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Atsushi had never expected to see a day when Akutagawa reached his limit in any capacity. The demon-coated mafioso was the definition of a person who didn’t give up or admit that he needed help. It didn’t seem like he would ever be.
But things changed in a heartbeat.
In one moment, Akutagawa and Atsushi were bickering as they often did after completing missions together. In the next, the taller of the two young men was on the ground, violently coughing and looking like he was in utter agony.
Atsushi didn’t think he’d ever seen his rival so pale or weak-looking. There was no doubt in his mind that whatever was affecting the other man was not new. Not to any extent. Though his head races with possibilities of why Akutagawa would hide his suffering, finding the answers was nowhere near his top priority at the moment.
He needed to get the other man some help.
"Akutagawa, you all right?"
Atsushi knelt and leaned over his rival, trying not to sound as concerned as the other man as he was, but he wasn't quite sure what to do to help. It felt essential to assess the situation, so he spoke up again.
“Do you want me to bring you somewhere I can get you help?”
To the tiger man’s surprise, Akutagawa nods immediately, wincing in pain as another wave of coughs goes through him. Now that Atsushi is closer to the other man he can see that the mafioso is bleeding, no doubt a result of the ability users the pair had fought a few minutes ago.
Why hadn’t Akutagawa said he’d been injured? Was his pride so bad that he couldn’t ask for help? At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter the reason the other man hadn’t said anything. All Atsushi could do now was get him the help he needed.
"Hang in there, alright?” Atsushi says as he wraps his arms around the other man and gently lifts him to his feet, “I'll take you to the Agency's clinic. Once Yosano gets you patched up, you'll feel better."
Akutagawa grimaces but doesn’t fight against being held. He might even slightly move into the touch, but that might just be to get more comfortable.
“Does it really have to be the Agency, Weretiger?” he asks, but there isn’t a trace of the usual annoyance in his voice.
Akutagawa falls silent shortly after, hissing under his breath and clutching at one of the numerous wounds that littered his skin. Even wearing his coat, Atsushi could tell that the ability users he and the other man had recently fought had gotten a few good hits on the demon-coated mafioso.
"What other place would you have me take you?" Atsushi asks with a little bit of glee.
He couldn't help but smile as he noticed the lack of irritation in the taller man's voice. Could it be that being this severely injured had made the other man just a little bit tolerable?
"The agency is closest. And besides," Atsushi adds, "That's where we go when our injuries are bad enough that we need medical attention."
“You better not breathe a word of this to anyone, or I will rip your heart out with Rashomon!” Akutagawa hisses, but the threat feels empty.
“Sure, sure,” Atsushi hums in response, “Whatever you say.”
He then adjusts how he's carrying Akutagawa slightly, making him rest more comfortably in his arms so he can make the journey back to the Agency with haste.
The young tiger only takes about 10 minutes to climb the steps to the Armed Detective Agency’s office building. He wasn’t sure how he would approach asking Yosano to heal Akutagawa. The Port Mafia and Agency still had a truce, but he wasn’t sure that truce included bringing other organization members into the office unannounced.
But before Atsushi can fully consider what he will say, someone is already speaking to him.
“Why did you bring a Port Mafia member into our office building?”
Kunikida.
Atsushi turned to face the blond detective with a confidence he didn’t usually have.
"Akutagawa is hurt," he replied with some urgency, "He was working with me on a case and, well..."
He looked down at his injured rival. He felt a little foolish when he had to lift the taller man into his arms just to get him in the door. Especially given that Akutagawa was a decent bit taller than him. Even now, the mafioso’s feet were slightly dragging on the floor.
“Believe me, I didn’t want to come here either,” the mafioso addresses Kunikida.
"I thought the Agency was the best place for him to get help," Atsushi finishes.
Kunikida huffs under his breath and scribbles something in his notebook with an arched eyebrow. He then makes eye contact with Atsushi with an unreadable expression.
“Yosano is in her office,” he replies simply, “Try to keep these… visits to a minimum in the future, alright?”
