14 - ₮ⱧɆ ₳ⱫɄⱤɆ ₥Ɇ₴₴Ɇ₦₲ɆⱤ

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It was early morning and completely quiet, the sun had yet to come up as a soft breeze past through, ruffling the leaves of the tree's in a park that was completely disserted.

except for the young woman who many mistook for a male, seated under one of the tree's, book in hand.

the form of a white covin on the front of it with the title in the middle that was written in the same pure red color as the rest of the book.

'The Complete Guide To Suicide' it read and it seemed they had just found a new method to try as they closed the book and stood up, holding their hand over their eyes as they looked up at the sun that was finally starting to rise.

mushrooms, but where will i find those...

-

the door to the agency's office opened as kunikida walked through, unknown to the chaos that laid within it.

"Good morning-" he spoke before being cut off.

"Kunikida-san, please help us!" atsushi shouted looking desperately terrified.

it was quiet for a while, the only sound being the door closing.

"What's going on so early in the day?" kunikida questioned unfazed, breaking the silence.

"J-just look at dazai-san and erity-kun" atsushi answered before turning to the side, not realising he had misspoken on erity's pronounce.

once they had gotten back to the agency, after he had found out about her actually being a girl, it was brought up and revealed that everybody had already realized erity had been a girl and that he was the last one.

he felt pretty down to find out he had been the only one and that it had to be pointed out to him to find out.

afterwards he had questioned how he should address her now making everybody else wonder to as they had all been using 'kun' even though they knew she had been a girl.

saying that they thought that was the way they should address her as everybody else had been doing it.

she had given them the simple answer of a shrug as she didn't mind what people called her.

so they had decided to go with her biological pronouns from now one, most didn't have a problem with the change, dazai seemed quiet happy being able to call her 'chan' from now on and atsushi tried his best to use the different pronouns but sometimes still misspoke.

kunikida turned to where atsushi was looking to see dazai standing on a desk before glancing to the side to see erity laying on the couch, her dull eyes where completely glazed over and on occasion her lips would move, a soft incoherent mutter slipping out.

"Oh!" dazai shouted making kunikida turn back to look at him "Kunikida-kun, it's an emergency! just look!" dazai spoke before pointing upwards at nothing.

"Look at what?" kunikida asked as he was pushed forwards by atsushi who stayed behind him.

"At that!" dazai pointed at the same spot with different movements and their was still nothing to be seen, at least not to them.

"I only see your idiot face!" kunikida stated, completely unimpressed.

"I've finally arrived...in the afterlife!" dazai exclaimed as he took on different poses "At Yomotsuhirasaka!"

"What's going on?" kunikida questioned as he took another glance at erity who still layed on the couch, completely out of it.

"Kunikida-san" atsushi spoke up from on the other side of the desk making kunikida turn to him.

"I think this may explain it" atushi told him as he in one hand held dazai's book of 'The Complete Guide To Suicide' and a green mushroom with yellow spots and in the other hand held erity's book of 'The Complete Guide To Suicide' and a red mushroom with white spots

"I knew The Complete Guide To Suicide was a masterpiece!" dazai spoke "Who knew i just needed to eat mushrooms growing in the nearby hills, to have such an entertaining way out?!" he continued before leaning his head back, arms held up as he laughed manically.

"So they ate poisonous mushrooms?" kunikida questioned, watching dazai and hearing erity's incoherent muttering.

"Well, they thought they were eating lethal mushrooms, but..." atshushi explained but was cut of as he was jumped by dazai, who held him in a restrictive manner.

"Ah, i've finally caught you, rainbow pillbug!" dazai shouted as he partly strangled atsushi "All right, let's eat you back home!"

"Kunikida-san!" atsushi shouted desperately.

"I'm doing my customary paperwork after arriving at work, wait till i'm done" kunikida spoke as he opened his laptop after sitting down at his desk.

