A/N:
Hi hi! First chapter, hope you enjoy!
Please don't mind the amount of author's notes on this chapter— the other chapter's there won't be so much it's just that since this is the first chapter, there's a lot to say!
Here's a basic idea for Y/N's outfit:
It's not exact (the skirt is a bit longer and has pockets) but use it as a reference. Also she has plain black shorts under her skirt. No arguing on that one. Plus you can (obviously) change the hair, eyes, body type, skin color, etc! I'm not referencing the girl in the photo, only the outfit!
Reminder: don't whine about the outfit! If you don't like it then when your imagining it in your mind, then change it! But don't comment about it. It's does nothing but annoy the author.
Also I couldn't fit it in the 'CAST' chapters but Fukuzawa & Mori are not love interests! Mori is gross and I hate him. But Fuku & Y/N's dynamic is sorta like father & daughter? Idk I'm not really good at judging familial relationships since I have major mommy AND daddy issues (yikes), but I tried to make them like father & daughter! :D
This book doesn't have a set update schedule, but I'll try to update once a week or so! Sorry about that, it's just that every chapter has around 4,000 words and it takes awhile to write it then go and correct all mistakes and stuff!
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
CHAPTER 1.
"Chasing Down The Kitty"
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
Y/N wasn't necessarily suicidal. She just wasn't the most eager to want to live. There was a difference.
She didn't actively wish to die, she wouldn't go out of her way to kill herself. She wouldn't bother climbing up a roof and jumping it.
But if a bullet were coming her way and she has the choice wether to dodge or not?
That's a different story.
That's exactly why she was exasperated when she heard Dazai wandered off again, trying to kill himself.
Really, she doesn't get what the big deal is.
Not to mention how tiring his nagging is when trying to get her to commit with him.
"Hey, hey, Kuni-kun! There he is!" Y/N called, clapping her hands together as she noticed the man standing next to someone across the canal.
"There you are, blockhead!" Kunikida called loudly, glaring daggers at Dazai.
If looks could kill, the bandaged man would be dead ten-times over.
(Though Y/N doubts Dazai would be against it.)
Dazai blinked, turning towards the duo that stood on the opposite side of the canal.
"Oh, hey." Dazai casually waved his hand, "Nice work, Kunikida-kun, Y/N-chan!"
"Nice work?" Kunikida hissed, not paying attention to the bubbly girl that beamed at the praise, "And just who caused all this work, you suicidal manic?! I've had enough of you disrupting our schedules!"
Dazai didn't answer as he averted his attention back to the white-ish haired boy.
Y/N tilted her head, observing the boy the best she could.
He — along with Dazai — were soaked in water as Y/N briefly wondered if he tried to drown himself this time.
He had white hair that was almost grey, but not in an old-person type of grey, like a misty grey. The hair was cut.. oddly.
He seemed to have segmental heterochromia, his eyes being purple on the top half of his iris and yellow along the bottom curve of his pupil.
He was.. pretty? A bit raggedy, but if Y/N dressed him up he could look super pretty!
"Oh, right! I have a great idea," Dazai spoke to the boy, snapping Y/N out of her thoughts, "He's a colleague of mine from work. Let's have him treat you to a meal."
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"
Poor Kunikida, Y/N snickered behind her hand, lips curved up.
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
The boy's name was Atsushi Nakajima.
Atsushi... A name that meant 'compassionate warrior.'
It.. really didn't suit the boy.
He seemed to back away from any attention, meek and cowardly.
Of course, he was pretty, so atleast he has that going for him.
Y/N shrugged uncaringly, taking a bite out of the chocolate pocky she brought with her.
How she fit all the snacks in her pockets? Who knows.
"You're unbelievable!" Kunikida's voice draws Y/N back to reality, looking over at the two detectives.
"Who goes 'that's a nice river' and jumps into it in the middle of a job?!" Kunikida scolds the man who closed his eyes, facing away from the blond.
"This isn't exactly new, you know!" Y/N chirps unhelpfully from her seat next to Atsushi.