At the very least, it didn’t seem like the other detective was that upset that Atsushi had brought a member of a rival organization into the office.
"Oh, of course," Atsushi replies. He was honestly a little surprised that Kunikida's reaction was so chill, but he was relieved nonetheless. The last thing he wanted was to argue with the blond detective about ‘ideals’ right now.
"I was just worried about Akutagawa," the young tiger further explains, "I had to get him here as quickly as I could."
“Thank you,” he bows slightly as he turns, heading to Yosano's office with Akutagawa in tow. It took him only a few steps to get there before he knocked on the door.
The Agency’s resident doctor answers her door almost immediately with a smile. That grin slightly falters as she realizes that Atsushi had brought a member of the Port Mafia to her office, but she does her best not to let her intrigue show.
“What might I be able to do to help you, Atsushi?” she asks, eyes landing on Akutagwa, “I’m assuming it has to do with the Port Mafia member in your arms?”
“The Weretiger insisted he bring me here when he saw my injuries…” Akutagawa explains, “But I understand if you won’t treat me, and I'll be alright at-”
“I’m still going to treat you,” the doctor interrupts.
When Akutagawa looks confused, she decides to speak again.
“You might belong to an enemy organization, but I am a doctor who swore to treat anyone who needs my help. I don’t plan on going back on that sacred promise right now,” she says proudly, “Besides, you mean an awful lot to Atsushi, so I would be rude not to help him.”
Atsushi's worry lessens a little at Yosano's words. Seeing the doctor so determined to help is nice despite the unusual circumstances.
"Thank you so much," he says to her, his gaze moving to Akutagawa.
"So, I assume it's alright if I leave him here in your care?" Atsushi asks. He wants to be sure that he makes everything as easy for Akutagawa as possible without being nosy or overbearing.
And he's unsure if he should ask the mafioso about his wounds, considering he might have avoided talking about them.
Yosano nods almost immediately, “Yes, you can trust me to patch your rival up!”
The doctor looks at Akutagawa disappointedly, “Unfortunately, it looks like I won’t get to slice and dice him the way I want to.”
“You…what?” the taller man questions, “Just what kind of doctor are you if you -want- to hurt me?”
Yosano shrugs, “It’s not my fault that my ability only works when my patients are on the verge of death. Is it really such a shame to enjoy my work?”
“You’re a strange one,” is the only response she gets from Akutagawa.
Atsushi's expression shifts at their conversation, and he can only hope that his discomfort isn't as noticeable as he thinks it is. It was certainly interesting to watch a Port Mafia member interact in a way bordering on casual with the Agency’s doctor.
"I won't be staying for the treatment," Atsushi decides, "I trust your abilities, Yosano," he adds, hoping to change the subject.
"And I know Akutagawa only has minor injuries, but please take extra care of him."
He then looks down at the other man, "Don't worry, I won't pry. But I'll be right outside if you need anything."
His rival nods once at him, and then he heads outside the office.
He is met with the intrigued glances of Dazai and Ranpo the moment he steps outside Yosano’s office into the central space of the Armed Detective Agency.
“So…” Dazai teases, “You brought Akutagawa here? Why is that?”
It was clear from the bandaged man’s expression that he implied something beyond Atsushi not wanting to leave Akutagawa injured in the street.
Atsushi's eyes widen when he sees Dazai and Ranpo. Of course, Dazai just had to be the one to make a teasing remark while looking at him. Why did that man think he knew more about Atsushi and Akutagawa than he did?
The tiger man was going to ignore the question at first, but then he saw the slightly smug expression on Dazai's face, and he just had to respond.
"You know that Akutagawa and I were working on a case together. I just thought that he might benefit from the Yosano’s healing instead of a regular clinic."
“Sure….that’s the -only- reason, I’m sure,” Dazai hums under his breath with a knowing grin, “While you wait for your totally-platonic-enemy to finish his treatment, will you finish my paperwork for me? I have a very incredibly important new suicide method to try!”
