Mizuki sits up on her bed.

The stars sparkle in the dark, and the moon glows through a mist. The trees rustle outside, the leaves wet with morning dew. It's barely past twelve. Mizuki slips out of the bed, her hair loose, free from the hair tie every morning. Her white curtains rustle, and she opens her bedside drawer. A blade is deflected with her bare hand.

"You can leave the shadow, Akutagawa-kun." Mizuki closes her drawer. "I can tell you're hiding behind the curtain."

"Still keen, even in this life." Akutagawa steps out.

"How'd you notice?"

"You guys are kids, not adults." Mizuki hums.

"Damn you and your knowledge," He grumbles, and he slips out from the curtain. 

"I'm assuming Atsushi is downstairs keeping guard," Mizuki yawns. "What'd you need so early in the morning?"

"Came to check up on you."

"I don't believe you," Mizuki yawns louder this time. "So?"

"Why did you push the story to move on so fast?"

"It's better to know all your cards before using them, correct?" Mizuki slips out of bed. "Would you like something to eat?"

"You know I'm not here for that-"

"Dinner?" Mizuki smiles. "I'll cook something up."

"I told you-"

"You still have your lung illness." Mizuki glares at him. "You know that my ability doesn't heal."

"And what will-"

"Akutagawa, shut the fuck up and eat." Mizuki yanks him by his jacket. Rashomon leaks out, grabbing her wrist, but she doesn't flinch. Her bones were too hard to break, even for his ability. Though, he had managed to bruise her skin at some point in their past life.

"Why is she so gentle with you?"

"No one betrays someone who helped them unless they're twisted," Mizuki hums.

"You could've just taken me in like in our last life."

"That would've ruined the speed," Mizuki grumbles.

"How much faster as we progressing?"

"Same speed." Mizuki smiles. 

"Yo hoo!! Atsushi, baby, come in!" Mizuki waves her arm at the child. "Yes, the man with the iron deficiency."

"How'd you know I was here?"

"It's hard to miss a big ass tiger." Mizuki plops Akutagawa on the seat. "Do you want dinner?"

"Yes, please," Atsushi sits at the counter.

Mizuki fries up some food, and she plates them for the two boys.

"You were awfully quiet when the president fainted," Mizuki stares at Akutagawa.

"Ranpo gaves us a rundown that after you came back with the weretiger, the president would pass out for two weeks." He bites down on the food. "Oh, it's good."

"I put iron supplements in there, by the way," Mizuki smiles.

"Feed those to your child." Akutagawa bites down into the food again. "This has no right tasting this good."

"Oh," Atsushi groans. "That's so good. How's the president, by the way?"

"He's fine," Mizuki smiles. "... oh, shit, wait; fuck-"

"He's getting an assassination attempt today, right?"

"He'll be fine, but I still gotta-" Mizuki sprints up the stairs. She throws a box, and the knife from the assassination attempt shatters. "An..."

"is the president ok?" Rashomon wraps around the assassin, and she breaks a couple bones.

"He's alive," Mizuki checks his breathing. "Basement. We don't have time to slack off while the president recovers. Also, get that dammed spy in the ADA."

"Got it," Akutagawa nods. He opens the window to leave, and Mizuki shrieks. "FINISH YOUR FOOD FIRST, AIRHEAD!"

He shakes at the feeling of you triggering Fukuzawa's power on him.

"I hate you."

"Stay mad. You're allowed to get mad when you actually heal your god-forsaken lung disease." Mizuki closes the window and drags the boy by the collar of his shirt.

He grumbles under his breath, and Atsushi drags the bruised assassin downstairs. "Can I take him to the basement?"

"I'll call Chuuya to come pick him up," Mizuki punches in a number on her phone.

"IT'S 1AM. WHAT DO YOU WANT." Chuuya grumbles into the phone. His voice is raspy from sleep, and Mizuki stifles a laugh.

"I caught a bitch trying to kill my husband."

"I give no fucks-" Chuuya groans. "Why not Dazai?"

"That man's waist is thinner than my pinky. He's going to break."

"Not mentally-"

"Yahoo!!! Mi-chan~" Speak of the devil.

"You jynxed it, you bastard." Mizuki groans. "I'm beating your ass tomorrow."

"Not with your husband collapsed you're not."

"YOU LITTLE-"

Chuuya hangs up abruptly, and Akutagawa stares at the woman for permission to open the door.

"Mi-chan????"

Mizuki walks over to open the door, and smiles. "I thought you weren't homeless anymore."

"I wanted food," His face sours in, and he fakes a cough. "I'm sick."

"You should've went to bother Oda," Mizuki lets him in. "I only have fried rice with iron supplements."

"Sure." Dazai grins. "Right, did we ever say anything about Fyodor in this life?"

Mizuki pauses in her movements. "Atsushi, where are you working?"

"The Port... Mafia..." He mumbles.

Mizuki pauses, and stares at the boy. "Huh?"

