Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was 6:32 pm on a Wednesday night.
Atsushi Nakajima was tired.

Unfortunately for him, fellow agency member Osamu Dazai didn’t exactly care for that.

“Hurry up, Weretiger.”

Oh right, Akutagawa.

“Urgh… fine.”

Akutagawa turned around and scowled at the younger man, then walked faster.

“Stop being a useless brat, we’re here for a mission, if your own volition doesn’t motivate you then maybe being able to continue living under an actual roof will.”

Atsushi sighed and walked just a bit faster.

They were sent out to investigate the location of a smaller criminal group who specialized in massacres. To both of the young men’s surprise, they were sent out to a neighborhood on the left side of Suribachi City, the slums. Atsushi shuddered at the state of the streets and buildings, everything was coated in a layer of grime. He thought about his days at the orphanage and all the kids who had been taken in from places like these, and the stories they told the others. Specifically about the wild dogs. He wondered if the orphanage was better to grow up in or if here was.
Akutagawa wondered when he could go home. 
They eventually reached a large run down warehouse that had clearly been abandoned for a long time. 

“Weretiger. Go inside, now.”

“Waitwaitwait- shouldn’t we check if-“

“Are you deaf? I told you to go inside, or I’ll kill you myself.”

“Then why aren’t you going inside? How am I supposed to know you won’t just leave me in there?”

“Don’t be stupid, Weretiger.”

He stepped under the broken warehouse door, turned around and motioned for Atsushi to enter. Atsushi scoffed and entered the run-down building.

“Stop bitching and follow me, Weretiger.”

Atsushi did as he was told. Akutagawa’s even more pissed off than usual, he thought. I didn’t even know that was possible. Maybe he wants to go home too. Atsushi honestly, had never pictured the older man ever having a home, if he did, it would probably be all black and goth or something. Maybe a dartboard with his face on it, like in the cartoons Kyouka watches. He smiled, he was happy that the teenager was finally allowed to act like her age, and that he helped her reach that. He thought more about Akutagawa, and what he may live like. He pictured the mafioso lying on some fancy bed, sleeping with his eyes open or something, he seems like the type. He chuckled despite himself and Akutagawa swiftly turned around and scowled.

“What in god’s name is so funny, Weretiger?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

He remembered a video Kyouka showed him, of a black rabbit who began thumping the floor, apparently rabbits do that when they’re angry. The rabbit had reminded him of someone, but at the time he hadn’t been able to pinpoint who exactly it was, now, staring at a certain black haired mafioso, he figured it out pretty easily. He barely held back a laugh as they advanced into the building.

________________________________________________________________________________________
6:45 pm

Something felt… off.
The walls felt like they were growing longer and longer and it certainly took a toll on the two young men making their way through the hallways. It had been tense between them, with neither man breaking the silence, until atsushi’s enhanced ears heard a thump. 

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Hang on, give me a second.”
Atsushi transformed his nose, and both his ears. He focused in on the sound trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. He felt his hands shaking. He heard a small shuffling sound down the hall to the left. He sprinted that way.

“Follow me!”

Akutagawa nodded and dashed quickly behind him.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Atsushi was still. He was staring straight ahead and he trembled violently, his hands clamped over his mouth and feet completely numb. 
Akutagawa ran into the room, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. 
“What-“
He looked down, where Atsushi was staring. He gasped, despite himself. Laying on the cold empty floor was a pile of dead people, aged about 8 to 13, all battered and limp. Most, if not all, had bullet wounds piercing their flesh and their blood staining their tattered clothes. 
He took a similar position to Atsushi, staring at the bodies piled below him.
One of the oldest children, a girl with dark brown hair, coughed and trembled, a bullet wound in her torso. Atsushi ran up to her and flipped her onto her back. Blood and vomit was running down her chin and down her shirt.

“you… please help my brother… he didn’t get shot too badly…” The girl had a younger boy under her arm.

“Of course! Do you have a parent I can call?”

The girl smiled and closed her eyes.

“Hey! Can you hear me?”

Akutagawa kneeled down and put two fingers on her neck.

“…dead.”

Atsushi slapped a hand over his mouth once again, and felt his eyes sting. Akutagawa jumped up and grabbed the child, probably around 9 years old. 

