ephemeral |o. dazai|

I

The evening sun dyed the sky beautiful tones of peach and lavender as [Name] sat on the railings, kicking her legs back and forth, staring at the Tokyo skyline from the roof of the hotel. A sorrowful tune escaped from her lips. Dazai watched her with an exasperated look, frowning as she watched the cars pass by with a childlike glee.

"I thought I asked for a report?" His tired tone cut through [Name]'s song. She turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Did you? I wasn't listening." She looked at him with a playful grin. Dazai knew her defiance was just for jokes and she didn't mean any harm. He was annoyed nonetheless.

"When will I get it?" He inquired, taking a couple steps toward her. [Name] hummed thoughtfully, before a small silence followed. She suddenly stood up on the railings, turning to look at him. Her usual smile was on her face as she dangerously teetered back and forth on her heels.

"We'll see!" She responded with a lighthearted tone. Another silence. There was a small change in her expression. Her smile remained but something had changed. "Have you ever wondered, sir?" He raised a brow at her. "What life would be like if you weren't there? How utterly boring life would be without you if you weren't born?" The last part was added with an mockingly sincere smile. A silence followed as she looked down at the street below them. "What would you do if..?" [Name] never finished her sentence, she just leaned back dramatically, watching Dazai's apathetic expression.

"Nothing," he responded with a small shrug. [Name] tilted her head, shadows veiling her visage and loose strands of her [hair colour] hair fell on her face. Her eyes focused on him for a bit before smiling widely, jumping off the railings and walking toward him. There was something off about her. "[Name]—?"

"Duly noted, sir!" She declared with an upbeat tone, walking past him to the door. Dazai watched her as she left, noticing the light bounce in her step was gone and the way her fingers writhed behind her back absently.

The next couple weeks, [Name] didn't go to work, and Dazai began wonder if she ever returned from Tokyo. He opened the door to her office, to see it was empty. The twilight sky spilled through the glass window, the waning moon peeking out from behind a few clouds. There were piles and piles of papers on the desk, paperwork that was never finished had just accumulated. It wasn't odd for people in this line of work to disappear, but something made Dazai feel as though this was not like that.

Although what was said was not out of the ordinary, neither of them acted weirdly at all, something seemed off about his last encounter with [Name]. There seemed to be something left unsaid, some unspoken words that would make everything fall into place, not that Dazai particularly cared. A missing person was a missing person and no amount of dwelling will solve anything. It felt odd at first, somewhat disorienting even, when his orders weren't met with some sort of resistance. It was strange to not hear light, somewhat teasing, commentary of his fashion and demeanour on missions, but he got used to it and soon, it seemed as though she never existed. Any remnants of her ever existing in the Port Mafia were soon gone.

Two years had passed since then. The seasons had changed and another winter had rolled by, bringing icy days with it. [Name] would resurface in Dazai's train of thought sometimes, but memories of her began fading. "Dazai!" Kunikida growled, threateningly approaching the bandaged brunet. Dazai let out a small, innocent hum, turning to look at his blonde partner. "How many times have I told you to not go wandering on your own? We were meant to be in a meeting ten minutes ago but I couldn't leave because you weren't here! My whole schedule is messed up now!" He scolded, earning an insincere apology from his co-worker. As Kunikida fumed, the door to the agency opened, revealing President Fukuzawa standing with a stranger by his side. At the sight of him, Kunikida straightened, raising a brow at the newcomer as Dazai sat at his desk, messing about with his partner's computer.

"This is [Name]." The president's words cut through the air sharply and Dazai turned his attention towards the stranger. Her messy [hair length], [hair colour] hair was tied into a high ponytail and her [eye colour] gaze was focused on her fiddling hands. "She will be joining us from today. That is all." The president's gaze scanned the room before he turned to leave, shutting the door behind him.

Dazai watched the stranger's eyes lift from her hands, a familiar grin plastered on her face. "Nice to meet you all!" She greeted with a warm, friendly tone. Her gaze drifted from Yosano to Ranpo to Miyazawa to Kunikida, before finally resting on Dazai. She quickly shifted her gaze away. So she recognised him.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it here, [Name]!" Miyazawa assured, throwing a welcoming smile in her direction. "The agency is filled with wonderful people!" [Name] nodded in response before Haruno explained to her what she had to do.

A few hours had passed and Dazai watched [Name] get on with her work silently. The others had left for their own reasons, and the two were left alone in this somewhat awkward atmosphere. She had lost weight, and her complexion seemed slightly pale. "[Name]," his voice rang through the empty office, startling the newcomer. He gave her a polite smile as she turned to look at him. "Would you like to join me for a coffee?" She gave him a grin.

"Are you willing to pay, sir?"

☁︎
New book whoop whoop!
lets see how this goes