in which atsushi just moved in and the hot neighbor doesn't like his camping chairs
Atsushi Nakajima was grateful for the governmental aid that allowed him to have, for once, a clean environment to live in.
All the time he’d spent doing the procedures, the paperwork by himself, to prove that he was indeed technically homeless had not been a waste ; even better, he was now moving the last cardboard boxes containing his belongings to his brand new flat. It was a small place, really : 12 meters squared of old wood and decrepit wallpaper, a mattress, a small kitchen corner, and a small bathroom where the toilet and shower barely fit together ; but it was his. It was more than enough for him to go through the next few months, years, maybe - he didn’t really know how long he planned on staying in Yokohama. All he knew is that he had a roof, a bit of money every month and a few friends in the city.
Dropping the last cardboard box on the ground (and oh, god, how was he going to fit all of his stuff in this cramped space ?) Atsushi made a mental note to text his friends after he finished unpacking everything - he had put the group chat on mute since the night before, knowing how all of the members would already be planning to hang out in the university’s library, or more likely, at their favorite bars.
Unpacking his few boxes wasn’t as strenuous an exercise as it had been to lift them up to the 4th floor with no elevator, and so Atsushi was in a joyful mood, carefully thinking about where and how he would arrange his decorations, his books, his silverware. He knew where to put his toothbrush, though. It was all very easy, and relaxing, to make his little home by himself, making all the decisions : he felt somewhat proud of this little accomplishment he had achieved. Take that, Dad, I can manage by myself, he’d thought. It’s the little things that count.
Halfway through his last box, Atsushi heard a knock on his front door, “uh- yeah, wait a second”; setting aside what he had in hand, he opened the door with a polite smile and a vague odor of sweat under his t-shirt. In front of him was standing a lanky person with long black hair, displaying a very neutral face.
“Hello, Atsushi smiled,
-Hello, the stranger replied with a still neutral face, although somehow a bit more lively than a second before, I’m Gin Akutagawa, your new neighbor- well you’re my new neighbor, but you get it- you can call me Gin, by the way.
-Yeah, uh, nice to meet you, Gin.” Atsushi replied, “was I making too much noise ? I’m sorry if that’s the case, I’m moving my things by myself and-
-No, no it’s fine ! Trust me, if anyone made too much noise it would be us.”
Us? Noise?Am I a neighbor to a couple?- “Did you say you were moving alone ? Sucks that we didn’t hear you, we could’ve helped !
-Don’t sweat it, I’m strong enough, and it’s not much” Atsushi jokingly put his hand to his biceps with a proud face.
The person on his doorstep- Gin- peeked at the room behind Atsushi while they chuckled ; “You’re almost done, too ! Here, uh-
-Atsushi.
-Here, Atsushi, take a break- don’t move”, and with that, the lanky neighbor disappeared through the door in front of Atsushi’s, only coming back a few seconds later with sodas and making their way inside of his apartment.
Gin settled their cans- three cans- on Atsushi’s kitchen counter before calling for someone from their flat : “Ryuu, get your ass out there and welcome the new neighbor!
-You really don’t have to-
-Oh but I will, Gin said as they settled themselves near the counter, when Ryuu and I arrived, the other neighbors basically told us to fuck off because we’re young and we were “probably going to ruin the place” (Gin made air quotes) - and they didn’t even offer to help us ! I’m strong, but-
-You don’t have to talk about our life so casually, Gin.” a stranger interrupted ; Atsushi turned to see the owner of the hoarse voice that had unpromptedly spoken. In front of him stood another lanky - yet somewhat smaller than Gin- person with shorter, black and white hair and really, really short bangs. No eyebrows either. As well as dressed in a black blouse and plain black dress pants. Compared to Atsushi, who dressed almost exclusively in sportswear or knitted jumpers, this person stood out as some sort of avant-garde Victorian fashion model- and it seemed like they dressed like this at home.
