Silver Claws, Silver Tongue | SKK

Prologue

A/N: *sobbing* this was supposed to be a one-shot. This was supposed to be a twenty-page one-shot, it's like 200 fucking pages pLEASE--

"What's that, Atsushi?"

At Dazai's question, Atsushi tried one last time to gather the clawing, scratching, biting ball of fur into his arms in at least a somewhat dignified manner, and presented it to the waiting audience by thrusting it towards them. "A cat! Isn't he cute?" He grinned, letting it drop back to the floor.

Indeed, it was a cat. A rather small, ginger one, lithe and slender, with a long tail that twitched through the air. It had a heart-shaped pink nose that twitched constantly, surrounded by long, shimmering white whiskers and round eyes as blue as ice. Having landed elegantly on the floor, it sat itself down on the floorboards and looked over one shoulder at Atsushi, an ear twitching as though scolding him for daring to pick it up in the first place.

The Agency was lit up in shades of gold, the sunlight from the early sunset already filtering in through the chill-glazed windows. Winter hadn't fully let go of Yokohama, so white frost still clung to the glass, and everyone at the Agency had jackets draped over the back of their chairs.

"Sorry for coming in late," Kyouka said quietly, bowing slightly as she walked through the front door. "There were . . . complications." She turned her gaze back to Atsushi, who sported several long scratches all down the side of his face and neck. His clothes were in no better shape, and several gaping rips had been dragged all down his back.

Shamefaced, Atsushi laughed awkwardly, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He grinned down at the cat. "He's pretty stubborn. I-- I think it's a he? We haven't checked," he confessed.

Kyouka nodded silently, trotting over to her seat and pulling out her chair. She had worn a yellow jacket to work that day, and as she stood next to her desk, she slipped it off her shoulders to fold it over the back of the chair and patted it down so it wouldn't just fall immediately off. As she sat down, she glanced over the desk back at the cat, who was now waltzing around the office room like it owned the place.

"We found him . . . trying to get into the Agency," she explained to Kenji, Ranpo, and Dazai, the three of whom were their only audience. "So we decided . . . you know, better in than out." Meanwhile, Kunikida, the only other person in the office, was scribbling something in his notebook. So intent in his writing was he, that Atsushi couldn't tell if he had even heard them come in.

Dazai squinted down at the cat, looking almost displeased. He was lounging back in his chair in the same position that Atsushi was now used to seeing him in-- the usual 'actively avoiding work' pose that had become the norm these past few months. He had halfway through eating something that looked like a chocolate doughnut, crumbs scattered around the corners of his mouth, though now he was just staring at the cat, his doughnut apparently forgotten.

"Why is it here?"

Atsushi laughed, bending down to try and scoop the cat back into his arms. It jumped out of the way and glanced around, eyes suddenly fixating on Dazai, and it hissed, lips peeling back to expose shining white fangs. "Do you not like cats, Dazai?"

"Does it seem to like me?" Dazai retorted, eyeing the cat with some wariness now as it stalked forward, towards his desk. "Hey, woah now, why's it coming after me?"

"Maybe it doesn't like slackers," Ranpo interjected. Annoyed, Dazai shot a glare in his direction. Ranpo just shrugged. He was, like Dazai, lounging at his desk, though Atsushi had learned that this had less to do with a dislike of work and more to do with him waiting for any work he deemed 'worthy'. On the corner of his desk hung his hat, wobbling back and forth in the slight breeze coming through the half-open window.