Work Text:
“Kuuunikiiida-kuun~” Dazai mewled, pressing his cheek up against his, “What’s this case?”
Kunikida who had tried to, for once, hide something from his nosy partner quickly realised how impossible that was. It hadn’t even been a minute since he’d been officially assigned and yet he was already being pestered. It would have been fine if it were any old case but, of course, the one time Dazai was actually interested in work, was the only time Kunikida didn’t want him involved. Dazai had a habit of that — only being useful at the times Kunikida counted on his uselessness. He had the impressive, albeit irritating and terrifying, ability to show up only when you didn’t want him to. He was impossible to evade when he set his sights on something but that something was always the one thing you didn’t want him to touch. The case file in Kunikida’s hands was one of those things.
“It’s a boring one, I didn’t think you’d be bothered to help.”
“I heard it’s nothing but a little petty theft…”
Kunikida’s shoulders tensed a bit. “What’s it to you?”
“No trace of any gifted either… No casualties… Just regular, plain-old, robbery… Not even any forced entry…”
“Where did you even get that information?!”
“Why would Kunikida-kun fuss over something so mundane that the general police could even solve…” Dazai hummed, thinking out loud.
Kunikida was sweating, feeling the way Dazai got closer and closer to the truth without him even speaking a real word. Kunikida’s skin was crawling knowing the cogs in Dazai’s brain whirred. He didn’t even know why he’d bothered trying to hide it. That was the thing about Dazai, all information was public information to him, which was infuriating when he himself was so enigmatic. He was a right hypocrite. He’d known Kunikida’s character within a few moments of them meeting and abused that knowledge ever since, while remaining a liar and ghost.
“Because he knew the victim!” Dazai perked up with the realisation.
“I—”
“But it couldn’t be just anyone… You’d be interested if it were a dear friend or someone you’re close with but you wouldn’t go through the effort to hide it from me if it were Katai-kun or someone similar… That means…” Kunikida gulped, realising he was fresh out of luck. “I haven’t met them… They’re close to you… You’d prefer it if I never met them…” Dazai thought for only a moment longer before he smiled brightly, “Your mother! It’s your mother, isn’t that right, Kunikida-kun?”
“How did—?!” Kunikida caught his tongue, “How did you come to such a ridiculous conclusion?” he corrected.
“Are you telling me I’m wrong?”
“W… Well, I—” Dazai stared right into his soul and even if he didn’t, Kunikida had never been very good at keeping up a facade. He sighed, “You know the answer to that…”
Dazai grinned, “I knew it, I knew it! Aw, so cute of you to be worried over your dear mother, Kunikida-kun! So sweet!”
“She’s my mother! It’d be heinous to not worry…”
“You’re very right, Kunikida-kun. What a dutiful son.”
Kunikida groaned, incredibly uncomfortable. “Shut your mouth…”
“When are we going to the crime scene?!”
“ We are not going anywhere. I’m going to the crime scene and you are staying put and doing nothing like you’re so good at!”
“No, no, no, that’s no fair!”
“I’m giving you actual permission to mess around all day and you’re fighting me on it?!”
“Would you believe me if I’d suddenly turned over a new leaf and suddenly want to dedicate my life to diligently working like you do?”
“Not for a second!”
“Aw, don’t you trust me anymore, Kunikida-kun?” Dazai pouted.
“I’m not an idiot, don’t treat me like one!”
“I’m not lying to you when I say I suddenly have interest in this case!”
“I have no interest in indulging your interest!”
“Kunikiiida-kuuuun~,” Dazai whined.
“Shut up!”
“Wait ‘til the President hears you’re telling me to slack off! He trusts you to look after me, Kunikida-kun. Imagine how disappointed he’d be to hear you won’t even let me help on a case after you’ve spent so much time working to motivate me…”
Kunikida felt his eye twitch. “You’re not… You wouldn’t complain to the President about me.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
“He wouldn’t take you seriously!”
“Are you willing to take that bet?”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Let me work the case with you!”
“One day I’m going to kill you with my bare hands, you know.”
“And until that day, you’ll tolerate me and let me work this case, right?”
