Mizuki brings the ladle to her mouth. "Oh! It tastes just like how I remember it!"

She fills the bowls, and calls from the kitchen. "Dinner time!"

Ranpo rushes along, pushing the girl with him.

"What's for dinner?"

"Minestra maritata," Mizuki sings. "I thought I'd make something light to go with the rice we're having. Also, since I'm not sure how much solid food Yo-chan can take in right now."

"The soup is good," Fukuzawa hums, taking another sip.

"Yo-chan, do you need help?" Mizuki gets off her seat and moves to sit next to the girl. Ranpo swaps seats with her, and Mizuki helps the girl.

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Mizuki sets the spoon down.

Yosano smiles.

"Kaa-san," Ranpo taps on the table with his fingers. "Can we talk before you go?"

"Of course," Mizuki smiles. "After dinner? Or is it urgent?"

"The stars started aligning," He mumbles, finishing his soup. "Oh, that's good soup."

"How many?"

"Two," Ranpo grins. "Can I have a snack?"

"I bought cake earlier; could you bring it to the table?" Mizuki smiles, eyes closed.

Ranpo skips over to the kitchen.

"Mizuki-sensei," Yosano stutters out.

"You can call me Kaa-san too," Mizuki offers a half-lidded smile.

"Kaa-san," Yosano pauses. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Mizuki pauses. "Kind of."

"Ah..." She smiles. "Ranpo-kun said that he didn't, and then something weird happened."

"Hm?" Mizuki raises a brow. "Weird?"

"I'm back!" Ranpo sings. "I didn't bite into the cake this time!"

"Good job, Ranpo-kun," Mizuki smiles. "Ran-chan, you believe in reincarnation?"

Fukuzawa helps the boy cut the cake and hands Mizuki a slice first.

"Yep!" He grins, and stabs his fork into his slice of cake. "I had a weird dream."

Mizuki smiles. "What did you see?"

"Mizuki-sensei," Ranpo opens an eye to look at the woman. "I saw you hunched over a desk with someone I don't know."

Mizuki closes her eyes, and leans back on her seat.

"Someone you don't know?"

"Bangs... hiding his face," Ranpo recalls. "I think there was a raccoon."

Mizuki hums. "I have a feeling you'll meet him eventually."

"Alright," Ranpo closes his eye, and Mizuki stares at him. The two share a thought.

They're hiding something.

"Alright," Mizuki stands up, and pats her dress. "Time to go."

"Go?"

"Sleep!" Mizuki grins. "It's late for both of you."

"Will you be gone in the morning?"

"Yes," Mizuki hums.

"Stay safe... kaa-san." Yosano mumbles softly.

"ANYTHING FOR THE BABY!" Mizuki sobs into the girl's shoulder.

"Mizuki."

"Sorry," Mizuki laughs softly. She presses a kiss to the girl's cheek before getting up.

"I'll take her to her room!" Ranpo hums. "Can I have a slice of cake for breakfast tomorrow?"

"If you can sneak past Yu-chan," Mizuki smiles innocently.

"Oi." Fukuzawa glances at the woman, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Sorry," Mizuki hums. Taking the bowls, she heads to the sink to start washing them. Fukuzawa places the cake back into the fridge, following her to the kitchen.

"I'm leaving tonight," Mizuki hums, scrubbing the plate.

"Oh?" Fukuzawa dries the plates. 

"Yosano's healed enough, and all three of you are already blessed." She smiles. "You'll be fine even if I'm gone."

Fukuzawa stares at the woman, and sets a kiss on her lips. "Don't sleep with another man."

"Got it," She smiles. "No penetration or touching of the male genitalia."

"Mm," He presses a kiss to her forehead. 

There's a considerable silence before Fukuzawa speaks up again.

"We haven't slept together in a while."

"Ranpo would ignore it, but I'm not sure about the young one." Mizuki leans on his shoulder.

"How long will I have to wait?"

"Every full moon, meet me at the mansion." She smiles to herself. "I'll meet you there."

"Will you take a new identity?"

"Yes." She turns off the faucet, and she turns to look at Fukuzawa. "But I promise I won't do anything."

"I trust you." He mumbles gently. "I trust you."

Mizuki leaves that night, a fleeting kiss on Fukuzawa's lips, souring his heart for a moment.

Mizuki finds infiltrating the mafia easier than she thought. By climbing ranks quickly, she makes it to the executive seat before Mori does, and she takes over faster than he does.

