Life of a Stray Fox

Chapter 22

I sat in a corner of the office of the ADA as everyone around me was socializing and having fun. They were having a party to introduce and welcome Ariake to everyone, as well as to maybe make her more comfortable. I was too busy thinking about the organization known as 'The Guild', so nobody had really even noticed me yet. Granted it wasn't exactly a big deal right now since Ari and Dazai weren't even here yet. I sighed quietly and looked around the room at everyone smiling and talking to one another, a sudden strange sense of alienation coming over me. This environment was different from the one I had known for so long... so strange and happy. The air felt light and there was almost always some kind of cheerful atmosphere around these people. My final few years in the Mafia felt slightly similar, but I was sure that a lot of that had to do with Chuuya. I spent every waking moment with him because I couldn't stand not being near him. To be honest I wasn't sure how I hadn't annoyed him. I'd have to ask him about that later but for now I had more pressing things to worry about. Sherlock was at my apartment, passed out in my bed, and multiple injuries littered the poor boy's body. He had literally been through hell and back, but what had me even more worried, was the girl that the Guild had who also was being hurt. I didn't know much about them except for the fact that they usually bought some very expensive items from the criminal underworld. A lot of those things happened to be human beings and that thought alone made my skin crawl.
I'll have to do some digging into some of my... older resources. I need to put files together on all of those people in the Guild and the people they've taken.
The door opened and my gaze shot up to Dazai and a dual haired girl that had just entered the room. All thoughts of the Guild vanished as I stared at the girl I used to hold. The girl that used to be small enough to fit in my arms. She had grown up and was now almost an adult. My eyes narrowed as I saw how skinny the girl was. You could practically blow the girl away, she was so small. My eyes turned to Dazai and we made eye contact. I raised a brow and motioned slightly towards the girl, a glare taking over my features. He sweat dropped and flushed, the slightest hint of fear crossing his face.
I rubbed my forehead before looking back to Ari, who was gazing around the room, her eyes practically glowing with excitement. I smiled slightly before standing from my seat and turning to go towards Kenji, Ranpo, Shion, and Atsushi. A gasp came from behind me and I stopped, turning my head to look back. Ari stood completely stiff as she stared at me, shock filling her face. "K...Kotori?"
I smiled nervously and waved a hand at her, "Ariake... you've grown up a lot."
Her bottom lip quivered and she charged me, jumping and throwing her arms around my neck. I caught the small girl and held her as she clung to me like a koala, sniffles coming from her. I laughed quietly and took one hand, running it through her hair gently, "What are you crying for, Ari? This is a party for goodness sake. You shouldn't be crying!"
She sobbed and looked up into my face, "You... you were dead. They all told me you were dead!"
I hummed quietly at the girl before looking around the room. Everyone was staring, causing my face to heat up as I looked back down at the girl who still clung tightly to me. I sighed and leaned closer to her, "Ari... I'll tell you everything you want to know after the party is over, alright? For now, I want to see you smile, ok? Can you do that for me?"
Ari unwrapped herself from me and stood on her feet, nodding as she wiped away her tears. "Yeah... I can do that."
I rubbed her head gently and smiled, "There ya go! I'm proud of you!"
Ari blushed and looked away, her eyes landing on someone behind me. I glanced back, finding Atsushi and Ari both staring at each other. A devious grin made it's way onto my face as I motioned for Atsushi.
"Hey Atsushi. Come here."
He made his way over, an embarrassed blush on his face.
"W... What is it, Kotori?"
I looked towards Ari, my grin widening.
"I want you to meet Ariake, or Ari for short. I think... the both of you would get along."
I grabbed them both and pulled them closer together, my grin growing to the size of the Cheshire Cat's. They both blushed darkly and then I moved away from them, heading back towards Kenji, Ranpo, Shion, and now Dazai. Ranpo caught sight of me first, waving his hand in my direction. "Hey, Kotori. You trynna set up your brother and the new girl?"
I smirked and shrugged, "Possibly, who knows?"
The glasses wearing detective pointed towards Kyouka who was staring angrily at Atsushi and Ari. "I just wonder if that was the smartest decision considering our little assassin over there has feelings for him as well."
Dazai and I simultaneously tilted our heads, "Huh?"
My gaze flickered to Kyouka who was definitely glaring towards Ari, jealousy practically flooding off of her. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. I mean, kids will be kids, ya know?" Shion spoke quietly.
Dazai frowned slightly, "You're not wrong, but I'd rather Ari not suffer any more than she already has."
I nodded my head in agreement, "She has definitely been put through hell... Hey Dazai, have you not been feeding the kid? She's practically skin and bones for God's sake."
Dazai held his hands up in a surrendering motion, "I figured we could take her out after the party. Ya know? Sit down like the weird dysfunctional family we are and share a meal?"
I scoffed and shook my head, "You just weren't thinking about that earlier. Were you?"
We continued bickering back and forth for a while and I couldn't help but feel like for once I had a more normal life than I had ever had.