Kunikida held his breath, puffing out his cheeks in anger. It was true that it was bad of him to be an active obstacle in Dazai’s attempts at work even if he knew those attempts were only for selfish and mischievous reasons. More than he was smart, Kunikida was proper, and Dazai knew that. Even if he saw directly through Dazai— Even if Dazai wasn’t even making the effort to hide his true goals, it didn’t mean he could suddenly discourage him from doing the very thing he wished he’d always do. It was inconvenient for him and it was embarrassing for him but that had never been an excuse before…
“F… Fine…” Kunikida said, closing his eyes tight to spare himself from the expression of utter joy he knew Dazai would be making.
“Yipee!” Dazai cheered, pushing his seat back from Kunikida and spinning around in it. Kunikida knew the purchase of wheely chairs was a stupid one. “Shall we go now, Kunikida-kun?”
“No!” Kunikida said, “I need to… I need to brief you.”
“On what? I already know all the details of the case.”
“No, it’s… about my mother…” Kunikida bit at the inside of his cheek anxiously.
“Kunikida-kun, I doubt I could embarrass you any more than she could.”
“That’s not it!” Kunikida huffed.
“Then what, Kunikida-kun?” Dazai shuffled his chair back to Kunikida’s side.
“She… There may be one, minor issue with investigating…” Kunikida said. Dazai tilted his head, imploring him to continue. “She… well…”
“Spit it out! You can’t build intrigue forever!”
“She doesn’t know I’m a detective!” Kunikida said.
There was just a brief moment of silence. A moment where Kunikida anticipated the worst and Dazai stopped to process. Kunikida slowly lifted his head to gauge Dazai’s reaction. Either this was going to be just a single minor inconvenience or, paired with Dazai, it would be the biggest disaster he had ever faced. It all depended on how cruel Dazai was feeling today.
Dazai let the silence drag on just long enough before he began to laugh. His usual playful chuckle. It wasn’t the ideal response, but Kunikida had heard that laugh so much it was almost a comfort. It didn’t give away his intentions but… maybe he would be kind.
“Why would you hide something so extreme from her, Kunikida-kun? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly the expert on the matter, but it feels as though this would be important, no?”
“It’s complicated!”
“So, what does she think you do?”
“She still thinks I’m teaching… It’s safer for her to think that… Say the wrong thing to the wrong person and she’s a hostage. No one’s kidnapping the mother of an algebra teacher — There’d be no benefit to that. Plus, a maths teacher isn’t someone you have to fear for every day they go to work… It’s… I’m not hiding from her, I’m protecting her…”
“Tell yourself whatever you want, Kunikida-kun — you’re lying to her.”
“I’m not! I’ve just… never corrected her.”
“A lie of omission is still a lie. Have you been using me as a role model? I’m flattered, Kunikida-kun!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Just kidding,” Dazai chuckled, “You’ve been lying to her before you even met me, huh.”
“Dazai—!”
“So, what’s our cover story, Kunikida-kun? Am I your TA? Former student? Current student?”
“You’re older than me! And I’d never be so unprofessional as to take a student — former or current — to my childhood home— Who do you think I am?”
“Should I dress up all pretty and pretend to be your wife?”
“How many lies are you expecting me to tell?! No! You’ll be my coworker! Same as real life!” Kunikida said, “This isn’t a game or an improv activity! We’re just checking up on her. And seeing if we can find any clues while we’re there… If you’re so insistent on coming you have to be serious, Dazai. I’m not going to tolerate any nonsense.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I’ll be good. I’ve never known mischief in my life — Mischief and I are more estranged than we are lovers.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
Dazai didn’t answer to that. He just grinned.
The car ride was painful as Kunikida desperately wanted to walk Dazai through exactly how the day should go — a minute by minute, play by play recount of events that hadn’t happened yet. But he knew that the second he revealed any of his plan, Dazai would do everything in his power to disrupt it. It was a terrible plan but, at the moment, Kunikida’s plan was to improvise around Dazai and his mother’s behaviour. It was so anxiety inducing that he was sure he’d never gripped the steering wheel so tightly. But there was little else he could do.
They pulled up in front of his old home and sat in the car for a minute. As Dazai went to exit, Kunikida quickly locked the doors. Dazai looked up at him and tilted his head.
“What, are you kidnapping me?” Dazai asked.
