PART 1: THE GOOD
CHAPTER 3
[The Bait]

Trigger Warning: Mild Violence, Child Abuse (Please read at you own risk)

Three days after Yamazaki's terrifying meeting with Akutagawa was the day she was appointed to the escort job that Dazai assigned to them. It was the dreaded day where she's going to prove herself to the boy in the black coat that she's worthy of staying in the mafia and that she's not a weakling who's going to die by his hands. She's going to make sure of that.

The only thing she's unsure about was her vision. Her left eye was bandaged shut because Akutagawa's rashoumon grazed the skin just above her right eyebrow down to the side of her temple, almost hitting her eyes. It left a huge wound that has yet to heal, despite her monstrous healing rate. Ozaki Kouyou told the brunette that she's not allowed to remove it until the older woman says so, which was two more days, much to Yamazaki's embarrassment. It was due to the fact that Dazai was more than happy to see that she's got a bandaged right eye, same as him, and deemed that they were meant to be a couple.

Other than that distressing thing with her superior, she was disoriented. Two times did Tachihara laugh at her for hitting a pole twice, three times did she punch the air during her training with Chuuya and four times she nearly died by falling down the stairs ("It was only two floors up and she didn't need to use the elevators", Hirotsu reasoned out). It was an eventful three days for the young girl, all thanks to Akutagawa.

Yamazaki wasn't even sure how she escaped his mighty Rashoumon. All she could remember was hearing Dazai run back to them, his face distorted into a mixed look of surprise and disbelief. She could recollect his exclamation of 'eh?!' while he stared at the two apprentices.

A blush spread across Yamazaki's cheeks as she remembered her desperate act of salvation from death. It was her only logical solution if she didn't want to become impaled since doing so would also impale the boy. Her arms were wrapped around Akutagawa's strong shoulders in an embrace, the gap between their bodies were no more, her frantic wide eyes pleading for mercy at his surprised ones, the tip of her nose touching his, their lips narrowly missing each other's-

"Quit blushing like a tomato, Yamazaki."

Her consciousness was pulled back to Chuuya's house with those unfeeling words. Yamazaki realized that she was sitting on the comfortable couch placed at the bay window of her mentor's study.

It was a Wednesday. Paperwork day, as the brownish orange haired boy declared to her before. The day was dedicated for Chuuya to stay at home and do his paper works, with the permission of Mori Ougai of course, in a Dazai-free environment where he can play his classical music all he wants.

Beethoven's Sonata No. 9, the Kreutzer, was currently playing - if she's not mistaken. After almost spending time in the Port Mafia for more than two months, she had picked up on a lot of things about her mentor, including his love for music and hats.

Now, considering that Yamazaki is his subordinate now, she gets a free-pass to his huge mansion every Wednesday with the only condition of her studying her missed lessons from when she had stopped her schooling. Sometimes he'd let her borrow his prized books if he's content with the progress she's made. The brunette girl asked why and Chuuya only told her that he'd be humiliated to introduce her as his apprentice if she can't even memorize the poem 'Soiled Sorrow'. It was her teacher's favorite poem from what she can gather.

"I said, quit blushing." He repeated at the lack of response from his student.

Her amber iris stared back at her mentor's blue ones with confusion. Blushing? She thought to herself, her hands darted up to her cheeks. It was warm to the touch, obviously telling her that she is flushing. Could he have known that she's accidentally thinking about hugging the Port Mafia's most fearsome assassin?

The brunette saw the petit mafia sigh audibly, "If you're thinking about your previous stunt with Akutagawa, stop it."

Well, shit.

"I-I'm not." Yamazaki denied with a pout. She brought up the book she was reading, Hell's Screen by some unknown author*, and decided to ignore her mentor. The characters on her book looked somewhat… different. (*Actual Author: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke; check this book out, guys, it's amazing and horrifying at the same time.)

"Your book is upside down."

"No, it's not…" Yamazaki tried to read the characters with pride but she wasn't even sure if the book is in Japanese anymore. Slowly, the girl let go of her ego and turned the book upside down, her mentor looking at her with amusement. "It is…" She dejectedly nodded.

