PART 1: THE GOOD
CHAPTER 1
[The Port Mafia and the Mentor]

It was past eight, the busy buzzing of the streets in Yokohama paid no heed to the silent plead of the victims in the alleyways. A bunch of thugs gathered around a group of young children, orphans by the looks of it. There were four children; all of them sporting the same hair color, eye color and similar facial traits. To a person with an observant eye, these four children were most likely siblings. The thugs held the eldest siblings' wrist, a girl no older than ten years old, and smirked at her like she was a weak hare. "Where's momma and papa, little lady~?" The man mocked. He teased the child with the knife in his hand, slowly dragging the blunt edge at her arm. The girl could only whimper and cry in fear. Their parents were no more. They can't call for anyone anymore. They could only hope for a self-less hero who would risk their life for them. But they know that the chances of that happening were very slim.

A petite young girl with shoulder-length brown hair stared at the scene with pure disgust and revulsion. Surname omitted, she calls herself Zheng and she has lived in the alleyways of Yokohama for nearly a year. For what reason? The homeless people like her could only speculate. All they know was that her sense of justice was stronger than anyone living off of the streets. The air around her suddenly turned cold, a spark of electricity snapping once or twice around her. How dare they harass innocent children for money... She thought to herself, amber-colored eyes blazing with pure hatred at the abuse she's seeing. A few strands of Zheng's hair were starting to defy gravity as electricity flowed from her body to the metal pipe she's been holding so dearly.

"L-Let go of them!" She stuttered accidently, making her blush in embarrassment. The brunette girl had done this so many times yet each time, she'd be attacked by anxiety right before she confronts the hoodlums. The whole gang looked at her and laughed. They were making fun of her small stature, her unbalanced stance and her weapon, which was a measly rusty pipe. There were five of them and one of her; to them, it was an easy kill.

What they didn't realize was that Zheng was barefooted, that her pipe was sparking with hundreds and hundreds of watts of electricity and that her eyes were burning with vengeance. With a battle cry, the petite girl rushed towards the direction of the hooligans. They anticipated her to immediately hit them but it didn't come. Zhen targeted a water tank that was seated exactly beside the ruffians. The water sprayed and soaked them good.

She made sure that the children were backed away in the corner, not one of them drenched with water, before screaming her lungs out as she stabbed the ground with her electric metal pipe. A lightning flashed from her barefeet, to her body, to her metal pipe and towards the water-soaked thugs. They screamed in agony. Hundreds and hundreds of watts seared through their bodies, frying them alive. It was a cheap tactic to bring down her enemies but it was the least energy-consuming strategy that Zheng would always use to save other oppressed homeless orphans such as herself.

Panting from the use of her ability, she weakly picked up a small paper bag that she had acquired from an owner of a parlor earlier that day. She helped with cleaning the front of the said parlor, due to some incident with petty crime gangs and rebel teenagers, and the owner was nice enough to treat her to dinner – giving her a take-out, just in case she gets hungry. They need it more than I do, Zheng thought to herself as she reached out for the four siblings. "You can h-have this." She meekly told them.

"N-No way!" The eldest sibling slapped her hand away, the bread inside the paper bag rolled out the dirty pavement. The brunette girl forced herself to not cry at such display of wasting food. The child continued, screaming on the top of her lungs as if her and her siblings' life depends on it, "Y-You're a freak! You w-want us to take this a-and you're going to electrocute u-us, too!"

"No…" Zheng shook her head, frantically reaching up to the tossed-out bread, all within the five-second rule, and offered it to the children, "I-I'm helping you-"

"Go a-away!" The kid yelled at her and the siblings followed suit. They started shooing her off, calling her names and directly insulting the hero that they had prayed for just after the thugs had cornered them.

