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Atsushi usually takes pride in knowing how to handle many kinds of strange situations.
Having a suicide fanatic as his mentor? No big deal! Being hunted down by the Port Mafia? That's fine! Having his leg cut off twice? Just a matter of getting used to it! Forcing his rival to make a promise not to kill anyone in the span of six months, with the agreement that said rival would be allowed to try and kill him afterwards? Again, no biggie!
Since joining the Armed Detective Agency, Atsushi has seen a lot. So much, sometimes he thinks nothing could surprise him anymore. He's even dealt with scary women such as Kouyou Ozaki, Yosano Akiko and Lucy Montgomery! Really, Atsushi has seen it all. He is unphased, now, when he walks into the Agency's halls and sees Dazai attempting to commit suicide by fatal water intoxication. He is unphased , still, when he tries to finish his paperwork and has to endure listening to the Tanizaki siblings grope each other in public.
But nothing, nothing could ever prepare him to see his mentor be in love.
It happens one day, brutally— and when Atsushi thinks back on it, he also imagines he might be losing his mind. Okay, sure, Dazai rarely complained about the new peace treaty signed by the Agency and the Port Mafia. But Atsushi just thought it might have something to do with not wanting to disrespect the President's decision! He would've never guessed it was because of a. . .
A Mafia executive.
Bleh! The thought itself is enough to send shivers down Atsushi's spine. Not because of disgust, but moreso because of fear. Said Mafia executive is already strong enough to decimate organisations in the blink of an eye and fight magic dragons to the death, so if he was paired with Dazai's intellect? No. Simply terrifying.
(Unbeknownst to him, everyone else who's aware of Double Black's once reign of terror isn't surprised in the least. Atsushi just so happens to be the only one who was never warned about his mentor's ex-partnership.)
It all starts after a small offensive mission against a criminal group of ability-users trafickers. It's supposed to be quick and easy, but one of the leaders turns out to have powers as well, and when Kunikida and Tanizaki both end up tied up by the man's strange magic ropes, everyone else agrees to call for backup. When Atsushi dials Dazai's number, though, something strange happens.
As he dodges the whip-like ropes shot his way, he hears a telltale click and lets out a relieved breath. "Dazai-san! We need help, we've been—"
The good thing is that Dazai answers immediately. The bad thing is that the person who answers isn't Dazai at all.
"Attacked?" the voice on the other end of the phone guesses. It's a rough, loud kind of voice, but pleasing to the ear. It sounds like a singer's voice. "Where are you, right now?"
"Uh—" Atsushi nearly trips face down into the dirt, but he somehow manages to jump back to his feet. "Who—?"
"Doesn't matter. I'm tracking your location."
"But—?"
Atsushi's phone clicks. He stares in horror at his phone for a second, confusion bubbling in his mind, but he doesn't have the time to linger and think of what the heck just happened . Another glowing rope is thrust towards him, and it's only thanks to the tiger's reflexes that Atsushi manages to duck out of its range. The ability-user, a middle-aged man with greying black hair and cloudy silver eyes, laughs maniacally as he throws his ropes at the remaining Agency members.
Atsushi, Yosano and Kyouka are all doing pretty well, but even despite their skill, they're beginning to weaken. Running around without stopping for too long would tire anyone, obviously, and the ability-user seems to be very aware of that. When Atsushi finally trips over his feet — paws — and feels a rope latch onto his fluffy ankle, the man laughs so loudly he doubles over, almost looking like a middle school girl who's just received her dream gift.
Weakly, he attempts to cut the rope off with his nails — no, not nails, claws — but it's useless. They don't even sink into the fabric. Soon, he's all tied up as well, and thrown like a potato sack next to Tanizaki and Kunikida. They all look distressed. When Atsushi turns his head to the side to keep his eye on Kyouka and Yosano, he notices two dots of colour rapidly advancing towards them. At first, he doesn't dare hope, but the dots transform into silhouettes, and he would recognise Dazai's anywhere.
