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leonawriter · 4 years

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Fox-Faced

Read it on AO3

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs/Mononoke

Characters: Dazai, the Medicine Seller. Others mentioned. SKK implied.

Summary: Dazai is taking the time to contemplate how much has changed in so short a time, and his bench gets a visitor.

Notes: Dazai-typical suicide references.

(Part five of the “Not All Kitsune Have Nine Tails” ‘verse. Follows “Home Territory.” Contains important context for the previous stories.)

...

The brisk sea air is as familiar and as comforting as it always had been, even if it is deeper, more rich, and full of scents that Dazai had never known to be able to sort through or notice before. It isn't, at least, overwhelming - the city with its streets and cars and hundreds of people and all of its food and perfumes was harder for him to handle on that first night and the following day than this, which is, comparatively, peaceful and calming.

He can hear shouting in the distance, children playing with their parents and tourists from both further inland and far abroad talking about the sights in adequately amazed tones, because it is Yokohama after all, and no matter what else happened, it was still his city. Their city. The city that he and Chuuya and Atsushi had fought to protect, that he had protected even when he'd been in the mafia, that he was proud of.

He closes his eyes to focus on the sound of the waves and the cries of the seagulls, and he loses track of time. Perhaps he'd even started to doze off in the warmth of a bright, sunny day with clear skies. Normally, by this time Kunikida would be wondering where he was. Now that everyone at the Agency knew he was living with Chuuya, he won't have to worry about that... at least for a while yet.

Tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

A breath of air comes out of him in a sigh, and he neither move to create space, nor turns his head to watch, when he hears someone coming close to his bench. Heavy steps, wooden sandals.

Ah, he thinks instead. You.

There are sounds as if something heavy is being shifted, and then let to drop onto the ground. Then, the rustling of clothes. Only after that, Dazai feels the weight of the bench shift, and a presence actually sat beside him.

If this had been an enemy, they would have had ample time to draw a gun or a knife, and his life would have been over as easily as that. In broad daylight, no less.

But it isn't, and instead of tensing - or relaxing - into the potential threats, he lets his arms drop from behind his head, and opens his eyes to acknowledge the not-quite-stranger.

Dressed in brightly-coloured traditional clothes from head to foot, with a bandana holding back pale hair that didn't - always - quite hide the earrings he wore, and only brought out the likewise pale colour of his face, the bold markings around his eyes, his nose... the man who had introduced himself as only a mere lowly medicine seller looked straight ahead, toward the Yokohama bay.

If the world made any sense, they both would have attracted a lot more attention than the few looks that were aimed their way - Dazai's illusion still held, suggesting to anyone looking their way who didn't know any better to see him as completely human and disregard the ears, the tail, the numerous other small details that marked him out as not human, but the medicine seller next to him simply... was what he was.

In a way, he was entirely on display. There wasn't a single thing about him that wasn't completely true, nothing that was hidden if someone wanted to look and actually see.

In another sense... Dazai could still remember the other, and looking at him now felt odd, as if everything was still there, but dimmed, somehow.

He wondered, in some distant part of him, if that was how he had seemed to anyone who had seen through him and known.

"So." The world carries on around them, and if Dazai hadn't known that the word had been aimed at him, it could have been aimed at anything. The wind. The sea. Some invisible thing that a form and a reason and a truth, but no unnatural twist to its nature. But he heard it clearly enough, and there is a tilt to the medicine seller's lips. "How is life, Dazai-kun?"

All of his years, and he still doesn't know the answer to that question. He doesn't know how a normal human being should answer something like that-

He stops that train of thought in its tracks. Laughs, and if it comes out sounding odd and a little bit harsh, then it isn't as though anyone else is paying attention to them, is it?

"I woke up to a dog drooling all over me again," he says airily. "There's fur all over the house, and I need to cat-sit again later on."

"And what of Nakajima-dono?" The way that the man says Atsushi's name makes Dazai stop and blink, because he's not used to such a level of respect to his younger protege. "And Nakahara-dono?"

Hearing Chuuya referred to in such a way is only slightly less odd. Executives took respect the way most people expected to be able to breathe, after all. He knew that from personal experience, although it had never been something he had worn with comfort, much the same as the coat he had preferred to shrug off, eventually.

"Atsushi-kun is doing well enough, I think. Sometimes I find myself myself worrying, but..." I think that by this point, he can make up for his mentor's failings. Atsushi isn't so dependant on me that he needs my example, or my praise. He'll do just fine. "Chuuya is - well. We're adjusting."

"Adjustment is only natural. One hardly expects treatment to cure ailments instantly. Just as the body has its own way of healing itself when given a little help, the spirit isn't truly all that much different."

"You think living with Chuuya is like that?" Dazai tilted his head, and made a face. "I'll have to tell him when I get back. He isn't even a dog any more. He's just a medicine that I've been prescribed. One course of Chuuya per day. See how he likes that."

"What it is or it isn't is something only you can decide for yourself, Dazai-kun. Although you do look a lot better than the last time I saw you," the medicine seller added, a certain glint of amusement in his eyes. "And I would almost like to be there when you do tell him that."

No, not just amusement - spark of mischief. Dazai went back over his own words, and found himself blushing, hard, and looked away.

For someone who seemed to spend most of his time chasing down and exorcising mononoke looking the way he did, the man next to him was far more down to earth and crude at times than he had any right to be. Perhaps this was what most people felt when they were around him too long.

Not that Dazai was going to change, not at all.

"And there I thought you respected Chuuya," he says, letting a little bit of grumble out.

Not that he minded people making fun of Chuuya. That was Chuuya, and this was- well. If any of their sleeping together had gone further than sleeping then it might not feel as self-conscious of the unspoken potential getting brought up by someone who wasn't, well, him.

The laugh he gets in response is almost startling in its honesty, ringing barks of laughter that remind him of kon kon kon, painfully familiar.

"Too much respect is just as unhealthy as too little," the man says only moments later. There's still a smile lingering on his face.

Dazai thinks of Akutagawa, whose deep respect had never grown into anything capable of seeing his mentor as a fallible person and he's glad, knowing that he hadn't been present or involved in anything to do with either of the mononoke. The first one, or him.

He thinks of Atsushi, who he sometimes worried looked to him with those same eyes, but in the next breath the weretiger would berate him for not working, or fuss over him for not eating.

Atsushi, who had once sat in this exact spot, looking out at this exact view.

"When you look out at them... what do you feel?"

For a moment, Dazai almost feels that those must have been his own words, his own question, thoughts he had wondered about and circled around for so long yet had needed to recontextualise along with so much of his life in the past week.

