Four years ago

"Clarissa-chan, I was hoping I'd run into you." She turned around with a frown to see Dazai walking towards her in the lobby. "Isn't 'chan' meant to be used for close friends or young girls, Dazai-san?" It's not like she was an old woman at twenty, but she wasn't exactly a little girl anymore. Not to mention that she was two years older than the guy in front of her.

He just grinned at her widely. "Yes, of course. Don't you agree our last job together served as a bonding session though?" The redhead raised her brow at him, not sure if they were thinking about the same job. But considering they only worked together once it had to be that one.

"You mean the one where I snapped at you because you showing off your smarts was getting on my nerves?" Dazai nodded. "Exactly. Not many would talk to an executive like that and go unpunished. Unless they were friends."

She snorted. "So you're telling me if I don't let you call me Clarissa-chan I would have to face belated punishment?" He hummed softly. "Well, I'm trying not to say it." The young woman rolled her eyes at the teenager. "Call me whatever you want, not like I actually care."

"Wonderful. Now that's settled, I need you for a job." Clarissa tilted her head. She was still a low ranking member who didn't even have a say on what jobs she could and couldn't do. All she was right now was a mindless foot soldier. "You'll have to ask Ozaki-san, she's in charge of my work assignments."

While they were standing in the lobby people continued to stop and bow in front of Dazai. At some point she wanted to make it to the position of an executive as well, simply because she preferred having more knowledge about everything. But this part would be pretty annoying. She could tell Dazai completely ignored it though.

"I've already talked to Ane-san, the shipment tonight will be handled by someone else so you're free to join me." He told her and she nodded. "Alright then, what's the job?" She asked curiously.

"We're suspecting the owner of one of our clubs is laundering money behind our backs." He explained. "I need to investigate without him noticing before he can try to hide more evidence. So I'm planning to go there tonight. And I need him to be distracted."

She blinked at him. "Translation: You need me to wear something slutty and flirt with him." The brunette grinned widely. "Exactly. He's still a member of the Port Mafia and has some personal bodyguards. I've already assembled a team of a few people who will distract them all but I need you for him."

Clarissa crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Do I know him?" If she wanted to properly catch his attention she needed to know his type. "Follow me." He said and walked ahead of her. After a few minutes of wandering through the gigantic building they made it into an empty office.

He handed her the file that was already on the desk. Mutsuhito Tanaka. "Yeah, I've seen him around." She nodded when she saw the picture. The guy definitely checked her out before so this would be easy, all she had to do was let him come to her. She couldn't help but wonder if Dazai chose her for this because he knew.

Most of the time he seemed like he had nothing in mind but goofing around, but she knew how observant he really was behind that facade. "Won't be a problem. Do you want me to just distract him or take him somewhere he can't interfere?" The mafioso asked her superior as she continued to read over the file.

"Tanaka-san is still a member of our organization so if our suspicions turn out to be wrong he should remain unharmed. But I will be in constant contact with you. If I do find something I'll want to question him away from anyone else." Clarissa nodded and took the earpiece he handed to her.

She closed the file and handed it back to him. "I assume we're going to pretend to just be there for fun?" Dazai nodded in agreement. "It'll be the two of us along with three other members. They are not aware of this, all they know is that they are supposed to distract his bodyguards so don't mention anything."

"Understood. When are we leaving?" If she didn't have to prepare for the job she originally had tonight she had time to go home and make herself look more eye catching. He looked at the clock on the wall. "There will be a limo waiting for us in front of the building in four hours."

The young woman cocked her head aside. "Should be enough time." She decided. Dazai raised his brow at her. "Really, you'll need four hours?" Clarissa shrugged. "If you want him to not notice anything but me I'll need to look the part. Perfection takes time."

The brunette chuckled at that. "If you say so. I'll see you in four hours then." He said and got up to leave the office with her but walking off into a different direction afterwards.

Once she arrived home she looked through her dresses to decide which one would not only look stunning but would also allow her to move freely enough to fight when necessary.

In the end she chose a violet, neck holder dress that went just above her knees. There was a thin golden belt around the waist that highlighted her curves. She was wearing simple earrings in the same shade of gold. After curling her hair she tied it up in a bun that looked messy but styled at the same time. Chances were she would probably let it down at some point anyway.

For her make-up she stuck to winged eyeliner, some highlight and red lipstick that matched the shade of her ruby red hair.

Before leaving, she made sure the waterfall neckline would stay in place with a hair pin. Meaning it exposed enough to look sexy while still leaving something to the imagination.

