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Atsushi's heart was racing. It was beating and burning in his chest as he stared at the scene in front of him.
Tanizaki-kun's form fell in front of him, his wings fading from sight as he fell to the ground. His eyes fluttered shut and he gave a wheezing breath. The snowflakes that he had brought into existence winking out.
In front of him, a man stood, his coat crackling with red lightning, and his ink-black wings matched the coat.
He had four wings.
Atsushi felt his heart still. Then it raced quicker.
Four wings. More powerful. Oh Kami, four wings.
Atsushi could barely breathe. He could barely move.
Four wings. How was Atsushi supposed to fight someone with four wings!? Atsushi couldn't fight at all. He couldn't move, his body refused to move.
But also–
His eyes flicked to Tanizaki-kun. To Naomi-san. Drowning out the drabble that the man with pitch black wings was saying with white noise.
Atsushi's eyes flicked to the gun that has been tossed aside.
If I can do something, anything at all to save them– then why shouldn't I move!?
~~~~~~~~~~
Ryuunosuke barely moved to the side as the boy he was sent to capture shot towards him, and slid right past him.
Gunshots, quick and rapid, attacking his back. A good attempt, for a child. A very good attempt, but this foolish child was simply that. A child.
And he hadn't even shown his wings yet! How disgraceful, Ryuunosuke had shown his own wings, and yet this boy hadn't even shown his.
It didn't matter in the end. If he only had one or if he only had two–
A leg will still come off by Rashōmon’s jaws just as easily.
The boy screamed at the act, holding where his leg used to be.
Blood pooled beneath him, and Ryuunosuke sneered a little at the smell.
And then the glow started as Ryuunosuke nearly took a step forward.
Ryuunosuke stopped. Stared.
It wasn't an Ability's glow.
Wings.
Glowing, white– pure white wings started to unfurl from the target's back.
All six of them.
Oh fu–!
A roar shook the alleyway, reminding Ryuunosuke that this wasn't any old ability user either. This ability user could turn into a tiger. Ryuunosuke always has the shittiest luck.
With a flap of his wings he avoided the pounce the now fully formed tiger had tried to make, dodging to the side faster than he could without his wings, but he also nearly smacked into the side of the alleyway.
Snarling was echoing all throughout the alley.
There was no pinpointing the tiger without sight, and that was made worse with the fact that Ryuunosuke’s four wings were out and blocking some of the alley.
With a grimace, Ryuunosuke dismissed his wings and turned his head to try and find the damn tiger that had six white wings.
Growling behind him–!
Turning, he summoned his ability to meet the tiger that was running full tilt at him, readying to pounce on him and tear his throat out.
“All right, I think that's enough boys.”
~~~~~~~~~~
-A day earlier-
Osamu had not expected much from the young boy who was supposed to be a tiger. He was jumpy, he ran at the slightest hint of danger, and he was self-deprecating in the very least.
It was almost like looking in a mirror.
But then the moonlight had hit Atsushi-kun when he was upset.
“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT–! UP!” The boy had yelled, gripping his hair and hiding his face. “Shut up!”
He didn't appreciate Osamu's intellect and detective reasoning then. What an absolute pity. Soon enough he would get used to Osamu thou–
The moonlight seemed to whip and whirl around the boy. Forming and dancing and curling. It wasn't moonlight, the moonlight was shining on the boy. But his wings–
Osamu remembered the feeling. The shock that filtered through his feelings of apathy and wish for suicide.
The six wings, made of feathers that seemed to be made of pure moonlight, flapped. In one simple flap, Atsushi-kun had brought himself off the floor of the warehouse.
And the blue-silver moonlight continued to twist and turn. Atsushi-kun’s ability was activating, and then the game of cat and mouse was on. Although playing cat and mouse with a very large tiger with sharp teeth was interesting. What was more interesting was the fact that this tiger also had six wings alongside y'know. Being a tiger.
