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Kunikida stayed in the cafe even after the waitress and manager left to go run some errands. He just stared at the newspaper in front of him, like he was reading the same article over and over. It was just Atsushi and Kunikida who were left in the cafe. He didn’t mind this, given it was the cafe’s less busy hours, and Kunikida wasn’t really ordering anything, so he could be left to his own devices.
Though, on second thought, Atsushi found Kunikida’s presence to be a confusing one. Normally by now, the man would have already been off to work, but today he lingered. With Kunikida’s concentration on what was in front of him, Atsushi absentmindedly decided not to bother the man.
But Kunikida suddenly started speaking. It was a softer tone, unlike the more assertive one Atsushi normally heard from the man when he was in the cafe. Atsushi dropped whatever he was doing to listen, figuring Kunikida had something important to say.
“You know, Atsushi.. It’s admirable for you ro be able to run in like that without a second thought, even though you shouldn’t have to.” Kunikida took a deep breath, like he was about to walk onto a scene he knew was horrible. “But sometimes, I still hesitate to run into danger for the greater good.”
Atsushi didn’t know what to say to that. What was he supposed to say? That he should risk his life more than he already does?
The silence was overbearing. Kunikida looked like he wanted to start talking again, maybe to apologize, but Atsushi spoke up before he could say anything.
“Kunikida-san, I’m not too sure if it’s my place to speak, but..” Atsushi occupied his hands with some dirty dishes, turning the sink on low so he could wash them without having to speak up too much. “I think you need to think about you more. You can’t save everyone, I’m sure you know that already, but you can help more people when you’re alive and uninjured.
“I think it’s a good thing if you hesitate to run into a situation you know can kill you.” Atsushi paused, then quickly added, “That’s just my take on it though, you don’t have to take it to heart.”
Kunikida stared at Atsushi for a moment before he smiled, as though thanking him. His face became more serious, more like his usual one, when he checked his watch. He stood up, straightened his glasses, and bowed to Atsushi. “I must be off.”
He paused briefly on the way out, and said, “Take care of yourself, Atsushi.”
“Come again soon!”
Atsushi smiled, watching the man leave. He may have said not to take his words to heart, but Kunikida probably would, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The manager and waitress returned shortly, holding boxes. Atsushi quickly went to help, assuming it was the shipment they had needed the day before. He could tell it was from the items in the boxes, and the brand names. He absently thought about the list that he was pretty sure got burned up in the fire.
“Thank you for the help, Atsushi-kun,” the manager said.
“No problem!”
The boxes were soon unloaded, and the shelves restocked. Atsushi went back to the counter, mostly to wait for his shift to end since the cafe wasn’t busy in the slightest and Atsushi had already washed all the dishes. The time crawled slowly, with nothing happening, but the sky was yellowing so he quickly checked the time and got ready to leave for the day.
He wondered while he was leaving if he should order some food for Kyouka before he left for the bar, or if she wanted to cook for herself. He made a note to ask her while he was leaving.
Atsushi was distracted from his thoughts by someone calling for his attention. “Atsushi-kun!” He immediately increased his walking speed.
“Atsushi-kun! Wait! I need your opinion!” Dazai yelled, waving his arms at Atsushi, who sighed and turned around to walk back to him.
Dazai was sitting on a bench, very intently staring at a telephone pole.
“Okay, Atsushi-kun! If I were to kill myself, should I hang myself from that telephone pole-” he pointed to the pole he was previously staring at, before looking toward the top of the Agency building, “or should I fall from the top of the Agency building?”
Atsushi stared at him in what was almost disbelief. Why was Dazai asking him? Why would he know? He contemplated on whether or not he should give a genuine answer or if he should just say he didn’t care.
“Dazai-san, you’re looking for a painless double suicide?” Atsushi asked, looking between the pole and the building. When Dazai confirmed, he continued. “If you hung yourself from the pole, there’s a good chance you’ll end up suffocating painfully instead of just snapping your neck immediately. And I don’t think the pole is big enough or can support enough weight for two people.”
Atsushi turned to the building, pointing to the top. “However, if you fall off the building, you’ll die on impact and you can do it with another person.” Atsushi said factually, before adding, “You’re not allowed to kill yourself until you pay your tab, though.”
Dazai just laughed and thanked him. He hoped Dazai wouldn’t actually kill himself right now, though given the man’s extreme skill in avoiding death despite longing for it, Atsushi was sure he didn’t have any reason to worry.
Now, would Kyouka want me to order something for her?
The walk back to the dorm went without incident, unsurprisingly. It was nice to be able to walk around without a bomb going off, or Dazai.. Trying to kill himself nearby. It was also nice knowing that Atsushi was mostly not in danger, except for the whole bounty thing. But as far as that went, Atsushi was in the clear.
