Priceless- Ryunosuke Akutagawa x Reader

Partners

You tossed and turned. It was getting late, and there was still no sign of sleep. Your mind kept wandering to the basement and how Akutagawa's voice rang in your ears.

You furrowed your brow as a knot formed in your throat. You weren't sure how to process what you'd seen. It was jarring and horrifying. It made your heart ache painfully when you thought of it. You didn't understand what you were feeling or why. The only word you could think to describe it was devastating, but even that seemed to not be the right word to describe it.

Soon enough, the sun peeked over the water and through your window. It was morning.

You got up and walked to the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes were puffy and dull, you were pale and your hair was a mess. Your nose was red and your cheeks tear stained from a long night spent grieving for a boy you hardly knew.

Any time the two of you would speak, you'd argue and it seemed like you could never get along. You could tell there was a deep seeded anger in him and that anger was fueled by jealousy.

"Why is he jealous of me?" You wondered as more tears fell into the sink below. "I'm worthless. I couldn't even cry without help from another." You sniffed, before washing your face.

The cool water was comforting and helped remove some traces of insecurity in your appearance. You tied your hair up nicely in a beautiful hair clip that had been gifted to you by Chuuya as a welcoming gift when you joined. You tried your best to make yourself look presentable, hoping that the mask wouldn't falter and show how you really felt. You hoped that if you made yourself look good, you might start to feel good.

"Disappointing." you said exasperatedly.

Your gaze was grim, and you poked at your face again before sighing unsteadily and preparing to change your clothes.

Your phone rang, grabbing your attention. You flipped it open to see a text from Chuuya,

"The boss wants the both of us to report to his office."

You sighed again and changed your clothes before heading out to meet up with your mentor.

Your mind was still In whirlwind of self doubt and blame.

"The stuff Dazai said about Odasaku... it makes me feel so guilty." You hugged yourself as you walked, "If I hadn't shown up, would Oda have focused on helping Akutagawa? Would Dazai have even let him? Did I take away any chance he had of being happy and feeling accepted?"

Your heart was heavy and your thoughts began to spin rapidly, like leaves caught in a storm. They spun around and around, with no sign of ever stopping. You closed your eyes tight, not slowing your pace.

You wanted to scream and let everything inside of you out. You could feel your heart pounding as your breathing quickened. Darkness seeped into your vision, and you felt yourself being torn apart.
Your tears soaked your clothes and you pushed through to an empty room, curling up with your knees to your chest against the door.

You let yourself go. You cried and cried until it hurt to cry anymore, until your tears dried up and left you with a pounding headache.

"What's wrong with me?" You questioned, "I don't deserve to feel like this. I didn't even go through it." You whimpered. "I'm such an idiot."

You wiped your tears, forcing yourself to stand. You felt guilty for allowing yourself to be so affected by the situation when you weren't the victim. You felt guilty for not realizing it sooner.

"He needs help." You thought as you left the room, back on track. You pasted a smile on your face, hoping to distract Chuuya from the obvious pain in your eyes.

"Wow, f/n you look like ****." Chuuya said, surprised when he saw you. You just laughed it off and ignored him. He caught this and became a little worried. Usually you'd fire something back at him.

Without another word, the two of you walked into the elevator and began your climb to the top floor where Mori's office was held. The ride was silent, with you lost in thought and Chuuya focused on your grim face.

The doors opened and the two of you went through the checkpoints necessary to see the boss. Your eyes never left your feet until the last set of doors opened in front of you. When you gathered up the strength to lift your head, you made eye contact with Akutagawa, who was standing next to Dazai like they had been waiting for you. You felt guilty for seeing him when you had and feared he was humiliated. Your boost of anxiety caused you to avert your eyes.

Chuuya patted your back and led you into the room.

"I've brought you here to discuss your assignments." Mori began, "L/n, Akutagawa, step forward."

The two of you obeyed, standing next to each other. Akutagawa glanced at you but looked back forward when Mori continued,

"The two of you will now work together as partners. I have no doubt that the two of you will grow to become one of the Port Maffia's strongest teams in the combat division."

"Thank you, sir!" You bowed. Akutagawa paused for a moment before following suit.

An amused smile crossed Mori's face. He closed his eyes before finishing his directions,

"You will both take charge of a squad of Dazai's men and will dispatch to take care of a rival organization. It is very important that you tell no one of what I'm about to tell you." The two of you made eye contact then turned back to the boss. "Sakunosuke Oda was injured in an altercation between the Port Maffia and this rival organization known as Mimic last night."

You went pale. Oda got hurt last night?

"They've been causing us problems. Take care of them won't you?" Mori waved you all out of his office, spinning his chair around.

As soon as the doors to the boss's room closed, Dazai stifled a laugh.

"How funny is it that our two protégés are partners..." he snorted, "Partner" Dazai laughed uncontrollably. Chuuya rolled his eyes and snickered.

"We should have them dress up as mini versions of ourselves!" Dazai laughed

"No, we should make them do embarrassing team-bonding activities." Chuuya steadied himself on his knee as he laughed .

Dazai wiped a tear and coughed as he tried to catch his breath.

"No, that's so dumb!" You huffed.

"Don't be a party pooper, f/n!" Dazai teased.

The two of you bickered the whole ride down and the whole walk to the main lobby.

"Geez they're like carbon copies of each other." Chuuya sighed. "Maybe that's why I was able to handle her wits." Chuuya rubbed his neck, his remarks under his breath. "I got used to it having Dazai as my partner. They're so similar sometimes." He grumbled.

Akutagawa listened quietly as he watched the two of you trade snarky comments and insults. Sometimes it was hard to tell if it was all a joke or if you both genuinely hated each other. It sent chills down Akutagawa's spine.

"That's not true."