"Humans..." he leaned back, and thought of his conversations with Fyodor, with Shibusawa. The things that he had lived through, remembered, forgotten. "They are truly destructive, and cruel, and thoughtless creatures. I do not think that I will ever truly understand them, either." He sighed. "And yet..." He thought of Chuuya, who despite his circumstances was so very, very human. Of Atsushi, who'd had his true nature as a tiger hidden from him for so long, and Kunikida. Of others that he had met. Odasaku, even Ango. "The same can be said for even the very best of them... searching for their reason to live, like stray dogs. It is at the same time terrifying, yet awe-inspiring, the feats that they can accomplish." He smiled, wryly. Neither bitter nor sweet. "And I live balanced in the middle. But - I think I'll be able to manage."

In the distance, a child screamed as they ran. Conversations carried on.

"Oh...? I see."

A fog horn blared out at sea, coming into port. A couple not far away shared food over by the railing, with guitars on their backs. A teenager passes them by wearing headphones, and Dazai's newly sensitive ears pick up on the beats of the music.

Human, youkai, hanyou... no matter what any of them were, it was still Yokohama. It was still his city.

"It... truly is a beautiful city. More than anything else... that's what I feel." He closed his eyes, and leaned forward into the breeze coming in from the sea. "Does that answer your questions?"

"You're the one who thought that was what I must have been saying. Do you feel better for having said it?"

I hate them - I hate them, and more than that, I want - I don't understand - why wasn't I- wasn't I... worth...

Those feelings. He remembered them, and they had been his.

First, destroy everything that comes close, before it can touch me. Then... destroy me, for having done so.

He had felt the culmination of twenty-two years' worth of an inability to understand, which had its source in something that he had not been able to affect.

You have a choice, Dazai-kun.

If you wish to die, then it is only a simple matter of choosing to stay. The Mononoke will be slain, and so will you. But-

But, if for any reason you should wish to hold on to even one thing...

It is impossible to both slay the monster and to take it with you.

(Kitsune, Chuuya had said, accepting him even as he stared in shock. Come, love, sleep, Chuuya had said, and his heart had wavered. They had called, and he had answered, because there was too much- he had too much- that he couldn't let go of.)

"I suppose... I simply find it hard to find the words to..."

He feels his heart beat. And another. He breathes in the salty air, and it still feels terrifyingly new.

And yet, the idea of not being here to experience it, the idea of having vanished without a trace somewhat over a week ago - no trace of fur in Chuuya's house, not having the honour of knowing Ranpo's own secret, or of having felt how relaxing it was to have his own fur stroked as he curled up on the sofa whether he was at home or at the office...

He thinks, perhaps, it might have been a beautiful death.

But at the same time... there is only one thing he can think of, the words catching every time he tries to put them on his tongue, for what he feels about still being alive.

"Me?" He hears and feels more than sees the fact that the man next to him is shaking his head. "There is nothing to thank me for. As a mere medicine seller, there was honestly very little I could do. At the end, I was powerless. You were the one who did all of the work. All I did was give you the ability, and the means." He stood, and Dazai could see the slight smile on his face even before he turned. "If anything," he added, bowing at the waist, "I should be the one owing a debt of gratitude to you. From the moment I understood your Katachi..." The medicine seller turned his face up, eyes closed into the upturned slits of a true smile. "Come now. Kits who are blessed with so many who care for them shouldn't need to make those sorts of faces."

...

AN: There's a stealth crossover (crossover-ception? triple crossover?) near the end. I'm just gonna hope someone catches on to what and where the reference is, haha...

If by the end of reading this it isn't clear - in order for Dazai to still be alive in these stories, he had to make the active choice to live and stay alive in the moments before the Medicine Seller's sword cut. This was inspired by several of the endings of the actual Mononoke storylines, although there are elements that appeared in none of those stories that I had to work out for myself.

What this means for Dazai is not that his suicidal ideation is 'magically cured', but that he is less likely to actively seek out death. It also isn't 'knowing his past' that enables him to move on, but understanding *what* he is, and that his feelings of 'not fitting in as a human being' don't just come from nowhere. In short - he was validated.Does anyone know that one poster with the owls on it, about "I just need a stick"? That's what the Medicine Seller's getting at there.

And do I mean to imply that I see the Medicine Seller himself as a kitsune...? Well if you read it with that in mind, just... imagine being him coming to that moment of realisation of just 'what' he's up against. As said and implied in the previous fics, due to the nature and longevity of kitsune, Dazai's still considered a child at twenty-two by other youkai, more than just being seen as "barely out of his teens", so... have that for a bit of adult fear, and why the Medicine Seller is saying what he does here.

All that said, this [was] my first time writing the Medicine Seller, and I'm still nervous over whether I've got his voice down properly or not. (And given how important he is to it, you see why the previous events aren't written yet.)

#bungo stray dogs #bsd #bsd stuff #Leona fic #kitsune dazai #bsd mnnk au #mononoke ayakashi

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that-taters-my-tots · 5 years

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Rules: Complete all the questions you want, expand and explain your answers as much as you want, and have fun!

If you can, tag some people you want to join in on the fun!

Tagged by: @mamichigo

Question list here

What ability would you have in the BSD universe?

(What would it be called? What’s its purpose? How does it work?)

It took me a while to think of one that fit me, but I think mine would be called the Cat's Meow! I would be able to see through the eyes of stray cats to spy on people!

Restrictions: I would only be able to see through the eyes of one cat at a time and I would probably have to form a bond with the cat too.

If you could claim someone’s ability in BSD, whose ability would you want?

Kenji's! I would honestly love to be strong, even if it meant I had to be hungry for it to work. I'm literally one of the physically weakest people I know.

What group/organization would you join?

(ex. Guild, Port Mafia, Armed Detectives’ Agency, Rats, etc.)

Honestly the Armed Detective Agency sounds wonderful, it by itself gives me so much of new-found-family workplace vibe and I love it! Though I don't know how much my ability would be of use here.

Which BSD character do you identify with the most?

I think Atsushi! He's always in the middle of everything and really doesn't want to be there. Now don't @ me but I really relate to his self esteem issues and problems with self worth too, I've struggled with my self worth for years and I'm just finally now loving myself. He's also a really good person? Sacrificing himself and doing what's best for others and what he knows will help more people.

Who are your top three favourite BSD characters?

(You can change the number)

1. Dazai!

2. Atsushi

3. Kunikida

Are there any authors that you’d want to bring into the BSD universe that hasn’t arrived yet? Or do you have OCs?

Would Stan Lee count as author? Because if so I'd love a character based off of him! Or maybe some Greek authors like Homer or Sappho! Stephen King or Shakespeare would be really cool too!

Favourite Scene(s)?

That one scene in season 2 where Kunikida is willing to die with a girl as she's blown up by a bomb so he doesn't have to watch anyone die. It just really hits me because- he's not only doing it for his own purpose of not wanting to watch someone die, but also because so she won't have to die alone. Gosh I was tearing up when I first watched it.

That one scene when Dazai catches Atsushi and then drops him to the floor because "I have no such tastes in men," yeah right honey, sure you don't.

Favourite Quotes from the Authors/Characters?