A shadow loomed over Zheng; a teenage boy with brown, nearly orange hair, sneered at the children. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit, an elegant long coat and a sophisticated hat. He scolded them sternly, a frown of disgust etched on his face, "She defended you without asking for anything in return, you little shits, and this is how you repay her?" It seemed that the teenager had been watching her fight the thugs and her pleads to the children to accept her help. The brunette blushed at his words, it was the first time someone had ever stood up for her and it made her so happy.

"B-But she's a freak!" The eldest said. "She should've just died with the criminals earlier!"

The other siblings nodded. "Yeah!"

Zheng knew that herself and she can't stop agreeing to their words. She was garbage of society. She was a freak with no home. Her parents didn't even want her alive… But that coming from the people whom she has helped stung her heart a bit.

She saw the teenager walked towards the children with an irritated face. The brunette held his gloved hand without hesitation. It was almost the same size as hers, a little unusual for a boy like him. "I-It's okay." She gave out a fake smile, an attempt to stop him from beating up, or possibly killing the ungrateful children, "I'm used to this-" She was cut of her statement as the boy took the bread from her hands without second thought.

In a short swift movement, he was suddenly in front of the eldest sibling. Shoving a smaller piece into her mouth that he had torn off from the bread, he commanded, "Eat, you brat."

The kid spat out the food in abhorrence, shielding her brothers and sister from the two teenagers. "No! L-Let's go." She said in haste, ushering her siblings away and they ran towards the deeper parts of the alleyways.

With the children gone, the fatigue from over-using her power was starting to take a toll on her body. She was panting harder, sweat trickling on either side of her face. Zheng looked up to the boy who stood up for her. She finally got a chance to examine his face up close. He was handsome - almost to the point of being beautiful due to the fact that his hair curled and framed his face as it cascaded down his shoulder. His eyes were the deepest hue of blue she has ever seen and his over-all fashion sense was to die for.

"What's your name?" The boy asked her.

"I... I'm Zheng." She muttered softly, not mentioning her surname. It was a disgrace. Bearing her family name was a disgrace that she'll never once associate herself with.

The brownish orange-haired boy lifted an eyebrow but decided to not question her further. He looked around the alleyway and then looked at her from top to bottom, stopping to gaze at her dirty and scarred feet for an uncomfortably long time. By the time the teen pulled his eyes away from her feet, he spoke once again, "Do you live here in the alleys?"

"No…" She bit her lip to prevent herself from feeling emotional about the topic of home. Zheng gulped and played with the hem of her tattered shirt, a habit she's acquired during the hellish stay in her house before she lived off on the streets. "A piece of garbage like me lives nowhere."

She stared at the boy with a frown on her face, spots were starting to form on her vision, and the heaviness of her body was starting to become unbearable. She heard him mumble something but the words weren't processing on her ears at all. Zheng knew she's slipping off from her consciousness. Her balance tipped off and she can feel herself falling, face first, to the cemented pavements. A shout of "Oi!" was the final thing she's heard from the strange boy as a pair of arms caught her from head-banging on the concrete.

At that one moment, Zheng fell into the arms of darkness, both literally and figuratively.

Zheng woke up to a blinding light. She had some sort of wires connected to her wrist. A contraption with some bags of red and white liquid was being pumped into her being. An IV? She thought to herself. It was a windowless room, no painting nor plants adorned the lonely room. It was… a depressing white box. The familiar smell of anti-bacterial air coming from the vents registered on Zheng's brain and she smiled sadly as the memory of being in and out of the hospital came back to her. Ah, just like the old days, huh…

The door opened and revealed the boy from before. He was wearing the same manner of clothing but it didn't seem the same for the details in his vest and hat were different. The shade of his slacks was a lot darker than from the last time she saw him. With a hoarse voice, Zheng asked, "Where… am I?" She coughed a bit, her throat dry from probably over-sleeping without proper hydration.

The teen passed a glass of water towards her as he sat on the chair on the bedside of her hospital bed. "I hope you don't mind that I brought you to the headquarters."

She blinked. She wasn't at a hospital? Zheng looked at him with a horrified expression. The thoughts of her being an experimental guinea pig for some shady organization infiltrated her mind. "H-Headquarters?" The brunette dubiously asked, her voice merely reaching a whisper.

