human ~ dazai osamu

25 : kintsugi

A/N: hi everyone! i hope you're all doing well and staying safe :3 i just wanted to say thank you so much for 1K likes!!!! <3 <3 i honestly can't believe it, i never expected this story to be so popular, i hope you enjoy everything to come!! and thank you so much again, it means so much to me that people are actually enjoying my writing :")

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Kintsugi: the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold

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A strong gust of wind blows through the bones of the mafioso, it's bitter bite stings his stubbled cheek as he opens the gate to the cemetery with a screech, the reddish-brown haired man winces slightly at the sound.

Odasaku continues to walk steadily down the path of the cemetery, his cerulean eyes are glued to his feet as a small, fluffy teddy bear is tucked under his arm, shielding it from the few snowflakes dropping from the January sky.

He looks up as he reaches the family grave marked 'L/N' but pauses with a shocked expression as he links eyes with unfamiliar russet ones. The person's light blonde hair was very long, reaching her hips and was tied up with her lengthy bangs hiding her left eye. Odasaku noticed the school uniform on her tall frame and found the cream and burgundy colours to be familiar – it was the same uniform you wore to school.

The two are silent for a moment, their breath erupts into clouds from the chill, and they exchange a quiet greeting with awkwardness filling the air.

Yumi looks to the side, before kneeling down to the grave and offering a bouquet of peony flowers to the family she once loved. She then places her hands together and prays silently, hoping the L/N family can hear her.

"I recognise you from the funeral." She then says, it catches Odasaku off guard and he turns to her with furrowed eyebrows as he tries to remember her face. "Natsu's... You were with the group at the back, those strange people who I'd never seen before."

"Mmh." Oda mutters with a nod and watches as the girl rises from the grave.
"My name's Uchino Yumi, I'm Y/N's friend." She introduces herself, holding out a hand to the older man, her nails painted a deep purple.

"Oda Sakunosuke, I used to look after Natsu-chan." He replies, shaking the girl's hand, he lets go of her, but she only squeezes it harder, the man grunts in surprise.

"Oda-san." She mumbles, her voice low as she looks towards him with dark eyes. "I can assume you were the one who looked after Natsu whenever Y/N was working – so perhaps you could tell me exactly how a kind, excitable young girl of six was killed out of nowhere."

The said man was silent.

"In this city, it isn't uncommon for good people to be killed for no reason." He finally says, looking up to the starry sky, his sapphire irises focused on the flickering scarlet lights of a passing airplane. He lets a breath out and the cloud travels upwards. "It just happens that this time it was someone close to us."

Yumi seems shocked from his answer, but quickly shifts into understanding and lets go of the man's hand, trailing her disheartened eyes to the redhead's shoes.

"But why did it have to be Natsu, why Y/N." She mutters inaudibly.

Odasaku then turns his attention to the grave beside him and offers the teddy bear, placing it tenderly next to the bouquet, he makes sure the bear is sitting upright, and smiles slightly as it sits perfectly. It was given to him by Sakura, she came up to him with tears in her rosy eyes, holding the pink bear with her trembling hands and told him she had wanted to give Natsu the bear for Christmas, but had never gotten the chance.