Chuuya stood up from his chair and walked towards her. "Look, Yamazaki, that punk isn't going to kill you today, tomorrow or ever." He said to her with a kind smile, a smile that she rarely sees from her mentor. Whenever she'd go on jobs with him, he'd smirk mockingly or he'd grin like a wolf, taunting their targets. She wasn't sure what made him so… nice around her. She can hypothesize that her mentor was never like that to others, only her. There was this unsettling feeling on her gut as to why he's so good to her but she shrugged it off. Yamazaki told herself that if she's going to trust someone unconditionally, it has to be Chuuya – he's the one who helped her after all.

"How would you know?" The brunette asked instead, her right brow furrowed in fake-doubt.

"I just know." The teen sat infront of her on the bay window couch, looking outside the sunny gardens.

Yamazaki stared at her mentor. He was handsome, she'd give him that, but the way his blue eyes complimented his brownish orange hair and pale skin tone made him look a hundred times more attractive than Dazai. The cream wall papers of his study and the Victorian-inspired furniture plus the rays of the sun going in from the tall windows made it look like he's from a painting.

A very beautiful painting.

She smiled at the peaceful ambiance in Chuuya's study. If only things were like this in her house, she wouldn't have resorted to being a dog for the mafia. But that in itself was a blessing in disguise. She wouldn't have met Chuuya that night, if not for her wretched household that she had destroyed with her very own hands.

The boy looked at her warily, his eyebrows rising in inquiry. "What're you looking at, Yamazaki?" He would always be defensive whenever she's caught staring at him. And she's guilty to have always been staring at him at the most inopportune times. Tomie knew that he was cautious she'd fall inlove with him, ("Over my dead body", she once told Chuuya when he first opened up the discussion) much to the amusement of the girl. He told her that a few of his previous subordinates, who were girls around her age, always died for his sake on dangerous missions – as if he can't protect himself. Chuuya didn't want that to happen, not to her and not to any more girls, for he was so sick of the added paper works.

With a whole hearted laugh, she answered honestly, "You look like you're from a painting, Nakahara-san." The girl earned a chuckle and a pat on the head from Chuuya, something that he'd always do when he's amused or proud of her. She knew it was the former. He sat back to his seat, continuing his paper work.

Yamazaki went back to her book, wishing that she'd live a couple more years in the Port Mafia to savor peaceful moments like these with her mentor. The brownish orange haired boy was starting to grow so attached to her, if she's honest with herself.

He was like the brother she never had…

Two teens walked side by side in the dim hallways of the third building. The taller of the two, a young teenage boy around the age of fifteen, had his hands raised behind his flock of red hair, a band-aid decorating the bridge of his nose. It was from a fellow high-ranking member who punched him square in the face with such force. The smaller of the two, a young teenage girl around the age of fourteen, had her hands nervously fiddling the hem of her black blouse, a bandage wrapped around her head that covered her left eye. It was from a fellow mafia member who had tried to murder her horrendously after their first meeting.

They were walking on their next destination, the car park where the car services are waiting for them. The two were assigned on different missions but they caught up with each other on the way and decided to go to the car park at the same time and at the same direction. It was tolerable for both of them, having to have gone on jobs together in a few instances. They were starting to form a partnership, something that's important to most combative members because it could save them from their imminent doom on the last minute.

The brunette girl, Yamazaki Tomie, was thinking about the person who gave her the wound on her left eye. She's off to an escort mission with Akutagawa and she knew that it does not bid well. With a horrified expression, she gave out a sudden scream of agony, "AARGHHH-!"

Calloused hands suddenly clasped on to her mouth, forcing her to stop screaming like a banshee. It was the red-headed boy, Tachihara Michizou. He was getting tired of the girl's unexpected outbursts; it was almost starting to become unsurprising. "Yamazaki, shut up or I will shoot you." He threatened, only to have the girl resist on his hold. "What is it now?!" Tachihara sighed exasperatedly as he released Tomie from his grip.

"I don't want to do this job." Yamazaki pouted and crossed her arms infront of her. "Akutagawa-san is going to kill me and this time, for real!"

"That's not going to happen, Yamazaki."

"You and Nakahara-san can keep on saying that but I-"

Yamazaki faltered as Tachihara pulled her to his side with great force. The girl bumped into his side and the boy earned an annoyed grunt from Tomie. She was about to scream her lungs out in reprimand to his actions when she noticed that a pole almost alarmingly hit her once again. The red-head laughed in a mocking manner, saying, "Watch it."

It has been three days since she got the bandage on her right eye but she's still disoriented, much to her annoyance. Blushing in embarrassment, the brunette looked away and started walking again. Tomie continued her statement, pretending that nothing happened, "You can keep saying that… but there's ninety-nine percent that I'll get murdered by him, one way or another."