Holy Shit I know you were popular on Tiktok during lockdown, Atsushi thought.
It took a second look for Atsushi to see that the person he assumed was ‘Ryuu’ was supporting themselves on a cane. In a quick move, Atsushi found some fold-out camping chairs he’d stuffed in a corner to save some space : not knowing if the Victorian neighbor would feel patronized if he pulled a single one, Atsushi also unfolded one for Gin and sat by himself on the counter. Gin happily relaxed on the chair while the other, after a few seconds of giving a look of contempt to the chair, relaxed in it as well, although in a less casual way than Gin.
“I’m not gonna stay, you could’ve saved yourself the trouble.” The Victorian neighbor said flatly, though they seemed as comfortable as they could get on that chair. “But thanks, I’m Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, Gin’s brother.”
Brother? Yeah, that checked out : both the siblings had a sharp, unblemished pale face and sunken eyes ; although Atsushi noticed that Gin’s eyes looked like that because of makeup, while their brother’s looked like that because of sleep exhaustion.
“I’m Atsushi, Nakajima Atsushi.
-Nice to meet you, Nakajima Atsushi.”, Thus were Akutagawa’s last words before his sibling started speaking again in a jovial, yet still calm tone.
A few hours in, and Atsushi had learnt that his new neighbors were siblings, Gin was 18 in their final year of high school, while their brother was in the same college as Atsushi and studying classical literature. He had also learnt that the Akutagawa siblings were terribly sorry in advance for the “gatherings” they might have in their apartment in the future, because they actually had a pretty large friend group made of very loud and very alcoholic people who liked to come here because the place was near campus. He had also, also learnt that he was welcome to drop by instead of filing for a noise complaint if they made too much of a ruckus.
Atsushi checked his phone : almost 8PM, 526 new messages from the Amazing Dick Aficionados group chat and a few emails from the school. He wasn’t really waiting for a call, anyway, he knew Kyouka was probably studying right now, and their dad wasn’t really going to let her call, anyway.
After the Akutagawa siblings had left, Atsushi finished, at last, settling down and reviewed a few of his notes before going to bed, setting alarms at 7:00, 7:03, 7:12, 7:31 and 7:43 to make sure he wasn’t going to be late for his first day.
Though falling asleep was not Atsushi Nakajima’s forte, maybe because of insomnia, or because he had actually unmuted his phone, which is completely dumb when his friends are also insomniacs who just cannot stop sending dumb memes on their group chat-
Atsushi gave up, opening his phone to be blinded by his white tiger lock screen and finally see his friend’s latest messages :
Kunikida:
11:01 pm:
You guys should go to sleep, you’re probably annoying him with all your texts as well.
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:12pm:
No way he’s sleeping he’s just avoiding us COME OUT ATSUSHI!!!!! WE MISS U SON
Bestie <3:
11:14pm:
Dazai istg you’ll see him tomorrow even im not that clingy
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:15pm:
I wanna know i’m so curious Jun i actually need to know if he met them or not
Tiger claw :
11:16pm:
Whomst have i met
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:18pm:
OMG WELCOME BACK SUSHI
ur neighbors i saw the address kunikida gave you
I babysat one of the people in front of your flat lol
The tallest one, you’ll see them
Tiger claw:
11:22pm:
Yeah i met them actually they v nice
well , Gin is, didnt chat much with the other one
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:30pm:
That’s so cray actually
I know them from way back lol
Yeah he doesn’t say much
Dont be fooled hes not as mysterious as he might want u 2 believe lol
Tiger claw:
11:31pm:
He doesnt seem mysterious or anythn
Just looks like a victorian child
Prick didnt even like my camping chairs
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:34pm:
NOT THE CAMPING CHAIRS
yeah hes like that wtv
Bestie <3:
11:35pm:
BRO NOT THE CAMPING CHAIRS