Atsushi looks at Dazai momentarily, almost tempted to give him a snarky reply like usual. Instead, he sighs in frustration and then turns to grab papers from a desk. He could distract himself from thinking about the injured Akutagawa only a few feet away.
"You owe me," he grumbles as he sits at his desk with the other man’s paperwork.
“You’re the best, Atsushi!” Dazai exclaims as he leaps out of his seat and heads for the exit.
The moment the other man is gone, Ranpo sighs in relief.
“Have you seen all of Akutagawa’s injuries?” he asks curiously, “Or only the ones you brought him here for?”
Atsushi gives Ranpo a sheepish look when he asks about the mafioso's wounds. He only knows about the ones he can see, like the cuts and bruises from their fight with the ability users. It wasn’t as if he’d seen the man without clothes to see every scar that littered his skin.
̶E̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶m̶a̶g̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶i̶m̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶
The young tiger blushes as he realizes what he’s thinking and focuses on responding to Ranpo rather than the less-than-innocent thoughts about Akutagawa that seem to invade his mind at all the worst times.
"I noticed a few things before we left the scene," he replies. "Why? Are there injuries he seems to be hiding?"
He glances back toward Yosano's office, curious to see how things are going there.
Ranpo sighs, sounding as if he’d expected this response from the tiger man.
“When you see him again, look at him and see if you notice just how many injuries he has,” the genius detective says casually, “I hope you can figure it out on your own, but if you really are stumped… I will tell you since I doubt Akutagawa will admit what happened to him.”
Yosano’s door opens on cue, and the doctor enters the main office. She is less bloody than she usually is.
“I’ve finished stitching up his wounds,” the doctor tells Atsushi, “You can come to see him if you’d like.”
"Thank you, Doctor," Atsushi replies, following Yosano to her office.
After the other young detective's warning, Atsushi is morbidly intrigued to see what sort of injuries Akutagawa had hidden from him. He wonders if it's as bad as Ranpo has implied, and if so, how much had Akutagawa put himself through to avoid letting anyone know about his injuries?
Although he's curious, he tries not to look too intensely at the mafioso’s body as he steps inside Yosano’s office.
Akutagawa is lying on the woman’s medical table; a thin white sheet covers his lower half, but Atsushi does not get the liberty of enjoying the sight of the other man without a shirt. The young tiger is distracted by just how many wounds are on the mafioso’s chest, sides, and arms.
Atsushi sees the thin lines where Yosano had stitched Akutagawa’s latest wounds together, but compared to some of the other marks he sees on the taller man’s body, the stitches are nothing.
Countless jagged scars and burns cover most of the black-haired man’s skin, which makes the white-haired man nearly sick to his stomach. That feeling of nausea only worsens as Atsushi realizes that most of the wounds are too perfectly placed to be randomly inflicted by various enemies. The scars are also in places that would be nearly impossible to be self-inflicted, which led to one horrific conclusion.
Akutagawa was more than likely tortured by someone in the Port Mafia.
“Why are you staring at me, Weretiger?” the mafioso asks, a gentle flush on his cheeks as he realizes Atsushi is staring at him while he has a distinct lack of clothes.
Atsushi quickly averts his gaze, his face and ears redder than he'd like them to be in this situation.
"Sorry," he responds. "I, uh, was just checking to see what your condition is."
He tries to look closer at Akutagawa’s exposed skin to see if there are any more severe injuries in the places he couldn’t see before. But he quickly realizes that he cannot do so discreetly, so he resorts to his next form of getting to the bottom of this mystery.
"Are you...feeling alright?" he asks, but his words seem almost disingenuous, given what he's just seen.
He has a bad feeling Akutagawa won't be the most forthcoming about his past, but he still wants to try anyway.
As expected, the other man’s brows furrow and he looks confused about why Atsushi had asked him how he was feeling. The two of them had never talked about their feelings to one another, so why would they start now?
“I’m fine, Weretiger,” Akutagawa replies, but he sounds exhausted, “I will be on my feet and ready to destroy you within a few minutes!”
