leo, leonis (Akutagawa x Reader)

Chapter Ten

As soon as they had returned to the Mafia, Y/n disappeared into its depths without a word to her companions. Akutagawa watched her go with a light sigh.

"Who was that man?" Higuchi hesitantly asked from beside him.

"An ex-executive who defected a few years ago." he hummed softly, still watching the space Y/n had occupied.

"You both know him?"

Only now did he turn to face her, a wry smile on his face.

"Knew him." he corrected, "Go clean up. I would like to meet with you later to discuss the machine gun situation."

"I..." Higuchi's cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment, "Yes, sir."

She bowed slightly to him and Akutagawa walked off towards the elevators. His mind was spinning. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to see his former mentor again, especially not working against the Mafia.

He was furious as he headed up to Mori's office. Dazai had betrayed them, left them. He had found someone new to take under his wing, someone he treated with care. 

It was easier when you were dead. I could forgive you when you were dead.

Her words echoed around his mind as he knocked on the imposing doors he knew so well. He was angry, hurt, confused. He couldn't imagine what Y/n was going through in this moment.

The doors swung open and Akutagawa entered the office. Mori looked up at him from behind his desk.

"Akutagawa." he hummed, setting his book down, "What an unexpected surprise."

His voice was light but laced with the venom of a warning. Akutagawa payed it no heed as he stopped, a few feet in front of the desk.

"Dazai is alive." he hissed.

Mori's eyes widened for a moment before they reassumed his natural, lazy look.

"So, you saw him?"

"He's working for the Agency. He took the Tiger."

"Ah, well then." he leaned back in his chair, "And how did our little Leo take the news?"

Akutagawa was silent, unsure of the answer to the question as well as the implications his words could have on Y/n and her life in the Mafia. Mori smiled darkly.

"It was bound to happen eventually."

"You knew? You knew he was working for the Agency?" Akutagawa took a step forward, the edges of his vision blurring.

"I had heard rumors." Mori confirmed after a second.

"And that is why you put me on this mission, told me to bring her. Not because you were worried I'd kill him, because you wanted us to see him."

Mori's silence was the only answer he needed. Akutagawa scoffed, shaking his head slightly.

"So, the Agency still has our prize." Mori folded his hands under his chin in contemplation, "Perhaps we should send the Agency a little surprise in the form of a certain tactical unit?"

"Don't you dare do that to her."

The words had left his lips before he'd even realized what he was saying. Mori hummed in thought, a smile firmly on his face.

"How interesting." he mused, "All right. I won't send Y/n, but only if you agree to do something for me."

"What." 

"Make sure she doesn't follow in her brother's footsteps. Our Leo is an important asset to the organization and she was always prone to trailing after him like a lost little kid. Not too dissimilar from you."

Akutagawa grimaced, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Is that all?" he asked through gritted teeth, trying to maintain what little was left of his composure.

"You may go."

As soon as the door shut behind him, Akutagawa went to look for Y/n. She was the only one who knew, who understood the situation the way he did and he needed her now. He needed her to calm his anger, and though he was reluctant to admit it, he needed to make sure she was okay.

It wasn't long before he found her in one of the training rooms, deep in the bowls of the building. She was using a punching bag, her breath ragged and her fists bloody. Her mask had been tossed to the side and her hair had slipped from its braids, hanging wild around her face, plastered with sweat to her forehead. She didn't turn at the sound of his entering, simply continued in her assault of the bag.

"What do you want?" she demanded between pants, anger evident in her voice.

Akutagawa observed the scene carefully before approaching her. He caught Y/n's fist in his hand just as it was about to make contact with the bag, shuddering at the impact but standing strong. She turned to him, her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

"Y/n you have to stop. Give yourself a break."

"Oh?" she scoffed, shaking her head to get her hair out of her eyes, "And why should I?"

"You're going to hurt yourself." he calmly replied.

Y/n wrenched her hand free from his grip, turning back to the punching bag. She began to attack it once again, leaving little splatters of blood on its surface from where she had broken her own skin.

"So what?"

Akutagawa sighed.

"I don't want that to happen."

She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye before landing a harsh kick to the bag, sending it falling from its hook on the ceiling. She leaned over, grabbing it in her arms and methodically reattaching it. Akutagawa stepped forward, laying a hand on the bag in the hopes she would stop.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." 

"Oh I'm fine." she sarcastically replied, "My brother is actually alive and just decided not to tell me and has a whole new life for himself while he left me with this? Yeah, totally fine. He's showing more affection to some boy just cause he has a fucking ability he likes than he ever showed me in my whole life? Totally a-okay."

"Y/n, please stop. Let's talk. We can go to that cafe you like." Akutagawa offered, trying to keep his voice even.

Y/n pushed his hand roughly from the bag. She had seen the pity in his gaze, the softness with which he was looking at her. It was all too much. She saw red.

"Go find someone else to care about." she spat as she began her assault anew.

"Y/n-"

She spun around, turning to face him fully once again.

"God you're like a lost little puppy! Do you have a thing for us Dazai's or something?"

It was the first time he had ever heard her reference herself in her brother's name. Akutagawa stilled, his mouth slightly agape. Her words cut into him like knives, tearing away at the skin of his chest, burying themselves in his lungs, in his heart.

"Just leave me alone." she scoffed, turning back to her target.

"Y/-"

"Leave! Me! Alone!" each word was annunciated by a hit to the bag.

He watched her for a moment longer before shaking his head slightly and turning to leave. When he reached the door, he turned back to her once again to find she was blatantly ignoring his existence. Akutagawa left, the echoes of Y/n's hits surrounding him as he made his way back down the hall. She let out a scream of frustration, of grief. He stepped into the elevator. The doors shut.