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ashleyh713fanfics · 2 months ago

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Dazai X Odasaku's Little Sister Ch21 and Ch22

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Chapter 21: "Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures"

Summary: Mori starts to realize a change in Dazai, although it is not the change he wants so he decides to take matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Chuuya (unfortunately) gets another run in with the mackerel's girlfriend, expect this time she may be more useful than he first believed.

Chapter 22: "Tonight You're An Honorary Flag"

Summary: Chuuya has to swallow his pride and do the one thing he never wanted to do, ask Dazai's crazy ass girlfriend for help on a mission to ensure that he can finally find out if he's human or not. The question is, will she accept, especially when it goes against everything her brother wanted for her?

Warnings: pm!sixteen year old chuuya, manipulation, small bit of stabbing, talks of Odasaku's death, grumpy angry chuuya for real here, chuuya is suffering and we all love it (poor boy)

(This is chapter twenty one and twenty-two of my fanfic "Timeless" which is now on A03. I'll link the master list below so you can get the full story. Asagao's ability is to stop time for up to six seconds.)

Master List Here- To Start from Ch1 <3

A03 Here

Work Count: 15k

Chapter 21:

"Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures"

Dazai was no longer the same after that kiss.

In fact, it would be easy to say that the event that had shaken his entire world completely in both the worst and best possible ways imaginable.

Because right now, the boy was an absolute mess, in all the seemingly possible routes that could be conjured up. He couldn’t think about anything else, couldn’t process anything else except that small suspended moment in time from a couple nights ago.

He was supposed to be in charge, he was always supposed to control the situations he had walked into but right now Dazai felt anything but that. Hell, the moment he touched her lips any sense of dignity or self respect flew right out the window, making him submit to her without a second thought. Like a loser, like a little bottom bitch.

He hated it, he hated himself for silently begging for more inside his head.

For wanting her to continue, to push his head directly down into the drowning ocean so he could die between those lips forever. Ugh, just thinking about it was making his head spin and his hands twitch against his will.

What was wrong with him? What was he even thinking? He was the demon prodigy, the one everyone feared, the one that was supposed to be on top at all times but somehow he had sunken so far below that it was hard to even breathe anymore without thinking about her.

He told her that the kiss was the same, that it was just like the other million he had before but that it was an absolute flat out lie, a defense mechanism. Because this feeling, this utter destruction in his mind was absolutely not the same.

In fact, it was so far from what usually occurred. He had never gotten so attached before, so utterly consumed by a mere kiss. It was like his mind was registering it as his first, even though that was hardly the case.

Hell, even his first kiss wasn’t like this. He could even hardly remember it to be honest. Perhaps it had something to do with a job or a seduction of some kind? Dazai hardly had the capacity to remember anything about it, the event so insignificant in his mind.

But this? He still remembered every single second, every pathetic feeling in his mind, every recollection of her touch like it had happened only seconds ago. It was torture, the boy reliving the experience over and over on repeat, unable to turn it off.

Reaching up in order to pull on the messy brown strands of hair, Dazai felt his lips give a frustrated groan as he tried to anchor himself to reality.

He was losing it, finally losing it, going insane. He could feel the walls, the defenses of the demon slip away ever so quickly, leaving only a frazzled and flustered sixteen year old boy in its place.

And he hated it, he hated how weak she made him feel, how utterly stripped away and vulnerable she managed to make him.

He had tried for years to cover himself so deep that no one could ever see the pathetic unsure little boy beneath it all but somehow Asagao always managed to get through the layers, to reveal and uncover the things he so desperately wanted to keep buried for his own safety.

Feelings of uncertainty, of nervousness, of fear, they all had to be locked away, the demon prodigy didn’t need them, the port mafia executive didn’t need them. They weren’t necessary for survival in the underworld.

In fact if it was the opposite, if anyone saw them then they could be turned into weapons, weaknesses that could cause the destruction of himself and that protected kid under all the armor he had built for himself.

He knew that, because that was the first thing Dazai ever exploited when he was on the other side of that knife. It’s only logical that they would do the same. The world was cruel after all, wicked in every single way. Any amount of light was made to be crushed by enemy hands.

Mafioso couldn’t have weaknesses, so why was Asagao becoming his?

And he feared what would happen if he kissed her a second time. Would he just fall apart all over again, would he once again beg and crumble at her feet for another sweet piece of heaven? It was making himself sick just thinking about it.

No, that could not happen again, no matter how much his entire mind and body wanted it. That’s not who he was, he wasn’t a pathetic lovesick fool.

It had to be the alcohol in his system that made him feel so off. Yes, that’s what it was, why he had acted so out of character. Hell, he bet if he kissed her again things would go back to how they used to be.

Just like with all of those other women, he could prove that she wasn’t so special. He’d be able to switch off this horrible part of his mind and switch back to the playboy routine he had perfected time and time again.

No one could make the demon prodigy crumble, especially not Odasaku’s little sister.

And though his confidence flickered back to life for a millisecond, anxiety soon filled the space, leaving him uncertain once more.

That’s what should happen, but what if it didn’t? What if kissing her again didn’t make a goddamn difference?

What if he truly was just that weak to her? Then he didn’t know what he’d do.

Pulling on his hair once more, Dazai’s face began to redden at the idea before throwing his head straight into the table in front him, groaning into the wood with a pathetic whine of his own runaway thoughts.

Yet that’s when he heard a voice to his left, snapping him from his own chaotic thoughts. “Dazai, is there something you’d like to share?”

Mori’s presence suddenly became extremely prominent, causing the boy to snap his head up from the table only to remember where he was. Oh yeah, he was in a meeting with Mori and a bunch of other mafia guys. He was too zoned out to notice.

So much so, that everyone in the room was now staring at the boy, all of them around too scared to point out the strange and out of character behavior of the supposed “demon prodigy” as they remained silent.

And to be completely honest, Dazai didn’t know what the hell this meeting was about, his mind far too focused on thoughts of Asagao to even pick out one thing since he sat down.

So, he did what he always did. He lied. “Yes, can you hurry it up? Everything’s just so boring I kinda tuned you out. Besides, I got a new suicide method I wanna try after this and you’re taking forever..”

Everyone around him began to stiffen, surprised and fearful for how plainly he was speaking to the boss. It took a lot of balls for sure, they certainly couldn’t do it.

Mori seemed to have expected it though, his dark eyes moving to the boy for a second before a smile curved into his lips. “Right, sorry Dazai. I suppose this discussion has dragged on quite a bit. Meeting adjourned for now.”

All the other mafia members immediately stood from their seats at that, wanting to leave the room as fast as possible only for Mori to call back to the boy casually.” Dazai, I would like for you to stay a little longer.

Dazai frowned at that, watching everyone else leave at lightning speed before the two were alone in the large office room, the boy still in his seat as Mori stood to tower over him in a show of power. “There seems to be something occupying your mind lately. Would you like to share what it is?”

And there was no way he was going to tell Mori about the inner turmoil inside his mind. No way in hell, especially when it involved someone that the boss wasn’t ever supposed to know existed. “Occupying my mind? Yeah right, the only things ever on my mind are how to piss off Chuuya the most and figuring out exciting new ways of committing suicide!”

Mori only hummed though, moving around to place his hand on the top of Dazai’s chair and the other on the desk in front of the boy, boxing him in. “Hmm is that so? Are you sure that’s all? There isn’t another distraction mulling around in that brain of yours?”

Narrowing his eyes, the mafia boss gauged Dazai’s response, waiting to see the subtleties in the boy’s expressions and the fractured changes that only came with years of closely guarded interactions and conversations.

It was no secret that there had been a shift in his favorite executives' behavior recently, although it wasn’t a change that Mori was necessarily fond of.

You see, Dazai was a strange boy, one that had always been in a realm of his own but he never strayed too far from the path that was designed for him. He was known and expected to be cruel, lethal, boarding inhuman, the perfect fit for the dark world of the mafia.

But lately, a minuscule mutation had occurred and Mori could see the beginnings of a crack, of a fracture in the usual exterior that was supposed to be Dazai Osamu.

No, the demon prodigy, the ruthless and emotionless weapon that he had created and slowly crafted had been slowly whittling away by the day into something softer, weaker and undesirable for the purpose that Mori had been slowly cultivating unseen from the surface.

And the boss had expected a change to occur in the boy after Oda Sakunosuke’s death. He had predicted that much. Mori had expected Dazai to ultimately break, to shatter under the weight of his own grief of his fallen friend, to become a lost soul that Mori could pick up and nurture back into a self made dependance by his own design.

He had been ready for it, arms opened wide for the vulnerable bandaged boy to fall into.

But that hadn’t happened at all.

In fact, a different outcome happened instead, one that Mori hadn’t expected.

Because Dazai hadn’t shattered, he wasn’t destroyed like intended, something else had occurred instead. But why? What had he not accounted for? What had latched onto the boy before he could? Some sort of leach that was for sure, some sort of other vice for Dazai’s dependence. But what?

Mori didn't know yet, but he was determined to find out. To find the source of his current projects wavering miscalculation.

Mori was almost never wrong, and the fact that he was in this situation was very frustrating to him. He needed to fix it immediately, to get his little demon prodigy back on track for his plan to come back to fruition.

And it would, it would come into fruition, simply because that’s what Mori wanted.

And Mori always got what he wanted.

Noticing the changes in his expression, Mori then rephrased his inquiry, sensing that Dazai didn’t want to reveal his reason for his out of character act. That was fine, he could improvise. “Because if you did have a nasty distraction occupying the back of your mind, I could help remedy that.”

Dazai’s head snapped up at that, disbelief on his face. What, could that be true? Could Mori help with his Asagao malfunction? Could he help him get his head back on straight and get rid of those lingering feelings of dangerous weakness? It almost sounded too good to be true, he was skeptical of it.

But that did sound appealing, he needed to do something to rid himself of this awful weakness that was cultivating inside him before it consumed him entirely. Otherwise it would be dangerous to himself, and to Odasaku’s little sister both.

And Dazai tried to disguise his hope for the topic, desperate for anything to pull him back together again and not think about that kiss. “And how could you do that?”

Mori smiled then, the corners of his grin not reaching the end of his lips as he pulled back to stand next to Dazai, relishing in the hooks that he had successfully reattached to the boy. “It’s quite simple really. You just need to remember who you are again, a mental reset if you will, and I know just the thing to reignite that.”

The boy waited for him to continue and Mori gladly did so. “I have a job that I need done. Something that requires a special set of skills, something I believe you’d fit quite well, Dazai.”

Dazai only frowned though. That’s what he had, a mission? How boring. It sounded like Mori was just trying to get him to do his dirty work again. Annoying. “That’s it? Just a job?”

Shaking his head, the boss hummed. “Oh no, not just a job. A special job. One that would require you out of the country and away from that little distraction that has been bothering you so much. You’d be fully immersed in every aspect, with no time for anything but the demon prodigy. Sounds enticing, yes?”

And yeah, it did sound enticing. To Dazai, it sounded like exactly what he needed. A mission that fully immersed him, that separated him from any other thought in his mind? To relish in the blood and the gore, in the familiar safety net of darkness he’d always known instead of these scary and uncertain feelings that he couldn’t understand?

It was perfect.

He could go on this job, run away from the things that made him uncomfortable, get his head on straight and then return to Asagao when everything was back to normal.

