Chapter Text
Atsushi was very well known for his tendency to jump into battle without so much of a second thought. A habit Kunikida had tried to get rid of, but it seemed like he still had a long way to go. In front of him was another result of Atsushi jumping recklessly into battle.
It was supposed to be an easy job. Their client asked for the agency to capture a thief whose ability allowed him to change the age of people he touched up to ten years, forwards or backwards. While not too dangerous of an ability, it was a troublesome one, since not only was age affected, but memories as well. In the confusion of new or missing memories, the thief was able to make his get away easily.
Using Ranpo's deduction skills, they were able to predict where his next target would be: Yokohama Central Bank. There, Kunikida and Atsushi would distract the thief during the robbery while Dazai came up from behind to nullify his ability. However, the thief started getting too rough with his aged-down hostage (only five years old too) and knocked them unconscious, causing Atsushi to lunge forward to protect them. Admirable protective instincts, but they couldn't have come at a more terrible time.
Dazai reached out to touch the thief, but it was too late. The thief and Atsushi collided and a cloud of smoke appeared. Kunikida and Dazai rushed towards the cloud of smoke, but stopped near its perimeter, not wanting to be caught by surprise.
"Kid, what happened?!" Kunikida called out.
There was no response except for some shuffling, then a figure burst out of the smoke and out the exit.
"That must be the thief," Kunikida said. "Dazai, go! I'll take care of Atsushi." His partner nodded before rushing out of the bank.
Kunikida turned back to the cloud of smoke, glad to see it was clearing away quickly. Once he was able to see again, a surprising sight awaited him.
"Atsushi?"
It was Atsushi, no doubt, with the unique green-purple eyes and poorly cut bangs, but much much smaller. He wore small, raggedy clothes and was cowering in front of the detective, his eyes shifting nervously around the room.
Kunikida sighed heavily and took a moment to compose himself before kneeling in front of small Atsushi, changing his expression to something more amicable.
"Hello Atsushi, do you know who I am?"
He shook his head and in a quiet voice asked, "How—How do you know my name? Where am I?"
"My name is Kunikida Doppo. You're at the Yokohama Central Bank," he answered calmly. "How old are you right now?"
"Eight..."
"Ten years exactly then." Kunikida resisted the urge to show any signs of agitation, though internally he balked at how much this was going to throw off his schedule.
Atsushi was looking around the bank, the confusion on his face growing more and more. He looked back to Kunikida with a clear, untold question, though he didn't dare to ask. Kunikida got an uncomfortable feeling in his gut seeing Atsushi scared to ask a simple question.
"You were hit with an ability," he explained. "You've been aged down ten years, so it's understandable you're confused right now. I'm a co-worker of yours." He thought for a moment. "A friend."
Atsushi's brow furrowed as he processed the information, an expression that had no right to look that adorable, in Kunikida's opinion.
The front door open and Kunikida turned to see Dazai walk back in, sporting a large bruise on his cheek.
"He got away," he bemoaned, nursing his bruise. "Turns out he wasn't acting alone. His partner got a good hit on me before they jumped into their car and drove away." He sighed dramatically. "Such a shame too. His partner was so pretty. She could've committed a double suicide with me!"
"Save your drama for later," Kunikida replied, unimpressed. "You've got a job to do." He shifted a little so Dazai could see eight-year-old Atsushi behind him.
Dazai blinked for a moment before cooing. "Aw, I didn't know he was so cute when he was younger."
"Well, it won't be like this for long," Kunikida said. "Use your ability on him and the kid hostage and then we can talk with the police about what happened. At least we know he's not working alone now."
"You're no fun," Dazai pouted. He started walking towards Atsushi, but the kid widened his eyes and scrambled away to hide behind a desk.
Dazai froze for a moment. Right, Atsushi was a traumatized kid who, based on his vague mentions of the orphanage, did not have a happy childhood. Waltzing up to him was probably not the best idea.
He sat down next to Kunikida, making sure to make enough noise so Atsushi could hear what he was doing.
"Hello Atsushi. My name is Dazai and all I want to do is use my ability, No Longer Human. I know it sounds scary, but I promise it's not. Look, I'll use it on Kunikida right now." Dazai turned to his partner and held out his hand expectantly.
Kunikida gave his partner a disgruntled look, but obliged and grabbed his hand. A light blue aura surrounded them and he could see Atsushi peeking around the desk.
"All it does it stop other abilities. Kunikida's told you you're under an ability, right? Well, I can stop it and return you back to normal, but I need to touch you to do it." He let go of Kunikida's hand and the blue aura disappeared. "Nothing big. I can just touch you with one finger if you'd like."