Her wide eyes probably gave out the crazy thoughts running in her mind for the brownish-orange-haired boy gave out a lopsided grin, "I didn't do anything to you. You're not my type, so don't pull up your chair." She tilted her head, not exactly knowing what he meant by that. She decided to not ask and the boy continued, "And yes. The boss decided to bring you in."

Zheng was starting to put the pieces of his words together, trying her best to form a simple hypothesis with what the boy was saying. "The boss?" She prodded on. Either she was in a small business headquarter, possibly antique dealers from what she's seeing with the teen's style, or she's wounded herself in the middle of the Port Mafia. She's heard of them and, as a hunger-driven orphan child in the streets, she'd sometimes pray for the gods to give her access to some form of entrance to their organization. Normal people would've been scared of even mentioning the name of the organization but Zheng was different. Her life was already hell even before she's learned to write her name. The Port Mafia may be the home she's looking for, considering that ability-users like her are almost tossed around like garbage, and the organization was rumored to be employing ability-users with such great respect.

Now was her chance, if her hypothesis was true.

"You're in the Port Mafia now, whether you like it or not." The boy uninterestedly said but the spark in his eyes didn't leave unnoticed by Zheng's sharp observation skills. He seemed to be interested, to say the least, at the newcomer. The brunette gripped the white bed sheets, the excitement of finally being admitted to the Port Mafia shot through her veins. She was finally getting a job - a job that will pay her handsomely just because of her advantage with her ability and a job that accepts her for who she is as an ability-user. "Don't disappoint me-"

"Does that mean I have a job?" She blurted out accidentally, an ear-splitting smile forced its way on her face. Zheng tried her best to control the smile but she can't help it. The Port Mafia was accepting her as if she's got something that they want. It's as if she's needed, even if it's with just a simple mission.

"Technically." The boy nodded, his eyes closed, and then looked at her with his wide blue eyes, "You're looking forward to this?" He asked hesitantly. It was the first time, in a long time that a new recruit was looking forward to working with the mafia. Either they were complete psychopaths or orphans, just like her. With the ominous grin that decorated her face, the teen could only shake his head. I will have to talk to the boss about this. He thought to himself.

"I'm… I'm a freak." Zheng said almost jokingly, however, she was internally heartbroken at the words coming out of her own mouth. I'm just telling the truth. She consoled herself. Nothing to be ashamed about. "I don't belong anywhere but… I've heard of the Mafia. Y-You guys make use and give worth to people with… with abnormal abilities, like mine, right?"

"You're the first, then."

"What?"

A chuckle came out from the teen. He stood up and loomed over the girl, his blue eyes were piercing through her soul as he said to her in a menacing voice, "We don't get many softies like you. When my partner hears you say those things, he'll keep doting on you and you wouldn't want that."

She blinked. There were a lot of questions that formulated on her head but there's one thing that peaked her interest, enough curiosity for her to directly ask the boy. "Your partner?"

"Dazai Osamu. The 5th executive leader of the organization." He said nonchalantly, leaving the brunette girl in awe. She was speaking with a high-ranking person and he's just around her age, if she guessed his age right. The curly-haired boy sighed in annoyance, pure hatred lacing his tone, "He's a born Mafioso… so you better watch out when it comes to him."

Zheng gulped as he looked at her directly. She bowed her head as low as she can while she's in a sitting position. "I-I'm sorry if I had talked too casually to you, sir." The teenage girl stuttered. Her cheeks were tinted red and she continued, "I will be mindful of my words from now on."

He smirked at her, amused at the polite attitude she's displaying. If Mori Ougai sees her like this, she'd be promoted immediately into being Elise's playmate – and that's a compliment for its one of the highest position to be given to a member, what with working so close with the boss and Elise, and the safest for there're barely any fights due to the heavy security around their leader and his... ability. "No big deal. I'm not the one for high praise." He told her with no malice whatsoever.