Yet just the sound of her name in his mind made his hands start to twitch with that familiar ugly feeling of withdrawal.

Leaving meant having to forgo their nightly meetings and chats, it meant not hearing her sweet laugh or eating her homemade dinners for a while. It meant pushing himself back to loneliness and isolation instead of feeling protected and safe.

Safe in her arms, safe in her care. He had to distance himself from all of that.

And god, just thinking about leaving her, even for a couple days really showed how badly Dazai relied on her to give him any sense of stability in his life. He needed her, he needed her so damn bad, he couldn’t stand it. Asagao had become a piece of him that could no longer be removed from his twisted jagged puzzle.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it? His dependence on her light, his desperation to be near her, that’s what was ruining everything. Because it wasn’t just about mere friendship or a business transaction based on Odasaku anymore.

Now Dazai wanted more, his selfish greedy soul wanted all of her.

Not just to talk and laugh but to kiss and hold, to embrace and worship. He wanted her body, mind and soul, her everything, and that was something that Dazai could not allow. Not to Odasaku’s precious little sister, not to the last remaining piece of his best friend that still lingered in this world.

The feelings he harbored, the lines he was crossing would destroy them both if he didn’t fix them right now. He needed to fix it, for his sake and for hers before those lines disappeared and they condemned themselves to hell forever.

It was going to be hard, so incredibly hard but he could do it, Dazai could leave for both their sakes. Not permanently, that wasn’t an option anymore, but he could distance himself enough to get back on track, to dissipate the feelings inside him enough where they could regress back of their safe friendship bubble once more.

Rebuild his defenses, reconstruct his walls. That’s right, Mori was giving him an opportunity, a chance to remember who he was. He wasn’t some weak, lovesick fool, he was the demon prodigy. The strong, inhuman and indestructible demon prodigy.

And no one, not even Asagao could change that. He’d prove it.

Snapping his eyes back to Mori, Dazai feigned indifference for the topic, even though every muscle inside him was pleading to take his offer like a lifeline. “I guess I could do it. Just as long as it’s not boring or dumb.”

But it didn’t matter if his exterior was impassible, Mori still saw the flicker of desperation in his un bandaged eye, the way the boy clung onto his offer with everything he had.

And Mori relished in the expression. There it was, the dependance. “I assure you, it will be anything but. Now run along, you have much to do to prepare. I expect great results, demon prodigy.”

Then the boss watched Dazai slowly stand from his seat in a fake act of nonchalance before heading out the door, clearly eager to start his mind distracting mission.

And when he was gone, the boss slowly circled around to Dazai’s empty chair before resting his hands on the top before a cold smile spread across his lips.

That minor miscalculation was bothersome, but it would soon be fixed.

It was still an unshakable fact after all,

Mori always got what he wanted.

-------

While getting ready for his job, Dazai pulled out his phone to call Asagao, his heart skipping a beat as soon as she picked up. “Ah, Samu! What a surprise. What’s new?”

Trying his best to shake away the confusing and overwhelming feelings in his chest, Dazai cleared his throat before forcing himself to sound nonchalant. “Mori gave me a job. I won’t be around for a while.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Asa replied, just as sweetly as she always did. “Ooh a job? That’s exciting! Don’t worry about me, just be careful, alright?”

The way she accepted his absence so easily brought a painful knot in his throat. Ah, he was right. He was the only one freaking out about the kiss. She seemed fine. This job was a good decision.

Giving a dry laugh, Dazai replied. “Ah, you know me, love. Careful is so boring.”

He heard her light playful laugh in return. “You’re right about that. Let me rephrase that then. Have as much chaos as you want, just be sure to come back after. Better?”

Dazai then found himself smiling softly in reply without permission, his voice showing his real feeling for a millisecond. “Yeah, better.”

Widening his eyes at the slip, Dazai then cleared his throat again before hastily adding. “I have to go, bye.”

And then the boy hung up before feeling his head collapse against the nearest wall with a groan as he closed his eyes in order to calm his ever beating heart. He truly was a mess, in every way possible.

That mission couldn’t come fast enough.

------

Chuuya was no longer the same after meeting Dazai’s girlfriend.

He had tried and tried and tried so hard to forget that horrible night, the one where both that shitty mackerel and his psychopath girlfriend played him so badly that he had gotten kidnapped and beaten up for their own entertainment but he simply couldn’t.

He couldn’t forget it.

In fact, that little event was like plague in his mind, simply because of one thing and one thing only. Dazai he had expected to be a pain in the ass, but Asagao? Now that was the wild card he hadn’t predicted.

Who knew a cute dorky glasses wearing girl could turn out just as sick and twisted as Dazai himself? Those two, they perfectly fed off each other in all the worst ways possible.

But that wasn’t what bothered him the most. What bothered him was far more complicated than a simple hatred for the game that she had pulled.

It was that face she had made when he called her a freak.

Because that face, that vulnerable painful look she showed him was nothing like Dazai. But it didn’t make any goddamn sense. She had set up their twisted plot, Dazai and her willingly got all of them kidnapped just to screw over that ex-mafia member.

Hell she even pretended to be in distress so that Chuuya would have no choice but to agree to that stupid ass nickname she was shoving down his throat since the beginning. She wasn’t a good person and clearly had no remorse for her actions.

But then why did it look like she was going to cry when he so obviously rejected her? Why did it look like she was having a panic attack and breaking down in front of him? She should’ve known that doing all that shit would make him pissed off. Was she really that stupid, did she truly think that manipulation was equivalent to friendship?

And Chuuya had tried to tell himself that it was an act, that Asagao’s strange switch in personality was just another method of bullshit. It had to be.

She had snapped that ex-mafia members' legs like twigs and shot down hundreds of enemies with no feeling, there was no way she was seriously heartbroken and shattered after a simple friendship rejection. That girl was messing with him, even now. He knew it.

But somewhere in the back of his mind Chuuya was still haunted by it.

Of the lost, sad look in her face when she apologized for ever asking in the first place, of the quiver in her voice or the shake in her hands when she bowed and walked away.

Chuuya felt himself pull on the strands of his hair in frustration at the memory. Ah, damn it! Why did he feel like shit?! She was the one that manipulated him, played him like nothing. Why in the hell did he feel guilty all of a sudden?! That girl was doing this on purpose, she had to be. Ugh, he hated her so much.

Stomping down the streets near the port mafia, the ginger haired boy sought out to clear his head to no avail. Those annoying feelings were still there, that stupid sad face still plaguing his vision like a constant nightmare that wouldn’t go away, but he had to try or else he’d go insane.

Yet that’s when he saw a very familiar head of red messy hair slip into the nearby dark alley only for Chuuya to pause. No, there’s no way in hell. She was not here. Great, was he hallucinating that little psycho now? Oh god, he hoped not.

Against his better judgment, the mafioso walked over to the alley with the intent to disprove his crazy imagination. He was in port mafia territory, why in the hell would that girl even be here for? Unless she was stalking him now?

And quite honestly he wouldn’t put it past her, considering she was fucking crazy.

Stepping into the dimly lit alley, Chuuya then paused at the sight before him. No way, it was her alright, Dazai’s girlfriend, and she was being held at knifepoint, like some kind of stick up or robbery.

And to anyone else, the scene could be seen as concerning. An innocent girl in criminal territory being held at knifepoint in extreme danger? It was a classic damsel in distress situation, one that Chuuya would’ve stopped immediately if she was any normal person.

But Asagao was anything but normal, and Chuuya knew better than to underestimate and reduce her to a simple princess in trouble. No, he wouldn’t make that mistake again. So he waited.

Narrowing his eyes out of sight, the ginger remained hidden as he heard Asa speak casually to the criminal, almost like her life wasn't in danger at this very second. “I don’t know, I mean, what should I even do? I could really use some advice here.”

Chuuya then watched the criminal take a step closer to Asagao, his eyes narrowed in frustration as he shouted angrily. “You want some advice? How about you shut your mouth right now before I do it for you!”

Yet Asagao wasn’t shaken in the slightest, only shaking her head in disappointment as she casually replied. “You know, you aren’t a very good active listener. I’m really dishing my heart out here and I feel like you aren’t paying attention at all.”

The robber only shook his head in disbelief though, taking a step closer to her with a shout. “What the hell are you going on about?! Just let me rob you!!”

Asa only waved him away though, clearly disregarding the threat he was displaying, an unbothered smile on her lips as if she was in her own world. “Yeah yeah yeah,I already said I’d let you do that in a second. Oh, where was I? Oh yeah! So the thing is, we are supposed to be friends and he said that the kiss was supposed to be the same as my first one but it so clearly wasn’t the same, but I don’t want to come off as a weirdo cause it seemed to be the same for him. I mean he’s kissed hundreds of girls before so of course I wouldn’t be anyone special to him, which is fine, but then I can’t shake these strange feelings after it. Like I want him to do it again. Is that crazy? Of course it’s crazy right? And I know I should just ignore them and move on but I don’t know, it’s really hard.I feel like maybe I’m overreacting and I don’t wanna seem too clingy, do I seem too clingy to you?”

And it was obvious that the robber hadn’t expected the strange therapy session and rambling confessions of this strange random woman. Hell, he thought she’d be an easy target, being alone and distracted as she walked the unsavory streets of the port mafia territory. But this, he hadn’t planned for this.

Because somehow, this crazy ass girl was just talking to him normally, like there wasn’t a knife in his hand, like he hadn’t just threatened to kill her and rob her of all her money. She didn’t seem affected in the least. In fact, she hadn’t even reacted when he dragged her into this alleyway. There was something wrong with this girl, that was for sure. She wasn’t normal at all.

And now he had to hear about her bullshit melodrama, to hear her ramble on and on about some guy that she kissed that she needed advice on. She wouldn’t shut up about it, almost like she was genuinely trying to get advice while being robbed. But who in their right mind would even do that?!

The robber opened his mouth to reply before she cut him off, clearly still rambling her perpetual word vomit. “Then again we were drunk when we kissed so it could’ve been the alcohol and I could be overreacting the whole thing. But what if I’m not? What if it wasn’t the alcohol and I genuinely want to kiss him again? That would be a disaster, right? Of course it would be haha. The last thing I wanna do is chase him away. I don’t want to ruin our arrangement and go back to having no one again. I don’t know, what do you think, Mr. Robber?”

Blinking in disbelief, the criminal shook his head. “You’re insane..”

Asagao only hummed though, almost like she was taking his comment as actual advice before giving him an unbothered smile. “Well that’s a known fact, silly. But it doesn't help me with my problem, now does it? Got anything else?”

But the man was over it, his patience snapped as he raced forward to the girl, knife outstretched in order to finally shut her up and give him some peace and quiet for once. “Ugh! Just shut the fuck up! I’m gonna cut out your damn tongue!”

Asagao didn’t seemed bothered by his attack, in fact she looked quite unimpressed as the robber watched her easily dodge his stab before he suddenly felt his lungs cave in and his legs get swept under him by some kind of invisible force before his shoulder cried out in agony only to find his own knife buried in the surface like some kind of sick magic trick.

What the hell? She didn’t even move. No, it couldn't be, did this chick have some kind of ability? She destroyed him in a single second. What a monster.

