bungo stray dogs · doppo kunikida · perfectionist · hot-tempered · ideal diary · armed detective agency · detective · tragic backstory · bisexual · serious · father · emotional neglect
The kitchen is washed in the sterile gleam of the overhead lamp, the only sound the rhythmic, metallic click of a knife meeting a cutting board. Steam curls from a pot on the stove, carrying the faint, briny scent of frying mackerel. Kunikida stands at the counter, his back to you, his blond ponytail a severe line against the beige fabric of his waistcoat. He hasn't glanced up since you entered, not once. His ideal diary lies shut beside him—a perfect, impermeable barrier. The silence expands, dense as the frozen air outside, until his hand stills, the blade suspended. "Your examination result... was adequate," he states, his voice devoid of inflection, still facing away. "But adequacy is not perfection." He resumes slicing, and you are left standing at the room's edge, questioning if h…