Archive of Our Own ^beta

Dazai dragged his feet as he walked, the early morning sun peeked out from just over the horizon—its rays blinding Dazai as it slowly crept around the taller buildings.

Dazai hated mornings with a burning passion. He was more of a night owl than an early bird. But, nooo! Dazai just could not go in after dark! He had to always be in the office by eight AM, bright eyed and bushy tailed, otherwise Kunikida would lecture him for hours to come.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily. At least in the Port Mafia, Mori couldn’t care less when Dazai clocked in. He just gave him his assignments as soon as he showed up in his office.

These days, Dazai actually had a schedule, and it was beyonddd annoying. 

He was lost in his head, mentally ranting, when a small mew broke into his thoughts. Dazai froze. His gaze slowly trailed to an alley to his right, brows furrowed. “Mew?” He repeated. 

Behind a cardboard box, was a small kitten, black in color with a large, fluffy tail. Dazai’s eyes sparkled, a grin splitting onto his former grimace about having to wake up early.

”Hello…!” He gasped out. He slowly crouched down, holding his finger out to the kitten. It looked cautious, staring up at him with bright yellow eyes. “Are you a stray?” He asked. He didn’t exactly expect the kitten to respond, but he didn’t really care. 

The kitten mewed again and hesitantly approached Dazai’s hand. The tension in his shoulders released as soon as its fur brushed against his palm affectionately. “No collar, huh?” He hummed. He brought his finger under its chin, giving it a little scratch. He could feel the rumbling of a purr in its throat. His heart swelled with happiness. “You are the cutest little thing ever!” 

The kitten went up to Dazai’s leg and began climbing up his khakis, soft meows and mews escaping it, urging Dazai to pick it up. Dazai just shrugged and obliged. “Oh! You’re so light. You must be hungry. Poor little thing…” he rubbed his finger along its cheeks. Its purrs grew louder. 

“Kunikida can wait, we need to get you some food!” Dazai beamed. He turned tail and headed towards the nearest pet store.

”Dazai, you are two hours late! What happened to showing up on time?!” Kunikida demanded as soon as the tall man entered the agency. Dazai sighed and rolled his eyes, “I had a prior commitment!” He insisted.

”Other than your job of two years?” Kunikida prompted with a glare. Dazai nodded, “of course~.” 

Dazai sat down at his desk and took out a can of wet food. Kunikida stared at him, blinking as he tried to make sense of what he was doing.

”Don’t tell me you’re eating that…” Kunikida murmured. Dazai made a face of disgust. “What do you make me out to be, Kunikida? I am just insulted.” 

A small kitten slithered its way out of Dazai’s trench coat and rubbed along Dazai’s hands as he opened up the can, the kitten digging its face into the food with loud purrs as Dazai gently stroked its back, contently smiling.

”A cat?” Atsushi murmured, he stood up to get a better eye on the kitten on his superior’s desk, brows furrowed in confusion. “I didn’t know you had a cat?” 

Dazai laughed. “I found it today. Poor little kitty was all by its lonesome. So sad, what people do to these precious creatures.” His face scrunched up as he scratched behind its ear. 

“So you decided… to bring it into work.” Kunikida crossed his arms, slow, annoyed blinks coming from the blonde. “Don’t sound so crass, Kunikida! I’m simply helping it.” 

Kunikida hummed noncommittally. “Well, is it a boy or a girl?” 

“That’s just invasive, I’m not going to check that.” Dazai refuted with a roll of his eyes. Kunikida held out his hand, “then let me see.” He prompted.

Dazai made yet another face of disgust, eyeing his partner weirdly. “Yeah, no. Little Kitty doesn’t like people.” 

“You’re seriously calling it Little Kitty?” Kunikida exasperatedly sighed. Dazai hummed, his finger rubbing the kitten’s head with a long stripe. 

Atsushi tilted his head. “Didn’t you mention having a cat in the Port Mafia?” He asked. Dazai blinked, but grinned. “Oh, yeah! It was a little calico. Not so much mine, more so just a cat that followed me around. Mori hated cats, for some ridiculous reason, so I couldn’t keep it.” He rolled his eyes at the thought. 

“Right…” Kunikida muttered, sitting down at his desk. “At least get started on your work while your new friend is eating.” He gestured briefly to the kitten, shooting Dazai a glare.

Dazai grumbled. “But that involves doing something!” He whined and flopped his head onto his desk. The kitten licked its lips and pulled away from the can, cleaning its paws and swiped them over its face. “Was it yummy?” He mused, poking a finger to the kitten’s chest with a small grin.

Atsushi seemed enamored by the kitten, sneaking glances at it while doing his work—much to Kunikida’s annoyance. 

