《SANCTUARY》 | Bungou Stray Dogs

Dear True Love // Oda Sakunosuke

Dear true love,

The new pediatrician in the south building was the smile of a crescent moon and the gold of sunflower fields.

I'm a writer without any words

Odasaku held his breath and placed the evacuee in your arms. It was an order by Mori himself. All the new ones would end up at your doorstep.
     
When the little girl grabbed his crisp ironed collar, he stumbled forward a bit and stooped down to your height.
     
"Ah-" He cleared his throat, unsure of what to do.
     
You helped him pry the child's hand off and chuckled. "She likes you."
     
It could have been the flowery whiff of your perfume - or how you cheerfully weaved across rows of stretchers, so that all the kids would hear about knights and giants.

I'm a story that nobody heard,
When I'm without you

In the end, it was everything, really.

~

I am a voice,
I am a voice without any sound

Today, there suddenly had to be the most perfect pinstriped shirt for you. Nothing in his closet would have sufficed; not that he had much time to go through the hangers, only to choose the taupe brown one...
     
And he ended up choosing the taupe brown one.
     
A duds' discord in front of a flower shop had just been settled that morning, thanks to his superhuman patience.
     
'Should I have asked for a free rose arrangement?'

I'm a treasure map that nobody found

The prodigies of the mafia sniffed him out like bloodhounds, and whisked him into the clinic.
     
"Odasaku!"
     
"You've got a new handgun on you," one of them observed, slipping it out of its holster.
     
"A .357 Magnum. It's pretty."
     
"Revolver cartridge."
     
"Pretty!"
     
"And you shouldn't be holding that," the mafioso told them, though by now, they've likely fired bigger weapons.
     
He retrieved the weapon immediately and gave the downcast kids a head ruffle in return.
     
"Now, now- I've told you not to bother Odasaku, haven't I?"

When I'm without you

You were the reminder that he didn't need to worry so much... Though he insisted he should.
     
"At the edge of your seat, I can tell," Odasaku said, after the kids have been seen to their rooms. "Can't be helped?"
     
"Yeah. It's almost time." It's a strong attempt to sheath the heart sore, but your pearly smile didn't hide everything.
     
You looked genuinely eager now, however. It settled the knot in his stomach. After neatly folding your white coat, the evening was set.
     
"I'm sorry about the kids. To Lupin's, like we planned?"
     
In response, he picked one of the paperback fairytale books up from a desk, and wheeled a swivel chair over to the stretcher you sat on.
     
"We've got plenty of nights."
     
'And I promise I'll make you feel special each one.'

Legs flanking the back of the chair, he leafed through the glossy pages and offered a faint smile.
     
"May I read to you?"
     
~

Dear true love,
I'm a lantern without any light

He knew then that he would follow you anywhere. It was a year old decision by now, but it would hold for a million years more.
    
You were his, and him yours.
     
Which was why the worst vision he's ever had was one in which a heavy steel pipe fell and cracked your head open, while you were searching for surviving agents.
     
A silhouette from a low building began severing ropes.