Atsushi warily looked Dazai up and down. They didn't seem like bad people, and they said they were his friends in the future, supposedly. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but they were waiting patiently for his response and not pushing him. It may have been foolish, but he believed they were good people.
Slowly, Atsushi crawled out from behind the desk and walked over to Dazai. He looked him over once more, nervously asking, "You promise you won't hurt me?"
Dazai's heart twisted at the question. "I promise."
Atsushi nodded and gingerly held out his hand. In return, Dazai gently held his hand and activated his ability. A light blue aura surrounded them, but to their surprise, nothing happened. A few awkward seconds passed, everyone waiting to see if anything would happen at all.
Kunikida furrowed his eyebrows. "Why is he still a child?"
Dazai had a rare look of confusion on his face. "I don't know. This doesn't usually happen."
Atsushi looked between them worriedly, another obvious question on his face, but one he didn't dare to ask.
"We'll figure it out," Kunikida reassured. "Let's call the police. Maybe they can give us some insight on his ability."
Dazai pointed out the window. "Seems like you don't have to. They just arrived."
Red and blue lights flashed through the windows and policemen started to rush towards the scene. Dazai grabbed the unconscious hostage from the ground while Atsushi trailed behind Kunikida. Dazai handed the hostage to the paramedics, then he and the other two made their way towards the captain.
"Hey there, long time no see Minoura!" Dazai exclaimed.
The captain just sighed and turned to greet Kunikida. "We got a call, but it seems like we're a little late."
Kunikida quickly debriefed him about what happened (with unhelpful input from Dazai) before asking about the thief's ability, gesturing to Atsushi clinging to his pant leg behind him.
"It's called Life For Sale, belonging to a young man called Yukio Mishima. He can change the age of anyone he touches forwards or backwards ten years, whichever one he chooses." He let out a long sigh. "He's really slippery. We haven't been able to catch this guy for awhile now."
"Have the victims aged back?"
Minoura nodded. "Oh yeah, thank god for that. The effects only last a week. They're whatever age they've been turned to up until the week ends. Then they suddenly change back into their correct age."
"Has it always been a week exactly?" Dazai asked. Minoura nodded in confirmation.
Kunikida turned to him. "What are you thinking?"
"I have a theory," he replied. "My ability cancels out other abilities even when I'm not touching the person themself probably because the abilities have a connection back to their user. They have to constantly be connected somehow in order to keep the ability going. My ability can cut off that connection, but if there's no connection..."
"Why would there be no connection?"
Dazai shrugged. "I don't know. Abilities are strange and quite frankly, we don't know that much about them. I'm guessing this ability is a one time thing. A quick connection between the thief and his victim when they make physical contact and the victim's age changes. After that, there is no connection, explaining why everyone ages back after a week. Why expend extra energy to keep them that age for so long?"
Kunikida hummed in thought. "I suppose that makes sense..."
"Or my ability is simply broken," Dazai added teasingly, dramatically pretending to faint. "I actually feel a little dizzy right now, perhaps—"
"Extremely unlikely," Kunikida quickly retorted back. "Unless you ate a poisonous mushroom again."
Minoura blinked several times as he looked back and forth between Dazai and Kunikida. "I have no idea what the hell you just said, but sure, whatever. Just take care of the kid, yeah? I've got work to do."
"Yes sir!" Dazai exclaimed, cheerily doing a salute.
Minoura simply rolled his eyes before walking into the bank.
Dazai looked down at Atsushi and smiled. "How would you like to see where you work in the future?"
~~~
"Oh my god, he's so cute!"
"Look, he's so small!"
"How adorable!"
Atsushi hid behind Dazai's leg, blushing at the compliments, but also looking a little overwhelmed. Kunikida quickly noticed this and stepped forward.
"I understand you want to see him, but he's had a long day. Give him some space."
The other agency members pouted, but nodded and backed away. Atsushi still felt their gazes on him and he hid behind Dazai further.
Kunikida let out a heavy sigh as he pushed up his glasses. "Alright, let's go to the president. I'm sure you're all dying for an explanation."
The entire agency followed him to the meeting room and sat around the table. A few moments later, Fukuzawa walked into the office and sat down at his normal seat at the head of the table.
Atsushi's first reaction to the president was fear. He had the same strong and authoritative presence as the caretakers at the orphanage. His piercing eyes matched with his large presence made anxiety bloom in Atsushi's gut. The two detectives said they wouldn't hurt him, but what about the president? Did they have any say about what would happen to him? He was still very confused about what was happening, but he understood that he had caused trouble for the agency. He hoped nothing too bad would happen.
