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"Jinko." Oh, good fuck.
Dazai sighs, "Ah, finally, Akutagawa, you're here. Atsushi, you've probably realized why I dragged you both out here. Akutagawa, you... probably have, too, I guess."
Akutagawa nods enthusiastically, "I have, Dazai!" Oh my god, this guy.
I huff, "What is it this time, Dazai-san?"
He grins, "I'm so glad you asked, Atsushi-kun! The mission this time is for you two to go tail two criminals through the city and downtown. They're estimated to pass through tomorrow afternoon. They're thieves so they'll be slick. Don't lose them."
I ask without hesitation, "What do they steal?"
He tells me, dead serious, "Clocks. And jewelry occasionally. Mostly clocks, though." Me and Akutagawa shoot each other a look instinctively. It kinda takes me by surprise so I return my attention to Dazai quickly.
He clears his throat before addressing his old mentor, "Understood. I shall not lose him under any circumstance. Thank you, Dazai-san."
I internally groan. Him and this thing with Dazai get really annoying. This mission is going to feel like forever.
Dazai waves him off before popping up and announcing, "Yes, yes. Now, I have a date so I'm leaving or my date will literally kill me."
Aku blinks before giving a curt nod, "Have fun. The break is needed for you both." That draws a chuckle of agreement before he departs.
I turn to my rival as soon as he's gone, interrogating instantly, "Dazai's going on a date? Dating someone?! Who?! Holy crap, I'm going to get so much money from this!"
He tilts his head, "You don't know? And why does Jinko need money?"
I mutter, "Talking to you will be the real mission.... I need money because I don't have much of it. I'm just barely living off my salary. Plus Kyouka now... but it'll be fine."
His eyebrows (or lack thereof) crease slightly as he offers, "I have a bit extra if you need some. I understand having a little sister."
"What? No! And Kyouka isn't my sister, you know that," I grumble.
His confusion grows as he admits, "I was... using one of the 'metaphors' people use. Did I do it right?"
I blink a couple times before sighing deeply, "Not really, no. Nice try, I guess?"
He looks at me for a moment before standing and clearing his throat, "Whatever. I shall see you tomorrow Weretiger." I nod and he walks away.
With a sigh, I head back to the dorms. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day....
----
Tomorrow comes and, sure enough, it's a nightmare. We trail the two of them in extremely awkward silence.
After a bit, we pass into a shopping area, and it becomes much harder to keep an eye on them. While I'm on my literal tiptoes trying to keep them in sight, Akutagawa comments, "Oh, look, it's you."
I glance at what he's looking at. It's a poster with a white tiger on it.
I sigh, rubbing my face, "Akutagawa, no...."
He turns to me, confusion evident as he insists, "It is. You're a weretiger." I sigh, going back to looking after our targets.
But they're gone. I quietly relay the information to him. His eyes widen before he lets out a body-shaking cough into his fist. He wipes said hand on his pants quickly before firmly stating, "Well, we much find them. Quickly." I don't have the time or particular desire to question the way my heart briefly pauses at the sound of that cough.
I nod and we start pushing through the crowd to where we last saw them. We head towards the downtown area, quickly becoming frantic, him more so than I.
Sure enough, they're there. We both let out a sigh of relief, though his turns into another quiet cough. I give him a look that he avoids.
As we creep slowly along behind them, he asks under his breath, "Do we know if we have to do anything other than tail them? Or how long we have to tail them for?" I stop. That's a great fucking question.
I slowly turn to him. We look at each other for a long moment. The moment grows even longer.
I eventually mutter, "Those are some pretty great fucking questions." He blinks at me before coughing again, much louder than the previous. I instantly clamp my hands over his mouth, ignoring how many germs I just got on my hands. Ewww, it feels wet and slimy, too!
I peek around the corner. The two criminals are glancing around frantically, trying to find where the cough had come from. After a minute, they continue walking, though at a bit faster of a pace.
I let out a sigh, releasing Akutagawa's mouth. But then he grabs my wrists. My eyes flit to his and I'm taken aback.
He looks genuinely panicked.
My eyebrows scrunch as concern spears through me. "Dude, are you oka-"
He interrupts with a hurried, "I apologize." He follows it up by wiping my hands down his sides.
I quickly find out two things. One, this man has the slimmest waist I have literally ever seen. Two, that waist is seeming very attractive to me at the current moment, Three, I don't think I should feel like this. At all.
He releases my hands. They hover in the air for a stunned second. I glance down at them and the previous train of thought screeches to a halt.
