Chapter Text
Cases involving children are always the worst. The children are either orphans or kids in the wrong place at the wrong time. While these cases are uncommon in Yokohama, they still happen, and sometimes they end up on the desk of an agent at the Armed Detective Agency.
The moment Kunikida opens the file he knows the case is much more complicated than a simple missing persons case. This time it involved the child of a local government official who had a strong distrust for the police. His kid was taken in a largely crowded area with plenty of witnesses and yet no one could remember the faces of the assailants. It was like someone reached into all of their memories and erased the faces of the kidnappers. Obviously a gifted person was involved, even Kunikida could deduce that much.
“Oi, Dazai we have a case” Kunikida slaps the top of the brunet’s head with the folder.
Dazai opens his eyes slowly and grabs the case. “Hgn. Kunikida I was having a wonderful dream. I found the most beautiful girl to commit suicide with and we were just about to jump off a bridge.”
“You shouldn’t be sleeping on the job! Just get up. You can go back to your odd fantasies once we finish this case.”
Dazai sighs, “if only it wasn’t a dream.”
Kunikida presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose and makes his way to the door. “Hurry your ass up, I’m not going to wait forever you know.”
Dazai stands and stretches his limbs. It almost reminds Kunikida of a cat, a very lazy one that likes to cause trouble for fun. “Alright, but if I make it to the car first, I get to drive.”
By the time Kunikida came up with an appropriate response, Dazai had already pushed past him and made a mad dash for the stairs. There was no way he would ever let that maniac drive after the last time. He dreads the thought as he practically jumps down the stairs to catch up to Dazai. However, by the time he gets to the car it's too late. Dazai is already sitting in the driver’s seat and dangling the keys in front of the window at him. A death at Dazai’s hand is less than ideal. He wants to think that maybe Dazai driving could be a good thing. Hell for all he knows Dazai might have improved from two years ago since he and Atsushi started working together and Kunikida knows the younger of the two couldn't drive. He gets to the passenger seat and Dazai looks like the devil had possessed him. He knows that this is where he dies.
Dazai arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe in one piece while Kunikida is still picking himself up after nearling jumping out of the car once it parked.
“You are the worst driver in the world.” Kunikida glares at him.
“Well, maybe if you worked on your cardio a bit more then maybe you would’ve caught up to me. You know they say that near death experiences really get the heart pumping, so really you should be thanking me for giving you a workout.” Dazai grins from ear to ear and tosses the keys at Kunikida’s feet. “But since you’re so unappreciative I guess I’ll let you do all the driving next time.”
Kunikida scoffs and says, “Oh how thoughtful you are for sparing me from future heart attacks.” He picks the keys off the ground. “Just get your ass inside and don’t patronize the clients. They just had their daughter stolen away from them so for once be a bit kind.”
They both start to walk to the house. Dazai says, “You expect so little of me Kunikida. I know a girl’s life is at stake so I promise to be on my best behavior.”
Kunikida stops in his tracks and stares at Dazai like he grew another head, “Really?”
Dazai placed a hand over his heart and held up three fingers with the other hand, “Scout's honor.”
Kunikida rolls his eyes and knocks on the door. A bleary eyed man answers the door, most likely Mr. Watanabe, and immediately shakes the detective's hands. He tells them how thankful he is for their cooperation and leads them both through the mini mansion. The walls had a massive amount of photos like this family’s life was an animation and every frame of it was put on every surface. From the smiling face of the little girl in each photo it's obvious that she loves her parents and her life very much. What kind of monster would break up a family like this?
The pair is led to a couch with a woman consoling herself and hugging a doll. It’s almost identical to the child. The poor mother looks like she hasn’t slept in a week. Dazai hands the woman a handkerchief from one of his coat pockets. Kunkida sighs in relief. At least he’s choosing to be professional. Mrs. Watanabe dabs her eyes and her husband hugs her from the side.
The woman sniffed and said, “This came in the mail right before you arrived.” She hands the doll to Kunikida.
The doll itself is very intricately made. Work that would’ve surely taken hours but the outfit is identical to the one she was wearing when she was taken. Dazai places his hand on it and confirms to Kunikida that it wasn’t any ability. He smiles at the couple and asks, “I’m so sorry to ask this but may I use the bathroom.” Kunikida has to restrain himself from looking shocked as he’s pretty sure this is the first time Dazai’s said “I’m sorry” and “may I” in the same sentence. A part of him almost feels proud that his partner is doing the bare minimum.
The mother gives Dazai directions and Kunikida takes this time to examine the doll. The clothes look expensive and the hair doesn’t feel synthetic.
“It’s her hair.”
Kunikida snaps his head up to look at the father. “Are you sure?”
“I’m her father, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t recognize my own daughter’s hair.” The mother holds his hand tighter and whispers something in his ear.