Osamu was against a wall before he knew it, and his own wings had bumped against the bricks. He blinked, turning to look at the four wings that he must have brought out in the face of the six wings on instinct. Osamu had four wings, but he only allowed two to exist in the world at all times. He always had the other two dismissed as a special surprise for his enemies on their deathbed.
But in the face of someone with six wings, it seemed he had brought out his other two wings on instinct.
Osamu turned back to the tiger that was stalking forward, his wings flared outward. Each wing had a black base with white stripes flaring outwards.
Luckily for Osamu, No Longer Human dismissed the tiger form.
Unluckily for Osamu, No Longer Human also dismissed Atsushi-kun's wings.
He caught the boy, staring down at him. Producing the orb of No Longer Human in his hand always took it out of him, so he just let the kid rest in his arms while Osamu thought things through.
Six wings.
No one would believe him if he told them. The highest number of wings that has ever been recorded has always been four. Always four. And they were people who had the power to destroy the world if they could hone it to perfection.
He stared down at the boy, dismissing his lower wings once more as he wrapped his remaining wings around the boy.
This was more than just someone else who can join the Armed Detective Agency. This was more than protecting an orphan. This was more than anything Osamu could think of, truly.
Six wings.
Six wings crafted out of what seemed to be moonlight, burned into Osamu's mind.
Six wings that shouldn't exist in this world. The highest number was four.
Osamu had four wings. Akutagawa-kun had four wings. Yosano-sensei had four wings.
Nakajima Atsushi had six wings.
It should go against the laws of nature. To be so powerful, to be so strong. And yet, here the very proof was in front of Osamu, in his arms. A child, a mere fledgling, could be so strong.
Then again–
This wasn't the first person Osamu had met with six wings.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Akutagawa-kun.” Dazai-san’s smile was rather dangerous as Atsushi stared up at it. He didn't remember much after his leg got torn off, but his abnormal number of wings were out, so he quickly hid them away.
“You're not going to tell anyone what you saw here today. Make sure your little subordinate is of the same mind.”
The man with dark wings, that were now also hidden away, glared at Dazai-san, a snarl on his face. His wings flared out into existence again, the only black wings nearly blacking out the light that was trying to filter in.
Dazai-san stared him down, his own, larger wings lifting and spreading. They filled Atsushi's own eyesight, and he couldn't see anything anymore.
Atsushi stayed still on the floor of the alleyway, trying his hardest to not bring his wings into existence.
Wings were an interesting thing, in Atsushi's opinion.
They appeared and left at command, and if you had multiple wings, then you could bring out one or none, or even both.
Before today, Atsushi had never met someone with four wings.
Before coming to Yokohama, Atsushi had never met someone with two wings. Two wings were the sign of an Ability user, and at the orphanage, no one had an ability. The rule with wings, the more you had, the more powerful you were.
Wings came about when the child was around five or so. And normal people only had one. Ability users have two or three. The most that had ever been recorded was four wings.
And yet, Atsushi had six wings.
He often used them as blankets in the basement, when he had been locked up in the cage and unable to get warm.
To meet people with two wings that were almost always out–
To meet someone with four wings who took off his leg–
Atsushi wanted comfort, in the only way he knew. But he couldn't bring his wings out. He didn't dare.
His wings were weak. The feathers were stringy. They barely wrapped around him truly, and they could barely keep him warm.
Dazai-san closed his wings, and Atsushi lifted his head, eyes wide as the guy who took his leg walked away with the blonde woman, although she looked back and glared at Atsushi and everyone.
“Come on Atsushi-kun. Let's get the Tanizakis to Yosano-sensei.”
Atsushi scrambled to his feet, feeling faint. His limbs were trembling and he didn't know how to move his body. Not really. He felt exhausted but energized at the same time, and it was not a feeling he liked.
He carefully shifted Naomi-san into his arms, the smell of blood filling his nostrils and the feeling of her blood coating her arms. This new shirt was going to be completely stained from the girl's blood, and if Atsushi had the time, he'd be sick.
He didn't have the time. Naomi-san barely reacted to him touching her wounds on her back.
