Chapter Text
Chuuya knows Dazai is avoiding him. One of Dazai's pastimes is annoying him, the other boy himself has proclaimed this time and time again. As long as Chuuya is in his reach, relatively, he will find a way to barge in and make himself known to Chuuya, just to gain a reaction. Now, there is no reaction to give, because there is no Dazai to be annoyed at.
Dazai was a thorn in Chuuya's side, but at the very least, he was by Chuuya's side. Now, he does not even deign to grace Chuuya with his presence. He spends his time with his subordinates, reorganising his men and weeding out traitors (as ordered by the Boss, apparently, but for good reason) and... whatever else Mori has ordered him to do that Chuuya is not privy to. Probably some succession shit that needs Chuuya out of the way.
Chuuya has learnt to put a name to his feelings and though it feels liberating, in a way, to know that what he is feeling is shame and guilt and not anger, it does not change the past. It does not change the fact that he has damaged his relationship with Dazai irreparably.
He wants to go to Dazai, to be the one to reach out and apologise. He wants to badly for what fragile camaraderie they had to come back, to swallow his words and let the thorns scrape down his throat. He wants to grab on to Dazai and never let go.
But it is too little, too late. Dazai is always one step ahead of Chuuya even without trying, and Chuuya exerts all his effort time and again only to find his efforts futile. All his life has been since joining the Port Mafia has been chasing in Dazai's footsteps and praying that Dazai turn back and remember him.
It is up to Dazai to slow down and extend a hand to Chuuya, but Chuuya does not know how to get Dazai to do that. So he waits at home, anxiously, idles away and passes time and reads books to improve his literacy, waiting for the Boss to give him orders or for Dazai to come home.
Almost two weeks passed before Chuuya finally gets sick of being confined at home and decides to take a casual stroll around the Port Mafia territories. Sure, he is on leave while whatever traitor stuff is being investigated, but surely the Boss would not fault him for walking around for a little bit, right?
Hastily, he throws on his hat and coat and heads out. Though he is not dressed in his usual suit but rather in some ragged jeans and a T-shirt, he wants to be identified as Nakahara Chuuya so that people will steer the fuck away from him. He needs fresh air to think, not to use his precious brain cells to deal with people.
He lets his feet take him wherever, choosing to enjoy the scenery around him. People bow to him in acknowledgement as he walks past them, but he ignores them. He is not walking around to report them to the boss for slacking or whatever, so he could not give less of a fuck. He is just here to clear his thoughts as he walks.
He instinctively heads towards the training grounds, which on second thought does not seem to be a bad idea. If he lets loose, beats up a few people, maybe he will be able to calm down enough to think.
Mafioso who see him approach the training complex quickly turn around and head somewhere else, deciding it is not worth to train today. Chuuya does not blame them. If he were a Mafioso without an Ability, he'd be scrambling the fuck out of there as soon as possible. The power level of a Mafia Executive is unmatched by any of their subordinates, and even Dazai, the weakest among them, makes up for it with his cunning and wit.
With Dazai on his brain again, Chuuya cannot help but let out a huge sigh, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He kicks the door to the training complex open, and has to do a double take when he spots someone in a corner.
Someone is wearing Dazai's mafia gift.
Dazai's mafia gift is tailored to the individual he bestows it upon. He drags said person to the shop, has the tailor take their measurements and the tailor produces something unique for that person. There is something unique about each gift, whether it be something sewn into the coat, or an extra measure of protection that complements their Ability.
Dazai does not give mafia gifts to just anyone. As far as Chuuya is aware, he gave Oda and Akutagawa a mafia gift each, and exchanged mafia gifts with Chuuya when they both made executive. So who is this person, how is he significant enough to warrant a mafia gift from Dazai?
Chuuya saunters over to the person, who has noticed his presence and bows in greeting. “Who are you.”
It is not a question, it is an order and the men around them know it too. They scatter hurriedly, though Chuuya is perceptive enough to note the few brave fools who stay within hearing range. Mostly Dazai's men, likely tasked to relay information back to the paranoid boy. Not that Chuuya minds. He has nothing to hide.
The man stiffens and salutes. “Tachihara Michizo, sir.”
Chuuya crosses his arms over his chest and leans back slightly on his haunches. “Never heard of you before.”
Tachihara scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “That’s because I joined… two? Three weeks ago? I'm Dazai-san's sub-Executive.”
Suspicious. Nobody rises the ranks this quickly, not for a very good reason. Even Dazai had to climb his way up the ranks of the Port Mafia and it took him months, even years to get himself in a solid position. “Let me get this straight. You joined a few weeks ago and you’re already sub-Exec?” The disbelief drips from his voice, and Chuuya is sure it shows on his face too.
“Y-yes…?” The other man's eyes dart around, desperately searching for an escape. Not that anyone else will entertain him. People mind their business in the Port Mafia, especially when higher-ups are involved. Even the brave fools loitering around the area turn around to look busy, getting across the message that they will not intervene quite clearly.