“Dazai, I…” This was a bad idea. Kunikida was regretting everything. “I know I ask a lot of you and maybe some of you is right to ignore some of it, but god, if you’ve been saving your obedience for something please, I’m begging you to indulge in it now.”
“Kunikida-kun?”
“I am not one to beg, you know I’d rather just overpower you but… just this once…” Kunikida scrunched his eyes tightly, hoping for once that his words didn’t fly straight through Dazai’s empty head. “I don’t know if you understand how delicate family relationships like this are… If you don’t, I need you to trust me and… just listen… And go along with whatever I say… Please let me hear you agree.”
“I do trust you,” Dazai said, easily. “If you’re so serious about it, I promise I won’t rock the boat. Do you trust me?”
Kunikida sighed. “Despite myself, I do… Come on, then.”
Kunikida unlocked the doors and they exited the car. Dazai followed closely and quietly. He really had no intention of disturbing anything — if Kunikida wanted to keep secrets, that was his business. But he was just so curious. He was so curious what on Earth led to the way Kunikida was. His parents didn’t answer for everything but they’d certainly answer for something.
Kunikida rang the doorbell and held his breath. He clenched his jaw as there was a shrill squeaking noise that they heard from all the way outside. The sound of footsteps resounded, even faster than Kunikida’s heartbeat, if that was possible. The door clicked and opened and not even Dazai was prepared for the way she shot out and into Kunikida’s arms. Kunikida stumbled backward, doing his best to brace himself against the sudden weight that attached herself to him.
“Po-kun!” her voice was loud. Dazai thought it may have been deafening if he was in Kunikida’s position.
“M-Mama!” Kunikida tried to scold but couldn’t gain the courage to. He hugged her back as he tried returning her to her feet.
“You can still carry me! Still diligent about your strength and health, hmm?” she said.
“Y… Yes…”
“You’re too reliable, Po!” she laughed, “You make us all look bad!”
“Sorry…”
“Ah! A friend?! You didn’t say you were bringing someone — Oh, Doppo! Who is this?” Her attention was all on Dazai now. It didn’t even seem like she heard Kunikida’s brief apology.
“Dazai Osamu. He’s a coworker.”
“Lovely to meet you—!” Dazai seized up as Kunikida’s mother gave him a similar treatment to her own son. She squeezed him tight. Dazai did everything he could not to throw up immediately. He was so unused to contact like this it was… unwelcome… to put it kindly. Despite that, he didn’t push her away — whether it was due to the paralysis he settled into or an attempt at kindness was unclear.
“Kaasan!” Kunikida found his usual voice. “There’s a time and a place! You don’t know him!”
She let Dazai go, rubbing his shoulder in some sort of apology. “Dazai-kun! You’ll forgive me, won’t you? I just haven’t seen my sweet Doppo in so long… He neglects me sometimes — he’s selfish — He does nothing half way and yet it takes him months sometimes to visit me. I’m just excited. You understand. Don’t you?”
“As kind as he is, it can sometimes be hard to get that kindness out of him, no? I understand,” Dazai said, trying to smile.
“Eh?!” she exclaimed, “What kindness is he showing you?! Are you playing favourites, Po-kun? Where are you hiding your heart from your own mother?! Why hide it so far from me?”
“I’m not hiding anything!” Kunikida answered, all too defensively. “Are you inviting us in or have you forgotten how to smother people?”
“See?! What’s with that tone?! So intense…” she sighed, “Well, it can’t be helped. Inside. Quick, quick.”
They were ushered inside and the door was shut and locked behind them. Dazai was quickly confronted with a cluttered place, full of family photos and things with no place. This was exactly what Dazai had imagined a childhood home to look like. As intimidating as it was to intrude on such a special place, there was some part of him that was excited to be here.
“How do you know each other?” they were asked, “Po-kun’s not exactly known for making good friends. The only one he’s really kept is poor Katai-kun, who’s somehow more hopeless than he is.”
“Please…” Kunikida sighed.
“We work together,” Dazai tried to help.
“Oh? Really?”
“Yep! Kunikida-kun’s taken great care of me as his junior. My transition into the uh… back into school has been practically seamless.”
“You’re only good to people when they don’t have authority over you, huh, Po?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I respect who I’m expected to respect.”
“Tell me, Dazai-kun, is it expected of a son to respect his own mother?”