"That makes it worse!" Ah. So her comment didn't help then? Boo.
"Thanks to you, look! Look how off-schedule we are!" Kunikida stresses, scowling down at the poor innocent table as if it had killed his entire family.
"You sure like your schedules, Kunikida-kun." Dazai acknowledges.
"Yeah~ If I didn't know any better, I'd say your in love with it!" Y/N swoons mockingly, long sleeves swaying by her sides.
Kunikida slams a small yellow book down onto the table — the poor table — as he points to the words drawn on the cover. "This isn't a schedule!"
It's not?
"This is an ideal. My guide in life. And nowhere in this book is it written that my work partner is a suicidal manic!" Kunikida scolds the man who simply blinks at him, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
Atsushi glances between the two men, chewing the rice he was given.
"Shut up!" Kunikida snaps at the boy before sitting back down.
"Nowhere on my projected expenses page will you find written that I will buy a million bowls of tea on rice for a snot-nosed brat." Kunikida glares at the boy pointedly.
Y/N pouts in offense, "Cmon, Kuni-chan!Look at him~"
She pats the boy's head like a kitty, "He's so cute! And pretty! How can you call him a brat!"
"DON'T REFER TO ME SO UNPROFESSIONALLY—"
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
Y/n enjoyed sweets.
They left a sweet taste on her tongue.
It was a contrast to the bitter world.
A nice contrast.
She...
"You're a real lifesaver."
Those words coming from Atsushi snapped her out of her train of thought. Y/N looked at the boy next to her, head tilted in curiosity.
"After leaving the orphanage and coming to Yokohama, I've had nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep." Atsushi had a melancholic smile on his face. "I thought I'd die of starvation."
Oh he's traumatized.
Y/n blinked, taking a bite out of the final pocky in the box.
"You're from an orphanage?" Dazai questioned, tilting his head.
"Putting it in one way, yes." Atsushi nodded in confirmation. "But they kicked me out."
Dazai frowned at the information, looking down at the table, "That's some non-profit there."
"Awh... Astu-chan.." Y/N frowned, giving the boy a sympathetic look.
"Hey, Dazai, L/N. We're not some philanthropists going around helping brats down on their luck, okay?" Kunikida glared at the two scoldingly.
Y/N pouted, leaning back in her chair as Dazai said nothing in reply.
"Let's go back to the matter on hand." Kunikida held up his stupid little book again.
His stupid little book with his stupid little rules—
Y/n huffed, bringing her knees to her chest and crossing her arms over them, laying her head atop them.
"That reminds me," Atsushi started, "You said earlier your current job involved the military. What is your line of work, exactly?"
"Oh, we're just private investigators." Dazai grinned at the boy who blinked.
"Private... investigators...?" Atsushi processed, looking at the three with even more curiosity.
"That's not to say we only handle lost pets and alleged extramarital affairs." Kunikida added, not wanting their jobs to be misinterpreted.
"Uh-huh! Hey, Atsu-chan," Y/N called his attention over to her, "Have you heard of the Armed Detective Agency? An organization with individuals possessing supernatural powers!"
Y/N sent him a wink before grabbing another pocky from the second box — this time the flavor was orange — she opened.
He took a moment to process, eyes wide as he looked between the three. Does that mean these three really have...?
Stars appearing in Dazai's eyes made Atsushi snap out of his daze, "Heeey, look at the beam."
Atsushi looked above him, seeing a fancily polished beam.
"Don't analyze wether you can hang yourself in a random teahouse we just stumbled into." Kunikida lightly scolded the man, mainly focused on the book in his hands.
"Don't get me wrong, we're talking about the hanging health method." Dazai corrected as Kunikida raises an eyebrow at him.
"Ooo!~ I've heard of that!" Y/N plays along, immediately recognizing what the man was doing as she takes another bite out of the pocky in her hand.
"What's that about?"
"You don't know? It's so good for shoulder cramps!"
"Such a thing exists?!"
"Hey, write this all down!"
