as Kunikida narrowed his eyes at the man.

Kenji tilted his head in an innocent manner, “I didn’t get one either..” the boy pouted.

“Whoops?” Dazai joked nervously, scratching his head, “I forgot?”.

“Your tabs getting pretty big there,” Tanizaki laughed.

“When is it not big?” Naomi shook her head.

“Hey!” said a chipper voice, running up to Atsushi.

Two pairs of legs followed, one in stockings and the other in red heels.

The red heels stopped, revealing a woman, with a title card next to her, “Yosano Akiko, Ability: Thou Shalt Not Die.”

Her voice was bored out of her mind, “there are no casualties? Talk about boring.”

The group shivered in their seats.

The other pair of shoes stopped, “you’ve gotten better at solving cases, Dazai.” A man wearing was revealed, his card reading “Edogawa Ranpo, Ability: Ultra Deduction.”

Ranpo narrowed his eyes, ‘an ability card?’. He thought to himself for a moment. ‘This is likely following from the perspective of Atsushi, who wouldn’t know of such…’ he quickly deduced, narrowing his eyes to glance over at the boy, ‘…yet’ he frowned.

He smirked, “but let me solve the big ones.”

The last one crouched next to Atsushi, “what will we do when he wakes up?”

His card read “Kenji Miyazawa. Ability: Be Not Defeated by The Rain.”

“He didn’t know he could do this,” Kenji finished.

Kunikida fixed his glasses, a title card appearing next to him as well, “Kunikida Doppo. Ability: Doppo Poet.”

“What will we do now?” He asked.

Dazai grinned, “I’ve made up my mind.”

His card flashed, “Dazai Osamu. Ability: No Longer Human.”

Dazai looked at Atsushi laying on the floor, “He’s going to join us.”

Dazai had a flashback to Atsushi telling him that no one cared about him. His face softened.

“You know, I tend to misread you a lot”, Tanizaki said slowly as he stared into Dazai, his eyes narrowing.

“How so?” Dazai tilted his head, like a lost puppy. Even though he was now staring down the man as if this was some challenge.

The boy shrunk under his gaze, settling on a shrug, “You’re just... confusing.”

Dazai face switch to a charismatic smile, “I prefer...”, he paused, raising his thumb and index finger to below his chin, “mysterious!”.

“COOL!” Kenji said.

“Are you serious?” Yosano asked, Ranpo looking bored next to her.

“Dazai you are an idiot“, he told Dazai.

Dazai sat up in his seat, “I would like to refute that statement~”.

“You are.” Kunikida reaffirmed with a blank expression.

A challenging expression took over the man’s face, “Who~ just solved the case here?” he smirked.

Kunikida sighed, dismissing the man.

Kunikida immediately started yelling as Kenji pet Atsushi, “there, there were-tiger.”

“GET UP ATSUSHI!” Dazai said happily, just as Atsushi woke up.

“How odd.” said Dazai’s inner voice, “in a detective agency full of eccentrics, I feel like something big is about to happen.”

“We’re not all-“, Naomi glanced around the room, “yeah, alright”, she sighed.

Atsushi pulled himself off the ground. “Who are you?” He murmured at Kenji, who opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Dazai.

“Do you remember anything that happened?”

Atsushi narrowed his eyes in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“Huh,” Dazai said as a way of response, “your right arm didn’t change back.”

“Huh?” Atsushi raised his hand, revealing a tiger paw.

He blinked a couple of times before screaming as a title card formed next to him, “Atsushi Nakajima, Ability; Beast Beneath the Moonlight.”

Atsushi scratched the back of his head, “well that was embarrassing...”

Dazai spoke, distracting him, “Atsushi Nakajima, from this day forward you are the new member of the Armed Detective Agency.”

Atsushi blinked, “uh, what...”

All light drained from the room as the screen dimmed.