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"Papa. Papa, c'mon!" Fumiya said, practically dragging Chuuya by the arm, "we're almost there, right?!"
"Yeah, we are, but can I have my arm back, please?"
Fumiya gave him a pout, but eventually let his arm loose so that she's not death-gripping it. "Papa should learn to walk faster," she mumbled to herself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" That innocent smile did nothing to convince Chuuya.
"Hmm… maybe we should go back home," Chuuya suggested with a shrug.
"What, no! I was just kidding. Papa, I swear!"
"What did I say about swearing?"
"'If the situation warrants it, then you can swear as much as you like'," Fumiya said, mimicking her father's tone of voice.
Chuuya rolled his eyes playfully at his daughter's antics. "The other thing," he said with a smile.
Fumiya thought and then made an "O" shape with her mouth. "That if I'm swearing, I have to cross my heart, never lie, stick a bullet in my eye."
Chuuya nodded firmly. "Exactly. So…"
"No swearing unless I say that?"
Chuuya scooped Fumiya up into a hug, and planted a kiss on top of her forehead. "That's my smart girl," he grinned. With that, he carried Fumiya the rest of the way to one of his favorite bookstores, thinking about how he got roped into this situation, which wasn't all that hard, considering that it's his daughter, and Chuuya is wrapped around her little finger.
Last night he had no Port Mafia duties, so he decided to spend it with his daughter, and things had been going pretty well: they played board games, they drew (Chuuya drew a dog, and Fumiya drew a night sky filled with stars and a moon), he made them dinner, and he was about to read her a story.
This was where things took a turn.
He went to go pick a story that they could read together, but when he picked out a book that they had read 50 times before (no, really, they are read this story 50 times before), Fumiya actually groaned and said "Not that one again," which had momentarily stunned Chuuya. This was one of her favorite books to read before bed, and now she's… complaining that he's going to read it.
"You don't want me to read this one?" he asked, just to make sure that he heard what he did.
"Noo, we read that one so many times!" she said to the ceiling.
"Alright, then how about this one?" he asked, pulling out a different book.
"No," Fumiya said firmly.
He pulled out another book. "This one?"
Fumiya shook her head.
"This one?"
Fumiya blew a raspberry at that choice.
" This one? "
He got an unimpressed stare in response.
They went on like this until Fumiya had no more books left.
"Papa, if you can't find a story to read, does this mean I can stay up late?!" Fumiya asked with a glint in her eyes.
Chuuya narrowed his eyes on her. "Was that your plan all along?" he asked suspiciously.
Fumiya, ignoring his question, leaned forward. "Does it?"
'This girl…'' he thought fondly, before scoffing and shaking his head. "Nice try, kiddo, but it's bedtime."
Fumiya pouted as she leaned back in bed. "Well, what about storytime?" she asked.
"How about this," he said as he sat on the edge of her bed, tucking her in gently, "I'll tell you a made up story tonight, and then tomorrow, we can go to a bookstore and you can pick out your own books for bedtime."
Fumiya's eyes lit up. "Promise?" she said, holding out her pinkie.
Chuuya grinned and linked his pinkie with hers. "I promise," he said, and gave their pinkies a firm shake. Fumiya giggled and started to get comfortable. Chuuya tucked her in, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Comfy?" Fumiya nodded. "Good, now did I ever tell you about the time that your Auntie Kouyou got some idiot to turn on his friends with just a needle…?"
As they walked in the bookstore, Chuuya's heart melted at Fumiya's reaction to the bookstore. "It's soo big, Papa!" she said quietly, as she spun around slowly to take in everything.
"It is pretty big, huh?" he agreed with a chuckle. "Let's see where the kids section is, yeah?"
Luckily, most of the kid books were on the first floor, with a few more shelves on the second, in case they didn't like the selection here. They both picked out a couple of selections, but Fumiya didn't seem interested in them, so they decided to go to the second floor, and hoped that they had better luck. As they were looking through the books there, Fumiya let out a defeated sigh. "Papa, I don't like these books," she said with a frown. She then looked down another aisle and saw someone holding a book that looked interesting, so she walked over to them and pulled on their pant leg gently. "Excuse me, but, whatcha readin?" she asked.
Sunset eyes looked down at the Fumiya, framed by asymmetrical white hair. A familiar set of eyes that made Fumiya's own gold yellow ones light up in recognition and happiness, as a smile crawled on her face. "'Sushi-san!" she cheered happily.
"Fumiya-chan? What are you-" Atsushi started but was cut off by another voice.
"Fumiya, there you are. What did I tell you about-" Electric blue eyes widened in shock before settling down into a more neutral look. "Nakajima?"
"Ah, Nakahara-san! I'm so sorry, I was-"
"Sushi-san was reading a book that I saw and I got curious!" Fumiya supplied.