She took a cab back to the black skyscraper building that dominated the skyline of Yokohama. When she got out she already saw the limousine along with Dazai who currently had two beautiful young women on each arm.

The third was a really good-looking guy, probably to cover all bases. She was a bit surprised Chuuya wasn't in on this. But this sort of stuff was probably too bothersome for him.

She felt Dazai's eyes on her, he seemed to have heard the clicking of her high heels on the concrete floor. She couldn't help but grin smugly when she saw the look on his face.

"Well worth the four-hour wait." He huffed when she stopped in front of the small group. She smiled and introduced herself to everyone before they got into the car.

It really did feel more like a fun night out than an actual job, but she supposed that was the point. Dazai gave her a surprised look when she declined the glass of champagne he offered her. "I get drunk easily." She explained. Especially on a job where she would probably have to get into a fight she didn't want to risk it.

"I'll keep that in mind." He chuckled and downed her glass in one go. She raised her brow at him. "I don't even want to know why you feel the need to save that information."

Despite not drinking she did manage to get into a bit of a partying mood thanks to the music they were all singing along to. It would be easier to keep up her cover if she was actually in this mood.

"Wow, your hair is so pretty." The blonde girl who had been clinging onto Dazai since probably before she even arrived suddenly said to her, leaning closer. Seemed like she wasn't the only one in the car who was easily affected by alcohol.

Well, it would be good practice for later. "You think?" She asked with a shy smiled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I'm actually envious of yours, it's so bright and beautiful." Her voice was smooth when she leaned in to run her fingertips through her blonde straight hair.

The hand that had been on Dazai's thigh throughout the entire car ride now moved to her knee. "Really?" The blonde... Miku, that was her name, asked almost dreamily. Clarissa nodded and now brushed her fingers through it, letting her nails gently scratch against her scalp.

"Yeah and at the same time it draws attention to your gorgeous caramel colored eyes." She sighed deeply. "I hope I'm not the one who will end up being too distracted by you tonight." Her fingertips gently traced the side of her face.

Either she was pretty drunk already or her outfit was just that hot. But Miku leaned into her touch easily. "I was just thinking the same thing about you." The young woman who she guessed was around her age smiled flirtatiously.

She moved her fingers to brush a strand of hair out of Miku's face, tucking it behind her ear before she let them travel under her chin to gently take hold of it.

"Maybe we should take precaution then and get at least some of it out of our system?" The British woman asked and leaned in closer. Miku closed the gap between them quickly and kissed her lips.

Way too easy to count as practice.

Still, she wasn't complaining. Miku was gorgeous after all. She didn't even protest when she deepened the kiss by brushing her tongue against her own.

They were kissing like this for a little while until she noticed the car stopped. The driver called out to them that they arrived at the club, so she leaned back and finally broke the kiss.

"What an unfortunate timing." Dazai sighed deeply. Clarissa turned her eyes from Miku to him to see that the other girl was really clinging onto him now, probably eager to get his attention again.

The redhead grinned. "I agree." She hummed and placed another quick kiss to Miku's lips before they all got out.

As expected the club was very extravagant and there were people standing in line all the way to the parking lot. But they walked right to the front of course and were let in without question.

The inside was just as pompous. Not really her style. Way too loud, too many people in not enough space. If she really was out for a party night she would definitely want to find another place. But as it was this was a job, so she had to bite the bullet.

Miku was hugging her arm while they walked in. "This place looks like so much fun." She said excitedly. Clarissa beamed at her with a bright smile. "Yeah, this is going to be great." Urgh.

She just hoped she would be able to hear Dazai on the earpiece. It was tiny and not visible, but she still made sure her hair covered her ears.

They walked towards the VIP section where she could finally hear her own thoughts again. The owner sat on one of the couches in the room. Two of the walls had floor length windows that looked out to the club. It was easy to keep a good look on everything from up here.

"Welcome Dazai-san. I'm honored as always." Tanaka greeted the mafia executive enthusiastically. Fake.

If she could tell this quickly Dazai could as well, but he played along. "As am I. I brought some friends along as well, we all really needed a break from work." He said, pointing to the little group she was standing in.

Miku seemed to have remembered that she was supposed to distract the bodyguards and had let go of her before they entered. Tanaka's lips curled up into a real smile when he looked at her. Looked like he remembered her.

She gave him a polite smile but then looked around the room again. "Of course, we'll take good care of you and your friends. The VIP sections is as much yours as it is mine tonight." He bowed in front of Dazai.