“Nakajima, quit sniveling! We have to see if there are more of them still alive.”

He sniffed and stood up.

“You’re right, I’ll go from the left, you go from the right.”

They searched for a pulse from every child until they came to one girl, who looked about 5. Atsushi picked her up and called Akutagawa to follow him back to the entrance of the city. He pulled out his phone while he ran and called Kunikida.

“Kunikida! There’s been an emergency! We found 2 kids in critical condition and we need you to pick us up!”

“I’ll be there soon.”
________________________________________________________________________________________
They ran up to Kunikida’s car, both having a child in their arms. 

“Atsushi, what happened here?”

He looked over to Akutagawa.

“Did you do this?”

Akutagawa looked like he had been slapped. He tried to speak to defend himself, but no sound came out. Atsushi covered for him. 

“He didn’t, we found them like this, and we wanted to bring them back to the agency to get healed…”

“Alright then, get in. Atsushi, you sit with the children in the back, Akutagawa, you sit in the front.”
They both nodded and swiftly got in, placing both kids in the back seat, placing a towel behind them so no blood would get on the seats. Kunikida started the car, and began to drive. The atmosphere was tense and Kunikida took a glance at the two young men around him. Atsushi was, obviously, shaking violently. More surprisingly, the mafioso had bunched his hands together and was picking at the sides of his nails. He eventually scratched through the skin barrier and a sliver of red appeared next to his nail bed. He stared for a second and went to picking at a different fingernail. 

“Stop doing that.”

He stared at Kunikida for a moment, then scowled and turned back to his hands, then, put them in his pockets. Kunikida looked back to his steering wheel.

Chapter Text

7:35 pm.
The agency hallway was silent other than the rain pelting the thick stained windows facing the alleyway outside. Atsushi stared down at his lap. He ran his hands through his white tangled hair, trying to think. Those two poor kids were so thin, he could feel the little girl’s bones poking through the clothes she wore when he carried her. His eyes stung again, but he quickly blinked them away. He expected Akutagawa to berate him for being pathetic or something, but he just stared onward. He saw the black haired man raise his hand onto his chest. He had begun to put pressure onto where his hand was laid, clenching his teeth and furrowing his eyebrows(or what was left of them). He huffed, which quickly devolved into a series of harsh, wet coughing, much less controlled than his usual dainty coughing. Atsushi remembered how the older man often ran with his hand in the same position. 

“Are… you alright?”

“What?”

He coughed into his elbow again. Atsushi smelled blood. Akutagawa had, inexplicably turned very pale.

“Excuse me.”

He left the hallway and went up the stairs.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Kunikida scoffed, it wasn’t his job to babysit a ruthless killer of the mafia, but Atsushi was surprisingly good at convincing him to do things, he learned that when Atsushi had practically begged him to buy some white cat keychain, saying it looked like him. He sincerely hoped Dazai never found out about this ability of his(if he didn’t know already). Atsushi had specifically asked him to go tell Akutagawa the children had woken up and that he was needed downstairs, and to also go check if he’s still conscious because “I think he’s really really sick and it’s raining hard out there please please please Kunikida he’ll kill me if he wakes up here tomorrow morning” so that was something as well. He opened the door to the rooftop and was immediately hit with a blast of cold air. He looked around for the mafioso, spotting a black mass under the roof shade. 

“Akutagawa.”

The mass shifted into the image of a man, who turned his head slightly to glance at the detective. 

“Akutagawa, the children have been resuscitated, you may go see them now.”

“Very well-“

He was cut off by another harsh round of coughing, and folded into himself, with a hand on the wall behind him. Kunikida watched as the mafioso crumpled and sank to his knees,  with his elbows on the concrete floor, coughing up blood in spurts and shaking violently. The amount of blood on the floor below him had become a small puddle before Kunikida kneeled down and waited until the shorter man had stopped coughing. Akutagawa was no longer coughing and now only let out short raspy breaths. Kunikida reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pack of tissues, and handed Akutagawa two of them. The rest of the agency may tease him for doing such, but clearly it comes in handy, especially with his job. Akutagawa scowled at the detective and reluctantly took the tissues, sitting back up and began wiping at his mouth and chin, as well as his eyes which had involuntarily watered from the coughing fit. Kunikida remembered his young students at his old job, particularly a girl by the name of Risa, she was always ill in some shape or form, and he remembered waiting with her for an ambulance to arrive after school after a particularly nasty attack. He thought of her, sitting on the floor folded against a bookcase, barely conscious and blood trickling out of her nose. To be honest, how the mafioso looker at this moment wasn’t far off from his mental image of the girl, pale and fragile. He couldn’t deny that it evoked a pang of sympathy within him.

