003

"Come in." A cup of tea was elegantly held up between fingers.

At the entrance, you walked in the room, only the sounds of boots clacking on the floor can be heard.

"Boss." You greeted with a bow.

"Ah, it's you!" A familiar girl with long blonde hair was drawing with crayons on the floor until she saw you.

Elise, she ran towards you to hug you.

You froze at the unexpected hug but relaxed almost immediately.

Elise has been fond of you. Well, more precisely your face. Not that you're uncomfortable about it. The child is endearing.

Mori, as he sat on the couch, didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"'Boss,' huh?" he mused with an airy laugh, setting down his cup. "Now that was cute."

You looked up, expression unchanged. "It’s what you are now, isn’t it?"

"Oh, certainly, certainly~" he waved a hand. "But still! The way you said it, so serious, like a little soldier reporting to duty. Adorable."

Mori sighed, pleased. "It’s the first time you’ve said it to me, isn’t it? The first time we’ve seen each other since the... unfortunate retirement of the previous boss."

Unfortunate. That’s one way to put it.

You said nothing, merely standing straight with Elise latched onto your side.

"Ne, L/N! Ignore Rintarou, he's blabbering nonsense now that he's become boss!" Elise tug at your arm.

"Nonsense? Oh, how you wound me, Elise-chan!"

And back to their little banter they go.

You stood there with closed eyes, waiting for them to stop.

"Elise-chan, please~ I beg of you!" Mori clapped his hand together with his head lowered.

The port mafia will certainly fall to ruins if other people knew about the boss' attitude towards little girls.

"Hmph! Fine..." Elise relented, crossing her arms as she pouted.

Elise was always relentless and defiant when it comes to Mori, but you suppose she's in a good mood.

"Ehem...!" Mori coughed, trying to regain his composure.

"Anyway, L/N-kun... How is Dazai-kun?"

Hearing that name made you paused.

"He's improving rapidly. I'm sure he'll be an executive in no time." You informed simply.

Improving 'rapidly' is an understatement.

You remembered the time when you went home only to find a cut on your neck.

That was the first time Dazai had been trained by you. At first, he was weak and predictable. Definitely not skilled enough to land a cut on your neck.

That just proved how big of a potential Dazai has.

"Dazai-kun's ability is only defensive so that's the bare minimum he should do," Mori took a sip of the tea.

You never knew the kid had an ability. Not that you ever asked.

After Mori dismissed you, you went to find Dazai.

The air outside Mori’s office was cool, damp with mist curling through the cracked tiles and iron balconies of the Port Mafia’s headquarters.

You moved with purpose, but not haste.

It wasn’t hard to find Dazai.

You knew where he’d be.

There was a place at the far end of the hideout, a ruined rooftop where the sky could be seen clearly. A rare sight in this underground world.

You often went there yourself. Not for the stars, but for the silence.

And silence was what Dazai was drawn to, wasn’t it?

When you arrived, there he was.

Perched on the edge, legs swinging over the side like a child on a playground.

The knife you gave him rested beside him. Still clean, still whole.

His coat fluttered slightly with the wind, his bandages catching the moonlight like fragile silk.

You approached without a word, footsteps quiet against the gravel-strewn roof.

He didn’t turn.

But he knew you were there.

"You’re sloppy," you said, eyes drifting to the way his left leg dangled dangerously close to the ledge. "One strong gust, and you’ll fall."

"Wouldn’t that be nice?" he murmured, eyes trained on the dark cityscape. "I wonder how long it’d take to hit the ground."

You didn’t answer.

Instead, you sat beside him, not too close, not too far. Just enough to share the same patch of silence.

The minutes passed.

"You’re improving," you said. "Rapidly."

His shoulders tensed before relaxing again. "Is that so?"

Silence fell once more, this time, heavier.

"I don’t get it," he muttered. "Why teach me? Why care? I’m just a kid you got handed like some kind of... experiment."

"That’s exactly what you are," you said bluntly.

"These are all boss' orders. I do what I'm told to." You closed your eyes and rest your head on nothing.

"...I hear you're Mori's loyal dog even before the previous boss passed. Why?" He glanced at you.

You didn't answer. At least, not for a while.

"I..." You paused before continuing. "I need someone to guide me. If not, I don't know what to do." With that said, you stopped.

You sure as hell don't know what you're doing. That, he knew.

He saw how other executives train their underlings. He saw how quickly they improve.

And you? Your underlings were weak. Pathetic.

Dazai knew. Knew that you are exceptional at following orders but absolutely sucks at being a leader.

Those rumors about you being a good leader? Bullshit.

It's only because of your reputation that you're misunderstood to be scary.

In truth, you have no idea what you're doing at all. Like a lost child.

Now don't this sound familiar?

"......" Dazai chuckled at the irony.

Everything about you is controlled by Mori. Those nice gestures, affection and worries... All of them aren't real.

Well, they might be. But not because you care. Because you can't afford to let him die.

With a blank stare into the sky, you mumbled, "Maybe I'm just trying to find a purpose to my life. Who knows?"

His eyes widened at your words before he bursted out laughing.

"L/N-san...you do know you sound absolutely pathetic right now, right?"

The irony of it all. How disgustingly similar but different the two of you are.

Yet, it felt pleasant. Yes, Dazai felt pleasant at your uncertainty of yourself.

Normally, you wouldn't know how to react from getting insulted and ends up ignoring whoever who insulted you. However...

Seeing his laugh, you felt...confused? A complicated emotion that you can't quite get your hands on.

It doesn't feel displeasing...

After his laughter died down, you reached into your coat and pulled out something. It wasn’t a weapon this time, but a small paper wrapped box.

You tossed it at him. He caught it awkwardly, confused.

He opened it.

Inside are bandages. A new roll. Clean. Neatly wrapped.

"Next time, clean your wounds before they get infected. I don’t want to waste time training a corpse."

Dazai stared at it, then at you. That flicker was back in his eyes again. Not quite hope.

But the shape of it.

“…Thanks.”

You stood.

"Be ready tomorrow. You’re going to learn how to kill."

His eyes widened slightly.

You didn’t wait for a response.

As you walked away, the wind picked up—strong enough to knock someone off the ledge.

But Dazai didn’t fall. He didn't let himself fall.

He tightened his grip on the bandages instead.