Chapter Text
It was an average day to Atsushi. He woke up in the cramped space of the closet to the sound of Kyouka’s faint humming and the sizzling of eggs for breakfast. He got up at precisely six in the morning every day and today wasn't any special. Truth be told, it was a habit he picked up from the orphanage and so far, it didn't seem like one he was breaking any time soon. He hit his head on the top wood when he sat up and the bang it made upon contact startled him even further, which was… embarrassing to say the least. If Kyouka had witnessed that he would probably curl up into a ball and die-
“Are you alright, Atsushi?” Kyouka asked, a look of serious concern in her eyes.
Crap.
“U-uh, yeah. I'm okay, it's just a little bump.” He chuckled nervously, playing it cool. Kyouka didn't care and just went back to humming, leaving the room again so he could change. She probabaly knew that it had hurt quite a bit and was just sparing him the shame. With a yawn, he dressed himself in the same outfit as always before putting his pajamas to wash and joining his small roommate for breakfast. The rice was admittedly a little burnt somehow and the eggs were on the undercooked side, but he ate it all and appreciated her efforts.
“So, what do you think will happen at the agency today?” He asked with his mouth full of rice. Kyouka wasn't the greatest at starting conversations but he could tell she wanted to talk by how she kept glancing timidly at him and taking slightly aggressive sips of soup.
“I am unsure. Everyday seems to be full of surprises.” She answered with an obviously burnt tongue. He supressed a smile and replied fondly.
“We can blame that one on Dazai. He's definitely the most… interesting.” Atsushi sighed at the thought of his rather eccentric mentor. He was indebted to the man nonetheless. He had save him from an untimely and rather painful death by starvation.
“You think so? I’ve always thought you were the strangest of the bunch.” Kyouka murmured with innocent curiosity. The young man turned eight shades or red in the span of thirty seconds.
“Your bangs are strange and you get very defensive whenever you’re compared to a cat, even though tigers are cats.” The girl continued, absentmindedly flipping her ponytails over her shoulders and fixing her headband.
Atsushi choked on his rice.
When the two of them stepped into the Armed Detective Agency office on the fifth floor of the brick building, they walked into a worrisome scene.
In the middle of the room was a sleek black box. There was no visible tape or hinges from where the two of them were standing. Kyouka glanced at him unreadably and they approached the small huddle the others had formed around the object.
Kunikida noticed them approaching and greeted them with a nod.
“It appears that this box was dropped off this morning anyone showed up to work. We ran several tests on it without opening it but it had zero abnormal reactions. We also had Dazai nullify it in case it was some kind of ability infused weapon.” The man explained, keeping a neutral face.
“Why don't we have Ranpo take a look?” Kyouka suggested.
Tanizaki joined their conversation with a sigh.
“We did, but he could only confirm that it was put here with the intention of driving us apart somehow. He also said that it's likely this isn't the only one we'll receive.” The ginger was trembling a little and Atsushi gave him the best reassuring smile he could muster. Whatever this was about, they'd get through it together.
“Speaking of Rampo, where is he?” Atsushi questioned with a furrowed brow. Kyouka wandered over to Kenji and they greeted each other with a gentle high-five. Atsushi thought it was more like they just pressed their hands together, though. High-fives had to be delivered with much more vigour. He was happy Kyouka and Kenji got along, it was important that they had friends their age.
“Ranpo and Dazai are currently in the planning room. God knows what they're doing but I have trust in their intelligence.” Kunikida begun. Atsushi was shocked at the compliment, there had to be a catch.
“Though they would both be much more useful if they would stop slacking off so much…” The blond added with a groan. Atsushi nodded tiredly in agreement before wandering over to take a closer look at the box.
Now that he wasn't halfway across the room, he could tell that it didn't even have hinges or tape, the lid could just be pulled off. The urge to lift the cover and just reveal whatever was being hidden was insatiable but he contained himself out of fear.
Suddenly, Atsushi could feel his ears picking up on something faint as his heightened senses (courtesy of the tiger) acted up. He heard the familiar dramatic footseps of Ranpo and the near silent ones belonging to Dazai as the two joined the others, still in a strange incomprehensible conversation. All attention was on them as soon as the others were aware of their presence.
Doctor Yosano was the first to speak up, emerging from her office in her signature white coat. She looked a bit scary, holding a scalpel like a dagger.
“Any luck, boys?” She spoke casually, as if there was no reason to be worried in the first place and Atsushi could feel his shoulders relaxing a bit.
Ranpo shrugged and sat himself on top of the nearest desk, leaving Dazai to explain.
“Nope. From what we know so far, the box was likely doused in some sort of unidentifiable disenfectant fluid before being dropped off, making it impossible to guess where it had previously been. It's definitely some sort of terrorist threat but not violent. We can't figure out anything further without opening it up.” Dazai spoke calmly, almost attaining boredom with his tone. It was obvious to anyone that he was at least slightly amused by this mysterious box though.
