Tortured Souls || BSD AtsushixReader [✔]

Chapter 6

1st person view

(y/n)

The first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness was a massive headache. My head was pounding like it was trying to kill me, and I hated it. I groaned in irritation.

"I think she's waking up!", a voice called.

Kenji-san...?

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was laying on a couch in the Armed Detective Agency. I noticed Kenji staring at me from the other side of the room and blinked. Then someone else came into view.

"(y/n)!", Atsushi said in a relieved tone.

Before I could react he threw his arms around me. I froze in surprise and blinked.

He's... Hugging me? Why?

"I'm sorry!", Atsushi said when he realized what he did. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me!"

I watched as the man-tiger took a step back and bowed down.

"It's... fine", I mumbled.

"Ah, she talked!", Kenji cheered. "She really talked!"

I saw the blonde running further into the office, out of my sight. My attention was drawn to Atsushi when he stood up straight again and shot me a sheepish smile.

I felt like I should experience or do something, but I felt... empty. 

"What happened to you, (y/n)?", Atsushi asked, his smile fading. "Where did you run off to so suddenly."

"I... don't remember", I answered as I tried to recall the events he spoke of. "The last thing I remember is laying in bed with you."

Atsushi turned red at the statement and I looked at him in confusion, though that wasn't visible on my face.

Did I say something wrong...?

Then I noticed something and my eyes went wide.

"I..."

I fell silent when a certain figure approached me. The tall brunette known as Dazai Osamu looked at me with an intense gaze. I stared right back.

"She's not going to talk", Atsushi grumbled. "See? Her eyes are all... vague again."

I blinked slowly. Not only did I not want to talk, I also felt like I couldn't. It felt like something was preventing me from talking.

"But she talked just now?", Dazai asked.

Atsushi nodded.

"She said she doesn't remember anything from the moment she tried to leave."

"Hm, that could be when the ability was activated", Dazai mumbled as he walked up to me. "But it still doesn't explain why she has clear moments where she does talk."

"M-maybe she's resisting?", Atsushi suggested. "When the ability user's hold on her becomes weaker she might be able to talk and think for herself."

I blinked. Ability user? Was I under an ability user's influence? I didn't really know, and I didn't really care. I remembered having a blackout a few days prior, but I couldn't be bothered to care much about that either.

"So, the eyes is a clear sign of the ability that's controlling her, but the mark in her neck seems to be present at all times", Dazai observed.

"Yes", Atsushi mumbled. "I just feel so stupid that I never noticed it. She has a triangle mark in her neck. How was I so blind all this time?"

"You said yourself that she always has her hair down", Dazai replied. "Maybe that's why. And besides, the mark is very small. Anyone would have missed it unless they were looking for it."

They checked my body for a mark? Master won't be too pleased with that. But with Dazai Osamu here, he shouldn't have expected anything different.

"Anyway, can I take her back home now?", Atsushi hesitantly asked. "I think she would be more comfortable there. Plus, her tiger plushie arrived."

I lazily turned my head in his direction when he mentioned the tiger plushie.

"Tiger plushie...?", Dazai questioned.

"Ah, yes", Atsushi murmured. "When she first talked I asked her what she wanted and she said she wanted a white tiger plushie, so I ordered one for her."

"That's... sweet", Dazai mumbled, stealing a sideways glance at me. "Feel free to take her back to your place. You're right. She doesn't seem comfortable here and if what you said is true she's more at ease in your apartment."

Atsushi nodded and looked at me.

"Are you coming, (y/n)?", he asked.

I slowly nodded and got off the couch. Atsushi said goodbye to everyone else at the office and I followed him outside.

"When we're home you should tell me everything you remember, okay?", the man-tiger said.

I locked eyes with him but didn't respond. After a few motionless seconds Atsushi broke eye contact and looked back ahead again.

"Kenji found you this morning in an alleyway, unconscious", he began to explain. "You were gone for two days, had me really worried. But I'm glad you're okay now. You don't seem to have been harmed, so that's good. I'm just really curious to know where you went."

The walk home was anything but silent. Atsushi kept rambling on about what happened to me and how worried he was, repeating the same thing over and over in different words. I didn't care, but then again, I didn't really care about anything.

As soon as Atsushi closed the apartment door behind me I felt an uneasy feeling. I didn't know what to call it and I didn't know how to deal with it, but I knew what I wanted to do. I turned around and looked at Atsushi.

"I used my ability on you", I said in a strange tone I couldn't place.

Atsushi also seemed surprised, because he gasped softly and his eyes widened.

"I... How do you know that if you don't remember anything?", he asked.

"I can see the fractures in your bones", I said softly. "Three of them. Clean breaks, almost impossible to get in an accident. Plus, if I was gone for only two days it's unlikely that you got them another way."

"It's fine", Atsushi quickly said like he was trying to assure me of something. "I know you weren't yourself, so it's okay."

"But I hurt you", I insisted, not understanding why I was pushing the matter so much. "Let me heal you."

"There's no need for that, it's already healed", Atsushi said with a kind smile.

"The fractures are still visible", I stated. "They'll never completely disappear. Let me heal it for you."

"Well... If you insist", Atsushi murmured.

I nodded and walked into the living room. Atsushi followed me and I gestured for him to sit down, which he did. I knelt down by his side and briefly locked eyes with him. He seemed... uneasy.

"Stay still. It might feel a little weird", I instructed.

He nodded and I carefully grabbed his arm. I closed my eyes to focus and skimmed my fingertips over the skin of his wrist as I made the bone heal completely. When I was convinced there was no trace left of the fracture I moved on to repeat the same ritual with his foot and ankle. Atsushi remained silent the entire time and I could feel his eyes on me.

"There", I mumbled when I finished. "All done. I'm sorry for hurting you."

I bowed my head down and fixed my eyes on the floor.

W-why am I apologizing? I usually don't do anything like this.

"It's okay, (y/n)", Atsushi said.

I looked up and saw that he was smiling.

"I forgive you."