OMG… People are actually reading this?! That makes me so happy ^-^ I better step up my game!

Slamming the empty glass onto the table, Yua wiped her mouth with her hand. Today was just not her day. Not only did she had to wake up earlier than usual, but she also ran out of butter to make french toast for breakfast. Then there's also that dream. It has been a while since I last had it… Almost four years, I think. As usual, that dream always brings up some unwanted memory… I hope it's not a premonition of some sort.

Heaving a tired sigh, Yua brushed her long raven locks. She glanced at the clock. It read 9 A.M. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lazily, Yua walked up to her door. Even without looking through the peephole, she knew who her visitor was. She stood there for a moment, debating whether she should open it or not. Eventually, she did and she immediately regretted it.

"Rise and shine, Yua! The weather looks great today! A perfect day for me to commit double suicide with a beautiful woman! Let's hurry and find that woman this instant!" Dazai, the man from Yua's dream, stood right at her doorway.

Yua felt attacked by his super energetic voice. Ugh, my head… Can't I at least have some peace in the morning? Used to the brunette's suicidal tendencies, Yua replied, "Would I do you justice?"

Dazai grinned. "Without a doubt." He ruffled Yua's hair as he entered her place, shutting the door. "But unfortunately, today I'm looking for a blond woman to commit double suicide with."

"Is that so?" Yua served Dazai a cup of tea before taking a seat at the table. "Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?"

"No worries. I've got it all done."

Yua didn't buy that. Promptly, her phone rang. Ah, it's Kunikida-san. She answered the call. "Hello?"

"Yua!" screamed the voice on the other end. "Do you know where that bandage-wasting b*stard went?! We had a job at 8 A.M and he didn't show up! We have another job in thirty minutes but he's out of reach! I swear if he's trying to commit suicide again, I'll end him myself!" With that said, the call ended.

Yua stared at her phone with a weird expression. Did he call me just to rant…? I didn't even get the chance to reply. Facepalming, Yua heaved her second sigh of the day. She frowned at the brunette sitting across from her. "Didn't you say you've got it all done?"

Dazai titled his head. "Did I?"

"You did," Yua snapped.

The older male laughed. "Ok, maybe I did. But hey, why are you in such a bad mood?"

Of all people, he was asking that? Yua's face darkened. "...Anyone would be in a bad mood if someone bombarded them with calls and messages from 5 A.M till 8 A.M."

Dazai's eyes twinkled. "That person much like you a lot. Well then, how many calls and messages did you receive?"

"You should know that better than anyone."

"Of course! 48 calls and 76 messages!"

Seriously, if looks could kill, Dazai would've been dead by now.

"Anyway, putting the jokes aside, I have something for you to do." Dazai's handed Yua a piece of paper. "Purchase those items and bring them back to the agency. I'll show you something interesting."

Yua reluctantly received the piece of paper. I have a feeling that your definition of interesting might be a little bit different from mine…

Once Dazai finished his cup of tea, he began to leave. However, instead of exiting through the door, like a normal person, he jumped out the window. Did Yua see that coming? Yes, she did. She saw that coming from miles away. Was Yua worried? Not in the least. Considering how Dazai managed to survive the fall of a skyscraper, jumping off the third floor was a piece of cake.

With the suicidal maniac gone, peace finally returned to Yua's apartment. Yua gazed down at the paper in her hand and unfolded it. She frowned at the list of items. At the same time, she couldn't help but sweatdrop. Is he trying to blow up the agency?

"Damn it."

Those were the brunette's very first words after water exploded from his mouth. The taste of salt has yet left his tongue. Scanning the area, he noticed a teenage boy, dripping wet. "Are you the one who interrupted my submersion?"

"I was just trying to hel- Wait! Submersion?!" The teenage boy couldn't believe his ears.

Standing up, the brunette nodded. "Yup, submersion. I was trying to commit suicide."

"Suicide?!"

"Yup, suicide, but you just had to interfere." The brunette frowned. "However, my goal is to commit a clean suicide. Yet, I've caused trouble for you. I should apologize in som-" Abruptly, a loud bowel sound interrupted the brunette. "...Young man, are you perhaps hungry?"

The younger male nodded. "The truth is, I haven't eaten anything for days."

