(I love this ship sm)
(And since Q has no confirmed gender, I will be using they/them pronouns.)
"Hey, Q? The boss wants to see you," Akutagawa said, passing by Q.
"Good. I was tired of being stepped on by people," they replied.
"Then again, you are laying in the middle of the floor, so you kind of caused it yourself."
"Hm... I guess that's fair," Q said back, getting up and walking into the office of the PM boss, Mori.
He was standing behind his desk with his back to Q, who silently waited for Mori to start.
Elise looked up from her drawing and noticed Q, waving at them quietly. They waved back to Elise just as Mori turned around.
"Ah, Q. I have your next mission," he started.
Q listened intently as Mori explained what Q was supposed to do.
A small group of teenagers had stolen some cargo from a warehouse owned by the mafia, and Mori wanted Q to infiltrate their group to be a spy.
Q nodded and asked how long it'd take.
"Why do you ask, Q?" Mori wondered aloud before answering their question.
"I was working on a drawing for someone special," they said.
"I see. Does it happen to be someone I know?" Mori asked, being nosy.
Q shook their head no and Mori thought silently for a minute about this information.
"Is it someone in the detective agency?" Mori asked.
Q nodded, and Mori smiled.
"Well, you'd better go get started on your assignment. Good luck," Mori said, turning to Elise and asking her what she was coloring.
"It was a wolf, but now it's you, Rintarou. Specifically you dying," she explained.
Q left the room quickly, barely being able to hold in their laughter at Mori's reaction to Else's answer.
They left the PM base and went to a small warehouse on the south side of town, holding their doll close to them as they knocked on the she'd door.
A boy opened the door and looked outside. He gasped when he saw who was there.
"Q?!" He whispered.
"Kenji?!" Q whispered back.
"What's goin' on out there, shrimpy?!" A booming voice came from inside.
"There's someone here, sir!" Kenji called back.
Boots could be heard walking against the concrete floor as a fifteen year-old dressed in casual burglar clothes walked up behind Kenji.
"Who's the shrimpy number two?" The guy asked Kenji.
"I'm just a small child, here to offer you a very intriguing deal. That's all," Q explained.
"What could we possibly want from you?" The guy asked arrogantly.
Q smiled sinisterly, saying, "I know you stole cargo from the port mafia."
The guy gasped slightly and panicked, deciding after a moment to let Q inside.
Q walked in and was immediately hit with the smell of garlic. They tried not to sneeze, barely succeeding in the end.
"So what do ya want, Shrimpy number two?" The juvenile asked.
"I want you to give me a job. See, I have information about the mafia I think you want, but in return, I want information on you as well. Just to make um sure you don't get yourself killed."
"Hm.... I see. Well, I guess you have a deal, then."
After telling Q and Kenji to both stand guard outside, they decided to have a conversation.
"What are you doing here, blondie?" Q asked.
"I'm on a mission. You?"
"The same. So how've you and the detective agency been?"
"Tired and busy, but good. You and the mafia?"
"Eh, the same as always. Except, I'm in the basement less. That's really the only difference."
"It's good that you're spending more time outside of the basement."
"Eh, I've only been stepped on more. That's it."
"Is that why Dazai has been getting begged to come over there by Mr. Mori?"
"Yep. He's gotta nullify my ability before someone gets hurt because they can't watch where they're walking."
"Why don't you just sit on the couch or something?"
"There's too many pillows, and also, the couch is pretty high up. You basically have to spider your way up it to sit down on it."
"Really? That must suck."
"It does, but there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to deal with it, I guess."
"Hey Q?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to answer this, but where are you from?"
"It's fine. I'm originally from Tokyo, actually. You?"
"Ihatov."
"Really? You're from Ihatov?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I've been there before! It was a long time ago, but even still, I remember the pastures and the cows!"
"Seriously? You have?"
"Yeah, my parents took me there on a road trip when I was little. I barely remember anything about them, but I know they loved to travel."
Q looked up at the sky, noticing it was almost the end of the day. They looked across the nearby water and watched with Kenji as the sun started to set.
A few minutes later, the teenagers inside told the two kids to go home for the day.
Q started to walk back to the mafia base when they got stopped by Kenji.
"Hey, Q!" Kenji hollered after them.
Turning around, Q saw Kenji running over to them.
"Yeah?" Q asked.
"There's something I want to try if you're ok with it. Do you mind?" Kenji asked.
Q shook their head no, and led Kenji to the mafia base when they were asked to.
Upon arriving back at the base, Q found everyone gathered in the living room.
They were gathered around Q's drawing from earlier, but once they saw Q enter, they stepped away from it.
"I'm so sorry, Q. We tried to fix it for you...." Higuchi started.
Walking over to it, Q saw their drawing from earlier ruined by something being spilled on it.
"Oh no..... It's ruined...." Q muttered to themself.
"Everything ok, Q?" Kenji asked.
Everyone turned their attention to Kenji, who stood there looking at Q, not noticing everyone's stares of confusion.
"What's he doing here, Q?" Mori asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to help Q with a problem they were having. That's all, Mr. Mori."
Nodding, Mori turned his attention back to Q, who was still staring at the ruined picture.
"Q, are you alright?" Kenji asked.
Q turned around to where the others could see their face, only for everything to be shocked to find that Q was crying.
"Q?" Kenji asked.
Q didn't reply. They moved over and hugged Kenji, tears streaming down their face heavily.
"Q? Was the picture for someone special?" Kenji asked.
"It was for Dazai. As a thank you for helping with my ability all those times," Q choked out.
"It's alright, Q. I'm sure he'll love it, even still. Would you like me to take it to him for you?" Kenji asked, hugging back.
"No... It's hideous now, just like me...."
"Who told you that?" Kenji asked.
"No one..." Q said, not wanting to admit who it was.
"You're not hideous, you're perfect just the way you are. Just like your drawing is," Kenji said.
Q dried their tears and let go of Kenji, asking him why he cared so much.
"Because you've been to Ihatov, meaning you're a part of home. And no part of home is anything but perfect."
Q called themselves down and thanked Kenji, asking him what he'd wanted to try. He picked Q up and placed them on the couch, patting them on the head a bit and saying goodbye.
Before he left, Q asked if Dazai would really like the picture. Kenji nodded and Q asked if after their mission tomorrow, if they could take it to Dazai. Nodding, Kenji left.
He told everyone back at the agency about his day and the interaction with Q. They were surprised, but happy.
The next day after their job together, the two took Q's picture to Dazai.
"Here you go. It's a thank you for helping stop my ability from hurting everyone."
Q handed Dazai the folded up picture.
Dazai was about to ask what it was when he noticed Kenji glaring at him while smiling from behind Q. Taking it as a threat (because it was), he said the picture was amazing.
And that was the beginning of a friendship between Kenji and Q.
Author's Note:
Word Count: Today it's only 1400 words.