Chapter Text
"NO FAIR! CHEATER!!" Atsushi whined and tried to wiggle away from Dazai's arms as if asking for another round again.
"says the one who tried to dunk a trash bin on my head just to win!" Dazai then pointed out with a pout while carrying Atsushi to the next arcade game.
Turns out, Dazai decided to bring Atsushi to the nearest arcade store there is within the mall. It also didn't take them both a few games to suddenly revert back to their constant bantering to one another. Although for Dazai, this kind of banter is fundamentally different from how he does it with Ango and Chuuya and that he liked it that way.
Not that holding Atsushi's hand made it feel much more better than any other, of course he won't admit that.
"How about this game then?" Dazai then chirpped urging Atsushi inside the cramp space about shooting down zombies to win. Funnily so, Atsushi made a choking noise and glared up at him complaining "NO WAY! You're just going to abandon me and get your character killed!"
"As much as I'm a suicide-enthusiast myself," Dazai happily beamed while mushing Atsushi's face and rubbing hard that he ignored his tiny squeaks of protest, "may I remind you that when it comes to games, I'm not going to lose over some virtual and unrealistic things~"
"Dazai-kun did what!?"
Ango frowned on the batter he's tending while Chuuya on the other hand were helping the kids with cutting decorations that'll be placing all over the place soon. Chuuya himself looked almost constipated and pissed off by the mentioning of Dazai again but surprisingly heaved a deep breath and simply answered "We had an agreement on this, as much as I hate to admit it."
"And you guys are fine with it??" Ango then turns his eyes on the children around Chuuya, who all looked at one another and for Kousuke to nonchalantly beamed "We all agreed to attack Scary-niisan if he ever brought Atsushi-nii back in tears!"
"Then, Odasaku-san??" Ango questioned to the other that had been busy making the frosting. Oda did look contemplative in the prospects of Atsushi being under Dazai's supervision. It took him half a minute to continue what he was doing before he answered "I noticed that Atsushi seemed to have brought the phone the Old Man gave him so if anything, I'll trust on Atsushi if anything were to happen because of Dazai."
"Knowing Dazai-kun, he could probably be bribing Nakajima to--" Ango stresses only to stop midway when Oda had the audacity to stuff a spoon full of frosting to his mouth to innocently ask "Is this okay or is it not sweet enough for a 14 year old to eat?"
"A-chew!" Dazai sneezes and missed his shot, Atsushi on the other hand looked towards his way confused. Dazai knew someone (specifically EVERYONE) is probably bad-mouthing him right now but he only shrugged it off and continued playing, which got Atsushi worrying. By the time their game ended, with the scores 170 - 100, Atsushi could only fume and glare daggers over their scores.
"Poor 'sushi~ Even basketball's not on your side today too" Dazai teases, looked around the place for anymore games to play until he felt Atsushi's hand on the hem of his turtle-neck shirt.
"Let's just call it for today, you've been sneezing nonstop ever since we left that 'fighting' game--" Atsushi pointed out before fishing out his own handkerchief.
"Correction, it's *Road Fighter--"
"Wha-Whatever!" Atsushi flushes and tried to pull down Dazai to his eye level as much as his now 14-year-old body can do, "ALL I'm saying is that..!"
Atsushi's attempt to try and shove his handkerchief may have failed with how Dazai remained unfazed from the pulling, but the timing that Atsushi had to cut himself off along with his phone vibrating was just so right Dazai had to internally clap for such pure coincidence. Before Atsushi could even continue, Dazai took the liberty to take Atsushi's handkerchief off his grasp and simply beamed
"Looks like you're right, Atsushi! Let's go home ~"
"AS IF THIS IS MY HOME!!" Atsushi screamed and whined at the top of his lungs while literally trying to escape from Dazai's weird way of carrying him all the way to some expensive looking apartment within a high class hotel somewhere near the apartment complex that he used to stay in with Oda. As much as Dazai wanted to tease the other boy more, buying time is just as an equivalent as asking to not have drinking nights with Oda and Ango.
Which is downright not part of Dazai's List of ways of wasting this Life.
"Haven't you heard about friend's sleepover!? I even got Odasaku's permission..!" Dazai reasoned, of course is a lie, while now struggling to click on the right floor button.
