BELLADONNA

Book two; chapter two

"Would you like me to join you?" You asked Dazai, as he announced he'd be heading out.

Dazai glanced at the medication at your counter, and then back at you. "No, I'm just going out to eat. Do you want something?"

"No, it's fine." You hadn't been able to swallow down food since yesterday. It was best to not try until you headache went away. "Thank you though."

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You'd gotten an alert that one of the mice had fallen for Dazai's traps, and immediately called him. "It's me." His voice was smooth. And calm. The mood swings he had terrified you, if you were being completely honest.

"The Mimic operatives attacked the casino, as planned."

"Understood. I want you there too."

"Yes sir."

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The coldness of the room startled you earlier, but more so as Dazai inspected the room, the three dead bodies in front of him. You were still shaking after almost being shot. "I'd like an explanation."

"We captured Mimic's vanguard that attacked the casino," explained one of the gunmen. "With the knockout gas as planned." The blood was nauseating. "One of them commited suicide, but we brought the other three here. We were planning to have them talk about their comrades.. We even removed the poison hidden in their teeth."

"I knew that," Dazai answered simply. His voice made chills run down your side. The echo of the room didn't help. "Because this was all part of my plan. What I want to know is what happened after that.." He sounded annoyed. "Y/N."

Your leg twitched slightly at the mention of your name, but took in a deep breath and explained. "One of the soldiers woke up earlier than expected and before he could be handcuffed, he somehow stole one of the guns and most likely shot his comrades so they couldn't talk. I entered the room when I heard gunshots.."

You trailed off, not wanting to continue. Dazai glared up at you. "And?"

You breathed in. "And when I entered the room I was shot at. But I'm alright."

"Because I decided to take care of it," Akutagawa added. He walked forward, and you eyed him as the gunmen moved out of the way for him. "Is there a problem?"

You were astounded by the fact that Akutagawa even dared to go so close to Dazai. They were still feet apart but.. You couldn't stand near this version of Dazai without shaking intensely.

"I see.." Dazai muttered. "No, it's nothing." He spoke louder. "You defeated the fearsome, unyielding enemy, and protected Mori's right hand, Akutagawa-kun. That's absolutely splendid. If it weren't for your powers, my other subordinates wouldn't have been able to defeat such a powerful enemy on their own with a single blow." Dazai turned around to face Akutagawa. "Nothing less from my subordinate," he sighed. "Thanks to you, all of the enemies we captured are dead."

You realized something was off. Despite his tone and behavior, his words were venomous. He was going to attack. You narrowed your eyes at Dazai. "The soldiers that I worked so hard to lay a trap for just to keep alive... now our clues are gone." You pulled your shirt down, heart beating quickly, almost painfully in your chest. "If even one of them were alive, we could have found our their headquarters, motive, their commanders lineage, name, and the powers they use to command the organization."

"Daza"- Dazai talked over you.
"We could have gotten all of that important information."

"Information?" Akutagawa talked back. "As if I would"-

You had to stop a gasp from leaving your throat when Akutagwa was interrupted by a fist to his face, a fist that hit him so hard that he flipped backwards. He landed safely, which you would feel relieved about if you didn't feel so bad. He got punched because of your incompetence.

Dazai glanced at you, gesturing for you to follow him, before walking forwards towards Akutagawa. You carefully, hesitantly took slow steps behind Dazai. "To you, it must have seemed like I was waiting to hear some excuse." You had to stop yourself from placing your hand over your mouth as you saw Akutagawa cough up blood. This was your fault. "I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea."

Dazai reached his hand out, ordering for a gun to be given to him. This time, you couldn't control your hands as they clutched onto Dazai's arm. "Dazai"-

"Someone I know happens to be taking care of some orphans," Dazai spoke, unphased by your nails digging into his suit. You stared at the blood Akutagawa had coughed up. "If Odasaku had happened to pick you up from the slums, I'm sure that he wouldn't have abandoned you. He would have patiently and firmly guided you. That's what righteousness is.."

Akutagwa looked up, glared up at Dazai. Your grip on Dazai's arm tightened, and with seeing Akutagawa's glare, you got the courage to glare as well. You turned your gaze to Dazai's merciless face and fixed a glare. He paid you both no mind. "However, I am a man hated by righteousness. Men like me.. Do this to their useless subordinates."

He pointed the gun before you could react, and as he fired it three times, his gaze moved to you. Your eyes were shut, your head still hurting from the amount of shots you'd heard fired in the span of three days. But despite that, you knew Dazai looked at you. A part of you didn't want to open them because he looked at you. That was a bit of a lie, actually. All of you didn't want to open your eyes because he looked at you.

When Dazai exaggerated a long, "Huuuuuh?" You opened your eyes and looked down at Akutagawa. He'd deflected the bullets, thank god. This child was downright disrespectful to you with every interaction you'd had with him but somewhere deep inside his heart, you'd figured out he cared for you. You were close with a selective few people at the mafia. You could count them on your hand, honestly. Mori, Elise, Chuuya, Hirotsu and Akutgawa. You were thinking about adding Dazai to the list but.. You wouldn't consider someone who shot at someone you trusted as a person who was close to you.

You couldn't make yourself listen to Dazai as he lectured Akutagwa. All you were focusing on was steadying your heartbeat. It hurt your head. And you were sure he could hear it as well.

"The next time you mess up.." You zoned back in to hear Dazai's threat. "I'll punch you twice and shoot you five times."

You realized you were still clinging onto Dazai's arm so you quickly let go. Once you did, he turned around and continued towards the corpses. As he spoke, you didn't face him like the others did. He had his back turned to them, inspecting the corpses.

"Dazai-kun?" He replied with a short hum. "I'm going to head back."

He looked back at you. "That's not a very smart decision Y/N. Isn't your mind spinning right now?"

He was right. "No, it's perfectly fine. I'll be off then?"

"Do whatever you please."