Blood. It's smeared and mostly gone. Is this... from when he coughed?!
I look at him with wide eyes, whispering, "Akutagawa, what the fuck...?"
He glances down at my now quivering hands that still remain i the air. His gaze freezes as he pales even more than he naturally is.
Is it because he didn't know? Or is it because he didn't want me knowing...? I open my mouth to say something, but he interrupts me. Which is probably a good thig since I've got no idea what I had been about to say.
"They have gotten to far ahead. We need to catch back up," he tells me simply. I nod slightly, still looking up at him with my mouth slightly open.
He's coughing up blood...? Based on that avoidance he knows about it. But he tried to wipe it off my hands so that I wouldn't find out. Why? And what's happening to him? Is he gonna be okay...?
I end up getting lost in my curiosity and concern. that is, I do until Aku hisses desperately, "Atsushi, watch out!"
My name. It shocks me to the point that I don't heed his warning....
And walk straight into a metal shipping container.
The sound echoes through the dock. My face pales as I slowly turn to look at a ghostly white Akutagawa. Shit.
One of the criminals quickly approaches him from behind and I go to call out a warning. But as my mouth opens, a look of panic crosses his face as he reaches out for me. And then the world goes black.
----
Everything is dark.... And blurry....
My vision slowly returns and adjusts to the darkness as I regain consciousness. I blink groggily, rubbing the back of my head as my headach starts to hit.
I ask Akutagawa, who's sitting in the corner of whatever we're in, "What happened...?"
He looks up and explains grumpily, "They snuck up behind us and knocked us both out. We are in a storage container now, I believe. They didn't tie us up, though."
I sit up, quesioning slightly accusatorially, "And why haven't you just broken out yet? It's just metal, it's not that hard to do."
Crossing his arms, he huffs, "I tried to but it didn't do anything. This isn't a normal container. Rashamoun didn't work."
That takes me by surprise. I stand and he tells me, "Sit down, Jinko. you got hit harder, you should not be standing right now."
I ignore him, activating my ability and throwing a punch at the wall. Sure enough, it does literally nothing. I try to slash it open. yet again, no effect. I sigh and drop my ability, turning to the goth still lurking in the corner.
"So what do we do now?" He shrugs oh-so-helpfully. I grunt, sitting in the middle of the area. He joins me. Resting m head on a hand, I grumble, "Are you just going to let us sit in here until someone just so happens to find us?"
He mutters, "Is there a reason to do anything else? We already failed Dazai-sans mission. There's no point."
I look at him in unfiltered shock. What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!
I laugh, though it's not a sound of amusement so much as distaste, "Are you kidding?! What do you mean there's 'no reason?!' It's all the more reason to get out! To prove to him that you're strong enough to escape after being caught. So, fuck your no point bullshit, I plan on getting out of here by any means necessary."
He blinks at me in surprise. I exhale sharply, anger and something else coursing through my veins. Stupid Akutagawa....
He sighs before admitting under his breath, "I suppose you're correct...." He looks like he's about to say more but another cough wracks his body.
My eyebrows crease as I remember the blood from earlier. I look down at my hands. Sure enough, it's still there.
I grab his hand before he can wipe it on his coat. Blood spots it. I look him dead in the eyes. Or at least I try to. He avoids my gaze at all costs.
My patience frays and I grab his face between my hands. He finally meets my eyes.
I calmly but forcefully interrogate, "Why are you coughing blood?"
He doesn't answer. I'm about ready to start shaking him like a rag-doll.
But he eventually tells me, "I have a disease in my lungs. I'm probably only going to make it to twenty-three.
My grip tightens on his face slightly as it hits me.
"You're twenty. That's only in three years." He nods. I stare, mouth agape in dread.
He tilts his head slightly, inquiring, "Weretiger? Are you alright?"
I snap, "No, I'm not alright! I just found out that one of my friends is gonna die in three fucking years!"
"Friend...?"
I glare, "Yeah? Got a problem?"
He shakes his head, "Not really. I like you anyway- I mean, I'd like that anyways. I'd like being your friend anyway." Crimson slowly creeps across his usually snowy cheeks. I blink in surprise.
Wait- what?! He....
Oh.
Oh, shit.
"Akutagawa, what did you say?" I ask quietly.
He avoids both my gaze and my question, muttering, "We should find that way out now...."
I yank his head around to actually meet my eyes again, "Akutagawa. What. Did you. Just. Say." He hesitates.
In that moment of pause, someone announces from outside the container, "You must kiss to get out!"