By the end of their small discussion, Dazai was looking away from the other man as Kunikida wrote down what was told to him.
Y/N's lips twitch up as she watches the scene play out infront of her.
Not a moment later, Dazai's serious demeanor falls. "I'm messing with you."
Kunikida's pen snaps.
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
Y/N loved humanity.
Humans were always.. interesting, she supposed? Growing up how she did, she didn't interact with people much.
She only interacted with them if it was to give blood.
But once she was free... everyone was so different. And she loved that fact, she loved humanity.
Even the not so good ones— such as the Port Mafia.
They were—
"So, about your job today..."
Ah. Right, Atsushi.
She.. She's zoning out quite a lot these days, isn't she?
Huh.
Kunikida turns away from Dazai with an angry expression, startling the boy.
"Sorry! I shouldn't have asked! R— Right! Of course your jobs are classified!" Atsushi scoots away, waving his hands infront of his face.
Kunikida sighs, shoving Dazai back in his seat before taking his own again as he stopped suffocating the man.
"Today's job doesn't require secrecy. We're—"
"Can I tell him?!" Y/N cuts off Kunikida as she waves her hand in the air like a child waiting to be picked on in class.
Kunikida sighs, resigned to this behavior from her as he nods in agreement.
"Alright! Alright! Soooo~" Y/N takes a deep breath, ready to start explaining.
"We're searching for this certain kitty— a tiger to be exact! Personally, I would've rather done something else, but alas, we're on direct orders from the military." Y/N exhales, putting the back of her gloved hand on her forehead.
"A tiger?" Atsushi questions quietly.
"Yep! A man-eater tiger that's been wandering 'round here for a bit!" Y/N stuck her hands, acting like a tiger pouncing as she grinned sharply, showing her teeth.
Y/N then pouted as something seemed to dawn on her, "Well... we're not sure it's killed anyone... But! It's ransacked warehouses and eaten a buncha farm food! It's doing whatever it wants with no rime or reason to it!"
Y/N huffed, leaning back in her chair and looking away, still annoyed that they don't have any leads yet.
"It's been spotted around here lately." Dazai' words seemed to make Atsushi's blood run cold.
Y/N rested her hand on her palm as she stares down at Atsushi, who had fallen to the ground.
"I.. I... I'll be leaving now. G— Good bye!" Atsushi tries to leave but gets pulled back by Kunikida, who grabbed the back of Atsushi's shirt.
"Wait, brat! You know something, don't you?" Kunikida interrogated, watching as the boy tried to run before realizing it was useless as he was suspended in mid-air.
"You can't..." Atsushi turned back to glare at Kunikida, Y/N, and Dazai.
"Nobody can take it on!"
Kunikida's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You know the man-eating tiger?"
A look of terror appeared in Atsushi's eyes, "It's after me..."
Atsushi started to try and run away again, struggling and fighting against the hold on the back of his shirt, "It almost killed me! If it's been seen around here, I have to run away, now!"
A flash of realization lit in Y/N's eyes as the puzzle pieces start to fall into place.
Is he...?
Kunikida lets the kid go, only to pin him to the ground with his arms behind his back, "Hey, brat! You'll either pay for the food with your arm or by telling us everything you know!"
"Kunikida-kun." Y/N frowned at the blond, not approving of the aggression towards the civilian.
Yes, she had a few suspicions, but for now, they were just that. Suspicions.
Y/N stood up, ready to move if the man actually attempted to break the boy's arm.
She didn't say anything elde, but her disapproval was clear by the way her hands twitched.
"Now, now, Kunikida-kun. Whenever you try to ask questions it becomes an interrogation. The CEO's been talking to you about this." Dazai scolds, kneeling down infront of the boy once Kunikida let go.
"Now," Dazai asks the boy who weakly tried to get up, "What do you know about the tiger?"
Y/N plops down next to Dazai on the floor, observing Atsushi as he rubs his shoulder in pain.