Chuuya hums. Dazai does not do anything without reason. This person, Tachihara, must be of some sort of use to Dazai, to be kept as close as possible. Chuuya wants to know, even if Dazai or the Boss will not tell him anything outright.
He makes his decision. “Fight me," Chuuya says, leaning forward, uncrossing his arms and adjusting his gloves.
Tachihara hesitates. A Mafia Executive, challenging him to a spar? No matter what he does, he is fucked. If he injures Chuuya, he might get in trouble for it, or Chuuya might be ridiculed for losing to a subordinate. If he takes one wrong step, it might be his life on the line, since Chuuya is known for being unable to control his powers without Dazai's nullification Ability.
But there is something off about Tachihara, something that Chuuya cannot pinpoint at first glance. From the way he stands, balancing his weight perfectly and observing his surroundings, he has definitely had some sort of formal training in battle, not that Chuuya can pinpoint exactly what sort of techniques he uses.
Chuuya needs information, and he is able to obtain that information the best way he knows how: in a spar.
"Fight me," Chuuya repeats. "Or are you not capable of being Dazai's left hand?"
That sparks something in Tachihara, a spark that Chuuya almost regrets igniting. Tachihara launches himself at Chuuya at breakneck speed, and Chuuya barely has time to dodge and recover before daggers from the other end of the training room fly towards Chuuya. His metal cufflinks scrape against his wrists, and Chuuya puts together the pieces.
Metal manipulation. That is Tachihara's Ability.
Tachihara does not give Chuuya any breathing room. He uses every weapon in his arsenal; ammunition from bystanders' guns, metal supports bent and broken to trip Chuuya up, every bit of metal in Chuuya's clothing working against him.
Chuuya realises, then, that Tachihara has the same insane, fanatical glint in his eyes as Akutagawa did, and he knows he has a made a grave mistake. Akutagawa left the Port Mafia. No matter how Dazai treated the boy, he was still a useful pawn to him. Therefore, if Akutagawa cannot be recovered, he must be replaced.
The first thing Dazai did after Akugatagawa left was to find a replacement, and that was why he had been gone for so many days.
Does he see his subordinates as less than human? Does he not understand that these are real people, actual lives that he moulds and shapes how he wants? Does he not get that they have thoughts separate to Dazai's own, that they had a future they yearned to build for themselves and the people they care about?
Dazai lacks empathy, but even he can perceive that people are individuals and not pawns. Right?
He needs to stop Tachihara before there is too much structural damage to the building. "Stop. That's enough. You've proven yourself," Chuuya calls out, dodging a swipe from his left.
Tachihara does not stop.
"You're worthy of standing by Dazai's side," Chuuya tries, praying that the desperation he feels does not show in his voice or body language.
It works. That insane glint in his eyes vanishes. All metal objects floating in the air immediately come to a stop, floating slowly down onto the ground. "Thank you, sir!" Tachihara chirps, as Chuuya tries to hide the despair in his heart.
Tachihara Michizo is completely, irreversibly, fucked, and it is Dazai's fault.
Chuuya barges back into his apartment with only one goal in mind: Dazai. He needs to talk to Dazai. He needs to clear the air. He needs to-- he needs to do something.
Dazai must know. Dazai should know. Even if he does not know, Chuuya has to tell him. It is wrong, other people need to be free to choose their own paths, they do not have to be shackled as tightly to the Port Mafia as he and Dazai are. Dazai talked about wanting to set things right with Akutagawa, right? He must have had some sort of revelation about this.
Maybe with the succession stuff in play, Dazai feels the need to have loyal subordinates free of the Boss' influence. Maybe Oda was the catalyst of Dazai's change, and with Oda gone, Dazai is going back to his old ways. Well then, it is Chuuya's turn to protect people from Dazai, or at least try.
(Or maybe this was already something in play before the succession stuff and traitor stuff and was completely unrelated and Chuuya is overthinking. Who knows? With those two, anything is up in the air.)
Whatever the case, Chuuya knows what he needs to do. He needs to talk to Dazai about everything, even if Dazai won't give him the time of day, Chuuya will track him down, pin him down and make him talk. Even if Dazai is not at home, he must have left some clues as to what his current mission is.
“Dazai!” Chuuya shouts as he busts his apartment door open. He gropes the wall for the light switch, turns it on and realises that the hole in the wall between them has been patched up.
Chuuya looks at it, stricken, and thinks.
[Patient A5158] Nakahara Chuuya. Mood log: 20XX, June 30 (Tuesday)
Feelings:
Bad -> Stressed -> Overwhelmed
Sad -> Guilty -> Ashamed
Disgusted -> Disapproving -> Embarrassed
Fearful -> Rejected -> Persecuted
What happened today?
Dazai patched up the hole in our walls. It feels like he's shutting me out. I don't know how to reach out to him.