Anw i’m back how are u bestie
Tiger claw:
11:40pm:
Yeah that’s messed up
Oh hi Jun
I’m good lowkey stressed tbh bc i’m in a major prolly filled w boring str8 rich guys or smth
Bestie <3:
11:42pm:
Common anthro L
It’s okay bb i got lots of free slots ill come to ur classes hehe
Naomi’s mad busy as well lately so she wont come either
Just u n me bb
Tiger claw:
11:43pm:
Oh i can’t wait to see you not follow whats goin on
Anw imma go to sleep ttys yall
The best senior ever (Dazai):
11:50pm:
ATSSHI CAN I COME TOO i dont wanna go to class w stinky fedya
ATSUSHI COME BAC I CANT SLEEP
PLEASE MY FLESH N BLOOD
Yeah wtv good night >:(
Jk babe sleep tight have a good day 2morrow
Doctor Sexy Lesbian:
11:51pm:
Shut yo ass up
When he woke up in the unfamiliar bed at 7:03, Atsushi panicked a little before realizing he had moved here the day before. Shutting his alarms, he slowly made his way to his tiny fridge to find some milk and cereals to eat. He has plenty of time before his introductory class at 8:30,considering the anthropology building was a 15 minutes walk from here. Checking his phone for the third time in less than 20 minutes to see some new messages (again) and make sure he had not read incorrectly his schedule, Atsushi washed his face and brushed his teeth, dressing himself in comfortable, yet not unfashionable dark gray jeans with a striped lilac sweater. It was only at 8:05 that he finally left his apartment, closing the door behind him, only to hear someone else's jangling of keys. Behind him was the oldest Akutagawa, closing his own door. Atsushi caught a glimpse of the man's outfit of the day, a white dress shirt and a black vest, as well as black pants hidden by the long black trench coat he was wearing on top.
“Oh, hi, fancy seeing you here, Atsushi joked,
-Not really, we're neighbors and students in the same college.”
Ok, Prick, “that was a joke, sorry”
They both made their way outside, going through the herculean task of going down the flight of stairs for 4 floors. God I wish there were an elevator, Atsushi thought, turning to the other man.
“Say, I don't want to be rude but, isn't it kind of… annoying to go up the four floors with your cane? Sorry, you don't have to answer.
-I manage, Akutagawa answered with a sigh, plus I don't need my cane all the time. The rent is low and it's spacious enough, I can't really complain.” He shrugged, “ I also happen to enjoy walking to class, if that's your next question.
-I wasn't going to- well-, he gave up, yeah I like walking too, mornings are calm. Don't get me wrong, I like going out at night as much as the next guy, but I like it when it's sunny and there isn't anybody and it's kind of cold and- well, you can see it for yourself” Atsushi awkwardly chuckled as he gestured around him to show the other man the current weather. They made their way to their buildings in an uncomfortable silence, at least for Atsushi, for Akutagawa seemed to be utterly indifferent to the lack of conversation between them.
“Say, what time do your classes end? Atsushi asked before putting on his ear buds,
-Around 6PM- that is if the teacher doesn't hold us like he likes to.
-Wanna go home together? I finish around 5:30, but I don't mind waiting.”
Now, Atsushi Nakajima was not a particularly extroverted person, nor was he interested in making a best friend out of his emo neighbor, but what he was was prideful, and friend with Osamu Dazai who knew Akutagawa. He knew he had to at least be on friendly terms with his neighbor, or else his friend would never stop talking about how weird it is, Atsushi he's your neighbor, come on, I know him, you guys should hang out together more!
Atsushi did not respect Dazai enough to let him be the one who introduces him to new people. Especially not as some form of weird wingman.
So he's trying to make a new friend by himself. Just because he wants to prove it to himself, obviously, and not because the person is a stern guy who looks cranky and sleep deprived all the time and is totally Atsushi's type-
“Sure, if you want to,” Akutagawa answered, snapping Atsushi back to reality, “So, 6PM, in front of your building?
-Sure, see you later
-uh, yeah, bye.”