Dazai-san had lifted Tanizaki-kun up and onto his back, and was walking quickly. A brisker pace than this morning, and Atsushi forced himself to get over the smell and the feeling of blood coating his hands and arms and seeping into the threads of his shirt and forced his feet to move to catch up with the man.
“Dazai-san–! Dazai-san, will they be okay!?” Atsushi asked, gasping as he tried to catch up while also not inhaling the scent of blood. He hated the smell of blood.
“They should be fine, provided we get them to Yosano-sensei in time. It will be alright, Atsushi-kun.” Dazai-san sent a kinder smile back towards him, although it was tight around the edges. He must really be concerned about if Atsushi heard anything once the wings were out.
“Dazai-san. Why did they attack us?” Atsushi asked as the building for the Armed Detective Agency loomed in the distance, and they started to increase the pace. Naomi-san and Tanizaki-kun could get help now!
“A bounty has been placed in your head it seems. Although I doubt they know about the wings.” Dazai-san sighed.
Atsushi nearly stumbled and dropped Naomi-san.
“Wha-what? What do you mean? I don't have wings, Dazai-san.” Atsushi tried to laugh it off.
“Everyone has wings Atsushi-kun.” Dazai-san dismissed him easily, making him flinch. “You just have more than the usual.”
Atsushi lowered his head. Even among those who had powers, he was the freak huh? That was always his life it seemed, being the freak of the flock.
“If they knew the number of your wings, they wouldn't have put the bounty on your head. Or they would have exponentially increased it.” Dazai-san sighed as they climbed the stairs carefully. “Six wings. Such an interesting number.”
“I don't. . .” Atsushi whispered, staring down at the ground.
“Don't worry Atsushi-kun. I made sure no one would talk about it.” Dazai-san shrugged, as if it was a normal thing to threaten people into not talking about something unusual. “Hopefully the Streisand effect doesn't come into play, but Akutagawa-kun was ultimately loyal to me. I just have to get in contact with someone.”
“Why? Who?” Atsushi had so many questions.
Dazai-san hummed as he forced the door to Yosano-sensei’s clinic open with his hip.
“Because I feel like being generous.”
Atsushi was glad for that at least. Dazai-san being generous was him being nicer than anyone else in Atsushi's life so far.
But. . . .
Unfortunately, that was before he went missing for three days.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Why’d you let yourself get caught?”
Chuuya was as rough as ever it seemed. It didn't matter though. Osamu came here on a mission, and he would fulfill the self-imposed requirements that he had placed.
“Mainly, for Atsushi-kun.”
“Atsushi?” Chuuya raised an eyebrow.
“He's the tiger that has the bounty on his head.” Osamu shrugged.
Chuuya didn't let up on the grip on his throat, likely seeing the gleam in his eyes. Likely knowing that there was far more to Osamu being here than just someone going after his new coworker.
“He also has six wings. But that wasn't known until I found him.”
The grip on his throat let go all of the sudden.
Chuuya staggered back, the clear shock filtering across his face for all to see in a few seconds. His two red-dappled black wings flared, nearly filling the room. His jaw was dropping, not completely, but enough for Osamu to see that he had caught him off guard.
Underneath the first two wings, four more came out, flinging outward and slamming into things. Osamu barely withheld a wince for his old partner, he knew that wasn't pleasant at all.
“He. . . How?”
That was honestly a good question that Osamu hadn't come up with an answer for yet. So he simply shrugged while shoving his hands in his coat pockets.
It didn't make sense for Atsushi-kun to have six wings. He had grown up in an orphanage.
Ah, but where else to hide a government experiment? That was what they had speculated that gave Chuuya his six wings, late at night when they had stared at the stars together. They hadn't really spoken much about what had happened when they were sixteen and in that lab, but they talked enough to speculate.
Chuuya retracted the lower set of wings, eyes gleaming now. Ah, Osamu recognized that look. It either meant he would get lucky or someone was going to get hurt.
In this case, probably both, although Osamu wouldn't be lucky in a physical way.