And even Chuuya couldn’t help but be taken back by how quickly she took this guy down. Yes, he knew about her lethal time stop ability but seeing it in action again was just as haunting and impressive as it was the first time.

Groaning out in pain, the criminal wheeze out a breath, clutching his shoulder with agony as he looked up at the seemingly unbothered auburn haired woman. “W-What, what did you do to me? You stabbed me!”

Asa only leaned down though, an apologetic smile on her lips. “Ah yeah, sorry about that. Might have overdone it a bit. But really it’s your fault, Mr. Robber. If you listened and gave me some advice I would’ve let you rob me, promise I would’ve. But you had to be difficult.”

Chuuya then shifted his foot only for the girl to snap her head up and notice him, her smile growing wider in order to jump up and practically skip to the ginger in joy. “Chu Chu! What a nice surprise, what are you doing here?”

Yet that’s when the mafioso couldn’t help but glance at the robber that was still gasping for air by her feet only for Asa to follow her gaze with a nervous unconvincing laugh. “Oh, him? He was like that when I got here. Isn’t that right?”

But the robber only groaned in pain, causing Chuuya to shake his head. God, she was just as crazy and psychotic as he remembered her to be. “What are you doing here? You stalkin me or something?

And he wouldn’t have put it past her if that was the case, considering what she had just done to this lowly low class criminal. Why else would she be in port mafia territory? It wasn’t the see Dazai, that mackerel already expressed how he didn’t want her here in his line of work.

Asagao only seemed confused by his comment though, looking around the alley before putting her hands up in defense with a goofy grin. “What? Oh no no, not at all. If I was stalking you, you wouldn’t even know it until it was too late haha.”

It seemed she meant that as a joke, but it only made Chuuya pale at the implications of what she could do to him if she truly wanted to follow him around, and Asa seemed to notice that as well, her lips dropping an awkward neutral expression. “Sorry, bad joke. Was just trying to lighten the mood. I’m not stalking you, promise. I just happened to be here. Small world, huh?”

Chuuya only raised a skeptical eye though. “You’re telling me you just happened to be in port mafia territory? Cut the shit, Asagao. You think I’d believe that? You’re up to something.”

And what Chuuya didn’t know was that the reason for her strange outing was in order to clear her head of that kiss that Dazai had shared with her a couple days ago. It seemed she also was having a malfunction of her own, one that she wasn’t ready to tell anyone.

Asa shook her head in response at his accusation, put a hand to her heart passionately and dramatically. “No, really, it’s true this time. I’m not, promise! I’m not up to anything remotely shady..currently..”

Groaning in exasperation at the last part of her sentence, he grumbled. “God, you’re so much like Dazai. Give me a damn break..”

It was the one thing he hated about her the most. How she was like Dazai, the very bane of his existence. With her here it seemed like his eternal punishment had been doubled, giving him two long lasting menaces instead of one.

Great, just great. He could already feel a headache coming on.

Yet that’s when he heard her voice again. “Hey Chu..”

Grumbling under his breath, the ginger’s head snapped up with annoyance, his voice sharp and cold. “What, what the hell do you want now?!”

Yet the second his eyes looked on hers, he found a different expression on her face, a softer, more somber one than before. “I wanted to apologize again for what I did. I was just so excited to meet you again that I got carried away. I promise I won’t overstep and ask you to be my friend again.”

And there it was again, that stupid face, the one that haunted his dream. God, why did she look so sad and vulnerable while talking about something so stupid? It couldn’t be real, she couldn’t be serious.

Asa was clearly a manipulative person, she was just trying to wrap him around her finger, he knew it. People like Dazai didn’t have a heart, and they certainly didn’t have feelings.

Besides, she knew what she was doing when she tricked him to use that stupid nickname and roped him into that little sick kidnapping plot that she and Dazai set up. She said it herself. There was no way she could have remorse for that.

But then why was he still feeling incredibly shitty for it? God, this woman was messing with his head. He needed to stop thinking about it.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Chuuya simply nodded, not revealing any of the inner turmoil he was feeling from her seemingly sincere apology. “Good.”

The mafioso then cleared his throat. “If you know then get out of here already.”

Nodding her head, Asagao turned to look around the alley. “Right, I should head home now. Let’s see it’s just..umm..”

Chuuya then raised an eye as he watched the girl glance at her surroundings, seeing the disconnect between her glasses and her eyes. Just what the hell was she doing, another trick? “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Giggling to herself in a nervous fashion, Asa continued to look around with a nod. “Sorry..I..was just…uh..”

And the more she looked around like a puppy, the more Chuuya was getting annoyed. Why the hell did it look like she didn’t know where she was? Wandering around like a lost little child..wait..

That’s when Chuuya paused, turning to her with annoyance. “Ah hell, don’t tell me you’re lost..”

Asagao then paused her search before laughing in order to rub her hair with an apologetic smile as her glasses slipped a little down her nose. “Hahaha oops?”

Oops? Oops?! That’s all she could say? She wandered into port mafia territory, lost herself lost like a child and all she had to say was oops?! Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.

Putting his hands in his head with a groan, the mafioso shouted. “How can you be lost?!”

Asa only shrugged playfully though. “Ah well, it sorta just happened?”

The boy was only stunned in disbelief though. “Why are you acting so calm? Like this is a normal thing for you? Oh no, don’t tell me this is a normal thing for you..”

Laughing again, Asagao pushed her glasses back onto her face. “Sad to say, it is. It’s okay, I’m used to it. I’m sure I’ll find my way some way or another. I always do, haha.”

Although that’s when Chuuya watched the girl turn around a little too quickly and confidently, walking face first into the nearest alley wall, just like she did a couple days ago when he found out Dazai was her boyfriend.

Ah hell, this was a normal thing for her, she wasn’t kidding.

Immediately racing up to her, Chuuya pulled her shoulder back, disconnecting her from the wall like a frantic mother hen in order to check her face with annoyance. “H-Hey, watch where you’re going, damn it!”

Asa only smiled though, allowing his gloved hands to trace across her new bruised injury before brushing it off like nothing. “It’s okay, Chu Chu, I’m all good! I just thought I had a bit more space before the wall. I guess not though, huh? Haha.”

And the fact that she was disregarding the action was concerning enough, neither mind the fact that Chuuya had seen her walk into walls and get hit by objects way too often for him to like.

But that didn’t make sense. He had seen her power firsthand. She was an incredibly skilled fighter and expert marksman, especially with that terrifying time stop ability of hers. So why was she always bumping into shit?

Taking a step back from her, Chuuya frowned. “I don’t understand how you can be such a damn klutz when I saw you take down hordes of enemies single handedly.”

Asa then dusted herself off before her eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh, that’s easy! It’s because I wasn’t wearing my glasses then. I can see everything without them, and I mean everything. But I usually only take them off when I’m fighting cause it gets..intense..”

Moving his gaze to her large dorky glasses that took up her entire face, Chuuya’s face flashed in realization. That’s right, all those times she was kicking ass it was without her glasses, with her scary hollow corpse like eyes. That made sense.

And she said that was intense? Intense was a damn understatement.

Chuuya shivered at the memory, those dead iris’ still stuck in his mind. “So you’re a walking disaster the rest of the time then?”

Asa only smiled in reply. “A-Ah..yeah, you could say that..”

Blinking at her disbelief, the boy put his hands in his head again. Here she was, a lethal killer, a weapon of unstopping force and yet the idiot couldn’t walk more than a couple feet without walking into a wall. Talk about versatility. She was something else, really.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or scream at that information.

And part of him really wanted to leave her in the middle of port mafia territory, to walk away and have her wander around walking into walls and buildings all day, but another part of him, an annoying part felt the need to help the lost puppy before she got herself killed and walked into oncoming traffic by accident.

Because that totally sounded like something she would do.

Feeling his guilty conscience start to emerge victorious, Chuuya then dropped his hands with frustration before turning back to the stupid red haired girl before shoving them into his pocket in a mutter. “Kill me now, why does it have to be me?”

Then he raised his voice, quickly turning to leave the alley with a stomp of anger. “Fine, I give up. Hurry up before I change my mind!”

He expected her to follow him, but as soon as he got to the end of the alley, he turned only to find Asa staring at him with confusion. Ah, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Did he need to get a leash or something? She really was a stupid lost puppy.

Just then, Chuuya remembered what Dazai said to him back before they got kidnapped. That stupid mackerel always dragged her around by her wrist and said that he had to or else she’d be lost without him.

At first he took it as a possessive metaphor but damn it, it was real wasn’t it? Shitty Dazai knew she’d get lost if he didn’t grab onto her.

Stomping back up to her, Chuuya then grumbled to himself before wordlessly looking down at her hand. He didn’t want to latch onto her wrist like Dazai did, that seemed dehumanizing, even for her. Which only left one option left, just great.

The mafioso then sighed before wrapping his gloved hand around her bare one before practically pulling her out of the alleyway. “You’re insufferable..always making my life difficult..”

And as he began to lead her out of port mafia territory and back to civilian life, Asa looked down at his hand intertwined with his before speaking in confusion. “Chu Chu, you don’t have to..”

But Chuuya only shouted back, clearly annoyed by what he was doing. “Just shut up before I leave you in the middle of the road. I can’t believe I’m doing this, you’re such a child..getting lost like an idiot..”

Yet though his words were harsh, Asagao’s lips couldn’t help but curve into a small smile at the gesture. He could’ve left her alone, he should’ve considering what she did to him the last time they saw each other and yet he was helping her get back home.

He really was a good guy after all.

So she remained quiet, allowing Chuuya to drag her across the city until she recognized some of the landmarks and was able to give him directions back to Oda’s apartment.

Finally arriving back on the very familiar steps of her brother's place, Chuuya then let go only to see him walk away without a word as Asagao willed something to her lips to stop him. She didn’t want him to go, she wanted to spend more time with him, but he obviously didn’t want the same.

So she said the first thing that came to mind. “U-Um..if you ever want to come inside and hang out just let me know! The offer is always out there!”

Chuuya on the other hand didn’t even reply, happy to be rid of Dazai’s crazy and annoying girlfriend. The sooner he got away from her weird and strange mannerisms the better. He already had that shitty mackerel to deal with on a daily basis, the last thing he needed was a more directly changed and confusing version of him around.

Just then, the boy’s phone began to ring only for Chu to answer with a gruff reply. “What?”

The voice on the other end was a familiar one to the boy, the ginger’s harsh greeting leaving the receiver unbothered. “Ah, Chuuya! There’s my favorite grumpy mafioso I wanted to hear from. We got a bit of a problem here I was hoping you could solve.”

Already groaning from the implications, Chuuya frowned. “What is it this time, Piano Man?”

The man, Piano Man, was the head of a small group in the port mafia known as the young bloods, and it was a group that Chuuya associated with more recently. They were a team, helping each other with various cases and missions over the last year or so.

The leader only hummed though, and Chuuya practically could see the amused smile he always wore from the other side of the call. “You see, this new job the boss assigned is going to be a tough one. It requires a set of skills that your partner could fulfill but I just heard that Mori sent him on an assignment out of the country. Which means we’re lacking one annoyingly smart demon prodigy.”

Chuuya sighed at that, shaking his head before running his gloved fingers through his hair. “And why in the hell would the boss send Dazai away out of the country and then assign a job that needs his stupid skills? That makes no damn sense.”

