"Where are we?" Itsuho turn her head to Dazai as she felt a familiar salty smell.
"Somewhere near a harbor?"
"You are too perspective Itsuho-chan if I didn't see that you really don't have eyes I would have thought you are faking it"
Dazai chuckled as he signed Atsushi to sit on a box in the warehouse that they were in. "Sit down Atsushi-kun we will be here for a while"
The boy sat on it and hugged his knees as Itsuho pat his head while sitting next to him, giving a bit of a push to be brave.
Seeing that Dazai pouted dramatically. "Why not sitting next to me Itsuho-chan? Am I not good enough?"
"Yeah" she bluntly said as Atsushi finally laughed even for a moment.
"You wound me Itsuho-chan" Dazai rubbed his chest for a while. "Since you are so pretty I will forgive you"
"Nice one" she smirked.
Soon the exhaustion started to take over her in both mentally and physically.
Then she remembered that she didn't had a rest for a long time whether it is in the lab when she was planning her escape or during after the three years of planning and when she escaped while destroying the place or even then after she was traveled to a different world.
There wasn't any time for her to rest until now as all of those matters started to take a toll over her as she yawned.
"Are you tired Itsuho-san?" Atsushi look at her and asked while Dazai just kept looking at her silently like a hunter as that gaze is sharp enough for her to notice it as she smirked faintly.
"Bit" she placed her hand on his head.
".....Will it really appear here?" The boy asked. Itsuho stayed silent as he waited for Dazai's answer who took out a book to read though it is questionable that the book isn't wet at all.
"That's right" he turned the pages and didn't look away from the book.
Itsuho leaned on another box as Atsushi was caught between a mental struggle. Even though she can't see it she felt it throughly even though she chose not to say anything.
"You don't need to worry." Dazai took his eyes off from the book. "It isn't much of an enemy. Even though I look like this, I am still an 'Armed Detective'. If not still Itsuho-chan is here" He said the last part half jokingly.
"Hm?" She opened her eyes, revealing two black holes then instantly closed them as she sat straight and pat Atsushi's head. "Don't worry it is just a tiger"
"Itsuho-chan, have you hunt a tiger before?" Dazai look at her, intrigued by the way she said it nonchalantly.
"No" she shook her head, much of disappointment to the boy who keeps his hope up. "I did hunt many bears"
"Bears?" Dazai raised an eyebrow. "That's bit concerning one. How you survived?"
"Most of them are nuisance. Beside bear meat is quite a delicacy. Plus that have a high demand"
"So shinobis are way more versatile" There was a hint of admiration in his gaze.
"Hn"
"Haha you two are great full of confidence" Atsushi's head lowered as her hand on his head suspended on the air as she withdraw it.
"Someone like me who said to be 'useless' even at the orphanage....on top of that not knowing where today bed is nor where tomorrow meal is coming from." She turn her head to sense him as she 'looking' at him.
"If such a guy dies, no I meant as well die by being eaten...."
"That's a quite a view of life you have Atsushi-kun" she paused for a moment as she fell in to a deep thought.
"If you focus on yourself too much you will only see the bad, despair, regret and futility. But you know, Heaven would never seal all of one's doors to be alive or the ways of living Atsushi-kun. There is only people who are despairing while succumbing to their personal emotions, their own comfort zones and negativity...."
She sighed as there something weighting on her head. "Well most of those those paths are might so hard, terrible. Some are scared to take those paths because they are too hard....or may be too painful, too bloody but they forgot one thing.... you have to keep moving forward....only then they can see what is ahead of them.....whether it is a paradise..... or a hell"
Atsushi didn't took his eyes off as Dazai also look at her with slightly widened eyes.
"No matter how hard....no matter how sad you have to go on. Thats the life is" He rephrase what she said in a low voice.
Dazai looked at her deeply. "That's a quite a way to describe a life Itsuho-chan" Then he look out and look at the moon that emerging out from dark clouds.
"Now then.....it's about time" The boy also look as a sharp noise came from outside, something fell from the roof.
"That's right it definitely him!
Dazai-san, Itsuho-San!" Atsushi said in panick as he almost strutted.
"Atsushi-kun calm down and sit back" Itsuho turn to the boy.
"How can I calm down Itsuho-san! That is the man eating tiger! It came to eat me!"
The panick strikened boy look around not to know whether to run or not as with those two here to watch him if he try to quite being a bait and leave.
"Sit down Atsushi-kun the tiger won't come from such a place." Dazai close the book, speaking in undeniable tone.
"How did you know that?!"
"Because this is quite a strange situation Atsushi-kun" Itsuho said leisurely, not minding the boy's panicked state.
Dazai's eyes widened for a moment as he smiled like he saw something interesting.
"If the orphanage having trouble kicking one kid won't fix anything. So in other words Atsushi-kun it seems more like you are the trouble they want to kick away. Plus you guys said something about special abilities right" Itsuho steched out her limbs as she explains.
"Not bad Itsuho....figuring out from that much of little information" Dazai chuckled.
"What are you two mean by that?!" Atsushi look at them.
"Just because of orphanage have trouble do they drive out children? It isn't when it wasn't even in such a rural area to start with"
"I see, so when a orphanage is in a more town vicinity they won't drive out children. I keep that in mind" she rubbed her chin.
"I still don't get it" Atsushi look at them.
"Well you come to town two weeks ago and the tiger also appeared two weeks ago." Dazai stood up.
"An according to Kunikida it was appear the river vicinity four days ago right" Itsuho stood up and leaned in to a box.