Bungou Stray Dogs: Love Race

A bizarre new friend

Atsushi stood before a depressing flat complex. The lawyer dropped him off here. His inerited flat supposed to be here. But there was a problem. He didn't have the code for the bottom door. He paced around nervously. "I might have to be homeless after all" he tought. He contemplated on ringing up one of the residents, maybe they could let him in.

His tought process was cut short by a loud bang. Atsushi's head sprung up immediatly, adrenaline rushed through his body. He looked around. His heart sank when he saw the cause of the noise.

A nearby parked car had its roof crushed. On top of it laid a man. Atsushi ran up to him.

"Are you okay?!" he exclaimed.

The man sat up. He looked at his body.
"Not even a scratch" he answered smirking "that's just my luck" he scoffed.

"Are you sure?" asked Atsushi nervously, his heart was still racing. "Don't you need an ambulance?"

The man jumped down from the car. He waved his arms around a bit, cracked his neck and fingers.
"As you see I'm safe and sound" he said "unfortunately" he muttered under his breath.

Atsushi stood there completely dumbfounded. "Whats with this guy?" he tought.

"Aah my car is totalled tho" the man cried out. "Such a bad day to be alive"

The boy was totally gobsmacked. This guy just fallen off who knows how many stories and his biggest concern is his car. He was totally speechless.

"Oh excuse my rudeness" said the man "I haven't even introduced myself" he held out his hand. Atsushi accepted it.
"I'm Dazai Osamu" the man said with a smile.

"I-i'm Atsushi Nakajima" the boy answered, he was still a bit shaken up from the events.

"Nice to meet you Atsushi-kun!" Dazai smiled "Do you also live here?"

"Yes, but I've just moved in today" the boy answered "I don't even know the door passcode" he felt a bit embarassed. Dazai chuckled.

"No need to worry, I can help" he said as he started typing on the pinpad.

Atsushi could take a better look at the weird man now. Dazai had messy brown hair with deep brown eyes. He was quite tall, the boy even had to look up while talking to him. His body was covered in mysterious bandages. "He's quite extraordinary" Atsushi tought "But at least he's friendly"

Dazai finally opened the door. The boy entered. The hall was a bit worn down. The yellow wallpaper was falling off at some spots. The red doors of the elevator was shut with a sign reading "OUT OF ORDER". Atsushi didn't have the best feelings about the building. But he was at least safe from the abuse here.

Dazai closed the door behind them.
"Which flat is yours Atsushi-kun?" he asked with a warm smile, and a cahrming voice.

"It's 47 I think" the boys answered a bit unsure. Dazai's eyes lit up, his smiled widened even more. He really looked like a puppy in this moment Atsushi tought to himself.
"We are gonna be neighbors, I'm number 48"

Atsushi smiled, the man's enthusiasm suprised him, but it felt nice.
"Oh it's so cool" he answered.
They made their way to their flats. Before entering Dazai smiled at Atsushi.

"You should come over for dinner tonight, I will invite some neighbours over to celebrate your moving in"
Atsushi's heart raced. His eyes glew with gratitude. He was never invited anywhere before.
"I can miss out on that offer" he chuckled.

Dazai nodded.
"See you at dinner Atsushi-kun"

"See you Dazai-san" Atsushi smiled.
The man closed the door behind him.

Feelings swirled inside Atsushi. Somebody invited him over for dinner. He felt so grateful for the man. He could finally make some friends after all this time.
"No one needs a useless piece of shit like you" a gleeful voice rang from behind him. Atsushi froze. It was the headmaster. "How did he get here?!" his heart raced. He closed his eyes and slowly turned around bracing for the inevitable slap or punch. Tears formed in his eyes.

But the punch never came. He opened his eyes trembling. No one was behind him. Relief washed over him. He fell on his kness and broke down crying.