Hello, everyone! Hope you're all doing well during this pandemic.

It's taken me a little while to post a new chapter, and I'm excited to share this one!

For all the times Akutagawa had bullied Atsushi, Atsushi had taken it. He'd ignored it, he'd silently stood still until Akutagawa sneered and stalked off, he'd mumbled some defense that clearly fell of deaf ears.

So, it came as a shock to everyone when he finally lashed out.

All things considered, the insult had been minor compared to some of the remarks and threats Akutagawa had made. Evidently, it hardly mattered what he'd said. Atsushi had had enough.

And that was how they both ended up under Dazai's withering glare.

Atsushi's cheek still stung from the slap Dazai had given him when he'd had to tear his students apart. Akutagawa was sporting a similar red mark on his face.

Seconds ticked by, and silence reigned. Dazai's expression didn't shift, irritation remained etched on his face as though it had been carved onto him. Guilt pressed down on Atsushi more and more with every passing moment.

"Alright," Dazai sighed, like he was tired of glaring at them. "What happened? Who started it?"

Akutagawa glanced at Atsushi.

Atsushi bit his lip and stared down at the floor guiltily.

"Atsushi-kun?" Dazai said, incredulity flooding his tone. The irritation in his voice evaporated. Atsushi flinched at his name before hanging his head and swallowing hard.

"Well, that's a twist I didn't see coming," he said, sounding amused. His footfalls echoed as he got closer. "Look at me." Dazai was addressing him directly now.

He raised his head in response, every muscle going taut.

The guilt was probably written all over his face.

"I'd expect that kind of behavior from Akutagawa, but this is surprising coming from you, Atsushi-kun."

Atsushi's throat tightened. "I'm sorry," he choked out, turning his face to the floor again.

Dazai gave a disappointed sigh. Somehow, that sound hurt more than any physical punishment.

When no one said anything for a minute, Dazai clicked his tongue and ordered Akutagawa to leave, stating that they'd have a discussion later.

This was bad.

He'd stepped out of line.

He'd given Akutagawa an actually valid reason to hate him.

He'd done something to earn Dazai's disappointment.

I'm such an idiot. He thought, having trouble breathing. He flinched hard when Dazai's shoe nudged him in the side.

"So," Dazai said, his voice level. "You finally did something."

"Wha-"

"Akutagawa-kun can be… a handful." He pressed his fingers against Atsushi's forehead, forcing him to look up at him. Then, he sighed when he saw the boy's expression. "Oh, come on, don't cry. It's not that big a deal."

Atsushi hadn't even realized how close to tears he'd been, but when he blinked, he could feel the sting of salt water.

"At the very worst, you gave him a few bruises, and," he paused, taking Atsushi's chin in his hand and tilting his head so he could see the black eye he'd received from Akutagawa. "It looks like you've already started healing." He hummed, releasing Atsushi's chin. "The tiger works fast."

"But…" Atsushi began. "You-You aren't mad at me?"

"No, why would I be?"

"I- Because Akutagawa and I were fighting…"

"Well, it's not like anything was damaged beyond repair, and he had it coming, didn't he?"

Atsushi blinked.

"I'm not deaf to what he says to you. Akutagawa-kun has a less than subtle personality, after all."

You knew? Atsushi thought. This whole time, you know that he'd threatened me and insulted me...And you didn't do anything?

Despite his respect and admiration for Dazai, Atsushi couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed. He'd never told Dazai that Akutagawa had been bullying him. The reasons to keep silent seemed to outweigh the reasons to speak. Tattling would definitely earn more hatred from Akutagawa, and that was the last thing he needed. On top of that, he didn't want to whine to his superior about all of this.

Still though, Dazai had known and had seemed content to ignore it.

Dazai exhaled through his mouth. "There's no need to look at me like I've betrayed you, Atsushi-kun."

Atsushi flinched. He hadn't realized he'd let his feelings show on his face.

"You wear your heart on your sleeve," Dazai murmured, sounding amused again. His face turned serious again. "Akutagawa-kun only really respects strength and power and other things of that sort. I think it's fair to guess that despite the tiger and the fact that you wounded him in tiger form, you did not earn his respect."

Atsushi bristled at that comment. He'd half hoped to forget about that.

"I could have stepped in, and reprimanded him for being a nuisance." Dazai paused, his face thoughtful. "But, he's still rather disobedient. Unless I did something drastic, he wouldn't stop. Besides, would you even want that? To constantly be hiding behind me like a helpless child?"