Piano Man paused for a second before answering. “You didn’t hear this from me but it sounds like a test. Like the boss wants you to figure out how to finish the job at a disadvantage.”

Widening his eyes at that, Chuuya stopped walking. A test? Could that really be true, was Mori really testing him on how competent he was? But why would he want to test him? Wait, no, it couldn’t be..

Chuuya had been trying to become an executive like Dazai for years, was this his chance, was Mori trying to see if he was worthy of it? “You don’t think he’s testing me to be an executive, do you?”

There’s another hum on the other end before Piano Man answers rather amused. “Seems like it. Or at least it’s a step in that direction. The boss definitely has an eye on you for something. If not for the executive position then for something to show your worth to him.”

And that was something that made the boy’s heart stop in anxiety. Piano was right. This was his chance, his chance to show the boss that he was good enough to be an executive. He would finish this job without Dazai and earn his executive spot next to that mackerel.

For you see, this was something that Chuuya had wanted more than anything, ever since he was manipulated into joining the port mafia from the sheep. But it wasn’t for the power or the position, that’s not what the boy cared about.

No, there was one thing that was shackling him to the organization and to Mori as a whole, and that was his past, his history, his memory.

It was the one thing he could never have. His life started when he was seven years old. Before that there was nothing. Just a blank void that Chuuya could never uncover no matter how hard he tried. It always felt like a part of him was missing, like he was never completely whole.

And that’s why Chuuya needed to be an executive, it was because executives could see confidential files, including the information on Chuuya’s family and his past. He wanted it so badly, to know who he was, what he was, if he was even human or not. It was eating at him for years, the blanks in his memory driving him almost insane with possibility and fear.

Because of that, he knew he had to be an executive, to ease his mind and his heart.

And he would do absolutely anything to get it, even if it meant betting on impossible odds.

Narrowing his eyes in serious intent, the boy felt his fingers tighten on the phone. “We don’t need that shitty Dazai. We’ll show the boss we don’t need him.”

Piano Man seemed to nod on the other side of the phone. “That’s great and all but how are you going to work around the loss of Dazai? You have another crazy smart psychopath in your back pocket we could use?”

The boy frowned at that. His friend had a point. Dazai was a special kind of evil, finding someone that could equal him would be nearly impossible. No one in the mafia was that kind of insane.

Chuuya then opened his mouth to reply before an idea flashed in his mind. Wait, he did have someone like that, didn’t he? Someone that was just like Dazai, someone that could make the job succeed. Not in the mafia, but somewhere else.

Dazai’s girlfriend could do it, she could replace the demon prodigy for the job.

Just then, that shitty mackerels voice echoed into his mind like a warning

“The last place I will allow her to be is in the port mafia.”

Ah, that’s right. Dazai said that he didn’t want her in the port mafia, in the darkness like him, even if she fit into it so well. By getting her involved in this case Chuuya would be going against that bandage losers wishes.

But why should he care? That shitty bastard and his girlfriend had used and manipulated him for their own whims without a care, why couldn’t he do it himself for once? And it wasn’t like he was dragging Asagao into the port mafia, he just wanted her for this job.

Dazai could get over it. That bastard wasn’t even in the country. It was time for him to be selfish for once. He needed Asagao in order to be an executive, to learn about his family. It was for a good cause. Besides, Chuuya was just repaying the favor of her manipulation with his own.

And he hated to stoop to Dazai’s level but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Tightening his hold on the phone once more, Chuuya spoke. “Actually, I think I do.”

And then he hung up before turning back to find Asagao putting the key in the lock of her door, completely oblivious to the plan that was slowly brewing in Chuuya’s mind. That’s right, he could do this, for his future, for his memories.

Taking a step forward, the boy then called out to her, sealing his decision.

“That offer still available?”

Chapter 22:

"Tonight You're An Honorary Flag"

“That offer still available?”

Chuuya regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

Somehow, it felt like with those four little words, something was put in motion that the poor ginger could never take back, an unfortunate fate that internally told him he could never be rid of this little psychopath now that he had given her an inch of attention.

And that was explicitly clear when Asagao immediately turned around, her eyes widening with a mix of disbelief and shock as she tried to process if she had just heard correctly. “H-Huh?”

She was staring at him so intensely, he felt all his words die inside his throat, everything inside of him was telling him to backtrack, to forget the plan completely.

But unfortunately that wasn’t possible as Asagao practally raced up to him in half desperation and half confusion as she leaned in closer to him, invading his personal space without socially recognizing it. “What did you just say?”

Oh god, he was screwed.

He knew it, just from the look on her face. There was no going back. He had already dug his grave, and now he had to lie in it.

Swallowing the dread away, Chuuya repeated the words, the syllables like acid on his tongue. “I said, is that offer still available? To…hang out?”

God, he had to force the last phrase out of his lips before he resisted the urge to vomit. He had to remember this was for a purpose, he was using her. It would be worth it.

Please be worth it.

Asagao on the other hand still seemed to be processing his acceptance of her offer, blinking in half disbelief as she repeated them back. “…you want to hang out with me? Really?”

He could feel it, her claws were in him now, she had taken the bait. There truly was no going back now.

Reluctantly nodding, he took a step closer against the better judgment before muttering gruffly. “Is that a problem?”

Asa immediately shook her head though, racing up to the cautious ginger before practically bouncing on her heels like a little puppy, eyes wide with giddy excitement. “You are kidding?! Of course it’s okay, I’d love that! Oh wow, this is the best day ever. I never thought you’d say yes! I mean I always thought that you hated me and I just..”

She was so loud, so ear grating that he was already pissed off, putting his hand to her lips before she went on with her incessant word vomit. “Okay, I get it. Just shut up already. You talk too much.”

Asa didn’t seem bothered or annoyed by that though, simply nodding with understanding before giving one of her brain dead smiles. “Ah, sorry! I’m just excited. I’ll work on it though, Chu Chu, I promise.”

There’s a beat of silence then as Chuuya waits for her to let him inside her apartment but she just continues to stare at him with that dumb stupid smile, staring at him without a word like she was savoring the moment and taking some imagery photo in her head.

And frankly, it was getting awkward, really awkward.

First the girl couldn’t shut up and now she wasn’t saying a damn thing? Chuuya was already getting a headache and severely regretting this plan.

She clearly was more trouble then she was worth, maybe even more batshit insane then Dazai was, which was saying a lot.

Chuuya then clears his throat only for Asa to turn her head in confusion. “Hm?”

The mafioso then groans before putting his head in his hands to calm his temper and point to the door to remind her what he’s waiting on.

He couldn’t get on with this if she didn’t open the damn door!

Asagao then widens her eyes before seemingly turning back to life, bouncing up to the door and pulling out her key. “Oh, right! Sorry, come on in. Make yourself at home! I’ll make some tea, do you like tea Chu Chu?”

He mutters back: “Not really…”

Nodding her head, she turns the key and the door cracks open. “No worries. I have lots of options. What would you like?”

The boy knew the answer immediately, it was the only thing that was going to get him through this awful encounter and night with Dazai’s insane girlfriend. “Alcohol, lots of it. Wine preferably.”

Asa hums at that. “Hmm okay, I think we have some of that. I’ll go take a look!”

He then watched her wild auburn hair disappear inside as Chuuya apprehensively ascended to the steps before freezing at the doorway as a horrible thought popped into his mind before he could cross the threshold.

Hold on, just what the hell was he going to walk into?

It was no secret that Dazai’s girlfriend wasn’t exactly…sane, in any capacity, and that was being generous.

He had seen her tear through enemies like butter, had witnessed her twisted manipulative plots so to be completely honest he was absolutely terrified of what he’d find inside these walls.

What if her idea of decor was something sick and twisted like severed heads or jars of eyeballs? What if her entryway was bathed in blood in her enemies and scattered with human remains hanging from the ceilings? What if she had some poor bastard tied up gutted like a fish in the living room? Honestly, the possibilities were endless.

And yeah sure, Chuuya was in the mafia, he had seen his fair share of fucked up and horrible things but there was something about Asagao that unsettled him in a way no one else ever could. She had this manic unhinged vibe about her that not even Dazai could match.

At least with Dazai you knew what you were getting, with Asagao it was anyone’s guess.

And that was absolutely terrifying because the possibilities that he was going to see something absolutely grotesque was way too high for his liking.

He had seen her idea of “fun” and he definitely didn’t like it considering it involved breaking people’s legs and manipulating them to her will.

A shiver ran up Chuuya’s spine at the thought before he shoved it down. What the hell was he so freaked out for? He was Nakahara Chuuya damn it, mafioso and past king of the sheep. He could handle one psychopath's house..right?

Taking a deep breath, the boy then closed his eyes before stepping into the house, pausing in the entryway before counting to three in his head in case he had to mentally prepare for what he was about to see. Please no severed heads, please no severed heads, please no severed heads.

But when he opened his eyes, the mafioso paused at what he saw.

Hold on, this was…normal?

He could hardly believe it. The apartment that he was so worried about was just a normal everyday apartment, warm, cozy, nothing that he associated with Asagao. In fact, it didn't even look like her place at all. Her psycho touches were nowhere to be seen.

Her voice then rings through his ears right next to him. “What are you looking at?”

Chuuya immediately jumped before turning to find Asagao standing behind him, a seemingly innocent smile on her lips but he wasn't fooled. How long had she been watching him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

Damn it, this girl was making him anxious.

Perhaps it was because he was inside of her domain now, in a place he didn’t fully know or understand. She had the advantage here and he hated that idea more than anything.

Shaking his head, he managed out a response. “N-Nothing, I was just looking. Your place is..not really like you.”

She tilts her head at that. “What do you mean?”

Clearing his throat, Chuuya forces his voice to come out normally, regardless of the nervous twitch of his fingers. “It looks, you know, normal…and you’re…not.”

And any normal person would’ve been offended by that, but of course since the girl had a screw loose, Asa simply hummed in response. “Oooh, yeah no you're right. That’s because it's not my place. It’s my brothers.”

Chuuya nodded absentmindedly, before pausing to process her words. Wait, did she just say brother? he didn’t know she even had a family, never mind a brother. “Oh..I see. I assume your brother isn’t here right now then?”

He glanced into the room, half expecting a more psychotic version of Asa to pop out (if that was even possible) only for her to laugh at his question. “Nah, he’s dead. Anyways, have a seat! Tea’s almost ready, and I found some wine for you too! It’s your lucky day Chu Chu.”

Then disappearing into the living room next to them, Chuuya found himself alone once more, leaving him speechless and utterly whiplashed from their conversation.

Wait, did she just say dead? Her brother was dead? What kind of fucked up reaction was that?! Why was she brushing it off and laughing about her family member being dead?

Just then, Chuuya got a grave thought. She didn’t..kill him, right? No, there’s no way. She was crazy but she wasn’t that crazy. She wouldn’t kill her own brother and then laugh about his dead corpse, right?

But to be completely honest the mafioso wasn’t completely sure if she would or not. She was like a hurricane, a disaster leaving him in the whirlwind each and every time. Perhaps she was capable of such a thing.

There did seem to be a disconnect there, between her and her dead brother.

Either way, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the whole story.

Shaking the thought away, Chuuya then hesitantly stepped into the living room only for her to beam and pat the seat across from her as he noticed a fresh glass of wine on the coffee table, waiting ominously for him. “Ah, there you are! I got your wine, don’t worry though. I didn’t poison it or anything.”

