To The Stray Dogs [Bungou Stray Dogs Fanfic] [Author's Edition]

Chapter 10

Four years ago... Back when the darkness of night was a far bluer hue than then...

I was a second-year university student studying computer science. However, I was a target of being hunted down by the Port Mafia because of my gift. One month into the school year, a friend of mine was being harassed by guys from our class and I stood up for her, but also activating my gift because I lost it. I killed them along with my friend by accident.

Word about the accident immediately spread like wildfire. Luckily people didn't know that I was the murderer because I immediately fled the scene. While I was running away, I saw a boy sitting on a ledge near the harbor playing on his PSP saying, "Good morning, everyone! Hang on one second. I'm about to clear this difficult level. Oh, crap! He's ahead! Take this attack! Damn, he dodged it!"

He then turned around and we made eye contact. He had bandages on his right eye and left cheek. How did he injure himself? "Dazai-dono?" someone called him. "Oh, right, sorry. Hirotsu-san," he said.

**********

The next day...

I was pushed against the brick wall outside the school. "You monster!" "Freak!" "You're the one who killed my boyfriend, you murderer!" I glared at the three girls and asked, "Where's the proof?" The girls just stared at me. "So? Where's the proof?" I asked again. "You're the only one in class who is gifted!"

"Just because I'm gifted doesn't mean that I killed those people. What are you, biased?" I was getting pushed and shoved around again when I heard a man say, "What are you doing to her?" The girls turned around and ran away the second they saw him. "Eh?" I looked to see the boy from yesterday.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, thank you..." I said. "Why aren't you running away?" "Hmm?" I stared at him. "Who are you?" I asked. The boy looked confused. "You don't know who I am?" he asked. "No..." He took a step forward and said, "Usually people run away the minute they see me. I'm surprised that you don't know who I am."

He stopped in front of me and asked, "What's your name, young lady?" "V-Vivi," I answered. "I saw you running yesterday, Vivi-chan. What happened?" he asked. I hesitated for a bit. Should I tell this man about the crime I just committed? "Something... bad happened yesterday. I ran away in fright." I answered. "Really?" he said and I nodded. "Well, I hope you'll be careful from now on."

**********

I was lying on my bed in my dorm room, thinking about the boy that I just met. "Who is he?" I muttered. Then my roommate came in and asked, "Vivi-san, were you talking to a guy in a suit covered in bandages?" "Yeah, why?" "Vivi-san, that's Dazai Osamu from the Port Mafia..." I slowly turned to her. "Port Mafia?" I asked and she nodded.

"I'm so screwed..." I thought.

**********

I was sitting on some rocks near the harbor that night. "Why are you out here?" I looked up to see Dazai standing next to me. "Dazai-kun..." I said. "You know my name?" he asked. "My roommate told me about you," I answered. He sat down next to me and said, "Now you know why people run away from me." "You kill people," I said. "But you looked like such nice person yesterday."

Dazai blushed a little. "Hey, Vivi-chan?" "Hmm?" "Have you heard of a nine-tailed fox living in this area?" he asked. My heart stopped for a second. "What?" I asked. "A nine-tailed fox killed four students yesterday at your school. You told me yesterday that you ran away in fright, so that tells me that you saw the murder scene."

I was getting nervous at this point. "Are you trying to... kill it?" I asked. "No, we're trying to bring back to our base and make it ours," said Dazai. Me? A member of the Port Mafia? "This is bad." I thought. "Will you do me a favor, Vivi-chan?" he asked. "What?" "If you ever see the nine-tailed fox, hit me up, okay?" He reached into his pocket for his phone.