Ranpo sucked on a green lollipop, kicking his feet and making his signature thinking face.
“Whoever sent this to us isn't stupid. They chose to do this now on purpose because they knew that the president would be away on a business trip.” He added, cracking open one emerald eye. The others made various noises of understanding before Kenji spoke up for the first time of the morning.
“Well, then. I guess all we can do is take a look!” He smiled warmly with an air of optimism so powerful it was almost blinding. Atsushi caught Dazai steal a questioning look at Ranpo who in turn nodded at the brunette. They always communicated like this, in subtle little gestures and seemingly meaningless words strung together in a way that made them somehow meaningful. It confused Atsushi to no end but he eventually came to terms with never being able to understand them.
“I suppose out dearest little Kenji is right about that. Who wants to do the honours?” Dazai smiled mysteriously as the agency members scanned the room, looking for someone willing.
Nobody volunteered.
“You guys are just no fun.” Dazai threw a hand over his eyes dramatically but nobody missed the kindness in his eyes as he approached the box for them.
He gently lifted the cover and they watched his smile morph into something they almost never witnessed. Anger. It was there for less than a second but everyone caught it and Tanizaki took a step back.
He cursed almost silently under his breath before turning to the others, face blank and serious.
“Atsushi. I need you to listen to me.” His mentor said, enunciating each syllable with care. Atsushi almost shivered at the severity of his tone but stepped forward anyway. Dazai was someone he trusted with his life.
“I believe this is meant for you. But you need to decide if this is something you want to see.” The brunette continued.
Atsushi didn't even have to weigh his options before curiousity got the better of him and he stepped forward, followed by the rest of the agency. Inside the shiny, dark box was a singular piece of paper and a baby blue pair of pants and shirt. Atsushi recognized it right away, the uniform from the orphanage. He was wholly confused on how this was even retrieved before he flipped over the note. It had a singular sentence scrawled over it in a thick purple marker.
“Did they taste good?”
There was a shared look of confusion before the meaning of the words registered and a collective horror hit them all. The messsge paired with the uniform made it all blaringly obvious.
Atsushi dropped the paper like it was on fire before scambling backwards, eyes wide and filled to the brim with panic.
“I-no n-no, I didn't m-mean to!!” He cried out in defense, falling to the ground and curling his knees to his chest. His voice came our desperate and raw.
“What was I s-supposed to do? I- I couldn't control it, I s-swear!” He clawed and pulled ferally at his hair.
“I d-didn't want to-”
Atsushi didn't finish the sentence. He couldn't. They all knew what he was going to say anyway and didn't blame him.
Atsushi had eaten people before, other humans just like him. They all had already figured it out at one point or another but not one of them blamed Atsushi for it. It was obvious he had no control of his ability back then, he wasn't even aware that the tiger was himself.
Yosano was the first to take action. She quickly rushed to Atsushi’s side, avoiding contact, and didn't hesitate to begin running through calming exercises with him. The others all took the hint and ushered out of the office into the dimly lit hallway, Kunikida taking the box with him and descending the stairs to dispose of it somewhere. The rest of his co-workers were left in a heavy silence that not one of them dared to break. Kenji had no positivity to offer, Tanizaki eyes were darting around the hallway with nerves, Kyouka had completely disguised her presence, Ranpo sat in silence on the floor without any kind of snack, and not even Dazai had anything to say. It was the kind of atmosphere that made everyone suddenly aware of what little weight their words held. They waited for thirty grueling minutes until the doctor emerged from the room, followed by an exhausted looking Atsushi. Somewhere along the line Kunikida had also rejoined them but none of them really noticed his presence, too lost in thought to care.
“Before any of you ask, Atsushi will be okay. He just needs some rest so I'm sending him home while the rest of us discuss what just happened.” She explained.
They watched solemnly as Atsushi retrieved his stuff from his locker, giving them all a tired wave and a weakly muttered goodbye before turning the corner and descending the stairs. There was an awkward silence ss the rest of them stood at the doorway, unable to process what had just happened. There were too many questions and it had all happened in such a short amount of time.
Kunikida was the one to finally break the ice, and he did so with rage.
“Taking advantage of the mistakes made by a person who had not even the semblance of a choice-” His fists were so tightly balled his knuckles had turned white.
“Unacceptable.” Kyouka finished for him with a sharp nod. Her expression was that of someone preparing themself for murder.
The next day when the members of the Armed Detective Agency showed up for work, it was quiet in the office. A lingering fear stuck to the back of their throats as one by one, they arrived and faced the presence of another black box.
Yesterday was only the start.