"I took Gin in as my subordinate, and then Atsushi and Kyouka." Dazai bites down on his food. "Oh this is good- And Akutagawa got picked up by Oda. We talked about it after you left."

"Is that why the Port Mafia hasn't been doing anything against the ADA?" Mizuki raises a brow.

"No," Dazai blows on his spoonful of food. "The initial conflict that was supposed to happen was thwarted by Atsushi and Akutagawa refusing to fight until you were guaranteed safety. I feel like you have an effect on all of us."

"The use of Rosy Retrospection, I guess," Mizuki shrugs.

"Kaa-san?"

"What are you doing up? Ranpo?" Mizuki smiles.

"Mizuki-sensei." Dazai stares at her. "You dragged me off topic. What about Fyodor?"

"кровь течет гуще воды, но кровь не может смыть водой." Mizuki smiles. "Fyodor said that to me in my past life."

"Are we going to take him in?" Ranpo hugs the woman.

"No." Mizuki smiles. "I'm going to meet him."

"What if he kills you?"

Mizuki smiles. "Then it'll be my fault for trusting him."

A carrier dove flutters to the window.

иди домой мама

Mizuki writes back.

Подожди меня.

Dazai pauses in his breathing.

"Are you leaving us?"

Mizuki smiles at him. "I'm going to see my child."

Date: XX - XX - XXXX

Akutagawa and Atsushi work together to break into Mizuki's place. While there, she cooks up some food for them and saves her husband from another assassin. Dazai breaks in halfway through, and she sends a return letter through a carrier pigeon. The only one left in the world that she had given her blood to have a lifelong companion. The smile on her face makes everyone uneasy. For her, does blood run deeper than water, or does the water clean away the blood?

The figure cuts open the letter attached to the bird.

Подожди меня.

Turning to Kamui, they smile. "Тварь я дрожащая или право имею. Whatever our souls are made of, hers and mine are the same."

Kamui taps the table twice, and a smile graces over his face. "First thing tomorrow."

The figure writes a sentence.

В тихом омуте черти водятся

Fukuzawa opens his eye for a moment before closing them again. Oda was right when he said keeping them closed was better.

"Why are we still drinking?" Mizuki whines. "Come on! It's literally the government, the terrorist, and the mafioso gathering!! Why are you two still drinking?!"

"It's tradition, Oda-chan!" Fukuchi grins. "Loosen up!"

Fukuzawa stares at the sight before him. Mizuki looks the same, yet her style of clothing was different. She was wearing clothes a normal civilian would've. She still goes by her late husband's last name.

"Are you not hot in that?"

"Fukuzawa-kun, I am already hot." She smirks playfully. "YES, OF COURSE I'M HOT WHY DO YOU THINK IM IN SUCH A COLD CHAMBER TO BEGIN WITH?!"

Fukuchi howls in laughter. "DRINK UP!"

"I HOPE YOU SUFFER, OLD MAN," Mizuki's glass meets his, and she downs it. "Ugh, I hate you both."

"Love you too," Fukuchi laughs.

"I'm sure someone who hates us wouldn't be drinking right now," Fukuzawa presses his choko to his mouth. "Hm?"

"Ugh," Mizuki grumbles. "Just shut up."

It seemed his memories in his past life were mostly of drinking with Mizuki.

The next memory makes him bite back on his words.

"Ah..." Mizuki looks horrified at him. "FUKUZAWA-KUN!"

The woman rushes over, and Fukuzawa feels an unnerving pain. Looking down, he finds a sword stabbed through him.

Is this how I died?

He looks back up to stare at Mizuki's face. There seemed to be a sphere around them.

Is that another ability she stole?

"ugh," Fukuzawa stares at the way Mizuki's tears fall down. "I hate him. That stupid man held a grudge over something as foolish as a war. That asshole."

Fukuzawa feels his hand reach for Mizuki's face. "Don't cry."

"Easy for you to say," Mizuki sniffs, a tear drops onto his clothes. "I wanted to attend your funeral when you died of old age, not of getting stabbed by the only man you trusted wholeheartedly."

"I saw it coming," Fukuzawa closes his eyes for a moment. "Ranpo did too."

Mizuki grimaces. "I'm not being rude by hating him."

That statement is more to herself than to me.

"You trusted him so much," Mizuki sobs. "And in the end, he was the one who betrayed you."

Fukuzawa thinks he knows who it is.

"Fukuzawa, Oda-chan," Fukuchi walks up to the two. Mizuki's face contorts with anger.

"Was this part of your plan? Your final mercy to your best friend?" Fukuzawa watches Mizuki stand up. His vision is blurry, but he recognizes the voice of his best friend.

Slap.

"Genichiro," Mizuki's voice rings clear in his mind despite it being foggy. "I hate you."

The way she says the word feels foreign to him.

Ah... she's never said that to anyone, huh?

He hears Mizuki walk over to him and lift him into her arms. 

"Sleep well," Mizuki's voice is soft compared to her tone with Fukuchi. "I'll be sure you get to rest well."

Fukuzawa lets the exhaustion take him.