Zheng looked up to him with pure respect, both literally and figuratively. She wanted to become his most trust-worthy ally. Whatever happens, she knows she want to become the most useful subordinate to him, that is, if she gets assigned to work with him. The girl mentally promised herself to do her best in order to serve the mafia, especially the teenager infront of her whom she now fully respects, in whatever assistance he may need.

Damn, he cursed in his mind, completely uncomfortable with Zheng's misleading gaze. If she falls in infatuation with me, this'll be a huge problem. She's got potential, after all… He thought to himself. Several newcomers, especially the girls, would always make the mistake of being distracted with infatuation towards him and his partner, Dazai Osamu. It was a blessing, after all - having handsome genes, superhuman strength and authority in the mafia all at once. Let's just say they'd either end up in the middle of the cross fire while trying to protect both of them or they'd get horribly murdered in attempt to make him and Dazai surrender to the enemy camp. "What was your name again?" He asked her, a little unnerved by the sparkly look she was giving him.

The sparkle in Zheng's eyes faltered at the mere mention of her name. "I… I hate my name." She said to him meekly and shamefully, the interest of the curly-haired boy sky-rocketed at the sudden change of character. The brunette forced herself to look at the teen with pleading eye, "P-Please don't call me by it."

"What is it?" He asked with authority.

"I… I'm Zheng. P-Please don't… k-kill me… b-but I don't want to tell you my s-surname."

"I am merely asking for confirmation." He scoffed, his patience starting to wear off and it was over-bearing his interest towards the newcomer. Perhaps it was due to her earlier gaze that made him feel suddenly uncomfortable in Zheng's presence.

He continued, "We've made a brief background check on you, Zheng, if the name we've gathered was true. At the age of twelve, you brutally murdered your parents with your gift and a hundred stabs in the abdomen." He saw her grip the hem of her bed sheet for dear life. Her head was hung low, obviously an attempt to hide her shamed face. The brownish orange-haired boy rolled his eyes at the drama, continuing his statement about her past. "Of course, not everyone knows of the real truth. They glorified your parents thinking that they risked their lives from the murderer just to be able to save your sorry ass. Since then, you've been hiding around the streets of Tsurumi."

"Is that true, brat?" He asked for confirmation at the end. The boy found it useless for the shaking of Zheng's shoulder, her head hanging low and the grip on the bed sheets was enough to say that she's guilty for what she did.

"Y-Yes, sir." She whispered, her voice filled with blame and remorse at the recollection of her past that she had tried so hard to forget. Tears started to form on the corners of her eyes; however, it didn't have a chance to stream down her cheeks as a warm hand patted her brown unruly locks. Zheng looked up to the boy one more time, his eyes filled with sympathy and understanding, as if her past was almost the same as his.

"You can make up an alias. Anything other than your name if you wish to forget about your past."

"Y… Yamazaki?" She asked him for confirmation. He shrugged and gave her full reins of picking her alias. "Please call me Tomie… Y-Yamazaki Tomie."

"…" He thought about the name, his mind formulating the right characters to come with the traits she displayed to him as of that time. The boy nodded at her with affirmation, "Alright. I'll tell boss about your name change so he can relay on to the others."

She mumbled a soft 'hai' and stayed silent. Yamazaki Tomie. Tomie. Tomie Yamazaki. She chanted in her mind. Zheng liked the rhythm of her new name. She liked the syllables that came with it. She liked the meaning that came with it. If only her mother was sensible enough to have named her with a Japanese name, instead of a Chinese name that completely throws off every person she meets with how to pronounce it. It's either she gets called 'Zen' or 'Tsuen', both of which are completely farfetched from her actual name.

"How old are you?"

"F-Fourteen."

"Huh…" He voiced out in surprise, "Three years younger... I could've sworn you look a lot younger than that."