She laughs to herself, smiling widely as he is forced to sit in the seat, the soft plush cushions of the sofa doing nothing to ease him in any way. He still felt like he was in a prison, the walls of her house confining and strangely ominous.

And why did she mention poison?! He wasn’t thinking about it before but now he was. What if she still actually laced his drink? He wouldn’t have put it past her. That sounded like something fucked up she could do.

Feeling his stomach turn suddenly he wasn’t in the mood for alcohol anymore.

The room was quiet, Chuuya hearing nothing but the sound of his own anxious breathing as he looked around the space to catalog every corner in case he had to fight his way out of this seemingly innocent room and to not look at the possibly laced wine.

He then catches a stack of bandages on a table in the corner, knowing that Dazai was here recently. Damn, she was fully stocked up. How often did that bandage freak come here? He knew she was that bastard’s girlfriend but that was enough gauze to last three to five years.

Getting back on topic, the ginger haired boy then sucked in a breath before turning back to her to get this over with. “Listen up, I..I have to talk to you about something, alright?”

Asa blinks in surprise at that, picking up her teacup with interest. “Yeah of course. Anything, Chu Chu.”

And it took everything within him not to snap at her or punch her for her stupid ass nickname. He hated it more than anything but that was not what mattered right now.

Still, he couldn’t stop his eye from twitching a bit in lingering distaste. “Right so, I have this mission coming up and it’s a damn big one.”

Asa beams at that, leaning forward in interest, like a kid on Christmas. “Oh, a mission! How exciting. Is it a dangerous one? Are you gonna beat a bunch of people up? Sounds super fun!”

Fun? That was not the word he would use to describe his port mafia missions, literally ever. Sure, beating people up could be rewarding but it was more of a pain in the ass more than anything.

But the way she was looking at him, it was like she was jealous of said mission, urging him for the glory details that would make any sane person run away.

Of course she’d be into the violence aspect of the job, considering how enjoyable she found tearing apart those rivals a couple days ago. What a freak.

Doing his best to humor her, Chuuya nods in discomfort. “Right..anyways, we’ve got a hell of a problem. This job requires Dazai’s lazy ass but he’s not in the country at the moment..”

The boy then swallows his words before continuing. “And we need someone with his skill set..and you’re kind of the only option we have at the moment..”

God, this was so fucking hard. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to be reliant on a crazy girl to help them. But it was for his family, for the flags, for him to be an executive. It had to be done.

Finishing, Chuuya forces out the rest of the question, gritting his teeth like it’s physically painful for him to ask. “So, uhh..will you help?”

And then, he sits in silence again, the only sound being the ticking clock on the wall as he fidgets with his hands as she stares at him blankly.

Why the hell was she just staring at him like that? One minute he couldn’t shut her up and now she was quiet as a damn mouse? Ugh, he hated this.

Then, the mafioso watched as Asa carefully puts down her teacup before straightening back up and lifting her hand like a child wanting to ask a question in school.

Seriously, what the hell?

Holding back a groan, Chuuya speaks. “Yes?”

Asa then puts her hand down before her voice comes out in curiosity. “Would it be rude to point out the fact that you're withholding information from me or is that something that normal people usually keep to themselves?”

And Chuuya feels his blood run cold.

What?

How in the...she realized he was hiding something?! She noticed that he was using her? No way, there’s no way she knew that. He didn’t say a damn thing. She was just bluffing, that had to be it.

Feeling himself turn speechless, he stuttered. “W-What? I’m not hiding anything..”

But Asagao is quick to correct him, giggling in an amused manner before crossing her legs casually and leaning against the sofa. “Come on Chu Chu, of course you are. It’s everywhere. In your body language, in your eyes, but mostly in the tone of your voice. You’re definitely withholding something from me.”

Blinking in disbelief, he shakily asked. “My..voice?”

She only nods though, smiling happily while she picks him apart. “Mhm, the tone is more forced, about a half octave lower than usual. And your foot has been tapping anxiously ever since you sat down in an irregular rhythm of about ¾. You’re nervous about this job, and not only that, there's a hint of desperation in your tone as well, hidden but not invisible. You need to do this job for some reason. Hence, you withholding information.”

And Chuuya is stunned, absolutely positively stunned. No fucking way. She clocked him immediately. It was terrifying, how she picked him apart like nothing. What else did she notice that she hadn’t outright pointed out? Shit, he was in over his head.

He couldn’t deny it anymore, it was for sure. “How..how did you..”

Asa only beams at that, picking her teacup back up again and taking a sip. “Ah, it’s talent really, or a curse depending on the day. If I took my glasses off I’d be able to read you more but I know they freak you out.”

She taps her large dorky glasses to enhance her point and Chuuya shivers, remembering her cold dead, lifeless eyes behind the lenses. He didn’t want to know what she was capable of without those things on.

The silence hangs in the air for a couple seconds more before Asa breaks it. “Well either way, I won’t be able to help you. I’m sorry.”

Blinking in disbelief, Chuuya gasps, leaning forward. “W-What? Why the hell not? I thought you’d jump at a chance to beat up some bastards like last time.”

Her smile turns sad at that. “Oh believe me, I do love a good fight but I can’t be that close to the mafia. For..personal reasons.”

Personal reasons? What the hell did that mean, and why did she look so sad about it? Chuuya didn’t know, but it seemed like whatever it was she wasn’t going to budge on it.

You’ve got to be kidding me, she was his best shot.

Grumbling at the rejection, Chuuya’s eyes glance back to the stack of bandages on the table before narrowing. Her personal reason must have something to do with that bastard.

He did say the last place he wanted his girlfriend to be was in the mafia but the ginger thought he was just being possessive. Perhaps it was more than that. “Because of Dazai?”

Yet he was surprised when she simply shook her head. “No..not because of him.”

Wait, if it wasn’t because of Dazai then why didn’t she want to be in the mafia? It seemed to be the perfect place for her, to nurture her fucked up and psychotic desires and interests. It didn’t make any sense to him.

Either way, she wasn’t going to help him, he wasn’t going to complete this job and become an executive to find his family. The realization was earth shattering, his heart sinking inside his chest and dropping his head.

She was his only shot of getting this done and now it was nearly impossible.

Yet that’s when he hears Asa’s voice, the tone softer than usual as she leans forward and puts a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. “Why is this job so important to you, Chuuya?”

It was the first time she had used his first name, but he hardly realized it, too lost in his own thoughts. He doesn’t want to tell her, he doesn't want her to know how empty he is, how broken.

Shaking his head, he dismisses her urge to get him to open up. “It’s for the port mafia, it’s important for us..”

But Asagao is smart, far too smart then he wants her to be, her fingers giving his shoulders a small squeeze in response. “You wouldn’t come ask me if it was only for the port mafia. This is personal.”

Cursing under his breath at her stupid talent of reading people, he runs his hands through his hair before giving up. It wasn’t going to work if he held shit back anyways.

He’s going to have to tell her, whether he likes it or not. “It’s for me, okay? I need to get this damn mission done, so the boss will make me an executive.”

He hears her voice grow surprised but he refuses to look. “An executive? Like Samu?”

Chuuya only nods, his own fingers gripping into his hair and pulling on it. He hates talking about this, especially with her. “Yeah, I need it. It’s the only way the boss will let me into a file to..to find my family.”

Once again, he hears her curious voice. “Your family..”

Gritting his teeth, he feels his lips form words against his permission. “Yeah, I don’t..I don’t remember them. Anything about them. I don’t even know if I have a damn family, that's why..I need to know..”

The air is quiet again and he absolutely hates it. Out of everyone, why is it her that has to find out about his family, about his weakness? He feels disgusting, weak, pouring his heart out to a girl without one.

But he couldn’t lie. Not to her. He wanted to, but it was impossible, she’d read him anyway. God, this silence was suffocating, it was like he couldn’t even breathe, crushed by his own inadequacy.

Although that’s when he hears her speak, and it’s small, emotional. “It’s like a black hole, an empty carven that you are desperately trying to fill. A part of you is missing without them, so you cling to anything you can, including that file. That’s why you need it, why you need to complete this mission, right?”

And Chuuya pauses before lifting his head to look at her this time. She had read him again, but this time it felt different, more personal, like she understood.

But how could she understand? How could she comprehend the loss of his own blood, the family he never knew and so desperately wished to?

But little did he know, Asa knew that feeling extremely well, more than anyone else.

And her heart bled for him. She didn’t want anyone to experience the emptiness she felt, the one her big brother Oda left behind. It hurt, more than anyone could ever imagine, that gaping hole of nothingness, the blank space that they both so desperately wanted to fill in more than anything.

And she promised Ango she wouldn’t run to the mafia, she told Dazai that she would walk a different path then the hellhound association she was created to be, she wanted to stay true to her brother’s wish to keep her out of this life...

But that look in Chuuya’s eyes, that sad awful familiar look, made her waver.

It made her start to consider a very dangerous idea.

The ginger doesn’t sense the conflict in her though, his mind too occupied by his own thoughts, his skin crawling with a vulnerability he rarely ever shows. It was like Asagao had stripped him down to his bare heart and he hated it.

Asagao then looks away for a moment, as if debating something he doesn’t understand before speaking again, into the space. “If I were to help you, what would you give me?”

At that, Chuuya immediately snaps his head to her. Wait, she was thinking about helping him? No way. It was like a ray of hope flickered to life at her very statement.

And he knew it didn’t matter what she asked for, he would give it to her.

He was that desperate.

Desperate to find out his family, desperate to know if he was truly human or just a monster underneath it all. He needed to know the answer to the thing he was secretly terrified of.

But he was still wary, she had the power right now and he was sure she’d use it extensively. “What do you want?”

Asagao hums at that before tilting her head in curiosity. “What are you offering?”

He pauses at that. What could he possibly offer this psycho that she’d actually agree with? It had to be something she wanted or else she’d probably turn him down.

Getting an idea a second later, Chuuya tries to shut it down in his mind. Oh hell no, anything but that. But if that was the only option, he had no choice but to swallow his pride.

It was the one thing she had asked him for and he completely turned her down.

God damn it, he had no choice.

Groaning to himself, Chuuya then sucks in a heavy breath before sealing his fate forever. “I’m offering..my friendship.”

And he hated it when she immediately widened her eyes, her mouth dropping open with shock as she leaned forward and once again evaded his personal space. “W-Wait, you’re serious? We can be friends??”

Resisting the urge to take it back, he nods, leaning back to get some space. “...yes. We can be friends.”

Asagao then gasps before immediately standing up, outstretching her hand, like sealing the deal with the devil itself. “Deal! You got yourself one Asagao! Congrats!”

He’s stunned at that, blinking in disbelief, his mind reeling in a million different directions. “W-What? You’ll help? But you said..”

She only smiles though, waving her hand away like she had forgotten her reservations even though they were so important before. “Ah, it’s fine it’s fine, it’s only one mission right? And I gotta help my brand new friend!”

Looking down for a second, Asagao then paused before a flash of a very familiar bandaged boy flashed in her head, her lips tingling with memory from a certain kiss only for her to blush and turn around away from him for a second, muttering under her breath. “Besides, I could use a distraction..”

