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Emergency Port Mafia mission. Dazai was now being left to attend their daughter's Parent Teacher meetings by himself. Chuuya was seconds out the door, taking a moment to fix his husband's hair. Why did they have to send their seven year old to a private school? Apparently the executive said it was something about safety. Whatever the reason may be, it meant Dazai had to look presentable.
“I love you, be smart, and don't embarrass us,” Chuuya reminded him with a half smile. The brunette couldn't resist, bending down and kissing him while cupping his face.
“I promise Darling, I love you too.” The ginger looked at him with a slight glare for a few beats, before turning out the door. Dazai could hear him interacting with Yukina, kissing her goodbye before finally leaving. The detective looked at himself in the mirror, sighing. Did he really have to look like this?
“Daddy!” Yukina busted into the bedroom, “Did Papa really have to leave again?” Dazai turned and crouched down to her height.
“Sweetie, you know me and your father work very important jobs, ones that you can't tell others about. Especially Papa's.”
“I don't even know what he does! Is he with the police like you?”
“Uhh… in a way. He just fights different people,” Dazai explained before checking his phone, “It's time to go, we don't want to be late now do we?” Yukina shook her head, before lifting her arms up. The detective couldn't suppress the soft smile that graced his face as he lifted her up to his hip.
“You're getting real big Yuki honey. I'll only be able to carry you over my shoulder soon like I do with Papa.” The girl giggled, remembering the times when her father would lift Chuuya just to irritate him. Dazai carried her out the house, remembering to lock the door before setting her on the ground. He couldn't not think she looked adorable in the dress his husband got her to wear. He unlocked the car, buckling her in the back seat before getting into the driver's side. He could control his driving if he really tried, it just meant going a little slower than he would have liked. They arrived at the school nonetheless. He pulled out the paper Chuuya gave him with the list of teachers and rooms he had to go to. Dazai then helped his daughter out of the car, holding her little hand as they walked up to the massive building. Why does a primary kid need all this? When they got through the door, the father crouched down to her level, showing the paper.
“Do you know where Sensei Soroku's room is?” The girl shook her head. This now became ten times more difficult.
“Sir?” A voice came from in front of them. Dazai looked up to meet the formally dressed woman before standing up.
“I can help you,” she said with an offer of a hand. The detective quickly handed the sheet of paper over, gently guiding his daughter to his side.
“If you go up the stairs and follow the hallway, it will be numbered on your left,” the teacher told Dazai, who smiled politely as he took the paper back.
“Thank you,” he said with a bow that Yukina immediately copied. They did as directed and went up the stairs, the little girl jumping joyfully ahead of him. The first meeting went normal, Yukina being allowed to play a few feet away. Dazai followed what the science teacher told him. He wasn't surprised to hear of her outstanding scores, even for being in a private school. The only downside was that she was talkative, engaging in conversation when she finished work before everyone else. That was expected, being Dazai's child and all. The next meeting was when he began to get on edge. As Yukina colored at a desk, Dazai sat down across from the woman. She was looking at him with eyes he knew all too well, but hasn't engaged with in years.
“She's a smart beautiful girl, I see where she gets it from. Do you read with her at home? Her reading level is outstanding for her grade.”
“When she was younger we did do some joint reading, but after that it was something she picked up on her own, possibly copying me,” Dazai detailed, noticing that the literature teacher definitely liked that answer.
“That's wonderful and very beneficial. At this age they are more likely to try and be like their parents. You seem to be a handsome role model for her.” The brunette had to bite his tongue, literally. He knew he couldn’t talk about Chuuya, or even say he had a husband. Yukina looked more like Dazai, so they were going to tell anyone who asked that Chuuya was just a close family friend that helped out frequently.
“I also believe that my wife-” he emphasized the word, hating to have to use it in the first place, “is a very good one as well. Thank you.” The detective stood up, sliding his chair in.
“Come hun, we're moving to the next one,” he chimed to the little girl as he held a hand to her. She gleefully took it, leaving the crayons on the table as she followed her father out. The teacher watched them depart with slight embarrassment.
“Yukina, do you know why I can't tell people that I love Papa?” He asked her on the way to the next room, making sure no one else was in ear shot.
“Because the government doesn't like you being married to Papa because he's a boy!”
“That's right sweetie,” he muttered, a bit disheartened that the little girl understood the problem. Up ahead of them, another young girl and her mother came out of the stairwell. Yukina gasped, calling out the other girl's name and breaking away from Dazai in a heart beat. The little girls ran to embrace each other as the parents followed with an awkward laugh.