Dazai blinked for a moment. He eventually settled into an awkward smile. “I’m sure I’m not the one to answer something like that,” he said.
He hadn’t meant to make everyone go quiet but he supposed he should have thought before saying something ambiguous like that. He had almost no memories of his own mother. But that wasn’t something you just brought up out of the blue.
“Oh,” she quieted down quickly.
“Don’t take your frustration out on Dazai, please,” Kunikida said.
“I’m not frustrated!” she insisted, “I’m just happy you’re here!”
“Yeah… Sounds like it,” Kunikida said through gritted teeth. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll take care of Dazai-kun in the meantime. Follow me, dear, I’ll make us some tea, hmm?”
Kunikida gave Dazai a look and Dazai knew that meant he had to stall. Dazai thought that maybe he’d be the one doing the investigating while Kunikida caught up with his mother but it seemed the idea of Dazai snooping around, plus the fact that Kunikida’s mother could be a bit intense, meant this was the ideal plan for him. He was counting on the fact that Dazai was a good liar. He couldn’t trust much about Dazai but that was because he was just as good at lying as Kunikida counted on.
“So, you teach, Dazai-kun?”
“I do, yes.”
“What subject?”
“Oh, I’m in the literature department.”
She giggled, “That really suits you.”
“Does it?”
She nodded. “Not sure what it is but something about you — I can see literature means a lot to you.”
“I’m not used to revealing my hand so quickly. You’ve got a good eye, Kunikida-san,” he forced a smile.
“What’s your favourite book, if you have one?”
“Oh, um…” He reached for an answer. It didn’t matter to him if it was true or not he just needed something to say and that wouldn’t beg too many questions. But he couldn’t find anything much.
He sighed a little. “Well, it’s… A friend of mine was a writer. He never finished it but it’s one of his novels. That was my favourite,” he said.
“You’re such a beautiful soul,” she smiled at him. “I’m sure that makes your friend very happy.”
“I hope so.”
“You know, I’ve always found it so funny that Po is so in love with maths and science. He has an artist’s heart, really. He’s always been sensitive; it’s what makes him a good teacher.”
“Yeah, he’s a sweetheart, isn’t he?”
She nodded with a fond smile. “You know he writes poetry? Or he did growing up — I’m not sure he still does.”
“It’d make sense if that’s what he’s filling his notebook with all the time,” Dazai giggled, “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
She was much easier to talk to when she wasn’t battling for Kunikida’s attention. There was no mystery to where Kunikida’s intensity came from. Nor was it a mystery to where his incredible capacity to love so much it became more of a burden than anything else came from.
“His stubbornness makes him a good teacher too, though,” Dazai said, “It’s absolutely maddening but… most of the time he does know what’s best. It’s endearing to see him fight for it so ardently.”
“I’m glad he’s not so violent about it anymore — That was never a recipe for good things…”
“Violent? Really?”
“Sometimes… You’re right it’s endearing to see him fight for what he believes but it becomes scary when it could impact their future. He was almost expelled in high school… And then left university early too… I’m glad one of his old teachers took him in and set him up. He’s so strong but so fragile, I’m not sure he would have survived without it. At a certain point I didn’t know how to help him. It was authority that stifled him… Whether I liked it or not I was a figure of that too. He was never wrong… But the world he wished for was so beautiful it couldn’t ever exist…”
“I had no idea about that…”
“It’s very easy to see him as nothing but a stickler for the rules but… Well, he isn’t at all. It’s his rules that he creates and enforces so intensely. If something’s unjust or doesn’t make sense to him, he will not hesitate to push back against it… If someone couldn’t explain explicitly why a rule was in place he’d defy it without hesitation. But at the same time, if you try and get him to explain a few of his own rules, he doesn’t seem to be able to. It’s just what’s right to him. It’s funny watching himself tie himself in knots sometimes. He always saw my prodding as malicious though — It was never meant to be. But he’s just… he takes things too seriously sometimes… I wonder where he got that from…”
Dazai was going to speak. He’d known Kunikida’s nature fairly immediately even if he didn’t have the context behind it. He hadn’t needed to speculate about his past to predict his behaviour now and so he simply hadn’t. He knew Kunikida was serious and unwavering. But also that he was curious and childish — he was excited by possibilities even if they weren’t always relevant or plausible. He didn’t make time for kindness but it leaked out of him anyway as if he had just too much in him at all times, he couldn’t help it spilling over. His first instinct was always to care. Completely and entirely. It was a beautiful quality. And even if Dazai abused it, he never took it for granted. Dazai may have been pretending to be good at best but he wasn’t so evil so as to overlook that in Kunikida.
