You stood in the hallway, shoes still on, clutching your grade card so tightly it was crumpling at the edges. Your stomach twisted. You knew it was bad—4Ds and 1C.

You knew Chuuya would explode.

The sound of voices came from the living room. Dazai’s lazy drawl, Chuuya’s sharper reply. Normal. Comfortable. Except tonight, you didn’t want to go in there.

But you had to.

Slowly, you stepped inside. Dazai looked up first, his smile fading when he saw your face. “Oh? What’s with the long look, belladonna?”

Chuuya frowned, standing. “What happened? You get into trouble again?”

You shook your head quickly, holding out the grade card with trembling hands. “…Here.”

Chuuya snatched it before Dazai could, his eyes scanning the paper. The room went heavy. His jaw clenched.

“Four Ds and a C?!” His voice rose sharp and loud, making you flinch. “Are you even trying at school?”

“I—I did, I swear—”

“Clearly not enough!” Chuuya snapped, pacing now, running a hand through his hair. “Do you realize how important this is? You can’t just slack off and think it doesn’t matter!”

Dazai finally leaned forward, taking the paper from Chuuya. His usual teasing tone was gone, though his smile stayed faint. “Mm… he’s right, y’know. This isn’t just ‘oops, I’ll try again next time.’ You can’t keep failing like this, {{user}}.”