"No," Atsushi said, unsure whether or not that was a rhetorical question.

"Of course not," Dazai responded. "Striking back yourself was the only way to handle this in a way that he could understand, and it's the only way you'd grow."

Atsushi definitely didn't feel like he'd grown at all. All he felt was the remaining ache of his black eye healing. Despite agreeing with Dazai, he'd hardly stood up for himself. He'd simply been sick of being pushed around and he'd heard his blood pulsing in his ears, and he had punched Akutagawa in the jaw because it was the only thing he could think to do. He'd had no end goal in mind. It'd been impulsive and immature.

Dazai's hand was in his hair before he could say anything. "It's good to know that you can stand on your own two feet," he said.

Atsushi should have told him… Should have told him that he'd done nothing worth praise… He'd been angry and he'd panicked and that was all…

But he didn't speak. Dazai's praise felt too good to reject. It fed something in him, something that had been shriveled and neglected since the day he was born.

Did Dazai know how undeserved his praise was? Probably not… He didn't seem the kind of person who gave praise or punishment if it wasn't in some way earned.

So, possibly against his better judgment, he nodded, accepting everything Dazai offered to him.

Dishonesty wasn't at all his strong suit, but he tried it anyway. His guilt tasted bitter and he swallowed it down, trying to ignore the slight stinging sensation in his throat.

"Now that that's smoothed over," Dazai began. "It's about time we get something done."

Atsushi nodded.

/-/-/

Despite what Dazai had said, Atsushi didn't think his fight with Akutagawa earned him any respect at all. In the following several days, Atsushi found that Akutagawa was growing more and more persistent.

Before, it'd just been a few aggressive remarks and few shoves. Before, he'd get bored after a few minutes. Now though, Akutagawa was less hesitant to show his ability and he seemed to take the fact that Atsushi was still breathing as a direct challenge.

It wasn't as though Atsushi could brush it off as easily as he'd done before. Akutagawa knew that he could actually fight back now… and for whatever reason, that seemed to encourage him.

Even worse, Dazai seemed to expect him to fight now.

His mentor had made it clear that he wouldn't coddle Atsushi. The man didn't want to act as a shield for him… Not against this threat at least.

He told himself that he'd brought this on himself. He'd snapped, and now everyone expected him to lash out whenever he was provoked… and it bothered him. Atsushi wasn't particularly angry by nature and he didn't like fighting, so he hated being treated like he did.

More than anything, it was exhausting.

/-/-/

It had taken longer than expected.

Dazai wasn't surprised when Atsushi had finally pushed back against Akutagawa. To be perfectly honest, he'd been waiting to see that happen since he'd started training the two of them together. And it had only been a matter of time thanks to Akutagawa's competitive streak. People could only be pushed for so long.

Of course he'd acted irritated after breaking up the fight. It's what any normal person would expect, after all. Actively encouraging Atsushi to fight with Akutagawa would likely scare him. He wasn't eager to fight.

But now, Atsushi must have realized Dazai's approval with him fighting and taking action on his own. And he clearly craved Dazai's approval, not as much as Akutagawa, but enough for Dazai to work with.

So, Dazai was sure that this wouldn't be the last fight he'd need to break up.

Admittedly, having a student who was so mild mannered-while refreshing- was frustrating. The only times Atsushi had shown any type of aggression was when he was stressed or panicked enough. Atsushi would likely prove a bit more difficult to train than Akutagawa since inflicting physical pain was partially off the table; outright beating Atsushi would make him hate Dazai, and while Dazai didn't mind being hated, resentment would make Atsushi less malleable. And he had no inclination to have to train another difficult student.

So, Atsushi finally did something... And Dazai is making some progress with him. That should be fun.

Unrelated thing:

Social distancing has been kind of crazy. Never have I ever wanted to hang out with people so much... On the bright side, I got some crocheting projects done. I made a San from Princess Mononoke and an Ahsoka plushie from Star Wars:The Clone Wars. I'm really proud of how they turned out! I'm also remaking one of my Dazai plushies, since I was still learning how to crochet when I made one of them! Feel free to check them out on my Etsy shop: CrochetedByAnnika or on my Tumblr: akinachambers

Thank you all so much for reading my fanfiction! Knowing that someone likes what I write means the world to me!

Stay safe!