dazai looked at the man in front of him. he had seen him a couple times before, but he wasn't quite sure who exactly he was. "nice coat!" the man said, his amber eyes glistening mischievously. "i wonder what dos-kun sees in you." the man's japanese wasn't as good as dostoyevsky's, but dazai appreciated the valiant attempt. "but no matter! a friend of dos-kun is a friend of mine!"

"well, i wouldn't say we're friends." the man laughed, slinging his arm over dazai's shoulders. dostoyevsky walked back in, looking between the two.

"don't get close to the plague rat," he spoke in russian and the man laughed. dazai raised his brow, trying to ignore the fact that hearing him speak russian, even though he was insulting dazai, was fucking hot.

"don't be mean to the broke foreigner!"

"oh i was talking about you, though." dazai chuckled and the man walked up to him. dostoyevsky gave dazai a small smirk before it dropped as he turned to address him. "dazai, this is nikolai. nikolai, dazai." fyodor murmured something to nikolai, too quiet for dazai to catch, and nikolai's eyes darted over to the foreigner, lips spreading into a malicious smirk. dazai simply raised his brow.

"i feel left out," he whined childishly.

"oh, just an old joke." nikolai's smile widened and dostoyevsky smiled lightly at his friends antics and the young japanese man couldn't help but chuckle to himself. it was strange seeing him so relaxed. dazai's phone rang startling the three of them.

"did you kill a diplomat?" ango sounded incredulous and sleep deprived.

"i didnt." dazai almost sounded offended. "besides, that was almost a month ago!"

"the footage shows you with another man in the theatre but you both left immediately after he collapsed. care to explain?"

"no thank you! if you could just focus on clearing my record that would be wonderful, thank you!" dazai's saccharine tone clearly bothered his old acquaintance (he wasn't sure if they were still considered friends), who promptly just hung up on him.

"your friend again?" dostoyevsky asked and dazai nodded, sighing.

"i wouldn't say we're friends."

"he's clearing your record isn't he?"

dazai hesitated before answering. "there's more to that than just doing a favour."

"ah, the kitten's lost home." dostoyevsky murmured it to himself, unblinking gaze searching dazai's features before he turned to nikolai.

"right, i forgot! i found a pretty little dove for us!"  he handed a photo over to dostoyevsky, pulling it out of his cape. dazai peered over the russians shoulder, looking at the picture. it was a photo from a surveillance camera of a young man with long silver hair and grey eyes. he wore an expensive looking button down shirt and black slacks. "his name is ivan goncharov. seems like he's from a rich family."

"what's he doing in a place like that?" dazai asked, taking note of the dingy and derelict warehouse in the background.

"bring him to me."

nikolai nodded, looking over to dazai. "would you like you join me?"

dazai shrugged. he didn't have anything better to do anyway.

the two walked down the street, chittering merrily with one another. nothing of value was being exchanged, but dazai couldn't shake the feeling of being scrutinised at an almost impressive level. nikolai's cheerful smile never faltered from his lips and his blink rate was incredibly low, making the clown far more unsettling. he wasn't as unreadable as dostoyevsky, with a clear sadistic streak and a strange sense of profound despair swirling in his otherwise clear amber eyes.

"hello, vanya!" nikolai greeted, a chirpy tone as he approached the man. ivan simply raised a brow, inching away. "now, now, vanya! let's not be hasty shall we? how about a little game to relax your nerves?" dazai decided to take a back seat, curious of the clowns methods.

"no, i'd rather not." ivan spoke in a flat, almost uninterested tone.

"don't be like that! i understand that you're a runaway? your family is so rich, it seems like a foolish move to me!"

a large rock beast grew out of the dirt below them, lunging at nikolai, but he didn't move. instead, he flailed his cape, and the rock beast disappeared into it. it fell from the sky, above ivan, who simply dodged it, reassembling the rocks.

ability users were rare and, as far as dazai knew, shunned in some countries. it wouldn't be surprising to assume that ivan was rejected from his family because of his ability. but looking closer at him, it didn't seem like that was the case. he was indifferent, almost tired looking.

"such a wonderful ability! i'm sure dos-kun could use something like this!"

"'dos-kun'? i'm not interested."

"you feel the same way as me, don't you? the same despondent boredom of being caged--wouldn't you love to be free? dos-kun can help you!" dazai raised his brows, watching gears turning in ivan's brain. "I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in the streets of st. petersburg." nikolai stretched out his hand to ivan, smiling cheerfully but almost impishly. "come with us."

with you, dazai mentally corrected.

quietly, ivan motioned for nikolai to lead the way, and the silver haired clown grinned widely, walking away. ivan followed him cautiously, and dazai behind him, effectively sandwiching the rich man between the criminals.

"remind me again why i'm here," dazai asked, his voice flat and tired.

"company!" nikolai's spun on his heels, turning to look at at dazai with an analytical and devilish glimmer pooling in them.

♤♤♤
this took longer than expected but meet ivan!
next chapter will have some gore in it i think.