While they were busy doing some business talk she got the attention from one of the waitresses. "Every drink you'll serve me tonight will be non-alcoholic." She told her as she slipped her enough money to make her follow her instructions.

When the two men were done talking the group started to separate with the others focusing on the bodyguards and Dazai walking off saying he would want to 'mingle'.

She herself decided to talk to some of the other people in the VIP section. Some of them she had seen around in their main quarters, others were complete strangers. Sure enough one of them asked her for a dance, and she accepted easily.

Clarissa knew Tanaka would be watching. He definitely seemed like the type who preferred to 'hunt' so she would have to wait for him to approach her. The fact that Dazai had called her one of his friends might have made him more careful, so she had to give him more reason to want to take the risk.

The guy who asked her for the dance was probably in his late twenties. Not really her type, but she still danced closely with him, making sure to sway her hips along to the awful music. At some point she loosened her hair when she was sure Tanaka was watching, making her curls bounce wildly on her head.

After two songs she told her dance partner she wanted to head back upstairs to rest her feet. She had worn high heels since she was twelve. If she had to she could even fight in them even though she preferred doing that in flats. Other than that her feet were used to worse torture.

The reason she wanted to head back was because she could already tell she had caught her target attention properly now. She ordered a drink from the waitress she had bribed and sat down one of the couches.

Clarissa slid out of one of her shoes and massaged the sole of her foot. "I will never cease to be impressed by how you ladies can walk around in these all day." Bingo.

She chuckled and looked up at the club owner. Late thirties. Short black hair and bright blue eyes. Rather, attractive but not someone who would usually catch her eyes. "They are worth it though. I can actually be over 5'5 thanks to them." She said as she hugged her Louboutin shoe to her chest. That wasn't even a lie, she was very fond of them for that reason.

"Nonsense. You would be incredibly gorgeous even without them." Oh boy. He was probably used to having it really easy with women. Good thing Miku wasn't in her place right now, she probably would have fallen for it already.

Clarissa smiled shyly at him while he sat down next to her. "Thank you, that's very flattering." And just like that she had his full attention for the next hour. He dismissed everyone else who tried to strike up a conversation with him. It was a dreadfully long hour until she finally heard Dazai over her ear piece.

"Sounds like you two are getting along wonderfully, you don't seem annoyed at all." Her superior sang through the microphone of his own ear piece. "I made it to his office. I didn't manage to find any actual evidence yet but something is off. Make sure he doesn't talk to anyone for a bit longer, I knocked out some of the security. Don't want someone to tell him about them being missing."

She didn't react and continued to pretend to listen to Tanaka. At this point she was already at her sixth drink. If they had been alcoholic she would probably be on the verge of passing out right now. But as it was she was luckily stone cold sober.

"Oh, I really shouldn't have another one." The redhead laughed sweetly when he ordered another drink from the waitress serving the VIP section. "Ah, but you're supposed to be having fun tonight, right?"

The drink was pushed into her hand by him. He already had his mind on taking her home tonight, she could tell. While she took a sip he started talking about the architecture of the club just to make her even more tired of his voice. He kept pointing to things they could see from up there.

He wanted her to look away. This bastard, did he...

She placed her drink on the couch table in front of them. Clarissa had already noticed she could see this angle reflected in the big windows around them. While she pretended to look at the things he pointed out she kept her eyes on the spot she could see her glass in. And her suspicion was confirmed when she saw him drop something into it.

Even if he didn't launder the money in secret she might end up killing him herself tonight. After he was done with his little speech about the architecture of the way too cramped dance floor she picked up her glass again.

This guy had no poker face. The disgusting grin on his lips said it all. She pretended to take a sip, turning her head away from him, so he wouldn't be able to tell that the liquid didn't even touch her lips.

When he was distracted by yet another person trying to strike up a conversation with him she emptied the glass in the plant behind them.

He was looking very pleased when she set the empty glass on the table again. She took a deep and shaky breath, one hand on her head as she pretended to feel dizzy.

"Are you feeling alright, Clarissa-san?" He asked concerned. That fucking gross piece of...

"I think that last one might have been too much after all." She said timidly and fanned herself with her hand. "Tanaka-san, is there maybe somewhere quieter where I could try to sober up a little?"

He smiled brightly. "Of course, follow me. I'll take you to my office." Tanaka helped her up, wrapping his arm around her waist to support her. It took all her self-control not to break that arm right there and then.

"You're still keeping up your act, so I'm guessing your fine." She heard Dazai's voice in her ear again. "He was really trying to get you wasted, this had to happen sooner or later. At least you managed to drag it out long enough for me to find the information I needed." He sighed.