“Very well.”

He shakily stood up and leaned back against the wall. 

“Are you quite sure you can stand?”

“Yes, I suppose I’ll be going now.”

Kunikida nodded and walked back to his desk. He still had a few reports to get through before it was time to clock out. A blizzard was coming, and he’d rather get home sooner than later.
________________________________________________________________________________________
8:00 pm

The kids’ names were Seito and Mai, aged 9 and 4, both a year off of Atsushi’s original guess in their respective directions. He was never good at that sort of thing. The two children were very disoriented due to the place they woke up, demanding to know about their friends’ wellbeing. Yosano broke the news. She crouched down to the kids’ level and her gaze softened considerably. 

“Your friends… they died last night. We’re going to take care of you two for a bit, until we figure out where your new home will be.”

They both gasped. Seito spoke first.

“I- I knew it… I didn’t think that was real…”

Mai had begun to wail loudly, and she dropped to the floor on her hands and knees. Sobbing, she grabbed the older boy’s pant leg and pulled him down with her, onto the floor. He shook, and slowly began to cry too. Atsushi felt a pang of sorrow and desperately wanted to offer the children some comfort, but given their situation it would likely upset them further. He stayed silent. 

“M-my- my big sister… she’s dead too…”

The young boy buried his face in his hands and sobbed louder. He would never see her again. The two children clung to each other on the cold, hard floor of the agency’s clinic. Dazai opened the door and entered the room, glancing at Atsushi and Akutagawa, and turning to the kids and Yosano. 

“The closest orphanage is closed from the snow, these two are just going to have to stay here. They aren’t old enough to stay by themselves, so we need volunteers to watch them until the snowstorm falls back.”

Atsushi raised his hand. Akutagawa turned to the silver haired detective and slowly raised his hand as well. 

“I will be volunteering alongside the weretiger.”

“Huh?- Akutagawa?”

Yosano stood up.

“Akutagawa, follow me outside.”

He stepped outside behind her, and leaned against the wall. The doctor stared into his eyes. 

“Akutagawa, I need you to state your motives for volunteering. For the welfare of these children I need to be sure you are able to take care of these two, especially because of your criminal record. I will give you a chance if I so decide, but you must not bring these two back to the mafia if it is so.”

Akutagawa noticed a few scalpels between the knuckles of the agency’s doctor. Best to not let down his guard here. 

“I wish to watch after these two children until they are able to be transferred into an orphanage. I believe that although you likely don’t believe it, I feel as if I am one of the ideal people to look after these children.”

“And why is that?”

“I… I used to grow up in a similar situation. The reason I even joined the mafia is because my sister and I were offered a spot after… the other children I used to travel with were killed in the same manner. I truly understand these children in a way likely nobody else in this building does. I promise to ensure the complete well-being of the children until they move to an orphanage and I am dismissed.”

“How do I know you can actually be a good caretaker for any child?”

“In the mafia, executive Chuuya often drags me along with him on errands for Q and Elise. Those two are incredibly dangerous mafia members, so I feel as if looking after a few normal children with the weretiger wouldn’t be all that difficult.”

Yosano sighed deeply, and smirked at the mafioso. 

“I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll see what Dazai has to say.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Oh, also, speaking of Chuuya, tell him to come drink with me sometime, it’s been a while.”
________________________________________________________________________________________
9:45 pm

Atsushi walked down the halls with the two children following close behind, observing their surroundings. He walked up to his door and was greeted by Kyouka. 

“I’m gonna go stay over with Kenji. See you later, ok?”

