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How could they let this happen?
The decline was so obvious. Even the most unobservant person on the planet could have seen the signs!
They could try and imagine all the posible scenarios and what they could have done differently to prevent this.
And yet it would all be for nothing...
No matter how much they regretting not acting sooner, how much they lamented or sulked.
He wasn't coming back.
To think that...they could have done something. Had Kunikida —or anyone else, for that matter— payed a little bit more attention to his partner's odd (odder than usual) behavior, maybe, just maybe, all of this could have been prevented.
Dazai was his f*cking work partner! For f*cks sake!
If someone should have done something about the situation, it should have been him!
He already had it in his schedule to check on Dazai, making sure he eats and other similar points like that. Had he not deemed it a useless task a few days before...perhaps he could have gotten there earlier.
Still, even that seems like pure hopeful dreaming at this point. He wasn't coming back, no matter what anyone did or said.
The office was silent. Which would be unusual had a certain little someone not been absent.
Kunikida was growing worried, even if he refused to admit it. "Just where is that idiot?! Skipping work like it's nothing! I swear, when I get my hands on him-"
The sound of heels clicking rang thorughout the office, being the only sound aside from Kunikida's rant, interrupting the idealist and catching everyone's attention as the doctor exited her office, "Relax, Kunikida. I'm sure Dazai's fine." Yosano stood in front of the blond in all her morning glory, stretching her arms, yawning and finally settleting her hands on her hips, "Quit being a worry wart." She had a bored look on her face.
"I'm not worried. It's just-"
"A-a-ah!" Ranpo exclaimed as he moved his finger in a side to side 'no' motion. "There's no use in denying it, it is very obvious." There was a pause as the agency's main detective chewed through some chips that sat on his desk. "You're not very subtle about it, we all know you like Dazai."
"Eeeeeeehhhhhhh?" Atsushi looked like he short circuted, Tanizaki was apparently in a similar state. Kyouka looked stunned. Naomi was beside Yosano in seconds and seemed ready to start gossiping all the detailes about it like a high school student.
"Whooops, seems like not everybody knew..." Ranpo said, but he didn't look the least bit apologetic, rather, he had a mischievious smile on his face. As if that bit of information would have escaped him.
"Wow, I didn't know that you liked Mr. Dazai, Mr. Kunikida!" Kenji, being the ray of sunshine that he is, exclaimed.
That made Kunikida snap out of the shock of his feelings being revealed to the entire office, "T-that's not true!" No matter what his words were, he was very clearly as red as a tomato and fuming.
The blonde looked like he wanted to continue protesting, but stopped himself when he saw Ranpo's deadpan look. His hand was up in a 'stop' motion. "What did I say?" Kunikida frowned. He wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"On a more serious note," Ranpo instantly took on a more composed stance, "don't worry, no one here will judge you."
Kunikida sighed. As much as these people messed up his schedule on the daily (Dazai specifically), they were like family to him. Always there for each other in good and in bad times. "Thank you..."
"But still, Atsuhi!" The aforementioned looked up, "Go look for him."
Atsushi quickly got up from his seat, "Y-yes! I'll be right back!" He ran right out of the office and did not get to hear Kunikida yelling at him to not take too long.
'Well- that was awkward...' Despite Atsushi's current task, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened back at the office.
Kunikida-san liked Dazai-san.
.
.
.
Just- wow.
The mere thought sounded so impossible, given the way they treated each other. But to think it was real, that it was happening in real time. It sounded like a joke.
...
All of a sudden, a shiver racked thorugh Atsushi's body, his blood ran cold. It felt as if his stomach had suddenly dropped into a bottomless pit, endlessly falling. A horrible feeling settled within his gut.
Now, instead of wondering about his senior's crush, his thoughts switched to his mentor's safety so fast it nearly gave him whiplash.
Worry was was the only thing in Atsushi's mind as he rushed towards the agency dorms with the tiger's speed. The closer he got, the sicker he felt. Something was definitely, horribly, so very wrong.
If he didn't act now, there would not be a later to make up for it.
As he reached the building, he threw the doors open and took off running up the stairs.
The feeling only got worse as he speedily reached his mentor's apartment.
Atsushi stopped for a moment, unsure whether he should barge in or knock. Ultimately, he kicked the door down, deciding there was no time for useless doubts. If it was just a false alarm, he could apologize and fix whatever damage he caused in his haste.
...
The apartment was deadly silent...
The uneasiness already coursing through his body became unbereable. Atsushi wanted to run and get out of there as quickly as posible.
Regardless, he made his way in.
His mentor's apartment was, suprisingly, clean. But not in the good sense of neat and tidy, but in a way that made it look as if nobody had lived there or was ready to move out.
'Maybe Dazai-san just overslept.' But as much as he wanted to believe that, it didn't explain the state of the place.
On the living room table sat all the missing reports Kunikida tried to get Dazai to do. Completed.
Every second was worse than the last. The air becoming suffocating.
When Atsushi arrived to the bedroom's door, he hesitated. He knocked, "Dazai-san?"
There was no reply.
"Dazai-san, I'm coming in."
Yet again, no reply.
Atsushi turned the door knob, mentally preparing himself for what he would see in there.
Yet, absolutely nothing could prepare him for what he was about to see.
The door slowly opened, creaking with every inch passed.
"Daz-"
It was not nice to have his horrible feeling confirmed.
'Oh god, no, no, no, no, no, no!'
Atsushi stood frozen in place. Unable to process the sight in front of him.
His beloved mentor, hanging lifelessly from a noose. Blood, there was too much of it, too much- too much! Cuts littered his arms as the blood continued to sluggishly rush out, pooling on the floor beneath him.
He was hyperventilating, he need to get help, call for Yosano- Kunikida, anyone! His body refused to move. Atsushi fell over, curling in on himself and breaking out into sobs. Trying and failing to reach for his phone.
Once he finally got it out, he somehow managed to call Yosano.
"Hello?"
Only sobs could be heard through his side of the call.
"Atsushi, is everything alright?"
"D-da-dazai...he's..."
It was all he managed to stutter out.
"Atsushi...What happened to Dazai?" The tone in her voice had completely changed to a more serious one.
More heavy breathing.
"H-he's d-dead...h-he's g-gone..."