A New Life

☆ Four ☆

"Aaattssuuusshhiiii!" Seiko called out. Said weretiger rushed into Seiko's office slightly panicked.
"Yes Seiko!?"
"Oh my cute werekitty you didn't need to bolt from your bedroom." Seiko laughed. "I have a job for you."
"A... job? Like I get to go reaping without you or like a mission?"
"A mission... I'm not letting you reap alone for at least another hundred years."
"Oh thank goodness I wasn't ready to go reaping." He says throwing a hand over his heart. Seiko laughs.
"Anyway... I have a mission for you werekitty."
"What is it Seiko?" Atsushi asks sitting at a chair in front of her desk.
"You see this book here?" He nods. "Somehow the humans have learnt of its existence but are... making up rumours. They believe the use of a tiger, one with a certain ability, will help them find it and that it can grant and wish they choose..."
"And?"
"They're wrong of course. Partially. You need to be a Reaper to access this book. It's purely a list that grows and grows of family trees and lives and deaths... nothing of what they claim because they found a book that matches the history books recollections of these ones. Head reapers of every continent have one so it's not unlikely a human caught a glimpse but..."
"But?"
"Humans are idiots and I don't miss being a mortal."
"They are pretty stupid." Atsushi agrees, thinking back to the last few times he was walking amongst humans.

The best part about the Reapers realm was that they were able to keep up with everything that happened in the humans times or Atsushi could speak with some of the souls who were given a job- even that nice lady from his old orphanage said hello sometimes. But since Seiko was always prepared to go to the human world to pretend to be a normal person it meant updated clothing styles and gadgets so Atsushi got to learn about video games pretty quickly and man did he enjoy them.... Seiko is staring at him again.

"Sorry lost in thought this is my first big mission."
"I understand but I do need you to listen to the debriefing. Firstly the Government, Port Mafia and Armed Detective Agency have brief knowledge of our existence. Within a way they only know who I am and believe I have an ability involving teleportation. They may refer to us as a ghost agency that helps out sometimes." Seiko takes in a breath. "I want you to join the armed detective agency Atsushi. I want you to pretend that you were kicked out of your Orphanage, you can make up the tragic backstory yourself just let us know the details later. But here's the story."

Atsushi was curled over on the pavement, rag like clothing clinging to his already skinny body. Thanks to Seiko of filling in the next thirty minutes of the future. Bubbling noises sounded from behind him and he sighed this will be the great Dazai he's heard so much about by Oda. He took in a deep breath and dived pulling the upside down manic out of the river.

Dazai sat up with an awfully creepy eye roll as he did so.
"I... made it."
"Yep."
"Damn."
Did he just say damn?
"Were you the one that ruined my submersion?"
"Yes... wait you did that on purpose?" Not that he was surprised at all.
"I was having a lovely time until you came along." Dazai said deadpanned.
Well sorry...
"Well I suppose-"
"DAZAI!" A voices called from across the river startling Atsushi.
"Oh hey Kunikida!!!" Dazai sang as the angry former school teacher began to yell.
"You're.. you're Dazai?"
"I'm Osamu Dazai. What about you?"
"Atsushi Nakajima." He said truthfully, Seiko said not to bother with a fake name since she tries to not do missions closer than fifty years apart... makes life easier. Atsushi's stomach growled.. shit he should have eaten earlier.
"Well then.... oh are you hungry?"
A growl that was much louder came from Dazai's echoed.
"What a coincidence I am too." Dazai continued. "What do you want to eat?"
Shit he wasn't expecting questions.
"Tea on rice." He found himself saying without a second thought.
"Tea on rice huh? Well the river took my wallet." Atsushi sweat dropped. "So Kunikida can buy thirty bowls of it."
... thirty? Alright then...

He wasn't kidding about thirty bowls... not that he was complaining. In fact he was sure he could hear Seiko laughing from here.
Kunikida, as Atsushi had confirmed, was not particularly happy about any of this as Dazai teased and poked at him.
"So what kind of work do you do?" Atsushi said as he shovelled food into his face.
"We are Private Investigators." Dazai said smugly. Kunikida tutted as Atsushi began to throw more questions his way.
"Our job isn't anything to be secretive we can talk about it."
"How are you two communicating?" Dazai asked.
"Whagfsun biabye job ahhsvw doinghak."
"We are hunting a man eating tiger that's been spotted in the area."

Here it is.
This is where the acting begins.

Atsushi fell backwards, eyes wide in fake fear preparing himself to run.
Kunikida was quick, as predicted and pinned him down beginning to question him.
That's it keep them thinking you are nothing but a poor orphan boy.
The poor orphan boy that was kicked out of his orphanage.
The poor orphan boy who'd been chased by said tiger.
The man eating tiger.
He was scared... oh so scared.

At least they believed that.

Dazai had a plan. Bring Atsushi along. Trap the tiger. Something something warehouse.
Shit he couldn't have figured Atsushi out that fast right? No he had to figure out the tiger was him but... still he was pretty fast.
Wind made something clatter behind him softly giving him an idea- he's going to hate acting like this for who knows how long but he'll do what he has to to keep their trust... apparently that means being a scaredy cat who didn't know he had an ability... curse the great ones for his misfortunes.
"Wh-What are you reading Dazai?"
"A good book."
"Oh... you can read in this darkness?"
"I have excellent night time vision Atsushi. I've read this book hundreds of time."
"Then why read it again?"
"A good book is a good book they are always worth reading again."
Amen to that.
A loud clatter sounded off to the side an Atsushi made a show of falling off the crate he'd used as a chair.
"The man-eater is here!" He panicked- trying hard not to roll eyes at himself.
"It was the wind."
"How do you know? That things wants to kill me it could have been it!"
"Tigers don't just appear out of thin air Atsushi." Dazai snapped his book shut as Atsushi scrambled backwards towards the large section of moonlit floor.
"What?"
"Come in now Atsushi... no need to be afraid I'm with the agency for good reason understood."
Atsushi turned to look at the moon and he could have sworn, sworn Seiko gleamed down at him in the silvery light as he allowed the tiger to take over.

It's been a while since he's done that. Allowed the tiger to just take over and the feeling of his body being pulled around as he shifted never got comfortable. If anything however he wished he could have seen his Mentors faces as he committed to his role.
Seiko would be laughing her ass off.
Oda would be proud of him.
Even Reign would offer a look of dignified acceptance... that damn demon was difficult to impress. Sebastian was easier to talk to and he was insufferable some days.
Anyway.

Next thing Atsushi knew Dazai's pointer finger tapped against his forehead and he turned back to normal collapsing into Dazai's chest.
Dazai flung Asushi off of him making him land on his face.
"If you're flirting I'm not interested."

Seriously what the hell is with this guy.

Kunikida came screeching in to yell at Dazai... not that Atsushi was paying attention he was too busy trying to discern the three extra sets of feet coming towards his unconscious body.
A woman, man and teenager maybe?
"Atsushi wake up." The weretiger sat up in a fake delirious haze, oh this must be Kenji the boy right in front of him. "Oh look your right hand didn't change back."
Atsushi looked down at his hand still large and covered in fur- how odd.
"Get it off get it off get it off!" Atsushi cried waving his arm around.
"Atsushi Nakajima."
"...yes?"
"You will be the newest member of the Armed Detective Agency." Dazai announced smugly. Atsushi so badly wanted to sigh Oda and Seiko weren't wrong in saying he'd be brought in almost immediately.

All he could do was agree.