the beauty of water | o. dazai ✔

chapter twelve.

The agency had a meeting pertaining to the bomb case, ending after a long discussion between the agents, questioning the letter and what to do in this situation. (Y/n) had never dealt with a bomb case like this before, not one she could just take care of by throwing it into the ocean and letting Ryuji have his fun.

But there was one question that she continued to have throughout the meeting, and still asked herself even after it was finished: Where was Dazai?

"(Y/n), have you spoken with Dazai at all this morning?" Kunikida asked her after he got off of the phone with Taguchi. "It's very unprofessional to ditch a meeting at a time like this..."

"Believe me, if I knew—I'd tell you," she responded, walking down the hall with him.

She still had a slight limp, her knee having shooting pains once in a while as it had not fully healed quite yet. She had her hair in a messy bun rather than the ponytail she usually wore, not quite caring how she looked at a time like that.

The only thing about her appearance she kept up were her (f/c) rainboots and jacket. That and the bloodied bandages around her injured knee.

The two decided to search for Dazai, wanting to scold him for not paying attention to the meeting or even attending it. But their search was soon completed when they found him chatting up Sasaki in a nearby café.

"Is this your first time in Yokohama? I could show you around if you want," he suggested as he sat across from her at the table.

"Really? You would do that for me? But I'd feel terrible... I mean, it sounds as if things are rather chaotic at the detective agency with the bomb threat. You even said Detective Kunikida and (Y/n) have been busy with phone calls and the investigation all morning," she responded, running her delicate hands along the rim of the coffee cup sitting in front of her.

"Kunikida's a workaholic—a real glutton for punctuality. I mean get this: If you tell him to meet you at around twelve o'clock, he'll show within ten seconds of twelve every time. What is he, a train?"

"Oh my... You don't say."

(Y/n) stood behind Dazai with Kunikida as he continued to chat with Sasaki, seeming to not notice their arrival. Kunikida then said, "Dazai! What do you think you're doing, skipping work?! And don't use me in your attempts to pick up women!"

Dazai ignored him, continuing, "Oh, and when we were at this abandoned hospital, Kunikida thought he saw a ghost, and he started shrieking like a little girl—"

"Don't ignore me!" Kunikida then smacked Dazai on the back of the head.

"Ouch! What was that for, Kunikida?" He turned around to face the two, acting surprised as he saw them. "...Kunikida? (Y/n)? How long have you two been standing there?"

"Don't play dumb, you knew I was behind you. Anyway, what do you think you're doing? We have a dire emergency on our hands, and you're out on some kind of fancy date? Not only that, you're out with a victim from one of our cases!"

Dazai pursed his lips, asking in a mocking tone, "Are you jealous?"

"I'm not jealous!" Kunikida barked back.

"Come on—don't be like that. She was almost killed by some monster. The poor gal's traumatized. Isn't it our duty as a detective agency to protect her and provide emotional support? And from my experience, it takes only a smile and some kindness to get a woman swooning over you when she's fallen on hard times." Dazai winked at (Y/n), who's hard stare hadn't changed even with the rather attractive motion.

If that were the case, then I'd be in love with the president and Ranpo, she thought as she heard the explanation. They were the ones that saved me a year ago.