"My orphanage was trashed by that tiger." Atsushi admits quietly, "It ravaged our fields, it ravaged our chicken coop, and even our warehouse. No one died, sure. But the orphanage was already on a tight budget, I got kicked out so they had one less mouth to feed..."
Atsushi recounted the events in more detail, explaining what had happened at the orphanage.
Y/N looks at the boy in curiosity, now sitting on the table by where Dazai sat backwards on a chair, Kunikida standing nearby.
"Well that's tragic." Y/N noted plainly, unsure how to empathize with the boy.
"So, boy, what's this talk about the tiger almost killing you?" Kunikida, asking the useful questions as always, what a blessing.
"The man-eater always shows up wherever I go." Atsushi starts hesitantly, not noticing how all three of the detective's eyes narrowed at that, "Just a while ago, when I was walking around Tsurumi.."
He tells the three how he saw the tiger in the reflection of a mirror back in Tsurumi.
"I'd seen it out of the corner of my eyes many times, starting two weeks before I was chased out of the orphanage. I'm sure it's come all the way to the city in search of me.." Atsushi admits, still quiet and hesitant about the whole ordeal, clearly terrified of the tiger.
"When was the last time you saw the tiger?" Dazai asks the boy, eyes completely serious.
"I think I saw it around Tsurumi about four days ago." Atsushi recalls after thinking about it for a moment.
"It's true that the antics have been focused here for the past two weeks. In addition, it was sighted in Tsurumi four days ago." Kunikida confirms, closing his book with a 'snap!'.
Y/N shares a glance with Dazai, who nods in response, confirming they have the same idea.
"Hey, Atsu-chan, are you free?" Y/N questions, an oddly placed innocent expression on her face as she swings her legs back and forth.
Atsushi feels a shiver run down his spine, He has a really bad feeling about this..
Y/N turns a bit to watch as Dazai writes a note to the president.
"You being the kitty's main target presents us with an excellent opportunity!" Y/N elaborates with a wide grin, glad to finally have a lead.
Dazai turns towards Atsushi, giving him a false angelic smile, "Please help up find the tiger."
"WHAT?! No!"
Ignoring the boy's protests, Dazai turns towards Kunikida and hands him the piece of paper. "Kunikida-kun, please go back to the agency and give this to the president."
Kunikida frowns. "Don't tell me you plan to catch the tiger all alone with just the three of you? We should atleast confirm his information is accurate."
Dazai sends him a grin, "It's fine."
"Yeah!~" Y/N adds, stretching her arms over her head as she leans forward, "Don't be so nervous, Kuni-kun! Dazai-chan and I got this handled!"
Kunikida frowns, but could tell the two of them were confident in their decision, so he nodded shortly in agreement and took the letter.
"I'm not doing this, okay?!"
Right. Atsushi.
How did she keep forgetting about him?
"This means your gonna use me as bait, right?!" Atsushi accuses, "Who in their right mind wou—?!"
"There's a reward." Dazai cut off simply with an innocent smile.
Atsushi paused at that, "What? Reward? A reward..?"
Ouch. Using his poorness against him. Y/n sent Atsushi a pitying glance.
"No.. your not gonna tempt me with that..!" Atsushi turned away from the mischievous duo.
Atsushi hesitated before glancing back at the two, "B— But just for reference, how much would the reward be?"
Dazai typed on his phone for a few more seconds before holding it up and showing it to him.
"HOW MUCH??!!?!"
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
The group of three sat alone in an old warehouse, sitting on the various crates.
Atsushi sat alone, knees up to his chest as he looked around boredly.
Dazai was reading a book, holding it with one hand as Y/N leaned her back against his shoulder, absentmindedly tossing a box cutter up and down as her eyes stared up at the roof of the warehouse.
It had been dead silent in the warehouse the entire time.
Atsushi hesitated before he looked over at the detectives, "Dazai-san, what are you reading?"
"A good book." Dazai responded plainly.
"I'm surprised you can read when it's this dark..." Atsushi hums, trying to make conversation.
"I have good vision, besides, I already know everything that happens in this book." Dazai explains, and right he was.
