the beauty of water: resurfaced | o. dazai ✔

chapter eighteen.

(Y/n) closed the door after Yosano and Ranpo left, leaning against the door as she stared into the living room. She swept up the snack bag Ranpo gifted her, placing it in the kitchen before she returned to the bedroom.

She pulled out the file from underneath the pillows. She ran her hand along the smooth manilla file, trying to press against the folded edges she'd created in her swift movements. She eventually gave up, opening the file again. She pulled out the papers she was looking at previously: a picture of what looked to be a construction site, meetings between some of the kids Aimi employed, and notes regarding supposed meeting areas.

What really gained (Y/n)'s attention were the buildings near train stations. In the voicemail, she could hear the rumble of the tracks near wherever Aimi and Zack were plotting and hiding. There were three buildings near train tracks throughout Yokohama that her gang and Aimi herself had been sighted at – two of them were abandoned buildings.

One was an old dance studio that was closed down a decade ago due to low participation and eventual bankruptcy. The other was an old coat factory that closed down for bankruptcy as well, though it was part of a snowball effect after a worker had been killed in a freak accident. A majority of the equipment inside had been removed and/or destroyed, so it was a pretty clear and large area within.

(Y/n) wasn't sure which of the two Aimi and Zack were in. There was a part of her that wanted to leave the safe house to track them down and end this once and for all. Another part of her told her to let the Agency and Chuuya take care of it – she decided to listen to this part for once.

"What are you looking at?"

(Y/n) froze at the question. She slowly looked up, finding Kunikida standing in the doorway with a bag of groceries pressed against his side. She hadn't even realized that she never actually closed the door to the bedroom all the way – she wasn't sure why that hadn't crossed her mind.

She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. She slowly began gathering the papers and placing them back into the file. Kunikida placed the bag on a nearby chair and walked over, snatching one of the notes before she could grab it.

"Have you been keeping tabs on the Fujinuma's?" Kunikida looked down to her, horror lining his eyes. "Have you been sneaking out to work on your own investigation?!"

She could feel her frustration and embarrassment boiling up in her chest. "Kunikida, that isn't the—"

"Do you not trust that the Agency will get to the bottom of this? Do you not think that we'll protect you?"

"If you would just let me explain—" The embarrassment soon dissolved as he continued to cut her off, going off on his own verbal rampage.

"I don't know that any explanation will be good enough to—"

"Would you shut the hell up for two seconds?!" (Y/n) didn't mean to scream, yet her voice echoed slightly throughout the house.

Kunikida stared at her with wide eyes. In the two plus years they'd known each other, she'd never raised her voice to him in such a way. (Y/n) was no longer embarrassed, frustration and now anger burst out of her chest – seeping throughout her body.

It felt good to watch him realize that he'd finally pushed her enough.

"I need you to not assume the worst for once and listen to what I have to say," she continued, her voice calmer but her words were still lined with venom. It was almost as if she were daring him to do it again. "I will explain everything, but you cannot go on your own rant. Then I won't give you any answers."

He opened his mouth to speak, quickly closing it as he let her words soak into him. He wasn't sure how to feel after having her finally snap at him.

She definitely knew – she could feel her anger from all their disagreements and arguments rise up. She had the floor and she could tell him off on everything and anything, yet she didn't. This was not the time and not the place. She would eventually, just not now.