I join Aku in flusteredness. What...? I have to... kiss him...? Like, actually kiss him? I mean, I'm not opposed to it but seriously? Wait, why am I not opposed to it?!
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Akutagawa angrily accuses, "You said all I had to do to get us both out is confess! You did not say I had to kiss him." Confess? That means he... he actually wasn't kidding.
A different voice tells us, "That's correct. Don't mind the other guy, he's stupid. Continue."
The first voice butts in, huffing, "Well, now you've gotta kiss him. Suck it up."
"Mackerel, I swear to god- Sorry, you two, but you're gonna have to kiss. Blame this idiot," the second voice grumbles. The fish name sparks recognition, making me realize I know the voices somewhere. But that's a problem for later.
"Akutagawa, were you serious about liking me?" I ask, desperation leaking into my voice. And to think I didn't realize I like him before he said something.
He looks at me before sighing towards his lap, "Yes. I thought I was being pretty obvious. I mean, I was doing what the only happy couple I know does so I thought I was doing it right. I suppose I wasn't after all."
I tilt my head, "Who's the couple?"
He squints at me, "You actually don't know? I thought you were joking. It's Dazai-san and Chuuya-san. They've been married for a while now."
My jaw literally drops. Chuuya and Dazai are married?! I don't know Chuuya-san very well, I've barely even met him, but Dazai swears up and down that he hates the guy's guts, even after preaching all the best things about him.
Then it processes.
I hold back a laugh, "That's what you took from their relationship? The flirt fighting? Oh, Aku! Tha only works for them because they're freaks. I did't realize that'w what it is but still. Something like, I don't know, asking me to dinner or something would have worked much better. I had no idea! I genuinely thought you hated me!"
He mutters, "I don't hate you at all.... And there's only so much love in the Mafia so I did what I knew. Buy yeah, I realize taht now."
I smile, "Yeah. So... you like me, huh?" I can't help but tease him. It's cute. He glare and I laugh.
After clearing his throat, he mumbles, "So, uh, would you-... would you like... to get dinner... together...?"
I open my mouth to tell him I would absolutely fucking love to but the first voice groans, "Oh my gosh, just kiss already! I wanna go home and cuddle with my husband! And I wanna see my cat!"
I snap, "Shut the fuck up, Dazai, I'm in the middle of something!" I return my attention to Akutagawa before smapping my head back to where his voice is coming from. "Wait- Dazai?! What the hell are you doing?! You're the one who kidnapped us?!"
The second voice lets out a long breath before informing, "Sorry about all of this. This idiot decided he was tired of waiting for you two to sort your stuff out so he forced me to help him get you two further along."
Dazai corrects, "You gladly agreed to help me, actually. Plus, you could never say no to me."
A deep sigh of, "Sadly."
"See? You love me!" Dazai giggles.
Chuuya agrees dejectedly, "I do. Now, can we let the kids out or are you actually going to make them kiss?"
He proudly announces, "They must kiss!" Chuuya and him start bickering about it.
Bit by bit, I start to become deeply pissed off. My head hurts and this shit is not fucking helping. My grip on Aku's face tightens more and more until he winces slightly from it.
I huff quietly to him, "Sorry for this...." And then I pull him into a firm kiss. His hands flail around for a second before awkwardly resting on my hips.
I hear Dazai squeal excitedly. I pull away, incidentally and sadly right as he starts returning it.
I snap at Dazai, "Happy?"
He exclaims, "Very! Very, very happy!" The door swings open. I stand, offering a hand to the dazed Akutagawa.
He looks at it for a moment before taking it. I pull him gently to his feet.
We head to where Dazai has himself wrapped around Chuuya. Without hesitation, I punch the brunet in the side. He flops onto the ground with a grunt. Chuuya nods in approval before helping his husband.
I turn to Aku, pulling him into another quick kiss before smiling, "Kizuke no Baijo, seven on Friday?" He blinks in surprise before nodding, his own lips twitching into a small but happy smile.
I grin, kissing him fully. He returns it immediately. It's slow and warm and sweet. All soft lips and joy.
We break apart, smiles on both of our faces. I kiss the tip of his nose before heading off, calling over my shoulder, "See you soon! I'll text you later!"
He nods excitedly. I hum to myself with a smile on my face as I head to the dorms. This guy makes me weirdly happy. I'm glad.
That night, I drift off to sleep with the date at the forefront of my mind. This feeling may not last forever but at the moment it's the only thing I want.
So, I'm going to focus on it. And I'm going to keep it for as long as I can.
And it's going to be absolutely fucking spectacular.