Bile rises in Kunikida’s throat that he quickly pushes down.
In a broken voice the mother asks, “May I have her back please?”
“Of course.” Kunikida hands her the doll and she hugs it hard. “Did anything else come with the doll? A note perhaps?” He asked.
The woman pats the doll's hair and she answers, “No, we had one of our maids inspect the doll and she didn’t find anything inside or on the doll itself.”
Kunikida opens his notebook and continues to ask the couple questions. From his questioning he learns that they have been receiving threatening letters from a mysterious source that dates back to at least a month before the kidnapping. The father has recently let go nearly half of his staff due to recent political troubles and the mother is preparing to sell her business to a larger company. Suffice to say both have a large amount of enemies and it doesn’t narrow the pool to exactly who could’ve taken their daughter.
Dazai arrives silently at Kunikida’s side once Kunikida finishes questioning. Kunikida rips a page from his notebook and hands it to the couple. “If anything else arrives in the mail or you get a call make sure to call me right away. I know in situations like these you would want to handle things yourself but for us to work efficiently we need complete communication and cooperation.”
“We understand. You’ll be the first person we call if we hear anything.” The father replies and leans his wife into him. “Please make sure she comes back safe.”
“It’s my first priority. The agency will do whatever it takes to make sure your daughter comes back to you safe and sound.”
“Thank you. You’ll both have whatever you need at your disposal.”
The pair head back to the company car and Dazai snatches Kunikida’s notebook while climbing into the passenger seat. Kunikida's faith in Dazai that he was being serious about his promise was instantly thrown out the car window along with his notebook. He is barely able to catch it and almost smacks Dazai in the head but the window quickly rises between the both of them. When he finally makes it to the driver’s seat a vein on his head feels close to bursting as Dazai puts his feet on the dashboard.
“Make sure you drive safely Kunikida. I like being able to have full use of my legs.” Dazai smiles and wiggles his feet.
Kunikida rolls his eyes and replies, “I think your constant complaining would be enough of a deterrent.”
“How hypocritical of you!” Dazai makes his best kicked puppy impression.
“Excuse me?”
“Well I’m just saying you have constant complaints about my outstanding behavior. Kunikida sure likes to keep me on his mind.” Kunikida could see Dazai’s expectant smirk out of the corner of his eye. He will not give his partner any satisfaction.
“No matter how much you try Dazai I am keeping my eyes on the road. Also why were you gone for so long, if you needed to go that badly I would’ve waited in the car.”
“Well how kind of you Kunikida but I wasn’t using the bathroom.”
“Then what were you doing?” Kunikida could already feel a migraine forming.
“I think you know, but if you really want me to spell it out for you-”
Kunikida pinches the bridge of his nose, “You were snooping! I should’ve known when you were being polite that you were up to something.”
“I honestly will never understand how this surprises you. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve done this.”
“Perhaps I put a little too much trust in you.” Kunikida says under breath.
“And yet I probably learned more about the family with my searching than you did with your questioning.”
“Is that so? Well, please enlighten me.”
“Sorry it's a secret.”
“Dazai, a little girl’s life is in danger!”
“I know that, I just want to wait-”
Kunikida slams on the breaks. “Look, Dazai! Any other day I would have time for your bullshit but not today. You know as well as I do that the first 24 hours after an abduction are crucial for an investigation. So would it kill you to act like you actually care and be a good partner!” Kunikida feels the guilt almost instantly after the last sentence leaves his mouth.
Dazai turns silent and takes his feet off the dashboard. For a split second something flashes behind Dazai’s eyes. Something dark and empty that rises to the surface that his mask can’t cover. However, it always gets dragged back down as fast as it rises. A car honks from behind them and they get back on track. Dazai keeps his eyes on the road and Kunikida knows the uncomfortable conversation that will follow once they get to the agency. The rest of the drive stays quiet with not a word passing between the two. Kunikida did plan for Dazai’s inevitable interruptions but he never planned out time for the two of them to resolve their issues. As much as he hates what came out of his mouth, a part of him didn’t want to apologize. Dazai knows exactly which buttons to push and as much as Kunikida tries, sometimes those buttons have worse reactions when pushed some days. He knows he at the very least has to apologize before they can continue with the case.
The car slows to a stop and Dazai moves to get out.
“Dazai.”
The door is open and his legs are dangling off the side of the seat. “Kunikida?” Dazai turns his head slightly to look at his partner.
“About what I said earlier I-”
“I forgive you.”
“What.”
“I pushed too far, it's my fault. You have nothing to apologize for. How about we get back to the case, yeah?”
Even though he knows the conversation isn’t over, Kunikida accepts the closest thing he’ll probably get to an apology. “Alright let's get back to work.”