𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 | 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘪 𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘶

𝐼. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒢𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝐻𝑒𝓁𝓁

Now, the junior's eyebrows rose. "Aren't the both of them really young? Eighteen, I think."

"Does it matter?" The older of the two snorted. "They may be young, but their blood is blacker than almost anyone else's in this hell-hole. Stay out of their way as much as you can, kid, if you want to live peacefully. People like them aren't the kind you wanna get involved with."

Eyes widening, the younger found himself facing forward due to the elevator doors sliding open before he could quite get to responding. Faced with the pair they had just been talking about, he felt more one edge than he usually was, carefully ensuring that his eyes didn't meet theirs.

"Dazai Osamu," the brunet introduced cheerfully, sporting a smile as he stepped out of the elevator.

"(L/n) (Y/n)," the girl followed, evidently more subdued than her partner. "The Boss called for us."

They were let through with no fuss-- no words exchanged beyond that as the guards merely parted to let them pass.

Before the younger guard could get to releasing the breath he'd been holding, however, (L/n) looked into his eyes undeterred by the dark shades that covered them, the knowing gaze serving to knock the wind out of him without her having uttered a word to him.

There was nothing malicious in the stare-- it was simply pointed and sharp with awareness, making him feel like she reached through and gazed right into his soul.

And just like that, she looked back to the front like nothing had happened while he was left barely refraining from gasping for air.

"I think you scared him."

(Y/n) inclined her head slightly in Dazai's direction to acknowledge his conspiratorial whisper. "I meant to do nothing of the sort," she assured, lips twitching up when Dazai snorted.

She really hadn't. (Y/n) had simply glanced at him. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was perfectly aware of the conversation that had taken place just seconds prior to their arrival. If the guard was fainthearted, then that was hardly her fault.

They passed another set of guards before finally being let in to meet Mori-- the man currently in charge of Yokohama's Port Mafia. He gave them their mission and then they were dismissed.

"I wish you could just transport us there," Dazai voiced around a wistful sigh, stretching his arms over his head as the pair headed out to the location Mori had given them where they would find the rest of their team for the task.

(Y/n) glanced at him in her peripheral vision. "Your ability cancels mine," she reminded. "Either way, you'll have to get there normally."

At the reminder, the brunet slumped, looking dangerously close to pouting. "How cruel," he grumbled. "Have you no sympathy for me? I thought I was dearer to you than this, my Nightshade."

Perhaps, after all the time she spent with him, (Y/n) ought to have been used to the theatrics Dazai tends to overreact with when he was keen on not acting serious, but she still rolled her eyes at him. "I'm walking with you, aren't I?" she pointed out. "I could've left you behind."

"Ah, that's true." Dazai grinned, his hand coming up to rest against the small of her back almost like he didn't have to think about the action as he did it. "My Nightshade has never forsaken me. I am a lucky man to have a beautiful woman by my side."

Her lips twitched again, vague amusement filling her as they neared the warehouse they'd been assigned to, reaching the men who would be assisting them on the mission. Dazai's nonchalant flirting was what fed the gossip mills of the Port Mafia, leading quite a few to believe that the both of them were more than just partners and friends.