"Hmm… What a coincidence, I'm also hungry." The brunette checked his pockets. "But sadly, it seems like my wallet was swept away by the river."

Just then, a booming voice came from across the river. "There you are, blockhead!"

The two males turned towards the direction of the voice. On the other side of the river stood another man. The brunette greeted the new face. "Nice work, Kunikida-kun!"

Kunikida was a rather tall man. His height was something many unfortunate ones envied. He had dirty blond hair with his bangs parted to the right. Despite having a neat hairstyle, Kunikida's hair was somewhat spiky. His attire consists of a beige vest over a black long-sleeved dress shirt, beige pants, and brown shoes. Oh yeah, let's not forget about the glasses. Simply put, he looked very professional, unlike a certain brunette.

"That's kunikida-kun, a colleague of mine from work. Let's have him treat you to a meal. But first, what's your name?"

"...It's Nakajima Atsushi."

"Well then, Atsushi-kun, what would you like to eat?"

The teenage boy answered hesitantly. "...If it's not too much trouble, I would like to eat tea on rice."

"..." A laugh escaped from the brunette's lips. "So the boy on the brink of starvation wants to eat tea on rice? Very well, let's have Kunikida-kun treat you to thirty bowls of that."

Kunikida, who was still on the other side of the river, heard this and snapped, "Don't get all generous with my money, Dazai!"

"Dazai?" Atsushi turned to face the brunette standing before him.

Suddenly, a gust of wind whooshed by as if it was cueing the entrance of someone important. Unfortunately, it was only a suicidal maniac. "Yup, that's my name. Dazai… Dazai Osamu."

Two grown men watched in horror as the teenage boy stuff himself with tea on rice. After consuming fifteen bowls, the boy finally stopped. "I'm so full~" he sang. "I don't want to see another bowl of this for at least ten years."

Kunikida couldn't believe his eyes. "You! How can you be some shameless for eating this much on my dime?"

Atsushi scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, but seriously, you're a lifesaver… You see, after I left the orphanage and came to Yokohama, I've had nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep. I really thought I'll die from starvation..."

Dazai's ear perked up at the word 'orphanage'. "You're from an orphanage?"

Atsushi nodded. "Yeah, but they kicked me out…"

"Oh, I see…"

Kunikida raised an eyebrow. "Oi, Dazai, now that this brat has finished his meal, let's get back to the job at hand."

Job at hand? Interested, Atsushi voiced a question. "Um, may I ask what's your line of work?"

Kunikida answered, "We're private investigators. I'm sure you've heard of the Armed Detective Agency, an organization with individuals possessing supernatural powers, right?"

Atsushi's eyes widened. What?! The Armed Detective Agency?! I've heard of them in rumours… An agency that specializes in objectives that cannot be entrusted to the likes of the police or the military. A twilight armed force positioned between the world of night and day. I was told that many from the agency possess supernatural powers but does that also apply to these two? Atsushi felt his shoulder tense. "Um, so… About your work today… What exactly is it?"

Kunikida adjusted his glasses before answering. "We're looking for a certain tiger on behest of the military. It's said to be a man-eater, but we don't know that for sure. However, it has ransacked warehouses and has been doing whatever it wants. We've been told that it's been spotted around here lately. "

The moment Kunikida finished his explanation, a loud bang was heard. Along with the chair, Atsushi has fallen onto the ground. "I'll be going now" was what he said before he started crawling out the teahouse.

Kunikida, who was fast on his feet, grabbed Atsushi by the collar. "Wait, brat. You know something, don't you?"

At the sudden question, Atsushi broke out in cold sweat. "That thing is after me! It almost killed me! If it's been seen around here then I must run!" Despite knowing it was useless, Atsushi tried to escape from Kunikida's grasp. Luckily, Dazai interfered. The brunette told the dirty blond to let him free. Hesitantly, Kunikida complied.

Dazai helped Atsushi up onto his feet. "Can you tell me what you know about this tiger?"

Although Dazai posed that as a question, Atsushi knew he didn't have a choice but to talk. Hence, he did. "My orphanage was trashed by that tiger. It ravaged our fields, out chicken coop, and even our warehouse… No one died, but since the orphanage was already on a shoestring budget, I got kicked out so they could have one less mouth to feed."

"Well isn't that tragic," Dazai commented.

