Redo at past mistakes

Chapter 2- Trials and tribulations of caring for a child

It didn't take long for the two of them to get home and before they knew it, the pair were walking through the entrance of Dazai and Chuuya's shared apartment. What to do now they were here Dazai was yet to figure that out. The plan was to get home, anything past that he hadn't thought of so now he was just standing at the entrance of his home like an idiot. However, at least he wasn't the only one; Akutagawa too was just standing there blanking, waiting patiently. His eyes were slowly drifting around the apartment but always ended up back staring at his feet, not bothering to look up at Dazai, like he didn't have the right to. But Akutagawa was still filled with plenty of curiosity so continued to observe his surroundings and whilst the boy's eyes darted round the room freely, Dazai's eyes remained adamantly glued on Akutagawa. Just looking at the kid felt like a flash back to the past. He looked exactly the same as he did when Dazai first met him six years ago. The resemblance was almost eerily uncomfortable, yet Dazai couldn't look away. Akutagawa was in the same ragged clothes from the slums, same colour and rips in the same places too; as well as that, the grime and dirt covering the boy was in the same precise spots as they were back than, not a centimetre off. It was all an exact copy of the kid before the mafia. It was like that ability user had plucked the fourteen year old Akutagawa from his memories and placed him before Dazai. That ability had truly turned back time. Dazai knew a fair bit about age related abilities but never before had he seen one replicate the past so perfectly all the way down to the cuts and bruises.

Speaking of cuts and bruises, those were the only things slightly different to before. There were only a few but there were clearly some new ones, probably caused from when Akutagawa was running in fear earlier. They were pretty small and were hidden amongst the heap of muck all over the boy but there really was a fair amount compared to before. It saddened Dazai to see how worse a state the boy had become in so little time, and it made him wonder if this could've been prevented if he and Akutagawa ran into each other earlier. There was no real answer to that enquiry, so in an aim for more positive thinking, Dazai pushed that matter aside and instead focused his attention on a more vital matter, which was the fact that Ranpo was certainly right earlier; he'd definitely need to give Akutagawa a bath. There was so much grime covering the boy to the point that it was concerning, surely having all that mess over him wasn't comfortable, so getting Akutagawa clean was definitely a top priority. Additionally, perhaps once the kid was all clean he'd feel at least bit better and be able to relax, because at the moment Akutagawa was still quite tense, and although he trusted Dazai somewhat, his defences were still up at full strength. During his time looking after Akutagawa, Dazai would have to find a way to bring those walls down, and certainly in a non-violent way, unlike in the past. He was a better person now and, if back then he couldn't treat Akutagawa with the kindness he deserved, then he'd treat him with that kindness now. The first step with that would be making Akutagawa feel more comfortable and being clean could easily do that.

So with a more confident smile than before, Dazai made a beeline for the main bathroom. He now had a clear objective to complete and that made everything easier. Hopefully, later he'll make a more concrete plan but for now this will do. Just running a simple bath should be easy, so he'd have plenty of time to create a plan while Akutagawa washed himself, and that was how things seemed like they were going to play out, but as Dazai should know by now, things don't always turn out as predicted. Everything started out promisingly, Dazai was running a bubbly, warm bath with ease and Akutagawa, who had followed his mentor's lead towards the bathroom, was patiently waiting outside the door. Things still continued going well when Dazai gestured for Akutagawa to come inside and disrobe so he could get in the bath. It was only when the matter of getting Akutagawa actually in the bath did a problem occur. Initially, Dazai was just going to leave Akutagawa to bathe in peace, maybe figure out what's for dinner in the meanwhile, but now that plan no longer seems plausible. The boy just wouldn't get in the bath. At first it seemed as if Akutagawa was going to wash himself as Dazai thought, however when Dazai turned his back to exit he heard two quick splash sounds that sounded oddly similar to footsteps, and when he turned around Akutagawa was standing back on the bath mat with clearly only wet feet.