Zheng, now called Yamazaki Tomie, gaped in surprise at the boy. "Y-You're seventeen?" She could've sworn he was a lot younger than that. What with his small stature, she thought he was just around her age bracket, from thirteen to fifteen. It would've been no surprise if he was that young because rumor has it that the mafia doesn't care for one's age - as long as you are willing to do heinous deeds for them and as long as you are willing die for them.

"I'm turning eighteen in a few months." He corrected her. The teen went at Yamazaki's bedside table, grabbing a black stand-up collar blouse with a bright red hem on the bottom part, white pants and a red bow-tie to color her palette. No shoes. She commended his observational skills. Had they given her shoes to wear, she'd be embarrassed enough to use it at all times, rendering her ability useless. The boy explained, "I had the Black Lizard choose some clothing for you, considering that those tattered clothes of yours aren't fit for a mafia. Spending a thousand or two on a good-looking hat doesn't make a big dent on our pays, anyway."

The brunette smiled at him apologetically, pushing the clothes away from her. I can't accept this. Yamazaki said, "I can't… I don't have… money to pay those clothes, sir. I-I can't accept it-"

"You can repay us with your service." He cut her statement, putting the said clothes on her lap as a final decision that she's accepting it. "I'm Nakahara Chuuya. Just in case someone harasses you, tell them that I'm the one who let you in and that the boss, Mori Ougai, let you work for us."

Nakahara Chuuya. So that's his name. She inwardly thought. What a beautiful name.

Yamazaki bowed towards him once again, "I… I'll work hard and you can ensure my loyalty and devotion now lies at the Port Mafia. Be it at the stake of my own life."

Chuuya grinned at her, "You better work hard. This isn't going to be an easy life, brat." Yamazaki knew that he wasn't scaring her off. He was telling the truth about the nature of her life, starting from now on.

The brunette gave out a wholehearted laugh, the first time in a long time that she's felt somewhat… less problematic. Chuuya raised an eyebrow at her out-of-place laugh. She told him no malice whatsoever, "My life has never been easy, though, Nakahara-san…"

"Touché." He nodded, knowing that living off of the streets after being orphaned was never in the category of 'living easy'. "You'll fit in well with the likes of the Black Lizard." Chuuya complimented, seeing the possibility of her ability blossoming with the help of Hirotsu and Tachihara.

Yamazaki blinked in confusion for the nth time that day, "What's the Black Lizard?"

"…or not."

After a few days of deliberation, Yamazaki wasn't assigned under the care of the Black Lizard. In fact, she wasn't assigned to any major groups in the mafia, at all.

Chuuya.

It had to be under Nakahara Chuuya's care.

The brunette was more than happy to be able to work under the boy who helped her join the Port Mafia but he wasn't as eager as her. Mori decided that the curly-haired boy must be the one, and only, person to train the newbie in order for her to be useful as soon as possible. Nakahara asked him why, out of curiosity, only to be responded by a mysterious chuckle, an ominous smirk and an irritating 'I have a feeling that I'll find it amusing, Chuuya-kun.'

He wasn't irritated by the fact that he's got his first underling, he was thankful, even, that Mori trusts him. Plus, Yamazaki was competent when it comes to observing, even the tiniest detail in a picture doesn't escape her eyes. She was polite and humble enough to her superiors that even Hirotsu is already showing interest in recruiting her to the Black Lizard. 'Not many teens these days are as polite as her', he once said to Chuuya when she was introduced to the commander of the said group.

The petite mafioso was irritated by the fact that 1.) Dazai deemed it necessary to stick by his side, at all times, to make sure that Chuuya wasn't doing something weird to Yamazaki, 2.) Dazai deemed it necessary that Yamazaki should always call for his help whenever Chuuya was doing something bad to her, and 3.) Dazai deemed that he was 'in love at first sight' with Yamazaki and persuaded her to a double suicide - in which the girl politely but sharply refused, much to Chuuya's pleasure.

