DARK RED ‣ d. osamu

O7.

   HER FIRST DAY AT THE mafia. mori had greeted her when she stepped into their headquarters. she couldn't get caught now, as her mother could barely move and her father was working.

   "welcome to the port mafia, [name] [surname]." he handed her a silk bow in [favorite color]. "it's traditional for us higher-ups to hand something down to new members. this was from kouyou ozaki."

   "thank you. i'll pledge my loyalty and blood to you, boss," she replied hesitantly. "...until our contract do us part."

   he clipped the bow on the back of her hair, a fatherly sort of gesture. she paused. this was the boss of the port mafia. this was unexpected.

something was wrong, very wrong.

what is it?

i can't remember.

he's a little familiar.

that gesture was all too familiar.

and she couldn't make it out.

   she reached out to gingerly touch the bow in her hair. it was soft to the touch, expensive material, even.

   the door cluttered. someone stepped inside, and mori greeted them. "hello, dazai. i've been expecting you."

   dazai nodded before his eyes trailed over to the bow in her hair. he stopped dead in his tracks and took a few minutes to stare in awe.

   "—zai, are you listening?" mori's voice rang.

   "huh?" he replied.

   "mission. you and [name] are being sent to suribachi city to investigate a matter at hand. there's a kid that's been taking down our mafia squads," said mori. "there are also rumors about a certain person showing up there."

   "oh, i get it now. this is about the previous boss, isn't it?" said dazai, as [name] and mori nodded.

   "here," said mori. he scratched away with his quill until he held up a rectangular document with a silver color and black messy kanji, typical doctor handwriting. "this document is a delegation of authority called a silver oracle. show this to anyone in the mafia, and they'll do whatever you ask. use it wisely."

"what if i don't want to do it?" the brunette questioned.

   "i can prescribe a drug to kill you painlessly if that's what you wish," said mori.

"you will?!" he exclaimed.

"yes."

   "fine, but you're gonna give me that drug, okay? that's a promise," dazai stated, holding the silver oracle in his hands.

   "it'll be your first real job," mori replied, as she looked at the two males in confusion. "welcome to the port mafia, dazai."

  so he wasn't an official member. so how come he was ordering around those gunrunners at my school? she thought. she slipped out of the room to collect her thoughts, hearing only inaudible noises from the two. a short word exchange, something among the lines of, "who's this person..." and just blurred noises. perhaps she just wasn't letting the talk process into her mind.

   dazai left the room soon after, closing the door behind him. "about time," she said. "i've been waiting forever. it gets boring, you know?"

   he glared. "why did mori tell you about the previous boss, even though you're a new member?"

"...and that's a story for another day," she chuckled.

"fine. let's go."

┕━☽【❖】☾━┙

   "hmm... so it's popular in foreign lands to drink metal-plating solutions to die by suicide," dazai murmured to himself. "but it's only used so often because it's easy for people in the industrial paint business to obtain." he was reading from a red book,  that had a white coffin design in the front, the title spelling out, 'the complete guide to suicide.' his face suddenly contorted into one of disgust.

   "drink it, and it melts your organs, causing hours of intense pain!? eww!" he yelled. "good thing i didn't try it out." he turned to the old man with a monocle and a black coat layered with a brownish-red scarf. "did you know about this, um...?"

   "my name is hirotsu," said the old man. "and i will, er... keep that in mind."

   after hirotsu warned dazai about the potential dangers, the brunette's phone rang. a short conversation rang out about the boss, until—

   "dazai!" [name] and hirotsu yelled in chorus. the girl had been quiet for a while now, thinking about the entire situation, because the dead don't rise just like that.

   the boy was blown back and crashed to the ground as his phone clattered to the pavement where she was standing. she picked it up and threw it over to dazai, which he caught gingerly. sounds of snarky laughter were heard from where dazai was.

   "hahaha! this is rich! it's just a damn kid!" the boy's voice rung out. he had ginger hair and was wearing a grey hoodie with a green pea coat. he had black pants and brown shoes. "are you guys really so desperate for members? come on, port mafia!"

"the sheep!" mori's voice rang out from the other line.

"wow, that hurt," said dazai. "i hate pain, you know."

   "i'm gonna give you a chance, kid. die now, or talk and then die," the ginger boy replied, glaring. "what's it gonna be?"

   "okay, kill me now," said the brunette. soon after, it was evident that he had pissed the boy off.

   "i didn't ask about that, you bastard! i'm fifteen years old! i'm still growing!" he yelled, holding dazai by the scruff of his shirt.

   "now i get it," said dazai, wiping blood off his face. "you're that gravity user, aren't you? chuuya nakahara. the king of the sheep."

   [name]'s ears perked up. she had heard of them before. they were a large group full of teenagers and kids, formed for the purpose of self-defense. nobody dared to defy them any longer. the saying goes that 'anyone who messes with the sheep pays back a hundredfold.' once, one of her friends at school was blabbering about how they were gonna use their ability to defeat the sheep king. they were never seen again the next day.

   "one of the groups that boss was talking about," she piped in. the ginger and brunette were suddenly aware of her presence. is she a member as well? she's so... strange. there are traces of a school on her scent, chuuya thought.

   "we've lost two mafia squads to them this week," said hirotsu.

   "i really oughta send your head in a box to these mafia bitches," chuuya said harshly, walking over to dazai.

"NOW!"

   just as chuuya was about to attack, a mafia squad full of people with shades, suits, and guns appeared behind dazai, [name], and hirotsu. chuuya skidded to a stop. "you see?" said dazai. "you can't kill me."

   you can't? the girl thought. just what makes him put so much confidence in his abilities? is this all apart of some sort of plan?

   then she noticed one of the men among the mafia squad.

it was her father.

he noticed her as well.

both their eyes widened.

no way.

just no way...