A black-cloaked mafioso stood in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, waiting for the arrival of an important informant. At this point he had begun to wonder if the informant was going to make it at all. Maybe he had been killed. The frail man coughed, breaking the dead silence. Perhaps he ought to return to headquarters.
"Akutagawa."
He froze in place, startled by the voice of his former mentor. He looked around in the darkness, searching for the source of the summons, but he couldn’t see anything past the length of his own arm. Akutagawa didn't know how or why he had tracked him down, but it didn't matter. He was just glad to hear his voice. "Dazai?"
He heard shuffling a few feet away. "I have a mission for you."
The words simultaneously filled him with joy and dread. "I'm not sure if you remember, but I don't work for the agency. I work for the mafia. As you, Dazai, do not."
A sigh. "This isn't for the agency; this is a personal mission."
A personal mission? And he came to Akutagawa first? He felt like jumping for joy, but he didn’t dare to admit that aloud. “In that case… I could be persuaded to help you.” Cool as a cucumber.
“Great!” The voice had moved so it was directly in front of him. “Well, I want you to kill me.”
Akutagawa blinked. “What?”
“Actually, I want you to fatally wound me.”
“What?” He didn’t know what else to say.
“I want you to bring me to the brink of death and do it in such a way that I am on the brink of death for as much time as possible before I actually die.” He explained it like he was talking to a two-year-old. “Can you do it?”
“Of course I can. But this is quite… odd.” Akutagawa couldn’t explain it, but he had a mounting sense of foreboding. Actually, he usually felt this way when Dazai was involved.
“Come onnnn, Akutagawa. You know you wanna.”
He sighed. “Dazai, you know I would do anything for you, but… something feels off about this whole thing. Are you going to be able to heal yourself in time? Or are you planning to die?”
“Pfft, no, I won’t die. You worry too much.”
Akutagawa wished he could’ve seen Dazai’s face, could’ve read something in his eyes to reassure him. But he didn’t have that luxury. “Really?”
“Of course. Don’t be such a worry wart.”
Akutagawa took a rasping breath. He still didn’t like it, but… “I’ll do it. As long as you survive, I don’t mind lending a hand.”
“Thanks, Akutagawa, you’re the best.”
He felt himself swell with pride at the unexpected praise. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Meet me at the warehouse in three days' time.” After that he heard footsteps retreating.
“Wait!” Akutagawa called out before he could stop himself.
The footsteps halted. “What is it?”
Akutagawa searched for something to say, anything that would help him make sense of what was going on, or something to make Dazai stay. More than that, he wanted to beg for him to come back to the mafia. He wanted to hear that he had done a good job, that he was strong enough to stand beside him. But he had given up hoping for foolish wishes to come true. “Just… thank you. For choosing me.”
He heard a chuckle. “Yeah.” With that, his old mentor walked away and Akutagawa was left alone in the darkness once more
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A World Without You: A Bungo Stray Dogs Fanfiction
FanfictionEver since Dazai learned of the existence of the book, he has felt a burning in the corner of his mind. He knew that there must have been a version of himself who created a world where Oda was alive and writing his stories. Even if his friendship wi...
