※𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔 (𝐀𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐱 𝐀𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚)※

Chapter 3

NOTE

     finally, Aku has been introduced!

For the first time in Atsushi's University career, he was saddened by the fact his semester had come to a pause for reading week. A couple of weeks ago he'd have been thrilled at the week off. A week alone, hiding in his room with snacks watching his favorite comfort shows. A week where he could reply to messages lazily and blame it on the lousy accommodation internet connection. A week to spiral down into his thoughts without disturbance. He loved that routine, despite its inherently damaging nature.

Now, he was sad he'd got the week off. Why? Because it meant their societal activities had to stop. Kunikida had informed him that the room they used as the debate societies meeting point was a seminar room used for another subject, and since that subject didn't have a reading week it was put into full use. So, there was nowhere the group could meet. Not officially anyway.

Atsushi felt like he had thanked Dazai every day since he'd started going to the society because, even though he wouldn't admit it up front, he was really enjoying himself.

It was a process of course, the first official day he was thrown into the deep end and had to debate with Ranpo about mystery novels. The notes he made on paper were shaking in his hands the entire time. He was sweating, his voice was wobbly, and his arguments were unclear and poorly structured. But after that, Dazai, Junichiro and even Ranpo looked at his notes. They edited them, gave him tips and compliments to boost his confidence. They took the time to explain why something didn't work in the argument, or why something had worked. It made the whole ordeal a lot more enjoyable knowing he wasn't failing miserably, the way he was telling himself he was.

Don't misunderstand though, he wasn't suddenly a confident king and a god of debates. He had a long way to go, a very long way; but he was enjoying himself, he actively responded to their group chat messages and met up with them for food often. They'd given him the confidence to try, to push through the barrier of his self-destructive thoughts and see the world and himself differently. Of course, that positive thinking didn't always work. There were plenty of times when he'd simply shut down mid debate because a touchy subject came up. But knowing that he wasn't being judged, that he was being cared for and that everyone in the group was rooting for him worked wonders.

Currently, they were all on a video call. Atsushi had logged into Dazai's account since he didn't actually have a skype account, so he moved his laptop into the living room so Dazai could continue to watch his murder show in the background.

"This quality is grotesque" Kunikida grumbled, trying his best to angle the camera exactly right so you could see him and only him.

"Most qualities you have are grotesque!" Dazai yelled back, not taking his eyes off the tv for a second.

Atsushi laughed, watching as Kunikida's eyes rolled into the back of his head. If there were reports of Dazai being murdered by Kunikida nobody would be surprised. Dazai loved to tease and Kunikida hated teasing. It was a match made in hell, but it made for great entertainment.

Junichiro popped into view a couple seconds later, his steaming dinner set in front of him. "Sorry I didn't have time to eat before the call." He apologized politely, and then began shoveling rice down his throat with no shame whatsoever.

Then after what felt like hours, Ranpo connected. His usual stack of snacks by his side, "Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to work this stupid thing." He complained, shoving a crisp into his mouth and chomping down on it urgently.

"You're the smartest kid in the University, but you don't know how to answer a skype call?" Atsushi asked timidly, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion.