Dazai sat on his bed with a book in hand when the door opened. He turned his head quickly as his eyes narrowed.

He watched Sayuri prance into the shipping container and his expression softened slightly.

"I thought you were going to hang out with Chuuya today," Dazai spoke as he looked back down at his book.

"I did! We were with the Young Bloods and we played some pool. They're probably still playing. I told them I had to leave," Sayu replied, plopping herself down at the end of his bed.

He was sat crisscross so she mirrored his position.

"You could've told me you were coming," Dazai said, looking back down at his book.

"I wanted to surprise you," she said, setting a bag in front of him.

Dazai glanced at the bag before quickly digging in to find the bag filled with sweets.

"I got you some daifuku and dorayaki. I thought you might like it," Sayu said as she smiled at him.

Dazai clutched the bag to his chest with a childish smile. "You are the best! I will savor every bite!"

The two began talking aimlessly as Dazai shoved the treats in his face contently. Eventually, Dazai convinced Sayu to let him braid her hair.

She sat in front of him as he pulled her hair into smooth plaits. Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to relax a bit.

As Dazai finished braiding the second half of her hair, he broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

"Do you like me?"

Sayuri stiffened a bit as her cheeks became warm. "What?"

"Do you like me? Sometimes I wonder if you don't actually like me and just hang around me because I scare you," Dazai spoke quietly.

He waited for her response as her shoulders started to tremble. He then heard her began laughing as she leaned back, her head landing in his crossed lap.

"You're funny, you know that?" Sayu giggled as she looked up at him. "You really think I'm scared of you?"

"Well, I don't really think so, but I've just been thinking about it a lot lately..." Dazai admitted, looking down at her. "You're the only person that I really talk to. Koyo told me that I scare most of the members in the mafia."

"I guess you are pretty spooky," Sayu teased as she pushed herself back up, turning to be able to look at him. "But I'm not scared of you. You're not the only monster in the mafia, Osa, but you're my monster."

Dazai's gaze fell to his lap. "I'm glad you stuck around. I feel a little less alone in this awful existence when you're around."

"I'll always be here for you. We're partners, remember?"

"Yeah. Partners," he mumbled. He recalled the conversation he had heard between her and Chuuya a few months back.

He didn't really know what he had done to gain her trust, and it made him feel guilty that he hadn't fully trusted her with his secrets. He wanted to call her a friend, but friends tell each other their secrets. For the first time, he was afraid to tell his secrets. Normally he kept it secret because it was no one else's business but his own, but Sayuri was different.

He knew everything about her. The only person who knew her better than he did was her brother. And while she knew him better than anyone else, she didn't truly knew him.

"Why do you trust me, Sayu?" He asked, his deep brown eyes boring into her soul.

Sayu hummed as she smiled at him. "Because you've given me no reason not to."

"That makes no sense. I did nothing to earn your trust in the first place. You know nothing about me. Does that not bother you?"

"I know enough about you to know that you wouldn't go behind my back unless necessary," Sayu replied.

"How do you know that?" Dazai continued. He wasn't used to feeling guilt over anything. He could slit someone's throat, then just shrug and walk away, but this was eating at him.

"Osamu, I know that because you haven't. You've proven that I can come to you whenever I need to feel better, whenever I need help, or whenever I just need someone there. You don't need to tell me every little thing about yourself. Just because I trust you doesn't mean you have to return the sentiment. I'm happy that you trust me enough to be sitting here with you right now. You make me happy."

That made Dazai go quiet. He knew he could trust her, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her everything. "I want to tell you who I am, but I can't..."

"You don't have to tell me anything, Osa. But if you decide one day that you want me to know, I will be here to listen." Sayuri moved to sit beside him, letting him lean against her.

She wrapped her arms around the brunette and gently pulled him down so they were laying down on his bed. Dazai's head was rested on her chest as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you, Sayu," Dazai mumbled.

"You don't need to thank me. It's what friends do," she replied softly which brought a small smile to his face. "Do you know why I joined the mafia?"

"You told me that you owed Koyo a debt," Dazai replied, his eyes closing as her nails gently dragged along his scalp.

"I was sent to assasinate a man by the name of Bimyo Yamada. He was a spy for the mafia. His special ability was called Butterfly. He could move around without making a single noise. Even his breath was completely silent. He had gotten some information on the man that hired me. I was sent to kill Yamada and destroy any information he had collected," Sayuri explained as she remembered the day she had met Koyo.

Dazai listened intently, curling up against her side more after tugging his thin blanket over his body.

