Living A Dead Dream (Baji x OC)

61

*Thump*

Surprised, Naoto jumped slightly before looking at the manilla folder that was thrown down next to him on the bench. Almost as soon as his eyes landed on it, he recognized it as the folder he had given to Danaju, the one he had given to her had a small tear along the binding from previous use. With brows furrowed in confusion, he looked behind the left side of the bench at her and was about to open his mouth to speak, but she beat him to the punch.

"There's no way in hell that's all you guys have on Bonten," she flatly said with an unimpressed look.

"It is-"

"Then your guys are shitty at their jobs," she interrupted with a tinge of annoyance lining her tone. "It didn't even take me a whole week before I had all the holes in that document filled. Three more weeks and I got double that info. So?" Her brow cocked up as she waited for his explanation.

Naoto sighed as he turned his gaze to the river ahead of him. "Believe it or not, this is all the information the city police have on them. We only have access to so much. People working on the federal level would probably have more, but I don't have clearance for that type of information."

For a moment, Danaju was silent and just stared at Naoto apprehensively. Then, with a shallow defeated sigh, she flopped down on the opposite side of the bench. "There's no helping it then..." she muttered as she rested her head on the back of the bench.

His brows furrowed slightly again as he looked over at her. She usually didn't back down this quickly. "I still don't understand why you two are so insistent on this," he said after a moment as the expression he held shifted into one of slight curiosity. "In every alternate universe, Manjiro Sano has always been a criminal overlord. Why not just leave him be? If he knew about everything you two have gone through and still ended up on that path, then it's obvious this is the path he wishes to be on."

To Naoto's surprise, when she lifted her head, she was faintly smiling. As she looked out at the river with a singular boat idling in the middle, she smiled. It wasn't any of her usual ones either, he noticed. While most of the smiles she had shown him were filled with either confidence or mischief, this one was filled with a sort of nostalgic melancholy.

"Yeah, that's the logical course of action, huh?" she voiced with a small laugh. "Well, I don't know about Take, but I don't like losing those I consider as a friend. After I joined Toman, Kenny was the first to accept me for who I was. Not too long after, Mikey found out and he didn't even bat an eye." Her smile widened slightly at the memory. "Mikey..." She let out a small sigh as her smile faded into a small frown. "He's been through a lot. More than any teenager - hell, more than anyone - should go through. Ever. I don't know why this timeline's me left him to his own devices, but I need to be there for him. I need to keep him on the right path." Even if it costs me everything... "So," she continued after a moment as she locked her eyes with Naoto's, "I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted, but I have a debt to repay. Mikey helped pull me from my own darkness, so I'd be damned if I don't help him do the same."

Hanging his head slightly in defeat, he let out an inward sigh. Danaju Hanagaki was always hard-set in her ideals and goals, that much he knew. What he didn't know was that it went to this extent. Even if he wanted to, he knew that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. He doubted anyone would. "Well..." he sighed as he looked at her again, "either way, if you plan on accomplishing anything in the past, your brother will have to find someone to act as the new trigger."

She nodded. "I know. In the meantime," the corner of her mouth lifted, "I'll be doing some sleuthing."

There it was, one of those smirks that practically spoke for itself. Naoto could just imagine it. "I'm definitely gonna be doing something I shouldn't, but I won't tell you what. Plausible deniability and everything."