Chapter Text
It was a late night. Kunikida tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes before adjusting his glasses back into place. Everybody else in the Armed Detective Agency had left hours ago but Kunikida refused to put anything off until the next day.
His boyfriend kept telling him sacrificing sleep was bad for his health but he didn't think Dazai was really one to talk when it came to bad habits.
*Twenty-four days,* Kunikida thought. That was the amount of time until his and Dazai's one year anniversary. He still couldn't believe he had been dating that idiot for this long but he wouldn't have it any other way. He really did love that man.
He sighed. He was getting sidetracked again. Dazai was distracting him from his work when he wasn't even there. He focused on the computer screen and the words started to swim together. Perhaps he would get more done if he let himself rest a little bit.
“Don't move.”
Kunikida heard the click of a gun being cocked behind him. He froze. How had someone gotten inside without him noticing!? He was tired, sure, but he was still a detective. He should have heard something!
“Who's there?” Kunikida asked.
The man chuckled. “Wouldn't you like to know?”
Kunikida recognized that voice. He got the sudden, horrible feeling that something was really wrong here. Every instinct in his body told him to get as far away from the man behind him as possible but he was pretty sure there was a gun pointed at the back of his head that would fire if he moved a muscle.
The man behind him continued, “There's something I need from you but I have to send you somewhere, first.”
“What do you mean?” Kunikida asked tensely.
“You'll see.”
. . .
“Mister Kunikida! I'm surprised you're sleeping at your desk!”
Kunikida slowly opened his eyes. Sleeping at his desk? No, that wasn't like him. Surely he hadn't done such a thing. He looked around. Sure enough, he was slumped over his desk, waking up.
He looked at the person talking to him. It was Kenji. Though something felt slightly off about him. Kunikida couldn't tell exactly what it was. It just didn't feel right.
He shook his head. “How did I fall asleep?” He scolded himself.
“You should get more rest!” Kenji advised cheerily before skipping off to his own desk.
*How long was I out?* Kunikida wondered. He remembered some man threatening him with a gun. That must have been a dream. The last thing he remembered was working late. Had he really been here all night!?
“Don't worry,” a monotone voice across from him stated, “You were only out ten minutes.”
When Kunikida realized who was sitting across from him, he was startled.
“Who are you?” He demanded of the ginger man who was sitting at Dazai's desk.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, Kunikida?”
“How do you know my name?”
Suddenly, it hit him. This must be a prank! Dazai probably pulled some random man off the street to show up to work for him and pretend like it was normal so he could mess with Kunikida.
He sighed in frustration. “Oh okay. Haha,” he mocked a laugh, “Very funny. Where's Dazai?”
As soon as that name slipped out of his mouth, the whole room went silent.
“What did you just say?” The mysterious man across from him asked warily.
“I asked where-” he was going to say he asked where his boyfriend was but he suddenly felt like he shouldn't say that. Something wasn't right here. If this was just a silly prank, why was everybody staring at him like he had just asked about a serial killer? Why has the entire vibe of the room gone stone cold in seconds?
Kunikida cleared his throat. “Where is Osamu Dazai?”
The man across from him stood abruptly. “Follow me,” he said before heading towards the door.
“Not until you tell me who you are,” Kunikida insisted.
The man has a stern expression on his face. “You shouldn't be here. Hurry.”
Kunikida's heart sped up as that horrible feeling of something wrong just kept growing. What was going on here? Did this man have answers for him? It seemed like the only way he was going to find out was following him.
Reluctantly, Kunikida got up and followed the man out of the Armed Detective Agency. They walked down the steps in silence. When they got out to the street, Kunikida spoke up.
“Are you going to answer my questions now?”
“Keep walking,” the man replied in a hushed tone, “Don't look back. We're being followed.”
Kunikida resisted the temptation to look and see. “Who's following us?”
“The Port Mafia,” he replied.
He slipped into an alleyway and started walking faster. Kunikida quickened his steps to keep up. After a few more turns, they arrived at a small restaurant. The man walked in and sat at the bar.
“Hi, Oda!” The cook behind the counter greeted, “Brought a friend today?”
The man nodded. “This is my coworker, Kunikida. A bowl of spicy curry for each of us, please.”
The cook gave Kunikida a nod. “Coming right up!”
Oda looked at Kunikida. “So you really don't know my name?”
“I'm just as confused as you are,” Kunikida said, “I really don't remember ever seeing you before. I'm sorry.”
“My name is Oda Sakunosuke.”
Kunikida was stunned. He has heard that name before. Dazai has told him about Oda Sakunosuke, the man who gave him a reason to leave the Port Mafia with his dying words.
“You're Odasaku,” Kunikida said in awe.
Oda looked as though Kunikida had just called him a horrible insult. “Where did you hear that?”
“Dazai told me that's what he called you,” Kunikida said, still in shock. How could someone who was dead be sitting in front of him right now?
“How do you know Dazai?” Oda asked suspiciously.
“He's my boyfriend,” Kunikida said defensively.
The cook placed a bowl of curry in front of each of them and Oda began to eat as he stared off into the distance, clearly deep in thought. Finally, he spoke up.
“Osamu Dazai is the ruthless boss of the Port Mafia, a vile and manipulative man who rules this city with an iron fist and, up until about twenty minutes ago, you had made it your mission to oppose him.” Oda finally looked back over at Kunikida and met his eyes. “So why are you now claiming that he's your boyfriend?”