And with that was over the painful interaction Atsushi had voluntarily put himself through.
Making his way to his introductory class was slightly more complicated than he'd thought, but he’d gotten there on time, along with a few other people who looked around his age and, surprisingly, more interesting than he had conceived anthropology majors to be.
Lunch time came soon : putting away his notebooks in his tote bag - oh how he wished he had just a laptop to go by like the others in his class - he quickly got out of his class to the bustling hall full of starving first years trying desperately to find a spot to eat, or the cafeteria itself. Lightly elbowing a few people, Atsushi twisted his neck to see the end of the crowd when someone tapped on his shoulder ; behind him was a tall girl with long red hair tied into two long braids, “Sorry, do you know where the cafeteria is? It's my first day ever here, I'm kinda lost”, Atsushi shrugged half heartedly, “I'm new here too, but we can try to find it together, if you want - or we can just give up and get a sandwich at a vending machine.” The girl sighed, Atsushi heard a slight American accent in her voice, “yeah, sure… What the-” she was looking somewhere behind Atsushi, where a loud noise could be heard. The loud noise came from a small figure arguing with-
Oh no.
“Can you wait here?” Atsushi asked the girl, moving towards the fight in the middle of the hall. And there he was, in all his glory, Osamu Dazai, arguing with someone he seemed way too comfortable annoying the hell out of.
“You straight up cut the line, asshole! And you grabbed my ass!
-I literally would never do that, Chuuya, and stop yelling in front of the first years, you're giving your major a bad name.
-Just get back, dude or I'll fucking make you!
-Look, tiny, I'm just looking for my friend atsu- Oh there you are!”
Atsushi felt the crowd's eyes on him as Dazai called his name, “Hey I saved you a spot! There's some kind of slug around but it's fine, if you look forward you won't be able to see him!
-Hi, Dazai, please stop.” Dazai went towards Atsushi, gracefully avoiding the smaller man's foot as he tried to trip him, “We were looking for you, the others are inside so I was waiting in line for you.”
Atsushi looked at the door that Dazai pointed at, finally seeing the entrance to the cafeteria, and turned to the red headed girl to point it to her as well, she smiled as thanks.
“You made a friennnd” Dazai joked, “and you made an enemy in the line waiting for me, apparently, Atsushi deadpanned.
-Chuuya? Oh we've hated each other for a while, don't worry!
-Yeah, I'm sure you can make yourself some enemies without my help, he sighed,
-And you some friends! What's her name?
-No clue, she just wanted to know where the cafeteria was.
-So no bitches?
-Please stop talking.”
The inside of the cafeteria was just as loud and bustling as the outside, filled to the brim with first years who were navigating for the first time the inner workings of the place’s divided lunch lines and student lunch cards ; it would stop being this busy, in a few weeks, had explained Dazai when they sat in the corner where their friends had been sitting already. Atsushi found a chair next to his friend Jun’ichiro who beamed at his arrival, asking him all sorts of questions about how his first day was going, trying to actually have a discussion over the incessant yelling of their friend Kunikida towards their other friend Dazai.
“Where’s Ranpo and Yosano? Atsushi asked,
-Ranpo’s with his boyfriend”, Jun’ichiro replied, pointing over to another corner of the room where a bunch of pretentious looking white kids were lounging ; amongst this group, Atsushi could see the red haired girl he had seen earlier laughing at something another girl with glasses had said. Along with her, he could also see a tall, emo man with really long bangs, stuck underneath the weight of his very friend Ranpo. Behind the couch where they were sitting was standing Yosano, seemingly making polite talk with the others as she waited for Ranpo to get off the lap of his emo boyfriend.
“Ranpo has a boyfriend?
-You’d have known that if you didn’t mute our conversation yesterday, Atsushi! defended Dazai
-Sorry, I was busy moving out? Of my house? Alone? Remind me why you couldn’t come again, Dazai?
A pause.
