Dazai's Childish Predicament

Chapter 21

It took Dazai a week to show his face at the Armed Detective Agency again, but after getting smothered in hugs and hearing what everyone had to say, things slowly returned to normal. Before he knew it, a few months had passed and it was almost as if the whole ordeal had never happened. Dazai would almost believe it himself if it wasn't for how often he thought about it all. He'd often find himself staring out the window, not completely certain how long he'd been zoned out. The others noticed, of course, but kept quiet. They all knew Dazai wasn't one to willingly share information about himself and were content to let him take as long as he needed to re-adjust. Well, all of them except one.

"Dazai! Dazai stop zoning out and finish your paperwork! I swear I won't let you leave this office until it's all complete!"

Kunikida was still the same as he always was, chasing Dazai down for the paperwork he still refused to do.

"Oh? Is that the time already?~" Dazai grinned. "Looks like I can clock out now~ See you tomorrow Kunikida-kuuun~" In his usual teasing way, he completely ignored any complaint Kunikida had and waltzed out of the office, his body opting to take the scenic route home that evening.

That was something he'd started doing ever since he got back, taking longer routes just to admire the scenery or enjoy the weather. It wasn't something he consciously decided to do, he just seemed to find himself in places he didn't remember walking to, and suddenly realising that 'hm, it's actually quite nice here'. He couldn't explain it, but he was content to let it happen until it became a problem.

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The next day, however, things were a little different. He was late, as usual, but there was a crowd around his desk.

"Dazai, you're here! Somebody left a letter on your desk last night and no one knows who it's from or how it got here."

"A letter?" Dazai walked over to the desk and picked it up, immediately recognising the handwriting. "Ah, must be a letter from a beautiful lady I haven't seen in a while~" He whipped out a lighter and prepared to burn it, but stopped at the last moment. "But I'm sure Kunikida would much rather I don't set off the fire alarm~" He pocketed the letter and the lighter. "Now then, what's happening today?"

Dazai knew the letter was from Chuuya, but he didn't want to open it in front of everyone because the truce between the Port Mafia and the ADA ended when Dazai regained his memories. As such, he waited until the workday finished before leaving the office and opening it somewhere quiet.

If you want to discuss everything that happened, I'll be by the entrance to the park at 6pm today.

Chuuya

It was shorter than Dazai was expecting, but it got the point across and he made his way to the park. When he arrived just before six, he could see Chuuya waiting for him. Neither of them spoke as Dazai approached, each unsure of how the other would act, though Dazai noticed a fresh scar on one of Chuuya's arms, just visible beyond the cuff of his jacket.

Chuuya noticed the look and spoke up, "From the grenade. Got a couple on my back too."

"Right,"

They lapsed into silence again, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, let's not stand around looking like idiots. We're both here for a reason so let's get it over with before people start noticing who we are." Chuuya took the lead, speaking in that familiar 'mildly annoyed' tone and began to walk along the path.

"I guess Mori wasn't happy to hear I disappeared after the fight..."

"Oh he wasn't, but he had his hands full dealing with the damage so I didn't get an earful until he'd already accepted that once your memories returned there was no chance you'd come back."