The office of the Armed Detective Agency was unusually quiet when Dazai Osamu strolled in, the familiar creak of the door barely disrupting the rhythm of the ticking clock on the wall. He had a bounce in his step, as always, the ends of his beige trench coat swaying slightly as he made his way inside. His dark brown eyes scanned the room, the usual mischievous glint in them, as if he were always expecting something amusing to happen. "Ah, another beautiful day to be alive," Dazai sighed dramatically, raising his bandaged hands toward the ceiling. "But alas, no new methods to test my grand escape from this mortal coil."
He made his way to his desk, slumping into his chair with a lazy grin. His eyes flicked to the nearby desk where Atsushi was diligently working, fingers typing away furiously on a report. "Ah, Atsushi-kun!" Dazai suddenly called out, his voice layered with mock excitement. "Do you perhaps have any brilliant ideas for a double suicide today? Something involving cherry blossoms, perhaps?"
The younger detective visibly tensed, knowing by now that Dazai’s morbid humor was never to be taken at face value, but it still unsettled him. "Not today, Dazai-san," Atsushi mumbled, without even lifting his eyes from the report. "I’m too busy with this paperwork."
Dazai let out an exaggerated sigh, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed at the ceiling in thought."Hmm, what a boring day..." he trailed off, then began tilting his chair back and forth, balancing it expertly on two legs as if the possibility of crashing to the floor didn’t concern him. Just as Dazai seemed ready to conjure another playful torment, the door to the agency creaked open, and the relaxed atmosphere shifted slightly. In walked a figure unfamiliar to most of the agency staff, except for Kunikida, who was already standing near the entrance with his stern expression.
"Dazai, meet our new recruit," Kunikida's voice cut through the room with the sharp efficiency he was known for. "They’ll be working with us from today onward. You could at least try to behave this once." Dazai's chair tilted a little too far back, and finally, with a soft thud, he let it fall forward, the sound echoing in the quiet office. He didn't seem the least bit fazed as he slowly turned his attention to the newcomer.
