Bandages and Salt (PJO X BSD AU)

Chapter sixty-nine

Dazai POV

There was a tension within the air when Chuuya and I walked inside of it, something heavy that didn't feel all that different from a meeting at the Port Mafia during one of the boss's good days. It was later enough that everyone within the office should have been gathering their things to go home, the light dying outside as we walked through the doors, and yet all of the other detectives were only lingering about the room without actually doing anything within it. Even Akutagawa was among them after having spent the day with Atsushi working on small cases, close enough to the tiger for each of the boys to keep an eye on one another and far enough that they could ignore one another's existence (not that they were too good at doing so).

They were waiting for something, or someone.

They boys were the first to notice our entrance, each of their eyes lighting up in a clear display of relief that made me want to remind them of the importance of concealing emotions, of not showing weakness. It was the peak of hypocrisy and yet the urge was there still.

"Dazai! Mr. Nakahara!" The younger of the pair called as both of them walked forwards, a little too fast a little too much.

Something must be happening, something related to the camps in one way or another.

I smiled in a way that I hoped appeared soft, from the glance that Chibi gave at my side I don't think that it exactly fooled someone that had known me for so long. "What's going on here?" I asked, gesturing at the other detectives in a casual manner, as if I didn't already have an idea of what would cause such a panic as to force a meeting that even a member of the Port Mafia would be allowed to attend.

As if I didn't already have an idea about who this meeting was about.

The younger mafioso was the one to answer, stepping forwards from his hesitant spot slightly behind the white haired detective so that they were shoulder to shoulder. A show of unity that made pride swell within me.

"That rude blond detective of yours has called a meeting," he explained before turning to the Hatrack and confirming what I had already thought to be true. "It's important enough that even you and I are invited to sit in, encouraged by the President even," Akutagawa explained. "We've been waiting for the two of you to come back before we started.

The mafia executive looked at me then, his eyes asking what I knew about this even as his mouth remained in a firm line. The truth was that I knew too much, and yet wanted to be wrong about it all. All I did was shake my head and tell myself that it wasn't a lie if I wasn't speaking.

Everyone gathered in the conference room quickly after that, both anxious to know what was going on and eager to be home. Kunikida stood at the head of the table next to the drawn down screen, as the President sat at the other head, closest to the door. All of the detectives filled in their usual seats from the few times that we had found ourselves in here, though normally not for something so tense, not since the Dead Apple incident with the presentation that I had purposely missed.

I would have missed this one too if I could have.

Chuuya, Akutagawa, and I stood at the back of the conference room, separated in a way that shouldn't have felt as natural as it did. The mafia members were staring at the detectives in abject horror, captivated by the siblings' interaction. Naomi was sitting next to her brother, having taken my seat, she was hanging on to the awkward ginger md spewing her normal amount of strange obscene things that makes everyone within the office question the nature of their relationship.

Life was easier when we didn't.

When the novelty of that had worn off, the pair became distracted by the muttering Yosano. The doctor could be seen flipping through pages and pages of gruesome photos, appraising each of them with a clinical eye. The woman had grown tired of the current images that blown up in her office and was looking for new ones to put upon her walls. It was always best to leave her alone during these moods less she ask for your opinion.