𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔚𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔷

𝓜𝓾𝓻𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓷 𝓓 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓽

       "Doubt thou the stars do are fire; Doubt thou the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love." 

—William Shakespeare.

"Dazai, did you eat my last Marple pastry?" She speared him with an accusatory look, then glanced down at the plate in front of him, piled precariously high with an assortment of empty wrappers - none of which resembled the delicate,cream-filled pastry she craved. A single, stray crumb of flaky puff pastry clung precariously to the edge of the plate, a silent, mocking witness to the crime.

"Don't even try to deny it with that innocent act," she added, folding her arms in front of her chest. "We both know you can't resist a sweet treat, especially a limited edition one."

Dazai gasped and held his hand over his chest in an over-dramatic way and whined. "You wounded me Furina-chan~ I would never!" He blinked his eyes wide, putting on his best puppy-dog impression, a tactic she knew all too well."Besides," he continued, leaning forward conspiratorially, "how could I possibly resist a pastry named after the great William Shakespeare himself? Surely you wouldn't deny a fellow literature enthusiast the chance to savor such a delectable tribute?"

Furina scoffed. "Don't play dumb, Dazai. You wouldn't know a William Shakespeare from a bowl of miso soup. You probably just inhaled it because it looked vaguely like a donut."

Dazai's feigned innocence faltered for a moment, a flicker of mischief crossing his eyes before he schooled his features back into a mask of piety. "Perhaps," he admitted with a sly grin, "the name did pique my curiosity. But surely, a discerning palate like yours wouldn't begrudge a fellow tea-party attendee a single, solitary morsel, would they?"

Furina narrowed her eyes. She knew that glint in his eyes - it was the same one that appeared right before he was about to pull some elaborate prank, or worse, attempt a particularly dangerous suicide stunt. "Don't try to weasel your way out of this, Dazai. You know the punishment for pastry pilfering during tea time."

Dazai's smile widened, a touch manic around the edges. "Ah, but therein lies the delightful thrill, Furina-chan! The forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, wouldn't you agree?" He leaned back in his chair, a playful challenge in his voice."So tell me, what is the punishment for a supposed pastry pilferer? Perhaps I'll take my chances, depending on the nature of the penalty..."

●

They continued their walk in companionable silence, the rhythmic click of their shoes against the wooden planks of the bridge the only sound besides the gentle gurgle of the water below. Furina stared down at the surface, mesmerized by the ripples that danced across it. Each one, caused by a tiny disturbance, spread outwards in perfect circles, disrupting the calm reflection for a moment before fading away as if it had never been.

"See, Furina-chan," Dazai finally spoke, his voice soft, almost melancholic. "Just like those ripples. A single action, however small, can cause a cascade of effects." He gestured towards the water with a dramatic flourish. "Perhaps that pastry was the catalyst for a grand adventure! Who knows what delicious misfortune awaits us around the next corner?"

Furina couldn't help but crack a smile at his theatrics. "More likely, it means we need to stop by another bakery before heading home." Still, she couldn't deny the strange beauty in his words. The impermanence of the ripples mirrored the fleeting nature of their own lives, a reminder to savor the moment, even a moment filled with bickering over stolen pastries.

"Speaking of grand adventures," she said, turning to face him, "what about that double suicide attempt you mentioned earlier?"

At that moment, with a loud 'SPLASH', Dazai had jumped into the river and was drifting downstream.

"HEY! DON'T JUST JUMP OFF LIKE THAT!" She shouted at him in irritation and huffed, he was always like this, even in the time they worked together in the Port Mafia. With a sigh, she leaped into the river, water parted way for her as she swam as fast as she could to catch up with him.

●

"Hey! Something caught in the net!"

One of the policemen shouted out loud, which caught everyone's attention.

"What's that?" 

Asked Atsushi in a slightly curious voice, turning his head towards the sound.

"We've strung a net across the river to catch any evidence," explained Sugimoto, one of Officer Minoura's subordinates.

"It's a man." A police officer pointed out, looking fearful, "There's a man in the net!"

"What?!" Minoura looked up.

"Could there be a second victim?" Atsushi said outlaid with a worried expression on his face, the group quickly rushed over. The net was hauled up, revealing...none other than Dazai.

"Hey there, Atsushi-kun," Dazai grinned and held up a hand at the tiger boy, "What a strange coincidence!"

Atsushi's eyebrow twitched before murmuring. "A-Another drowning attempt?"

Dazai was about to answer when suddenly something leaped out of the water below, revealing to be Furina, she did a small spun in the air before landing gracefully onto the ground, her clothes dried despite just swimming in the river, hands on her hips, she scowled at Dazai with an annoyed and pouty facial expression.

"Mackerel, do you know how hard I have to try and keep up with you?"

Minoura, along with the rest of the police crew, watched with a mixture of bewilderment and exasperation as Furina landed beside a dripping Dazai. One moment they thought they were going to investigated a potential second victim, the next, a not-soaked and seemingly unharmed Furina materialized beside the net. Her annoyance cut through the tension, snapping Atsushi out of his surprise.

"Furina-san?" he stammered, eyes wide. "What are you doing here? And how...?"

Before he could finish his question, Furina shot Dazai a withering glare. "Don't play innocent, Dazai. You know exactly what I'm doing."

"Oi," Minoura barked, his voice laced with frustration, "What's going on here? Why are you two in the river?"

Furina straightened, her annoyance momentarily overshadowed by the presence of authority. "He," she jabbed a finger towards Dazai, "decided a swim would be a refreshing continuation of our little disagreement."

Dazai, still clinging to the net for dramatic effect, sputtered mock outrage. "Disagreement? Furina-chan, you wound me! It was a delightful aquatic escapade, a chance to explore the hidden depths of the river together."

"Shut up." She huffed, turning towards Ranpo, she raised her eyebrow, "Seems like you got a case here?"

 ●

"Finally..." She yawned and stretched her aching body, the murder came to an end, turns out the victim killed herself and Sugimoto was her boyfriend.

She blinked and looked in front of her, Ranpo was leading, humming to himself while Dazai explained to Atsushi that Ranpo didn't have an ability.

Staring up at the setting sun above, far away at another horizon she couldn't reach, Furina hummed to herself a make-up tune.

"Love's something that can be scary~ Humm hum~  But can be sweet~."