Yokohama stray dog

1.01

Dazai

I was walking on the "streets" of Suribachi City. Originally, I was here for a mission. Or...Hirotsu-san and I, but I left him somewhere. We're supposed to eliminate a mafia and catch an infamous assassin, but I got bored. I was not fighting anyway, so what's the point of me being there? Also, the reason for my wandering is, that the assassin is not there. They are in Subarachi City but on the other end of it. How do I know? Well, let's just say, it's my intuition. The thing that makes this mission harder, is that we know nothing about them. Only rumors, and the organization they're part of. This sucks, like really. We have to find a person that's like a ghost. And we have to bring them back alive. Like, what if we accidentally kill them or something?

As I was passing by an alley, I suddenly noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and gave it my full attention. When I saw what it was I was shocked. A girl was standing in the shadows. She was around eight years old, with surprisingly well-groomed long raven black hair. She also looked tidy, even though I supposed she lived somewhere around here. She was looking at me with her ocean blue eyes, with her head tilted slightly to the side like she found me very interesting for some reason.

"Who are you?" I asked. She gave me no response. "It's dangerous around here alone. Where are your parents?" I inquired further. Even though her face twitched slightly at the word 'parents', she remained silent. "Are you an orphan? Is there someone looking after you? Why aren't you answering?" I was basically interrogating her at this point. Yet she was not answering. I took a few steps towards her, to which she took a step back. "I just want to help. You shouldn't be here, you know. This place is dangerous. For everyone."

"I know." she finally spoke "That's why you shouldn't be wandering alone either."

"Wha...?" I started but was cut off by a knife in front of my throat. I looked at the side. It was a man. With one of his hands, he was holding the knife, me with the other. His partners, I suppose, appeared behind us with guns, and held them at me.

"Got you." the girl spoke again indifferently. At the next moment, everything went black.

- later -

I woke up with a hellish pain in my head. I groaned in annoyance as I sat up with my hand on my head. I couldn't see very clearly either. The only thing my brain registered was that it was cold and pretty dark. When my vision cleared, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a cell of some kind. I was surrounded by damp brick walls with chains on them. Thankfully I was not chained down, but the cell door made my escape harder. It felt and looked like I was in prison. Although a prison has a bed and barred windows. So I'm pretty sure the mafia I'm supposed to eliminate had taken me hostage and locked me away underground.

"What are you...?" I heard a man's voice, but it was cut off by something, and there was a thud. The next moment there was the sound of footsteps and the jingling of keys. The girl I had met in the alley appeared with keys in one hand and, a gun in the other.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I asked

"Saving you. Why, what does it seem like?" she answered, completely ignoring my first question. She began fiddling with the keys, inserting each one into the lock one by one.

"Why?" I questioned

"You're asking too many questions. Didn't anyone tell you yet?" she looked at me

"Tell me your name," I demanded

"Only if you tell me yours," she said back

"Fine. My name is Dazai. Osamu Dazai." I introduced myself

"Kocho Date," she spoke. In the meantime, she found the right key and finally opened the cell door. "Follow me." she declared, and then left, not even waiting for me to stand up.