' A COMPLETE GUIDE
TO SUCIDE '
Y/N is sure he must've read the book ten times over by now.
Though, she can't really judge since she had as well. It was a good thing to read when trying to pass time.
"Then why do you read it if you already know what happens?" Atsushi asks, genuinely curious.
"A good book is a good book no matter how many times you've read it."
His answers were plain and simple. Blunt, even.
Silence fell over the small group of three once again, it dragging on for a few moments before Atsushi spoke up hesitantly, "Do... Do you really think the tiger will show up?"
"Mhm!" Y/N answers, smile bright and cheerful, even if a bit melancholy, "The kitty will show up."
It's already here, after all.
Atsushi flinched after that, face turning as pale as a sheet.
"Don't worry." Dazai said after seeing the boys panicked look, "Even if it shows up, it's no match for us. We may not look like much, but we are operatives of the Armed Decetive Agency."
Atsushi pulled his legs closer to his chest, looking down on the ground. "You're both really confident.. I'm kind of jealous."
"They called me a good-for-nothing at the orphanage as far back as I could remember. And now I don't even know where I'll sleep tonight or wether I'll be able to earn my keep tomorrow..." Atsushi seemed to reflect back on something in his past.
"No one'd care if someone like me were to die in a ditch somewhere." Atsushi puts his head facing down on the top of his legs, hiding his expression. "Yeah, I'd be better off eaten by a tiger..."
Dazai's expression didn't give away anything of their plan, "Well then, I think it'll be soon."
Both detectives gazes move up to look at the moon, noticing the clouds moving by it slowly.
A crash sounded from behind the box Atsushi was on.
"What?!" Atsushi startled before suddenly flinching back, falling off from the crate he was sitting on as he scurry's away from it, "I- I just think I heard something back there."
"Yeah." Dazai simply agrees.
"I bet that's the tiger, Dazai-san, Y/N-san!" Atsushi worries, turning towards the two detectives.
"No, I think the wind just knocked something down." Dazai plainly responds, still reading the red and white book in his hand.
"It's the man-eater! It's come to kill me!"
Y/N sighed, leaning forward and crossing her legs as she stopped the box cutter in her hand, staring down at it sadly.
Dazai did similar, stopping his actions as he snapped the book in his hand closed.
"Calm down, Atsu-chan." Y/N ordered lightly, a sad smile still gracing her features. "Kitty's don't show up from places like that!"
"How do you know for sure?!"
Y/N simply continued to smile at him, letting Dazai answer the question, "Something wasn't quite right from the beginning. Just because their finances went south, why would an orphanage banish a child? It's not some farming village from a bygone era. Banishing one or two mouths to feed wouldn't put a dent in their deficit. It's make more sense to downsize by transferring half the kids to a different orphanage."
Dazai jumped down from the crate he was on, Y/N following his movements as the two stood infront of Atsushi a fair distance away.
"What— What are you talking, Dazai-san?" Atsushi stammered, not understanding what the man was going on about.
"You came to this city two weeks ago, the tiger also appeared in this city two weeks ago." Dazai explained, Atsushi slowly turning towards the large window in warehouse, "You were in the Tsurumi four days ago. The tiger was also sighted there four days ago."
"Atsu-chan, do you remember what Kunikida-kun said?" Y/N tilted her head, "The Armed Detective Agency is comprised of individuals with supernatural powers."
Blue rings started to surround Atsushi as he falls limp, standing still as the detectives continue to speak.
"Though not a well-known fact, there are quite a few individuals who possess supernatural abilities in this world." Dazai speaks, finally opening his eyes to look at Atsushi. "Some use their abilities to achieve great success, while others fall into ruin as a result of being unable to control their powers."
Atsushi finishes transforming, a stunning white tiger standing where he once stood.
"The orphanage staff most likely knew who the tiger was, but declined to enlighten poor you! You were the only one who remained ignorant of the whole ordeal.." Y/N pouted, her free hand that wasn't holding the box cutter cupping her cheek as she tilted her head.