“You wanna hold it, Atsushi?” Dazai asked. Atsushi flinched, straightening up, a startled and worried expression on his face as he slowly nodded. “Can I?” 

Dazai laughed softly. “You’re a cat yourself, Little Kitty should like you.” He gently picked up the kitten and set it in Atsushi’s arms. The younger boy smiled as the kitten looked up at him, rolling onto its belly as it began swatting at his tie.

”Oh, it’s a girl.” Atsushi mentioned, he switched his arm to fully support the kitten’s weight and used his free hand to wiggle the tie in front of the kitten. “Ah, so Little Kitty’s a girl.” Dazai nodded along. “So cute.” He took his phone out and snapped a picture of Atsushi playing with the kitten, a devilish grin on his face.

Atsushi let out a weak laugh. 

The sound of clattering alerted Dazai in the middle of the night. He was inclined to ignore it until it happened again. He groaned. “Momo!” Dazai called, his voice weak and sleepy, he chittered his tongue, making clicking noises. He had settled on the name Yoru for Little Kitty—the name Shikkoku was another contender, but Dazai decided it was too much to say if Momo was being bad.

Like now.

”Momo, lights out, it’s sleepy time…” Dazai complained. A small trill sounded from what seemed like the kitchen as little paws pattered across tatami floors before stopping in front of his futon. “Sleepy time.” Dazai repeated, he reached out to grab Momo, holding her in his arms. 

He could feel her sigh against him (he didn’t even know cats could do that) until she just began shifting to get comfortable. Dazai grinned and kissed between her ears. “Good kitty~.”

Momo then slithered out of his grasp and ran out back into the rest of the dorm. Dazai groaned into his pillow. “I’m never having kids…” he muttered.

Momo kind of reminded him of Gin in the sense of how quick she was and moved around without (mostly) making a sound. It made Dazai smile softly and shake his head. 

A loud crash was then heard.

“Momo!” Dazai cried.

 Now she reminded him of little Kyusaku.

“We need someone to take this seriously.” The officer said, his arms crossed as he tilted his head upwards to Dazai. A look of confusion on the man’s face at the sight.

Dazai nodded and completely ignored the fact Momo was nipping at his ear or swatting at his face when he blinked. “I’m taking this incredibly seriously.” Dazai assured him.

”I’m not sure you are… you have a cat on your shoulder…” the officer muttered with a weak point towards Momo. Dazai turned his head slightly to the side, glancing at Momo. “Attachment issues. Can’t go anywhere without her. Please try to ignore her.” He smiled.

There was a small pause before the officer nodded. “Yeah.. sure.. anyway, the body was shot five different times.”

Dazai nodded slowly, stroking his chin in thought. “Yes, I see..”

”Dazai, but the damn cat away. This is unprofessional.” Kunikida scolded, shutting his journal with a snap. Dazai pouted and crossed his arms. “Whaaaat? She’s not causing an issue, Kunikida!” He gasped. 

Kunikida deadpanned. “We are in the presence of a dead body,” he pointed harshly towards the body by their feet, “and you brought your cat with you. Most superiors would have fired you over this act! You’re lucky the president likes cats!”

Dazai hummed noncommittally and scratched under Momo’s chin, “uh-huh.. anyway, if you’re done making a fuss over the tiniest kitten known to man, we have a case to solve.” He gave Kunikida a knowing smirk. 

Kunikida simply whacked him upside the head and bowed to the officer. “Ignore him. He’s always like this.” He sighed, “I apologize on his behalf.”

The officer rose a hand with a shake of his head, “it’s not a bother, but thank you.” He chuckled dryly. 

Dazai watched as Momo played with Kyouka’s hair, the bright smile on the young girl’s face made Dazai soften slightly.

He remembered how disappointed she was to have the cat she found get taken (they found its owners), so Dazai knew he had to just let her play with the kitten, even if Kunikida was getting a bit annoyed with Dazai’s lack of productivity from watching Momo and Kyouka.

“You should get her a collar.” Kyouka mentioned to Dazai, looking up at the man with bright, sparkling blue eyes. Dazai hummed, “yeah? What color do you think?” He asked. 

“A pretty pink one. But not one with a bell, bells are irritating for cats because of their hearing.” She nodded, she picked up Momo and held her in front of her face, tilting her head to the side. Momo trilled happily and batted at Kyouka’s nose. “That sounds like a splendid idea, Kyouka! How about we go pick one from the pet store after work?” He prompted.

Kyouka blinked, “you want my help?” She asked. Dazai nodded, “when I’m busy, I’d like for you to take care of her. Would you like that?” 

The young girl eagerly nodded, holding Momo close to her chest. “Mhm!”