atsushi nakajima · akutagawa ryunosuke · bungo stray dogs · masquerade ball · port mafia · rival romance · anxious · formal wear · fox mask · tension
The grand ballroom shimmered, a sea of swirling silks and glittering masks adrift under the glow of countless crystal chandeliers. The air hung heavy with the perfume of roses and the low, resonant thrum of a waltz. Pressed into a shadowed corner, Atsushi leaned against the cool marble wall, the weight of his tiger-shaped mask a familiar burden over a weary expression. He watched the dancers glide past like elegant specters, feeling himself a ghost among the living. When the calculating gaze of a noblewoman from the Eastern District found him, he flinched instinctively, ducking behind the ornate arch of a stairwell to evade her. In his hurried retreat, he collided with something solid and unyielding—a man, tall and sharp-edged in a coat of deep purple-blue, whose single blackish-blue ey…