"You also have supernatural powers. You have the ability to transform into a tiger in the moonlight." Dazai finished, eyes observing the animal as it growled.
The tiger suddenly pounced towards the detectives, swinging its paw to go in for the kill.
The detectives jumped away as it destroyed the crate they were once on.
"Impressive, kitty!"
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
"I have no such taste in men."
Atsushi fell past Dazai, landing face-first on the floor with a dull thud.
Y/N blinked, That's gonna leave a bruise later.
"Hey, Dazai! L/n!" A new voice called as the two detectives turned towards the person.
"Kuni-kun! You're late!" Y/N let out a false gasp, acting appalled, "How improper!"
"We've captured the tiger." Dazai explained, stepping to the side as Kunikida ran towards them, lime green eyes landing on Atsushi's unconscious figure.
"What, it's this boy?" Kunikida asked as Dazai nods.
"He has the ability to turn into a kitty!" Y/N put her hands on her head, partially closing them to make them appear like cat ears.
"Jeez." Kunikida sighs, holding up the note that Dazai wrote, "What was with this note?"
Dazai leaned forward, reading the note aloud, "A tiger will appear in the warehouse in the fifteenth district. Secure perimeter so it can't get away."
Dazai smiled brightly at the other man, "Sounds like an excellent, concise note."
"You left out the most important detail!" Kunikida hisses at him, "Next time, explain in advance. Thanks to you, I had to bring in guys who weren't even on call."
Y/N peeked her head around Dazai, eyes landing on three familiar figures as she smiled widely.
"Take them out for drinks later." Kunikida ordered the man.
Y/N let out a gasp that soon turned into a squeal as she jumped towards the doctor of the group.
"Yosano-chan! You look so pretty today!" Y/N awed, latching onto the doctor's arm before turning towards Ranpo.
"Hey, hey, Ranpo-chan! Look what I found!" She threw a box of orange pocky's towards the man, arms still wrapped around Yosano's arm.
"They still sell these?" Ranpo asked, somehow looking down at the box despite his eyes still being closed.
"Yep!" Y/N nodded as Ranpo took a bite out of one.
"Nice! Thanks Y/N-chan!" Ranpo grinned before turning his attention back at the pocky box.
Y/N smiled, resting her head on Yosano's shoulder, the taller girl absentmindedly petting her head as she looks over at Dazai.
"What, no casualties?" Yosano asked, raising an eyebrow. "How boring."
"You've come a long way, Y/N, Dazai." Ranpo hummed, taking another bite out of the pocky before grinning, "Though you still have a long way to go before you even come close to me."
"But what are we gonna do with him?" Kenji (the only one who managed to evade Y/N's attention) crouched down infront of the unconscious Atsushi, "He didn't know he was doing it, right?"
"Yep yep!" Y/N nodded in confirmation, tossing her box cutter up and down as she walks backwards towards Dazai, standing by his side once again.
"What do you think, Dazai, L/N? The ward's designated him as a major threat." Kunikida looked down at his book again.
Dazai and Y/N grinning caught the attention of the three detectives who entered the scene.
"We've already made a decision." The two's gazes move down to look at the unconscious boy, "We'll make him one of us."
"Are you serious?" Yosano deadpanned, putting a hand on her hip.
"Dazai, L/N, you are idiots." Ranpo commented, looking away from the duo with a childish huff.
"What gives you two the right to decide that?!" Kunikida was effectively ignored by the two.
"Wake up, Atsu-chan!" Y/N called, grinning widely as Atsushi slowly opened his eyes, sitting back as he looked around groggily.
"Atsushi-kun," Dazai said, making Atsushi turn his head to look at him, "Do you remember nothing at all from when you transformed?"
Atsushi turned his body completely towards the detectives, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh..." Dazai raised his finger towards the boy, "But your right hand's still there."
"Right hand?" Atsushi raised his hand to look at it.
His eyes were blank as he open and closed the hand — paw — before he suddenly screeched.
"WHAT?!"
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