After all, they didn’t know it was Atsushi who was the weretiger, right? So he still had some time to be at peace. The streets were busy with people trying to get home from work, or with people trying to get to work. Atsushi is pretty sure he saw a group of tourists around somewhere, but he wasn’t sure why anyone would want a tour in Yokohama of all places.
Though, he’d never been outside of Yokohama or the orphanage in his life, so he figured the change of scenery would be pretty amazing, even if it’s just a city. Maybe it was something to do with the port? Atsushi decided not to think about it too hard, he didn’t think he could ever understand the concept of tourism. When he was younger, he’d wanted to travel the world, but he thinks he’s fine where he is right now.
He grabbed the keys to his dorm, unlocking the door. Kyouka was already home, face turning to him when he entered through the door.
“Hi, Kyouka-chan. How was your day?” Atsushi asked, closing the door and locking it behind him.
“It was good,” she answered simply. “There are nice people at the Agency.”
Atsushi smiled at her. “I’m going to have to leave again soon, so do you want me to order dinner for you or do you want to cook for yourself? I’m fine with either.”
Kyouka looked like she was thinking about it, but then she asked him, “Where are you going?”
“Ah, well, I have another job to go to,” Atsushi said. “I needed two jobs in order to pay for the dorm, but with you here, I technically don’t need the second one anymore.. But I like working there. My employer is nice, and the customers are great.”
Even if some of them are in the Port Mafia, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Besides, I have no idea what I’d do with myself if I wasn’t so busy all the time.” Atsushi laughed. “Since I work a lot, you’ll probably be here on your own most of the time, so I hope that’s okay with you.”
She just nodded, so Atsushi continued with his first line of questioning. “So what do you want me to order for dinner?”
“Fried tofu?”
“Of course. I’ll go order some.”
–
Atsushi had never eaten fried tofu before, but it was better than he expected. He was never allowed to have any at the orphanage, but now he figured he would probably have it more often. He stood up, walking to the door. “I’ll be off now, Kyouka-chan! I’ll be back later. If you get hungry, feel free to help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge.”
He closed the door in time to hear Kyouka say bye to him, then he was walking again.
It was less busy around this time, since it was getting dark. People were either at home or still working, but there wasn’t a lot of commuting since most were already at their destination. Atsushi passed by a group of people in suits, but decided not to pay them any mind.
There was another reason, of course, why people didn’t commute at night, other than seeing their families or being at work. Tour guides always herded their groups into hotels by this time, because this time was when the Port Mafia functioned most. Of course, the group had business to do during the day, but it was more lowkey then.
It was part of the reason why Atsushi was mildly surprised Chuuya and Kouyou came to the bar so late, since it was also when the Port Mafia was most active, though he just figured they weren’t busy. It’s not like they came every day, after all. He didn’t know what business they dealt with, and he figured he didn’t really want to know, but he was curious nonetheless.
The only thing he knew the Port Mafia didn’t deal in was drugs, which was a weirdly specific thing, especially because when you think of a generic Mafia, one of the first things that probably comes to mind is drugs. But apparently this was so they could stay out of the hands of the law. Atsushi had heard Kunikida grumbling about it sometimes, how that one slip-up and any dealings in drugs would force law enforcement to get involved, and somehow anything other than that was fair game.
Atsushi thought it was a really weird concept, all things considered, but as long as it didn’t hurt him or any innocents, he figured he didn’t care too much. The Port Mafia seemed like a necessary evil, and they still protected the city from those who could care less about it. After all, if they didn’t protect the city, then they had everything to lose.
Not that Atsushi was defending their actions. They still killed people, and Atsushi didn’t think anyone really deserved to die, but nonetheless.
He turned down the alley, seeing the flickering overhang light for the bar, and walked down the stairs into the bar, sliding behind the counter quickly. He greeted the customers on the other side, figuring the manager had already served them, and greeted the manager before getting to work in cleaning some of the glasses.
He heard someone coming down the stairs, and watched as Chuuya entered the bar. This time he was without Kouyou, leaving Atsushi to briefly wonder where the woman could be, before quickly dismissing the thought. Atsushi figured he probably didn’t want to know.
“Good evening, Chuuya-san!” Atsushi greeted as the man plopped into a seat in front of him. “What can I get for you tonight?”
“I’ll just have some water again,” Chuuya replied. “I have work again after this, Ane-san was just a bit worried and wanted me to check up on you.”
Atsushi smiled at the sentiment, grabbing an empty glass and pouring water into it. “Let her know I’m feeling fine, and thank her for her concern for me, please?” He then added on as a curious second thought, “How is work going?”
