Ingenue || Bungou Stray Dogs × Fem!Reader

4

Bare witness to my agony.

She procured this strange manner of staring into void when she found herself of no use. Her disposition during those moments was not apprehensible, and had caused discomfort among her colleagues in the agency. Therefore, their means of avoiding the said dilemma was to add a variety of assignments to her workload. And tasks, such as Dazai's untouched ones, were completed before deadline.

It was quite an improvement in the office.

"When you're finished with that, go buy me the first set of candies that catches your eye in the convenience store. Also, two sodas."

Silently, she heaved a fatigued sigh. Having them to suspect that she was tired of her work was not necessary, though she figured Ranpo had already caught up to her act. He stared at her with concealed eyes - his irises were of a viridescent hue, and she supposed it was the fact that he had often kept them hidden that made them more pulchritudinous.

"Alright." She replied, typing in her phone number on her Email composition as a response to the user asking for Ranpo's.

She took a moment to regard the undo button which had the vibrant shade of blue, and stared at it until she was convinced her action had been done for the benefit of the agency. She turned to her left, and was met with a pair of hues an odd synthesis of purple and yellow.

"Do... do you need help, (y/n)?" Atsushi queried.

"I don't." she replied, bearing the courtesy to smile. Her legs brought her up to stand, and before reaching the door, she asked, "Is there anything from the store you might need?"

"No, not really." He answered.

"Then I'm taking my leave."

▪︎

She returned not long from the store holding a bag complete with the confectionaries that had first caught her eye, and her mind kept itself busy with the well-being of her flowers along the way. Upon hearing the cling of the welcome bell, Lucy turned to greet the umpteenth customer.

"Oh, (y/n)."

"Good afternoon."

She sauntered closer, and soon it became apparent to her that Lucy had been tending to someone else before she came. At the sight of the girl, Atsushi tensed, and his fingers attached to the edges of his gloves.

"Do you mind if I sit?" She asked.

"A-ah, no, not at all."

"Really?" She smiled, looking at him with eyes that lustered a small amount of joy. "I'm glad."

After a while, Lucy came with her usual order of café latte in hand. The girl expressed her gratitude, and Atsushi, in the midst of looking at her, came to wonder what had sparked the sudden resentment from the agency forwarded to her. Perhaps it was the effect of knowing she was the murderer of four hundred and ninety-seven people, but even Dazai and Kyouka had their share of stories.

Then again, looks were quite deceiving. Dazai must have realized something in her that Atsushi had yet to.

"Atsushi?"

"Y-yes?" His eyes moved to her person, and at that moment did he notice a beauty so subtle he had scarcely forgotten the reason for her isolation.

"...please don't tell anyone I gave my contact instead of Ranpo's."

So she knew all along that he had known of her misbehavior. And, in all honesty, she was surprised he had not reported it.

"Why did you, though?" He questioned. "You were aware that they were asking for Ranpo's number, so why did give yours?"

"Becauss I'm aware of the agency's uncertainty," she replied, "and believe me when I say that it pains me to know that my colleagues think I'm a bomb about to explode at any moment. I really want to prove myself.

"So please, Atsushi, if you would be so considerate of my favor, don't risk my chance."

The desperation was a soft lullaby he hesitated to regard, nonetheless it was present, and a smile so forlorn came along with the melancholy of her eyes.

"Alright. But if it becomes necessary, I won't hesitate to tell what you did."

"Thank you, Atsushi."