Good. If he really did betray the Port Mafia there was no doubt this guy wouldn't survive the night. This had to be the most excited she had been all night.

Once they reached his office Dazai was nowhere to be seen. And he seemed to have enough time to clean up as well since Tanaka didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

He didn't waste any time. At this point she pretended to be out of it enough to not be able to stand anymore. So he grabbed her face forcefully and tried to kiss her. She grabbed his arm and moved behind him, slamming his head against the desk.

"Arsehole." She sighed as she held him in place with his arm twisted behind his back. "What the..." Clearly her act had fooled him. "You're lucky I'm not free to do to you whatever I want to at the moment." Clarissa whispered as she leaned a bit closer.

Tanaka tried to free himself and almost succeeded, but she kept the upper hand. This was why she had studied martial arts since the age of thirteen. Even though this guy was taller and stronger than her she could keep him in place right now.

"Are you gonna show yourself already? I want to know what we'll do to him." She said and before Tanaka could question her Dazai opened the door. "I'm not so sure myself." He sighed and she raised her brow. "You said you found the information you needed."

Dazai nodded. "Yes. He is laundering money behind our backs, but he is also putting it all back into this business meaning he technically spent it on the Port Mafia. Let him go by the way, I want to talk to him properly."

She scoffed, wanting to do something else entirely to him, but she obeyed the order. Tanaka stepped away from her immediately.

"How dare you?" He snapped at her, prompting her to punch him in the chin. He almost lost his footing but managed to catch himself by leaning against the desk. Dazai sighed again. "Clarissa-chan..."

"He asked for it." The young woman shrugged. "Tanaka-san, even though you did use the money on the club that is owned by the Port Mafia you still went behind our backs. Moreover, you were going to assault one of our own members." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

She knew Dazai was in the place to make choice on what to do to him without having to consult anyone else, so she waited. "I'm going to have to give the responsibility of the care of this club to someone else. And you're being degraded until you earned back our trust."

Clarissa blinked at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? That's his punishment? A slap on the wrist?" She shouted at him. The redhead wasn't the type to shout or curse a lot. But when she did, it was a clear telltale that she was furious.

"How many people do you think he dragged here like me before that weren't able to defend themselves?" She asked. "We're not the police, Clarissa-chan." The woman huffed. "Exactly, so we can just kill him right here and now, so he won't be able to do it again."

Dazai glared at her. "I made my choice. He's still an important member of the organization." Tanaka gave her a smug grin. He was probably already sure he would slime his way back to the top soon.

She gritted her teeth. "This is ridiculous. You know... I heard a saying going around. That the worst thing for your enemies is the fact they are your enemies. What a load of bullshit." Part of her was almost disappointed. "Turns out you're just as pathetic as the rest of them."

All of a sudden she felt his hand around her neck and a wall against her back. She could have tried to fight him off, but she couldn't be bothered. She also wanted to know where he was going with this.

"I let a lot of your disrespect slide but now you're going too far. If you want to continue to be part of the Port Mafia you'd do well to remember to follow orders without question." He sounded nothing like he usually did. None of the goofy and youthful charm.

This was the voice of a true mafioso.

His hand was tightening around her neck, and she couldn't breathe anymore. He was squeezing so hard she knew it would leave marks. But she didn't move. Instead, she just looked into his eyes.

They were cold. Lifeless. Even though she should see some sort of disdain or hate for her in them right now... nothing. He didn't care about this. Or anything else. There was nothing but darkness behind those eyes.

It was like looking into a mirror.

She smiled. Even if he killed her right now, she didn't care. Life had never been a precious thing to her. The only reason she even still bothered to continue living was her hatred for the people who turned her into this.

Dazai looked into her eyes as well, coldly and calculating. It seemed like he also realized what kind of eyes he was looking into. He finally let go of her. The oxygen suddenly forcing her windpipe to widen again was a shock to her body and threw her into a coughing fit.

While she was trying to catch her breath he talked to Tanaka, telling him to meet with Mori tomorrow to take care of the business side of things. Maybe the Port Mafia wasn't the place where she could find what she was looking for.

When she collected herself again she stood quietly as if nothing had happened, trying her best to ignore the smug look on Tanaka's face.

"I guess we can call it a night then." Dazai's voice was back to its usual masked tone as he stretched himself out and let out a yawn. "By the way Clarissa-chan. Since we did decide that we are friends earlier today I think it's only right I'll do you a favor."

