Some Responses
Guest: Yeah... You'll have to read and see if he can trust Dazai again.
Daughter of Trickery: Well... Yeah... I'm figuring out what to do with her right now.
Guest: Yes... The last few chapters partially killed me to write.
EvilMindedZ: As I told you in a text, he did this in the manga. =P
TheSilverHunt3r: Haha! I respect that. Yes, that is Dazai's response right now. It's how I feel and I'm the one writing this.
jilnachtaugen: Oh yeah... He's mad now. I would have been all for him bringing Neko, but judging from how difficult the walk from my dorm room the the bathroom is with my fish tank when I need to give Atsushi Zane Kaneki Decim a partial water change, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it is hard to safely transport a fish without spilling the water or dropping the fish... I hope this beat down meets your expectations!
HIIII! I've returned with a new chapter! I was going to wait to post this with a bunch of other stuff, but... I got bored and wanted to get this one out there. Enjoy!
Atsushi's muscles were taut, ready to move if Dazai approached him. He stared at the man with narrowed eyes. Dazai took his time on the lock, partly because it was more complicated than he'd expected it to be, partly because he was trying to give Atsushi time. Time to return to his senses.
"Atsushi," he called, gently swinging the cell door open. "Come here." The child looked at him, still glaring daggers at him. Dazai sighed. "Atsushi, listen to me, we don't have very much time. If we don't leave now, some very bad things could happen." He obviously knew that but, he remained frozen there, cradling his arm.
It was completely fair to say that Dazai was not in the mood for this. If Atsushi hadn't been streaked with blood and terrified already, the man would have scooped him up and dragged him out kicking and screaming. Atsushi's eyes traveled to the unconscious girl against the wall. "She's fine," Dazai said. Neither one of them moved. If Dazai came too close, it was possible that Atsushi would perceive that as an attempt to hurt him, and his mental state wouldn't improve with that. On the other hand, if they stayed too long, Dazai would probably be put up against more than he could take.
"I know you're scared. It's okay, I'm here now. Let's go home."
Atsushi flinched at Dazai's voice and flattened himself into the corner. Dazai groaned. He was generally a very patient person, and if they had the time to wait for Atsushi to trust him, he would have been about to bear that, but not now. They didn't have that luxury.
Looks like I'm going to have to frighten him a little bit. Dazai thought as he took a step into the cell. It'll be quick. The doctor mentioned that pressure can calm children down. That's my best shot to get him out of here relatively quietly without making him scared of me for the next few years. He planned quickly, watching Atsushi stiffen and prepare to dart to a different corner of the cell or leave it altogether.
Atsushi was conflicted to say the least. Dazai was Dazai. He was a guardian, a protector, to Atsushi. But now… After everything that had happened… After being taken, being hurt, being scared, being told that Dazai would have sold him as well and hearing truth in Akutagawa's words, he didn't know who to trust.
When Dazai had come into the room, Atsushi's first instinct was to run to him, grab onto him, and let Dazai pick him up and take him home, but Atsushi couldn't do that. He couldn't even speak. Fear crept into his mind.
Dazai was likely going to sell you to the client as well.
Those words didn't stop ringing in Atsushi's head. They resounded in his brain, screaming at him, reminding him of how he couldn't hear a trace of a lie.
When Dazai stepped into the cell, Atsushi almost felt all of his fear confirmed. He wasn't sure why, but alarms seemed to go off in his mind. Danger! Danger! Danger! Even though he'd only associated Dazai with danger before he even knew him.
"Calm down, Atsushi," Dazai said gently, extending a hand. "Everything's okay now." Atsushi felt frozen. Akutagawa's words echoing in his head endlessly. Would Dazai hurt him too? The child dashed, trying to run past Dazai and out of the cell to find somewhere, anywhere, safe. He didn't make it far, Dazai grabbed him by the shoulder.
Lucky for Atsushi, it was his unafflicted shoulder. He screamed regardless, trying to hit Dazai with his one arm that didn't hurt when he moved it, which had absolutely no effect on the man. His heart was beating hard and fast as he fought the first person who'd ever shown him kindness. Tears ran down Atsushi's face as his attack did nothing to free him from Dazai's grip, which wasn't hard or overly tight, just very firm.
Dazai looked down on him with a serious expression before kneeling to be at eye level with him and pulling him close. He held him gently, but his grip was strong and unwavering. He was careful to avoid the child's injured arm. Atsushi still struggled to free himself, but he couldn't match Dazai's strength. " Shh… It's okay," Dazai whispered, stroking Atsushi's hair and rocking slightly. "I'm not going to hurt you, Atsushi. It's all okay now." Atsushi stopped fighting him, but remained rigid in Dazai's arms. "I know they told you bad things about me. I know they hurt you, and you're scared. I'm sorry."