-I was feeding my fishies?
-Okay.” Atsushi replied in a flat tone, “Anyway, how’d they meet? I’ve never seen this guy before” he resumed, “exchange students?”
“Very Perceptive! Ranpo arrived from behind him, Hello to you, Atsushi!
-Hi, Ranpo, why are you dating an American?”
Ranpo made a gagging motion, “Ugh don’t remind me, don’t get me wrong, he’s great, but the fact that he’s….American..” he had said the last part in a whisper, as if in confidence, then had loudly sighed, earning him a sympathetic pat on the back from his sister. “Anyway, I was at this party the modern lit students were throwing with Dazai, (Kunikida rolled his eyes, “Of course, with Dazai”) and this guy came to me all like ‘oh my god you’re so cool’ or whatever while I was pouring myself a drink and then we got to talking and he was so interested in the fact that i was studying criminology, ‘for his book’, apparently- and anyway we got along well and the rest is history…” he sighed again, in a more love-struck way this time.
“The rest is history? When was all this?
-Like, last semester, dude.
-And you didn’t tell us this!?” Jun’ichiro had turned that question towards Ranpo and Dazai, since the latter seemed to have been well informed of Ranpo’s love life, “How dare!
-Hey I wanted to tell you, but Dazai didn’t want me to tell because telling the full story would also implytelling what happened to him that night…”
Ranpo had drawn all listening ears with that last statement, even Kunikida who seemed so often uninterested by Dazai’s relationship antics. The small group obviously knew that Dazai was a bit of a womanizer sometimes, but he liked to gloat about it a lot- the fact that he had not told them immediately that he had hooked up with someone last semester was to them very suspicious behavior, even for Dazai.
In a moment of mercy for his friend who seemed slightly uncomfortable, and of restraint of his own curiosity, and also a little bit of not wanting to give Dazai the satisfaction, Atsushi took a last bite of his sandwich and made a point to change the subject- “Why were you guys at a modern literature party?
-Oh, Dazai knew someone there and was invited!
-Yeah clearly he did, like that person he-” Jun’ichiro interjected before Dazai stood up, looking at his inexistent watch, “Well look at the time! I have class! Wouldn’t want to be late, right?” he exclaimed. “You’re literally always late to class, Dazai
-See the thing is Kunikida, I… Have an assignment with Fyodor…?”, and with that Dazai bolted out the door, earning him a surprised look from the whole group.
“Is it Fyodor…?” someone asked, a question which was quickly shut down by a “no, Fyodor’s way too busy having a toxic yaoi relationship with Nikolai these days.”
As he watched Dazai leaving, Atsushi saw him wave to another table in which was seated Akutagawa, along with what he believed were his, almost all very ginger, friends. Akutagawa caught him staring from across the room, to which Atsushi firmly nodded as some sort of polite yet very manly hello that conferred little to no meaning or underlying signification. He also didn’t want his friends to see him have an interaction with someone they didn’t know, mostly because he knew that they would react just as he had reacted with Ranpo and Dazai - pure curiosity for the sole purpose of having future blackmail material.
After they had all left the cafeteria, they had split up to get to their respective classes, Atsushi making his way once again to the anthropology section of the building. Papers to fill, and classes in general went by easily for him, who was already familiar with most of the subjects of this year’s syllabus. He had chatted with a few of his classmates who had seemed way too confused about their classes, already regretting their choice to major in anthropology and not “something easy, like visual arts”. On the contrary, Atsushi was very much excited for his first semester, already reviewing some notes he had taken the same day while he was waiting for Akutagawa in front of the humanities building. “Hey” a hoarse voice called Atsushi from behind, “So you waited, Akutagawa asked,
-I mean if you want me to leave-
-No need, though I hope it won’t bother you if I tell you I have to go get a book in the library”
In a surge of motivation to become a model student, Atsushi gladly accepted to discover a part of the campus he had not seen before, “Sure, lead the way.”