Chapter Text
Still a few seconds left until 8' o clock.
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As soon as the watch on Kunikida's wrist hit 8, he opened the door to the agency. It was a typical day, nothing seemed amiss. Atsushi working diligently (trying his best) at doing paperwork, Ranpo eating snacks with his feet propped up on the desk, and Dazai nowhere to be seen. A vein visibly throbbed on Kunikida's forehead. After all, this was the third time Dazai had been late this week. And it was only Thursday.
Making his way over to his seat, Kunikida made mental note to strangle that bandage-wasting bastard as soon as he saw him.
"Umm...Kunikida-san...I tried calling Dazai's phone multiple times already. It seems his phone is turned off."
That's slightly unusual. Dazai typically wouldn't turn off his phone, unless it drowned in the river alongside Dazai, that is.
"It's fine. He's probably trying out some new method of committing suicide." Despite his words, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he couldn't seem to shake away.
Although his attention was diverted as a high-pitched ringing echoed through the room. Picking up the telephone, Kunikida greeted easily, almost like reading words off a page. "Hello, this is Kunikida Doppo from the Armed Detective Agency. Who am I speaking to?"
A voice replied from the other end of the line, "Hello sir, we're speaking from the Yokohama Yamabuki Psychiatric Centre. Do you know of Dazai Osamu?" The voice was calm, belonging to a middle-aged woman. But there was almost a hint of glee in it that could've easily gone unnoticed if Kunikida wasn't used to analyzing and picking apart everything in a call from the get go.
He straightened up immediately at the implication and tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. "Yes, I know of him. He's my colleague. Does anything seem to be the problem?"
"Your colleague was found trying to drown himself in a river, as some witnesses report. We believe it is in his best interest to be admitted to our institution in order to seek the mental care and stability he needs."
"Ah, that..." It wasn't out of place for Dazai to be trying to kill himself, however, the possibility of Dazai actually being caught and thrown in a mental hospital never crossed his mind.
"How long is he gonna be in there?"
As much as Kunikida didn't want to admit it, he did worry about Dazai.
"Atleast a little while, until his condition seems better and we're sure he won't attempt to harm himself again."
Well that won't be happening. Kunikida thought to himself. He had no right to argue with an institution funded by the government in order to give individuals the help they need. But realistically, no amount of "help" could really fix Dazai, if he even wanted to be fixed. So all he could do was imagine that the bastard Dazai somehow manipulates them into thinking he's better and releases him. Or annoy them until they kick him out themselves, which he is best at doing.
"How is his current condition?"
"He is currently not conscious, mainly due to medication. But he is in good care."
"I see." Kunikida replied thoughtfully. "Are we able to visit him?"
"For the time being, he is allowed to have 2 visitors at a time. You can visit from 1pm to 6pm, although you can not stay for longer than 2 hours."
"Alright...Well. I appreciate the notice. We'll be sure to come by."
With that, Kunikida abruptly ended the call. Atsushi seemed to have noticed the tension in Kunikida's posture, as he inquired:
"What happened Kunikida-san? Who was it?"
Kunikida paused for a moment, unsure of how to explain the situation.
"It was the Yamabuki Psychiatric Centre...They found Dazai trying to commit suicide and decided to take him in."
A silence settled over the room as the words left Kunikida's mouth. Even Ranpo was curious.
"What??" The young boy stiffened.
"You can't really blame them. They are required to give care to people who are struggling with mental illnesses. Dazai is no exception to the case."
"Yes, but..." Atsushi trailed off, knowing that he really had no good argument as to why they should release Dazai. After all, they'd assume a man trying to kill himself needs help. Even if that man was Dazai.
"Whatever the case, I'm sure Dazai will find himself a way out of there. Whining about how it's so boring in there and that he can't stand another day there."
"Yeah, I hope..." Atsushi murmured. "Can we talk to him or go visit him?"
"Yes. They said we could visit from 1pm-6pm for 2 hours. Only two visitors at a time."
"Oh, well. We should go visit him then, no?"
Almost as if on cue, the door to the agency creaked open, revealing the President standing in the doorway. His authority hung heavy in the air. Kunikida bowed respectfully to his superior.
"Everyone. We have an important matter at hand. The Armed Detective Agency is being threatened by a group of mercenaries. Their goal is to make us pay a hefty sum for the release of their hostages. Some of the hostages' families have even reached out to us personally, asking for help. And we cannot let them down. It certainly will be a disgrace upon us if we fail to save those hostages and re-unite them safely with their families. However," Fukuzawa continued, "the money they're demanding is an outrageous sum, something we cannot afford. Currently, we don't have much information on this group, but we can attempt to track them down without raising suspicions and save the hostages. I will need the cooperation of every one of you."
A silent agreement passed through the room. This was definitely a precarious situation for them. If they couldn't save the hostages, it would be a great failure and a blow to their reputation.
