Chapter Text
Alcohol always did drown Dazai’s sorrows.
He swirled the glass of crimson wine in his hand, the glass smooth against callouses and papercuts he had collected over time. In his other hand, his thumb brushed over the metal handle of his cane, reflecting lights that spun around the room sourced from a disco ball. Obnoxiously loud music filtered through the room, mixed with drowsy giggles and chatter. Lights flashed, illuminating dancing drunks like a spotlight in a circus. All around him, young couples conversed, some flirtatious, some on the dance floor.
Nowadays, this was the only place where Dazai could go where it truly did drown out his thoughts. The music and lights made his head pound, and the smell of stale vomit made him sick, but it felt more like home than any other place did.
Taking a sip of his own alcohol and swallowing the bitter liquid, Dazai found his eyes drifting across the room, to a young lady. She tilted back the head of a young man, her pale skin meeting his chin in a simple touch as her ruby eyes glinted. A dress that looked only to be made of blood and wine clung to her curvy frame, rising slightly as the woman leaned forward. She ran her fingers down the stranger’s cheek, though long, ebony hair hid what Dazai knew was a seductive smile.
He knew the drill all too well. The woman would take the man with her appearance, her voice, her aura. Then, what would become of him? A lifeless human, soul and innocence stolen by a meaningless game. He knew the sight of hope’s absence, haunting the fractured body and mind until it shattered completely. Although, for now, it was just another flirt, another naive boy pretending he was ready for the real world. He never would be.
Averting his eyes for the sake of his own comfort, Dazai swallowed hard, eyes trailing over the room to lead his thoughts away from the pitiful scene. The wine he grasped tasted like vinegar, and he set down the glass on the bar table behind him, the image sticking to his mind despite his usual forgetfulness when it came to such events. After a few more moments of contemplation, he pushed himself away from the comfort of the table, trailing closer to the scene he was so suddenly fixated on with the sound of his cane tapping against the ground and the sturdiness of it in his grip to accompany him.
As he drew closer, Dazai heard the man’s sheepish chuckles, as the woman gave a dignified smile and slid her hand onto his chest.
“You really do know how to make me smile, love,” She spoke, her voice sending a shiver down Dazai’s spine. It rolled off the tongue like honey, deceptively sweet and captivating.
“Ah, Miss Enchi-san, I really should be going–” Enchi. The word tingled in the back of Dazai’s mind, and he made a mental bookmark of it.
For some odd reason, this felt so much more wrong than any other case of seduction he had seen. The woman – ‘Miss Enchi’ - had a strange atmosphere surrounding her. Despite all the noise in the surrounding area, her voice was crisp and clear, almost as if she was standing in front of a microphone, projecting and articulating as if she had a larger audience. Despite this, the man’s voice was muffled and quieter, the difference and quality a far leap.
Dazai’s eyes trailed back up to the woman’s face, and his chestnut eyes met her maroon ones. It was like staring at a blood-slick dagger, her gaze sharp and calculating. A shudder passed through him, and he looked toward the bar, pretending to not have seen anything. He knew it was too late when the click of heels drew closer to him.
“Hello, there, dear. I noticed you staring. Happy with what you see?” The woman trailed the tips of her fingers up his arm to rest on his shoulder, and he held back a shiver.
“Ah, very much so. This bar has great lighting,” He responded, miming innocence.
“Lighting? Mm. Very nice lighting.” She narrowed her eyes slightly, withdrawing the hand she had on his shoulder, and crossing her arms, though keeping the now slightly strained smirk. “What’s your name, light boy?”
“You shouldn’t go around asking strangers their names, you know. Stranger danger.”
“Fumiko Enchi.” She slid her hands down to her hips, crimson eyes glinting in slight irritation. “And you are?”
“Hmm..” Dazai pondered momentarily, making a show of tapping his foot and sighing. “Call me mystery man. It’s charming, isn’t it?” Casually, Dazai had noted the woman’s name in the back of his mind, just in case it would become important later on.
Still, even now, her voice was bright, like sunlight in a storm. No. Like a scream in silence.
“So, then, mystery man..” Miss Enchi tapped the bottom of Dazai’s cane lightly with the toe of her heel. “Are you older than I believe you to be, with that old thing?”
“My, oh my,” He responded lightly, “That is terribly rude of you to suggest! How shall I ever recover? The only reason I need such an irritating item is because I have injured my foot.” The lie rolled off of his tongue casually, an answer he’d stored away for whenever the question was asked.
“My apologies, sir. I must have stepped past your boundaries with such a question.” Her carmine eyes glinted, and she reached forward with one fingertip to trail it down Dazai’s chest, forcing him to suppress a shudder of discomfort. “Is there any way I can repay you for being so disrespectful?”
“Hm, I don’t think so. Maybe this lovely conversation will convince me to bestow you my forgiveness?”
“I see. So you are the comedically flirty type, after all.” Miss Enchi’s smile widened, and in response, Dazai flicked her hand off of his chest with an exaggerated huff.
“And now you’re watering me down to lowly archetypes. This conversation is rapidly declining, hm?”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be if I took you out back.” The words were like a spider crawling up the back of his neck, and his jaw tightened as he tried to keep up the flirtatiously casual persona.