Kunikida nodded in agreement. "So, what's this talk about the tiger almost killing you?"

Atsushi looked down at the ground. "That tiger always shows up wherever I go. Just a while ago, I saw it when I was walking around Tsurumi. Starting two weeks before I was chased out of the orphanage, I've always seen it out of the corner of my eyes. I'm sure it came all the way to the city in search of me."

Dazai hummed. "For reference, when was the last time you saw the tiger?"

"...I think I saw it around Tsurumi about four days ago."

Dazai turned to Kunikida. The taller man nodded as he closed his mini-notebook. "Yup, the tiger was indeed spotted around Tsurumi four days ago."

Dazai hummed softly and turned back Atsushi with a grin. "Hey, are you free after this?"

The light grey-haired boy froze. I have a really bad feeling about this… And surely, his bad feeling came true. Dazai asked him to help find the tiger. Needless to say, he refused.

Dazai pouted and took out a pen from his trench coat's pocket. He borrowed Kunikida's notebook and wrote something down. Once he was done, he ripped out the page and slipped the pen back into his pocket. Returning the notebook, along with the piece of paper, Dazai gave his instructions. "Go back to the agency and give this to the president."

Kunikida furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you plan on catching the tiger with only you two?"

Dazai smiled. "It'll be fine."

"No, it won't!" cried Atsushi. "Doesn't that mean you plan on using me as bait? Who in their right mind would agree to-"

"There's a reward."

That instantly shut Atsushi up. Currently, he was penniless. Just hearing the word 'reward' was enough to tempt him into acting as bait. Shaking his head, Atsushi stated in a firm voice. "You're not going to tempt me with that!" Despite saying that, Atsushi couldn't refrain himself from asking how much the reward would be.

Dazai pulled out a calculator. Don't ask me where. If you really want an answer, let's just say from thin air. Anyway, after some calculations, Dazai flashed the calculator in front of Atsushi's eyes. "About this much."

It was a number beyond Atsushi's wildest imagination. "I'll do it!"

By now, the moon has replaced the sun. Inside a huge red warehouse sat two men in silence. Atsushi wrapped his arms around his knees. "Will the tiger really show up here?"

"It will," Dazai spoke with confidence.

Atsushi flinched at his words.

"Don't worry. Even if it shows up, it's no match for me. I may not look like much, but I am an operative of the Armed Detective Agency."

"...That's some confidence you have. I'm kind of jealous…" Atsushi placed his head in between his knees. "Back at the orphanage, they've always called me a good-for-nothing. 'You'll never find a place where you belong' was what they said before kicking me out… I've never wanted to admit it, but they're probably right. No one would care if someone like me were to die… I might be better off eaten by the tiger."

Promptly, a sudden loud noise came from the back of the warehouse. Scared, Atsushi almost jumped out of his skin. Dazai looked up at the glass ceiling. The clouds have finally begun to part from the moon. "It's about time," he muttered underneath his breath.

"Dazai-san! That noise! It must be the tiger!"

"Nah, the wind probably just knocked something down."

"No!" Atsushi shook his head. He stood up and faced the brunette. "It's the man-eating tiger! It has to be! It has come to eat me!"

"Calm down, Atsushi. Tigers don't show up from places like that."

"And how do you know that for-"

With only one look from Dazai, Atsushi found himself at a loss of words. "Think about it. Just because the orphanage's finances went south, why would they banish a child? It's not some farming village from a bygone era. Beside, banishing one or two mouths to feed would hardly put a dent in their deficit. It'd make more sense to downsize by transferring half of the kids to a different orphanage."

Atsushi took a step back. "What are you trying to imply, Dazai-san?"

"You came to this city two weeks ago… The tiger also appeared in this city two weeks ago. You were in Tsurumi four days ago. The tiger was also sighted in Tsurumi fours days ago."

Atsushi shook his head. Things were finally making sense to him. Subconsciously, he looked up at the glass ceiling, at the now cloudless sky with only the moon.

"Remember what Kunikida-kun said?" Dazai got onto his feet and began walking towards Atsushi. "The Armed Detective Agency is comprised of individuals with supernatural powers. Although it's not a well-known fact, in this world, there are quite a few individuals who possess supernatural abilities. Some use their power to achieve great success while others fall into ruin because they weren't able to control their powers. I'm guessing the orphanage staffs knew who the tiger was but declined to enlighten you. You were the only one who remained ignorant… Atsushi, you're an ability user. You have the ability to transform into a tiger under the moonlight."

