Project X (Bungou Stray Dogs X Reader)

Chapter Twenty Seven

my filler chapters have begun!!! (there are only two, three tops, so don't worry. this one is kinda important but the other two i will make summary's of at the top so y'all can skim them. also, when i woke up like a half hour ago, we had 5.7k reads and now we've got 6.02 so, wow, thank you. that's incredible. wow. anyway, on with the story!!

Dazai POV (one day later)

I strolled up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the office humming brightly and swinging my key ring around my fingers. As soon as I walked through the door, everyone immediately stopped talking and turned to face me.

"Good morning!" I sang out, plopping myself down at my desk and putting my feet up.

Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back "What, no hellos? Not even you, Atsushi-kun?"

I opened my eyes just in time to see him hesitantly shake his head a few times.

"Dazai-san..." began Kenji quietly, "you were in the mafia?"

I let out a sigh and sat up, turning to face the room.

"We have to do this now, do we?" I asked.

No one said a word in response.

I sighed again.

"Well, I guess it was only a matter of time. You all must have questions so, shoot."

"You were a member of the port mafia??" repeated Atsushi, sounding betrayed in some way, like a kicked puppy.

"Yep. I left four years ago." I said, nodding my head.

"You were an executive?" asked Rampo, pushing his glasses onto his face but forgetting to utter his 'activation phrase' first.

No one made comment.

"Yes, I was. My partner was Nakahara Chuuya. We were the esteemed double black! Subordinate, Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Yes, the president knows all this. Next?"

"How did you meet Y/n-chan?" asked Atsushi and the others nodded in agreement, "Was she an executive too?"

I shook my head hesitantly.

"How do you know her?" repeated Yosano.

I sat in thought for a moment before slowly saying:

"I don't know if that story is mine to tell."

The room fell silent.

"You seemed surprised when you learned she had an ability, why was that?" asked Kunikida after a while.

I said nothing in response.

"Was she your subordinate as well?" asked Atsushi.

"No..." I said, uncertainty and the room fell silent once more.

"When we were in the ally," began Junichiro quietly, "when we were in the ally, she said you made a promise she didn't care if you had kept. What was the promise?"

"It's not my story to tell." I insisted.

"She also mentioned a lab, what was that about?" asked Naomi.

"I really can't..." I started to say when Kunikida interrupted.

"You're on very thin ice Dazai, it's best you answered."

I sighed once more.

"I met Y/n four years ago. The boss assigned me her case. Her parents owed the mafia money and the boss needed a test subject so, he had Black Lizard bring her to mafia headquarters. They killed her parents just down the hall from her and kidnapped her."

"So?" cried Atsushi, "this is why you said she had it worse than me? Because her parents were killed and she was forced to join the mafia?"

"Quiet." I growled, "I never said she was forced to join the mafia and yes, trust me, she has had it worse than anyone in this room. In fact, probably worse than you all combined. Now where was I... yes! After they kidnapped her, Mori placed her in a lab. He had been looking for a suitable subject for quite some time and, Y/n met all the credentials. Mori, you see, was very interested in how ability users got their abilities. He was interested in Project X, wanted to test if a person could be given abilities, you see. When I met Y/n, she was strapped onto a lab table and had a feeding tube down her throat which I removed. From then on, I checked in on her each day. I brought her meals with Akutagawa who I was still training. They ran tests on her, tortured her. I did all I could to protect her but, then I... I had to leave. According to her, Akutagawa followed in my footsteps and tried to keep her safe but, one day, she asked him to stop. In the end, Project X was successful and Y/n was given her ability although, I had already left at this time. Mori-san had her and Akutagawa train together under Chuuya and, when they were old enough, they became partners. I didn't even know she was still alive until Kunikida-san and I ran into her a few days ago. She has changed so much."

The room sat in silent shock.

"So why does she hate me so much?" whispered Atsushi to himself.

"You never said what the promise you made her was." pointed out Kenji.

I gave a sad smile.

"I promised to get her out, help her escape." I said, "She trusted me. She trusted me and I betrayed her. It's my fault she is who she is. If I had gotten her out, if I had kept my promise, she'd still be here. She would have always been here."

"But she wouldn't have her power." hummed Naomi while Kenji and Junichiro nodded in agreement.

"You are right." nodded Yosana, looking me dead in the eyes, "that wasn't your story to tell."

status: edited October 26th 2023