Chapter Text
Danny Motta knew enough about anime and its tropes to recognise that he had been isekai'd when he woke up in an apartment that was not his own in a foreign country in a fictional universe.
Upon realising this fact, he did what any good isekai protaganist would do: take stock of what he knew so far.
- He was in Yokohama. He didn't know how or why, but he was.
- He understood Japanese. That was a shock to learn upon turning on the tv to confirm his location. Not with the ease at which he understood English, but it was still startling.
- He legally existed in Bungou Stray Dogs. Squirrelled away in a drawer was his passport, and his wallet contained a Japanese license with his name and face on it. That was good, definitely saved him a lot of trouble later down the line.
- He might be an Ability user. He didn't know for sure, but if he knew anything about isekai's it was that they liked to throw OP powers at people and force them into being main characters. Well fuck that. He would be avoiding conflict when he could.
- He needed to get a map. If he was going to be stuck in Yokohama, he at least needed to know where everything was. While all the cupboards and the fridge were stocked, he would need to go grocery shopping at some point.
- He was going to stay as far away from the Armed Detective Agency as humanly possible. No offence to them, but he did not want to get involved in all that, isekai or not. He was not ready to deal with all that, even if he kinda knew what was going to happen, up to a certain point.
- He was not going to interfere with the timeline. Just no.
- He was going to avoid Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo at all costs. He did not want his cover blown, thank you very much!
He sighed, and rested his head on the table.
He was exhausted already.
But there was nothing else for it, so Danny grabbed his keys, his wallet, his phone (after checking the contacts and finding that he was apparently a free-lance editor?) and left the apartment, intent on mapping out the city and figuring out the train system. Because it was useful to know, considering he didn't have a car. Definitely not because he wanted to rub it in Ranpo's face that even someone from a different universe could figure out the subway and the self-proclaimed 'World's Greatest Detective' couldn't.
Danny wandered for a while, taking in the sights. The anime had done the city justice. For being such a crime ridden place, Yokohama was pretty gorgeous. He took note of the shops he passed, commiting the ones he wanted to visit later to memory. This wasn't the time for shopping, he had to remind himself as he walked past a bakery that emitted a particularly tempting aroma. This was the time for staking out his new stomping ground.
Although he did give in after an hour, ducking into a 7/11 to buy himself a coffee. Still mildly surprised at the appearance of a familiar store chain in an unfamiliar universe, he didn't notice the person approaching until they bumped into him. Scrambling for his cup, Danny managed to save his drink. The person did not, the tray of drinks on the ground with puddles rapidly expanding beneath them. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, are you okay!?" The person exclaimed, waving their hands in front of them in panic. Danny moved to wave off the person's concern, before finally taking in their appearance.
He'd know that awful haircut anywhere!
He took in Nakajima Atsushi's stressed form, and quickly reassured the young man. "It's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going." Danny soothed, bending down to help Atsushi clean up the mess, the Japanese rolling off his tongue surprisingly easily. "Let me make it up to you, I'll pay for replacements." Where did that come from? "There's no need--!" Oh, that's where. Atsushi looked like a kitten left out in the rain, and Danny couldn't stand to leave him like that. I wasn't even able to stay away from the plot for an hour, he thought mournfully as he helped Atsushi pay for new drinks. Mostly likely for the rest at the Agency. Had the poor kid been demoted to errand boy when not ferrying Ranpo across the subway?
"Thank you so much!" Atsushi kept thanking him as they left the store. Danny smiled and reiterated his point again; "It's no problem, really. It was my fault you dropped them in the first place. Don't drop those before you get to the Agency, Nakajima-san."
The were-tiger blinked. "How do you know my name?" But Danny had already turned a corner and was gone.
Atsushi skidded into the office, tray of drinks precariously gripped in his hands, some drops escaping the cups in his haste. "I'm sorry I'm late!" He announced when everyone turned his way upon him entering the room.
Ranpo raised an eyebrow at Atsushi's appearance. Stains on his slacks, still damp. He's late, probably dropped the drinks, maybe ran into someone? He's embarrassed, lateness or earlier encounter. He waited until Atsushi had handed out all the requested drinks before asking: "Who did you run into?"
Atsushi let out a squeak at being addressed so suddenly, then rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I-it's embarrassing. I was in a rush and wasn't looking where I was going. He insisted he pay for the drinks, though!" Atsushi paused for a moment, expression shifting. "It was weird. He knew my name, though I swear I've never seen him before."
Ranpo leaned forwards in his chair, suddenly intrigued. "Oh?" "Yeah. He was American, I think. He had an accent. Not a tourist, though. He spoke Japanese too well." Atsushi elaborated.
Hmm. Now that was interesting.
A foreigner knew Atsushi's name even though Atsushi didn't recognise him? Might be something to cure his boredom for a little while.
"Tell me more."