"Ah, now I see what the fuss is all about," Fukuzawa mumbled, scanning Atsushi up and down. "I assume Dazai's ability didn't work?"
Said person shook his head. "Zip. Zilch. Zero. N—"
"We get it," Kunikida snapped, massaging the bridge of his nose.
"You're so mean, Kunikida," Dazai teased, smirking and poking his partner's shoulder.
Fukuzawa tactfully ignored their bickering and instead turned his attention to Atsushi, who was staring confusedly at the two detectives. While he was looking at them, Fukuzawa could tell Atsushi still had his attention on everyone in the room, careful to keep his back to the wall as to not be caught by surprise. A sad sight, but not a surprising one, considering the few times Atsushi had mentioned the orphanage. Fukuzawa hoped that he would have a chance to experience the happiness a child should while the ability lasted.
Eventually, Kunikida and Dazai stopped bickering enough to explain the situation to the president.
"So the ability lasts for a week?" Fukuzawa asked, getting nods of confirmation. "Well, if Dazai's theory is correct, then we'll just have to wait it out."
"You mean we get to take care of little Atsushi for a week?" Kenji asked excitedly.
He nodded. "Yes, at least during the day. But he will need a place to sleep at night."
Everyone froze at the question. They had completely forgotten about that in the excitement of everything else.
"He can't just stay with me like he does normally?" Kyouka asked.
"It's not a normal situation and you are still a child," Fukuzawa replied. "It's a big responsibility that we don't want to throw on you."
"I can do it!" Kenji offered, throwing his hand into the air.
Fukuzawa smiled politely, but shook his head. "As nice as that is, that wouldn't be a good idea. You're too young as well and still acclimating to living in the city." He didn't want to think about all the crazy things he might teach Atsushi. Suddenly, one week seemed like a long time.
Junichirou and Naomi were out of the question too. They still lived with their parents, who had enough on their plate with two kids as it was.
He turned to Yosano, who shook her head with a frown. "Sorry. My apartment has a lot of dangerous medical tools and wine. It wouldn't be the best place for him."
Before he could even look at Ranpo, the young detective said, "Nope! Pass!" He tossed a chip into his mouth. "Besides, Atsushi has already bonded with Dazai and Kunikida."
Fukuzawa looked towards the eight-year-old and saw that it was true. He was hiding behind the two of them, observing the others warily.
"Well?" he asked.
"My place is not ideal for a kid," Kunikida replied. "It's small. Plus it would throw off my schedule immensely."
"Well I guess that leaves me!" Dazai declared loudly.
"Should we be worried?" Kunikida muttered.
He dramatically placed his hands over his heart. "You wound me! Of course I'm capable of taking care of him. He's my precious Atsushi after all, I won't let any harm come to him."
While his tone was playful, all the agency members knew he was serious about it. They knew how much he cared about Atsushi, even if it was hidden underneath a lot of layers.
Fukuzawa kneeled down to Atsushi's height. "Is it okay if you stay with Dazai for the week? If you don't want to, that's fine too. We can figure something out."
Atsushi looked between him and Dazai confusedly, not used to being asked his opinion. Dazai, while strange at times, seemed good enough. He hadn't hurt him yet and didn't seem as scary as the other members. Well, it wasn't as if he was going to say no anyway. He would never dare to.
He nodded at the president's question and he smiled in response. "Okay. And if you change your mind, that's alright." He stood up and checked the time. "It's still fairly early, so he doesn't have to go home with Dazai quite yet."
Yosano spoke up. "Actually, can I have the rest of the day off? I want to go shopping with him since I'm sure Dazai doesn't have the proper things to take care of a kid."
Fukuzawa nodded. "Sure, and take Dazai with you."
"Can I go?" Kyouka asked.
"And me?" Kenji added.
"We can't all go shopping for him," the president reasoned. "Those two are going. The rest of you get back to work."
There were some complaints and groans, but they listened and went back to their desks to complete their work.
Dazai looked down at Atsushi, putting on a smile. "Okay little Atsushi, let's go shopping."
~~~
Atsushi nervously clung onto Dazai's coat as they walked through the store. He was surrounded by a lot of strangers and wasn't sure how to feel. It was so nice to get out the orphanage, but so scary and unfamiliar. It wasn't too bad though, not bad enough to tell Dazai. Before entering the store, the man had asked Atsushi to tell him or Yosano if he felt too overwhelmed or anxious, so that they could take a break. So far that hadn't happened and he felt fine enough to keep going.
Eventually, they reaching the clothing aisle and Yosano gestured to the shirts. "Let's start here. Pick out what you want."
