The (rut) cycle (shinsoukoku)

Chapter 15

Trigger warning: A lot of blood. And guns. And Atsushi being a psycho but that's not new.
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Atsushi puts on his shoes and stares at himself in the mirror. He doesn't even look half-bad.

He goes to Kyoka's room and knocks on the door.

"Kyoka! We need to go soon!" He says and waits for her to come out but even after 5 minutes the doors still don't open. Maybe she's still sleeping?

He opens the door and quietly as possible and enters the room, just to realize Kyoka probably already left. The bed was empty and already neatly organized and the clothes she prepared yesterday were also gone. Atsushi was a bit sad she left without him and hoped she ate something before she went to their agency.

The walk to the agency seems longer than usual, probably because he has no one to talk to. The streets feel emptier, the air feels colder and there's uneasiness creeping towards Atsushi. The weretiger ignores all of that though.

As soon as he reaches the building he sees Kyoka staring at him through the window on the higher floor with a weird expression on her face. He waves to her but Kyoka just gasps and closes the curtains.

That makes Atsushi suspicious. But also a bit worried.

He takes a deep breath and opens the door. He doesn't meet anyone until he finishes walking up the stairs. There, he and Ranpo catch eye contact.

„Hi, Ranpo!" Atsushi says in his usual cheery voice and offers his hand. Ranpo looks at him, a scoff appears on his face and he turns around. He enters the office, leaving Atsushi alone in the small hallway.

"That's... fine, too" Atsushi chuckles awkwardly and lets his hand fall. He follows Ranpo into the office and wants to greet all his other co-workers.

That's when a fist meets his face and he falls to the ground.

„Ouch!" He yells and puts his hand to his face to make the pain fade away. It soon does because he's used to people hitting him and he's built something like an immunity or something similar to it.

"You... You're a monster, Atsushi!" He hears someone scream and he looks up.

It's Kunikida. Riht behind him there's Dazai, Fukuzawa and holding onto Dazai's coat there's Kyoka, partly hiding behind the bandaged man. As if scared.

Scared? Of Atsushi? She knows he would never hurt her, right?

Atsushi stands up, slowly, and looks at Fukuzawa.

"What is this, sir?" He asks. He notices his boss's frown and the way he was tightly holding some documents in his hand.

"Let's talk. Privately" His boss answers and Atsushi nods. He follows Fukuzawa and can't ignore all the stares which are very obviously directed at him. There's not a single soul in the room taht isn't focused on Atsushi and Fukuzawa.

The weretiger is very glad when his boss closes the door and lets out a sigh of relief.

„What's happening, sir?" He asks Fukuzawa again and the boss only answers after he's sat down in his chair. The atmosphere in the room doesn't feel much better than the one in the office.

Fukuzawa shows Atsushi to sit down and the weretiger does so. He puts his hands on his lip and tightens them into a fist.

He was scared he knew what was coming.

„A day ago, you were at the port mafia. What did you do there?" Fukuzawa asks and Atsushi gulps.

What did his boss already know about? Was he talking about what happened with Akutagawa or what happened with Mori? Or maybe both?