"Do you really not need to have any Itsuho-san?" After stumbling into a tea house, Kunikida begrudgingly treated Dazai and Atsushi, while Itsuho refused.
At Atsushi's twentieth bowl of chazuke. He finally gathered courage and offered his bowl to Itsuho, but only to be rejected again.
Itsuho chuckled as she ruffled his hair. The boy somewhat freaked out, but sensing her soothing caresses, he calmed down as he almost melted into her hand, making Itsuho laugh lightly.
"You are like a big cat, Atsushi-kun, very scaredy-cat at that"
Atsushi was stunned by the adoration in her tone because no one had ever treated him like that, and his eyes became somewhat moist, but soon he pouted to protest her, though silenced by the intense gaze of Kunikida.
"For a stranger, aren't you too chummy with Atsushi-kun, Itsuho-chan?" Dazai smirked while stretching like a cat.
Itsuho wasn't offended by his comment as she smiled faintly. "I trust my judgment, Dazai. Besides, he reminds me of my youngest brother"
Her tone became distant as she reminisced about a certain bundle of joy who always dragged her to eat ramen.
"You have siblings?" Seeing the softness that appeared in her sharp, stunning face, Kunikida was taken aback as he felt he had judged her too hastily.
From the way she looked now, he could tell that she was someone with a story.
"Yeah, I had five of them" Her smile became more gentle, with a hint of pride added to it as she mentioned them.
"Had?" Atsushi felt she wasn't as scary as he imagined.
"My older brother sacrificed himself to keep me safe, and the eldest of us became a ghost. I don't know where he is now," She said almost indifferently, but if one listens closely, they can hear the sorrow in her tone.
"...My condolences", Kunikida said in a low voice as his gaze towards her became more conflicted.
"Don't worry about that", she waved her hand dismissively. "I am not sad because of those irresponsible assholes" She smirked.
"How heartless!!" Kunikida looked at her in annoyance, almost feeling regret for the pity he felt for her.
"Pfft hahahaha" Out of nowhere, Dazai burst into laughter, earning another throbbing vein from Kunikida.
"Oh??" Hearing his laughing fit, Itsuho turned her head to him as she raised an eyebrow while 'looking' at him with her signature faint smile.
In a few moments, it turned to a small chuckle as Dazai looked at her with an undisguised amusement. "You are really an interesting person, Itsuho. I must say that I am intrigued by you"
"Then glad to be your entertainment", Itsuho said indifferently as she turned her head to Atsushi, as she felt he had already finished eating.
"Haaa..." She sighed with a wry smile as she pressed her hand on top of his head. "You should have eaten slowly, Atsushi-kun; who knows if you might get indigestion. Besides, it isn't like anyone is going to snatch your food."
Seeing her concern, after a long time in his life, Atsushi felt happy even though he didn't want to admit it, but the small smile when her hand still pressed on his head was too obvious. Both Dazai and Kunikida looked enviously at him for getting patted by a stunning woman.
"Why you....How dare you be so shameless after eating on my dime?!!"
Kunikida growled in a low voice as he looked at him enviously.
Seeing Kunikida's expression change, Dazai changed his target as he goofily smiled at him. "Oh Kunikida-kun why?.... Is Itsuho-chan your type? Did she, according to....."
Without letting him finish, Kunikida strangled him as he started to shake Dazai while Dazai took it blissfully.
Sensing the situation, Itsuho's lips twitched. "What had gotten into them?" She had an idea; nevertheless, she still asked.
Atsushi also looked at Kunikida like he did something wrong, but his look was mixed with gratitude.
"Kunikida, I will pay back for Atsushi-kun once I can do a job," Itsuho said earnestly.
Kunikida was taken aback by her earnest tone, that is unlike the detached, indifferent tone she used to talk to them from the beginning, as he let go of Dazai with that.
"No need, I was just saying. Beside it is not like we can let you do a job outside without our supervision" He was flustered at her sudden niceness.
Dazai sat back while fixing his neck as he looked at her with a smirk. "Well, if Itsuho-chan like to do a job, I have a perfect choice for you. But...." Dazai's tone got mischievously mysterious with that pause.
"I cannot tell the details yet. Itsuho-chan, what do you think? Will you dare to accept it without knowing?" Kunikida rolled his eyes, knowing where this was going. Itsuho also chuckled as she understood something.
"Alright" Her tone became playful as she rubbed Atsushi's head with reassurance, yet not letting him protest or say anything else.
"Since Dazai bestowed such a grace upon me, I must accept it gratefully." She said in the same tone that Dazai used to say it.
In response, Dazai chuckled mirthfully as his eyes focused on her with intrigue.
"Whatever..." As the waitress came, Kunikida paid the bill with a grumble.
"Even though he offered a job, don't keep too much hope for that. This guy is too unbelievable and unreliable.
After all, who goes 'That's a nice river' and jumps into it in the middle of a job?! Thanks to that, look how off schedule we are now!"
Kunikida sighed as the waitress went away with the same businesslike smile with payment while Itsuho raised an eyebrow as she listened without answering.
"You sure like your schedule, Kunikida-kun", Dazai remarked while giving a glance at Itsuho, who was ruffling Atsushi's hair absent-mindedly.
"Schedule?! With the way you took me to watch over after knowing I am not from this world, are you guys the ones who wield authority here?" Itsuho asked with a hint of wonder at her luck.
"This isn't a schedule." She heard he pressed a somekind of book on the table. "This is an ideal"
"A book?" Itsuho intrigued.
"It is my guide in life", he said, then he looked at Dazai with a grumble. "And never in this book is it written that my working partner is a suicidal maniac!"
"As for your earlier question," he looked at the pale face of the girl. "We don't directly have authority. But our job is aligned with protecting people and this city. So we can't let you, an outsider with unknown factors from another world, wander around here freely."
"So then... what are you?" Itsuho chuckled as she understood what kind of situation she was in.
"We are private investigators."