“I suppose it could work, but I’m honestly not in the mood for it tonight.” He leaned back against the wall, arching an eyebrow as she stepped closer. “Very bold of you to suggest.”
“I have always been described that way by those close to me.” She tilted back Dazai’s chin, smile spreading into something more sinister. “How old are you, mystery man?”
“Hm, I suppose I can disclose my age, just for you. I’m 22.” Miss Enchi’s nose crinkled slightly, and she withdrew her hand, still maintaining a mockingly pleasant expression.
“How.. lovely.” Her clear disgust at his age was off-putting, even more so than the rest of her personality, and he fought the urge to push her off and run for it.
Slowly, he scanned the bar, searching for any excuse to escape from the interaction. When he grasped his gaze across a mop of murky blonde hair, tied back and thrown over the person’s shoulder, Dazai felt the knot in his chest release.
“My sincerest apologies, lovely lady, but it appears I forgot to mention that I was meant to be meeting a coworker here, and he has just arrived.” Immediately, Miss Enchi stepped back, sliding her hands onto her tips and tilting her head.
“Hmm? How charming. Well, I’m sure he’d love to meet me too.”
“Afraid not. He, quite frankly, has no interest in women.” Shrugging, he braced himself against his cane, leaning forward with a sigh. “Again, my apologies.”
“No need to apologise. I shall see you another night, mystery man.” She winked, maroon eyes twinkling as Dazai straightened and began to push through the crowd.
After a big hustle of being bumped around by drunks and having curses thrown at him for being in the way, the brunet was able to grab onto his coworker’s sleeve.
“Oh Kunikida-kun~!” He chirped, pulling himself out of the hoard and toward the shocked looking man.
“Dazai-kun? Why are you here?”
“Oh, you know me! Stopping for drinks and such… I could ask the same for you.” He leaned in, giving Kunikida a playful tap on the nose.
“I- er-” The taller man stammered, colour rising to the tips of his ears, before settling on an exasperated sigh, “Looking for you, actually.”
“How sweet. You missed me that much?”
“Yeah, right. You’re needed tomorrow for a mission. I just wanted to let you know, alright?” He crossed his arms, pulling away from Dazai’s eager hold.
“Why not simply let me know tomorrow when I come in?” He responded, pouting at Kunikida’s resistance to his usual charms.
“It’s too important to let you know on a whim. President Fukuzawa specifically requested that I let you know in advance.”
“And why is that?” Dazai tilted his head slightly, tone sassy as he spoke.
“We have reason to believe that Ranpo-kun is missing. He didn’t return from his mission on Monday, his apartment is empty, and all his belongings are there still. Considering it is now Thursday, and he hasn’t answered any of our calls, the situation is clearly worrying.”
“Ah, I see.” There were no other words Dazai could find in him to reply to such a statement. Ranpo had never pulled such a stunt before; he always knew what would happen, and, because of that, he could evade anything with ease. “Is there anything I should bring with me tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so, no. Just bring yourself. From the information I’ve received, though, we might be doing some hiking.”
“What a pain!” Dazai moaned, “I hate hiking.”
“I may or may not be aware of that.”
“Hey!”
“Changing topics, though,” Kunikida glanced to the other side of the room, “There was a woman following you when you came over.. Do you know her, or something?”
“Hm. Making a guess, it was probably Enchi-san.” The brunet shrugged. She didn’t seem relevant to the conversation, although she was disturbing. “Black hair? Red eyes?”
“Uh, yes. She reminds me of someone, although I can’t think of who…” Kunikida picked at a loose thread on his collar, Dazai noticing his clear thoughtfulness.
“I’m not sure where you’d have seen her. She’s just some flirt that tries to seduce every man she sees.” After taking another glance behind Dazai and into the crowd, Kunikida’s eyes brightened.
“She came into the agency the other day, that’s where I recognised her face.” He furrowed his brows, before continuing. “She was the woman who requested Ranpo-kun for a case.”
“Strange. She also wouldn’t have recognised me, considering I was out that day on a separate mission with Atsushi-kun,” He asserted mindfully, “Who else will be accompanying us on this hike, Kunikida-kun?”
“Uh, just Yosano-san and Junichiro-kun, I believe.”
“I’d hoped it would just be us.” Dazai mused, flicking Kunikida’s nose as his ears reddened once more, “Oh, calm down. I’m just joking!”
“Whatever.” The blond looked away, lips tightened into a thin line as Dazai chuckled at his conundrum. It was rare for the man to blush or get flustered, so little moments like these always made the brunette smile. And, even though Kunikida always acted irritated, Dazai could tell he enjoyed such moments just as much as he did.
Slowly, Dazai nudged his companion’s hand, shuffling closer affectionately. “You’re always so tense, Kunikida-kun. Do you ever let loose?”
“What? Of course I do, don’t be stupid.”
“Those dark circles under your eyes suggest otherwise, silly. You’re always so irritated, and I know it can’t be because of me, considering how pleasant I am to be around. So, I’ve concluded that you work too hard!” He gestured up to the smudges beneath Kunikida’s eyes, batting his eyelashes.
“How do you suggest we solve this problem, then?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Simple. Let’s dance!”
“No chance.”