Yet before he could question it, the frantic auburn haired girl slaps her cheeks twice to snap her out of something before turning back around with a smile. “Anyways, what are you waiting for? Shake my head already, Chu Chu! Let’s make our agreement official!”

Outstretching her hand again, Asa wiggles her fingers to coax Chuuya as he looks at it, a sense of hope and dread in his stomach.

This was it, if he shook her hand there was no going back, he knew it.

It felt like a contract with a demon, a scary unpredictable demon wearing the disguise of a cute red haired girl and something inside him told him that if he grabbed her hand, he would never be able to get away.

That this would seal his fate, for better or for worse.

But somehow, he lifted his hand outwards in a resigned fate. Consequences be damned, he needed her. “Fine. You have a deal. Just don’t expect me to be all chummy with you or some shit..”

Asa only beams though, shaking his hand joyfully, so much so he thinks his arm is going to fall off. “Oh, don’t worry about that! I promise, I’ll be the best friend in the entire world! You know, I’ve never had a friend before, this is the best day ever!”

Chuuya can’t help but mutter under his breath at her comment. “I can’t imagine why..”

He meant it as an insult, knowing fully well why no one ever stuck around. No one could probably keep up with her brand of crazy, except for Dazai that is.

Asagao only nods though, a finger to her chin in silent contemplation. “Yeah, I don’t know either. But you know Chu Chu, I would’ve done it without the bribe.”

At that, Chuuya felt his eyes widen, seeing red immediately.

Excuse me? What the hell did she just say?! She didn’t need a bribe, she would’ve said yes without him offering up his stupid friendship?? He didn’t have to do that?!

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.

Standing up with his fists clenched, the boy shouts, absolutely livid. “You didn’t need the bribe?!”

Asa only shrugs though, pissing him off more. “Mmm nope, just wanted to see if you’d offer me anything good. And you did! It was a good one too, thanks for that.”

Feeling his eye twitch, it took everything within him not to ring her neck. He was absolutely played, just like when they first met. That shady little bitch.

He hated her, he absolutely hated her.

Asagao then beams before turning around, gesturing for him to follow her as she skips towards the door, very happy with herself for her deception. “Now then, come on new best friend, let’s start this mission!”

Best friend…she called him her best friend. She was already pushing her luck, he said friend not best friend. God, he didn’t know how he was going to do this.

A part of him wanted to call off the whole thing right then and there but he withheld, just barely, chanting a mantra in his head, one he was hoping would get him through this awful horrible mission. I need her, I can’t kill her. I need her, I can’t kill her.

I need her, but damn it..

I want to kill her.

It turns out once Asagao got to the front door leading outside, she remembered something important, muttering something about having to change and get something so Chuuya just gave her the address to the Flags base and left without her.

Which honestly he was thankful for because he didn’t know if he could take another second of her, and if he was forced to walk side by side with her all the way into port mafia territory he probably would’ve drowned her in the nearby river before they got there.

Getting to the familiar base, Chuuya put his finger up to his temple to quell his pounding headache. He seemed to get those after every unpleasant interaction with Dazai’s crazy ass girlfriend.

He stepped into the base, sighing only for Piano Man to notice his distress, smirking as he strolls up to his fellow member. “Hey Chuuya, there you are. Did you get that replacement for Dazai you were talking about?”

Closing his eyes in defeat, the ginger sighed. “Yeah, she’ll be here soon, unfortunately.”

At his words, Lippman raised his brow, strolling forward like the flirt he was. “Did you just say girl? Way to go Chuuya! Is she hot?”

The boy only rolled his eyes though. “Don't start, you pervert. She’s my age.”

Lippman’s shoulders slumped at that, disappointment across his face. Just when he thought he had a new bit of eye candy to look at. He had no interest in kids. That was gross. “Ugh, seriously? You got me excited for nothing.”

The man then began to pout only for Albatross to pat his back once in amusement. “It’s alright man, I’m sure this kid is something special if she can substitute for Dazai. Isn’t that right Chuuya? I can’t wait to meet her!”

Albatross was always the optimist, but his words of interest only made Chuuya groan more, his fingers pinching his nose in clear exhaustion. “Look guys, there’s something you need to know before you meet her. Yeah she can fill in for that bastard but she’s just as batshit insane as him.”

The flags all look at each other in surprise. Just as crazy as Dazai? That was quite the statement. They didn't think anyone could be as nuts as the infamous demon prodigy. He was a breed in itself.

Piano Man turns his head in concern at that. “What do you mean?”

Chuuya then opens his mouth before shutting it right after. What could he even say, how could he describe someone as unhinged as Asagao? He honestly didn’t know. It was like simple words didn’t do her justice, and he meant that in the most derogatory way possible.

Yet that’s when the door knocks and the ginger mafioso groans. Well, they were going to find out for themselves, whether they liked it or not. “You’ll see.”

Walking over to the door, Chuuya then takes a breath before opening it only to find Asagao’s smiling face, her body bouncing up and down like she can’t contain herself as she brushes past the boy to make herself inside without being invited in.

Of course she did, he’s not even surprised anymore.

And the Flags are certainly surprised when the small cute red haired girl with large dorky glasses hops into the room, her mouth dropped open in awe and wonder as she looks around like a kid in a candy shop. “Whoaaa, a real life mafia base. This is so cool!’

Piano Man can’t help but chuckle at her childish energy. “Someone’s excited.”

Hearing his voice, Asagao then turns and gasps before racing up to the group, a goofy smile on her lips as she outstretches her hand. “Oh, hello! Nice to meet you! You must be Chuuya’s friends! I’m Asagao but you can call me Asa if you’d like. Lots of people do! Oh, I’m just so excited to be here, really!”

The Flags stood in silence for a moment at her overload of energy. They didn’t get that much in the mafia so seeing her so smiley and hyper was unexpected, causing Albatross to laugh and speak first. “You sure got a lot of energy kid, I like it!”

Asa beams at that. “Thanks, I get that alot!”

Lippman can’t resist ruffling her hair in response. “Yeah, you’re a cutie! Like a little puppy!”

Piano Man laughs at his friend's comment before speaking. “So, you’re the one that’s here to help us with Dazai’s part of the plan for the mission?”

She claps her hands at that, bouncing up and down once more. “Yes! Chu Chu told me all about it and I’m here to help!”

The Flags look at each other and can’t help but snicker at that cute nickname she gave the grumpy ginger who looked like he was two seconds from punching her a couple feet away.

Covering his lips with his hand, Lippman smirks at that. “Ah, so Chu Chu recruited you?”

Chuuya balled his fists at that, unable to keep quiet as he glared at the flashy idiot. “Don’t call me that, bastard or I’ll knock out your teeth! And you..”

He pointed to Asa. “I told you to quit it with that stupid ass name already!”

She only pouts at that though. “Whaaa? But it’s cute Chu Chu!”

Albrotss nods in agreement, enjoying the joke of making fun of him. “Yeah Chu Chu , it’s really cute! It offsets your grumpy personality!”

The ginger had enough though, stepping forward and pointing a finger at all of them. “Shut the hell up! It’s not cute, it’s fucking annoying! I swear if you say it one more time..”

Asagao then completely cuts him off, her voice giddy. “Oh! Speaking of which, I almost forgot, I have a surprise for you!”

Racing forward up to Chuuya, she then reaches into her pocket before smiling. “Lift out your arm Chu Chu! It will be worth it, I promise!”

He highly doubted that but he didn’t have much of a choice, lifting his arm up with a groan before Asa beams, taking something out and placing it around his wrist. “Ta Da! Do you love it? I made it special for you, to celebrate our new friendship!”

Chuuya then looks down to find a small handmade beaded bracelet on his wrist, the small white beads spelling out “CHUUYA” in black letters surrounded before smaller orange beads.

It was childish, like a kid’s craft on the first day of summer camp, definitely not something a mafioso should be wearing. Just what the hell was she thinking? Why did she make him something so dumb?

They weren’t even really friends.

Asa only seemed overjoyed though, bouncing on her heels with her eyes practically sparkling behind her glasses. “Well, do you love it, or do you really love it??”

Chuuya opened his mouth to tell her how stupid it was, only for Albatross to lean over with another barely suppressed snicker, enjoying this scene fully. “Aw, that's really cute Chu Chu ..”

Feeling his eye twitch at the nickname, the ginger hisses. “Shut up.”

Lippman can’t resist joining in either, glancing at the cutesy bracelet before whining. “What? No fair, where’s mine?”

Asagao only laughs though, clapping her hands together with excitement as she thinks of an idea. “Oh! I could make more if you want. I don’t mind. Then we could all have matching bracelets! Oh, that would be so fun! Like a real dream team!”

The Flags all glance at each other at that, smiling in amusement. This girl was something else, definitely way different than the usual kinds of people near the mafia. It’s like she didn’t have an evil bone in her entire body. How cute.

Tilting his head, Piano Man looks at her with amusement. You know, mafioso don’t wear friendship bracelets usually.”

Asa only shrugs though, clearly ignoring the unspoken rule of the mafia . “Aw, but why not? It could be like something to remember this job by.”

Lippman snorts at that, enjoying her innocent demeanor. “It's hard to argue with that logic.”

And it’s not just Lippman, it seemed everyone was getting a kick out of Asagao’s strange and overly excited way of looking at things, so much so that it made Chuuya groan internally and externally.

This girl, she really had everyone wrapped around her finger too easily. The way she smiled sweetly and pretended to be such a sweet innocent girl when Chuuya had seen her tear people apart and manipulate them with a flick of her wrist was absolutely infuriating.

If only they knew how much of a demon she actually was.

It pissed him off, all of his friends discrediting her as a sixteen year old kid when he could bet she was doing all this on purpose. He wouldn’t put it past her if she was perfectly crafting her responses for these guys to fawn over her.

Meanwhile, while the group is chatting, Albatross and Lippman stroll over to the assassin of the group, Iceman whos’ sitting in the corner observing the interaction, a lazy smile on Albatross’ lips.

The guy wasn’t the most social butterfly after all. Ever stoic. “Hey Iceman, come say hi to our new honorary Flag for the night. She’s a bundle of joy, huh?”

Lippman nods in agreement, focusing on his friends’ frown and downturned brows. “Yeah, quit glaring over there. You’re not being very welcoming.”

But that only made Iceman narrow his eyes even more, staring at the seemingly innocent red haired girl who was laughing with the rest of the group before speaking flat.“ I don’t like her.”

Lippman couldn’t help but raise an eye at that. He knew Iceman was wary of others given his profession but..this girl? She didn’t seem like the usual kinds of people the guy was skeptical of.

Tilting his head, the ladies man replies. “What do you mean? She’s adorable.”

Iceman is silent for a moment, just staring at Asa’s seemingly carefree expression before sighing and looking away. “I don’t know. She feels..off somehow. I don’t know how yet.”

And being an assassin Iceman was quite good at reading people and this girl, there was something more to her, he could tell. Perhaps it was in the way she smiled a bit too bright or how she disregarded the social norms of the mafia by gifting Chuuya a cutesy friendship bracelet but there was something..

Then, as if to prove his skepticism, Iceman watched from across the room as Asagao seemingly shifted her eyes from the conversation to the assassin for a split second, almost as if she noticed him staring at her before her lips curved into a small smirk for a millisecond and turning back around.

Almost like she was taking amusement in the fact he was wary of her.