The night is quiet when the boss sleeps. The mafia takes after all his commands, and the city had been ravaged for some time; it was time to put an end to his reign. Mizuki nods at the guards, a smile on her face. Though she never ended up in bed with the old man, she was better than anyone when it came to seduction.

The mafia's tantalization.

A young boy follows behind her along with Mori, and she places a gentle kiss on his eyes. "Keep them closed, little one."

The old man gives out his orders.

"Tell the mafia to... kill everyone... that opposes the port mafia by sundown..." He gasps. "My Darin*."

"Yes..." Mizuki's smile has a different glint to it. "Of course."

The poison in his veins kicks in.

His eyes widen. "You... boss... next."

He said that, but he knew better than anyone that she was the poison.

He dies like that.

She meets eyes with the boy behind her. "You heard the boss. Stand witness."

"So?" Mori raises a brow from next to the boy.

"Puppet for me," Mizuki smiles. 

"Puppet?"

"You heard me." Mizuki prepares for her performance. "You run the mafia; I hold the final decision."

Mori thinks about it. "Deal."

"You," Mizuki points at Dazai. His eyes dig into hers. "Co-boss with Mori behind the public."

Dazai raises a brow. "I'm barely a teenager."

"But the gold had set in before the age," Mizuki hums.

Dazai freezes.

Mizuki smiles, and tears start pouring out of her eyes.

The doors swing open when they hear her wailing in agony.

Her eyes dig into the guards', fake tears forming in her eyes. "The Boss succumbed to his illness. He ordered Mori to take over..."

"Can anyone stand witness?"

"Me... and the boy over there," Mizuki points at Dazai.

"Yes, mistress." Mizuki wipes her tears, and she tightens her jaw.

Mori hums, and he stares as the bodyguard puts a coat over Mizuki's shoulders. 

No matter how hard a person fought, the more traditional one was, the more likely they fell to one thing.

The oldest temptation in the world; lust.

Date: XX - XX - XXXX

The boss of Port Mafia is killed by an unknown poison. Mizuki had become well known as his next successor and mistress, and he announces her as the next boss. Dazai closes his eyes, but he hears the previous boss call out for her to be boss. Mori is put into the position of the face of the boss of Port Mafia, Dazai being a co-boss, and Mizuki being the true boss behind her two puppets.

Ranpo stares out the window.

"Why are you writing in there! There could be better-"

"RANPO!" Mizuki has a look of desperation in her eyes. "Fukuzawa's gone. Yosano's gone. Kunikada, Dazai, Chuuya, Naomi, Tanizaki are all gone! What else could I use it for?!"

"The order of the clock tower! You-"

"I WIPED THEM OUT LAST WEEK!" Mizuki screams. Her chest rises and falls, and tears spill out of her eyes. "I wiped them out last week... the only ability users left are the three of us... I turned into the monster I killed."

She shakes from her tears. "I want to go back and... I don't want to be here."

"You've lived through problems like this." Ranpo argues. "You don't need to-"

"I want to." She stares at him, the salt from her tears stained on her cheek, glistening under the desk lamp. "I want to."

Ranpo doesn't say anything.

"Will you get rid of your immortality in the book?"

Mizuki closes her eyes.

"I don't know." She rests her head in her hands. "I don't know."

"Is it scary?"

"I didn't want to make friends," Mizuki closes her eyes. "Gilgamesh died in front of me, crying, begging, sobbing for me to give him back his ability. I couldn't. It's called greed."

"Your ability?"

"Hunger. Greed. Lust." Mizuki picks up her pen. "I might as well be the whole council."

"Is it lonely?"

"It always has been." Mizuki starts writing. "And it will continue to be that way."

Ranpo shuts his eyes before opening them again.

"Mizuki-sensei." He mumbles sadly. "How lonely of a soul you are."

-🝮-

Darin - Japanese spelling for Darling

Notes:

There was supposed to be a scene with Paul Verlaine where he flirts with Mizuki, but then I found out more abt his namesake and I'm lowkey terrified of him now.

The irl dude is actually Bi. He also dated Rimbaud irl so that was fun to know. OH he's also a pedophile lmao (Rimbaud was younger than him by 10 years and his second lover was younger than him by like 16 years or smth... a pedophile.) so I didn't include it(?) - I'll release it when I release the deleted scenes when the book finishes - granted it ever does.