Death Becomes Us (Dazai x Reader)

Chapter Nine

Dazai had rushed back to the Agency. The old him would have just gone after her, no questions asked, no backup required. In the future, Dazai would look back on this decision with regret. What would have happened if he hadn't waited? What could he have done if there had been no delay in Y/n's rescue? Could anything have been different?

He tried not to dwell on the past like that. After all, once something was done, it was done. There was nothing that he could do to change it.

So he had gone back to the Agency and frantically explained what had occurred to Kunikida. Y/n was a treasured member, both for what she could provide the organization and because she was like family to them. Rampo was called in immediately.

It didn't take him long to figure out how to find her. All the Agency members had one another on find my friends, it was a small time safety precaution they liked to take. Apparently something that had started back when Y/n was still being stalked. Dazai had never gotten the full story on it. When he had first joined and had been asked to share his location like this, it had seemed a nuisance. In this moment, he had never been more grateful for it.

The only problem was, once they had triangulated her location, the other Agency members insisted they take no action until there was a plan in place. It had been nearly a day and a half since Y/n had gone missing and they could seem to agree on nothing. Without their mediator, their moderator, their voice of reason, they were useless.

"What if we pull in the military police?" Kunikida suggested, "We have no idea who it is we're dealing with after all."

"And what if it's just that guy again?" Yosano sighed, leaning back in her chair, "We'd loose all credibility with them."

"It's not him." Rampo shook his head, "I know it's not him I just...."

He shook his head again, returning to the file he had been reading before joining the debate. Dazai had never seen the boy wonder so focused. Feet on the table, leaning back in his chair, he shut his eyes in frustration.

"God, I hope she's okay." Tanizaki mumbled under his breath.

That was the last straw for Dazai. In one fluid motion, he got to his feet, slamming a hand down on the table and drawing all attention to him.

"The longer we wait, the less likely that is." he exclaimed.

"And what is it you suggest we do?" Kunikida asked with a disapproving glare.

"I... Fuck, anything?" Dazai could have laughed, "Literally anything as long as we're doing something."

"Dazai," Yosano began, getting to her feet as well, "you need to calm yourself. We are doing something, we're trying to come up with a plan of action."

"If you helped instead of moping, it would all go a lot quicker." Kunikida added pointedly, turning back to his computer.

Dazai glared at the blond man.

"This?" he said, gesturing wildly at the group before him, "This? This is doing nothing."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Tanizaki asked gently.

"We know where she is, we should go after her."

"Without a plan, that could end disastrously for us." Kunikida replied, not bothering to look at Dazai.

Dazai scoffed, looking helplessly around at the group as they all nodded in agreement with the sentiments Kunikida had expressed.

"Fuck this." Dazai sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He turned, grabbing his coat off the back of his chair and slipping it on. Haughtily, he made his way over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Yosano asked cautiously.

"To get Y/n."

----

The signal from her phone had lead him to another warehouse, this one in much more disrepair than the last. It was dimly lit and clearly hadn't been used in a long time. The wood of the floor was dark with age and rotting in some places, Dazai was careful with where he stepped.

It was a large building, at least two stories tall, maybe three if there was a basement which Dazai suspected there was. Planting his feet, he decided to search the building thoroughly, from top to bottom, and made his way up the rickety stairs, trying his best to keep quiet while avoiding the rotted parts. 

Dazai had to admit, there were some benefits to his less than ideal upbringing. Growing up in the world of Yokohama's underground meant he was good at sneaking, good at finding what he was looking for. He relied on his old habits.

Once he had reached the top of the staircase, he surveyed the area carefully. It lead to a long, dimly lit hall. Each side of the hall had two doors going off of it with a fifth and final door at its end. He started with the first door to his right.

Dazai bent down, putting his ear to the wood of the door for a few seconds before peering in through the keyhole. Assessing that there was no immediate threat within the room, he slowly opened the door. It creaked slightly as he did so, from age and lack of use. Dazai stopped still, listening intently for any sign that there was anyone who had heard the noise. After confirming that he was okay, he swung the door the rest of the way open and stepped into the room.

It was empty with a single large window on the far wall. Methodically, he traversed every crevice. He tapped the walls and checked the line of the flooring, looking for any potential hidden aspect of the room. Once thoroughly determining the room was truly as empty as it proclaimed to be, he moved on to the next.

All five rooms were the same: big, rotting, empty, with a window on the back wall. His search having revealed nothing, Dazai made his way quietly back down to the first floor of the building.

The first floor consisted of one singular, giant and empty room with a door in the back. The glass panes in a few of the windows were cracked and broken. After going through the same procedure and determining there were no hidden pathways or secret rooms, he opened the door at the back. 

Dazai had expected it would lead to an office of sorts, something these old building always had, and he was not mistaken. There was a rotting, broken mess of a desk in the middle of the room and a set of rusted out filing cabinets in the corner. The walls were covered in an ornate paisley wallpaper that was peeling at its edges with age. That was how he found the door to the basement.

As soon as Dazai opened it, he could sense a change in the air. He had spent enough time in the Mafia to know the smell of blood. Without hesitation, he descended into the darkness.

The space beneath the warehouse was a maze. Clearly a later addition, it extended far beyond the reaches of the building above. Dazai began to make his way through the earthen tunnel slowly. He was no use to Y/n if he managed to get himself captured, let alone killed.

The smell was growing stronger, the smell of iron, the smell of blood. It spawned horrid images before Dazai. He could see Y/n, chained to the wall. He could see her dismembered. He could see her blood mingling with the salt of tears. He could see knives.

The sound of feet against dirt, panicked and heavy, made their way to Dazai's ears. Someone was coming towards him and they were doing it quickly. He scanned his surroundings for a hiding place. The nearest room was maybe fifty feet away? All the way back by the entrance where he had started. Even if he tried to run for it, the approaching person was sure to hear him or catch sight of his coat as he made his escape. There was no other option. 

Dazai turned back to the hallway, nearly black with darkness, and steeled himself, ready for a fight. The footsteps were growing closer, he could hear the person's heavy breathing. He raised his fists.

Y/n crashed into his chest at full speed, knocking him back a few steps and throwing herself to the ground. Hastily, she scampered to her feet as Dazai regained his balance. She kept herself low to the ground, crouched and nearly animalistic in her fear.

"Y/n! Thank god you're okay."