"Ugh… I feel nasty now," I threw up the next morning from drinking last night. "I can't believe I'm still throwing up despite waking up yesterday evening…!" I held my hair back as my face was in the toilet. I was ready anytime to throw up. I felt disgusting from mentally to physically.
"You're funny when you're drunk, you know?" I lifted my head up to see Dazai standing at the doorway of the bathroom, the women bathroom stall.
"Why are you even in here? It's the women's bathroom," I emphasized every single word I said to him. I wanted to hear a good explanation of why he was here in the women's bathroom with me. I didn't even hear him open the door.
"I see no problems, Aia. All I'm doing is protecting you. What if someone tried to kidnap you in the bathroom? I wouldn't have known," Dazai tried to make an unreasonable point to be in the bathroom.
I couldn't argue with him because I felt like shit and I didn't want to hear anymore words that'll cause me to lose brain cells. "You're so weird," I laughed, smiling at his argument. "And hey, sorry about throwing up on you. I kind of remembered but it's a bit hazy."
"No worries. My coat is clean. Now it seems like you're done throwing up, we're heading to a meeting soon! So I need to clean you up." Dazai pulled me up from the toilet and dragged me to the sink where he was washing my face to doll me up.
"Hey! Don't touch my face! And no I don't wanna go to the meeting!" I objected, making weird facial expressions as Dazai was washing my face with water. The warm water was spread across my face like butter by his, supposedly, cleaned hands.
"You have to look at least clean because you look hungover," then he finally wiped my face with a paper towel, lightly patting my face instead of dragging my skin. "See, you look more presentable… except your pajamas," he glanced down at me before continuing, "but I bought you clothes for you to wear today because it's a big mission." He handed me the shopping bag and ushered me into the bigger stall in the bathroom. "I'll be in the hallways. Call me in so I can do your makeup and hair," Dazai walked out of the bathroom.
"Okay…?" I felt so confused about what was happening to me. I weirdly stepped inside the bigger stall and started changing into formal-casual clothes. I stepped out in a white button up shirt, blue jeans, and black pointy heels. "Damn, why heels? Why not sneakers?" I knew my feet were gonna hurt for a while. I can't stand heels.
I popped my head through the door to see Dazai chilling in the hallway, "hey, I'm done now." I called him. He turned around and was ready to compliment me, but I told him to hurry up before we are late to the meeting.
Dazai came back inside the bathroom, doing my makeup. He applied moisturizer, foundation, concealer, setting powder, eyeshadow, eyebrows, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick on my face in only thirty minutes. All the tools he used, he applied lightly on my face. I almost feel asleep because of it. "Okay we have about half an hour left before the meeting actually starts," he said.
"Why do you have makeup with you?" I begged the question. "Your skills are good. Do you cross—" I was immediately cut off because he knew my answer.
"No I don't, and I'm always good at everything." Dazai sneered. "It's Yosano's makeup. I asked for it and she gave it to me. You're lucky that your skin tone is exactly the same with hers, or else I wouldn't know what to do." He laughed off, putting back the makeup products into Yosano's makeup bag. "After I do your hair, you can finally look in the mirror," this whole time Dazai didn't want me to look at the mirror because it would ruin the surprise of my new face.
Dazai combed my hair so it would be tangled free and then started to curl my hair. Dazai took his time curling. He carefully grabbed each section of my hair and put it in the curling iron. He was careful to not burn me as he had the wand away from my head. "You're making me question your skills," I stared at him. "I never knew an ex-mafia person could perfect such display of artistry in hair and makeup. I thought you were only good at torturing?" I pondered.
"Ahaha…" Dazai laughed off. "You know I do have extra time on my hand," he smiled awkwardly as he was almost done curling my whole head.
"I made it awkward… Forget it. I won't talk about it," I decided to keep quiet until it was over.
"Now look in the mirror," Dazai announced, and I turned around and saw my new reflection of me.
"Wow!" It was breathtaking. "I look beautiful," I've never seen myself dolled up. I usually looked sort of presentable at times but at most a bum. A smile cracked on my face and Dazai smiled at his own work that I looked content.