“A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated--I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured. I re-echoed--I aided--I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still.” - Edgar Allan Poe (Cask of Amontillado)

The Cask of Amontillado is one of my favourite pieces of Poe's work and this part always leaves me in chills. Montresor has brought his rival down to his basement to try his new Amontillado and ties him up and walls him in leaving him to die, now that's already spooky but when your victim starts to scream and cry and you just scream back louder?? Gosh it just makes me feel disturbingly amazing and full of energy.

“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars,” - F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

I really love this line because it's just so vague and full of description all at once. It's hardly telling you anything but it's giving you an atmosphere and you can just guess nearly everything that's happening at Gatsby's parties.

Who would you want to bring to life to be your best friend? Waifu/Husbando?

I probably don't fit his idea but Kunikida please mary me and yell at me for being unorganized.

How has Bungou Stray Dogs changed you as a person? Did you learn anything from it?

It hasn't changed me but I've written a lot for it so it's helped me improve that way! Plus I've done so many fun things with other members of the fandom and it makes me happy interacting with other fans.

#sorry this took so long im very lazy #this was super fun!

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izanyas · 7 years

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fic writer appreciation day 2k17: ro’s multifandom fic rec list

10 years of frankly delirious amounts of fic reading, shoved into one tidy list. some of them are even in french. some of them are from fandoms whose base media i have never watched or read in my life. some of them are way outdated, but i still like them. some i can barely even remember reading.

so many were deleted and never made it to this list, and honestly i teared up at least twice while putting this post together in the past 4 hours because i felt so sad that these authors and stories are now gone forever

anyway! fandoms and fics listed by alphabetical order! happy fic writer appreciation day and please enjoy~ (this is long, just a warning)

Ao no Exorcist

To Catch a Ghost by blackgoliath (complete) Summary: The cram school kids are split into teams and given a mission to finish on their own; when Rin and Suguro are paired up, Rin finds out why Suguro has been acting so weird since they fought the Impure King.

Boku no Hero Academia

Aegis by gayhacker (complete) Summary: Certain their feelings are not requited, Iida and Midoriya pine for each other on the winter skiing and snowboarding trip.

black dirt under your feet by simkjrs (complete) Summary: villain AU.

but you gotta get up at least once more by simkjrs (WIP) Summary: Izuku’s never run into this problem before with anyone else, but it’s still not much of a problem. “Oh, that’s alright,” he says. “I don’t have a Quirk.” Tsukauchi stares incredulously at him, and then looks at the iron bar that Izuku is currently straightening with his hands. Midoriya Izuku does not let his lack of a Quirk prevent him from being strong. Also known as that one AU where Izuku follows the ridiculous training regimen of Saitama from One Punch Man and becomes stronger than anyone ever imagined he could be.

Coloured Bricks, Pick Up Sticks by wyrvel (WIP) Summary: Anything can be a superpower if you get it hot enough.

come @ me bro by SportsAnimeRuinedMyLife (KnightOfRage) (complete) Summary: Bakugou works at a convenience store, flirts like a loser, blows up nineteen aprons, gets a hashtag trending for all the wrong reasons and maybe manages to make a friend. Or... being Bakugou Katsuki is suffering.

Yesterday Upon The Stairs byPitViperOfDoom (WIP) Summary: Midoriya Izuku has always been written off as weird. As if it's not bad enough to be the quirkless weakling, he has to be the weirdquirkless weakling on top of it. But truthfully, the "weird" part is the only part that's accurate. He's determined not to be a weakling, and in spite of what it says on paper, he's not actually quirkless. Even before meeting All-Might and taking on the power of One For All, Izuku isn't quirkless. Not that anyone would believe it if he told them.

Bungou Stray Dogs

Dance With Me by TheGreatCatsby (complete) Summary: Chuuya had to admit that the Agency handled some things better than the Mafia did.

debt by TheGreatCatsby (complete) Summary: It's been a week since Odasaku died, and Ango gets attacked while walking home from work.

don’t you chase me by nemui (ribbonelle) (complete) Summary: No one else would understand this feeling.

Gifted by TheGreatCatsby (WIP) Summary: The government's experiments with genetics to induce "gifts" in children is a well-kept secret. Dazai is sent to infiltrate one of the facilities and gather information. He is assigned to be the nurse of one of the facility's oldest and most successful experiments.

Illustrations of Lying by writingfromtheshadows (complete) Summary: It is more difficult, perhaps, to bear with fortitude the little daily trails of life, than great calamities, because we summon up all our spiritual and moral strength to resist the latter... Upon faced with the culmination of Mori's plan, Dazai does not go to Odasaku's side. Instead, he relieves Mori of his duties.

i saw you by TheGreatCatsby (complete) Summary: After everything is over, Dazai takes the time to notice everything about Chuuya.

Once More by TheGreatCatsby (complete) Summary: Chuuya's phone is filled with messages from a partner who seems to want to get back in touch.

Paradox by nitilia (complete) Summary: Atsushi tries to figure Dazai out, and fails at every stage.

The Naming of Cats by cyan96 (complete) Summary: SummaryChuuya does not actually make it a hobby to pick up stray charity cases, now nominally on the side of law and justice or not. There had just been something about the kid, even skin and bones and so undernourished Chuuya could count the blue webbing of blood vessels under his skin, something in his bleach-white hair and the uneven, florescent colour of his eyes that had sent the alarm bells blaring. The reason behind this becomes pretty evident the following morning, when he walks into his living room to see a tiger in place of his couch. So this is where Kunikida's newest job had been hiding.

tiger and dog series by nemui (ribbonelle) (WIP) Summary: With each encounter, they seem to understand each other more.

Where Your Loyalties Lie by anonymous (WIP) Summary: Loyalty is the foundation of the yakuza code, something that was drilled into Chuuya at an early age. However, his lessons did not cover how to manage a political marriage with his organization's oldest rival.

D.Gray-man

Café Crème by TheoryofChaos (complete) Summary: Il est de ces amours, merveilleuses et inattendues, qui fleurissent sur les ruines d'un champ de bataille. Ficclet Marie/Miranda

Sand Castle - metisket (complete) Summary: -

Durarara!!

A Cheap Imitation by Spoontasti (WIP) Summary: “Attached to your neck is a collar that will inject a poison into your jugular vein two days from now. Forcibly removing the device will also trigger the poison. Somewhere on this island is the antidote.” His hands reached up to his neck and he felt the cool metal of the collar. “Live or die. Make your choice.”

A Cigarette’s Lifespan by guuzenkamo (WIP) Summary: Izaya's plans go a little awry when he attempts to frame Shizuo for murder.

A Little More Human by guuzenkamo (complete) Summary: Case against and for Izaya.

Allegiance by guuzenkamo (complete) Summary: where Shizuo is a homicide detective and Izaya is an informant.

