It was a sentimental day for her.
Dressed in the best clothing she could ever find from her wardrobe, she went to the florist to get some chrysanthemums that were the finest. Wrapped in a decorative paper, she then made her way to the physical manifestation of the afterlife.
It was her father's death anniversary, and she didn't tell anyone at the Agency.
"I have something to handle tomorrow, so I'll not come for work. I am sorry, Director. All I've done is to keep adding the troubles you have."
The middle-aged man then waved his hand and smiled, telling the young investigator not to worry about it.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, f/n."
"Yes. I shall take my leave then."
Closing the office door, she then gave out a small sigh, thinking hard about the year without her dad by her side.
She could ever imagine herself hearing his voice as soon as she reached home. A simple "Welcome back!" was enough to erase all the fatigue and pressure faced in work.
And yet she would not be able to hear that calm and soothing voice since last year.
Walking up to his tombstone, she made a deep breath as she squatted down, swiping off any dead leaves and pulling out some weed. Putting the bouquet of blooms beside the inscribed name, she told him the things she went through, like celebrating Kyouka's birthday and solving one of the cases that she thought it was impossible to, all thanks to Ranpo's impressive deduction.
"I.. think I am in love with Dazai. He's my assigned partner, and all these time he's been taking great care of me and supporting me in whatever I did. I've.... never felt such a strong connection with him since I broke up with my previous boyfriend. Remember you told me that you would support me in whatever I do? I hope that you would bless me in this relationship... Thanks, dad." Confessing, she then hid her head in between her knees while squatting down, trying to keep the bittersweet feeling back into her heart.
What if she was wrong? Or perhaps that suicidal maniac didn't like her at the first place. Maybe it was-
All these 'maybe' and 'what if' situations came rising up in her mind.
She was just so scared in taking the hand stretched towards her, for she feared that it might hurt her. That was what happened in her previous relationship. Charming and warm in her first impression, it soon turned into dominance and violence as soon as she took that hand. Taking all the blame to herself, she shut her heart, and swore never to let it open again the day she broke up with him. She did have the price to pay, getting slapped and hit by his fans who harboured lots of hatred.
She had never regretted that much in her entire life.
And now she purely hoped that her feelings would be returned properly.
Wiping her tears off, she stood back up and gave her goodbyes to him. Turning to leave, her widened eyes and an agape mouth indicated one thing.
Dazai was here.
Seeing that she was completely surprised at his presence, he walked up and gave his usual smiles.
"Why are you here..."
"I followed you. It's rare for you not to work especially at this period where lots of cases often pop up."
"You...heard everything, didn't you?" The female asked, not bothered about the reason why he was here when she didn't tell anyone of them.
A simple nod confirmed her fears.
Would he take her stretched hand?
"Then... please tell me one thing, Dazai. Do you accept my feelings?"
Widening his eyes before breaking into a chuckle, he closed the gap between her and himself and put his lips on hers. It was a rather short one as he broke the contact a few seconds later, leaving the lady blushing furiously.
"This is my answer, my lady. Thank you for choosing me, l/n." He said, taking her hand and gently squeezed it to make her realize that it wasn't a dream at all.
She was sure that that hand would never abandon her.