She eyed him suspiciously. He smirked. "I'll give you five minutes alone with him to tell... or maybe even show him just how upset you are with him." Clarissa raised her brow and his smirk widened.

Clarissa mirrored his smirk and turned to look at Tanaka whose eyes were moving between them. She could clearly see the panic setting in when he realized Dazai had just given her a free pass to do whatever she wanted to do to him. Well, maybe not whatever. Killing him was obviously out of the question.

But she could think of a few other things as well. She picked up the sharp and pointy letter opener on his desk and raised in to her lips. They curled into a cruel grin as the tip of it touched them.

"I'll be waiting outside." Dazai said nonchalantly and walked out, closing the door behind himself. Just a few seconds later he undoubtedly heard the agonizing screams from their fellow member.

Maybe the Port Mafia was the right place for her. After all, she was a big fan of vigilantism.

Present Day

"Wakey-wakey." A familiar sing song voice woke her up. When she opened her eyes she looked into a pair of warm and affectionate brown ones.

She yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand before using it to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Hm, what time is it?" Clarissa asked confused, looking around their room. She must have fallen asleep right after they got out of the hot spring bath on the balcony.

When she lifted the futon off her body she noticed she hadn't even made it out of her towel, just like Dazai who looked like he woke up not long before her.

"Two o'clock. Figured you'd want at least an hour to wake up properly and get ready for meeting everyone at the hot spring downstairs." He told her, and she sat up, stretching her arms over her head. "Yeah... thanks..."

He tilted his head at her. "What's wrong?" Again, her eyes found his, and she looked at them thoughtfully. "Um, I kind of dreamed about that second job we worked on together back in the Port Mafia." Her fingers were brushing through her hair. It was probably a mess.

"Huh... why was that on your mind?" He asked curiously and she wondered the same. Maybe her brain was trying to understand how those two people could be the same person. Now he was the first person she actually fell in love with and who treated her affectionately every day.

But she should also be confused about how different she was now.

She shrugged. "Ah, who knows." Clarissa let out a yawn again. "You know, because of that job I knew you would be perfect for the Armed Detective Agency." Dazai said with a smile.

The woman gave him a confused look. "You mean the job where I ended up making a guy have to wear a catheter for the rest of his life?" He actually chuckled about that.

"He was going to assault you but what you actually got mad about was that he probably did it to others before. And you wanted to stop him from ever doing it again." She thought about that for a moment but then shrugged. "If anything that just shows my lack of self-respect."

Dazai laughed quietly, leaning in to kiss the top of her head before bursting into louder laughter. "Your hair does not respond well to drying while you're sleeping." She pouted and kept brushing through it. His looked as it always did. How unfair.

"Might take me more than an hour to fix this." She sighed. At least she wouldn't need time for make-up. If she braided it, it would probably be fine. She's have to wear it up again anyway.

She crawled over to her suitcase and looked for her hairbrush. Once she tamed it she stood in front of the mirror and braided it into a French side braid. With some hairpins she secured it into a bun on the non-braided side.

By the time she was done Dazai had already changed his bandages and put on a yukata. There had been a summer festival in Yokohama, but they had all been too busy with work to go back then so this was the first time she saw him in one.

She smiled fondly with two hairpins between her lips. "You're still not wearing yours? Come on, I waited two weeks already." He complained. "It'll look even better if my hair also looks good." Clarissa mumbled and took the last hairpins to perfect it.

"Can you get it from my suitcase?" She asked while she took off the towel to put on her underwear. The woman had made sure to pack it carefully with some tissue paper around it. Usually she wasn't one to care much about material objects, but she had to admit this particular piece of clothing was precious to her.

Before she could turn around to check if he found it already she felt him laying it over her shoulders along with a kiss to her neck. She couldn't stop the shudder that went down her spine. "Hey... don't start anything we can't finish." It sounded like a warning but she grinned.

Dazai chuckled softly against her skin. She slid her arms into the sleeves of the yukata and raised them when her boyfriend helped her with the obi. When he was done he hugged her from behind and rested his head on her shoulder as they looked into the wall mirror. He had a wide smile on his lips.

"Perfect, as expected." He said proudly, and he was right, the colors complimented her perfectly, he really picked well. "Akiko-chan and I might have to bring you along for a shopping trip at some point." His smile fell.

"That... sounds like so much fun but I wouldn't want to interrupt the important one on one time between you two." He said quickly and she laughed. She tilted her head to press a kiss to his lips and stepped away from him.

"Let's go, I don't want to be late." Clarissa said and took Dazai's hand into her own before they left the room.