An Almost Valentine’s Day by InsertImaginativeNameHere (complete) Summary: Yahiro is trying to be a good boyfriend but is awkward as hell so asks advice from someone who probably knows these things. Kuon isn't trying to be a good boyfriend and is fairly trash. Still. Their first Valentine's goes...sort of well. Although technically it isn't even Valentine's Day.

a vision too removed to mention by revolutionaries (complete) Summary: '"We match now," he says, a quiet laugh in his voice. Izaya's lips curve up into a wry smile. "You could say that." What he doesn't point out is that their scars are on opposite sides. Mirror images. If he raised his hand and pressed it to the space between them, would Izaya mimic it?' Izaya, Shinra, and the space between them.

Dual Intrusion by kowai_no_ouji (WIP) Summary: Aware of the relationship between Shizuo-san and their Iza-nii, Mairu and Kururi cannot help but to be curious. It's with both annoyance and reluctant relief that Izaya discovers how quickly his sisters grow attached to Shizuo. Undoubtedly, his days with the monster are about to be a little more crowded.

Fight or Flight (or, sometimes, Fall) by yonnna (complete) Summary: After leaving Non to wait for Chikage, Rio wonders whether she should have done more.

Gaijin by TheoryofChaos (complete) Summary: Ce soir, Tokyo pleure et accompagne dans son désespoir l'un de ses enfants égarés. Ficclet Kida/Mikado.

kama sutra by izayas (complete) Summary: in which izaya's borrowed a book and offers shizuo a challenge. "so… what do you say, shizu-chan? a hundred different sex positions. are you up for it?"

stranger than earth by zigur (complete) Summary: So when a stranger saunters into your office one evening, with a face cut from marble, half-lidded eyes sharper than any knife you ever held and full lips quirked into the most ill-intentioned grin you've ever seen, you don't quite expect them to open their mouth and say, with a voice so smooth it could trick a grown man into parting with his kidneys: "What a pleasure, to finally meet such a famed Awakusu executive." The smile grows, and it doesn't turn any kinder. "I'm Orihara Izaya– I believe we'll be working together from now on."

The Depths of the Belly by FinalRemuneration (WIP) Summary: "Who wants to go three floors down into an old abandoned asylum just to copy a document? There's no power, and the back up generator will only activate the emergency signs. You know how people are nowadays. Believing in ghosts and stuff. It sounds like it's coming straight out of a horror movie, so of course no one wants to do it.” Izaya takes on what seems to be a simple job in a scary setting. It only takes twenty-three seconds to convince Shinra to go along, and Namie agrees to drive them only because she may have warmed up to the informant in the worst possible way.

the grace in monsters by revolutionaries (complete) Summary: '"It's funny, isn't it?" Shinra says. "How the four of us gravitate towards one another. Me, you, Celty, Shizuo-kun. And all of us monsters.""You're wrong," Izaya replies, narrowing his eyes. "Shizu-chan and your headless girlfriend are the only monsters here. Me and you, we're not." Shinra just smiles serenely. "Izaya, we're the biggest monsters of them all."'

Things About Izaya by ScarletCake (WIP) Summary: Shizuo observes the things he loves about Izaya.

til the war’s won by izayas (complete) Summary: heiwajima shizuo's killed someone, and the first person he calls is the person he broke up with eight months ago: orihara izaya.

Unique Perspective by InsertImaginativeNameHere (complete) Summary: For obvious reasons, the way Tsukumoya sees the world is distinct, even compared to another similar being. Some snippets of this, and various interactions with those around him that usually lead to some level of frustration, and a conclusion that needed to be made; possibly for his own sake, as his safety potentially is compromised. Or potentially not. Who knows?

vacant land by revolutionaries (complete) Summary: "In the aftermath, there are days when Shinra feels crueler than usual. There are days driven by the thought of what might have happened had he not stepped in to take that knife wound, had let Izaya be stabbed instead of him. There would have been no need, then, for Izaya to fashion a monster out of his own blood and bone, to follow Nakura step-by-step to ensure that his life was a living hell. No need for Izaya to fashion a monster out of himself again and again until he finally went up against a stronger one. In the end, Shinra knew this was coming, had deemed it inevitable from the very beginning, and did absolutely nothing to stop it."

Final Fantasy XV

Father by ohmyfae (complete) Summary: Noctis tries to recreate the bond he used to have with his father before his accident, but all the rules seem to have changed. A fic I'm filling on the FFXV meme, in response to this prompt: "Instead of Regis saving his son from the Marilith, Ardyn saves him but instead takes him away from his home. Ardyn raises him in the best(read: worst) ways he knows."

It Figures by ohmyfae (complete) Summary: Prompto's art class has a figure drawing session scheduled. Noctis has a new summer job.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Crazy!Ed verse by metisket (complete) Summary: -

Gundam Wing/AC

Joue le jeu by Calamithy (complete) Summary: [Au, schoolfic sans prétention] Chapitre VII : Ceux qui veulent une chance de croquer des noisettes devront au moins pleurer des pierres euh… passer par le torture quenottes. Duo est envoyé en service commandé par Quatre. Le souci...

Harry Potter

(i lean heavily toward lengthy gen/political/plotty fics for hp, just a warning)

On the Way to Greatness by mira mirth (WIP) Summary: As per the Hat's decision, Harry gets Sorted into Slytherin upon his arrival in Hogwarts—and suddenly, the future isn't what it used to be.

Practicing Liars by Lomonaaeren (complete) Summary: HPDM preslash, Severitus, AU. Harry found out he's Snape's son in his fourth year, and concealed the truth from Snape. Now, in his sixth year, he's dodging Snape's suspicions about him and trying to figure out Draco Malfoy. Life is complicated.

The Sacrifices Arc by Lightning on the Wave (complete) Note: this links to the author’s FFN profile directly, as all 7 of the books are gathered there. Retelling-of-canon in which Harry’s twin brother Connor is the Boy Who Lived. HPDM slash. Extremely fucking long and plotty.

Inception

(inception remains today the fandom where i enjoyed the greatest amount of actual perfect story-telling, characterization, biting humor, and erotica. blessed fandom. forever in my heart. also all of those are arthur/eames you won’t find any other pairing sorry)

A Fake Handshake Don’t Make No Man by recrudescence Summary: Spaghetti's straight until you heat it up. Or, how Arthur learned not to use pasta as a pickup line and Eames learned to enjoy long walks on the Kinsey scale.

Allowed by the_ragnarok (complete) Summary: It’s like there’s an Eames-shaped hole in Arthur’s defenses.

Breaking and Entering by Resonant (complete) Summary: Eames is very good at pretending.

Breathe Into It by rageprufrock (complete) Summary: When Mal leans into his office and asks Eames what he did to his back, he can't exactly say, "the new graphics intern," so he says, "Oh, just stress, love."

Call Your Own Bluff by starbolin (complete) Summary: What does it mean to know a person? Eames takes Arthur on holiday. They fuck, bicker, and surprise one another into a leap of faith.

Can’t Get Enough of You (Baby) by eternalbreath (complete) Summary: Eames vanishes from dreamshare and Arthur goes a little crazy looking for him until he stumbles across him -- with a baby.

