"Sh*t, I can't find it..."
You rubbed your forehead in frustration as you crouched down in front of your bookshelf. A huge messy pile began to take shape behind you as you took books out and threw them to the side promptly in your haste. Panic filled your very being.
"That slip of paper...There's no way."
While there was hardly anything written on them, you remember you placed several notes around your house. You'd intended to leave them tiny so that they're harder to find, and you could argue that they're worthless scraps of trash you forgot to clean up should any port mafia member find one. There's only one issue though...
It's disappeared after Dazai was here.
Dazai.
Not only his he cunning enough to draw conclusions on what you'd think is 'no evidence', but you know exactly what was written on the missing scrap. His goddamn name. Hell, of all the people that shouldn't have found it.
You decided to take a seat on the floor in the midst of everything. The entire room was a barn at this point with everything all over the place, but it's not like it matters right now. Cross-legged, you try to collect yourself, breathing deeply in and out.
After all, who knows? Maybe there's a small chance it fell and happened to get lost? It's not necessarily a given that he found anything...Fingers crossed.
There would've been hours longer of this search for the paper, but while you were trying to calm down, you heard a loud ringing from your room. You pulled yourself up off the floor and walked over to pick up your phone. Speak of the devil and he shows up. Or, calls up?
"Hey, (Y/n)~"
"Dazai."
"We've got a job from Mori. Head to HQ, 'kay?"
"That so? Is it urgent?"
"Not particularly, but it's still important you get here."
"Got it. I'll be on my way then."
"Bye bye~"
"Yup."
And with that, he hung up. Brief calls were always the way you both communicated. It came down to this: Calls typically left more room for your local port mafia members no matter who you were. Both calls and texts can be traced, but at least there's no writing for you to find. You'd have to plan to record the call if you hypothetically wanted to keep evidence.
You grabbed your keys and your coat to head out.
.............
Green light.
You crossed the street onto the Port Mafia's lot. You heard cars zoom by, and indirectly inhaled the gas left behind in the air by them.
Don't you just love a good whiff of carbon monoxide and sulfur? Geez. You cover up your nose briefly when the scent gets a little too strong for comfort.
Ignoring it, you went and entered the tall tower that belongs to the mafia. Upon entering, you looked to your left to see the 'one and only' standing, talking to someone. He seemed to be in a sour kind of mood, and when you looked further, it became clear why. You decided to hold off on letting the duo know you were here yet.
"I have to work with you!?" Dazai whined.
"That's MY line you worthless bag of bandages."
Chuuya Nakahara and Osamu Dazai. You've been "double-blessed" with double-black related problems today...Weee.
"Mori didn't tell me about this! I only work with 'people.' Dogs. Like. You. Don't. Count."
"EXCUSE ME!? YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME YOU LITTLE-"
"Aww, look at that! Getting riled up just like a tiny widdle puppy~"
"DAZAI-"
"Oh, look over there at who's here. Our third party member seems to have arrived."
You sighed in having been spotted already. You would've wanted to give them a minute. Maybe two. One for them to get themselves together, and the second for you to mentally prep for this next mission. Oh boy.
"Yeah, been here." You shrug.
" What? And you didn't say anything? I am so deeply saddened by this revelation." Dazai says in response, wiping away an imaginary tear.
"Well, mission accomplished then. Heading home, see ya!"
"WAAAAA NO! That's not how this works!"
"Dammit-"
"(Y/NnnNN)!"
"...geez"
You opted to just deadpan at him. Not giving him the reaction he's looking for. Dazai just pouts like the man-child he is.
"Okay, okay, enough of that-The immortal here and I can't babysit you all day, Dazai, so can we get the show on the road already?" Chuuya speaks up, tapping his foot and crossing his arms impatiently. "I don't want to do this just as much as this bandaged freak, but it doesn't end any sooner if we just stand around."
"Right. I agree fully." You respond right away.
"Then, let's just head out without him then (Y/n)."
You and Chuuya then proceed to start walking away. You open the door for you both and Chuuya heads through. Meanwhile, Dazai calls out, upset at being left behind.
"Hey! Who do you both think you are! Don't just leave like that! Who do you think's leading this mission anyway! (Y/NNNNNN)! CHUUYAAAAA!"
He runs out on his own still pouting as you and Chuuya are already walking down the steps in front of the building. The three of you get into a car parked outside for you. A port mafia member opens the doors and you, Chuuya, and Dazai climb in. You didn't know what you were expecting, but Dazai calls shotgun before the port mafia member drives you all off to whatever the destination is.
"Alright, Dazai. You gonna start explaining what we're doing for Mori, or what?"
"Geez, I was just about to get to it. No need to rush me, Chuuya."
"..."
As far as you go, you're curious about the nature of this mission. You've never really gone on a mission with Chuuya before, so you think it'll probably be interesting to say the least. At the bare minimum, at least you can say it spins up this monotonous mafia life of yours.
Dazai begins to explain the situation:
"I met with Mori earlier today and he placed me onto a phone call with what sounded like a beautiful lady."
"Cool. Not important." Chuuya rolled his eyes.
"Ahem. Anyways! There's an overseas company that heard about our organization through the connections that one of the other executives the Port Mafia has. This time, we've been hired on the topic of the transportation of certain goods. Apparently, a powerful Gifted's said to have been hired to work against us."
"So we're protecting the goods."
"Tut. Tut. Wrong~ Better luck next time, Chuuya~"
You hear a gruff growl. It's no surprise who it came from. Meanwhile, Dazai continues on.
"We're actually confiscating the goods. The company that hired us has had one of their members go rogue. It seems that that member made their own version of the products when they weren't given any go-ahead from the upper brass to be sold yet. We need to make sure nothing gets out to any buyers."
You found yourself in need of a little more information. A couple questions sat in your head that you went ahead and decided to ask.
"Dazai, this is an overseas institution, right? What do they think they're doing working with the Port Mafia? I'll assume they're moving through the mafia because law enforcement is restricted outside of their home country, but if someone found out, wouldn't that be exceptionally bad for their rep? Not to mention, potential trouble with Japan's government, if their mistake caused enough trouble overseas?"
"Well you see though (Y/n), the bottom line is that the woman on the phone made it all too clear to me that her position would be jeopardized either way if her own higher ups found out she let someone sell their products, especially unfinished. For her, it's about saving mostly her own face. That said, from a legal standpoint, the whole company could get sued for selling an under-tested product. Even if they argue that this rogue employee doesn't stand as a representative for the whole of the company, it would still be negligence on the institution's part for allowing such a thing to happen. And so, we're being paid to put an end to this before the goods circulate Japan's markets or really, anywhere's for that matter. Our job today is to put out a flame before it potentially becomes a wildfire."
"Okay, one more question though. What sort of goods are we looking at exactly?"
"Hmm, medication. Remedies. Drugs. Call them whatever."
"Okay then. Got it."
It's been a while since a certain ginger spoke up. You and Dazai have just been bantering the whole time about the mission and briefly forgot about him being there.
"Maaaan, you guys done yet? On and on about these pointless details-All I hear is we gotta take out the trash."
He stamps his foot down to emphasize the drag of a mood he's fallen into.
"Yeah. We're done. Happy?"
"Very."
You, Chuuya, and Dazai all eyed each other. A moment of silence passed as you all took the details in and processed them.
Last mission, you screwed up. It's undeniable. A part of you is still mortified.
However, now's your opportunity. It's a fresh start and a chance for you to make the most of it.
You will succeed.
Breaking the momentary quiet within the vehicle, Dazai starts to transition into the next conversation.
"Now that all the boring background talk's over, let's go over the plan."