“I want to meet him.”
“Of course you do.” Osamu barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he just decided to sigh. “It seems everyone is after him.”
His lower set of wings materialized without his say-so, flaring wide without him having control. Damn that brat.
Chuuya studied the wings with a discerning eye, an eyebrow raised again. Fair enough, Osamu couldn't articulate why he was so attached to the kid either. He just was. The lower set of wings dissipated on his command, but he had a feeling they wouldn't stay gone for long. Not if Chuuya brought up Atsushi-kun again.
“Well then, is the database room still where it was four years ago?” Osamu asked, folding his wings and letting them hang there. As much as he'd rather them just to flare out, it wasn't feasible with Chuuya in the room.
What the midget lacked in height he made up for in wingspan.
“Database room is the same.” Chuuya said slowly, his wings disappearing as he picked up his coat and caught the knife that Osamu threw at him.
“Good to know!” Osamu grinned, wings arching. His eyes closed as his head tilted and he smiled. “I'll be off then!”
Chuuya's eyes followed him out the door, Osamu could feel them burning into the back of his head.
Osamu didn't care though.
He has some information to hunt down.
~~~~~~~~~~
Atsushi's wings popped into existence when he saw Dazai-san just existing in the Armed Detective Agency after he had been missing for three days.
Kyouka-chan, who had been supported by his six wings so they didn't get soaked after he had ripped the bomb off her, didn't react. Her eyes had gotten wide at the sight of his wings, but she hadn't said anything.
Yosano-sensei had sworn up a storm when she found them and Atsushi's wings were still out. She had smacked him on the head, shaking him back and forth by the shoulders and telling him to hide his wings now.
And now Dazai-san was back, his upper wings out and resting against the lower back rest of his seat.
And Atsushi's wings had popped out, out of surprise to see him again. It seemed the more Atsushi used his wings, the more they responded to his emotions.
Kunikida-san looked up from his own computer and shot upright, his jaw dropping.
“WHAT THE FUCK!?”
“Hmm?” Ranpo-san looked over, raising an eyebrow at Kunikida-san’s reaction. “You didn't know?”
“Atsushi-san! I didn't know you had so many wings!” Kenji-kun said excitedly, his grin wide and bright.
Atsushi hid his wings again, wanting to cower away. How was he supposed to pretend to be normal now!?
Kyouka-chan quickly grabbed his hand, looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes. She obviously wanted to comfort him more, but didn't know how.
“I– I didn't want anyone to know.” Atsushi muttered. “It's unnatural.”
“Well you're right there.” Dazai-san said, twirling around on his seat. “Six wings is practically unheard of, Atsushi-kun. But they could be a good thing. I'll introduce you to someone later this week.”
Atsushi blinked, and he brought out his uppermost pair of wings, perking them in curiosity. They flicked back and forth, mirroring almost like a cat's tail.
“Who?”
“Someone who can help.” Dazai-san said, and that was the end of the conversation.
Yosano-sensei was hustling Atsushi off to the examination room so she could check on him and make sure nothing was broken before he could get anything else on edgewise.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chuuya paced back and forth in his apartment, trying to make sure everything was just so.
But there were only so many times he could straighten the books on the bookshelf or fix the couch and move it. He could change the angle of the coffee table only so many times before he changed it back to its original position, and he couldn't do anything in the kitchen, as everything was scrubbed and sparkling.
He plopped down on the couch and let his wings furl out, taking up the space as he put his head in his hands.
Six wings.
There was someone else who had six wings in this world.
Chuuya dared not to believe it, especially since it was coming from that Piece of Shit, but he wouldn't lie about this. He wouldn't.
Dazai may be the shittiest scumbag from the bottom of the sea who left immediately when things didn't go his way–
But he wouldn't lie about this.
Noise at the front door or Chuuya's apartment, and he stood up.
The door swung open, because of course it did. Dazai, that piece of shit, had picked the lock.