By the time Dazai has finished speaking, Atsushi had already transformed into a tiger. It pounced at Dazai, who dodged the attack. As a result of dodging the attack, the tiger crashed into some large crates. Such power... He could easily snap a person's neck. Dazai stopped in his steps to catch his breath. At the same time, he brushed off the dirt that was on his sleeves. However, just when he bent down to brush away the dirt on his beige pants, the tiger came dashing at him once again. "Death by getting eaten by a tiger doesn't sound too bad… But unfortunately, you can't kill me."

With that said, at the incoming tiger, Dazai raised his left hand. "My ability: No Longer Human, allows me to nullify any other abilities through direct contact." And just like that, with a simple touch on the tiger's forehead, Atsushi's transformation came undone. The unconscious Atsushi fell into Dazai's arms but because Dazai was not into hugging men, Atsushi was dropped onto the floor.

Promptly, Dazai heard someone called his name. He turned towards the direction of the voice. "Took you long enough. I've captured the tiger already."

Emerging from the shadows was Kunikida. "No way… So it was this boy all along?"

Dazai nodded. "Yup. Apparently, he has the ability to transform into a tiger."

Kunikida heaved a sigh. "Geez. Then what's up with this note?" He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. It read: The tiger will appear in the red warehouse in the fifteenth district. Have people secure the perimeter so it can't get away.

Dazai grinned at the note. "What's wrong with it? I think it's an excellent, concise note."

"Yeah, right! You've left out the most important detail! Next time, explain to me in advance. Thanks to you, I had to bring more people than necessary. Not to mention, they were off duty. Make sure to treat them something later." Kunikida gestured at the door. Three new faces popped into sight. Two men and one woman. From the left to right, they were Yosano Akiko, Edogawa Ranpo, and Miyazawa Kenji.

Yosano frowned at the sight of Dazai and Atsushi. She clicked her tongue. "What, no casualties? How boring."

Ranpo laughed at Yosano's reaction and turned to Dazai. "You've done pretty well, but I could've done better."

Dazai agreed. "I think so too."

"So? What are we going to do with him?" Kenji pointed at Atsushi. "He wasn't aware of this, right?"

Dazai thought for a moment. Suddenly, a light bulb flashed over his head. "Oh, I know! We'll make him one of us."

A pair of golden orbs sparkled at the suggestion whereas another pair of magenta orbs narrowed in disdain. Kunikida fumed at the idea. "Hah?! Who gives you the right to decide that?!"

Just then, Atsushi woke up. Perhaps it was due to all the ruckus, but he somehow regained his consciousness.

"Atsushi-kun, do you remember anything from when you're transformed?" Dazai asked, walking up to the newbie he had just recruited. Atsushi wore a puzzled look. I guess not. "Oh, but your right hand is still there." Dazai pointed at Atsushi's right hand.

Atsushi raised his right hand. To his dismay, it was a white paw. At the sight of it, a cry escaped from his lips. Dazai cut him short, announcing, "From this day forth, you, Nakajima Atsushi, is the newest member of the Armed Detective Agency!"

Perhaps the news was too sudden, but Atsushi fainted on the spot.

"...Will he be alright?" questioned Kunikida.

A hint of a smile flashed across Dazai's lips. "He'll be more than alright."

I just wanna say, thank you so much for the reviews! It was very supportive! You don't know how much it meant to me ^-^

Still, not much of my OC has been revealed but it's coming soon.

Many thanks to: CaptainFenrys, De hearts 26, and DreameroftheRealm!

25tuckt: Thank you! You're amazing as well!

De hearts 26: Aw, it's my pleasure to join this amazing fandom! And yes, you're not alone. I can never get over Odasaku's death… I cried when he died… I hope I answered your first question in this chapter (kind of? maybe?) and for the second question, you'll find out in the long run. Lastly, season 3 has been wonderful! The first three episodes with young Dazai and Chuuya was already too much for me to handle lol.

DreameroftheRealm: 101%? You flatter me. If you ever write a BSD fanfic, I would love to read it.

Until next time~