ephemeral |o. dazai|

X

The next day came far too quickly for both of them, and Dazai found himself waiting by the gates of the fair, checking his watch periodically. "Did I keep you long?" A small murmur sounded from beside him, somewhat startling him as he looked down at [Name]. A wide smile graced his lips.

"Not at all! I just got here myself." That was a lie but it was fine since she didn't seem to notice. A relieved smile spread across her lips as her hands tightened around the straps of her bag. "Shall we go?"

The two talked happily as they walked around the fair; the energy and joy seemed to make the air electric. At some point they had gotten candy floss and decided to try out the rides. Dazai watched [Name] wander the fair in awe, watching all the brilliant lights and the joyous fairgoers. "What shall we do first?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"What would you like?" [Name] looked around before pointing at a ferris wheel. Dazai hummed. "Interesting choice, but I think we're going to go on the carousel."

"Then why did you ask?" [Name] asked with a small laugh, letting him drag her along. Dazai turned back and gave her a small grin but said nothing, revelling in the small victory of making her laugh. He helped her onto one of the horses before getting on one himself, watching the small smile lingering on her lips, the faint glisten in her otherwise dull [eye colour] eyes. For a moment, for a small fraction of a time, [Name] seemed to be truly at peace, and Dazai wanted to commit that expression to memory.

The music played as the merry-go-round began moving and [Name] turned back to look at him, one hand secure on the pole in front of her while the other gave him a small wave. Chuckling at her childish antics, he waved back before she turned around, enjoying the ride.

Once the ride slowed to a halt, Dazai hopped off, grinning joyously as he dramatically held out a palm for [Name]. With a soft snicker, she graciously took it, jumping off the back of the plastic horse. "What next? Ferris wheel?" Dazai asked only to frown when he didn't get a response, but instead a small tug on his sleeve.

"Isn't that cute?" She pointed at a large brown teddy bear with a red ribbon around its neck, a jade gem in the centre.

"I didn't know you liked that kind of stuff." Dazai grinned down at her. "Want me to get it for you?"

[Name] scoffed. "We both know I'm the better shooter, Dazai." There was a slight pause before she said his name, but she was getting better at it.

"It's cute you think that, [Name]," he uttered with a challenging smirk as the two made their way over to the stand. The aim of the game was simple, shoot all the ducks before the timer's up. [Name] went first and Dazai held back a laugh once he noticed the intense focus on her face as she expertly shot down the cardboard birds. She must really want that toy. Her efforts were rewarded as the large teddy was handed to her, making her face light up with childlike joy.  She shot down the birds with a few seconds to spare.

"See! I told you so!"

"Step aside, I'll show you true marksmanship, dear [Name]." Dazai's voice held more conviction than he had; her score was pretty good. He grabbed the gun as the stall owner reset the game and began shooting the ducks down. His score was a second slower than [Name]'s, a pretty good score on its own. His eyes scanned the prizes, before he picked out a white stuffed bunny with a cute red hat.

"What was that you said? Is that true marksmanship?" Dazai handed the toy to [Name], ignoring her smug comment.

"The lights were too distracting."

"Of course, of course."  Dazai glared down at her triumphant smirk with a pout only to raise a brow when she looked away, moving closer to his side. "Hey," she began, her voice a lot quieter, "today was surprisingly fun." She raised the bunny to her face, burying her nose into it as she stared at the grass below their feet fondly. "I was actually planning to stay home." Her eyes met Dazai's and for a moment there was such a warm, gentle glimmer, but that was enough to make him feel his heart flutter at the sincerity. "But I'm glad I didn't. Stay home, I mean. Thank you for bringing me here." Quickly, she moved away from him, laughing falsely. "Oh wow, that was something! Why don't we go to the ferris wheel? The city's going to look amazing with all the lights this time of night!" [Name] began walking in front of him and Dazai had to fight the urge to reach out to her as he walked up to her.

Both of them were startled by Dazai's phone when it went off. "Dazai, where are you right now?" Yosano asked on the other side of the line, sounding somewhat urgent.

"At the fair, why?"

"Our prime suspect was spotted near the edge of the city, close to the fair. Do you think you'll be able to apprehend him?" Dazai looked at [Name] enquiringly, who shrugged. "Sure." He hung up and [Name] grabbed his hand.

"If he's at the edge of the city, I know where he is." Any semblance of joy was gone from her voice, leaving tiredness in its wake. Dazai sighed inaudibly, there goes their fun day out.

The forest was uncharacteristically eerie this time of night, and the old, abandoned house didn't do anything to alleviate the unsettling atmosphere. The journey there was quiet, too quiet for Dazai's liking, but the frown on [Name]'s face, her impatient fidgeting, her glances around their surroundings told him that it perhaps wasn't the best time to talk. "[Name], it's so good to see you again, my love!" Kaito's voice rang through the forest clearing as the door creaked open. He came out and strolled over to her, not acknowledging Dazai as he swept her into his embrace. [Name] remained stiff. "I heard you were investigating the murders, how did you like them?"

There was a prolonged pause before [Name] seethed, "Let me go."

Kaito simply chuckled, pulling away from her but his hands still remained on her waist. "You should come with me. I'll take you away from here, we'll live together happily!" Kaito's voice was frantic and there was something unsettling in his eyes. His sudden change from calm to desperate unnerved the brunet detective and [Name] pushed him away, backing into Dazai's side, holding his hand for some support.

"You broke into my home, do you have any idea how terrifying home invasions are?"

Kaito's eyes darted to their interlaced fingers and he grew visibly angrier. A hysterical smile spread across his face as he took steps towards them. "Come now, [Name], don't be like that! It's because of him, right?" The man was practically growling by the end of his sentence, startling [Name]. "Come on, be reasonable, my love! What must I do to make you understand, please tell me! This world is a cruel place and do you really think you're going to survive on your own? Do you really think anyone but me would love you? Please understand, I'm trying to help you—"

Before Dazai could properly comprehend [Name] pulling out his gun, the man before them was cut off by the sound of a gun going off and the bullet shooting through his mouth. "[Name]!" Quickly he pulled her away from Kaito's falling body.

The two stood around, staring at the now dead man carefully. "Now what?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She blinked innocently. "It's incredibly sad he committed suicide and we can't bring him to justice; we should probably tell Yosano?" Dazai stared at [Name] carefully before laughing.

"You're right, it's a shame." He looked at her with a small smile as the two began to walk back. "Your aim never fails to impress me." He pouted. "It's a shame our date ended like this, though."

[Name] blushed slightly before laughing. "Maybe next time it'll be better?"

"You can count on it." Dazai gave her a small wink.

☁︎
hey hey guess who lmao