"What?!" atsushi shouted in disbelieve before he went completely quiet.

before starting his work kunikida had sent one last glance at erity, who hadn't said a word or done anything at all different then just laying their and muttering incoherently, he did wonder what she was muttering but as long as she didn't disturb him or his work he didn't mind her to much and started his work.

although he didn't really have to worry about her, afterall. to erity, she wasn't even in the agency at the moment.

instead to her, she was laying in a field of grass, warm sunlight hugging her as she was looking up at the beautiful light blue sky, a simple breeze ruffling her hair as the grass sprites moved against her.

"That tickles" she said as she continued to watch the birds fly trough the sky.

"It must be nice...being able to fly...away from everything" she spoke as her eyes slowly followed the birds "Must be so...freeing"

taking in a deep breath, she could smell...a peach and apricot sort of aroma which reminded her of osmanthus but also a soft oceanic aroma which reminded her of dried seaweed.

she wasn't sure what the call the scent but it did remind her of something, no someone.

"Her...it's her" erity said before noticing that it wasn't quiet anymore, it had been quiet the whole time she had laid here except for her own voice as she spoke on occasion, until now.

the sound became louder the longer she listened to it and that's when she realised it was a voice.

her voice, she was singing. a familiar song, one she used to sing to erity all the time back then...

hitotsu futatsu doko ni saku

kodomo ga nemuru mado no shita

awai tsukiyo no shiroi hana

mittsu yottsu doko ni saku

mama no kagami no fuchikazari

aoi chiisana hana ga saku

itsutsu muttsu doko ni saku

fukaku tsumotta yuki no shita

ima wa tsubomi de haru wo matsu

kazoemashou

kazoemashou

hana wo mitsukete

kazoemashou

nanatsu yattsu kazoetara

kodomo ga nemuru yume no naka

mama ga agemasho hanataba wo

mama ga agemasho hanataba wo

once the song was over, erity had found herself with her eyes closed, feeling a familiar warmth as gentle hands ran trough her hair, patting it down softly.

erity didn't dare open her eyes as she knew what...who she would see once she did and honestly, she didn't want it to stop just yet, this moment of calmness.

.

.

.

a few minutes passed by when she finally felt the hands slowly come to a stop, this was it, it was time to open her eyes.

taking in a deep breath trough her nose, having the scent of osmanthus and dried seaweed come trough a lot stronger now, she slowly opened her eyes.

glazed pink one's meeting gentle light green one's.

"Your hair is still as unruly as it was back then" she spoke as she gave that soft smile, exactly the same as in the past.

"And your smile stills light's up the world, like it always did" erity told her as she softly brought up her hand and gently graced over the woman's cheek with the back of her hand.

the woman just smiled brightened as her eyes softened more, if that was even possible.

erity felt euphoric in this moment but she knew it couldn't last, after all, she was...

taking in another deep breath in, erity looked back in those gentle light green eyes, those eyes that she had missed so much, just like that bright soft smile, the warmth she carried with her, the scent of osmanthus and dried seaweed, everything.

everything that made her, she missed it all.

"I...I..." erity trailed off in a strangled voice, her chest hurt almost like she was pushing out the words but they didn't want to come out, trying to force themself back down.

her eyes glazing over even more as she saw the woman's own eyes fill up and the brightness around them dampen but her soft smile stayed although erity could tell that it was strained.

both of them knowing that this couldn't last, this wasn't even real to begin with but even so, erity had to tell her.

"I...miss you" erity finally got out "Miss Yua" as those last two words passed her lips two tears slided down and over her cheeks, a small but genuine smile showing.

.

.

.

thud!

erity blinked after she heard a loud thud and found herself looking at the ceiling of the agency.

huh? why am i in the agency...i was just with...

"Shut up!" she heard the familiar voice of a pissed off kunikida.

sitting up she looked around and saw she had been laying on the couch in the agency's office, kunikida standing at his desk with dazai laying on the floor in front of him.

her eyes connected with those off a tied up atsushi who had a confused look in them before they turned into those of curiosity with a tint of worry as they trialed over her cheeks making erity bring up her hand and touch her cheeks to feel that they where slightly wet.

i cried...

she wiped them away quickly and then turned to look back at atsushi who was still looking at her, luckily his mouth was covered so he couldn't ask her what was wrong, she glanced at kunikida and dazai again making atsushi follow.

remembering what was happening he wondered why two such incompatible people work as a team.

that's when they heard a door open making everybody turn towards the brown haired woman with glasses as she walked in.

