Cursed 》Bungo Stray Dogs

Four (3rd POV)

Dazai and Hiromi walked side by side on the way to Dazai's place. After her phone call with her dad, Hiromi felt...a bit down. Her chest ached from the fact that Shigure basically told her to never return home. She wanted to cry so much because, in her heart, she believed that he chose Akito over her when in fact it's the exact opposite.

Dazai glanced at Hiromi from time to time as he yapped the night away. She pulled his coat a bit tight around her as if it would provide her some kind of comfort. She was wearing the clothes the Agency gave her but she still felt kind of exposed after Dazai hugged her.

Hiromi did enjoy the hug from earlier, but the fact that her first hug ever - without her turning into a dog - was with some man she just met today. And it wouldn't have happened if Dazai didn't use his ability on her.

She believed that the first person she would have hugged once the curse was broken would be Shigure. The man who brought her into this world. She never got to experience a loving embrace from him because of it. Only a pat on the head was their version of a hug, but it wasn't the same as a real one. She wanted her second hug to be with either Yuki or Kyo. Yuki because he was like a brother to her, always looking out for her when someone else couldn't. Kyo because he's the one who deserves it out of everyone from the Sohmas. He got the worst treatment; always getting left out, blamed, getting talked down on, no one wanted to deal with him because he's the cat zodiac.

"Are you hungry?" Dazai asked.

Hiromi shook her head and lied. "No, thank you. I'm still full from the coffee shop." Her eyes widened the moment her stomach growled, exposing her.

"That doesn't sound like you're full to me. I would be too if I haven't eaten anything in three days." He placed his pointer finger and thumb on his chin as he started to think. "I do have a few things at home I could make but I'm not exactly a cook. Unless you prefer eating burnt food."

"I swear I'm fine. Just a little tired." She gave him a sad smile. "I just need a little sleep to feel better."

Not one moment did Dazai believe her. "Are you sure?" He reached forward and cupped her cheek. Hiromi let out a breath when Dazai used his thumb to wipe a tear she didn't know was trailing down her face. "Do you want to talk about it? Might make you feel better."

"There's nothing for me to talk about."

"Really? What about the real reason you ran away from home?" Hiromi felt her chest quicken. "You said the head of the Sohma household treated you differently. Now that I know about the Zodiac Curse, I wanna know why the head hated you so much?"

Dog ears appeared on Hiromi's head as she looked away from Dazai, another wave of sadness rushing over her as she let out a small whine. "Because I'm an ugly beast who shouldn't have existed," Hiromi recited as more tears pricked her eyes.

That piqued Dazai's interest. They finally arrived outside his place. He took his keys out and opened the door before motioning Hiromi to go first. Her eyes immediately began to scan the place as he closed the door. There weren't a lot of photos, in fact, there were none. There was a small mess as they walked toward the living room, but other than that the place was tidy. It was almost as if Dazai didn't come home very often.

"Sorry about the mess," he said. "I didn't have enough time to find a dog bowl or a have paper laying in case you need to do your business."

"Seriously, another dog joke?" she grumbled.

"Get used to it, you'll be hearing a lot of them from me." He gave her a grin. "What size collar do you wear?"

"Do you want me to kill you?"