Chrysanthemum Garden [Dazai x Reader] ✓

Prelude

Dazai had been standing before an old friend's desk for several minutes. His hands were buried inside the pockets of a beige trench coat that folded and shifted with every move he performed, and his eyes pierced ahead towards the paper he had introduced to said desk.

Despite appearing calm and composed, the tips of his fingers agitatedly rubbed against the sewing of his pockets, and, in his hazel eyes, he held nonchalant uneasiness. The document which the government worker dressed in brown - referred to as "Ango" by the standing, younger male - held between his fingers was an important paper for Dazai, such subject being so sensitive towards him that it made his hatred grow for the buttons running down the left of Ango's tight blazer as they moved with the indecisive dark-haired figure in the improvised performance of impatience.

'[Y/N] [L/N],' he read aloud, pupils dancing over the printed lines and rushed notes scribbled on the bottom of the file. 'The Special Division of Unusual Powers has been targeting her for some time now - you and I are both aware she is a threat to Yokohama; this should be no surprise for you though.'

'I am more than aware of it,' the brunet managed to reply, embellishing the frenzied nerves through his nonchalant disguise while he approached the desk, and bent forward slightly to peak at the paper in his friend's hands despite having memorised word for word what had been both printed and written on it. 'We almost put her to rest for how much of a threat she was capable of being for the Port Mafia.'

'You almost did that - is there a particular reason why you didn't follow through with it?' Ango questioned with tamed curiosity, adjusting his glasses before staring up at the eyes of the brunet before him. 'I was surprised to hear you'd come by, in all honesty, but never expected this to be the issue we'd be discussing. You want to clear all the crimes she's committed from her record, is that so?'

'Precisely.'

'You must be aware that what we did a couple of years ago may not be possible with this case; despite your roots, you were not wanted by the government like she is - We cannot negotiate with the law, Dazai, regardless of whether she holds repentance for the deeds or not,' the dark-haired male confessed, laying the paper back down on the wooden desktop and sliding it back towards the brunet. 'Her inability to control her gift has made her name popular amongst our files in the government, so this is a case of -'

'I figured you'd say that,' Dazai interrupted with a sigh, reaching into his inner pocket for a multi-coloured thin book that he thumped over the sheet of paper before it could tip against the edge of the desk; both males stared down at the book, one with aching nostalgia as he read its title, the other with confused inquisitiveness. 'Take a look at it yourself, then we can discuss things from there.'

With a pinch of hesitation but no uttered words of protest, Ango did as told, taking the small book into his hands and flicking through each page for a brief smell of the mouldy scent it produced from years of having sat stationary without any exercise. He knew, however, this had not been the sort of investigation the younger male had suggested he conducted, so with the use of his ability he conformed to the request:

"Discourse on Decadence" allowed for Ango Sakaguchi to view the memories stored in any item he held in the possession of his fingers, this requiring great capabilities to fight against the mental strain that such put the user at risk; it was an exceptional gift for an agent such as himself to be treasured among his peers, no doubt, but it certainly was just as dangerous for the unconsciousness he risked suffering from.

The book slipped from his hands. Ango's eyes had widened in aching shock.

The memories he'd just witnessed were ones he had never had a chance to live in the past despite having been only a mere few steps away from such, or never be found at the "right place at the right time" - part of him wished his ability could have faltered this one time if any time at all, and that these memories had not awakened the emotional side of him.

'With all due respect, Dazai, the government cannot operate based on such attachments, especially for a past we worked on erasing from ourselves...' he began, but his voice slowly faded with each spoken word as he glanced back at the book dormant over the profile of the young girl whose face he'd acquainted well with from several reports.

'A couple of years ago you cleared my record - that is something quite corrupt for a government worker to do, I believe. All I'm asking is that you do the same for her,' Dazai posed calmly, pulling his dominant hand from his pocket to hover a finger over the name of the girl. 'A nice name like hers doesn't belong in the custodian record of the government, does it? Come on now, I'm asking nicely, aren't I?'

Ango was moved certainly, but not yet convinced; it was indeed he who had cleared from the brunet's history an endless series of cases involving murder, extorsions, fraud and several others (these which he would still be held accountable for only a couple of years prior the current day), but he wondered how easily he could do the same for her.

'It's not just a couple of casualties she's caused. She's responsible for hundreds, literal hundreds of deaths - the government doesn't care which degree of offence it was! Even if I were to do what you're asking, we cannot guarantee she'll stray from this life: she's bound to it for life under the Mafia, probable to become a member too if she continues being their toy. It will all go to waste!'

Dazai chuckled and retrieved the book he held with significant importance to himself, this gesture catching the dark-haired male by a degree of surprise. 'As a tactician, I am aware of which roles each individual can carry out for a successful result: I cannot clear her crimes, the same way you cannot guarantee her abidance to the law once your work is done.' He took a breath, grinned and took a step back innocently. 'That is why I'm personally going to find her and persuade her out of it.'

There was so much wrong Ango could find in this last statement of his that he did not even know where to begin.

'You need to let her go. As a former Mafia executive, you must remember the reason why she does these things, and an overnight drift won't direct her to a different path - the path you want her to be in. You can't make choices for her!'

The brunet shook his head and chuckled again. 'Don't get me wrong here, Ango. I didn't show up in seek of sympathy or an extension of time so that I could "change her"; I do not intend on using her, but I do not intend to let her fall into the hands of the government either,' he pronounced as he watched the puzzlement in the older male's eyes with satisfaction. 'The reason for my visit was to inform you that I won't let you lay hands on her - the same way you did to Sakunosuke Oda.'

Ango kept his silence. Dazai's eyes abandoned the brightness emitted by the chandelier above them.

'Only those who remember your crimes may never forgive you, but those that come after they've been erased - Ah, that doesn't matter now. Time's too inconsiderate.' The brunet stuffed the book in his coat and looked up so that his vision was directly blinded by the light. 'She's been awarded the right to start anew, and I won't let you take that away from her - away from me.'