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Fukuzawa found the recruit similar to Atsushi. He didn’t have outwardly abilities like the tiger, but he was a skilled sword fighter and for some reason, he found it more than one time trying to reach for his katana when he knew he didn’t have it with him all day.
Kamado Tanjirou was a proficient warrior of fifteen years old. The youngest of them all and a “sweet little thing” as Dazai called him. Of course, he had traumas.
He had felt it at night between the threads that joined him to the other Agency workers and between the whispered sounds Tanjirou made. He was always calling Nezuko—a poor girl who was his sister.
He had seen Ranpo carefully mask slipping when the teenager smiled at him or beamed at his cleverness. Tanjirou knew how to flatter older men, but at the same time, he knew how to fight and insult them if the situation needed it.
Even Atsushi looked younger than the teenager. Always protecting, always doing the necessary for the Agency. Also, he had gained a duel partner which was a win-win in his head, as Dazai liked to repeat. Double prize.
“I would love to be like you, Fukuzawa-sensei,” Tanjirou said with the sweat falling through his temple and on his chest, staining his mismatched haori.
Fukuzawa just snorted at that comment and nodded his head. The boy didn’t need to be like him. His technique was polished and the hard training Tanjirou told him he had done before amazed him too. Another peculiar thing was that the kid chatted endlessly with Kenji. The two were country boys.
Atsushi was shy at first, but then he gained some kind of trust with the teenager, and eventually, they had sleepovers in their rooms. Tanjiro was often training in the morning, and Dazai whined endlessly about it. “Told him something. We don’t accept overworking persons in the Agency. We have Kunikida for that. It was six in the morning and Tanjirou-kun was already awake.”
Ranpo scratched his head. “I don’t care. He bought me sweets.” Kunikida was listing something in his notebook. “Kunikida changed his ideal for Tanjirou.” All the detectives snickered after hearing that, and he escaped blissfully the smack on the forehead Dazai received for him.
“Do you need help, Kunikida-san?” Tanjirou asked with a smile, which everyone who wasn’t in a good mood despised.
“Oh, yes! Tanjiro-kun. I have a mission for you.” Dazai scrambled out of his feet with a piece of paper on one of his hands. The boy flinched when he heard his voice, and Ranpo smirked. He was sure that the mission was something prepared especially for the new detective just to test him.
The teenager was too polite and it irked something deep in Dazai. He didn’t know if it was his old Mafia teaching style. He wanted to protect Atsushi. He didn’t want to ruin him, but with Tanjirou everything was different. The boy was naive, but had an acute personality and while he had a strong saviour complex, he wasn’t that stupid to fool.
It was a little surprise for Akutagawa. He needed to stay sharp. Tanjiro thought that it wasn’t that different from the Slayer corps. He had missions from that suspicious Dazai guy, but Atsushi had assured him he was nice.
It wasn’t, in fact, nice. Some people were worried about a little boy using a real sword. He was with Atsushi too, when they found Akutagawa on his free day with shop bags in both of his hands. His partner said that it was usual to find the dog of the Mafia there. Tanjirou didn’t say anything, but he didn’t like the term “dog” to refer to a person in a bad way, it didn’t matter if he was from the Mafia or whatever.
So, when Akutagawa let a bag slip on the floor accidentally, he went trotting to him and grabbed the shopping bag which had a sweet-scent. It was probably some pastries or clothes from the women’s shop. The man flinched and narrowed his eyes. “I am sorry! I didn’t want to startle you. This is yours.” Tanjirou said politely and Akutagawa blinked twice before looking at his surroundings.
Atsushi was hiding in an alley and winced when he saw the little chat between them. His rival was courteous and polite when he wasn’t speaking to a potential enemy and Tanjirou was really compassionae. Akutagawa didn’t smile, but he nodded his head and gripped the bag.
After the man left, Tanjirou tried to smell for his partner, but there were too many scents. Also, the shopping bag had a strong fragrance. There was a thread of Atsushi other form, because the man was a beast. A beautiful and giant beast. The first time he saw it, he was stunned by it. Everyone had abilities and he didn't. It didn’t matter if he was a good swordsman. It wasn’t enough. He noticed that Ranpo didn’t have any “powers” but his intelligence was superior to everyone he had known.
Some time later, he reunited with Atsushi again, the boy took him by his shoulders. “You shouldn’t do that! You don’t know with Akutagawa when he is going to gut you out.” He exclaimed like it was a really pressing matter and he could understand, really. But it wasn’t a big deal at the moment.
“But they were gifts! And he didn’t do anything to me.” Tanjirou said rapidly and they started walking past the streets to the place they had to go. Dazai didn’t tell any of them the details, but Tanjirou knew that the man was hiding something, even if Atsushi didn’t want to acknowledge it.
They arrived late to the Agency, but some of them were there, including Ranpo, Dazai and Kunikida. Kyoka and Yosano were in a café, or at least that was what one of them said. Kunikida choked on his spit when he saw Tanjirou drenched in blood and the sword in one of his hands. He was smiling brightly and a pale-faced Atsushi was behind him.
“Red colour suits you, Tanjirou-kun.” Dazai said, framing his face with his hands and looking at him dreamily.
“It’s your fault, Dazai! He thought the man was a demon and tried to cut his head. I had to stop him!” Atsushi yelled, closing his eyes and Ranpo snickered.
“...Thanks you, Dazai-san!” Tanjirou mumbled, sporting the blood like it was nothing out of normalcy. Dazai smirked, he was enjoying it too much. Riling up Atsushi-kun was so easy.
“Tanjirou, if you wanted to kill demons, you should have joined The Port Mafia.” Ranpo said with a gleam in his eyes.
Tanjirou turned around. “Okay! I will!”
Kunikida and Atsushi widened his eyes and stole glances between each other. The older man taped Dazai’s mouth and Atsushi did the same with Ranpo. “You did well today, Tanjirou. Go have a shower.”
Tanjirou nodded and left the scene. He heard the argument his friends had over him.
—…He was even nice to Akutagawa!
—... Really, Atsushi-kun?! Tell me more!
He giggled for a few seconds and after the shower he found himself in Fukuzawa’s office. The man was finishing his paperwork and sipping tea quietly. When he heard the teenager, he raised his head with a smile on his lips and offered to sit beside his seat. Tanjirou was sleepy, because he ended up leaning his head on the other’s shoulder.
Atsushi came to collect his partner for the day and the boy was pure muscle, but he almost weighed nothing for him. His head was falling off his chest, so he carried him in a bridal style to his room.
Tanjirou probably forgot that they were going to watch movies. Nezuko was waiting for them with her big eyes and ended up caressing his brother’s head. For his part, he ended up seeing the movie with the girl as company and a tired smile decorated his lips when he remembered the other teenager's gentleness.