"He won't… Dazai-san will definitely kill him if that happens. His affection for you isn't really a secret, you know?" The boy smirked at her, obviously taunting the girl. Tachihara never stopped mentioning her and Dazai's 'relationship' given whatever opportunity it may be.

To Yamazaki, there was never anything in between them. Her mentor is Dazai's partner - begrudgingly, that is. He's a part of the executive team of the organization she's working for. That's all there is to it. She found no reason to make a big deal out of it. Tachihara on the other hand-

"If you let Dazai-san use you, you'd be up in the ranks immediately, you know?" He said to her with a malicious smirk. He's only a year older than her but his thoughts of lasciviousness never cease to astound Yamazaki.

To the girl, Michizou is an eccentric boy. His train of thoughts is as jumbled as a pile of leaves in the autumn. One time, he'd be showing her a new game in his portable play station and the next moment, he'd be giving her advice about sex. In which she'd never asked for and never thought about engaging in one, anytime soon – especially not to Dazai.

"I'm not interested in your crap, Tachihara-kun."

Tachihara slung his arms around her shoulders, a habit he's developed due to her 'short stature', as he'd like to put it mildly. Yamazaki knew he just likes someone to use as an armrest. "I'd bet ten thousand yen that you're probably the first girl who dared to hug Akutagawa-"

"I didn't do that out of randomness!" She defended. "It was the only logical solution that I thought of, if I wanted to live. Impaling me means he's risking it to impale himself also."

"Why would you want to hang out with that creep anyway?" He asked her, a frown etched on his face.

"Creep?" Yamazaki gaped at Tachihara with her eye. Did he just call the man who almost killed me… a creep?! She inwardly exclaimed, knowing that if the boy continues to run his mouth like this, he will surely die in Akutagawa's hands.

"Yeah." He simply nodded, "Him and that bastard Gin. Those two always creeped me out."

The brunette haven't met this 'Gin' person but she's pretty sure that those two wouldn't be happy to hear him talk shit about them behind their backs. "Maybe they're just misunderstood." She told him, carefully picking out her words.

Akutagawa is, from what she's seeing. Perhaps the way Dazai is teaching him is just generally making Akutagawa very stressed? She had such thoughts when she was being abused back at her home but she never had the guts to talk back to her parents – doing so would incur more anger on her parents and more pain for her.

The red head shook his head, not amused at her defense. "Yeah, right." He removed his arm from her shoulder and put both hands at the back of his head. Tachihara looked forward, more than a dozen black cars were parked on the Port Mafia's car park, "We're here. I'm going this way, goodluck on your job." He told her as he pointed towards the right side of the room.

"You, too." She nodded then sighed, "Please pray for my soul."

"I'm atheist, Yamazaki. I don't do prayers."

"Oh, right."

The ride to the Port of Yokohama was awkward. Yamazaki was seated at the back of the car while Akutagawa called shotgun (he didn't, Yamazaki merely assumed to take the seat in the back since he's the one in charge between them). The brunette can feel his heated gaze at her, from the front mirror, throughout the whole time while they were waiting to arrive in the port. She could only pray to the gods in the heavens that he would keep his cool and not murder her while they were on the way.

By the time they got to the said port, Yamazaki mustered up the courage to talk to the ravenet. She figured that she's not going to be some fish out of water if she's going to make this job work. After all, Chuuya didn't pick her up from the alleyway for her to keep to herself.

She's been on missions with him and the man wasn't wasting his good looks for nothing. Chuuya was very confident of his abilities, that much is obvious. His authority can be seen and felt by those in his near vicinity, despite him being only seventeen years old.

He became her beacon of hope, a teacher to show her more of the world and a brother she never had. Yamazaki aspires to become like her mentor in a lot of ways… but the first hurdle is talking to someone so dangerous, like Akutagawa.

"T-The breeze is re-refreshing, isn't it?" She gave out a nervous smile, hoping that the boy would reply. He merely looked at her with uninterested dark irises, embarrassing the girl in more ways than one. The brunette blushed in humiliation; however, she isn't the one to easily give up. Not when she knows that Akutagawa needs a friend. "A-Akutagawa-san, you don't talk much, do you?"

He looked away from her, coughing, and continued walking to the rendezvous point, "I'd rather not waste my energy on such trivial things."

