「08/31」

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8. "Just as you once called out my name."

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"Help yourselves, this is my treat!"

"Thank you for the food!" Atsushi, Kyouka and I say in unison, and dig into the food served.

I can't remember the last time I was this hungry before. Maybe it was the amount of walking I had to do. Maybe it was the close-to-death call with Akutagawa's Rashomon. Or maybe, it simply was because I hadn't eaten anything since mornings' breakfast.

"It's not fair that we have to stick to tradition and eat something like this using a chopstick." Kyouka says, stabbing the fried chicken using her chopsticks.

"You're one to talk, all you wear is a traditional yukata!" Atsushi shoots back.

I can hear Dazai letting out a soft chuckle from beside me, before he picks up some of the fried vegetables.

For dinner, Dazai had gone high with proteins, and the entire table was filled with chicken meat, beef, fried eggs, vegetable chops, spicy chili, curry and seasoned rice. Dazai had a long bill awaiting him, that was for sure.

"Dazai-san, why didn't you ask Kunikida-kun to join us?" Atsushi asks, his mouth filled with various types of meat

"He had somewhere to go. And you know how strict he is to his ideals."

"Kira-chan, can you pass me the chilli?"

"Here you go!"

"Hey, Kira-chan, I have a small mission for tonight, before we go to bed. Are you up for it?" Dazai asks, leaning close to me.

"Sure, why are you whispering though?"

Dazai doesn't reply. Instead, he picks up a piece of pickle. He is grinning as he chews on his food, and that was all it took for me to realize that this mission was something he looked forward to.

Maybe he doesn't want those two to worry... I think to myself, glancing at the two sitting in front of us. Kyouka has spilled some curry on her yukata and Atsushi was dabbing a piece of damp cloth on it.

"I'll go bring some dessert," Dazai announces, and stands up. Before he walks away, he leans close to my ear.

"It's a secret between us, Kira-chan." He finally replies.

Before I can say anything in reply, before I can even react, he is walking off.

I swear to God, I will never understand that man.

But... Why does it make me so excited, then?


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"Shh, you're making too much noise, Kira-chan!"

Dazai closes the door without making a single noise. Putting a finger to his lips, he grabs my wrist and walks along the hallway.

"Where are we going?" I whisper, before he shushes me again.

This is odd, why are we sneaking out at time like this? I wonder. The lights in the hallway give out a flicker, and it seems to have taken him aback, because he stops in his tracks. He looks both ways before he makes his way to the staircase and goes downstairs, at full speed.

"Daz-" I am interrupted when he puts one of his slick hands over my mouth, and we hide behind a pillar. Peeking outside, I find Ranpo and Akiko walking along the hallway. They are talking about something, but I am unable to make out what the two are saying. When they walk out of the building, Dazai motions for me to follow him.

"I think they are dating." He lets me know, when the two are out of earshot.

"Hehhhhh?! Ranpo and Akiko?!"

"Yeah. Come on!"

We follow Ranpo and Akiko out to the main street. The two are constantly chatting, and every once in a while, I can hear Ranpo's salty line, 'You have many years to reach to the same level as me'.

"Um, Dazai, I don't think Ranpo would speak like that to someone who he liked."

"You don't know Ranpo-san, he'll talk like that with everyone, even a two year old." Dazai whispers back, as we hide behind a tree.

The two enter a convenience store, and Dazai eyes me.

"Kira-chan, do you-"

"Oi Dazai, what do you think you're doing?!" A young voice says, and the two of us are caught off guard.

We turn around to see a short boy with yellow-blond hair, who has his hands crossed over his chest.
"Oh, it's only you, Kenji-kun!" Dazai laughs, letting out a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean, it's only me?" The boy- who looks around 13 or 14- asks. He then notices me standing beside Dazai.

"Wah, could you be the new rookie of the Agency, Kira-san!?" The boy asks, facing me. I see that he is wearing cuffed blue overalls over a white undershirt, and has on a black belt over his waist. His freckles and straw hat tied to the front are what catches my eyes at first. His gold-ish eyes seemed to glow as he stares at me expectantly.

"Uh. Yeah. Chiyo Kira, nice to meet you."

"My name is Miyazawa Kenji. I'm from a rural village and we call each other by our first names. So please call me Kenji! And it's very nice to meet you too!" He says in a singsong voice. "I heard all about your amazing ability!"

Kenji then scrunches his nose and faces Dazai.

"I told you not to peep on people!"

"Come on, Kenji-kun, aren't you the least bit curious?" Dazai moans.

"You know, Kenji-kun has a point, Dazai. We should head back." I say, and his jaw drops open.

"I'm not going without finding about Ranpo-san and Akiko-san!" Dazai wails.

"Finding out what about us?" A woman's voice asks, and the three of us turn around with fear.

Akiko and Ranpo are standing behind us, and in the hand of the 26 year old is a bag filled with... candy.

"Ranpo, Kenji, take Kira back to the Agency. I'll beat this guy to a pulp." Akiko says with a smile.

"Wait what-"

"Alright!" As if on cue, Kenji grabs my left hand, and Ranpo grabs my right. Together, they drag me back to the Agency, ignoring Dazai's constant wailings of my name.

"Are you sure Dazai will be okay? I mean, I heard Akiko can really kick some butt."

"Aw, don't worry. Akiko can just kick him harder and then heal him later." The boy says with a smile.

"What is wrong with this Agency?!" I laugh.

"Dazai-san is a big idiot." Kenji says, after we drop Ranpo off to his room.

"Even so, he saved me. And I'm eternally grateful for him." The boy says, then smiles.

"I'm happy to have met you Kira-chan! Keep making Dazai-san smile okay? See you later!" he waves, and runs upstairs to his room.

Such a nice little boy!

Wait a minute.

'Keep making Dazai-san smile, okay?'?!

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a/n: Thank you so much for the support! Episode eight finished downloading now so I'm going to watch it now! See y'all in the next chapter ayy ♥  

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