Chuuya groaned as Atsushi set the glass of water on the table. “Not very well. One of my subordinates is trying to find an ability user for a bounty and he’s starting to get impatient. He can’t find whoever it is, and the Boss is starting to put more pressure on him.”
Atsushi subconsciously tensed. He was aware that the Port Mafia was looking for him, but he didn’t know that the one looking for him was Chuuya’s subordinate. I wonder how Chuuya would react knowing the bounty is the one serving him his drinks.
“Are you supposed to be telling me this, Chuuya-san?” Atsushi absently questioned.
Chuuya held a thoughtful look on his face for a moment before he shrugged. “Probably not, but at this point the whole ordeal isn’t exactly a secret. I’m sure by now, that bastard Dazai has already found the ability user and warned them,” Chuuya sighed. “but I think we’re close to finding them either way.”
Atsushi hoped Chuuya didn’t notice how much he was sweating out of nervousness. “Well, good luck with that then.” No! Bad luck!
Chuuya swirled his glass in his hand. His mood seemed more subdued than the previous times Atsushi had seen the man.
“I know this doesn’t mean a lot coming from me, given my line of work, but I can tell you’re a good kid, Atsushi.” Chuuya leaned back a bit, not looking directly at Atsushi, instead looking over his head. He took a sip from his water before continuing. “I’ve only talked to you a few times, but I can already tell that and that you have the self worth of an ant with Dazai’s suicidal tendencies, packed into one hell of a savior complex.”
“I’m just worried something will happen to you that’s irreversible. You should take care of yourself, Atsushi.”
Atsushi didn’t know what to say to that. He could have grumbled about being compared to Dazai, or even denied the fact about suicidal tendencies and self-worth issues… But instead he just asked,
“Chuuya-san, did you somehow manage to get drunk off of water?”
Now Chuuya looked at him, surprised, before bursting into laughter that filled the room. Atsushi smiled at this, but frowned inwardly.
Worthless boy, a dark part of his mind whispered to him. He may have left the Headmaster, but the Headmaster never left him. Now look at what you’ve done.
It was the dark part of his that he refused to acknowledge properly. But with Chuuya calling up older memories that he tried his best to bury, he didn’t know how much time he had before he was forced to face it properly.
Atsushi swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Chuuya gave him a concerned look but said nothing. “You know, that’s similar to what I told a regular at my other job earlier today.” Atsushi mentioned. “I hope this doesn’t make me a hypocrite, haha.”
Chuuya tilted his head. “Maybe you should listen to your own advice, in that case.”
He drank the rest of his water, setting the glass down on the counter. “Well, I’ll be off. See you.”
Atsushi watched Chuuya leave the bar, a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe Chuuya was onto something here. He knows what he said to Kunikida back then, that it was good for Kunikida to hesitate, but what about Atsushi? Did he think it was okay if it was him who died?
By no means did Atsushi want to die, he didn’t want to throw his life away, but he wasn’t sure if he cared if he died. If he died saving someone, then did it matter if he was gone?
Atsushi didn’t want to die, but he didn’t care if he did.
Worthless boy, the Headmaster’s voice whispered into his ear, You’ll only ever be a worthless piece of scum in an orphanage.
Shut up. Atsushi hissed back, shoving the thoughts down into the trenches of his mind. He needed to focus on work, not whatever this was turning out to be. He took a deep breath, steadying himself and his mind. He swallowed the lump of nerves that returned to his throat, before returning to his job of serving the customers.
He had an uneasy feeling walking back to the dorm once his shift was over. The streets were basically empty, a complete contrast to how they were when he was walking from the cafe. Most of the buildings around him had closed for the night, given the time. Despite having walked through this area time and time again, at this time of night, there was something that unsettled him.
He picked up his pace, speed walking back in the direction of the dorm, quickly opening the door and entering, closing and locking it behind him. He hoped he didn’t wake Kyouka up when he entered.
He turned around, finding Kyouka still fast asleep. He sighed in relief, thinking that maybe he was nervous for nothing.
–
1 week later
There was a knock on Chuuya’s office door. “Come in.”
Akutagawa entered the office shortly after Chuuya’s call, holding a piece of paper with a photograph attached. He closed the door behind him, hearing it click shut, but still stood by the door. “Chuuya-san, we found the weretiger.”
Chuuya became a little more attentive. “Really? Show me.” Akutagawa approached the desk and placed the piece of paper down, turning it so it faced Chuuya. The first thing that caught his attention was the photograph, which held a face that was all too familiar to him.
His breath hitched in his throat. He quickly flipped the photograph up, seeing that the paper underneath held the details of the ability user.
Name: Nakajima Atsushi
Chuuya felt like laughing out loud. To think that, just earlier, the man was telling the weretiger about his own bounty.
I need to get the Boss to ditch this bounty.