HE REPLIED TO ME!

Hiding her joy upon hearing his reply, she smiled again, this time with much glee and happiness from that one sentence she had forced out of him, "You talk normally when Dazai-san is around, though?" She said, hurriedly running beside him as he walked. Her mood made a 360-degree turn, the hope of at least being friends with him once again fresh on her mind.

Akutagawa gave her a look before a man walked towards them. The man bowed in respect for the ravenet, greeting him with a mix of fear and reverence, "Akutagawa-sama… and uhm…" He gave Yamazaki a confused look, as if asking why she's there on a private mafia rendezvous.

"This is Yamazaki Tomie, Nakahara-san's subordinate." Akutagawa simply said to the disoriented man. Yamazaki could swear her only functioning eye was sparkling from his brief introduction. It was the first time she had felt so happy that another person, other than her mentor, was introducing her to someone of importance to their businesses. However, he coughed slightly then continued monotonously, "She's my dog for the day."

Dog for the day.

Dog.

For.

The.

Day.

Those words echoed in her mind like a broken vinyl record. It wasn't processing on her mind. Did I heard wrong? She asked herself, I… don't think I did? Blinking in disbelief at the insult she had heard, the girl could only exclaim a loud 'h-hah?!' at his words.

"Ah, Yamazaki." The man nodded at her with such disregard, adding fuel to her insulted pride. Why is Akutagawa-san's name with an honorific and not mine? Yamazaki wanted to wallow in self-pity upon realizing that not many of the men in the mafia will be willingly regard her as a fellow comrade.

Sure, there are instances where she'd need protection from the men (namely Chuuya and Tachihara) but she's also capable of helping them in combat. Her physical strength may still need a lot of work, as said by Chuuya, but she knows that her ability is much needed by the mafia to protect their goods. However, that still doesn't sit well with most of the male members.

They didn't understand why a girl, much less a fourteen year old teen, would be helping them with their businesses. These damn misogynistic idiots. She thought to herself, glaring at the man talking to Akutagawa.

The thought of Akutagawa being a misogynist crossed her mind but immediately dismissed it. She knew and saw how he treated everyone. It's as if he's made enemies with the whole universe. Men or women, he's got no prejudice in which gender. He hates everyone.

She was brought back to reality when Akutagawa spoke again, motioning towards the boxes being unloaded from the cargo ships. "These are the deliveries, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir."

"No damages? No discrepancies on the amount of supplies? No spies trying to sneak in?" Akutagawa asked, his voice lacking the usual hatred and antipathy.

"Nothing, sir."

"Good. Load them in the trailers. I want it done in thirty minutes."

Yamazaki marveled at the sight. The last time she stared at him at the metal mezzanine platform, Akutagawa seemed angelic. In this moment, however, he looked human - a normal human being talking to another human being. She imagined him smiling, like a normal human being. She imagined him crying, like a normal human being. She imagined him blushing, like a normal human being.

When the man left the two of them from their position, Yamazaki smiled at him genuinely, "You're pretty nice and civil, Akutagawa-kun."

He eyed her, seeking for any ulterior motives as to why she said that statement. He found none. "I only act civil towards civil people… you on the other hand…" Akutagawa smirked at her, seeing that her look of joy turned into a sour expression in a matter of seconds.

"Damn, you've got a huge attitude." Yamazaki mumbled softly, unaware that the ravenet was closely listening to her.

"So as you." He piped in, the smirk never leaving his face. He heard that?! Yamazaki stared at him with wide eye, fearful that he might blow a fuse if she continues to antagonize the boy. "Patrol the perimeter," He ordered, "I want no disruptions in this job. If you see suspicious people, kill them upon sight-"

A bullet ran in between the two teens, narrowly missing Akutagawa's head. Yamazaki felt a sharp pain sear through her cheeks and warm liquid streaming down her face. Her hand shot up the wound, confirming that she got grazed by the bullet.

Tomie noticed that Akutagawa's cheek was also wounded, just like hers. "A-Akutagawa-san!" She exclaimed in panic, reaching for her handkerchief and mindlessly dabbing the cloth to his cheek. The boy slapped away her hand but he took the handkerchief from her, keeping pressure on his face.

"Shoot them."

"But I think they're-"

"I said kill suspicious people on sight." He growled at her, pulling the gun from the holster on the side of her chest. "Like this!" Akutagawa aimed at the man who assaulted them and shot him straight in the head.