"Kunikida-san, the president has your case for the day" she told him, ignoring dazai who was on the floor, erity who had let herself fall back onto the couch and atsushi who was still tied up.

-

"Dazai, erity. quit dawdling, walk faster" kunikida told the two as he walked up ahead with atsushi right behind him.

"Kay" dazai told him simply with his hand behind his head.

"Yeah" erity let out as she walked with her hands in her jacket pockets next to dazai.

she still felt a bit sluggish, knowing it was the mushroom she had taken, it seemed she had taken the wrong one which ends up making you hallucinate instead of die.

and no matter how much she tried she couldn't forget the hallucination she had, of course she couldn't, it was about her after all.

"We only have two minutes and fifteen second until the appointed time!" kunikida stated.

"That's a concern" dazai replied but kunikida just ignored him.

"Is it okay for me and erity-chan to come along?" atsushi questioned.

"This is part of your guys rookie training, this case involves solving a series of disappearances in yokohama" kunikida explained.

disappearances...oh yeah, the one with the visitors, heard of those before

"If i recall, it's the one where visitors to yokohama keep disappearing one after the other, right?" atsushi asked.

"We have an anonymous tip" kunikida said.

How generous

"the victims have been abducted and imprisoned in a certain location" kunikida explained.

"An anonymous tip" dazai spoke as they all walked into a warehouse "how suspicious and wonderful"

"But we can't ignore it" kunikida stated.

"So we're going to check the place out?" atsushi questioned.

"No" kunikida answered as they reached a metal door which he opened, revealing a staircase going down "Where going to investigate the anonymous tip's source first"

ascending down the stairs, they stopped at the last set revealing some kind of secret lair, it was pitch black except from the light which came from some of the computers that where placed in a circle, in the middle was a fish tank with a giant tropical fish and a boy standing in front of it.

taking a closer look at the computers and other electronics surrounding the boy it didn't take long for erity to conclude that he must have been a hacker.

the boy seemed to be in his early teens. He had shortly cropped, brown hair and brownish-gold eyes. He wore a light blue button-up under a thick, white knitted sweater with the sleeves pushed up and donned a brown bracelet on his left wrist.

His attire consisted of tightly fitting, dark green pants with the right pant leg partially rolled up and white high top sneakers.

"How goes it, informant?" kunikida called out to the boy.

"Hey, four-eyes. are you a slave to your notebook yet again?" the boy questioned as the four walked down the last set of stairs and towards him.

"You think you can talk like that to a detective agency when you're a cyber criminal?" kunikida questioned "If you're arrested, your deceased father will be most aggrieved"

ouch

"Don't bring my father into this" the boy spoke, clearly aggravated "More importantly, you're late" the boy said as he turned towards them "isn't that unusual for you? why? where you on a date with a pretty lady?"

"No!" kunikida answered quickly "Dates should be with a chosen woman, followed by marriage six years later, that is what's written in this notebook" kunikida explained as he raised his notebook.

"Huh?!" atsushi questioned with a dumbfounded expression "You have someone you've decided to marry?"

erity glanced up at the notebook in thought, marriage was one of the many things she didn't quite understand completely even when she had tried to explain it to her but that had been a long time ago and she herself never really gave it much thought.

although from what kunikida had just said she couldn't help but wonder.

is that what people mean when they say 'going by the book', but if that the case, isn't kunikida's life basically 'going by the book'

"I will in another four years' kunikida said as he turned to atsushi, snapping erity out of her thoughts.

"Are they new?" the boy asked kunikida as he looked at atsushi and erity.

"I'm Nakajima Atsushi" atsushi spoke as he abruptly stood back up right and spoke respectfully.