As the other man shifts around, Atsushi cannot help but stare at some of the larger wounds on the mafioso’s chest. Most of them looked like they had been inflicted with a knife. The young tiger is horrified when he sees a collection of scars of what looks like an array of gunshot wounds on Akutagawa’s left shoulder.
He quickly concludes that the demon-coated mafioso has endured a lot of pain. Atsushi cannot help but wonder if a significant part of why Akutagawa was as unapproachable and thorny as he appeared was because of whoever had tortured him with knives and guns.
Atsushi takes a moment to collect himself before he tries asking his question again. This time, a lot more directly.
"Would you mind if I asked you about your scars?" he asks in a low voice, hoping this isn't too personal for his rival.
It's difficult to talk to someone so stoic and tough as Akutagawa. That man didn’t ever show his vulnerability, even when he'd probably suffered a great deal.
Immediately, Akutagawa bristles, trying and failing to hide himself under the sheet Yosano had covered him with. Atushi gets the impression that if the other man had been wearing his signature coat, several sections of Rashomon would have been stabbed through his heart right now.
“Don’t worry about it, Jinko,” the thoroughly embarrassed mafioso whispers, “They’re several years old anyway…”
"So, you don't want to talk about it?" Atsushi responds in a serious voice.
His expression also softens as he sees Akutagawa quickly recoil, which is unusual for the demon-coated mafia man he knows. Usually, the tiger man’s questions or comments don't make him want to disappear from the conversation.
“I understand,” he adds.
Even though Akutagawa isn't ready to talk about his scars yet, Atsushi thinks he can gather a lot from the other man's immediate reaction already.
“I need to perform a few more tests on him,” Yosano interrupts, “So you should return to the office, but he should be out and ready to return to the Port Mafia within a few more minutes!”
Atsushi nods and bids the doctor and his rival farewell.
The moment he is in the office again, the young tiger is met with Ranpo, giving him a curious expression with his hands steepled in front of his face.
“Did you figure out how he got all those scars yet?” the genius detective asks.
When Ranpo asks his question, Atsushi feels a mix of feelings wash over him, all of which he's trying to hide. He isn’t sure he should share his conclusions with anyone yet, especially since Akutagawa isn't here to deny or confirm anything.
But this was Ranpo. The man likely knew everything anyway with his genius Ultra Deduction ability. And given it was doubtful that Akutagawa would talk anytime soon, Atsushi would just have to discuss this with the detective rather than the mafioso.
"I think so," the young tiger man says finally, trying to decide if he should share any more details.
As the silence continues, he finally adds, "I think a person or group in the Port Mafia tortured him."
Ranpo seems impressed that Atsushi had guessed this much, “You’re not wrong,” he reveals, “But…. who do you think is the one that did that to him?”
The genius detective did not look as smug as he often did when he knew he had information that others didn’t. Instead, he only looked depressed by the situation.
At first, Atsushi is surprised at how easily Ranpo would confirm his suspicions, but then he sees the other man's expression and realizes there's much more to the story than he thought.
"Uh," he says before taking a moment to think.
"I can't be sure," the white-haired man continues, "There's nothing to go off of aside from the fact that it's someone within the Port Mafia. I don't think I've interacted with anyone who could be responsible for torturing their own people.”
“You’d be surprised,” Ranpo mumbles under his breath.
Then, the detective clears his throat, “You noticed that the wounds were mostly several years old, I hope?”
When Atsushi nods, Ranpo continues, his expression full of pain as if he hates that he knows who had tortured the Port Mafia member.
“So you have to ask yourself… Who has Akutagawa not interacted with in several years in the Port Mafia setting?”
Atsushi realizes exactly what Ranpo is implying when he mentions those words. But he hopes with every bone in his body that he is not correct in his guess. If it were true, it would permanently alter his perception of the world as a whole.
"I-I think I know," he says hesitantly, "But..."
He trails off, hoping that Ranpo will tell him he is wrong and steer him on the right track. The young man will believe almost anything if it means that one of the only people he trusts has not tortured Akutagawa.