Horrified at the scene, Yamazaki exclaimed a shrill scream, "N-No!"

"No?" The ravenet mimicked her with a mocking tone.

The brunette gulped, looking away from the suicide maniac's apprentice with a teary eye. "I'm…"

He roughly pulled her closer, hands gripping on her collar, "Didn't I tell you that I'm going to kill you if you become a burden in this mission?"

"You did but-"

"I am a man of my word, Yamazaki." Akutagawa said to her, his voice filled with malice. It sent shivers down Yamazaki's spine. His face looked as if he's ready to unleash his demons and to drag her sorry ass to the gates of hell. "One more resistance and your head is mine."

She tried to resist against his iron grip, "B-But Akutagawa-san!"

He shoved her to the ground, making the girl fall on her rear. Yamazaki can feel his murderous aura emanating from Akutagawa's glare. "Soft-hearted people like you shouldn't be in the way of the mafia."

She kept quiet, knowing that one more word of resistance from her might send her an immediate ticket to hell. Akutagawa squatted beside her crumpled figure on the ground, his eyes filled with prejudice, "Rethink your job, Yamazaki. This isn't a place for weaklings like you."

There it is; that one insult that turns on all of her hatred to the man. She wasn't weak. Had she been a frail and scrawny kid, Chuuya wouldn't have picked her up from the streets and she wouldn't have been alive after two months in the mafia. She would never let Akutagawa kick and push her aside as if she's… a pathetic little girl not worthy of being called a member of Yokohama's fearsome Port Mafia.

I'm not a weakling.

I'M NOT A WEAKLING.

Mirroring his heated glare, Yamazaki growled at the ravenet, enunciating each word with dripping revulsion, "I'm not a weakling."

"Prove it."

"I will."

Yamazaki walked in a dangerously calming pace as she looked around the perimeter. With a tonfa on her right hand and a gun on the left, she stood in the middle of the cemented field of the port, waiting for her prey to jump on the bait. Akutagawa's words were echoing on her mind. It sent her to blind rage, now wanting to prove her strength by killing each and every one of their enemy.

Her eye caught slight movement around the water tanks, a man's head peeked out and he pointed a gun directly at her. Lazily aiming her pistol, she pulled the trigger twice, both hitting the man in the head. One, she counted.

Another man ran towards her, a knife in hand. She shielded herself from the knife using her tonfa. "You bitch!" The man screamed at her but the girl merely gave out a mocking smirk. Before the man can react, Yamazaki emitted electric currents that traveled from her body, to her tonfa, to the man's knife then to his own body.

As if she's not content in electrocuting him, the brunette blew up his head with three bullets straight in between his forehead. Blood and gore splattered around the near vicinity, the man's limp body falling down beside where Yamazaki was standing. Two, she counted.

Before she could react, three men charged at her from behind. "You're a tough one, aren't you, little missy?" The largest of the three, grinned at her. He pulled at her hair roughly, "You'll pay for killing these two."

You'll pay…

…for killing these two.

Those words processed in her mind. Yamazaki slowly looked at the two corpses. Horrified as realization dawned, she resisted from the three men's grip. "Let me go!" She tried using her ability but the men were wearing rubber suits, as if they were expecting her arrival and her ability.

She heard a click and felt the tip of a gun being pushed against her head. With one wide eye, Yamazaki resisted, "T-Throw away t-that gun, please!"

"Ah~! Little miss mafia's afraid of guns?" The man smirked at her, pushing the gun further into her scalp, "All bark and no bite!"

"S-Stop it, please!" She yelled, eye closed in fear of her own death.

The scene was dark.

The kitchen was dimly lit from the television coming from the living room. Yamazaki was back in her house, being held by the hair by a woman in her thirties.

The young girl whimpered in panic as she was being held in a gun-point. "Mom, you-you're scaring me!" She cried out, shaking in fear as she begged for her life.

The woman shoved her roughly, the gun lazily aimed at her head. "This is what a little bitch like you deserves!" Yamazaki's mother wrapped her free hand on the girl's windpipe, not letting her daughter escape her hold.

"T-That's bad, m-mom!" Tomie choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "P-Please put down the gun, mommy!"

"Don't you dare call me 'mommy'! I should've thrown you out years ago when you came to our miserable lives!" The woman gripped Tomie's throat even more, "But you know what? I can't because those guys from your 'insurance' said that you need to be alive if we want pension-money!"