"Come on, you can give me a hug!" Dazai opened his arms out, waiting for me to come in for his hug.
"Sorry, I don't do hugs." I nervously stared at him. "I'll pat your shoulder. Good job!" I did what I said: pat his shoulder. "Now let's go because I'm pretty sure it's time,"
We both walked to the meeting and I was informed that the ADA is trying to hunt down an organization called 'Hounds' because they've been abducting women and children on the black market, so they were going to use me as bait to lure the team inside the black market ring.
"Wait wait wait! Is that why he," I pointed at Dazai. "Made me look like this? I'm being used as bait? I thought I was supposed to be protected?" I was beyond confused at Kunikida's 'oath' of protecting me.
"You are the perfect bait, Aia. You know everyone wants the taste of destruction, and if they can capture you, you can help us stop the Hounds from kidnapping women and children from the interior of the ring." Kunikida said, as it did add up correctly on my end. "It will be a bumpy road for us since Rampo isn't here due to his vacation he's been planning from a few months ago… but I know we will succeed!" Then Kunikida turned to me, asking for my confirmation. "Will you participate, Aia? You can help us save many lives at once. It's a new leaf you're turning now that you're with us."
I feel the team members' staring at me, in hopes I corporate. Feeling their heavy weight on my shoulders to say 'yes', I gladly gave them my answer, "fine I'll do it."
"Here's the plan: Aia and Yosano will get kidnapped…." Kunikida told everyone how the mission will happen and we were going to get it started.
It was nearly midnight where Yosano and I walked on the shady streets of town to see if the Hounds were going to come out and play.
"You seem nervous," Yosano casually looked over at me, as if she wasn't scared for this mission. Her eyes didn't show fear, but only willpower to her job.
"Yeah, I am. I'm really scared. I don't know what to expect when it happens," I fiddled with my curled hair. I had to measure out my breathing because I was having anxiety. My hands felt sweaty and calmly from just walking in the cold breeze.
"Don't worry, you have me here to make you feel better, and besides, we have an earpiece to help the others track us and every conversation it picks up, including ours." Yosano tried to assure me, so she kept on talking about random things to keep my mind off of our situation.
As the time past and it was finally night, we sat at a bench in the park, still talking about whatever popped up in our minds. "Can you fight?" Yosano asked, leaning back against the bench.
The cold breeze blew against my skin, chilling it before I answered, "no, I can't. I'm really useless… unless it's my ability that's being used. But overall, I'm a danger to society." I said sadly, remembering all the bad deeds I did for my procreators and people around me. "I wished I wasn't like this. I want to be a regular person down here, but I can never be that until I'm dead." I tucked my hair behind my ears, feeling my chest sinking into an abyss of eternal darkness.
"Is anything happening yet?" Kunikida asked over the ear piece.
"No nothing yet," Yosano quietly replied, slowly looking around our surroundings. "I don't know when they'll appear." She sighed in confusion. "They are supposed to come… maybe we're trying too hard to get captured."
"Yosano, let's try to split up. That'll be easier to get us both instead of having both of us stick together." I suggested my idea to the group because nothing happened for the past few hours, and we weren't going to get anywhere if me and her were glued together. "They won't kidnap people unless their victim is alone because having a buddy or two won't be good for the kidnappers. Having too much bystanders will ruin their plans."
"Aia's right. The only way is to split up. Be careful you two. You both will be safe soon." Kunikida promised before signing out.
"I'll see you on the other side," I waved at her, departing from the bench and to somewhere unfamiliar.
My unfamiliar place was the bathroom. I quickly went to the public bathroom since my bladder was going to explode. I ran as fast as I could in my heels without tripping, and made it to the toilet in relief. After getting out of the stall, I washed my hands while I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked way more attractive than usual. Without makeup, I looked like a cow. "He did a great job," I chuckled, smiling to myself.
When I headed out, it finally happened. A dark shadow came out of the blue and started to smuggle me in their sleeping chemicals to which I stopped resisting as I inhaled so much of it. My body felt limp and I lost consciousness, and finally knocked out into my kidnapper's hands.