He hated the other teen, with passion strong enough to wish his death in the cruelest way ossible, and seeing Dazai's face for almost every day (because he kept flirting with his new underling) was driving him insane. Nakahara wanted to disown her due to the misfortune, namely Dazai Osamu, that she's brought with her but there were days that he didn't want to disown her.

Those days were when the suicidal maniac was off to a mission, Yamazaki wasn't being pushed around by Tachihara and Chuuya wasn't busy with his blooming wine business. Those days were when he can go all out into training the brunette girl.

It has been nearly two months since Chuuya picked up Yamazaki from the streets and he gauged that she's been doing well and adjusting well. She's gained a relative amount of weight, not too much and not too less but just enough for her height. Her face was a lot less pale from the first time he met her in the streets. Her endurance in using her ability was getting longer and longer. And her tongue was getting sharper every time Dazai is off to harass her with flowery words – Chuuya can't help but admit that he was most proud of this improvement.

Her physical strength, however…. is a different matter.

They were in one of the many abandoned storage rooms in the basement of the second tower of the Port Mafia's building complex, situated at the heart of Yokohama. The lighting was relatively alright and the cemented floor was good enough to jump and run around without skidding and slipping to one's demise.

Yamazaki swung her fists towards Chuuya's right cheek, most of her power and focus was concentrated on that one fist. The curly-haired boy showed no intention of dodging and directly accepted her punch. It wasn't even enough to make him stagger back from his current position. "You call that a punch?" Chuuya mocked, "That was a mere flick on my face. It's as if you're killing a fly that landed on my cheek!"

The brunette gulped, sweat trickled along the sides of her face. Yamazaki could feel her lungs burning up; her head was light-headed from the lack of oxidation on her blood. Despite the dire situation she's in, Chuuya's words resounded on her ears, 'Keep your guard up'. I can't get distracted by his insults. Nakahara-san means well. She said to herself and chanted in her mind, I have to be stronger, stronger and stronger.

"This…" Chuuya started as he swiftly swung his fist towards Yamazaki's abdomen. She was a millisecond too late for her blocking arm didn't even have the chance to block his punch. "…is how you'd throw a punch!"

She was hit directly and severely on her abdomen. A wave of nausea tried to triumph over her but she forced herself to not embarrass herself further, especially not infront of her mentor. To be honest with herself, Tomie's been secretly looking forward to their training sessions because of some… guilty pleasure she's been having. Whenever Chuuya throws her a punch or a kick that was strong enough to bruise her, the waves of pain delivered by that blow equates with waves of pleasure that she can't stop.

"Stand up, Yamazaki." Chuuya pulled her by the arm, hoisting the girl from her crumled form in the floor. She hung her head low, hiding the blush that decorated her face - which was courtesy of none other than her mentor. He grabbed her hand and closed it the way she did on her first punch, her thumb was inside her clasped fingers.

Yamazaki stared at her hand, then at her mentor, then back at her hand with confusion. Her blush was starting to dissipate as she blinked at her fist.

"When punching, don't put your thumb inside your clasped fingers, you'll dislocate your bones if you hit a lot harder or if you hit a very hard object." The petite boy told her then fixed her fist, her thumb on the outside of her other fingers.

"Y-Yes, sir." She nodded, mentally noting the tip her mentor just gave her. Don't put the thumb inside your other fingers. She repeated in her mind.

Chuuya smirked in an intimidating and sardonic way, "Still not running away?"

"I wish to be strong… I wish to be helpful to the mafia!" Yamazaki chanted to her mentor, perseverance and passion obviously burning on her gaze. "I will not run-"

The girl's statement was cut short as Chuuya delivered a terrifyingly hard blow on her right cheek, enough to send her flying to the floor. "Say that to me when you've improved your weak punches!"

Yamazaki's head was a lot more light-headed that before, white spots starting to form on her vision. A trail of warm liquid flowed from her temple, the one that accepted all the impact from her fall, to the side of her face. She hoisted herself up shakily, ignoring the blood trickling down her face; you can't stop right now, Tomie, she said to herself and forced her heavy body to stand up.