Despite running at full speed, Dazai looks to be peacefully chatting with his companion. He looks relaxed, almost, and when he notices that Atsushi is staring with his mouth half-open, he flashes a grin and waves. Atsushi has a hard time deciphering whether or not he's supposed to know the person running next to Dazai, but in the end he gives up. He looks to be a man, albeit a very pretty one, with his stylised fiery red hair and light blue eyes as bright as a meteor. The man is also sort of short, compared to Dazai, but then again— who isn't?
Kyouka and Yosano brilliantly dodge the ropes, but eventually the ability-user manages to throw them off balance by summoning yet another whip-like tendril. Atsushi winces, wondering just how long the two will be able to keep up a pace so frenetic, when he realises Dazai and the fedora-wearing man are finally here. Next to him, he hears Kunikida cough. Tanizaki freezes from where he's sat back-to-back with Atsushi.
"Executive Nakahara?!" Kunikida chokes out, his eyes widening, as Atsushi finally realises that this is the man he was talking to on the phone just now.
"Uh," he says dumbly, but it seems Executive Nakahara has no time for chitchat. The second his gaze settles on the mad ability-user, he lunges, and kicks him straight in the stomach.
No one has the time to react. Well, no one except Dazai, who, very tranquil, crouches down to his coworkers and unfastens their bindings. Yosano and Kyouka collapse on the ground together, catching their breaths. Atsushi cannot blame them at all. He has a hard time focusing on what Executive Nakahara is doing. The redhead moves so fast it's disorientating, but he never seems to lose his footing. One kick is dealt to the ability-user's shin, then another, and then one in-between his legs, and then the fight is over.
The greying man falls to the ground like a rock with a dull sound. Executive Nakahara dusts himself off like nothing just happens, looking almost bored, before turning around to walk towards the Agency members. Kunikida, Tanizaki and Atsushi finally free from the ropes, scramble to their feet. Kunikida immediately glares at Dazai. Atsushi can see the scolding coming from a mile away.
" Where were you, you idiotic waste of bandages?! Your coworkers were in need of your assistance, and you just go fooling around with an Executive of the Port Mafia?!" Kunikida yells, and raises his hand to give Dazai a good slap—
—Except it never lands.
Executive Nakahara holds the blonde's wrist with two fingers, no hint of emotion on his face, and flicks his hand away. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."
Atsushi flinches. The Executive glances towards him — he has to tilt his head up to do so, but Atsushi tries not to think about that. He doesn't know what to expect, but certainly not for the redhead to visibly soften the way he did.
"Ah, so that's you, the kid shitty Dazai keeps talking about," Nakahara hums, and Atsushi isn't sure if that's supposed to be a good thing or not.
Regardless, he nods, hesitant. "Y—You're the man who answered the phone."
"Sure am," Nakahara shrugs, "Dazai didn't want to get out of bed, the lazy fuck. Had to do it myself."
"Get out. . . of bed. . .?" Kunikida repeats slowly.
From the corner of his vision, Atsushi sees Tanizaki quickly get up and leave, checking on Kyouka and Yosano instead. He almost does the same, but before he can do anything, Dazai wraps an arm around his shoulder and beams.
"Very good control of your ability," he praises in lieu of an answer. "You're improving fast, Atsushi!"
"Uh, thank you, Dazai-san," Atsushi mumblers, his cheeks flushing.
Executive Nakahara barks out a laugh. Somehow, Atsushi doesn't feel like it's mocking. "Damn, what's with the change of attitude? You didn't treat Ryuu that way, that's for fucking sure."
Dazai blinks at him innocently, the corners of his lips twitching. "Different methods for different people, Chibi!"
"Ch. . . Chibi. . .?" Kunikida asks, even slower, gritting his teeth. "Dazai, why in hell are you fraternizing with the enemy?"
A sly smile forms on the brunette's lips as he reminds him, "There's a peace treaty, Kunikida-kun!"
Executive Nakahara elbows him in the ribs. Dazai doubles over, suddenly moaning in pain, and Atsushi isn't sure if he should defend his mentor or just ignore the interaction altogether.
"My stupid snail is so violent," Dazai says mournfully.
"Call me stupid once more and I'll make sure you won't ever be able to have children," Executive Nakahara threatens. Somehow, Atsushi believes that the menace is very real.