"Erity" erity told him simply with that same monotonous voice as always and while the rest had already gotten used to it, the boy was clearly taken by surprise but didn't take long to recuperate.

"I'm called Taguchi Rokuzou" he introduced himself "I'm an informant, For the right price, i can dig up dirt on anything"

as i thought

"And?" kunikida questioned "Did you figure out who's behind the anonymous tip?"

"The Azure Messenger..." Rokuzou trailed off.

azure...azure...sounds familiar

"What?" kunikida questioned.

"There was data left on the server and pics of the abduction victims, i guess" rokuzou explained and he laid out pictures on his desk "The mole's not a bad guy , though, is he? he told you where they're holed up and all"rokuzou continued as he sat down on his chair.

"I wonder..." dazai spoke up as he took some of the pictures, leaning over one of the computers "i hope we don't go there, only to find he's one of the kidnappers"

"The Azure Messenger..." kunikida spoke, seemingly to be deep in thought before looking back up at rokuzou "I want you to keep looking into it"

"Sure, when i feel like it" rokuzou said before opening his eyes and looking up at kunikida with a smirk" I'm busy looking after my tropical fish"

-

it had been nightfall once the four of them had left rokuzou's hide out, they now stood by the sidewalk, looking over the port's water as kunikida was making a phone call.

i'm tired

erity looked at herself in the reflection of water as she sat down on the side walk, letting her legs swing softly.

the sluggish feeling from before had eased up a bit but the thoughts of the hallucination where all still their, she took a deep breath in before looking up at the lights from the port.

"Yeah, thanks" kunikida said as he finished his phone call, but erity just continued to look at the lights "I called a cab, we'll go to the abandoned hospital mentioned by the tipster now"

"Kunikida-kun, why are you looking after the Rokuzou boy?" dazai asked.

"What do you mean?" kunikida questioned.

"It's not like you to give a hacker jobs you could've just talked to him over the phone but you took the time to meet him face to face, his father's deceased, isn't he?" dazai explained "are you trying to be his dad?" he asked.

"We came here so that atsushi and erity could meet our informant, that's all there is to it" kunikida explained.

"Sure, let's leave it at that" dazai spoke knowing that kunikida had lied about the matter, he wasn't the only one.

a couple seconds latter the taxi drove up the them, dazai, kunikida and atsushi turned to the taxi.

while kunikida went to sit in the front seat, dazai and atsushi took the back seats but before dazai went to sit down he noticed erity still sitting down at the side walk.

"Erity-chan, aren't you coming?" he asked her making atsushi lean forwards and look out the taxi to also see her still sitting their, he got the feeling something was off and remembered this morning.

it was only two tears and he'd almost missed them if it hadn't been for the sun which was shining on her back then making them glimmer on her cheeks.

she had cried.

"There's not enough space, i'll walk" erity replied not looking at them.

"Hm~" dazai looked from erity to the space in the back of the car, it was quiet cramped but he was sure she could still fit seeing how small she was but he let it be as he sensed something seemed different about her at the moment, he wasn't sure what though.

"Alright then, we'll see you there" he told her with a smile before taking his seat and closing the door and before the taxi took of he popped his head out the window "Be carful~"

then, erity was on her own.

she took another deep breath in as her shoulders slumped in completely, she knew what she had said was an excuse but she just, needed a moment for herself.

honestly, she was starting to contemplate to just go home like she did most time with these cases they got but shook of the thought as, afterall. it was her job and she needed the money.

so with a sigh she let herself fall back, looking up at the night sky that was filled with bright stars.

not as bright as her

erity groaned as she once again caught herself thinking of her

her, her, her, that's all she could think off but...this wasn't the first time this has happened, their where other times she would pop back up and not leave her alone.

most of the time this would result in one of her 'little hibernation's' but it had only been a couple weeks the last time she had one of those and it normally took a good couple month's for her to have one again, yet here she was.

maybe i should go back home...

her eyes where closed as she gave up on pushing them down and let all the thoughts about her flood through and engulf her, slowly starting to drown her.