"You're too easy even with those tonfas I gave you." Her mentor taunted, pointing at the metal rods that are strapped on her white pants. It was given to her when she told him that she needed something metal to conduct her electric currents. She wasn't aware that it can be used for that day's hand-to-hand combat and now she's being insulted for not using it. "Give it a purpose, Yamazaki, and don't just hold that shit!"

She reached for the metal rods and held it firmly, sparks of electricity now buzzing around her presence. "I… I will not run away!"

"You better not, brat!"

"I will have purpose in the mafia!"

"You better have! I risked my head to bring you in!"

"I will improve myself!"

"Say that as you hit me!" Chuuya screamed at her for motivation.

With her electric currents ready for release, Yamazaki nodded and moved towards her mentor with full force, "Yes, Nakahara-san!"

"Ah~" A middle man joined them, both stopping the two from using their respective abilities, "You guys are too noisy!" A playful voice said, sending shivers to the mentor-student tandem's spines.

"Dazai?!" Chuuya exclaimed in disgust. He wasn't ready to see his suicidal maniac of a partner and he's sure as hell that he's still not finished with his training session with Tomie. Of all the things the curly-haired boy hated about Dazai, one of those was that he's always there nosing around other people's business and involving himself in matters that aren't supposed to be involving him. Cite now, for example, "Who the hell invited you here?"

Yamazaki stood up straight and fixed her posture, a sign of respect to her superior, "G-Good afternoon, sir."

Dazai smiled at the brunette and went up to her, his arms extended outwards for a hug. "Good afternoon, too, Yamazaki-chan~" Her feet made contact with his chest, forcing Dazai to keep the distance between them. Chuuya promised himself that he'd give Tomie an appreciative pat on the head later because of that action. Dazai pouted at the resistance of Yamazaki but saw the state of the room. "Woah, you two destroyed this room."

Chuuya pulled the collar of his partner's clothes, making sure that there was a huge gap in between the suicidal maniac and his student. "Get out, Dazai."

With one swift movement, Dazai was gone from Chuuya's hands and was immediately beside Tomie. "You look like you've been thrown around so much, Yamazaki-chan… Are your bones okay?" He asked her with sincerity, a hand resting on her mop of brown hair and the other on her wounded right hand. His thumb was softly massaging the upside of her hand, another ploy in being close to her by using skin-ship so she could 'fall in love with him just as he did to her'.

Yamazaki slapped his hand away in the least hostile manner she could muster. No matter what angle she looked at it, she can still be sharp and sassy towards him but she can't wholly disrespect him for he's still a superior, even higher up than Chuuya in the hierarchy of the Port Mafia. "I… I had a fracture on two of my ribs last two weeks ago but Ane-sama* said it's already fully healed when she checked me yesterday."

It was true. Whether it's some genetic mutation due to her ability or it was a natural occurrence on her genes, she was proud of her fast healing ability. Chuuya was amazed that even the bruises she'd accumulate during training would be nothing but a soft blotch on her skin just after a few hours and, depending on the depth of the bruise, she'd be as good as new after a day or two.

"Eh?!" Dazai exclaimed, the first time he's hearing that piece of information about Tomie, "You heal that fast? I'm envious!"

Chuuya had been ominously glaring at Dazai's back ever since he's put himself beside the curly-haired boy's apprentice. "Oi, Dazai, I will crush your skull if you don't leave."

Dazai ignored Chuuya and continued to coo Tomie with his concern. "Say, Yamazaki-chan, if Chuuya ever bruise you or fracture your bones again, come to me, okay?"

Yamazaki blinked in confusion at the mafia executive's sudden suggestion. She's got a feeling that it's another one of his flowery pick-up lines but curiosity won over her from keeping her questions to herself, "Can I-I ask why?"