Dazai's eyes widen. "But, Chuuya! You always say it's my best attribu—"
In a blink, Dazai is kicked a couple meters away, Chuuya looking like he's either about to commit genocide or commit suicide. He stares at Atsushi. His eye twitches.
"We'll meet again."
Atsushi doesn't have the chance to speak; the redhead is already gone.
He scratches his head, the turns to Kunikida. "Um. What just happened?"
"I think it's best to forget this was ever real."
Atsushi agrees.
The next day, Atsushi is sitting at his desk doing paperwork when the entrance door suddenly bursts open. He startles, his instincts yelling at him to hide under the desk or turn into a tiger, and shrieks out loud. Next to him, Kyouka is on her feet in a second, a dagger — where did she even get that?! — in her hand.
Dazai leans his body to the side to get a better view. His face instantly lit up.
"Chibikko!" he exclaims.
All of the tension in the room disappears. Kunikida, who previously grabbed his notebook in case he needed to create a gun or any other weapon, lets out a deep sigh. Atsushi frowns at the door. There isn't anyone. . .?
But Kyouka's eyes widen slightly. She turns to him. "Executive Nakahara is here," she says.
"Again?!" Tanizaki shares a glance with Naomi. She just shrugs, like, just ignore it.
And then suddenly, somehow, Atsushi realises that the Port Mafia executive is already inside the Agency's building. In fact, Nakahara Chuuya is standing right besides him, looking over his shoulder as if to check his paperwork.
"That can't be right," he points out easily, "Look at that photo. This girl is, like, four feet nine. How could she reach that upper cabinet to take the knife? Unless she had a ladder, in which case, you'd need to go search the house again."
Atsushi can't do anything but stare, lips parted. He hadn't expected the executive to be so nice— but he certainly won't complain. He smiles brightly, encouraged by the gentle expression on Executive Nakahara's face.
"Thank you so much, Nakahara-san!"
"It's no problem, kid," he grins. "And just call me Chuuya. Honestly, honorifics are boring as shit."
Atsushi laughs at that. Chuuya raises a hand to ruffle his hair, and for some reason, Atsushi relaxes even further. Usually, he hates whenever anyone touches his head — anyone that isn't Dazai. He guesses it has something to do with his hair being brutally cut back when he was in the orphanage. But Chuuya, despite being a Port Mafia executive, seems. . . well, kind. Paternal, almost, with the way he softens everytime he looks at someone younger than him.
"Nakahara-san," Kunikida says sternly, "State your business here."
Chuuya rolls his eyes as he steps towards Kyouka. "Just checking in on the kids. Geez, stop looking at me like I'm gonna blow up the entire place."
"Hello," Kyouka mumbles when two blue eyes glanced down upon her.
"Yo," Chuuya grins. "Doing alright?"
"I—" she looks at Atsushi briefly. "Yes."
Chuuya seems satisfied with this answer. He rufflesd her hair as well, looking just as affectionate, before finally making his way to an expectant-looking Dazai. The brunette's pouting, arms crossed.
"I can't believe my dog ignored me in favour of petting his pups!"
Atsushi blushes. He shares a look with Kyouka and finds that she's just as flustered as he is. Being called Chuuya's pups was. . . well, embarrassing, but not just for one reason.
Chuuya tskes. "I didn't ignore you, you touch-starved stupid mackerel."
They regard each other for one, terrible second, before finally, Chuuya huffs and bends over to wrap his arms around Dazai's middle. Atsushi goes still. But Dazai relaxes into the touch like snow melting in the summer, burying his face in the crook of Chuuya's neck.
"Should I even ask anymore?!" Kunikida stammers, looking at Atsushi, Kyouka, then back at the two. . . partners? Lovers?
Tanizaki and Naomi wisely avoid his gaze. Atsushi just shrugs helplessly. He has no idea what is happening, no idea why his mentor is dragging a Port Mafia executive to sit on his lap, nor why they look so oddly lovey-dovey, but he can't help but be glad. Maybe it has something to do with Nakahara Chuuya's gentleness, but. . .
Dazai looks at peace.
And for Atsushi— well, that's just about enough.