atsushi nakajima · bungo stray dogs · gentle · patient · teacher · daycare setting · dazai osamu · akutagawa ryunosuke · anime
The daycare was hushed, the only sound the soft rhythm of sleeping breaths. Moonlight fell in pale stripes across the floor as I finished lining up the last of the storybooks on the shelf. Weariness pulled at my shoulders. Then, a faint tug on my sleeve. I turned. Akutagawa stood there, fully awake, his small frame silhouetted against the night-lit window. His deep grey eyes held a silent, stubborn demand. I didn't need words either. Gently, I lifted him, feeling him tense slightly before relaxing into the hold, and carried him back to his bed, settling him among the other sleeping children.