Oh yeah, there was definitely something. Iceman was sure of it.

And he was determined to find out just what it exactly was.

Asagao then speaks up to the group, clapping her hands together in excitement for the night ahead of them. “So what kind of mission are we doing? I’m dying to know!”

Piano Man laughs at her enthusiasm, though he’s a little nervous about letting such a small girl join them on a dangerous job. “Well, someone’s been killing off our men and we have to figure out who. You think you’re up for it, kid? It’s not going to be easy.”

Asa doesn't seem bothered though, putting her arms up in a cheer. “Oh yeah! I’m totally in, I love a good mystery!”

Goraning in irritation, Chuuya then turns towards the door, eager to get rid of her as quickly as possible. “Let’s just get this over with, we're wasting time. Keep up or I’m leaving you behind, idiot.”

The Flags all beam at that, used to the boy’s behavior before then follow him out and towards the job as Asagao quickly pulls out her phone before scrolling through her contacts to find Dazai’s number and smile softly.

She knows she’s in dangerous territory, that she couldn’t let anyone find out she’s so close to the mafia but helping her friend came first.

But she had never had a friend before, no one could ever stomach her that long so the fact that Chuuya had offered her such a precious thing, she wasn’t going to take that for granted. She’d do anything to make him an executive and get him that file about his family.

Even if it meant going against everything her big brother ever wanted for her.

Besides, it was only for one night, one mission. Like a cinderella spell. Once the clock hit midnight she’d go back to being a normal girl again, not a bloodthirsty assassin.

What Samu didn’t know didn’t kill him, right?

She’d be back before he returned from his trip.

Then she sends him a small text before putting it back in her pocket in order to hurry up and catch up to the group.

Miss you, Samu. Come back soon.

*peeks around the corner* hey...hey ya'll, how you doing? *nervous laugh*

Long story short, my laptop broke and I haven't been able to update for the longest time rip. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait! 2024 was kinda a shit show to be honest but I'm hoping 2025 will be better. I aim to finish this story this year so fingers crossed! I'm not going to say I will upload more because every time I do something bad happens I will not say that *cries* but I really really really want to finish this, with all my heart! I will push past the A03 curse!

But eyyy! We have the chaotic Chuuya and Asa team up you've been waiting for! Poor girl just wants a friend but goes about it all wrong and Chuuya can't stand her. But I think she'll grow on him soon, whether he likes it or not! These next chatpters will feed into storm bringer and don't worry Dazai won't be away for long! We just need some Chuuya/Asa friendship first before he comes back

And Asagao knows it's dangerous for her to accept this mission but she truly is loyal to the people she cares about, and she relates to Chuuya's desperation to be an executive because while he can find out information about his family, she can't do that since her brother is dead.

I see every comment you all send me, every re-read and encouragement for me to keep going has pushed me through to upload for you guys. Thank you so much for the support I love you all. See you soon!

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ashleyh713fanfics · 10 months ago

Text

Dazai X Odasaku's Sister Ch17 and Ch18

Double Upload:

Chapter 17: Here To Save The Princess"

Chapter 18: Friends With A Freak Like You"

Summary: Dazai, Chuuya, and Odasaku's little sister find themselves in the worst possible situation, kidnapped by a group out to take down the infamous port mafia. They get the idea to use Dazai's girlfriend for leverage to make him squirm but perhaps that wasn't the the smartest option after all.

Warnings: pm!sixteen year old dazai, pm!sixteen year old chuuya, forced kiss, death, murder, suicide mentions, violence, manipulation on both sides, odasaku death mentions, dazai being a simp and a clingy baby boy, poor chuuya is lost, confused and tormented from all angles for most of this. chuuya is a meanie but it's for a purpose.

(This is chapter seventeen and eighteen of my fanfic "Timeless" which is now on A03. I'll link the master list below so you can get the full story. Asagao's ability is to stop time for up to six seconds.)e

Master List Here

A03 Here

Work Count: 15k total

Chapter 17:

Well this day was getting worse and worse.

And that was because the ginger mafioso was probably in the worst position he could possibly be in at the moment. Sure, he was no stranger to attempted kidnappings and blackmail but this was something else entirely.

There were a few things that Chuuya took note of the moment he woke up. The first was the pounding headache in the back of his temple from where that mafia bastard struck him upside the head, the second was the fact that his hands were cuffed and useless hanging above him because of the annoying ability suppressors he’d been forced to put on and the third was dingy disgusting cell he found himself in, the area clearly underground and out of sight.

But all of that didn’t compare to the numb feeling of his muscles, the boy unable to move even an inch of his limbs in order to curse to himself internally. Shit, they drugged him also, didn’t they? That’s why he couldn’t feel anything right now, why his head was still swimming with groggy resolve.

Well that was a smart move on his captives part though, considering that even without his gravity manipulation Chuuya was still a force of physical strength. Seemed like they accounted for that as well. These idiots must’ve been planning this for a while then.

But that just meant that getting out of here was going to be more of a pain in the ass than he first thought it would be. Just great. Of course it wasn’t gonna be easy. When is it ever?

First things first, he had to find Dazai and get out of here.

Suppressing another groan, his ears then perked up in order to glance to his left and find Dazai’s girlfriend in the same exact position, her head lulling with a moan of pain in order to push against her now restrained hands with confusion.

And almost immediately, Chuuya felt his heart sink into his chest. Damn it, that’s right. This girl had gotten stuck in the crossfire as well, taken as leverage for the executive to squirm. No, this was bad. She was probably so scared right now.

Listening to her slowly grow lucid, the boy then watched her start to blink back to reality before turning her head with a soft breathy whisper. “C-Chuuya..?”

If he had use of his muscles he would’ve nodded, but because he didn’t Chuuya settled for a vocal response, coaxing her as gently as possible. “Hey yeah, it’s me. I’m right here. It’s gonna be okay, alright? I’m gonna get you out of here I promise. Nothings gonna happen to you, okay?”

And he meant that, because even if that selfish mackerel didn’t protect her, he knew he had to. She didn’t belong here after all, this poor girl just got dragged into the darkness without a word. That meant it was his responsibility to pull her back into the light before it was too late.

It didn’t matter if he couldn't’ move his limbs right now, he’d find a way. He’d get her out of here even if it was the last thing he did.

Yet just as he thought that, the basement door seemed to swing open revealing a kid around their age, his eyes hungry and wild as he glanced at the ginger haired boy with intent. Wait, he knew this guy, Chuuya had seen him in the hallways of the port once or twice.

Ah shit, what was his name again? He couldn’t even remember.

He was a low level errant dog for the organization and now a part of the mafioso’s that had stepped out of line. What a stupid idiot, didn’t he know he’d hang for this kind of betrayal?

The kid didn’t bat an eye though, simply stopping in front of his chained colleague before crossing his arms with amusement. “The great gravity manipulator, oh how hard he falls. Looks like Mori put his trust in the wrong people after all.”

Chuuya only scoffed in response, not feeling very intimated. “Jealous bastard, looks like the boss was right, demoting you to an insignificant little nobody. Screwing him over, you just signed your own death wish.”

Humming back in response, the captive then leaned down to Chuuya’s eye level before ramming his fists into the boy’s stomach, causing him to gasp out in surprise as the kid laughed at his misery. “No, I don't think I did, considering I just got my hands on two of the most powerful and valuable pieces the port mafia has to offer.”

The kid then clawed his fingers into Chuuya’s scalp in order to make the ginger look straight at him. “You see, once I get you and Dazai to spill Mori’s dirty little secrets and follow me instead, I’ll have more than just my freedom, I’ll have the world and not even Mori will be able to stand in our way.”

Follow him instead? What a stupid idiot. This guy didn’t just want to break free from his lowly position, he wanted to succeed the boss as the leader of the port mafia. Such naive thinking, he really was a kid, wanting more than what was physically possible.

So much so, Chuuya only laughed at his pathetic attempts. “Yeah? And you do know that Dazai doesn’t follow rules very well, right? Not even the boss can tie him down so good luck trying to get me and him to do jack shit.”

And he hoped that would be enough to make this pathetic whiny kid rethink his plans but it only caused his shit eating grin to grow tenfold before letting go of Chuuya’s scalp in order to hook his fingers around the restraints holding his hands together. “Oh, but don’t you see that it’s already been proven? We have a secret weapon, after all. One that even got the fearsome Nakahara Chuuya to disarm himself willingly.”

Feeling his eyes hollow at the implication of the kid’s words, he then watched his captor slowly step away in order to turn towards the shaking and clearly fearful girl to his left. “Such power you have, a pretty little thing like you. I almost feel bad that you got caught up in all of this.”

He then leaned down towards her in order to tap her cheek with his finger condescendingly as she tried to lean away. “I mean, my men wanted to drug you as well but that’s not the way to treat a lady, now is it? You should be thanking me for being so gentle.”

Chuuya wanted to be sick though, watching this slimy worm touch her like that. He didn’t care if this guy was the same age as them, she was too nice of a person to be treated that awfully. And saying that she should be thanking him for his abuse?

Fuck that, this kid was dead. “Don’t you fucking dare, you bastard! Get away from her!”

But with no use of his body, the ginger found it difficult to act on his threat, and his captor knew that as well, using the opportunity to roughly latch onto her cheeks and force her to look up at him with cocky resolve.

Then, she spoke, her voice laced with so much confusion and terror that he made Chuuya’s heart break right in half. “I-I don’t understand..what’s going on..?”

The traitor then twisted his lips upwards before pouting them out in the most degrading way possible to make her seem stupid. “Aww poor baby, let me explain it to you in simple terms. Your boyfriend has a lot of enemies and since they can’t get to him, you're the next best thing.”

Her response was barely a whisper. “W-What..?”

Turning his head to the side in a mocking manner, the kid then dug his nails into her cheeks a little rougher, feeling her head jerk at the sudden pain before leaning closer until she could feel his breath on her face. “Still too complex for you? I’ll dumb it down some more. We are using you to hurt him, doll.”

He then watched her lips push together for a millisecond, almost like she was trying to hold some sort of response before finally releasing them. “H-Hurt, why me?”

And because her display was just absolutely pathetic, the traitor let go of his hold in order to slimy run his finger across the reddened spots on her skin with a condescending hum. “Because you are the demon prodigy’s precious girlfriend, that’s why. Your sweet innocent little demeanor is just begging to be corrupted for anyone’s personal gain. What an idiot Dazai is, attaching himself to such a scared little rabbit, cocky that he’ll protect you even though he’s already failed so miserably.”

He wondered why a man like Dazai would ever pick someone as weak as her to be his beloved treasure. Because from the looks of it, the girl was nothing special. Hell, he had even heard that she had even ran straight into the line of fire the moment she found out the guy was kidnapped.

It was almost as if the idiot wanted to get taken hostage by acting so foolishly

What a stupid response, she didn’t stand a chance in this world, did she?

Chuckling to himself, the kid then reached his other hand into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade and holding the knife close to her throat with psychotic glee. “I wonder what kind of expression he’ll make if I bring him a finger or an earlobe of his precious little lover? Surely he’ll be more complacent in my plans to take down Mori then, don’t you think, doll?”

Once again, her head jerked against his hand, causing the traitor to laugh in order to push the side of his blade even closer to her neck, leaving a thin line of blood in its place and compelling her to still.

