Chapter Text
Mori Ougai, former Port Mafia boss turned orphanage director, has no idea how he ended up in the middle of the Great War.
Even weirder was the fact the Great War ended 15 years ago, and he somehow looked like his 26 year old self when he clearly remembered being over 40.
Oh yeah, there's also the child he traumatised during that time.
Yosano Akiko, ability: Thou shalt not die. Her ability allows her to heal anyone with life threatening injuries. He once tried to use her ability for his "Immortal Regiment" plan, a plan that would effectively make those under his command basically invincible. It's unfortunate that the mental strain on both her and the soldiers were too much for them to bear, and the fact his old friend ended their alliance to prevent him from taking her in.
Back to the strange present, she didn't look at him with fear like she did back then, though the exhaustion of the war still haunts her.
That child would break even without his influence, and the war would be lost even with her ability. He might as well take her in while he figures out what circumstances dragged him into this time, perhaps he can successfully turn her into a mafioso this time.
No manipulation though, Dazai would surely break the space time continuum just to slit his throat if he dares to even touch the young girl again.
The blank look on his ward's eyes as a knife is pressed against his throat will forever be engraved in his memory.
"Let's make a deal, shall we? Surely you don't want to die in such a painful way by your own student's hands, Mori~" he smiled, but it was so obviously fake that he probably knows he's not fooling anyone, let alone Mori.
He knew he didn't have a choice, he was the one who taught him to back an enemy into making a deal, after all.
Where did it all go wrong? But surely he knew, the moment he decided to treat that child as a tool, a tool he thought would never turn against him.
He was truly a fool, huh?
“I don't want to use my ability anymore! I don't want to see their anger when they realise the war still hasn't come to an end! I…I never wanted this..."
"Then leave"
"....what?"
"Leave the army, escape with me. The government is too concerned with the war to pursue two escaped soldiers, it's the perfect time to leave"
"But- but what about everyone else? I don't want to use my ability, but I don't want to see them die either! I-"
"Do you think the government will care? Do you think they care about a few lives that will be lost? They only care about your ability, Akiko. It's the only reason why this division was dispatched and ordered to fight an unwinnable battle. It's the only reason why they were sent to their deaths again and again"
"Akiko, leave, tell the government that you refuse to be their tool, tell them you are worth more than your ability, that your ability doesn't really matter."
"But…what will happen to them if I leave?"
"Who knows, maybe they'll still be sent to their deaths anyway, or maybe they'll be withdrawn from battle. Either way, it is still a better outcome than if you stayed"
"..."
"Akiko, you have a kind heart. Your kindness is far more important than your ability, but the government won't see that. So leave, leave with me and use your kindness to help others"
"...Am I truly kind enough for that? After everything? Will I…find a place to belong?"
"You are, and you will find a place for your kindness. I don't know where that place will be, but I shall help you find it."
Mori Ougai, former soldier and now legal(?) guardian of one Yosano Akiko.
Thinking back on it now, it probably isn't a good idea to mention how little worth they are in the government's eyes, but the speech Fukuzawa's own ward once said helped her decision to leave, both back in the previous timeline and in the current one.
Right. The timeline. He still had no idea why he's here, but he might as well make the most of it. He only hope that time is unaffected back there, otherwise Atsushi would think he was abandoned again.
Atsushi…he was likely still stuck in that orphanage, but it's impossible to get him out alone, not when the past current director is also a former soldier.
That director…he can't wait to kill the bastard himself this time.
Future murder plans aside, he managed to secure an underground clinic and made Akiko his assistant alongside Elise. Seems like the underworld was still familiar, with or without the chaos the war brings.
And Elise, who very much looked like an adult.
It isn't strange to Mori, who saw her as an adult after his…last encounter with Dazai, but is very strange to Akiko, who saw her look much younger before this.
He had to explain his ability to Akiko, without mentioning the fact Elise's appearance depended on his current interest in women.
Again, he would much rather not risk meeting a Dazai breaking the space time continuum if he even thinks about touching Akiko, no thank you.
But it ended up leading to this particular topic.
"Weren't you the one who dragged me to join the military in the first place? Why change your mind" Akiko said.
He did, didn't he?
Unfortunately, he can't just tell her he's from a completely different time where he was so frightened by his own protege that his liking towards young girls had been completely abandoned, nobody would believe that , so he wisely said "People change over time"
"And because Rintarou has grown soft now" Elise added, completely ruining his nonexistent image.
She's not wrong, he had grown soft towards children after his time as an orphanage director.
It was still mostly his fear of Dazai, though.
And continuing to avoid the wrath of one Dazai Osamu, he refused to treat Akiko as a tool and decided to treat her as his daughter.
Turns out impulsively deciding to be a parental figure is probably the worst-best thing he's done.
On one hand, Akiko is very traumatised and requires comfort that he himself has no idea how to give, especially when she stares blankly at the wall and doesn't even register his existence.
(Which is a look that is far too familiar and too alike to his previous ward)
That ended up in a journey through the Internet and looking up guides on how to raise children along with how to deal with trauma.
And, hm. Perhaps he isn't as mentally stable as he thought he was.
He pushed that thought away before he can think too much about it.
On the other hand, there is a warm feeling in his chest when Akiko finally smiled for the first time in a long time, when she doesn't have that broken look on her face.
It's the same feeling he felt when Atsushi smiled for the first time after the death of his mentor.
He doesn't know what to think of that feeling. He decides to shove that thought back into a safe in the back of his mind.
He didn't even did anything special for Akiko, merely bringing her to a secluded park when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
He never knew the interest in the fleeting life of the flowers, but his research mentioned that girls are quite fond of them, so here they are.
The research was indeed correct, and Akiko does seem to like the flowers. That small, genuine smile on her face is one he will treasure for a lifetime.
"Hey, Mori, thank you, for everything"
"..."
"..."
"...Rintarou"
"Huh?"
"Rintarou. My real name is Mori Rintarou. I'd prefer it if you call me that"
"...So that's why Elise always call you that"
"Why would you focus on that part instead?!"