That was when Atsushi broke. He cried, sobbing, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes, resting his head against Dazai's chest, his tears soaking through his shirt. He didn't know why he was crying so hard. He felt safe there, being held by Dazai. It felt so familiar, and so protective, but still he bawled his eyes out. Maybe it was the relief of remembering what safety felt like, maybe it was the guilt for ever thinking Dazai would hurt him or sell him to bad people. "You're okay," Dazai murmured soothingly, standing up, securely holding Atsushi to his chest. "We're going home."
Atsushi suddenly felt Dazai tense. "But first," he said, his voice going hard. "There's something I have to do." He set Atsushi down, much to the boy's confusion and dismay. Then Atsushi saw the reason why Dazai had tensed. Akutagawa stood there, just outside the bars.
Atsushi felt like his blood had gone cold. He shied back, his fingers wrapped around Dazai's. "Hey, Atsushi," Dazai said, smiling. Atsushi blinked, not understanding how Dazai could smile as if nothing was wrong. He shrugged off his coat and put it over the child's head. "Listen to me, don't look until I come to get you, okay? Keep the coat over your head."
Atsushi shook with fear, keeping a deathgrip on Dazai's hand. The man sighed, gently prying Atsushi's fingers from his. "I promise, this will be over soon. I just want you to stay there, okay?"
He reluctantly nodded, his head covered by the coat. Dazai patted Atsushi's head gently. "It'll be fine," he reassured before leaving the cell. "Just don't look." Atsushi curled into a ball, letting the folds of Dazai's coat cover him.
"It's been a long time," Dazai said evenly. His former apprentice stared at his with hate filled eyes, saying nothing yet. "Was that your plan?" He gestured to Atsushi, who still hid under his coat. "Turn him against me?" He chuckled slightly. "I'll admit, it stung a little, but in the end, it got you nowhere." Dazai cracked his knuckles. "In fact, it brought us right back to where we were four years ago."
Akutagawa looked at him seriously. "You committed a grave sin: Leaving the Port Mafia and reappearing as an enemy."
Dazai shrugged. "Yeah, life happens." He casually stretched out his arms. "What was your reason for kidnapping Atsushi? To get back at me? That's petty, even for you."
Akutagawa scoffed. "As if I cared enough about you to go through the trouble. I simply followed an order."
Dazai tilted his head when Akutagawa said nothing more, keeping his eyes on the tendrils of Rashomon hovering behind him. "Would you care to elaborate?" He should know by now not to try and attack me with his ability. Dazai forced himself not to look back at Atsushi. No, he's not planning on attacking me. He's too smart for that. If he doesn't strike at me, he'll go after Atsushi. He must know that he heals quickly by now.
"I would not," responded Akutagawa, his ability hurtling toward Atsushi. It came within a few feet of him before dissolving into the air. He looked down to see Dazai's fingertips just brushing his wrist.
Just made it. Dazai thought, silently releasing a breath of relief. A sudden hit landed on his abdomen, knocking the breath from his lungs. He ignored the pain, and straightened. He punched Akutagawa hard in the face, sending him skidding backward. "You may have climbed the ranks, but you're still nowhere close to surpassing me."
His former apprentice coughed up blood and spat out a tooth, but ran at him despite his injury. "I'll kill you," he growled, falling back on his instincts and retaliating with his ability. Dazai didn't flinch when strands of Rashomon sharpened to points to impale him. Without the power of No Longer Human, he would have been skewered right there, but the Rashomon vanished as soon as it got within a foot of him.
Still an idiot.. Dazai came at him before he had time to react, grabbing him by the collar of his coat and forcing his knee into Akutagawa's stomach. More blood ran from his mouth as Dazai threw him a few feet. I'm getting out of shape. He thought, remembering the days when he could easily toss his student across the room.
Akutagawa struggled to get back up. He was taking more damage than he'd been used to as of late. Without Dazai around to beat him to a bloody pulp and restrain his ability, he'd become more dependent on Rashomon. The shadowy fabric stretched to the cell in the back of the room. The boy obviously meant something to Dazai. If Akutagawa could just reach him, just make him bleed, he could actually get inside his old teacher's head, hurt him.
Dazai's shoe suddenly slammed into Akutagawa's sternum. He coughed up blood, feeling like he was drowning in it. His Rashomon disintegrated and he swore through the sound of his blood gurgling in his throat. "Really, Boy, is that any way to speak to your master?" Dazai said in a low voice, his foot pressing harder and harder into Akutagawa's chest.
"You ceased to be my master years ago," he managed through the pain as he tried to throw Dazai off balance. It didn't work, the pressure on his chest only increased, making it harder and harder to breath.
"Really?" The pressure eased and Akutagawa drew a breath in. Dazai kicked him hard in the ribs, which was accompanied by a cracking sound. Akutagawa grunted, keeping quiet. "It's funny you say that when I'm in the middle of teaching you a lesson," Dazai said as he landed another kick to his ribs and grabbed Akutagawa by his coat again, hauling him into a sitting position. "You're going to answer me right now. Why did you abduct the child?" The apprentice said nothing at first and Dazai frowned, before hitting him in the side of his head, a blow that made his ears ring. "Keep up the silence and you'll wind up losing a limb."
