Enter; Snape
It took a lot of effort on Snape’s part, truly.
Years and years and years. Motivation hitting rock bottom.
But he pushed through.
He had to, for his students sake.
For Dazai Osamu’s sake.
It’d been so many years since Dazai had been pulled out of Hogwarts.
And with Snape knowing the type of place Dazai was going back to, well he was simply distraught!
Dumbledore refused to help in the matter, and Snape wasn’t in the business of bribing the headmaster, knowing the man would simply find a way to work around it anyhow.
So Snape was on a solo mission. McGonagall chose to opt out, it wasn’t her responsibility anymore. She did what she could, but the lot they were to be involved with should she push any further could endanger her students and she was very much against that. She advised Severus do the same, but he was determined, so she helped when she could. Research only. Meeting up with government officials was Snape’s job.
He was content with this.
And Pomphrey…well she tried, but she was simply a matron. She went to Yokohama before, she had a target on her back.
There was nothing she could do but work from afar.
She offered to go under a disguise, but her magic simply wasn’t made for it.
For her own safety, the potions professor volunteered to do the dirty work.
And after nearly ten years of hard work, they finally got in touch with a government official willing to help.
In fact, they were the ones to reach out to Snape.
And that’s how the man ended up at a meeting place, just off the coast of Yokohama’s waters, talking to a man by the name of Ango Sakaguchi.
The conversation was…very insightful.
As it turns out, Dazai was no longer in the Port Mafia. He was instead part of a Detective Agency, the ADA.
The made Snape…happy? Proud? Grateful?
One of those.
Ango offered to set up an anonymous meeting. Make a false report, request Dazai on the case, and have him meet up with Snape to discuss the ‘report’. They could chat in office hours, making it easier for both Dazai and Snape.
Not that Ango disclosed why.
Given the language barrier, and Snape’s only way to communicate being spell, Ango took care of basically everything.
They weren’t sure if Dazai would show up knowing Snape was there or not, so they made it seem like a normal case.
Another reason Ango took care of it, he knew what ‘normal’ cases were.
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When does got the call to come into work a little earlier than usual, he didn’t know what to expect.
He wasn’t supposed to be there until later in the PM’s as he had taken the morning off to run some errands.
Apparently he had been requested for a case.
Nothing too serious, just a missing persons report.
He was to meet a witness at a local cafe, one different from the agency’s usual one.
He dragged his feet to get there, it was his morning off after all.
But a missing person, was a missing person, and the first few hours are vital for the victims survival. As such, he hurried up a little.
When he walked through the doors, he immediately wanted to do a U-turn.
He wanted to walk away and pretend he didn’t see anything, because he didn’t.
He saw nothing. No one. And he most certainly didn’t hear Snape call out to him.
It’s impossible, really. It is.
Because how would Snape get here?
How would Dazai’s old professor not only know where to look, but make a whole report as well as find a meet up spot.
It didn’t make any sense.
The more Dazai thought about it, the more he regretted not covering his tracks at least a little better.
He’s gotten Ango to clear everything right?
Ango…wait.
“It was Ango.” Dazai muttered bitterly.
Well, he’s already been spotted so he supposed it was too late to run.
He turned on his heels and walked over to Snape.
Better to get this over and done with right?
Right?
Right.
“Ah professor! How lovely to see you again!” Dazai greatest cheerfully, sitting down across from Snape with his ‘work’ smile.
The one he uses when he annoys Kunikida. The one he uses to mask his feelings. The one he used at Hogwarts all those years ago.
It was always nice to play a character. Definitely not nice to mascarade about with a teacher Dazai used to…well, have a genuine connection to.
Snape was almost like a father, especially with the rumors.