the beauty of water: deep end | o. dazai ✔

prologue.

"Thank you! Have a nice day!" (Y/n) waved as a couple customers left the store. She let out a breath as she watched them leave, leaning against the counter as she grew tired. "What a day..."

"Ah yes, cause standing at the register and checking people out is so hard." Hinami peeked out from behind one of the shelves, carrying a few books.

(Y/n) awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I suppose owning the store is much harder."

Hinami's lips curled. "There you go." She then walked out from the shelf, placing the books on the counter in front of (Y/n). "Can you put these away for me? I need to use the bathroom."

"Sure." She nodded, watching Hinami leave the main area.

She proceeded to pick up the books, walking along the shelves as she put them in their designated areas. After finishing up, she heard the door open—the bell chiming to let her know that someone had come into the store.

"Welcome to the Ripped Page!" she greeted, wiping her hands against her jeans as she walked back up to the front. "How can I help you?"

(Y/n) stopped in her tracks when she realized who had come into the store. A tall man wearing a sand-colored trench coat with wavy mocha-colored hair, covered in bandages and his arm in a sling stood in front of her and a couple feet in front of the door.

"... Dazai?" she questioned, widening her eyes as she was finally able to realize who had entered the store. "You're... here?"

"Hey (Y/n)," he responded, his lips curling into a small smile. "It's been a while. Two years to be precise."

"W-what are you doing here?" she asked, her breath taken away as she looked him up and down. "What's wrong?"

"We need your help—the agency needs your help," he told her, looking outside through one of the large windows. "Something bad is going to happen soon, and we'll need your help to take care of the issue—especially if it's what I think it is."

(Y/n) nodded, clenching her fists as she looked at Dazai. "What do you need help with?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, (Y/n) finally breaking the tenseness as she let out a quiet chuckle. She pressed her fingers against her lips, leaning against the counter as she asked, "What is it you need though? Plus, what happened to your arm?" She pointed to his arm with her other hand, which was resting in a sling.

"It was a car accident, but don't worry your pretty little head about it." He looked from his arm to her, a smile quickly breaking across his face before returning to a more serious expression. "A lot has happened in the past two years, (Y/n)."

"Yeah, I figured." She nodded slightly, walking around the counter as she pushed the gate open while grabbing a couple books that rested on the edge. "That's kind of what happens when time passes."

"I don't know if I've missed your sarcasm or not."

(Y/n) looked back at him as she put a couple books onto one of the nearby shelves, telling him with a cheeky smile, "You better miss it if I'm going to help you with anything."

But her empty threats were soon pushed aside when she realized that whatever Dazai had come to the bookstore for, it was serious. She quickly finished putting away the books, walking back over to him as she wiped her hands off against her jeans, putting her thumbs in her pockets as she stood in front of him.

"What's going on with the Armed Detective Agency? What's so incredibly important that you had to seek me out to ask for my help?" she inquired, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at him.