In Memory of a Dark Era

Examination

This chapter contains a spoiler from the manga about Yosano's past, it's not so plainly clear, but it's there? You been warned (☆>⊇<)

~~~~~

It was one of those days where a timeless setting devoured the agency corridors and offices. There was not a sound to the residents, though to a visitor, various mundane volumes echoed throughout the place. Consistent typing, the brush of a file against nails, the ticking of a clock and long, breathy yawns.

"You think she'll manage to keep the past and future as is?" Yosano's voice broke through the dead space as she recalled her last encounter with (Y/N).

It was right before she took off to meet Kunikida and Dazai and for the first time Yosano was stuck with her long enough to comprehend a fraction of her character.

She wasn't bad, Yosano thought. In fact, she reminded her of the past the doctor regarded as nothing but plain. Still she couldn't quite put her finger on why (Y/N) would feel nostalgic to her. Perhaps she too had gone through a dilemma of emotions regarding human life just like how Yosano was subjected to a number of explicit images and the cheap handling of lives in a warring time.

The doctor knew it would never be this similar of an experience, but somehow if she had to tell the story of her younger years in three sentences, (Y/N) would be the only person in the agency to acknowledge the lengthy part of it.

Whatever it is that (Y/N) had gone through, Yosano felt it in her character and she hoped that the absent female would make haste with her return to satisfy the doctor's burning curiosity.

"If she screws up then the very man who threw her back in time will fix it. That was our deal with the Special Abilities Department." Yosano turned to meet the calm posture of spectacled blond as he continued: "my extra work had better be paid off with the right decision, though."

"Lately, you've been more dramatic than Dazai," Yosano said, placing the nail file away.

All Kunikida had to do was negotiate with the Special Abilities Department to have one of their agents play the villain in (Y/N)'s Agency Examination which was an order issued by Fukuzawa. In other words, cranky Ideal Fanboy was only obeying his boss.

Kunikida snapped his neck to the indifference splattered on the doctor's face, "don't compare me to that suicidal maniac!"

"Then don't act in a comparable way."

He sighed, turning his chair to face Yosano, "I'm aware that my orders were nothing to fuzz over, but it would be splendid if she does something right... for once."

"Oh~," Yosano's expression morphed into one fit for a good session of ridiculing as she pushed herself off her seat and to the cool man's position, "are you saying you want her to pass the examination?"

"I'm saying she better does since Fukuzawa-san seems to expect as much," Kunikida blurted turning his chair away from the doctor's prying eyes.

"Right," the playfulness faded from the doctor's tone and features as she held onto that thought, "he was the one to plan the examination, so why did he ask to have her thrown back in time to a specific date? Never mind that, why use that ability for the examination in the first place?"

"I thought it was random," Kunikida voiced his thoughts, rubbing his chin, "but that would be useless. It must be an important method of examining her eligibility as an agent."

"It is," came the placid voice of the agency's president. The two heads turned to the approaching man curiously.

Even though (Y/N) lived life in solitude from society with no job or contacts, she had somehow found herself in Fukuzawa's way.

The outcast took the opportunity to request a job in the agency, knowing that the Mafia wouldn't have any connections to this type of field; however, the president declined. Mainly because she wouldn't utter a clear word regarding her previous affiliations, yet her frantic behaviour and appearance weren't unnoticed by Fukuzawa.

He tried ignoring any thoughts about her, but that led to him investigating her. Records of her death were soon on his desk and he was able to learn of her connection to the Mafia and the date of her death. While it was true that Fukuzawa could never know the smallest details of her past, he knew it was a bleeding wound that needed healing for (Y/N) to advance as a person and become an excellent member of the Agency.

"In fact, this examination is as personal as it can get," Fukuzawa spoke, walking to his office in a dignified manner.

As the two searched each other's faces for an explanation, in the farther side of the office, the bandaged brunette was lying on the sofa feigning a restful nap. While melodies and lyrics jammed into his head, his eyes fluttered open, pupils shrinking under the intensity of bright light and a knowing smirk was displayed to the outer world.