Belle âme || Bungou Stray Dogs × Child!Reader

VII.

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AT
THE
PRESENT
TIME
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In the vivid amalgamation of hues displayed along the corridors of the Port Mafia building, Chūya had his thoughts a scattered turmoil, his brows furrowed in distinct incertitude on a filed report brought by Akutagawa regarding a girl he had met once upon a time. Underneath the luminescent ethereality of the moon where he had caught view of her pulchritude, he lucidly remembered conversations heard by the wind on that cold dawn.

“A penny for your thoughts, Chūya?”

He stood with abrupt heed upon being aware of his boss' presence. Illuminated by the tainted glass windows was Mori's silhouette, accompanied by Elise's small form right beside him.

"Nothing that matters, Boss." Replied the executive, turning to face him entirely. "It's just that... we have a child taken to our custody. I've never interrogated one for mafia business."

"Oh, yes! I rushed here as soon as I had read the report." Mori claimed, a subtle grin plastering itself on his face. "You see, children tend to be very... hostile, in spite of how they initially appear."

"Rintarou just wants to see the little girl." Elise explained.

"That's not at all, Elise!"

"Shut up, Rintarou! That's all you ever came for!"

The verity of her words brought immense unease upon Chūya, because he had been well aware of Mori's rather disturbing attraction towards girls underneath the age of primary consent. With aching reluctance, he said,

"I'm sure I can handle this child's hostility; I doubt she's the type to lash about upon an adult's presence. Even if she did, what power does she have against me?"

"Shall I repeat my words?" There was the provoking tone on his portentous voice, to which had Chūya faltering on his decision of choosing not to leave the girl under the eyes of the predator he called 'boss.' "If you still insist, then take this as an order: leave the girl alone with me. You have other matters to attend to, don't you? I'm simply saving you much of your time."

Chūya had not much to convey his retaliation over Mori's behest, so he dipped his head in regard and sauntered away with a profound regret weighing his entirety to the ground, bearing along the promise of returning and hoping for her naïveté to be left untouched.

With the executive's absence, Mori turned to the door of the room where the child was placed and opened it gradually, sighing in adoration at the sight of her tranquil countenance gazing on the window wall. Upon hearing the gyration of the knob, she averted her head to the fault of sound, and for a little while they engaged in a conversation that required only the acknowledgement of their eyes.

"I... I'm afraid I don't know where I am." She muttered in slight dismay.

"It would certainly be questionable if you do know where you are." He laughed lightheartedly, allowing Elise to completely enter the room. "But there's no need to be afraid; I won't hurt you in any way."

"Of course, you won't." Replied the girl on the bed. “You haven't a reason to, have you?"

"I have not." He grinned. "And I don't think I ever will."

She smiled not in a sense of relief, but rather in the comfort of a new companion. The consideration of his presence ever being a threat to her person had never occurred to her sentiments; from the start, she never held the idea of mal intent from others. Instead, just as she had done so with the man whose beauty she had compared to celestial bodies, she chose to fancy herself in the sublimity found in Mori's features.

He ambled farther inside the room. "To remain collected in a situation that has gotten you confused; how courageous can you be?"

"I'm not being courageous." She countered. "You said that I needed not to be afraid, and I trust your word on that."

As he awed at the thoughtfulness of her words, she refused to break contact with his mulberry orbs devoid of light. She continued, "Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"When dusk comes, I have to anticipate someone's arrival by the river." Gingerly, she lifted off the thin blankets and sat by the edge of the bed. "Can you take me there?"

"I can't do that, dear." The man took a few steps, kneeling in front of her and lifting his arm to caress her blossomed cheek with his thumb. "You're staying here for as long as we need you to."

The child leaned slightly towards his gloved hand, and upon further inspection, Mori came to realize that her constant eye contact wasn't due to the suspicion that she had been reading him, but because she truly admired the dripping sangria of his maleficent hues - yet certainly, she wouldn't describe them as maleficent. They were a pair of lovely Duftwolkes accentuated by the darkness of his being.

"The color of your eyes," she whispered quite suddenly as to accomodate with his close proximity, "they look very pretty."

"Oh?" He hummed, taking interest as abruptly as he had intended to meet her. "Does it make you want to pull them out?"

"Certainly not! They look beautiful on you, so why should I?"

Elise, meanwhile, stared at her in disbelief. "Nothing's ever beautiful with Rintarou! He can't even look good in pigtails."

"Well..." (Y/n) responded, "I think he's already lovely without it."

"That's not the case at all!"

He found himself very much intrigued by the eloquence of her words, and felt an abiding flattery from her unattended compliment. Elise's loquaciousness was a result that had been largely affected by his current disposition; admittedly, it was due to the child's peculiarity.

"How about mine? My eyes are pretty, right?" Elise questioned.

(Y/n)'s features broke into a small smile. "They remind me of skies in a day of spring."

"Alright, I've decided!" He exclaimed gleefully, bringing the girl to stand along with him. Elise looked at him in confusion and utter contempt; she had desired more than only a plaudit of her eyes.

Mori took (y/n) gently by the hand, and she gave him a tender squeeze. "Where are you taking me?"

"To my office."

"Afterwards, can we go to the river already?"

They would not, but promises with a child were fun to make. "Of course!"

And so she followed him to the door with no regards to the curiosity of why he would bring her to his office, as he had vowed no pain on her being moments before. Her undying trust was a ridiculous concept to laugh about; she had given it away as if betrayal was never even a thought to begin with. Nevertheless, there was this elusive urge not to break intangible things a child had given to him.

Upon opening the door came the figure of Ozaki Kouyou, looking as if she was about to do the same.