Unfortunately, when Atsushi looks at Ranpo, the other man is on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry that I have to be the one to tell you,” the detective sniffles, “Dazai was the one that tortured Akutagawa.”
Atsushi can only stare at the detective for the first few minutes after Ranpo’s confession. With only seven words, the trajectory of the tiger’s life had changed forever, and his heart was shattered in his chest. He can hear the faint sound of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears as he fully processes what he’s been told.
"Dazai...was the one..." his mouth works before he asks, "But...why..."
At this point, he's feeling various emotions, from shock to confusion to anger. But most of all, Atsushi feels betrayed. He hates that the man he looked up to, his mentor, someone who had only shown him positivity and good things, could also inflict such harm.
Realistically, Dazai being a monster is something that really should have crossed his mind sooner. He knew that the man had been called the Demon Prodigy but had neglected to fully consider the connotations of what that might have meant.
Atsushi’s betrayal soon turns to rage, and he cannot contain himself. He has to do -something- anything, to attempt to atone for what his mentor had done to Akutagawa, to the man he -loved-.
The first thing he thinks of is confronting Fukuzawa, the president of the Armed Detective Agency, to see if the man knew what Dazai had done when he took him in, accepting him into the organization.
“I do not judge the members of our Agency for what they have done before coming here,” the grey-haired man had responded, “But if you truly are this upset about something Dazai has done, perhaps you should talk it out with him?”
Dazai was the last person Atsushi wanted to see right now.
“Do you not care at all how his actions affected Akutagawa?” In complete shock, Atsushi questions that someone as nurturing as Fukuzawa could not understand where he was coming from.
“I do care, Atsushi,” the man responds, “But Akutagawa is not a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He wears his scars as we all do. If you are truly that disgusted with the people I have decided to take under my care, you are free to leave. No one is keeping you here.”
Atushsi is in a state of shock, “You are kicking -me- out of the Agency and not him???”
Fukuzawa sighs, “I can see you clearly will not be happy here knowing what you know, so I simply made what I thought was the best decision for both organizations. If you disagree, you are free to voice your opinions.”
The young tiger realizes there is no point in arguing and leaves the president’s office, slamming the door behind him. As he does so, he feels the control of his ability slipping, returning to its state before Fukuzawa used his ability to protect him. Atsushi can’t help but roll his eyes. He would be fine without the older man’s ability to keep in control.
Now, he just had to leave this godforsaken Agency before the person he wanted to see last reappeared after another failed suicide attempt. So, Atsushi takes a deep sigh and returns to Yosano’s office, where Akutagawa still awaits him. The mafioso seems nervous when the young tiger man enters the room again. He knows Atsushi has seen his scars and likely knew where they came from.
Akutagawa was dressed in his signature dark coat, and the young tiger could not stop himself from tugging the taller man by the arm, trying to get him out of the Agency as fast as possible. It’s an action the other man is more than a little confused by.
“Will I be seeing you again?” Yosano asks as the white-haired man desperately tries to get his taller partner out of the room.
Of course, the doctor had also probably guessed the cause of all the wounds on the mafioso’s body.
“I don’t think so,” Atsushi responds earnestly.
The woman doesn’t seem surprised by the man’s response. She doesn’t try to fight Atsushi’s decision, only offers him a supportive smile.
“Good luck, Atsushi,” she says warmly, “You too, Akutagawa.”
Akutagawa’s face twists in confusion, and he is just about to open his mouth to ask the white-haired man what is happening, but Atsushi is dragging him out of the doctor’s office and onto the streets of Yokohama in the next few seconds.
“What is going on, Weretiger?” the mafioso demands once they are a decent ways away from the detective agency.
“I got myself kicked out of the Agency,” Atsushi turns to face the taller man with tears in his eyes, “I can’t stand what he did to you,” he whispers.
On instinct, Akutagawa stiffens, raising the shields he had been perfecting since birth, “I didn’t experience anything I didn’t deserve, Jinko. It made me stronger. I needed to be-”
“You needed to be loved, Akutagawa!” the white-haired man interrupts, “You were a child, a young teen even! No matter how ‘rebellious’ you were, nothing meant you deserved to be shot, burned, stabbed, or whatever that monster did to you!”
