In Memory of a Dark Era

A Scandalous Night

"I had a run-in with the mafia."

The confession was voiced out steadily as you held grimly lit auburn eyes not belonging to the Dazai Osamu of the Armed Detective Agency. That version of him seemed to have completely vapourise, only to have his past emerge before you.

You didn't quite comprehend this change and didn't find it in yourself to entertain the idea Dazai could be bothered by the injury; thus tossing the probable reason behind the fact the Port Mafia had triggered some ancient part of him to light.

"Who did this?" Dazai pressed.

Were you delusional to hope he cared with this display?

"It's... dealt with now," you decided to brush the matter off with a soft response.

Dazai's gaze didn't relent yet he yielded to your dismissal, stepping away from your personal space and keeping his lips tightly shut.

"It was bound to happen."

Silence.

"You would've done the same," you kept talking, hating his silence— whatever the reason behind it. Your back turned to him for the tea after failing to find anything in his unreadable eyes.

Silence remained, still.

A challenging sort of silence and you knew Dazai prevailed when you unwittingly admitted, "after all, he was your pupil."

A second of torturous silence stretched like an hour before a deep chuckle resonated through his chest, "that pupil wasn't taught mercy from me."

"Glad it wasn't you then," you indulged, finally making the tea and heading towards the table.

You didn't know Dazai's silence would render you hopeless enough to almost heave a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice.

Then again, you were simply not accustomed to being in his presence without hearing his humming or the lilt in his voice.

It almost unnerved you.

Astonished by the answer, Dazai gaped at you and a snicker slithered from his tightened lips before it broke into a cackle. He wrapped his hands around his stomach, his cheeks reddened with the fit of laughter.

"... what?" you asked while pouring tea, completely unfazed by whatever that triggered his infamous laugh.

The maniac finally calmed down and his voice came out rich with emotions as he called you out, "you're a bad liar, (Y/N)~"

You swallowed, averting your eyes and fidgeting with your chopsticks. Pausing momentarily, you placed the utility on the plate and straightened up to face the troll, "it seemed Akutagawa wouldn't act on his own interests before dragging me to the mafia, injured or not. So yes, I'm glad it wasn't you."

"What would make you think of me so harshly when the only place I dragged you to was my apartment?" the brunet had the audacity to say as he sipped on his tea.

Your lips parted to retaliate, lie or act clueless, but they fell shut.

Another attempt was made that ended with your teeth sinking into your lower lip and cheeks flaring into all hues of red.

How could you ever utter a single word when Dazai scrambled your brains while drinking his tea with all the calm in the world?

There was no denying the fact he knows of your interaction with him in the past and your head, heart and soul was not up for logical thinking to finesse this situation.

"What!?" you almost shrieked shooting up from your seat, "how?!"

Dazai looked up at you with childish, twinkling eyes as if your question was absolutely ridiculous, "well, we met in a shady alley and then—"

"Not THAT!" you cut him off almost crying in horror, "how do you remember?"

"You can't expect a Mafia Excutive to be so careless?" Dazai shrugged enjoying every bit of your theatrics, "I used my ability on you."

"When?!"

"Stahhhp~! You're starting to ask embarrassing questions!" Dazai squealed like a school girl as he wiggled in his seat with hands on his cheeks. The tips of his fingers on his sly smirk when he asked, "huehue, when do you think?"

You gasped as your hand shot to your gaping mouth, "you—" You started weakly but then your voice grew firm with the accusation, "so you took advantage of a drunk woman and used your ability on her?!"

"I feel like we went over this already, but I might as well remind you," Dazai sighed comically with batting eyes, then his tone lowered as he quoted the words of his past: "I couldn't resist when you're the one who started it." 

With lips zipped tightly at implication of Dazai knowing more than just a scandalous night, you sank into the seat further with eyes glued on the tea's steam.

"Besides, I was suspicious of how willing you offered yourself, so I had to use my ability," Dazai added to your misery. 

"No. No, that's not possible," you denied stubbornly while shaking your head.

"It is when you understand the full magnitude of your captor's ability."