Chua huffed softly and looked down at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "Rule #3 when we're outside?" he reminded her.
Fumiya deflated a bit and kicked her shoe against the carpeted floor. "Not to run off anywhere without telling you," she said sadly, but then she perked up as she remembered something. "Wait, but what about Rule #5?"
"Still needed to tell me, sweetheart."
"Oh… right," she said, then gave a slightly lopsided grin. "Papa, I saw 'Sushi-kun! Can we say 'hi'?"
Chuuya just laughed that bright, loud laugh of his. "Well we're already here," he said, wiping a tear from his eye when he recovered. "Sorry about that, Nakajima," he said to the detective, who, at this point, was just staring at the two of them with confusion and… something else that he couldn't seem to place.
"Oh, uh, it's not a problem," they murmured. He gave the girl a small, comforting smile. "It's nice to see you again, Fumiya-chan! Can I ask what you're doing here?"
She gave a teasing grin. "You just did, 'Sushi-kun!" she pointed out. Atsushi let out a chuckle at that. "Papa and I were just looking for bedtime books, but I didn't like the kiddie books, so I saw what you were reading and it looked interesting, and I wanted to know what you were reading, but I didn't know that it was you!" she said, taking a deep breath at the end of her ramble.
Atsushi blinked. Then blinked again. "Oh… I see," he says intelligently. He then looked at the book he was glancing through and showed Fumiya. "It's a poetry book. Um, Kyoka-chan really likes poetry, so I thought I'd give it to her as a present since she, uh…"
"Is Kyoka-nee alright?" Fumiya asked, oblivious to the redhead's brief look of pain on his face before settling on a neutral smile
Atsushi nodded immediately. "She's okay, I promise! We're all taking really good care of her, and she seems pretty happy. Or, at least I think she's happy? It's hard to tell sometimes but- oh!" He then takes out their phone and pulls up a picture of the two of them eating crepes in Chinatown, him with some whipped cream on the corner of his lips and a sheepish smile on his face, and hers with almost a look of boredom. "Here's a picture I took of us a couple of weeks ago!"
Fumiya saw the picture and a small gasp left her lips. "Papa, come look!" she said, not taking her eyes off the picture. Chuuya hovered over his daughter's shoulder, and he couldn't catch the gasp that left his mouth. "She's happy, Papa! She's really happy."
"Yeah… yeah, she is," Chuuya whispered and he brought the rim of his hat down, covering his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to control himself, but he still discretely wiped his eyes with a huff. "Hey, Fumiya, why don't you pick out a poetry book, huh? I think they're over there, but let me know if there's one you can't reach, okay?"
"Okay, Papa!" And Funiya practically skipped off to the poetry section, leaving the mafioso executive and the detective alone together.
"Uh, Nakahara-san, I-"
"Chuuya."
"Huh?"
"Call me Chuuya. Literally everyone else does, anyway," he acquiesced with a shrug.
"Chuuya...san, then," Atsushi said slowly, then went on. "I, uh, I just want to say that… I don't regret trying to help Kyoka-chan, but… seeing how Fumiya-chan sees her like a sister, and how… how hurt she was when she left…" at this point, Atsushi dropped into a perfect 90 degree bow, "I do apologize for putting Fumiya-chan through that grief… And you, as well."
Chuuya stood there, stunned at the detective's actions and words. He lets the tiger stand there for… who knows how long, but soon, it starts to become a bit uncomfortable, and he realizes that he also has something to say to the detective. "Nakajima, raise your head," he said firmly, and, internally, he chuckles a little at how fast they raised their head… which he then contemplates as to why that is. He'll file that away to think about later. "Listen, I know why you did what you did, and to be honest with you… I don't blame you for it. Hell, I know that that environment isn't good for a girl like her; she's a great kid, deep down inside, and she deserves to have some semblance of a normal childhood." He scratched the back of his neck and lowered himself into a bow. "In fact, I want to thank you, Nakajima, for getting Kyoka out of there… and for saving my daughter from the Guild."
"Chuuya-san. you don't have to-"
"Yes, I do. Because, as much as it pains me to admit, if it wasn't for you and the Agency, I would never see my daughter again, and I would've destroyed Yokohama looking for her. And I know how much you and Akutagawa don't get along, and yet you put that aside to help save her. So for that, thank you." Chuuya never really bowed this deep for this long, and yet, here he was, bowing to, what Mori once described them as, "shabby ADA scum". Yet, it only made sense to do so; if Chuuya had lost Fumiya… he shuddered at the thought, and didn't even dare finish it. But it was something he had thought about since he took her in; on nights when he couldn't sleep, nights where he would go into her room, just to make sure that she was still there, asleep, his mind would betray him with thoughts of someone trying to take her. He doesn't dream, but he knew that if he did, that would be one of the nightmares that would plague him. So yeah, he had to thank Nakajima for his help, even if it means thanking the ADA as a whole and thanking that lanky bastard by extension.
