𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍

1 | meeting new people isn't so bad. depends on the people though

Aoi gawked down at the stranger. "You were trying to commit suicide?!" she shouted, questioning his sanity, or lack of it.

He gave her a look before shrugging. "Well, it's my goal to commit suicide without burdening anyone, so I apologize for the fright."

He got to his feet and scratched the back of his head, paying no mind to the water dripping from his clothes. Must be a regular occurrence for him at this point, she realized with a frown. She sighed and quirked up an eyebrow.

"And you thought the river was the best place to do that?" she drawled, annoyed as he gave her a sheepish smile, seemingly understanding what she was getting at.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of a stomach growling. He looked up at Aoi, who had an embarrassed flush on her cheeks. She checked the time on her watch.

"Damn, it's already that late?" she muttered. It was clear to him that she had lost track of time. "Tetchō's gonna be upset."

He chuckled. "Haven't eaten dinner yet?' he asked.

She snorted, tucking her hands into her pockets. "More like haven't eaten lunch yet," she corrected.

"Ah." He nodded. He did the same thing sometimes. His stomach then decided to let out a growl as well. "Seems I am hungry as well. How about this? I'll pay for your meal, whatever you want."

She jolted, surprised by the offer. "You don't have to do that-"

"There you are, Dazai!"

Both the man and Aoi turned to look at the other side of the river, where a blond man stood with his arms crossed and a large scowl on his face. He had his hands on his hips and it was obvious that he was pissed.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The man, Dazai, just smiled serenely and gave an uncaring wave. "Hey, Kunikida! Good work!"

"Good work, my ass!"

Dazai snapped his fingers at that moment, as if he had an epiphany. "I know! Kunikida can pay for your meal."

"Are you even listening to me, you blockhead?!"

Aoi could only sweatdrop before pausing. "Um, Dazai?"

He looked at her before smiling. "Mhm. My name's Dazai. Dazai Osamu."

"Kurokawa Aoi," she said in return. "Nice to meet you, Dazai-san."

~ — — — ~

She paced back and forth in front of the tea shop, listening to Jōno yell at her from the other end of the call. She simply just tuned out his rant as she thought back to the man she pulled out of the river, Dazai Osamu. Tetchō and Jōno had told her about him before, how he used to be the Demon Prodigy of the Port Mafia. She found it odd that four years after his disappearance from the mafia, she ends up running into him and finding that he works for a detective agency.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jōno's tired question brought her out of her thoughts and she winced.

"Nope," she answered honestly. "Sorry, Jōno. Just ran into someone I never thought would be possible."

"Who?"

"Dazai Osamu," she said, making him fall silently. "Yeah, that was my reaction when I realized who he was."

Jōno's silence was deafening. "Has he done anything to you?" he eventually asked in a dead serious voice.

Aoi bit back a grin. They may have only known each other for about two years, but he ended up becoming quite protective over her for reasons she didn't know. It was nice though, being protected by someone who knows she doesn't need to be protected, but will still do it anyway. It was definitely something she never experienced in the orphanage.