𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 | 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘪 𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘶

𝐼𝐼𝐼. 𝒜𝓉𝓁𝒶𝓈

(Y/n) almost envied their friendship. Almost.

It wasn't as though she was lonely on days when she did not see Dazai. She got along exceptionally well with Chuuya Nakahara, who happened to be one third of the fearsome trio that he, Dazai and (Y/n) formed. Kouyou Ozaki and her often had tea together as well. Or she took the time to check up on Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who she tended to worry about even though he wasn't her trainee.

She knew all too well just how extreme and unrelenting Dazai could be with his training. For someone like Akutagawa it was all too crushing. He was the kind who searched for approval and belonging from those he deemed worthy of his respect. Unfortunately, he received none of that from Dazai, so (Y/n) tended to have to be the one to give him quiet words of approbation when she got the chance.

Akutagawa had grown up in the slums, she knew. He had been shunned away and written off as an abomination because of his abilities just like she had been. (Y/n) couldn't help the sense of sympathy that bubbled in her stomach.

(Y/n) had heard Dazai speak highly of Oda the few times he decided to talk about the man. For Dazai to speak highly of anyone was quite a feat, and so, when she finally did meet the famed Oda Sakunosuke, she found herself analyzing him for what made him different.

It was his eyes, she concluded. The man looked haggard and his resting face was apparently one of quiet exasperation, but his eyes revealed his kindness-- something that was extremely hard to come by in the Mafia.

She hadn't really meant to run into the man. Dazai was occupied with a mission he had to go on with Chuuya, and she had merely been looking for a drink. Lupin's bar, she knew, would let her have one even though she was technically underage, and so she found herself nursing a glass at the bar with no one's company but her own.

Until the tired looking man trudged down the stairs that led into the dimly lit bar, and consequently halted in his spot when he registered just who was sat on the bar-stool that was typically occupied by Dazai.

Oda had picked up on the stories that were spread around the Mafia about (L/n) (Y/n). About her deadly skill-set and the occult ability. About how she had almost singly wiped out a vast majority of the organization she had been previously affiliated with. About how she was on par with Dazai as a force to be reckoned with.

He supposed that she did have a strange air around her. Something that made people look twice when they noticed her because she commanded respect in the way she carried herself. When her gaze turned to him upon his approach, Oda had found himself feeling weighed down by the nonchalant intensity hiding in the depths of the (e/c) pools. An intensity that was hard with something dangerous, wearing a warning that you would get burnt if you stared too long.

But according to what Dazai had told him, that was an aura she projected without quite realizing it. The younger male had conceded that she was clever and lethal with how she used her abilities (and even when she didn't use them), but apparently, (L/n) looked more intimidating than she actually was.

That much was proved the moment she opened her mouth, nodding at him with a polite "Good evening, Oda-san."

He understood the greeting and underlying message that it came with: he was free to sit down with her if he so pleased. So he did, because he honestly could do with a nice cold drink after the day he'd had. There were many in the Mafia that liked to look down on him, but if (L/n) was open to treating him without disrespect, then he could appreciate her efforts in doing so.

"Good evening," he muttered to her in passing, taking his place at the seat he usually took up.

Her lips curved upwards, and he noted that it did wonders to reduce the hostility in her appearance. Somehow, even though he knew the expression wasn't a show of joy, it made her look younger-- more her actual age of eighteen rather than the ages old edge in her eyes. The hard set of her mouth and the sharp lines of her face made her look mature enough to pass for an adult.