The little girl's vision was starting to blur from the lack of breath, her mother's voice merely a jumble of words. With the last of her energy, Yamazaki softly said, "Please… stop…"

"Yamazaki-chan!" A man's voice and a loud gunshot cut through her reverie. The brunette was pulled from her memories when she saw the man holding the gun against her forehead fall down to his side with such force.

The next thing she knew was the two who were holding her down also fell to their demise and she was being carried, bridal-style, away from the battlefield. There was a barrage of bullets aimed at them but her savior was fast enough to evade these bullets.

Yamazaki stared at the dark haired teen; the bandages on his neck have come a bit loose from him running around the place. Sweat trickled down the sides of his temple, a frown etched on his face as he looked around for a good place to hide. The brunette could only gape at the scene unfolding infront of her.

Dazai, the all-mighty and powerful Dazai, made his way to save her from death without her calling for his help. The comfort of his arms around her made her feel safe and protected, even if she knew her abilities were no more. It was somewhat… romantic, now that she had thought about it.

She was like a damsel in distress and her knight in shining armor had come in just in time to save her.

The brunette felt him jump and Dazai held her head as both of them collided on a cemented platform. Yamazaki bit her lip to keep herself from groaning in pain.

Dazai wasted no time to make sure that she's alright, patting her head to see if she had incurred any bumps from the collision. He gently caressed her head, an apologetic smile made its way on his handsome face. "Sorry for that rough landing, milady."

Yamazaki can only nod at his statement and display of affection. She could swear that a blush was decorating her face by now. Chuuya's apprentice noticed a huge barrier in between them and the men who are still showering them with bullets. So that's why he jumped… She thought inwardly, hands still a bit shaking from fear.

"What a douchebag move of Akutagawa-kun to leave you here, huh."

Upon hearing Akutagawa's name, Yamazaki broke down, fearing her impending doom. "I… I failed. A-Akutagawa-san w-will kill me-"

Dazai sighed and held her shoulders. The brunette looked up to him as he said, "No, you didn't fail and he won't kill you. Anyone with trauma won't really function in the middle of the battlefield like that."

"But I-"

"Just let me handle this, okay?" He told her, letting go of her shoulders. Dazai grabbed the remaining gun on Yamazaki's other holster. "Cover your ears, darling." The suicidal executive ordered her. His earlier apologetic expression turned into a cold and hollow mien, "Now, how many bullets shall we waste?"

Yamazaki covered her ears, softly whimpering as Dazai exchanged bullets with the enemy camp. I'm a disgrace to the mafia. She mentally said to herself, Akutagawa-san's right, I'm a weakling. I shouldn't have joined. I should've just died when my mom pointed that gun in my head.

"Does it really scare you?" Dazai asked her in concern. Yamazaki's inner thoughts were suddenly stopped as she stared at the handsome executive beside her. She didn't notice that she was pulling at her hair, her hands shaking uncontrollably. The dark-haired boy continued, "The sounds of guns?"

Chuuya's apprentice shook her head, knowing that her fear didn't stem from the sound of the guns. She was used to it. Aside from their regular physical training, her mentor had given her enough training when handling and aiming a gun. Even on her free time and when Tachihara was idling around, the two of them would play around with their guns.

She wasn't scared of it.

The gunshots didn't faze her.

"T-This is the first… where I was a-ambushed in a mission." She explained meekly, afraid that Dazai might act just like Akutagawa. After all, he's ruthless to subordinates who can't even stand on their own two feet. She's not going to be an exception. Yamazaki knew she's not going to be an exception so she continued, "My… My other escort jobs weren't a-as rowdy as this-"

"Yosh." The dark-haired boy stood up from where he's seated and pulled the girl with him with surprising gentleness. "Let's get you fixed up, Yamazaki-chan…"

When she stood up, Dazai slung his black coat over her shoulders. He held her with such tenderness that showed his pure concern for the girl. This wasn't the flirty Dazai she always avoided. This wasn't the playful Dazai she always runs away from. This was the Dazai that really cared for her well-being, as much as that sounded like a huge delusion.

Stop it! Yamazaki scolded herself for such thoughts. He was a mafia executive, a man whose history had been tainted by blood and darkness. He wasn't there to give out love and affection without a price. She knew that. She was only worth saving because of her ability.

And ability that she can't even use once her enemies had electric-proofed themselves.