“Dazai-san, you really shouldn't do that.” A voice that Chuuya didn't know sighed, and Chuuya froze. The breath in his lungs froze because he knew who that was without knowing them.
The other person that has six wings.
The tiger that was being targeted by the Guild for some reason.
“Re-lax Atsushi-kun! It's fine.”
And the Piece of Shit was here. Great. As much as Chuuya would love to kick him out, he couldn't. He was smoothing everyone over, including this meeting.
“He does it often enough.” Chuuya sighed, six wings still out as he walked to the front hall.
He took in the kid, drinking in the appearance of someone else who also has six wings.
He was young. Rail-thin and his eyes were wide as he stared back at Chuuya. Stared at Chuuya's wings more than Chuuya himself, but that was fine. His hair was silver with a black streak and cut in an interesting style. Chuuya almost wanted to sit the kid in front of Ane-san just so he could see her faint. But then she would try to cut it, and the kid looked ready to faint away already, so that would be a bad decision.
Shitty Dazai reached out and poked at the boy’s ribs, making him squeak and flinch away.
"Introduce yourself, Atsushi-kun.”
Bastard's eyes were flashing at Chuuya though, warning him to not try anything.
Fucking fuckwad.
The boy bent over quickly, dropping into a respectful bow.
“I'm Nakajima Atsushi. It's nice to meet you.”
Chuuya raised an eyebrow.
“This is yer new apprentice? How is he so polite?”
“He came like this.” Bastard shrugged.
“Ah, haven't gotten the chance to corrupt him yet.” Chuuya nodded, a teasing smirk falling on his lips as the Piece of Shit scowled at him.
The kid, Atsushi, straightened up, messing with his fingers, which were clad in fingerless gloves.
“Atsushi-kun, wings out.” Shitty Dazai instructed, breezing past Chuuya but avoiding his wings.
Atsushi's eyes grew wide, fear glinting in them, before his eyes fell on Chuuya's wings again. The gaze grew contemplative, and the eyes trailed off after Dazai, who was rummaging through Chuuya's kitchen like he deserved to eat anything there.
Bitch.
With a soft sigh, six wings were brought out, glittering as if they were made of moonlight itself.
While they were pretty, Chuuya noticed something.
They weren't taken care of.
Some of the feathers were matted together, and the tips of the primaries were crumpled slightly, giving an almost paper-like look to the feathers that were reflecting light.
“You haven't been takin’ care of them.” Chuuya noted, thinking of all the care that was going to go into this. A good three hours at least.
The boy blinked his eyes at Chuuya, clearly not expecting him to say what he did.
“What do you mean?”
A sinking feeling filled Chuuya's chest, and he whirled on his heel, pinning Dazai with a glare, not that the bastard turned to see it.
“DIDN'T YOU TEACH HIM!?”
“Calm down Chibi, this is only like, the sixth day I've had him.” Piece of Shit didn't even look up from what concoction he was making.
“Six too many.” Chuuya hissed, knowing at least three of those days the bitch had been stuck in the basement. Whatever, Chuuya would just teach the fledgling.
Chuuya reached out and grabbed the kid's wrist. “C'mon. We need to fix this.”
“Fix what?” Atsushi asked, wings shrinking. They were smaller than Chuuya's, not taking up quite as much room as his did, but they were still decently large. Besides, they would support Atsushi's weight and another's probably in a pinch.
“Your wings. They need attention and care, so imma fix them while we talk.”
Atsushi deposited in the living room for the time being, Chuuya darted off to grab his tools for self-care and came back quickly, having a sneaking suspicion that the kid wouldn't like being alone in a weird place. Chuuya certainly wouldn't, but he also had his ability to give himself confidence.
Atsushi also had an ability, but from what he had read, the kid hadn't even known about it not even a week ago.
Coming back with his hands full of a spray bottle, he motioned for the kid to sit in front of the couch.
“Sit, and pull in your upper two pair of wings. With pairs like ours, we have to work from bottom pair to top.” Chuuya instructed as he sat on the couch.