Higher Emotions Are Out to Get Us (and we soldier on, together) by Ciircee (complete) Summary: A typical 'boy meets boy' story about building a relationship, making it work, and having it last. Only it's Arthur and Eames so…yeah.

Impossible Object by perceived_nobility (complete) Summary: When he’s sixteen, Arthur steals $25,000, flies himself to Florida, and has top surgery. This is the story of what happens next. AU insofar as Arthur is trans and Inception takes place circa 2020.

I Strive by indysaur (complete) Summary: Love means something different to Dom, to Mal, to Arthur.

I've Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile (The Only Living Boy in New York) by gyzym (complete) Summary: Arthur's a corporate lawyer, Eames owns the coffee shop across the street, and all good love stories start with a quadruple shot latte.

No One Gets Out Alive by hackthis (complete) Summary: “I hate giving a shit, it never ends well.”

out of the blue by saintdogstreet (complete) Summary: "Is this the part," Eames says, "where I tell you not to jump?"

Pants on Fire by Helenish (complete) Summary: "Ah," Yusuf says, lifting a reproving hand, "are we calling less than 24 hours of memory loss amnesia now?"

Patron Saint by witling (complete) Summary: "You don't have Cobb here to throw you into harm's way, so you're doing it to yourself.”

Presque Vu by rageprufrock (complete) Summary: Or, "on the tip of the tongue." Arthur meets Mal first. He inherits Dom, after. Everything else is on him.

The End of The Celibate Life by fermine (complete) Summary: Arthur/Eames, R, prompt: "Arthur has a son and after dating Eames for almost a year, he decides to tell the forger about his son."

The Most Extraordinary Life of Professor Snuggles by catalinacat (complete) Summary: prompt - "Eames discovers Arthur's teddy bear/security blanket from when he was a child. Adorableness ensues."

The Music Makers by mami_san (complete) Summary: A. Graham Cole was twenty-one years old when he was killed in action in Iraq. This is the official story. The truth is, of course, somewhat different.

The Waking Years by weatherfront (complete) Summary: After the Fischer inception, Eames goes back to work as an extractor, and Arthur joins his team. Due to circumstances involving a guy who may or may not be from Greenland, pop astrology, someone's broken limb, hormones, and convenience, they end up learning that love is what starts down below (and makes its way up your spine).

This Lonely House by tourdefierce (complete) Summary: Life is not full of grand gestures. Life is not full of dramatic exists and entrances or perfect camera angles or explosions. Life for someone like Arthur, is like constantly feeling like a secondary character in his own storyline. That's not anyone's fault but his own because Arthur is Arthur, a protagonist here (and probably an antagonist as well because he can be). This is a story about Arthur, who happens to love people and who happens not to love them. But the point is, this is a story about Arthur who doesn't know it's a story about him. This is story about finding out what it means to be a hero to the right people, what it means to know yourself and, by accident, to let other people learn to know how to love you. Arthur is figuring his shit out.

t on the timeline by battleofhydaspe (complete) Summary: He doesn’t know how Eames tells reality from dream, but Eames seems very sure of what he’s saying.

Toxic by witling (complete) Summary: Eames tackles him from behind, brings him down onto his belly on the carpet, and plants a knee in his back. “What,” he pants, “the hell.” Arthur gets into trouble, and can't remember how he got there. Eames lends a hand.

We Can Do This Until We Pass Out by delires (complete) Summary: Disturbing London, baby, we about to branch out. (The one where Eames is a chav)

we were once cinema gods in the night by gyzym (complete) Summary: That's the thing about Hollywood--everyone has a Hollywood story.

Your Longest Missed Connection by anonymous (complete) Original Prompt: Arthur tries to be nice to Eames, really. But unfortunately, everything he says or does is misunderstood by Eames as being condenscending or sarcastic. I would prefer Arthur to be the pursuer in the pairing, and for Eames to dislike him initially (thinking Arthur's a real prat :D) Oblivious!Eames and Pining!Arthur ftw!

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

À plus tard dans nos rêves by TheoryofChaos (complete) Summary: A quinze ans, c'est connu, on est le dernier des cons. Je ne faisais pas exception à la règle. Je t'ai laissé t'enfuir et maintenant je ne peux plus te rattraper. OS 8059.

Concrete Feet by double_exposure (complete) Summary: If her job had a title, it'd be something along the lines of 'lab assistant/frequent abductee/up-and-coming asskicker.' Or, the story of how Haru carves out her vague, not entirely unimportant place in the Family.

Countdown by metisket (complete) Summary: -

Dead-Eyed Tsuna by wyrvel (complete) Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi is cold, aloof, constantly exhausted, perpetually doubtful, and has the resting face of an axe murderer. He's resigned to being a complete failure for the rest of his life, and is pretty satisfied with himself, as long as he has people like his best friend Sasagawa Kyouko to help him along the way. But his dull, emotionless status quo is shattered when Kyouko decides he should join the Disciplinary Committee and do something with himself. The Disciplinary Committee, as in the thinly veiled school gang run by the Scariest Teenage Boy Alive. And yet, against all odds, it's not the Committee itself that led him into mass international criminal politics, magic powers, and casual murder. (Tsuna is in the Disciplinary Committee, and somewhere else, Timoteo's son is the heir to the seat of Vongola Decimo. Featuring: Ensemble Cast, many OCs, and fully original story arcs. Humour/Action/Drama, contains dark themes. Heavy AU.)

ease it off by kilewolf (complete) Summary: Yamamoto thinks about some things. After all they've been through, going back to middle school is kind of weird.

En attendant demain by TheoryofChaos (complete) Summary: En attendant demain, Tsuna imagine partager avec lui plus qu'un bout de chemin. Et laisse son jumeau maléfique lui faire toutes ces choses dont il rêve en secret. 2700.

Game of Life by exocara (WIP) Summary: From the moment he had woken up to see names and levels floating over people's heads, Sawada Tsunayoshi knew that something was really, really wrong. Drabble series, crackish, very, very mild All27 that will show up later.

Kou’s Guidelines For Organized Crime by wyrvel (WIP) Summary: Sawada Kou is a fast-paced fourteen-year-old girl in her second year of middle school, plagued by low blood pressure, her status as a social pariah, elaborate extended family drama, and her hapless attempts to whittle anything more inspired than a series of increasingly fat birds. But that's nothing in comparison to what the man from Italy brings to her door... (Gen, fem!Tsuna adult!Reborn non-Decimo AU.)

Like Dust by wyrvel (complete) Summary: "You missed me too, right?"

like the edge of a knife by kilewolf (complete) Summary: Yamamoto has that look in his eyes again.

On the Outside by metisket (complete) Summary: -

Pinch Hitter by Scuttlebutt Inc (complete) Summary: Post-Millefiore arc, the boys are back in their own timeline and experiencing a new landscape fraught with dangers: High school. Bullies, mid-terms and relationships present their own unique challenges. Yaoi, 8059, 59- 27, TsunaxKyoko

the rain falls gently by kilewolf (complete) Summary: Yamamoto's not a hitman. (Or so he says/Definitely not/Not yet.)