"I'm s-sorry…" The brunette croaked out, tears once again falling from her eyes, "I-I'm so u-useless, Dazai-san…"

"Yamazaki-"

She squatted and hid her face in shame, "M-My mom would a-always scare me with a gun w-whenever I'd do something wrong… I… I guess it stuck t-to me even after two years that I killed… them."

Dazai took a seat beside her, encasing the girl in an embrace, "Shhh…" He hushed, his hand rubbing her back in attempt to ease her mind, "Shhhhh… Don't cry… You're stronger than that, okay?"

"Huh?" Yamazaki looked at the dark-haired teen in confusion. I'm… strong? She asked herself, thinking that she had heard wrong. Dazai, the almighty and powerful Dazai, is calling her strong? Impossible.

"You stood up to your parents and used your power to protect yourself. You wandered the streets but still didn't give up. You could've run away when Chuuya brought you to the HQ but you didn't." He gave out a smile, a genuine one. "You're stronger than you think, Yamazaki-chan."

The girl didn't speak. She wanted to ask if he's serious but before she can speak, Dazai pulled her up again, saying, "Let's bring you back, okay?"

"O-Okay." She nodded, letting the suicidal teen to direct where they were going, his right arm protectively holding her just in case she breaks down again. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but Yamazaki knew she just had to ask, "D-Dazai-san, a-are you this n-nice to other mafia members?"

Dazai chuckled at her inquiry, simply replying, "No. Just you."

It was a shock to her. Why? How? Did he see something in her ability that made her so precious? All she could ever do was create electricity… nothing more, nothing less… "W-Why?" She inquired once again, hoping that Dazai's patience isn't wearing thin from her questions.

"You're my one and only, Shizuko." He smiled at her, once again exhibiting that expression of realness and honesty.

"Shizuko? Who's that?"

"That's…" Dazai's genuine smile turned into a longing one.

Yamazaki was confused at his display of fluctuating emotions. The young executive wasn't this expressive in his feelings as far as she's concerned. He really is a mystery to behold, the brunette thought.

"That's a code name for someone very important to me!" He explained quickly… Almost too quickly. "Do I need any other reason?"

The girl frowned. He's hiding something… but Yamazaki knows enough to not pry on his reasoning. This is Dazai after all. Deciding to lighten up the conversation, she said to him with a pout, "You're flirty with other women."

"Jealous?" He smirked at her, eyebrows raised in inquiry.

"No… I'm confused."

"No need to be." Dazai chuckled, officially dropping the subject, "Come on, I called the service. You're safe with me now…"

Chuuya wasn't amused.

His partner had gone off once again to who knows where and left him with the important things that had to be done. Mori wasn't getting very patient with the Soukoku pair these days.

During the executive meeting, he had to become Dazai's proxy – much to the disdain of the other executive members, aside from Kouyou who had welcomed him with open arms. There was a lot of pressure since he wasn't very sure how those meetings go but thanks to his suicidal partner giving him most of the paper works, Chuuya was able to pass off as a decent representative.

Not that the red-headed mafioso was happy about it since it was Dazai's place that he took. The petit mafia saw his suicidal of a partner and yelled, "Oi, Dazai! Where the hell are you?! The boss was pestering me…" Chuuya faltered when he saw Yamazaki under the arms of none other than his partner, Dazai Osamu.

He was about to ask why she looked like shit and had his coat slung over her shoulders but Dazai told him, "Take care of Yamazaki-chan. I've got some business to do." The dark-haired teen ushered Yamazaki towards her mentor.

"You bandage-wasting machine, what did you do-?!" He said, grabbing Dazai by the collar. Chuuya looked at his apprentice and asked, "Yamazaki! Oi, what did he do?"

"I-I'm fine, Nakahara-san…"

"Go to your room. I'll talk to you later." Chuuya ordered to her. The brunette nodded and headed to her sleeping quarters in the HQ. Once she was out of sight, the petit mafia glared at his partner, "Dazai, you bastard! What the hell happened to Yamazaki?! You didn't do something… unimaginable, did you? She's fourteen, for god's sake!"

Dazai pushed Chuuya away from him, a frown etched on his face. "I did nothing." The dark-haired teen's hand formed into a fist, his knuckles turning white at his anger towards his partner's outburst. I would never do something like that to her, he thought to himself. Not without her consent.

