𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔚𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔷

𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓑𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓓𝓪𝔃𝓪𝓲~

"Count not the candles...see the lights they give. Count not the years, but the life you live. Wishing you a wonderful time ahead. Happy birthday. Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come."

-A happy birthday wish from a typical 'wolf'

The air in the Armed Detective Agency crackled with an unspoken tension. It was a Monday, usually a day that buzzed with a chaotic energy, but today, a strange quietude had descended. Dazai, usually the instigator of most of the agency's ruckus, was uncharacteristically subdued.

Kunikida stared at him as if he was seeing a ghost. "What's wrong with the mackerel today?"

Everyone either shrugged their shoulders or had a look of confusion on their faces.

Atsushi, usually the first to pick up on Dazai's moods, felt a knot of worry tighten in his stomach. Dazai wasn't just subdued; he seemed... deflated. Like a punctured balloon, all the usual theatrics and mischievous glint in his eyes were gone. He sat hunched over his desk, staring intently at a single pen twirling between his fingers, its rhythmic click the only sound breaking the oppressive silence.

Kunikida, ever the stickler for order, was the first to crack. He slammed his fist down on his desk, startling everyone."Alright, what's going on here? The mackerel's been acting like a deflated mackerel all morning, and no one seems to know why!"

His outburst hung in the air for a moment before Kenji, ever the optimist, tilted his head. "Maybe Dazai-san's just tired? He did look a little pale this morning."

Ranpo, who had been engrossed in a particularly difficult candy puzzle, finally looked up. He squinted at Dazai, his brow furrowed in thought. "No," he declared, his voice uncharacteristically unsure, "there's something... different. It's not just tiredness."

The door almost flew out of the frame as Furina burst in with a bright smile and a playful expression on her face. A colorful package of expensive pastries in her hand as she headed toward him, beaming. "Mackerel! Look at this! I've been waiting for this blueberry and strawberry pastries for so long~"

Furina's cheerful presence split the tension in the room like a ray of sunshine. Dazai, however, barely reacted. He lifted his head slowly, his eyes vacant and devoid of their usual spark. Furina, oblivious at first, continued her enthusiastic spiel.

"They say it's the best in Yokohama! I thought we could enjoy them together during our break, just the two of us!" Her voice trailed off as she finally noticed the somber atmosphere and Dazai's listless demeanor. Her smile faltered for a brief moment, replaced by a flicker of concern.

"Huh? What's wrong, everyone? Is it because I barged in?" Furina glanced around the room, her gaze settling on Atsushi, who gave her a helpless shrug.

Undeterred, Furina marched over to Dazai's desk, the colorful pastry box a beacon in the otherwise drab office. She placed it gently beside the silent man. "Come on, Mackerel," she coaxed, her voice softer now. "Don't tell me you're not interested in these delectable treats. At least take a bite, they look heavenly!"

Dazai continued to stare at the pen in his hand, the click-clack echoing in the tense silence. Furina, sensing his reluctance but determined to pull him out of his funk, tilted her head and gave him a playful nudge.

"Unless..." A mischievous glint in her eyes as she grinned, her demeanor turned into that one of innocent, child-like, adorable and cute demeanor he knew so well, "You'd want to ditch the office's work today with me and go on a date?~"

Furina's last sentence hit Dazai like a bolt of lightning. His head snapped up, the vacant look in his eyes replaced with a flicker of surprise, then a slow, hesitant realization. The pen clattered to the desk, the silence was finally broken.