The Sun Always Rises by lacewood (complete) Summary: In another world, Kyoko lived a very different life - and Tsuna had a different Sun guardian.

Tsunahiki by metisket (complete) Summary: -

Vigilante Tendency by Kyogre (complete) Summary: There's such a thing as being too much like the 1st generation. Tsuna didn't mean to start a vigilante group, but somehow it happened anyway. Well done, "Neo Primo," well done.

What We Fought For by metisket (complete) Summary: -

yesterday’s tomorrow by misamiera (WIP) Summary: Tsuna had dreamed of some crazy future where babies were hitmen and he'd become a mafia boss, but he never imagined it would come true. Gen, AU/timetravel-ish.

you’re a king and i’ve always wanted to be a lionheart by kilewolf (complete) Summary: A collection of scenes from Yamamoto's point of view, up to the Varia arc. He believes this is what you call "falling head over heels".

Naruto

Baby Animals, Weddings, And Other Things Not Normally Associated With Uchiha Sasuke by prettypriestess (complete) Summary: In which Konoha needs to upgrade their plumbing to be more resistant. (Or, the one where Sasuke and Naruto get genin and maybe someone buys a house.)

Telephone by rageprufrock Summary: It's rough being Team 7.

Sherlock BBC

Alone On the Water by Mad_Lori (complete) Summary: Sherlock Holmes never expected to live a long life, but he never imagined that it would end like this.

Star Trek

(you enter the Jim Kirk Appreciation Zone)

For Gladness Of You by kariye (complete) Summary: In which shit goes down in no particular order: Jim almost starts a war, Spock gets tortured, Jim gets kidnapped, Jim gets tortured, Spock gets not-quite-kidnapped, Jim takes the Enterprise joyriding, and mysterious Vulcans with their even more mysterious leader hop a ride for a few weeks. But that’s not what the story’s about. It’s about this: Jim was always going to fall in love with Spock – boldly, recklessly. He just didn’t expect to stay that way. A story about getting over all that.

Leave No Soul Behind by whochick (complete) Summary: If you're Starfleet, you spend your whole life wishing you never see an EPAS uniform right up until the moment they become your only hope. Whether you're dying a slow, cold death in space, or a long painful one on some godforsaken planet, they're going to come for you. So count your last breaths, son, and hold on tight. They leave no soul behind. (Note: this is it. This is my favorite fic of all time. The one that’s as close to perfection as perfection’s gonna get.)

Magpie by waldorph (complete) Summary: Spock met Jim when he was 7 and Jim was 6. It has since been generally agreed that this was a mistake (or: the one where they grow up together and things are simultaneously better and worse for it).

Spoctoria series by deamlet and waldorph (complete) Summary: Spock is heir to the Federation throne, Jim is Prince of America because his fucking brother abdicated, and the Klingons are on the verge of blowing shit up--a love story.

Still Life by dogpoet (complete) Summary: Traumatized by his experience on Tarsus IV, Jim Kirk runs away to Vulcan to undergo kolinahr. Reboot AU.

Twenty-Six and Legend series by Ilethe (complete) Summary: Bones didn't know it then, or even in the weeks and months after, but it was the last time Jim was Jim, before Enterprise changed him in infinitesimal ways, day by day by day, until he was laying sightless inside a radiation decontamination compartment, the last star falling even as Enterprise ascended into the sky.

We Two Alone by shoreleave (complete) Summary: Academy fic. Dr. Leonard McCoy thinks he has nothing in common with command-track cadet Jim Kirk, until a series of events forces them together. When a simple training mission is derailed into a seemingly hopeless situation, both have to learn to trust one another, and they’ll need all their wits and survival skills to stay alive.

Supernatural

(yeah ok so i was destiel once)

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire (complete) Summary: Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.) A post-08.17 Goodbye, Stranger story.

Oscillation by nekosmuse (complete) Summary: Sexual identity crisis aside, Dean's man enough to admit he's in love with Castiel. Has been for years. Which would be fine, really, if he could get past the whole unrequited, unworthy business, because maybe then he could move on with his life, get back to having sex on a semi-regular basis. Aaron's the first person to pique his interest in far, far too long. Aka the one where Dean's pining for an angel, starting to accept that he maybe wants to fuck men, and he's got Aaron Bass' phone number burning a hole in his wallet.

The Law of Conservation of Energy by peroxidepest17 (WIP) Summary: The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one state into another. And what is grace, if not energy?

The Mirror by cloudyjenn (complete) Summary: When Dean touches a strange mirror, he's whisked away to one alternate reality after another and it doesn't take him long to realize the universe is trying to tell him something.

The Soul Piece by cloudyjenn (complete) Summary: When a human child is born, their soul is shattered into bright gleaming pieces that scatter to the winds.

Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit by pyrebi (complete) Summary: In which angelic marriage bonds are apparently stupidly easy to trigger, Cas wages multidimensional war in Heaven, Dean can't catch a break like ever, Sam rather enjoys being a dick, love saves the day, and nobody consummates anything.

Wait and See by oncethrown (complete) Summary: After the apocalypse doesn't happen, Dean goes back to Bobby's house alone. He burned Bobby's body in the field. There wasn't enough of Cas left to burn or bury, and Sam was gone. After a few weeks of drinking and researching, Dean's ready to finally off himself and join his whole family, but a discount easter card and a sudden reappearance save him. Eventual Destiel. Human!Cas.

The Dark Knight Rises

in the family of things by Sibilant (WIP) Summary: They're saying there's work in the tunnels of Gotham. But one boy has already turned up dead. John's not going to let that happen again.

X-Men

(there’s probably a bunch here that i wouldn’t rec anymore considering how sketchy cherik fic can be about oppressed/oppressor dynamics & putting the blame on magneto. all of the following were written after x-men: first class came out, and i haven’t kept up with later x-men movies. i don’t have the time to reread everything, so just... take them with a grain of salt and sorry if i end up reccing something bad. i’m a lot more aware now than i was in 2011-2013. those that i do rec here i remember mostly for the relationship aspects, not so much for the social commentary.)

Boden’s Mate by kaydeefalls (complete) Summary: "Shaw has information that we need, and we need him alive to extract it," Moira says, and there it is: the job is on the table. Extraction. XMFC/Inception fusion AU. Erik is an extractor, Alex is his point man. They're assembling a team to go after the most dangerous mind in dreamsharing: Sebastian Shaw. But unless Alex and the team can keep him in check, Erik's desire for vengeance might just rip the whole job apart around them -- and then there's the shade that haunts his dreams...

Enemy of My Enemy by Thuri (complete) Summary: The CIA can't let a telepath of Charles's power stay free. Erik can't let him stay prisoner.

Fighting Fit by jemisard (complete) Summary: Charles fights people about his disability every day. Except the odd occasion when he doesn’t.