Fukuzawa gave prompt orders to everyone in the room, including Kunikida, Atsushi, Tanizaki, Kenji, Kyouka, and Yosano. He would be sure to ask for Ranpo's intelligence later. And then he paused as he failed to spot Dazai in the room, questioning Kunikida about it.
Kunikida briefly explained the situation to Fukuzawa, to which he hummed thoughtfully.
"That is certainly a setback. But it is a relief that he will be in good hands. For the time being, we will focus entirely on the mission. Although, make sure to update Dazai on it."
Kunikida nodded, and everyone set off in order to find the culprit and stop them before they're able to do anything devastating.
———
Dazai awoke groggily, blinking away the bleariness. As he became more aware, he realised that he was in an unfamiliar setting. This was not the agency dorm, nor the streets. He was lying on a bed with white sheets. The walls were all padded. The only window in the room had metals bars bolted into it. And his usual clothes were replaced with a plain white shirt and trousers. To his relief, his bandages were still in place. Dazai figured this was some sort of mental hospital. Although, he could not wrap his head around why he would suddenly end up in such a place.
He sat up with much effort, head throbbing violently. It was an effort to open his eyes completely. This feeling was all too familiar to him. After all, he had been drugged on many occasions during his time in the port mafia. He tried to recall how he ended up there, but nothing immediately came to mind. So instead, he decided that the best course of action was to get a sense of his surroundings.
The room was very plain, almost little to no life to it. The only noticeable colour in the room was white. There were two doors. One was to the wall on his right and the other was on the wall infront of him. The one opposite to him was smaller, which he guessed could've been the bathroom. The other one might've lead outside or to another room attached to this one. The window was on the wall to his left. But what caught his attention was the inconspicuous camera blinking in the corner of the room. Ofcourse, he didn't directly look at it as to not make it obvious that he noticed. But the blinking red light on the camera was clearly visible from his peripheral vision.
The door opened, quickly catching Dazai's attention. He briefly saw a hallway with fluorescent lights and a few doors before the door shut and a blonde woman stepped inside, holding a clipboard.
"Hello, Dazai. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling great, thanks for asking."
"You must have quite a few questions, ofcourse," The woman took out a pill bottle from her lab coat and set them down on the table beside his bed. "You were found trying to drown yourself in a river. Fortunately, some bypassers noticed and immediately called for help. You're currently in Yamabuki Psychiatric Centre, in Yokohama."
Dazai was entirely dumbfounded. He tried to recall every single event that led up to this moment, but no such thing as "drowning" came to his mind. Neither was that on his schedule. He faintly remembered visiting Oda's grave. But nothing after that.
"How do you know I didn't accidentally fall into a river?"
"Because, witnesses saw you jumping in. It wasn't accidental. And given your history of attempted suicide, that's very likely."
Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Dazai's head. How did they know of that history if up until now he had never been caught and admitted to a mental hospital for attempted suicide? And not to mention, her story was extremely absurd. He knows what it feels like to drown. If he had actually been underwater, he would feel the familiar burning in his lungs and a shortness of breath, even after being pulled out of the water. His hair wasn't wet nor damp either. Unless they cared enough to blow-dry his hair.
"Is that so?..." Dazai questioned suspiciously. "How long ago was this?"
"Just a few hours ago"
"Yet I'm waking up now?"
"Yes. You were taken for prompt medical attention which was why you were given medication accordingly."
Right. That could've been the reason. The "medication" really slowed his critical thinking skills. It was possible that he didn't feel the after-effects of drowning because he was given medical care, something he's not used to after an attempt. Nonetheless, he was still skeptical. However, before he could inquire further, the woman spoke up:
"These are your medications." She voiced, gesturing to the bottle of pills she had set down on the table just a few moments ago.
"What exactly are they for?" Dazai pressed, watching as the woman walked over to the water dispenser, filling a paper cup with it.
"It's a chemical restraint." She replied, approaching Dazai and handing him the cup of water along with the pill.
"Are the chemical restraints really necessary?"
"Yes, Dazai. They're standard protocol for someone who has recently attempted suicide. It's for your own safety."
"I assure you, there's no painless way to commit suicide here. So you should have nothing to worry about."
The woman didn't budge from her place unless he took the medicine. So he did. Or—didn't.
The woman inspected his mouth to make sure he swallowed the pill. As soon as she left, Dazai made his way over to the small door, and he confirmed that it was in fact a bathroom. He spit up the pill he had hid behind his teeth into the sink and rinsed his mouth with water.
That was when he realised he made a grave mistake. There was absolutely no way they wouldn't monitor the bathroom as well, especially since it was quite enclosed. And to his trepidation, his suspicions were confirmed. There was a faint blinking in the corner of the bathroom. He silently cursed.
The only way to put this was that he fucked up.