"When I found Yamada, he was with Koyo. I had a wide open shot. I'm not sure why I decided not to shoot, but something about seeing them together," Sayu said as her voice got quiet. "I'd never felt guilty about killing a target before, but after seeing how happy Koyo looked with him, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. Instead, I approached them both and told them why I was there. They were apparently trying to leave the mafia and the old boss didn't appreciate that. While I was there, another assassin had been sent to kill Yamada on the orders of the former boss. I got caught in the crossfire. I have a scar on arm from where I got shot."

Dazai felt himself stiffen slightly at the thought of her getting badly injured. He hated seeing her hurt. It made him think back to their fight with Rando when she had been all bloody. "Can I see the scar?"

Sayuri hummed softly before shifting herself a bit to pull off the cardigan she had been wearing. She pulled her short sleeve up over her shoulder and Dazai looked over the scarred tissue that was on her bicep.

He reached up and gently touched her scar, remembering how warm it felt when she had touched his own scars.

"It was almost a headshot, but Koyo saved me. Yamada was killed by the other assassin, but my employer didn't need to know that. I owed Koyo for saving my life so she asked me to kill the former boss for murderering the man she loved. I joined the mafia to get closer to the boss, but Mori got to him before I could."

Dazai nodded slowly, absent-mindedly running his fingers around the scar on her arm from the bullet she had taken.

"I had asked Saku if he wanted to join the mafia, but he said that he wanted to do his own thing," Sayu added as she moved to continue playing with his hair. "Then one day I got called into Mori's office and I met you. Mori's golden boy."

The tease made Dazai scoff, his face pulling into a scrunch.

"I don't know if I'll ever actually be able to leave the mafia, even though that's my dream. But I guess if I'm stuck here with you, it won't be so bad."

"Why do you want to leave the mafia anyway?" Dazai questioned curiously. "You're such a skilled assassin. If you weren't saving up every penny, you could be living in luxury."

"My life changed the day I met Koyo. Yamada was the first target I didn't eliminate and it was because I felt guilt for the first time. They both looked so happy. The way he looked at Koyo..." Sayuri's lips pulled into a sad smile. "I could see how much he loved her in just that simple look. Ever since that day, I wanted someone to look at me like that. I want to be able to someone that happy. But in the world of the mafia, I don't know of I'll ever be able to find that."

Sayuri closed her eyes as she pictured herself living in a small house with a beautiful child, a husband holding her tight. She wanted that affection so badly.

"In the world of the mafia, it truly is every man for himself. I enjoy what I do though. I know I'm a bad person. I grew up learning how to get a perfect kill. Human life doesn't hold much meaning to me. But I still want to enjoy what this life has to offer and it makes me so mad that the world can offer those fairytales to other people, but not me. I just don't think it's fair..."

"Nothing's fair," Dazai agreed as he moved his hand away from her scar, slipping it under his head that was still on her chest. "This world is just cruel and unfair. They say we're all created equal, but that's a load of shit. All we can do is take the cards that we're dealt."

"I'm just thankful that I have you and my brother by my side. And now I have Chuuya, too," Sayuri replied with a small smile.

Dazai grumbled under his breath as he closed his eyes again.

"Don't worry, Osa. You're still my favorite," Sayu assured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"I better be," he said quickly which made Sayu laugh.

The two stayed like that all night, eventually falling asleep after a while.

Sayuri walked into the apartment she shared with her brother and pounded on the door in her signature pattern.

She pranced inside with a smile o her face, but it fell when she saw Sakunosuke sitting at the table with a lost expression.

"Saku? You okay?" Sayu asked softly as she sat down beside her brother.

"Are we really bad people?"

That made Sayuri stiffen. She didn't know how to answer that. Of course she thought she was a bad person, but her brother was her hero.

"Do you think it's too late to make a change?" Sakunosuke continued quietly.

"It's never too late. You get to choose who you'd like to be," Sayuri replied.

"I don't want to do this anymore... I want to do something that will make me happy. I want to become a writer," Saku stated, looking at his little sister as a sad expression gripped his features. "But I've killed so many people."

"Why should that stop you from becoming a writer? I think you would write wonderful books!" Sayuri encouraged.

"But writing is akin to controlling a person's life. Do I really deserve that power when I've taken another's life away?"

Sayuri hugged her brother tight, smiling as she held onto him. "So start over. Just like a story. Start a new chapter."

"Even if that means I never kill again?" Sakunosuke questioned.

"Absolutely," Sayu agreed with a nod. "You can do other things with your life."

"But I can't get a stable job. I've done too much damage for that," Saku replied lowly.

"Join me in the mafia. I'm sure there are plenty of jobs you could do that don't involve you killing anyone. It's not ideal, but it's the best option you have," Sayuri offered.

Sakunosuke seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Take your time. Now, I'm gonna get dinner started. I'll make you some curry."

Sakunosuke's expression brightened slightly. "Best little sister ever."