The moment the elevator door closed with the same timing as Dazai successfully clicking the right floor number, had Atsushi successfully escaped Dazai's grasped. He made sure to stand as far away as he could to what seemed to be Dazai protecting the elevator buttons.
As if Atsushi would risk into trying to use it to his advantage if it meant he'll be having another round of futile wrestling with a grown-ass 17 year old Dazai Osamu.
SO he did what would be the best course of action---
"Cellphone receptions don't work on elevators, darlin'~"
--- WHICH was quickly crossed out when the phone clearly shows no signal, and was a bad move to do because the moment he was ready to quip a threat had Dazai successfully abducted said gadget.
"S-SNATCHER..! Give it BACK..!!" Atsushi cried out in distress as Dazai raised it beyond Atsushi's reached. He had once again reminded how he downright loathed this smug smartass' blessed growth spurt.
"How about showing me some respect first? Huh? Na~ ka~ ji~ ma~ A~ tsu~ shi-kun ~?" Dazai sing-songs over each syllables and had snickered over Atsushi's frustration. It had surprisingly went on hold when Atsushi almost got hit by a slightest inch from a sudden high kick over what seemed to be the closed elevator door. Lo and behold Nakahara Chuuya with his amazing flexibility to do a three-forth split while Dazai held out a hand (which sadly has Atsushi's phone held captive) to block over said attack.
"Impressive, Chibi!" Dazai commented, "Managing to stop the force and momentum of your kick so as to not destroy Atsushi-kun's phone! I hope you have that amount of control during your missions--"
"LISTEN HERE BANDAGED-BEAN POLE---" Chuuya growled as he recomposed himself and had successfully pulled Atsushi away from Dazai, "I don't even care what your thing with treating Atsushi is but if you valued whatever Oda had said..!"
"Yes, Yes~ Whatever gets you to sleep at night, Slug.." Dazai nonchalantly hummed as he carelessly threw Atsushi's phone to their direction while maneuvering himself along the hallways.
Whatever tone or events after that remained a plaguing itch within Atsushi.
So color Atsushi surprise when he was greeted by everyone. He was aware what that day was but the decorations, the location and the food displayed before him was beyond whatever he had thrown for everyone.
"We all know this isn't much from everything you've given to us, Atsushi-nii.." Shinji spoke softly as Atsushi gladly bent down just enough for him to place a make-shift crown on his head, ".. but we couldn't thank you enough for coming to our li-lives.."
"Sh-Shinji..!" Atsushi heard Yuu reprimanded over the blur that had suddenly covered his own eyes, "Wh-why are you crying..! You're making Ats-Atsushi-nii cry too..!"
Oh, so he's crying as well.
Everything suddenly became a bit chaotic, but Atsushi managed to capture all of their attention by simply saying
"Thank you.. everyone..!"
The crushing hug from the kids after it was all worth it.
"No way..!"
"YES WAY, ATSUSHI-NII..!" Sakura looked just as surprised as Atsushi while she took a short pause eating another fork full of cake, "We all thought Chuuya-san was lying when he said Scary-niisan let us use this expensive looking hotel room for free! Just for today, but still..!"
"I don't think he's that rich to afford this! I even bet Oda's hiding those extra mafia cash from us all this time just for today too!" Kousuke joined their conversation with another plateful of the catered food they prepared.
"Ungrateful are we now, kiddo?" and without a warning, Kousuke was suddenly assaulted on his sides, gasping and shrieking out loud as Shinji managed to save his food (and had placed it besides Atsushi) before joining the wrestle. Not long even after now came Yuu as they tried to outnumber Dazai of which was all in defeat as they all ended up tied under his black coat.
"Release us, Demon!" Kousuke demanded and watched as Dazai took each of their plates childishly declaring "Bleeeh~ No way! If you're not respecting the owner, then you guys can just stay there till Odasaku takes you all back to your lairs!"
A chorus of names being called drown the room with more noises though Atsushi could only zone them all out and watched these once strangers become a part of what he believed to be a 'family'. Feeling warmed up, Atsushi just couldn't remove the smile that remained on his face till the party ended along with the Tiger within him pleased with this as well.
Let's continue protecting them.. okay? Byakko?