I, We, Us by winterhill (complete - restricted access!) Summary: Daemon AU: When he was a child, Erik was forced to split from his daemon. It’s only when he meets Charles that he thinks he might have finally found someone who he could safely leave her with. Missing scenes from canon and a few re-written scenes, plus what happened after. Somewhat loose interpretation of Pullman’s ideas.

Limited Release by rageprufrock (complete) Summary: When Alex Summers broke out of supermax to rescue his stupid kid brother, he had no idea it was going to be so fucking complicated.

Linger by waldorph (complete) Summary: Erik had been warned, to be fair. The realtor was very explicit that the last seventeen tenants had run from the premises screaming about the Exorcist or The Ring or some other terrible horror show.

Look This Life in the Eye by MonstrousRegiment (complete) Summary: There's a locked door in Xavier Hall to which no one has access. In making inquiries, Erik realizes he's built his opinion on Charles on the wrong foundations. “You thought I was going to hit you?” Charles’ eyes dart away, shoulders pulling in as if he were trying to curl in on himself. Erik feels something tight inside his chest coil in even tighter as his stomach turns.

Make Sure You Call Before You Leave by cm (mumblemutter) (complete) Summary: Erika happens to Charles.

No Yesterdays On the Road by pocky_slash (complete) Summary: It's been two months since Cuba and things are settling down for Charles, Erik, and the beginnings of their mutant school. Right up until Charles disappears, that is. Faced with the possibility that a bitter Emma Frost has kidnapped Charles, Erik is forced to team up with Moira to hunt down the remainder of the Hellfire Club. From there, they hope to locate Frost and retrieve Charles, without killing each other along the way. (Or: Erik and Moira Drive Across the Country and Talk About Their Feelings.)

Our House, In The Middle Of Our Street by Clocks (complete) Summary: Charles is a social worker who fosters troubled kids, and one day he meets Erik, an ex-convict, who reluctantly agrees to stay for only a while, but ends up staying for good and helping Charles to raise the kids. Awkward parenting ensues.

Paper Monsters by Clocks (complete) Summary: Fill for this prompt: Charles meets Erik Lehnsherr, his favorite novelist of all time at a coffee shop, but doesn't know it's him, and Erik just criticizes his own writing in front of his biggest fan.

Rumor Mill by ikeracity (complete) Summary: Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends. So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally antisocial bastard Erik's husband must be to put up with him. Others think he must be a meek mouse perhaps bullied by Erik. What they weren't expecting was the confident, charming, adorable and unbelievably nice Charles that turns up on Erik's arm. What they certainly weren't expecting was how much Erik obviously adores his husband and how happy he is to let others see this.

South of the Border by sneakertime (complete) Summary: Post-Divorce AU. Charles Xavier saves Logan from Emma Frost in Mexico. They have a lot of sex, and things get progressively more complicated.

The Better Men by TurtleTotem (complete) Summary: "I do believe the two of you were in the same year as boys, were you not?" Headmaster Shaw said. "Charles is the most competent deputy any headmaster could ask for, Erik, and he's been doing this for years…" He trailed off, as if finally noticing something odd in the way his Potions and Divination masters were staring at each other. "Of course," Charles said quickly, his voice only a little hoarse, and stuck out his hand. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Erik."

The one where Erik own an antiques shop and Charles is a professor by aesc (complete) Summary: Even though Charles loathed people using "I must have a genetic predisposition for X, Y, or Z" as an excuse for personal shortcomings and peccadillos – he was a professor at Columbia and a well-respected researcher in the field, he couldn't not get riled about scientific inaccuracy – he suspected the Xavier family had a strong expression of the gene responsible for squirreling away every random object that came across their paths.

Time to Grow by zarah5 (complete - restricted access!) Summary: In which you'll find chess dates which aren't dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). -- Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene.

Us by Pangea (complete) Summary: “Charles,” Erik says, and if his voice hits a pleading note then who can really blame him, “Charles, it’s me.” It takes several longer moments before Charles musters up the strength to answer, breath stuttering horribly as he tries to breathe. He’s shaking, entire body trembling. “Erik,” Charles says, his voice cracking, “Erik, I want to die.”

Crossovers

Accidents Happen by metisket (Desden Files/FMA - complete) Summary: -

Getting Things Done by metisket (FMA/DGM - complete) Summary: -

I Hold With Those Who Favour Fire by infraredphaeton (KHR/Naruto - complete) Summary: When Gokudera died, taking a bullet for Tsuna, he expected to go to hell. Not wake up as a pink haired girly-boy in a world full of ninja. How's he meant to be the Jyuudaime's right hand in a world that doesn't even have a mafia? Clearly, he'll have to clean this place up before Tsuna gets here. REINCARNATION, Gokudera-as-m!Sakura.

langlocked lurid. by esquitor (DGM/Harry Potter - WIP) Summary: the one where allen walker puts up with draco malfoy trying to recruit him into his little gang, and his uncle neah campbell tries not to drink himself into a stupor before cross gets to hogwarts. meanwhile, sirius black hunts a rat.

Thicker Than Blood by AvocadoLove (Inception/500 Days of Summer - complete) Summary: "My brother, Tom, has been missing for three days."

#fic recs #it talks #ITS DONE FINALLY

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leonawriter · 5 years

Text

Stray Dogs and Tiger Cubs (pt.17)

Also on AO3

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Characters: Dazai, Atsushi, Yosano, Kunikida, Chuuya, Akutagawa.

...

"O-o-ow-!"

"Oh, grow up, Dazai. Maybe if you hadn't gotten yourself into that situation in the first place, you wouldn't be in this one now. Atsushi's a better patient than you are!"

"Atsushi-chan can heal because of the tig-ow! - so that doesn't count. And you know I hate pain."

Atsushi himself, completely unharmed despite everything that had happened just earlier, looked over at Yosano with wide eyes.

"Is... is Da-san going to be okay?"

Dazai put on his most morose expression.

"I'm going to die," he said, putting his free arm not currently being manhandled by Yosano, over his eyes. "A long, slow, and painful death. It's awful."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dazai. Atsushi-chan, stop making that face, he's not dying, even if he wishes he was."

He lifted his arm away to find that yes, Atsushi was doing a very good job of making him feel guilty as hell by looking that concerned.

"I'm just joking, Atsushi-chan~"

"You did get pretty beat up, though. Otherwise I wouldn't still be picking out bits of what can only be described as debris out of your hands. What were you doing, fighting a wall or something?"

"Or something," he said in a tone that was meant to be far more carefree than it came out, what with Yosano dabbing at yet another sore patch and making him wince.

"Da-san did say that Aku-san had been mean to him too," Atsushi said, making Dazai have to fight not to laugh.

Aku-san? So, Akutagawa has become Mr. Bad Guy now? Well... it isn't as though he hasn't earned it.

...

"I see you brought the girl back with you," Kunikida says stiffly.

