ᴇᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ

A Big, Pretty Kitty

「𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴」

••●••

'I really want to eat chazuke...'

After 2 failed (not really) attempts at theft, a boy named Atsushi Nakajima is currently at the side of a river, on the brink of death by starvation. 

A more accurate description of the situation: Atsushi doesn't have the courage to commit theft, using the excuse of his empty stomach to why he hasn't committed the action.

'Guess I'll just die then.'

But a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. 

"Are you okay?"

Atsushi's gaze directed upwards, as he noticed a presence standing beside him. A young long-haired albino girl --about 12 or younger-- had worrisome crimson eyes cast upon him. She wore a long-sleeved button-up dress that matched her eyes, socks splattered with paint and brown loafers. A pink-ish ribbon tied to her hair, while a crystal-like object dangled from her neck as a necklace. He noticed a paper bag cradled in her arms. 

'A little girl... She looks like an easy target, but I can't rob such an innocent looking girl...' he thought.

"I'm okay... but what are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be with your parents or something?" 

The albino blinked. "I don't have parents."

"Oh... I'm sorry...

But... what are you doing out here?"

"I'm looking for someone." she answered simply. 

"I see..." 

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, since being the only thing between them, until a loud roar-like sound coming from Atsushi's stomach interrupted that air of stillness.

The young girl glared at him accusingly. "Was that you?" 

He sweatdropped nervously. That was not a good impression to leave on a young girl. "S-sorry... I haven't eaten in a few days..." he excused. 

Atsushi thought the albino would run away and spread word of a creepy hobo boy at the side of the river. But instead, the albino blinked, and opened the paper bag she was holding, offering it to the boy. "Do you want brownies?" 

"Brownies...?" He peered into the paper bag that she held. In an instant, the smell of freshly baked chocolate pastry filled his nose, making his stomach growl even louder.  

 But isn't it rude to take those brownies? Surely the albino planned to eat those for herself, maybe even for someone else. He can't just eat it!

Well but then again... The albino did offer it to him, which meant she didn't mind him eating it. 

'Guess I'll just take some...'

Atsushi was about to reach his hand into the paper bag, but he noticed that the albino's gaze was directed elsewhere. 

 ...

There were a pair of legs, drifting down the current of the river. A bunch of crows pecked at the shoes of the man, seemingly ready to eat the corpse.

He glanced back at the albino, she didn't seem to be at all bothered by this sight. 

He returned his gaze towards the river.

'I'll pass... Somebody has already helped me... I don't need to steal anymore.'

A bubble emerged and popped as it reached the surface, causing the crows to fly away. The man is alive it seems.

But then again... It would cause trouble in the long run if he didn't go in and save the man.

"Ah screw it!" He yelled, diving into the river.

+ - +

Well that was unexpected. 

Ayaki could've used her ability to lift Dazai from the water, but instead her newly met friend, Atsushi, dived in to save him instead. She was quite thankful that Atsushi had dived in. It was rather troublesome to lift Dazai up from a flowing river (she could safely say this from experience since as far as she could tell, this was the 126 time that Dazai had tried to drown himself), since her ability gets nullified every time it touches his skin. She tries to lift him by his clothes, but every time she does this Dazai would complain that she was being too rough with her ability, showing the scratch marks left on his skin.  

It was very tempting to kick him in the crotch and roll him back to the river, but Ayaki was a responsible young girl, so she restrained herself from doing these actions. 

Dazai sat up, wide-eyed, his soaking wet clothes dripping all over the place.  "I was saved...?" he muttered. 

Atsushi flinched, instinctively hiding behind Ayaki, who blinked repeatedly at the sight of the man. 

Dazai stood up and looked around, his face contorting into a sneer. "Damn."

"Damn?!" Atsushi exclaimed. 

Dazai took notice of Ayaki, his sneer turning into a small smile, but then his eyes drifted to the dripping wet male behind her, and his expression turned to the one he had prior.

"Was it you who interrupted my asphyxiation?" He asked. 

"Interrupted? I was trying to help you--" Atsushi suddenly paused. "...Asphixiwhat?"

"Apologies. You are unfamiliar with the term? I meant to convey that I was committing suicide."

"Huh?!" 

 Their conversation continued, but Ayaki found it quite boring. So she sauntered along, walking back and forth while popping brownies into her mouth. Dazai looked quite annoyed by the fact he was saved by Atsushi. While he in turn looked quite confused by Dazai's fanatical ramblings about suicide. 

Well, Ayaki wasn't really surprised; every person Dazai comes in contact with becomes fairly deranged (or dead). Though she was surprised at how well Atsushi seemed to take it (compared to the others they have met). 