"Chuuya-san, I... thank you, for saying that, but it wasn't just me that helped," Atsushi stammered, and Chuuya slowly raised from his bow and gave him a raised eyebrow in confusion. "Ranpo-san was the one who deduced the location of Moby Dick, and Lucy-san told me how to get on it in the first place. And Dazai-san-" he cut off his explanation when he saw the darkened expression cross Chuuya's face. "Chuuya-san?"
"I'd appreciate it if you don't mention that bastard's name," he said through clenched teeth.
"Sorry about that, but… he was the one that came up with the plan to help rescue the 4 of us. It was a group effort, not just me."
Chuuya chuckled. "You're pretty modest, you know that?" Atsushi opened his mouth, but Chuuya raised his hand before they could say anything else. "It's not a bad thing to be; just an observation I made. I know it was a group effort, and I already thanked your boss privately, but I wanted to thank you personally for your part in this whole thing."
At that, Atsushi turned a bright shade of red and ducked his head to avoid looking at Chuuya again. 'Cute,' the redhead thinks to himself. Atsushi bows his head and murmurs a "thank you" to the redhead, just as Fumiya comes running back, carrying a book in her hand. "Papa, 'Sushi-san, are you two okay?" she asks with a head tilt.
Chuuya scoops her up and holds her on his hip. "I'm doing okay. What about you, Nakajima?"
"O-Oh, I'm doing okay. Why do you ask?"
"Because your face is all red and stuff!" Fumiya points out. That just makes Atsushi's face grow even more red. "See, like that! Are you sick, or something?"
"I-It's not that, I promise! It's just… pretty warm in here."
"Hah? It's not that warm, is it, Papa?"
Chuuya snickers a bit, and decides to throw Atsushi a bone. "Just because it may not be warm to you, doesn't mean it's not warm to someone else."
"Oh. Okay," Fumiya shrugged. Then she lit up as an idea crossed her mind. "Then, can we get ice cream?! Please, Papa?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Can 'Sushi-san come with us?"
At that, both the mafioso and the detective looked at each other. Chuuya was the one who broke the silence first. "Uh-"
"I would Fumiya-chan, but I have to go back to work," Atsushi relented.
"Oh…"
"B-But, maybe we can go next time you come visit us? You, me, and Kyoka can go get crepes!"
Fumiya gasped. "Can I, Papa?"
Chuuya chuckled. "If you're good, and eat some lunch beforehand, then I don't see why not?"
Fumiya wrapped one of her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you, Papa!"
With that settled, the three of them made their way to the register and purchased their books (Atsushi got a different poetry book, and let Fumiya have the one he was browsing through, insisting that he had no intentions to buy it), and said goodbye to each other. "I'm sure Kyoka-chan will text you about a good time to watch Fumiya-chan," Atsushi said when they reached outside the bookstore.
"True. Or, I could text you, if that's okay," Chuuya retorted.
"Huh?!"
"Fumiya likes you, and, aside from Kyoka, you're the only other person that I trust there to make sure nothing happens to her," he adds that last part is a bit quieter, but is by no less true.
Atsushi must've read that considering that his face lights up again and he bows his head again, not knowing what else to do. "Thank you for trusting me. I think I'd like to watch Fumiya-chan, if she wants me to."
"Uh-huh," Fumiya said with a frantic nod. "'Sushi-san can watch me! And I'll be really good, I promise!"
The redhead let out a chuckle at Fumiya's earnest statement. "I know you will," he said to her."Here, take my number, and send me a text whenever," Chuuya said, flipping open his phone. He lists a string of numbers that Atsushi put into his own phone. With that done, the two of them parted ways, Atsushi going back to "work" (Chuuya knows that Atsushi was just using work as a bailout for that awkward moment between them; something else he has to thank the weretiger for), and Chuuya and Fumiya heading back home.
That night, when storytime rolled around, Chuuya tucked Fumiya in and started to read from the book of poems that they got. [I'll probably add one of historical Chuuya's poems here… probably the name of Fumiya's ability]
"I really…" she cut herself off with a yawn, "...like that poem… Papa…"
Chuuya re-read the poem and a small smile crossed his face. "Ya know what So do I," he whispered. He pressed a gentle kiss on the crown of Fumiya's head. "G'night, Sweet Girl." He flicked off the main light, and carefully made his way out of her room, placing the book on the shelf as he went. He looked at the book, then looked at his sleeping daughter, feeling the warmth spread throughout his chest. He closes the door, leaving a sliver of light creeping into her room. As he started getting ready for bed, he couldn't get the poem out of his head, how the lines just seemed to flow musically, how the words left him feeling… something. Everything. It was the last thing he thought of when he went to bed that night, slipping into a dreamless sleep.
The title of that poem? "Spring Will Come Again."