Atsushi sat, but his wings didn't disappear.
“I don't know how.” He muttered, lowering his head, and his wings drooped in response to his feelings. “Either they all pop out or none of them do.”
Chuuya placed his hands on the bend of the two topmost wings, and the kid jumped.
“Easy. Just imagine there's a pressure on them. And th’ only way to get rid of it is to get rid of your wings.”
Atsushi tilted his head, almost like a little hawk. What a ridiculously silly fledgling, acting so seriously.
He started to draw the moon-ish wings in, back towards the middle of his back where they originated.
They disappeared in short order under Chuuya's hand, and he smiled in pride.
“I'm not gonna help with the second pair.” Chuuya placed his hands on the couch and watched.
The middle pair of wings pulled in, slowly, slower than the top pair. But they too eventually disappeared, and Chuuya could beam in pride if he wanted to.
And if whiskey brown eyes weren't boring a hole into the side of his head.
So Chuuya just nodded to himself and pulled his gloves off.
“The best way to comb through your feathers is with yer hand. Or perhaps someone else's, to get the feathers that you can't.” Chuuya started instructed as he started running his fingers through the feathers gently, straightening out the feathers that were out of alignment, and carefully plucking the ones that were about to fall out anyways. Chuuya hoped the kid wouldn't shed with stress.
“You shouldn't have to clean your wings with much of anythin’, but sometimes a mild detergent is needed if ya get them especially dirty.” Chuuya continued to explain as he remembered the uppermost pair of wings. Those were the ones that usually got the most hit with dirt or shit on the field. He'd have to spray those once he got to them.
Atsushi nodded his head.
“For the most part, ya shouldn't have to fix yer wings once ya get them straightened, unless you've been in a gnarly wind.” Chuuya continued, running his fingers through the feathers in slow, smoothing motions. He gently untangled the ones that were tangled together and smoothed them down, aligning them together so that they laid down properly.
“If ya do need to fix ‘em, it's best to enlist someone else's help for the feathers you can't reach. Like the ones at your back here that I'm doing.” Chuuya explained, moving onto the next section. “There are some oils ya can put on the wings, but generally they produce their own, so only people like movie stars put shit like that stuff on.”
Atsushi bobbed his head. Chuuya was sure that if he had a notepad he'd be writing it down.
Chuuya continued to stroke hands through the feathers, a soft hum escaping his lips.
“Tell me about yourself kid.”
The wings he was working on twitched.
“Uh, there's not much to say.”
“Bullshit. Ya got six wings, that means you have a history of some kind.” Chuuya snorted.
Atsushi tilted his head, and the wings flicked a little.
“Hmm. No, not much. Grew up in an orphanage outside of Yokohama, came here when they kicked me out.”
Chuuya raised an eyebrow at that, and at a particularly stubborn feather that refused to straighten. “You're eighteen.”
“I am.”
“That's illegal. To kick you out.” Chuuya explained, feeling the muscles of the wings jump under his fingers.
“What do you mean?”
“He is right, much as I hate to say it.” Bandaged asshole’s voice finally broke in as he sat down on the other couch. Chuuya would have to burn the cushion he sat on later. “Throwing you out of the orphanage was illegal of them to do, Atsushi-kun. You're eighteen, and the age of majority is twenty. They were supposed to keep you until you were twenty years old, although I suspect the tiger had a lot to play into their decision.”
The wings drooped again, and Chuuya sent a positively acidic glare at Dazai for it.
“But that's fine.” Dazai leaned back on the back of the couch. Chuuya would have to burn the entire couch. “Now you're in Yokohama and in better company.”
Atsushi tilted his head, before nodding. “Yeah, I suppose you're right.”
Dazai preened.
“Now I'm in Chuuya-san’s company, after all.”
Dazai's jaw dropped.
Chuuya threw his head back and howled with laughter.
“Kid, you and I are going to get along jus’ fine.” He grinned at the boy, who tentatively smiled back up at him.
This was definitely the start of a beautiful friendship, Chuuya could tell.