He is very passionate about ensuring that the other man understands that he hadn’t done anything wrong to earn the scars that littered nearly his entire body. The blame was solely on the shoulders of the man who dared to call himself his mentor.
“J-Jinko…” Akutagawa stutters, “A-Atsushi.. I-”
“I know it might be hard to accept, but it’s the truth,” the white-haired man asserts, “You did not deserve what he did to you, no matter what cruel tactics and tricks he might have used to convince you that you deserved to be abused.
Before he knows what’s happening, Atsushi feels Akutagawa collapsing in his arms, his shoulders shaking as a long withheld series of sobs goes through him. The tiger man feels his heart shredded as he hears the genuine despair in the wails of the mafioso, who was just realizing how much of his youth and innocence had been stolen by Dazai.
Atsushi holds Akutagawa the entire time he cries. There is nowhere else he would rather be than here, comforting the man he had fallen in love with.
“T-thank you,” the black-haired man whispers as he recovers from the sudden sobs that had wracked his body.
The young tiger man embraces Akutagawa just a little tighter, standing on the tips of his toes to gently kiss underneath the taller man’s eyes on each side, showing him one of the first unconditional acts of love the man had likely experienced.
“You’re welcome.”
~~~
A few days later, Atsushi met with Dazai for the last time. It was a chance encounter, and even if the young tiger man wasn’t expecting it, it was something that he became grateful for at the end of the day.
He was returning from the grocery store (the more expensive one since he was now living off of a mafia salary) when he caught sight of a familiar tan coat. Atsushi groaned to himself and tried to ignore the man, but fate was not on his side.
“What do we have here?” Dazai asks with a sinisterly soft smile, “The tiger who left the Agency. You know, Ranpo wouldn’t tell me why you left. So I’ll ask you. Why’d you do it?”
Akutagawa had been training him to have better self-defence so Atsushi could easily maneuver out of Dazai’s arms and glare at him. The hatred that fills his mind when facing his former mentor is indescribable and agonizing.
“It’s none of your business why I left!” he shouts, “Get out of my way.”
The young tiger tries to push past Dazai, but the taller man holds his shoulder tighter than he ever had before. A distinct glint in his eyes betrayed that he might have caught on to more than Atsushi might have believed.
“Something happened, Atsushi,” Dazai says emotionlessly, slightly squeezing the white-haired man’s shoulder, “Tell me.”
All at once, Atsushi allows the rage inside him to culminate in one decisive action. His fist transforms into a tiger’s paw and connects with Dazai’s face only a second later, before the other man can activate his ability. The young tiger man feels nothing when he sees the other man on the concrete with thick blood pouring from his nose. In fact, Atsushi thinks the other man deserves to be in more pain for everything he had done to Akutagawa.
“What the fuck?!?” Dazai screams in pain, “Why?!?”
Atsushi looks around the street, petrified that someone will have seen what he did and called the police. But luckily, no one seems to have noticed the altercation that had taken place.
“You hurt him!” the white-haired man shouts with tears brimming in his eyes, “You shot, stabbed, kicked, and punched him! You abused a fucking teenager who looked up to you, and Fukuzawa and the Agency are just letting you live in fucking peace while Akutagawa is still suffering!”
Dazai only looks at his former apprentice in shock.
“I didn’t think you’d find out for a while,” he sighs, smirking up at the white-haired man, “But I assume you are going to protect him from me now? Because I’m the big bad man who just wanted him to be stronger?”
“Shut up!” Atsushi shouts, accenting his words with a firm kick to Dazai’s stomach that causes the man to wince and curl in on himself.
“I’m proud of you, Atsushi,” the injured man whispers, “You’ve found a cause you fiercely believe in. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
“Rot in hell,” the white-haired man hisses as he turns around, practically running away from the man he had once admired.
“I hope the Port Mafia treats you well!” Dazai shouts after Atsushi, “You deserve it!”
Atsushi doesn’t look back.