Graveyard • Dazai x Reader

14. After Dark

When you had asked Dazai who the weretiger is, he had looked like he'd been slapped in the face. Through all his attempts at making you subdue with his sweet words and sudden appearance that had clearly overwhelmed you, one thought continued to tug at the back of your mind. In Akutagawa's low, tantalizing voice, his words make emotions swirl inside you that snap you out of your daze.

"...The next time you see Dazai, ask him about the weretiger. Maybe you can figure out why he hates us both."

They leave a haunting chill, as if he had opened the door to a world calling for you, screaming at you to open your eyes and see all that you haven't been able to face. Dazai's expression all but confirms you had asked the right question, or perhaps the entirely wrong one.

His eyes darken for a moment, until he lets you go only to cup your face quizzically for a few seconds and letting you go with a sigh.

"Ah, was that Akutagawa putting these thoughts in your head? As if I were hiding some other woman!" Dazai suddenly laughs in a condescending way, covering up all traces of his previous expression in such a way that you wondered if you imagined it. Instead of the embrace, Dazai now takes your hand and forces you to follow him out of the shadows of the Port Mafia headquarters and under the moonlight of the bright, Yokohama streets. His pace is quick and his grip on you is stronger than anyone would initially imagine looking at Dazai, and as you helplessly follow, you look back towards the tall building that was the only home you'd ever known, a guilt spreading over your heart the further Dazai pulls you, until you stop him completely.

Pulling in the other direction, causing tension and friction between the two of you, you force him to look at you.

"You didn't answer my question." You demand, a wave of anxiety hitting you as you speak against him.

When you tug at his arm, Dazai looks at you curiously, surprised at the firmness in your voice and surprised you had questioned him at all, but what follows the curious gaze is a smirk, brown eyes glittering with amusement.

"I'm answering your question, [f/n]. You asked me who the weretiger is, and well, don't you want to meet him?"

"Right now?" You ask, completely taken aback.

"Well, tomorrow morning. It's quite late now." He answers sheepishly, playfulness in his tone back.

"Then where are we going now?" You ask again, almost afraid of the answer.

"My apartment!" Dazai says without hesitation, beginning to pull you again with him, your heart sinking and yet pounding so hard you feel like it's become a wild bird trying to break out of its cage.

Except your body has always been a cage for honesty, and so you say nothing, watching the man in front of you decide your fate once again.

On the way to Dazai's home, you never realize that the letter that was addressed to Mori and had supposedly been a warning of your absence never left Dazai's pockets, never being delivered because he had had no intention of anyone receiving the blank piece of paper used to sway your mind.

•••

When you get to the apartment, you don't need to look at the clock to know it's much past midnight, and you can feel even your own body beginning to get incredibly fatigued. The moon is no longer at its highest peek, and the sky no longer as dark as it had been while you walked through the city, emotions playing games of tug-a-war in your heart, unable to be decisive and choose how you're supposed to feel. Instead, the moon hangs lower as the sky begins to change in its shades, and a softer light pours into the rooms.

The first room you enter is a small living room with almost nothing but a table in it, on top of the table a beautiful bouquet of crimson spider lilies, held up by their powerful stems as if they were from another world entirely, glowing and appearing luminescent. Your eyes linger on this bouquet, for a reason unknown to you pullling you in, but before you can look at them too carefully, Dazai finishes locking the door and whisks your attention away from anything else on to him.