It wasn't as though he wasn't concerned by everything that was going on; just the sight of Dazai's face had been enough to shock him speechless for a good moment when the small group had returned to the Agency. Dazai was the one out of all of them that was the hardest to kill, to the point where most of them had stopped being concerned at his disappearances a long time ago, expecting that he'd turn up sooner or later, or someone would eventually drag him back to them like a lost dog.

Seeing evidence of the fact that he wasn't somehow invulnerable and that those damn bandages of his probably hid worse, was more than a little unsettling, and he was still attempting to find his balance from the reminder.

"Of course," Dazai said, sounding nowhere near as concerned by any of this than he had any right to be. "She asked so politely not to have to go back to the mafia, so she's staying here for the time being, watching over Atsushi-chan."

He noticed the shift in honorific, and wondered if that meant anything, but made a mental note to ask Dazai about that later, since there were far more pressing problems right now.

"Yes, but - this is the mafia. Not some small gang that Kenji can encourage to just let the matter drop! And aside from that, she's a wanted murderer. The police are going to be after her!"

For a moment, Dazai doesn't respond, just staring over in the direction of where Atsushi is talking to Kenji, who then puts his hat on the small boy's head, which completely covers his eyes until his pushes it up so that he can see, a clear smile on his face as he looks over in their direction. In Dazai's direction.

Dazai smiles, and for the first time, Kunikida finds himself wondering if perhaps Dazai looking after Atsushi might not be the worst thing in the world, for either of them.

"I know that," his partner says at last, voice soft and low and reminding him of when they'd first met, with all of his secrets and no reason to be trusted yet. Reminding him that a lot of the things that he had distrusted Dazai for back then still haven't been answered, even if he's been able to trust the other man with his life for going on two years now. "We don't need to worry about the mafia for the moment, though," Dazai continues brightly, and the sense of something being swept under the rug and hidden away again makes Kunikida grind his teeth. "And I already have an idea for what we can do with her, too."

"Don't need to- do I even want to know what you mean by that?" He pinches the bridge of his nose. "And that'd better be a good idea, because for the life of me, I can't think of anything."

It wasn't for lack of trying, either, but-

"The mafia are busy right now, because someone made a very bad mistake in thinking that they could make them into fools," Dazai point out, and Kunikida shuddered. "Ah, well, because of all of that, and me being Atsushi-chan's guardian, it means that we'll be having to talk with them on even terms to figure out what happens next, which definitely won't be any fun. With any luck they'll just let it drop and go after the one who set up the bounty, but..." Dazai sighed, and trailed off.

"But?"

"Kyouka-chan's the more complicated situation." And there was the serious expression, back again. "And my idea can only work if it's what she truly wants."

"And that is?"

Dazai just smiled enigmatically, damn him, and didn't answer.

...

"Akutagawa. Oi, Akutagawa, listen to me." Chuuya sighed. He'd had to listen to silence interspersed with coughing all the way back to headquarters, and then he'd had to force the damn coat of the overgrown bratty teenager just to get him to be treated. Mori had left him in his care for the time being, to boot. "Look, do you even have any idea why everyone's mad at you."

"...I went against orders."

It was the same stiff and unyielding tone Akutagawa had used against Mori earlier, and it didn't give him any feeling of hope that anything had actually sunk in.

"You do that all the time," he says, waving that idea out the window. "Hell, I went against orders by letting a traitor loose, but in the end, it was the right decision. So what's the difference? And that was a question. I'm expecting an answer."

"Chuuya-san is an executive," came the response, in the same tone as before, making Chuuya put his hand to his head. If he hadn't been getting a headache before, he definitely was now.

"Well, yeah, that helps, but mostly it was because I got good information out of it. Boss likes it best when he's got all the information, not just bits and pieces of it."

Which was similar to Dazai, come to think of it, though he wasn't sure if that was something the Boss had taught Dazai, or if it'd just naturally always been something the mackerel'd had in his head.

"I..." for a moment, he almost thought he'd imagined that, it was so quiet, even and especially with the fit of coughing. "I just... wanted to be stronger. Strong enough... he..."

Chuuya sighed. Leaned back on his chair, and stared at the ceiling, wondering just how many times his (ex) partner had told him how much he hated people who only threw around their strength without using their heads.

"You don't... really get Dazai, do you Akutagawa," he said, glancing back down.

Akutagawa blinked, and it took Chuuya a moment to realise that the expression he was now wearing was one of confusion.

"Get... Dazai-san? That's... it's pointless to even try. Anyone who attempts to understand him falls into a cognitive prison, a dead end with no way out."

"So that's what you think, huh." Dazai really did a number on this kid, whatever it was he did. I dunno if the worst thing is that Dazai doesn't even seem to realise what it is he's done. It's a damn good job he looks like he's treating that weretiger kid better, or... eh, I dunno. "That's your first mistake, then."

He expected some sort of response, a rebuttal, maybe, but all he got was Akutagawa's head turning away in an immature way of saying he didn't want to talk about it, or that's what it seemed like.

The most baffling thing was, Chuuya had worked with Akutagawa before this, and he'd never been this bad. The fact that he knew exactly what was causing it all only made it more frustrating.

"You start thinking of Dazai as some great mystery you're never gonna be able to solve, and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy you've got there. Sure, trying to get inside his head's like trying to stick your hand in a bag full of cats, and trying to figure out his plans is sometimes like trying to get 'em all in a line, but... motivation in general? Like, why he'd be pissed off right now? That's not too hard. He's as human as anyone, you and me included."

He was aware there was a certain amount of irony about that particular phrase and including himself in it, but... it fitted. All too well. But he wasn't about to explain personal things like that, not to Akutagawa, and not here and now.

"After all," added, carefully watching Akutagawa's reaction, "from what I heard, that kid's ability's less like how your Rashomon practically has a mind of its own, or that girl's Demon Snow, or ane-san's Golden Demon, either. Even just from what I saw, it's more like..." Like a softer, fluffier, version of Corruption that's less lethal to the user, came the unwelcome but unfortunately accurate thought. Right down to the fact that they both seemed to need Dazai to stop them once they'd started. "It's still the kid, it's just the shape that's changed."

He stands, hands in pockets and hat shading his eyes as he turns to leave the briefing room he'd appropriated for their 'discussion' a while back.

"But-" the one word paused him at the doorway, full of so much desperate emotion it'd be impossible to pick it all apart. "Dazai-san... Dazai-san never... never once treated me like that! What - what has one kid got, that I- I couldn't-!"

"Yeah? Welcome to the club, then. Personally, I'd say it's because he's an ass who finds it easier to piss people off than stay to deal with the fallout, but... that's just me."

In the end, it sucked, but that was the way things were. Besides, he didn't have time to play therapist when it felt like there were a million other things he needed to be doing right now along with making sure Dazai's mistakes didn't blow up in everyone's faces.

#bsd #bsd stuff #bungo stray dogs #Leona fic #dadzai au

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