Akutagawa gagged up more blood, drops of it landing on Dazai's face. "H-He has a bounty on his head." He coughed again, sending more blood everywhere. "Seven billion."
"Hmm…" Dazai hummed, releasing his apprentice's coat and letting him fall back, crack his head on the floor. "That's quite generous." He sighed and looked over his shoulder. "Atsushi," he called, his voice suddenly gentle, but stern. "Head under the coat." Akutagawa could see the child shift, hiding his face under Dazai's coat. Dazai gave a small laugh. "Kids these days," he muttered with a smile.
Rage burned in Akutagawa. "I'm going to kill that brat," he managed, blood running from his lips.
A hand got tangled in his hair, yanking it, turning his head so Dazai could look him in the face. "That's just a bad attitude." He delivered a hard punch to Akutagawa's stomach. His face contorted in pain. More hair pulling, more pain, more blood. "If you ever hurt him again, I will make sure a few bullets get past your little force field." Akutagawa didn't show any sign of fear and Dazai clicked his tongue boredly. He looked at his student's limp form on the ground before straightening one of Akutagawa's arms, bending one of his legs, and rolling him onto his side, allowing him to cough up blood freely without it pooling in his throat. "You have probably," he began, glancing at his wrist as though he wore a watch. "A minute or so before you pass out." He rose from his knees. "We'll take our leave now."
"Why?"
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
Akutagawa coughed up blood, feeling everything hurt, feeling himself bleed internally, seeing his vision begin to lose focus. "Why is it him?" Dazai didn't respond, his footfalls kept resounding. Akutagawa swallowed as he heard his former teacher instruct the child to keep his eyes covered and not to look at their surroundings. "Why do you care? Why did you come to get him?" No response. "WHY IS IT HIM?!" His world was growing dimmer, fading out of focus. His throat had been reduced to sandpaper when he yelled.
Dazai walked past him, carrying that wretched child, Akutagawa could guess that much. "This is just how it panned out," Dazai said finally, his voice at normal volume though it sounded miles away to Akutagawa.
There wasn't too much time left before Dazai was supposed to meet Kunikida. Port Mafia members swarmed the front of the building. Not quite swarmed, they casually walked and passed through the front of the building. Getting in had been easy enough. Dazai could blend in well and he'd just pretended like he knew people. Walking out with a bloodied child who was supposed to be sold off, was a bit of a different situation.
Luckily, Dazai had anticipated this. "Atsushi," he said to the child huddled against his chest. "It's going to get a little loud. Don't worry, it's nothing." He flattened himself against a wall and pulled a remote from his coat. "One… Two… Three," he muttered so Atsushi would be at least a little prepared.
Boom! The first of the bombs that he'd set in the closet went off, followed by several other explosions. Atsushi clung more tightly to Dazai. "It's fine," Dazai said, tightening his grip on Atsushi regardless of how little danger they were in.
He peered out from behind the wall, watching people flee from the building. So much distraction and chaos. No one would notice one random guy holding a tiny, whimpering bundle to his chest.
He sprinted out to the street where Kunikida waited at a stop light. "What took you so long?" He asked irritatedly after Dazai shut the door. "You're twenty seven seconds late. If the traffic today had been better, we'd have a harder time escaping without their notice."
"Right, right," Dazai muttered, leaning back in the seat, his hold on Atsushi relaxing slightly. He pulled the coat off of the child, who still rested against Dazai. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Dazai asked, gently shifting the child and lifting his chin to see his face. Blood streaked across one of his cheeks, looking severe, but it was also possible that it wasn't his. He didn't respond, Atsushi only held his arm, shrinking away when Dazai's hand came close to it. Probably a dislocation. I'll let Yosano take care of it.
"Hey, Dazai," Kunikida began. "According to the law, he has to be in a car seat in the back."
"Lessen up on the rules for once, Kunikida," he replied when Atsushi curled up and fell back against him. "We can afford to for today."
So, a few things.
A) When I said "pressure," awhile back I learned that this is a thing that calms children down (More or less) Like how it's comforting to have the weight of a blanket on you at night.
B) Kyouka, she might appear later. That is what I'm thinking, but we'll see.
C) (Probably my hardest question) Atsushi: Do we want to tell him about his ability yet?
D) The end with Dazai putting Akutagawa on his side: For those of you who don't know, this is the recovery position. I had to learn this when I became a lifeguard and I remember it well. Here, Dazai is using it so Akutagawa will not, by chance, choke on his own blood and die there. This is used if someone is breathing, but unresponsive, so if they have an open airway or so if they throw up, they don't choke on it.
E) (More of a thing for anyone up to date on the manga) ASDFGHJKLY8UIJKHGFJKDIHGFJIKH! IDK HOW TO EVEN REACT! 138! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!
That's it for now. It is too late for me to be up and I may or may not be coherent for class tomorrow! =p Thank you so much for your reviews and support. I could never have made it this far without you guys! Please review!See ya!