“Are you two done gossiping?” Kunikida said as he entered the kitchen.
“It’s not gossip if it’s true, is it?” his mother asked.
“Neither of you are exactly notorious for your sincerity…” Kunikida sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“Seriously, your mood is so foul!” she said, “I thought you’d be happy to see me!”
“I would be happy to see you if you hadn’t lied to get me here…” he said.
Dazai suddenly wished he hadn’t pushed so hard to join this case. It made sense the second Kunikida had said it. No forced entry, an intense mother who missed her even more intense son… She clearly loved him — Dazai couldn’t even imagine how much it hurt to be so far apart. But he’d also understood immediately why Kunikida had distanced himself. This wasn’t something Dazai should witness. He waited for Kunikida to give him the out he knew he would.
“Wh… What are you talking about?” Every ounce of falsified happiness could no longer be heard in her voice.
“On the police report you said your wedding ring was stolen. You’re wearing it right now.” She covered her hand as if it would erase the evidence. “You also said Tou-san’s old watch and that necklace I gave you for your birthday were gone. They were in your room. If they were going to steal from you, your laptop or something would have been a much better haul anyway. You lied to the police. And to me… Just because I hadn’t seen you in a while, is that right?”
She let her head fall forward, fringe covering her eyes. She stopped hiding the ring and let her hands fall to her sides as well. It was guilt in its most pure and obvious form.
“Dazai… Would you be fine walking back to the Agency?” Kunikida said, softly.
Dazai nodded. “Thank you for the hospitality.”
“It was nice to meet you, Dazai-kun…”
“Maybe we can get tea sometime,” he smiled.
“That sounds nice…”
Before he left he gave Kunikida a final look in case he wanted an out himself. Kunikida gave a nod. And with that, Dazai was gone.
“How did…” her voice was quiet, “The police report, how did you know what was on it?”
“Because I’ve been lying too,” Kunikida said.
She lifted her head, a semblance of redemption now within her sights. “What?”
“Now, I wasn’t breaking the law so I need you to understand there’s some discrepancy between our actions. I can’t believe you’d be so irresponsible— What would you have done if you got caught— You couldn’t afford a good enough lawyer— This was immature and reckless and you could have gone to jail, Mama! What were you thinking?!”
“You only care about me when I’m in danger — What else was I supposed to do?”
“God, just fucking call me?!”
“I have been calling! You’ve been busy! There’s always something more important than me and I was just…” Her hands were balled in fists, “Nothing I could say could make me the victim, could it?”
“You’re no victim. The fact that you have to make me worry — The guilt tripping— It’s… I do love you, Mama… But this was just… You’ve never gone this far— Never do something like this again…”
“I’m sorry…” she said. “But I can’t promise that unless you promise to visit me more.” She crossed her arms.
Kunikida felt his eye twitch, “N-No?! You’re not allowed to threaten me with your imprisonment!”
She continued to pout like a child.
“Do you seriously not see what’s wrong with that?!”
“Didn’t you say you were lying to me too?!” she snapped back, “I’d like to hear about that!”
“Are you not gonna actually apologise?!”
“I said I was sorry!”
Kunikida stopped and took a deep breath. He was so used to storming off to his room he almost got the urge to now. But he was an adult. And he couldn’t run forever.
“Okaasan. I’ll admit I’ve been avoiding you and that that wasn’t fair of me. But you are behaving like a child who isn’t getting her way. Do you know how hard it is to grow up when the person guiding you is half as mature as you are?! I love you. Of course, I do. But, god, please just for once realise you’re in the wrong… Please, Mama…”
“You’re not always right either…”
“Where do you think I learned that stubbornness from, huh?!”
