Bungo Stray Dogs One-shots

A New Friend.

                  The day started out like any other, with Akutagawa training himself to the point of exhaustion. After a few hours, he decides to call it quits, and sit down for a short breather. He leans back against the wall, taking deep breaths, and relaxing his body. He let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes and lifting his head high. Imagination isn't one of Akutagawa's specialties, but his favorite thing to do after training was to close his eyes and imagine a world where everything is different. Where he didn't grow up in the slums. Where him and his sister were happy. 

         Suddenly, memories of the slum flooded back to him. Memories of Gin and him starving, freezing and being beaten. The memories of all the children who he had tried so desperately to protect, only to watch them die right in front of him.

        Akutagawa's eyes shot open, feeling a familiar, thick liquid running down his arm. He looks down, staring at the bloodied hand before him. He had subconsciously punched the wall, which broke skin, and caused his fist to bleed. He let out a sigh, standing up and holding his wrist.  A few minutes of walking later, he made it to the Hospital Wing of the Port Mafia Headquarters and grabbed a roll of bandages. 

      A few minutes later, he was sitting on a couch in the lounge of the Headquarters, wrapping his fist using a method he saw Dazai using back when the man was still training him. Being so focused on his injury, Akutagawa neglected to notice the impending footsteps of a certain, short, Port Mafia executive.

           "Damn, with all those bandages, you remind me of Dazai. You really need to be more careful, kid... And put some antibiotics on that too." Chuuya said, standing behind the couch.

           Akutagawa looks up, a bit surprised to see Chuuya, seeing as the Mafia was told he would be out on a mission for the next few weeks. He didn't question it, however, and simply looked back down and continued bandaging his hand.

         "I know, I will when it stops bleeding... God knows when that'll be, I roughed it up pretty good." Akutagawa said, finishing bandaging his hand as Chuuya sits next to him.

         "Yeah? What caused you to do that to your own hand? I mean, I'd get it if it were someone else's, but you're not one to hurt yourself very often. So, what gives?" Chuuya asks, grabbing and looking over Akutagawa's bandaged hand.

Akutagawa stares down at his hand. What did he do that for...? What made him so angry in the first place? He starts thinking it over, remembering every detail of what occurred in that moment. Then, he remembered. All the memories. All the dead children. Everything.

              "Hey kid, you're shaking. You good? Need some water? Want me to get Mori or Gin for you?" Chuuya rambled, slightly panicked as he shook Akutagawa by his shoulders.

"No, I'm fine, thank you. It's just... I was reminiscing on bad memories... The very thing I had reprimanded the Were-Tiger for... It's so pathetic that I almost feel like I should apologize to the Were-Tiger for feeling that I was any better than him..." Akutagawa said, holding his head in his hands.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, you're still a kid, you're bound to have something that'll bring up a part of the past you're not content with..." Chuuya reassures, patting Akutagawa's shoulder.

Akutagawa nods slightly, looking down at the ground with a hefty sigh. He leans back on the couch and tilts his head up to stare at the ceiling. "It's just... It was hard, in the slums, y'know? I thought things would get better after Dazai-san took me in... But I can't help but feel like I left behind a lot of people I should've protected... All the kids that suffered, just like Gin and I had... And when I think back on all the kids that died... And the fact I couldn't protect them, or Gin... It just... It's frustrating... I spent so long, fearing being alone and clinging to my sister and the children I was protecting... And I lost everything... Except my sister... But I don't want to rely on her too much... She's my younger sister, but... She's still just a kid to me..."Akutagawa admits, trying to hide the fear and anxiety in his voice.