"I'll kiss you better-"

"Get away from my student, you pedophile!" With a hard kick from behind his head, Chuuya cut off Dazai's statement and dragged the unconscious suicidal executive outside the room. "Go get your own student to drool over!" He screamed in fury, closing the door of the destroyed abandoned room.

"He's… as lascivious as ever, Nakahara-san." She said cautiously - a frown etched on her face. Dazai was a person to behold. He was an open-book and a mysterious person at the same time. He's happy-go-lucky and he's serious at the same time. A man of contradictories but there is one true trait that makes Dazai who he is, his ruthlessness when it comes to his enemies. Just as the saying goes, 'the misfortune of Dazai's enemy is to become Dazai's enemy' Tomie could only fear for her life if he loses interest in her and she might accidentally become enemies against him.

Chuuya rolled his eyes uninterestedly, "If he harasses you like that again, make sure to kick him hard in the nuts."

The statement tickled Tomie's funny bone but she stopped herself from laughing her ass off. It was disrespectful to Dazai and it was an embarrassing sight to show her mentor. A suppressed 'pffftt…' was heard from Tomie, her hands clasped infront of her mouth from keeping herself giggling like a little girl.

"You can kick harder than you throw a punch, right?"

"Y-Yes, Nakahara-san!"

"Demonstrate it to me-" Chuuya stopped mid-sentence as he caught Yamazaki's leg that swung towards his... private part. She was aiming at the place he told her to kick Dazai, not him, and it infuriated the petite mafia that his guard was low enough that her kick almost hit him. "You idiot, not in between my legs!" He scolded, twisting Tomie's leg, making her fall to the floor once again.

"I'm s-sorry! OWWW!" She screamed because Chuuya applied pressure to her twisted leg. It stung her but not enough to send pleasure through her spine. She was thankful for that and she decided to explain her actions, "I-I thought you w-were asking me to demonstrate what I'll… what I'll do if D-Dazai-san ever harass me again!" Her mentor merely rolled his eyes and applied more pressure to her poor leg. Tomie slapped the cemented floor in pain continuously, screaming in agony, "I GIVE! I GIVE! MERCY! MERCY, NAKAHARA-SAN!"

What the curly-haired teen didn't know was that his student was blushing so hard and as red as a tomato and that one more push could've driven her crazy with pleasure. Much to his misfortune and ignorance to the situation, he applied one more push to her leg, almost to the point of breaking it when he heard Yamazaki… moan in pleasure? "AAHHH~"

Chuuya freaked out at the reaction, letting go of his student's limb. "O-Oi, what…?!"

"Hgnnhh..," Tomie hoisted herself up from her fallen state, panting heavily, perspiration trickling on the sides of her face once again. "I-I'm sorry…" She wanted to slap herself, embarrassed at the improper act she just did. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Tomie! The brunette internally scolded herself, you are an idiot!

With his right eye twitching from the weird thing Yamazaki did, he shrugged off the topic and decided to just threat the girl with it. "Don't you dare do that again or I will disown you, Yamazaki!"

"Y-Yes, Nakahara-san! I'm sorry!"

Chuuya sighed, concluding that Yamazaki's display of weirdness was the result of being too over-fatigued. "Let's stop for today. My mood was spoiled by that prissy asshole." He told her, partially telling the truth and partially lying. "Let's eat out. I doubt Ane-san* made us dinner since she's preparing for her next mission in the West."

A smile decorated her slightly tired bloody face, a sparkle in her eyes as the thought of free food plagued her mind. "Your treat, Nakahara-san?"

"You're broke, duh."

A/N:

I am retracting my previous statement that this will be a Dazai x OC story. I've thought about it and perhaps I'll be adding a third party in between Dazai and Tomie so please look forward to that and thank you for reading and for the continuous support, my fellow stray dogs!

*Ane-sama/Ane-san is the new character in season two, Ozaki Kouyou! Apparently, that's what most of the Port Mafia members call her. If I'm not mistaken, Dazai once called her that in the manga, too!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review, or follow or favorite this story if you enjoyed it~