"You better not! She's too important-"

Dazai snapped, his composure gone as he yelled, "I know that, Chuuya! I know she's important!" Upon realizing his sudden outburst, the young executive sighed and explained, "It was Akutagawa-kun. He fucked up again."

Chuuya eyed him, unsure of what pushed the bandage-squandering teen into an unexpected break down. Usually, Dazai would've just laughed it off whenever Chuuya's screaming his lungs off towards his bastard of a partner. "What did your apprentice do?" He asked, somewhat forcing himself to not scream into oblivion again.

"He left Yamazaki-chan to fend off the loitering thugs that were about to rob the deliveries. She was cornered by these men and he merely left her as bait."

"And why is she like a limp vegetable when you brought her in?" Chuuya crossed his arms, eyebrows raised in inquiry, "She can handle a few thugs on her own, even before joining the Port Mafia, shitty Dazai."

"Trauma."

"From what?"

"Guns."

"Hah?"

Dazai shook his head, "Actually… She's terrified of a gun pointed directly at her face."

"Ah." Chuuya remembered reading through Yamazaki's background report about a similar incident. "It's that woman's fault, wasn't it?"

"You did your research well for a petit mafia."

"You're not the only one that the boss trusts with her case. He gave me the full details, each and every classified information" The red-headed mafioso said, his tone lacing with indifference. He looked at Dazai with a frown, his eyes glaring at the man with hatred, "Besides, I can't let any information slip right through me if I'm going to take care of her sorry ass since the boss was the one to personally ask this of me."

Dazai sighed in exasperation, looking at his vertically challenged partner with a rare 'please do this for me, just this once' expression, "She needs you, Chuuya. She needs emotional support from you."

"I thought you'd volunteer to do that, mackerel."

"I want to but there's someone I need to talk to first."

Chuuya walked towards Dazai, punching him lightly on the shoulder, "Give your subordinate a kick in the stomach for me and a bullet for Yamazaki." He whispered softly, his earlier tone of indifference exchanged with a lot of concern on his voice.

"Granted."

A/N:

WHEW. ANOTHER MONTH OFF OF THIS FANFICTION. FORGIVE ME! Waiting for an update in this story is like waiting for another manga chapter, isn't it? /slapped/ Anyways, let me just- *OH MY GOSH* So many views, follows and favorites! Thank you for the unending support guys! I CANNOT BELIEVE-

OH AND SHOUT-OUT TO MY AMAZING FRIEND, Mavilicious! Check out her story, Blind Eyes! It's about a young girl named Tsubaki Mikan, who left her home in attempt to run away from her responsibilities but luck isn't really on her side. So join her adventures as she struggle to run from her obligations and try her best in being the ADA's resident badger-mole!

Ayumi Kurosawa: teehee. You don't know how far and wide I looked for Dazai x OC stories until I decided to make my own. thank you for taking your time in reading!

Random reader: I hope you liked this chapter! I'll try my best to update regularly but university's a pain in the ass. /sniffs/ it keeps me from writing this story from all of the projects being thrown at me. BUT CHRISTMAS SEASON IS HERE AND I HAVE MUCH FREE TIME!

Guest: RIGHHHTT? But even though people in the ADA doesn't really call him by his first name, they're still there as his family. Akutagawa, on the other hand... T_T

VeraVera: oh shush you. you're making me blush */* thank you for thinking that Yamazaki's a likeable OC! I try my best to keep her realistic and grounded (see that pun there? hahaha because she needs grounding to create electricity- ok. I'll stop). And yes. This is gonna be a Dazai x OC x Akutagawa fanfic. I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF. THE ANGST IS GONNA BE STRONG IN THIS ONE, I PROMISE YOU. /stabbed/ As if that ship is not heavily implied in the prologue, chapter two and this chapter lol. please stick around for more because the next chapters are gonna be filled with tension and drama!

jasmine: thank you! and I figured she'd probably do her best to 'mimic' Chuuya since he's her mentor. You know how little animals imprint of the first thing it sees after it hatches? Like, a lost little puppy imprinting on a human person because that person showed kindness to that little puppy? That's exactly how I'd describe Yamazaki's relationship with him. lol okay enough of that.

Thank you, once again, for the support! If you liked the story, please favorite, follow and leave a review! Feedback always makes my day and it helps me keep inspiration and motivation in writing this story~ Please tell me anything you'd like to say regarding this story! May it be your feelings towards my character, my writing or generally about how I present this story! Yosh, 'till next time~!