She sighed and rolled her shoulders back. “I’m not immature…”
“Mama…”
“You’re so pushy! I am sorry, okay! I knew it was stupid the second I did it! But how could I take it back when it really was the first time you said you were coming over in months! I couldn’t come clean — You’d just have even more reason to ignore me! Is it… Do I really have to move on from my own son? Do I really have to let go of you — You’ve been part of me for so long, how could I just let you go?”
“You’re not letting me go, you’re letting me breathe…” Kunikida’s voice had softened, “I really have been busy…”
“Doing what? You’re not teaching anymore, are you?”
Kunikida shook his head.
“Are you with the police?”
“Sort of.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a detective with the Armed Detective Agency,” Kunikida said, “I solve crimes and save people with my ability…”
“For how long?”
“Months now…”
“Months?” she scoffed, “You’ve been lying to me for months?”
“N-No, I was still part time teaching too. I quit more recently.”
“And why didn’t you tell me?”
“I knew you’d worry…”
“You were lying to protect me?”
“Yeah…”
“Po, you idiot, parents lie to protect their kids, not the other way around.”
Kunikida gritted his teeth, “Yeah, I don’t know, maybe if I’d told you I have ties to the police you wouldn’t have tried to falsify a police report.”
She glared at him. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
“I’m sorry I lied. I know it was stupid.”
“I forgive you…”
“And are you going to say anything?”
“Don’t try to parent me. I’ve said everything already…”
“Right…” Kunikida sighed.
It was hardly a conclusion but, if nothing else, the two were stubborn. Kunikida had come over to spend the afternoon with his mother and that he would. Knowing he was coming, she’d prepared to make matcha cookies together and so they did. Their words to each other were few and far between and watching them work in this atmosphere would have made anyone shiver, but they were used to the cold; it didn’t bother them, anymore.
While he wasn’t going to subject Dazai to their feud, it was really only because Kunikida predicted exactly how it would go. No matter how many times they blew up at each other nothing changed — that included their love for each other. It didn’t matter how much either one of them messed up, loving each other was never in question. No matter the amount of times his mother complained about everything that was fundamental to Kunikida’s character and lifestyle, he knew she loved him. No matter the amount of times he defied her and ran away and undermined her parenting, he wouldn’t have ever wished for a different mother. She knew that too. They were as similar as they were different and it made it so hard to navigate. But the fact that they could scream at each other one minute and curl up next to each other on the couch and eat the cookies they baked together the next, was fine enough for the both of them.
“You kneaded the dough too long,” she said, casually.
“You put too much vanilla in…” he said back.
She took another bite. “They’re not bad though…”
“No, they’re alright…”
“You’ll take some home?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Maybe you can give some to Dazai-kun.”
“I don’t know if he likes matcha.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“Hmm… Yeah…”
“Did he lie to me too?”
“Yeah.”
“So, is he a teacher?”
“No, he’s my partner.”
She sat up, suddenly and blinked at him. “Partner?! Po?!”
“Detective partner!” Kunikida said quickly, in a fluster, “We’re partners at the Agency!”
“Oh…” she was clearly disappointed.
“Don’t make that face — I’d much rather kill him with my bare hands than pursue him like that…”
She let out a sigh that invited questions.
“What?”
“I’m pretty sure Dazai-kun is in love with you.”
“Mama!” Kunikida exclaimed, “Where on Earth did that come from?!”
“You don’t think so?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you have no idea what goes on in that man’s head — I don’t and I’ve been trying to figure it out for ages now… How could you possibly draw that conclusion after spending so little time with him?”
“Doppo, dear, have you never seen the way he looks at you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Like you’re heaven itself… When was the last time you got your eyes tested? Is your prescription still right?”
“Mama, please…” Kunikida sighed.
“I wouldn’t mind him as a son-in-law…”
“You’re jumping so many steps ahead! He’s not even in love with me for one! He makes my life a living hell everyday on purpose. He’s completely insane and an absolute pain to work with…”
“I suppose he is a little childish… Still pulling on girls' pigtails for attention… But I know you’re a good influence on him, sweetheart…”
“I’m stuck with him, I didn’t have a choice in the matter…”
“I think he might be a good influence on you too…”
“Huh?!”
She laughed to herself a little bit.
“I’m starting to think I should have never introduced you…” Kunikida sighed.
“Aw, don’t say that. I think we might get along.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly the problem…”
“Shut up and finish your cookie,” she said with a smirk.