'These brownies are delicious... I should buy more later...'

"OI YOU BLOCKHEAD!!! SO THIS IS WHERE YOU'VE WANDERED TO!!"

'Oh hey it's Kunikida-san.' she sheepishly thought. 

"Oh hey, Kunikida-kun, nice work!" Dazai gave him a thumbs-up with a closed-eye grin.

"AND WHO DO YOU THINK CAUSED ALL THIS WORK?!" The blond man yelled back angrily.

 'Here we go again...' 

He turned towards Atsushi again, completely ignoring his partner. "Oh, you know what, I have a great idea! I have a colleague from work, he'll be able to treat you to some lunch!" 

Ayaki looked at her bag of brownies. Only a few pieces were left inside. However, hearing them talk about food made her quite hungry. "Lunch would be nice..." the albino muttered to herself.

"STOP BEING SO GENEROUS WITH MY MONEY, DAZAI, AYAKI!!" 

'Why did you include me too?' 

Atsushi blinked, looking at the two. "Dazai and... Ayaki?"

"Yes. That is our name."  

"Ayaki Olsen." the albino offered.

"Dazai. Dazai Osamu." 

+ - +

The four ended up in a traditional restaurant.

Atsushi and Ayaki sat next to each other, while Kunikida and Dazai sat across them from the table.

The adults had a screaming contest with each other, while Ayaki happily ate her brownies. She didn't really pay attention, but she did hear some interesting things from the conversation. 

The umbra of the albino next to her flickered gratefully, with sudden bursts of confusion-- Ayaki paid no mind to this, all she wanted to do was eat brownies.

'These brownies are really yummy...' 

She reached her hand into the paper bag. 

Oh...

All the brownies were gone. The only thing left in the paper bag was a bunch of crumbs. It seems she ate it all. Her shoulders slumped. 

'Ranpo is going to be so mad at me for not sharing.'

Ayaki sighed internally, folding the paper bag until it was small enough to fit in her dress pocket. She should buy more brownies. She did promise Ranpo that she would give him some brownies, it would be rude of her to not commit to that agreement.

CRASH!

She glanced to her side. Atsushi was on the floor, his expression turned into pure fear. His eyes were wide in fear, his arms and legs trembling dangerously.

"I-I'd be best on my way now..." he muttered to himself.

"Hold on brat." Kunikida picked up Atsushi by the collar. Atsushi tried to escape, but it was ultimately futile, as he was running in the air. "I-I can't stay here! Nobody can defeat that monster!!" 

"You know this man-eater?" Kunikida asked.

"Kunikida-san..."

"It's been after me! It almost killed me!" Atsushi yelled. "If it's nearby I need to run-!"

"I told you--"

In a blink of an eye, Atsushi was on the floor, his arm restrained behind his back by Kunikida. "The armed detective agency deals with risky cases like these. You may pay for your meal with your arm-- or by telling us all you know."

'He's at it again...' 

"Oh come now Kunikida-kun." Dazai stood up, walking over to Kunikida. "Whenever you try to ask questions, it becomes an interrogation. Even the president has talked to you about this." 

Kunikada made a 'tsk' sound, letting go of the boy. He strode over to the other customers in the restaurant, persuading them to look away.

"What do you know about this tiger?" asked Dazai.

"That tiger wrecked my orphanage. It destroyed our fields and tore the warehouse down to shreds. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But the orphanage's funds was dangling by a string, so they tossed me out to save some money..."

"Well that's tragic..." commented Dazai while he sat backwards on a chair.  Ayaki was beside him, inattentively listening to the conversation. Now that she was full, she had a very strong urge to fall asleep, making her space out more than usual. 

"So, kid, what's this about the tiger almost killing you?" 

"Wherever I go, that tiger always shows up. 

"When was the last time you saw the tiger?" Inquired Dazai

Atsushi blinked, before responding. "Around Tsurumi river four days ago."  

"It's true that the antics have been focused around here for the past weeks. In addition, it was sighted around Tsurumi four days ago." 

Hearing this, Dazai face curled into a small grin. Sending shivers up to the albino boy's spine.

"Atsushi-kun, are you busy at the moment?" 

Dazai started writing on a piece of paper. "You being the tiger's target presents an excellent opportunity." 

"H-huh?"

"We would like you to help with our tiger hunt!" 

Dazai finished whatever he was writing and gave it to Kunikda. "Kunikida-kun, please go back to the Agency and give this to the president."

'Finally, something interesting.' "Ohh~! Can I come? I wanna see the big kitty!" Ayaki emphasized her words by jumping up and down, a childish smile on her face.