Atsushi hovered near the clothes with uncertainty, only looking at them, but not touching them. He wasn't sure what he was allowed to get. He was astonished they would even spend money on new clothes for him.
With a lot of coaxing and patience, Yosano and Dazai were able to get Atsushi to pick a few shirts he liked, and Yosano picked a few more plain shirts to last him the rest of the week. They went onto pants and shoes, which went about the same way. Eventually, they picked all the clothes they needed and went on to buy food since Dazai didn't have enough for two people.
"What kind of food do you like, Atsushi?" he asked. While he already knew the answer, he wanted to see if he would offer that up on his own. The Atsushi he first met gladly asked for chazuke, but this Atsushi seemed much more shy and timid. He hadn't quite grown into the determination Dazai knew he had.
Atsushi fiddled with his hands. "Um, anything's fine."
Well, it hadn't even been a day yet. Dazai gave him some grace. "Hmm, well chazuke sounds good. Is that okay?"
Atsushi noticeably perked up and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. O—Only if you want it, though."
"Chazuke it is!" Dazai exclaimed, grabbing the necessary ingredients. He bought a few more meals before walking out of the store. Atsushi eyed the large bags of clothes and food with awe, but uncertainty. He wasn't used to anyone spending this much on him.
After they went shopping, they dropped everything off at Dazai's apartment. His apartment was fairly normal, despite the man's eccentric personality. It had a kitchenette, a small living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Small, but it was enough.
Yosano put the bags on the table and waved goodbye. "See you guys tomorrow." She gave a smile to Atsushi, who shyly gave one back. She internally cooed at him before leaving the apartment.
Atsushi turned to Dazai, who gave him a quick tour of the apartment, which ended in the bedroom, where Dazai said he would sleep.
"But isn't this your room?" he asked.
"Yes, but you can use it for now," Dazai replied.
Atsushi furrowed his eyebrows. "Where will you sleep?"
Ah, even as a kid, he was still concerned about everyone but himself. "I'll sleep on the couch," Dazai answered. "Seriously, it's not a big deal."
Atsushi fiddled with his hands, looking at the ground. "But I don't want to cause you trouble or anything. I can sleep on the couch."
"Atsushi," Dazai said seriously, causing Atsushi's head to snap upwards. "It's no trouble at all. You're not being a burden to me at all. It's okay."
A flicker of confusion flashed over Atsushi's face. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Dazai. Of course he was a burden, that's what everyone said. He was troublesome and a monster, that's how it was. Still, the man sounded serious and he didn't want to push it too much. He simply nodded and muttered, "Okay."
Dazai smiled and went to ruffle his hair, causing Atsushi to flinch back and squeeze his eyes shut. An unreadable expression crossed Dazai's face before he continued his action and gently ruffled his hair. Atsushi's eyes snapped open in surprise and looked up at Dazai with awe and confusion.
Dazai opened his mouth to say something, but Atsushi's stomach growled loudly, making him blush in embarrassment. Dazai simply smiled and walked towards the kitchen. "Hungry? You should've told me."
While he was no professional chef, Dazai had to say he made a pretty good chazuke. To Atsushi, it looked like heaven in a bowl. His mouth watered and his eyes followed the meal hungrily.
As Dazai set the bowl down in front of him, Atsushi's breath hitched suddenly and he wondered what happened.
"Atsushi?"
The child looked up at him with tears in his eyes, not yet fallen. "Is this... is this all for me?"
Dazai nodded. "Yeah. And you can have seconds if you'd like. I made enough."
At that, Atsushi burst into tears, leaving Dazai to panic for a second before he pieced together the reason for his crying. He set down his own bowl of chazuke on the counter, then knelt down next to Atsushi, soothingly rubbing his back.
Through his tears, Atsushi managed to say, "I've n—never had this much to—to eat before."
"That never should've happened," Dazai replied, his eyes darkening. "I promise as long as you're here, I'll never let you starve like that."
That only made Atsushi cry harder, tears streaming down his face. Dazai wanted to pull him into a hug, but he knew there wasn't enough trust yet. Instead, he simply rubbed his back and mumbled comforting words to Atsushi.
He let him cry it out until all his tears were spent. By then, the food had gotten cold, which Atsushi apologized profusely for. Dazai simply used the microwave to heat it up again. As soon as the bowl was in front of him, Atsushi started gobbling down his chazuke. Dazai had to remind him not to eat too fast or else he might throw it back up.
Once dinner was finished, Atsushi tiredly got ready for bed. The entire day was absolutely exhausting and by the time his head hit the pillow, he was out.