𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ￤O. Dazai

INNOCENCE|16

"DAZAI, get your foot off my bed before I break your toes." 

She kicks his leg off her bed for the nth time, but he returns it to its position a second later. "I thought you said you were going to get dinner," (Y/N) grumbles.

"I will in a bit. The delivery isn't here yet," Dazai says.

(Y/n) looks at him, eyeing how he's sitting on the sofa beside her, legs propped on her bed's edge. He's reading a book, but it's upside down. Even so, she can still read the text. It's about suicide again.

Suicide has been a constant thought to whoever is blessed with the ability to live life. It always seems like an easy way out the constant thorns that breathing brings along.

Suddenly, the door bursts open. Dazai nearly throws the book out of the window.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?" Yuzuki shouts, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

Dazai studies him for quite a bit, squinting his eyes as he senses something off. Then it clicks. He grins.

"He has feelings!" Dazai says happily, clapping his hands.

A hand lands over Yuzuki's shoulder. Those neatly filed, jade colored nails could only belong to one person.

"Yuzu, calm down," Tanari says as she walks over to (Y/n ) and touches her forehead. "How are you feeling, honey?"

"Why are you guys here? And how the fuck did you get in?" (Y/n) shoots them a glare as she pushes Tanari's hand off her forehead.

Mahiro, from behind Tanari, smiles and says, "Is that really a question?"

(Y/n) peeks her head above his shoulder, only to see Nazoki by her door frame, smiling.

"I guess not," she sighs.

...

THE LIVING ROOM WAS QUITE LIVELY—Mahiro and Nazoki were playing games on her TV, shouting at each other. Tanari was trying to calm down a still boiling Yuzuki.

Despite the noise, it was awfully a fun night, even if she won't admit it. She was able to just relax on a chair while her friends did everything for her.

Tanari told her to rest, saying that her injuries weren't completely healed, even if they were just mere scratches.

She could easily walk if she wanted to.

Dazai left to pick up dinner from the lobby of apartment complex.

"I heard you asked Tsui to find temples in her hometown?" Yuzuki started, adjusting his glasses. His tone was a lot calmer than before.

(Y/n) nods.

Tanari adjusts the plates on the table, smiling as she says; "She filed a leave to visit her hometown."

(Y/n) nods again.

"She said she hated her hometown," Mahiro says as he keeps his eyes on the screen. He clicked his tongue when Nazoki earned a point.

"What do you mean?" Tanari asks, crossing her arms as she leans her back on the counter.

(Y/n) mirrored the confusion. The last time they talked on the phone, Tsui thanked her for giving her the opportunity to visit her hometown.

If she did hate her hometown, why did she thank (Y/n)?

Nazoki glances at Tanari for a brief second before turning his attention back on the screen.

"We asked her about that mark on her arm and she said it was a stupid tradition back in her home," Nazoki says. "But we've never heard of that type of tradition in Fukushima, so we thought she was lying."

"We didn't bother asking her other questions after that. She seemed so defensive when we hinted some," Mahiro says. "We did a research. It sounded stupid at that time because she might've just gotten that scratch from falling when she was younger.

"But it was a weird gut feeling. Turns out she wasn't lying entirely—only the part where she mentioned her hometown."

"OI, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Nazoki shouted when his avatar flopped dead after Mahiro's attack.

Mahiro snickered.

Yuzuki unplugged (Y/n)'s TV, "Continue."

They sat there in silence—processing—before melting on the floor, pouting.

"I was almost there," Mahiro says with a defeated tone.

"I was at level 189... arughhh," Nazoki whines.

"Mahiro, Nazoki," (Y/n) smiles.

A shiver ran down the boys' back.

"You did a research, yes. What happened after that?"

They could feel the burning gaze of the woman drilling on the back of their heads.

They sprung up, looking at (Y/n).

"We found out there's an existing cult that does exorcisms and un-do's curses and collects them," Mahiro says robotically.

"The mark on Tsui's arm symbolizes membership. She's one of the higher positioned members of the cult," Nazoki says as robotically as Mahiro.

(Y/n) raises a brow.

Tanari and Yuzuki looks at (Y/n).

"Curse?" (Y/n) raised a brow.

"Curse. When a demon engraves their abilities on humans due to their inability to possess a physical body," Mahiro says more calmly this time.

(Y/n)'s eyes widens for a quick second. She felt a sudden jolt of pain inside of her head, causing her to grab her hair a little and groan.

Keogari's form flashes in front of her when she shuts her eyes. His hair, his eyes, his arm, the head dangling off the hair Keogari has wrapped around his fingers.

"Kill."

Worried, Tanari walked up to her. She bent down and placed a hand over (Y/n)'s shoulder.

"Everything okay, love?"

(Y/n) snaps out of it, the image of Keogari still burning through her eyes.

(Y/n) took deep and calm breaths, trying to balance out the flow of energy within her body.

"What's Tsui's job in the agency?" (Y/n) asked a little hoarsely.

"She sorts out files and papers, most of them coming from clients and the government. Basically, her job is to find which of the cases are worth dealing with for the Agency," Yuzuki answers.

Just then, Dazai kicks the door open.

"I have dinner~!"

All eyes landed on him and he freezes up, sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"Dazai, tell Atsushi that classes are cancelled for this week and next week."

--

not edited.