LOVING MACHINE ‣ d. osamu

ACT II › O1.

   YOUNG FOOTSTEPS ECHOED ACROSS the disturbed streets of suribachi city, full of gunk as [name] passed through the slums. she fished a slip of paper from her pocket and read the address for the meeting place with chuuya, having run into him the other day. finally, i'll be free from the port mafia's clutches, she thought with triumph.

she stopped in front of a bar that spelled out the words, 'LUPIN BAR'. strange place for a meeting, but she shrugged and headed inside. the strong stench of alcohol hit her across the cheek, and she noticed the lock of ginger hair that stood out. "out of all places?" she marveled, sitting down next to him.

   "i saw that mackerel here when you disappeared." he replied. "so he'd be bound to look anywhere but here."

   "that's hard to believe..." she replied doubtfully, as the bartender asked what they wanted.

"i'll have a martini," said chuuya."

"just a lemon iced tea," said [name], sliding a card over to the bartender.

   as the bartender nodded and went to make their orders, the ginger gave her a little smirk. "an iced tea, huh?"

"i'm not fond of alcohol," she said, waving her hand a little impatiently. "alright, i need to—thank you, sir." the bartender came back with their drinks and handed them a receipt. she signed and took a sip of her tea.

   the next few minutes were the two teenagers enjoying each other's company in silence. finally, chuuya sat up. "you were saying?"

   "i need to join the sheep. the port mafia may or may not be tracking me down, and i need some protection," she told him.

   the boy pondered over the thought for a moment. "what use would you be to the sheep?"

"u-use?" she realized. "ah, well... i could collect information, of some sorts?"

"a spy," he nodded approvingly.

"yes."

   she stirred her iced tea and glanced at him. "how come the bartender lets you have alcohol?"

   "easy. it's not difficult to manipulate a bit of the gravity in his mind." chuuya's azure eyes glared into hers, and a crimson aura appeared.

   she cursed at him. "take it easy with the ability, it's not like i've got one of my own."

"scared?"

   he was met with silence. chuuya slowly realized, however, that the girl was genuinely afraid. she already had her fair share of being tortured, kidnapped, and gaslighted. one more tease and her soul might as well break down completely, into little shards that could pierce and tear her heartstrings apart. the extra stuff that came with the bandages had shown odd fascination in her, he thought, feeling uneasy. the insides of his stomach were twisting and bending like a ballet dancer. what makes her, well, her? the girl was intimidating enough on her own as if one faithful touch from her could turn her veins a dark green and poison everybody's heart.

just like if a princess became the monster.

   "i'll consider your offer," he said at last, making her break out of her trance.

if the port mafia doesn't make me hop into their shitty ranks first.

   she nodded, and [name] left the bar after finishing her drink. chuuya said that he would remain.

   while moving across the streets, a familiar chill crept her way up to the roots of her hair. he's here! no way...

   quickly as she could, she dashed away to hide in an alleyway, her breathing was hitched and her heart racing as if she'd been fed amortentia—the poisonous version. please, not now! don't go looking in here...

"hey, who are you?" whispered a voice from behind her. the voice had a strange accent.

[name] managed to hold back a scream and turned slowly to the voice. it's not dazai, it's not dazai, it's not dazai...

funnily enough, it wasn't dazai.

   

   it was a strange man with dark, greasy hair, a white ushanka, and clothes that looked like they belonged to the slums. well, they probably did.

   strangely enough, he had dark velvet eyes that shed pools of mystery upon mystery.

and stupidly enough, her first words to him were, "are you from here?"