She hugged him quickly and grabbed her backpack. She said a quick greeting to the children and ran off. Atsushi sighed and opened the door to his dorm and motioned for the two kids to enter. Akutagawa had gone out to buy supplies for the children, who were currently gawking at Atsushi’s dorm.

“You live here? You’re so lucky!” 

Atsushi smiled down at the little girl. He sometimes took his little apartment for granted, and this reminded him to be grateful for the fact he even has walls and a roof. He noticed the boy kept staring into the distance, his eyes blank and red from crying. 

“When’s the other guy going to come back?”

“I’m not quite sure, it’s snowing pretty hard…”

The cold… will he be alright? He was coughing blood just from running a mile or so… Does he do this everyday? 

“Hey, why don’t we introduce ourselves? Seito and Mai, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Yes.”

“Well, my names Atsushi, the man with the black hair is Akutagawa. I work at this agency.”

“Let me show you around.”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Akutagawa opened the agency door, to the shock of a few agency members who hadn’t yet been informed on his situation. He carried three shopping bags with a spear of Rashomon, which almost seemed to cower under the rain and snow. Snowflakes dotted his hair, and his coat shimmered with melted snow which ran into his boots, when he walked, each step sent a shock to his nerves. He made his way up to Atsushi’s dorm, than tapped his knuckles on the door twice. 

“Yes? Oh, Akutagawa!”

He entered the room and set the wet shopping bags on a towel over the weretiger’s table. He ran a hand through his hair, and coughed twice into his hand. 

“Weretiger. Is there a place I can put my coat?” 

“Oh, err… I have a clothing line in the bathroom, you can hang it up to dry there.”

“Hm. Thank you.” 

He walked to the bathroom and did as he was told. Atsushi was confused on why Akutagawa was so polite today. Maybe it was because of the children’s presence. He sighed and began to unload what Akutagawa had bought. He took out a few packs of instant noodles, vegetables, bread, soup stock, fish, a few apples, and candy. The children looked over his shoulder, practically drooling over the food. 

“Uh…”

At this point, thankfully Akutagawa had re-entered the room, and had begun to use Atsushi’s cooking utensils(without his permission) and had begun to cook. The image was strangely domestic, and Atsushi felt his ears flush with the thought. 

“Do you even wash these correctly, weretiger?”

“Um… I don’t use them often so…”

“Ew.”

“Hey mister Atsushi, do you have water?”

“Of course, I can’t believe I forgot!”

He brought two tall glasses of water for each kid, who both gingerly took sips from the top. The boy spoke first. 

“Mai, this seems safe to drink…”

“Oh, okay.”

“The agency gets clean water, so you don’t have to worry about drinking it.”

Knowing this information, they both finished their cups within seconds and asked for more. He gladly fulfilled their requests. 
A few minutes later, Akutgawa was finished making the soup, he placed bowls infront of the children and Atsushi, before getting his own. The children practically inhaled their food, they didn’t say a word for the majority of dinner. 
Once they finished, they both sighed.

“Thanks Mr. Akutagawa!”

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome.”
________________________________________________________________________________________
Akutagawa had given the children two sets each of clothes, one for the day and one for the night. After the both of them had taken a bath and went to bed, Atsushi walked onto the fire escape, climbed to the top and found Akutagawa standing next to the edge of the roof under the shade, looking out onto the city. He hesitantly walked over to the taller man and stood to the side of him. He stared for a few long seconds before he opened his mouth.

“Akutagawa?”

“What is it, you stupid fool?” 

“…”

He noticed how the tip of the mafioso’s nose was flushed and dotted with snow. He thought of how he had a coughing fit before, likely because of the cold air and definitely no other reason relating to the condition of his lungs. 

“We should go back inside, it’s pretty cold out.”

Akutagawa scoffed.

“You can go on and do that yourself.”

“You’re shivering.”

“Hm.”

“Don’t think I forgot about what happened in the hall earlier.”

Akutagawa turned back to his original position. Atsushi peered over and looked at Akutagawa’s eyes. They seemed distant somehow, as he gazed back onto the city. Yokohama was alive, but quiet. The nighttime haze clouded the sky along with snow, a deep purple hue. Most people had settled into their own homes and such, the streets were quieter and everything was somewhat calm. He decided to stand there for maybe a few minutes longer.