“Uh, sorry about that… I'm Akizuki Teijirō,” the mother introduced herself with a light bow.
“Osamu Dazai,” he responded with a slight bow of his own. Such formal settings were so unnatural to him. Her eyes gazed over him for a second.
“You're a single parent too?”
“No, I'm married, actually. My partner had a work emergency.”
“Oh sorry, my bad.”
The next handful of interactions went as expected. They only had two more to go, the art teacher and the principal. Chuuya said it was important to introduce themselves and explain that their jobs may interfere with Yukina's attendance. Walking into the art room, it was somehow dark in contrast to the little kid drawings around, finger paints drying on a rack. A man sat at his desk with some papers in front of him.
“Yukina Nakahara,” he muttered, looking over his glasses at Dazai as he sat down in front of him, “I know the surname.”
“Oh, really?” Dazai asked, playing the dumb card. The older man was studying him intently. There was no way he could accurately read him
“I'm a deflected member of the Port Mafia as well, Osamu Dazai.” Now this guy must have done his research. The brunette glanced over his shoulder to his kid busying herself at an art table.
“Just a simple brute that flew under the radar, but I did pay attention to my higher ups, Demon Prodigy.”
“Alright that's enough, you're getting weird with it,” the detective interrupted, passing words through his gaze that he wasn't saying out loud.
“I'm just trying to inform you. Unless parents are working with a government, no one seems to be bothered by the name.”
“We had complications when trying to set up aliases.” The serious air suddenly fizzled away as the older man smiled and switched topics.
“Well she's a joy in class, very helpful to everyone and always cleans up.” It was all strange, why would he openly admit to being part of the Mafia in the past? Why would he tell Dazai that he knew who he was? Thinking about it, it may have been an attempt to gain trust in case he was suspected of it.
The interaction with the principal was even more tense. Yukina was told she had to wait in a seat outside as Dazai was allowed into the headmaster's office. Something about it eerily reminded him of Mori's office.
“Nice to meet you, Yukina's dad? It's everything alright? I don't meet with many parents.”
“It's all good, my partner just told me I should make sure you know some things. You're the most direct person we thought to go to for warnings about her attendance.”
“Warnings? Does she have a safe home life?”
“Extremely, that's why her attendance may be disturbed. Both me and my partner work… government associated jobs. We work a lot with crime in Yokohama, making us a bit of a target. It's why we have a pass on important information in her file.” The headmaster nodded, flipping through some papers to see what he was referring to.
“Ah, I had been wondering why there was no address written down.”
Dazai cleared his throat, “Our lives are unpredictable, but our daughter comes first. In order to keep her safe and out of the eyes of people with bad intentions, she may be absent during some situations.”
“Right, I totally understand that sir. I've had parents in the past who are busy with corporations and weren't able to give transportation all the time. I won’t write it down of course, but if there’s ever a mistake with an absence being left unexcused, you can tell the office to let me know.”
“Thank you so much sir,” Dazai spoke politely as he stood up and bowed.
“I get it, really. I’ve met many different families in my time.”
When they returned home, Dazai immediately crashed onto the couch, Yukina rushing to his side. He placed the back of his hand against his forehead, the other resting on top of the small girl's head.
“Daddy are you okay?” She asked anxiously.
“Daddy just hates talking to people… it takes a lot of energy.” Yukina frowned, watching the exhaustion on her fathers face. With a calculated leap, she climbed on top of her dad, laying down on his chest and hugging him with her tiny arms. Dazai laughed, smiling as he rubbed her back.
“Do you hate talking to me?” Yukina asked, looking up with worry in her eyes.
“Oh god no! You and Papa are the only people I enjoy being around. Honey I promise I love talking to you,” he reassured, kissing the top of her head before slumping back down.
“I love you daddy,” she mumbled, tiredness heavy in her voice, burning her face into her father’s shirt. Dazai hugged his daughter tightly, absorbing the warmth radiating from the pure child.
“I love you too Yuki, more than anything.” A few minutes later, both of them were passed out, lightly snoring on the couch. When Chuuya finally arrived home, a little past midnight, he smiled at the lump of beings on his couch. Being as silent as possible, the ginger walked over to the people he loved most, kissing the top of the little girl's head before kissing Dazai's forehead. He saw a twitch in the brunette's face, immediately realizing he was fake sleeping. He probably woke when the door opened, but chose to keep pretending. Playing into it, Chuuya kissed his nose before gently tilting his chin to kiss him properly.
“I love you, Chibi,” Dazai whispered, peaking one eye open, watching his husband smile. The red head gently stroked his jaw.
“I love you too, ‘Samu.”