And a second later she did, Asagao no longer fighting his hold for fear of getting her throat cut open completely. Huh, she could take orders well. What a good little doll she was.

Yet that’s when he heard her voice again, the tone slightly more confident from her previous remarks, almost like she couldn’t help the change. “B-But hypothetically what if that Mori guy finds out about all of this? If he sees that Osamu is getting blackmailed then he won’t give him any more secrets, right?”

Her question was strangely intelligent, more so than any of the other pathetic responses she had been giving.

So much so, the kid decided to mock her for it. “What a surprisingly diligent question for a stupid little civilian. Yes, that’s true but Mori will never find out about this conversation today so he’ll be none the wiser.”

Shrugging his shoulders carelessly, the boy hummed. “The only ones that know about my plan are you, Chuuya and Dazai and by the end of today all of you will either be disposed of or on my side so it doesn’t matter. Nothing is getting out today. I’ve made sure of it.”

Asagao then took in his words for a moment before replying shortly. “And what if that doesn't work? What if taking me doesn’t change anything and Osamu still doesn’t listen like Chuuya says he won’t?”

The kid only turned his head though, like the answer was simple. “Then we’ll just kill you.”

And that seemed to be enough for Chuuya, the boy shouting from across the room in order to break his threat immediately. “Like hell! Don’t listen to him, Asa. I won’t let anyone lay a hand on you.”

The traitor only snorted in reply though, glancing back towards the pathetically bound ginger haired boy next to him. “Says the boy that’s completely incapacitated. Face it, Chuuya. You can’t do shit. Here, I’ll show you.”

Leaning back down towards Asa’s eye level, the kid then reached forward in order to wrap his fingers around the large circular framed glasses that hid her expression. “Come on, doll. Let’s see those pretty tears I know you’re hiding, hmm?”

He then slowly pulled off the metal objects, a shit eating grin on his face as he waited with bated breath to see just how distraught and terrified his little hostage was. Based on her body language and response thus far it was sure to be a sight.

Asagao immediately protested as well, trying to shift her head away with a pathetic whimper. “N-No..don’t..”

And from the angle he was at and the drugs in his system, the ginger couldn’t see Asagao’s face, unable to turn his head in any capacity except for his wild and anxious eyes.

But even still, he could see enough as the gross bastard's fingers finally fully pulled off her glasses with a victorious chuckle despite his own threats. “I said don’t touch..!’

Yet that’s when Chuuya watched the traitor’s smile quickly fizzle away and physically flinch, reeling backwards a couple steps with wide eyes, like he was gazing at some kind of ghost or demon. “W-What the hell..”

It was so surprising then that the kid tripped over his own feet, falling straight on his ass in order to stare hollowly at the girl before him. But what the hell was this guy seeing that was so scary? Nothing about Asagao had been scary to Chuuya.

What could’ve possibly gained such a reaction?

But for the traitor, he couldn’t seem to look away, locked onto the hollow and dead eyes staring right through his soul, void of life, void of care. They swallowed him whole without a second thought, leaving him to drown in her own scrutiny.

He had never seen that kind of look from anyone before. She wasn’t crying or scared at all. In fact, her eyes held no reaction whatsoever to his rough treatment, almost like it didn’t shake her in any kind of way, like nothing could shake her in any kind of way.

Finally gaining the courage to crawl closer, the kid then reached out a shaky hand in order to pull her face closer with quiet inspection. “What an ugly beast you turned out to be. No wonder why Dazai chose you, only a demon could love a face like that.”

His words were cruel, causing Chuuya to yell out another obscenity but the traitor hardly cared, watching as his insults did nothing to the hollow expression in her eyes, the words simply fizzling away the minute they reached her ears.

This girl, was she even human?

Feeling a chill creep up his spine from the reaction, the kid then quickly pushed his hand up in order to cover her haunted iris’ and shove her head into the prison wall behind him with an anxious yet amused chuckle of insanity.

What was he getting so worked up about? She was just a defenseless princess, helpless at his mercy. So what if she had scary eyes, it didn’t change the fact that he had the upper hand here, and he needed to prove that.

Because of that, the traitor sought for his power back, glancing down towards her quivering lips in order to lean closer to her ear with a breathy whisper of depravity. “But when I do this you aren’t so bad. Perhaps I should see what the executive sees in you, hmm? My, how furious he’ll be to learn that I tasted his lover like this.”

Then before Asa could speak, the kid forced his lips onto hers, shoving her further into the prison wall as Chuuya’s eyes grew livid with complete and absolute rage. That shitty traitorous bastard, just what was he doing?!

His voice bounced off the wall in an instant, forcing his body to move through the drugs to no avail as the tone turned hoarse and yet lethally dangerous. “Stop it, you bastard!! You’re so fucking dead, you hear me?! I’m gonna kill you!!”

The traitor didn’t listen though, his palm pushing further into her blinded eyes in order to press his body closer to hers and lay claim to the one thing the demon prodigy had taken for his own.

That’s right. He’d soil her lips, corrupt her with his touch, control her consent and then that executive would regret ever denying his orders.

Finally pulling back a second later, he then licked his lips in a disgusting manner before removing his hands from her eyes in order to forcibly pull the bow from her hair as the wild auburn strands cascaded across her face in order to cover her expression.

Then he playfully spun her glasses around on his fingers in order to slip them back into his pocket with a smirk. “Now that’s taken care of, I’m gonna go pay your boyfriend a visit and show him these. You better pray that he cares enough to keep you alive, doll. Or else things won’t be ending well for you.”

Laughing to himself, the traitor then turned around in order to ascend the steps behind him and slam the door loudly before Chuuya immediately turned towards the silent girl to his left in order to shake his head with invisible pain.

He wanted to speak to her, to tell her that everything was going to be alright but things were looking grim. He was sure that Dazai wouldn’t care about her life which meant that if he didn’t get out of here soon, things would be over for her.

Shit, he didn’t want any of this to happen, especially to her. She was so sweet and kind to him back in that cafe, she didn’t deserve to deal with Dazai’s bullshit and now look at what happened.

She was utterly destroyed because of the selfish desires of a demon.

-------

Strolling melodically through the abandoned building that was now his makeshift compound, the traitor threw open the double doors in front of him in order to come face to face with the demon prodigy himself.

He looked absolutely unbothered, chained to a metal chair in the very center of the room with nothing else around it. And even though he was just as helpless as Asagao and Chuuya, it certainly didn’t feel like it.

That was the problem with Dazai, he always seemed to have the upper hand, when in fact it was the kid that held all the power. “Ready to talk yet, executive?”

Dazai only lifted his head absentmindedly though, absolutely calm and collected. “Nah, I don’t think I wanna..sorry..”

He wasn’t sorry though, that much was evident from the cocky ass grin on his face. Well, then let’s see how he reacts to this. “Then maybe this will change your mind.”

Throwing the circular glasses onto the floor in front of him, the kid then watched as Dazai’s smile slowly fell in order to stare at the ominous objects in a tense silence.

Yes, this was it. He knew that girl was his weak point. Now he could control the great demon in whatever way he wanted. Mori was a goner.

Yet that’s when the mafioso simply snorted at the glasses in order to laugh rather hysterically under his breath, almost like he had just seen the funniest thing known to man.

Already growing furious from his reaction, the traitor shouted back. “What are you laughing about? Don’t you get it? I have your girl! She’s chained up and at my mercy right now along with your orange haired partner!”

Once again though, the demon laughed even harder. “At your mercy? You really think that, huh? You and Chuuya are the same kind of stupid it seems..”

Almost immediately, the kid felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment for his lackluster reaction. Why was he acting like that? Didn’t he understand the situation he was in at all? “S-Stupid!? I’m serious, I’ll hurt her if you don’t comply with my demands!”

Finally getting his unruly giggles under control, the executive then narrowed his unbandaged eye in cold resolve at the traitor before simply shrugging his shoulders. “Okay, go ahead and try it.”

Okay ahead and try it? That’s all he had to say? What the hell, what a horribly lukewarm response. This was Dazai’s girlfriend he was talking about. He should’ve been spiraling in a blind rage or begging for her release, right?

So why was he instead coaxing him to go through with his threat? Was Chuuya right, did he truly not care about the bound auburn haired civilian he had been hanging off of all day?

Feeling at a loss with the boy, his captor couldn’t help but stutter. “W-What? What does that mean? You really don’t care about her? That innocent stupid girl, you’ll really let her die like that?”

The air was silent then, watching as Dazai simply took in his words before his lips curved upwards into a wince of a smile almost like he couldn’t help it. “As if she’d allow someone like you to pull the trigger.”

And there was a surprising amount of emotions behind that smile, ones that the traitor noticed but couldn’t decipher whatsoever. They felt bitter, like an unruly regret mixed with jealousy and yet soft like a hidden promise all at the same time.

So much so, the look caused the kid to finally lose his temper and point a finger at the clearly calm mafioso. “Enough! I’ll bring the girl in here myself and then you’ll see just how serious I am. Let’s see how defiant you are when I force you to watch her bleed firsthand.”

And he hoped that would be enough to make him crack, to shatter the carefully crafted expression that was painted on his face. He had to react to that, right? Anyone would falter when face to face with their crying and screaming lover.

Yet that’s when Dazai simply hummed under his breath in order to turn his head towards the side with precise precision. “Oh, I wouldn’t suggest that if I were you..”

Finally, now they were getting somewhere. At last Dazai was threatening him now. That showed that he cared in some kind of capacity.

Twisting his lips into a lethal smirk, the traitor then leaned forward into the mafioso’s face, knowing he got under his skin. “Why, because you’ll make me regret it?”

Although the demon then narrowed his eyes in response before pushing his lips together a sing-song tone, kicking his bound feet absentmindedly under the chair. “Wronggg, it's not me you have to worry about.”

The response mocked him in the worst possible way, causing the kid’s anger to spike even more. What the hell did that mean? What could be more fearsome than the demon prodigy? Surely nothing.

Shaking his head absentmindedly, the kid then brushed the comment off before turning around in order to speak as he left. “If you’re talking about Chuuya, he's been incapacitated along with the girl. No one is going to save her.”

Yet the moment he disappeared, Dazai lifted his head up to the ceiling, a cruel and waiting smile upon his lips as he thought about the utter destruction that would be on that guy’s face when he found out the truth.

Of course he wasn’t talking about Chuuya.

“You're speaking as if she needs saving.”

------

Chuuya’s sad pitiful eyes continued to stare at Asagao in pure silence as her head continued to lull down towards the ground just like how that bastard left her.

He concluded that she must’ve been in some kind of shock, being forcibly kissed like that, it definitely hurt her immensely, so much so that he cursed Dazai’s name by the second.

Yet that’s when he heard a pathetic little sniffle sound from her lips, causing Chuuya’s eyes to ring his alarm in order to force his groggy and sluggish head to turn even a millimeter closer to her direction.

No, he couldn’t just sit here, he had to help her somehow. “H-Hey, it’s okay, don’t cry. You gotta keep your head up, yeah? You’re gonna get out of here I promise, then I’ll make that sorry bastard pay for touching you. I promise.”

Even still, it didn’t stop her shaky breaths. In fact, his words just seemed to make everything worse, the girl crying a little bit louder than before, much to Chuuya’s panic. “S-Shit, no no it’s okay. I’m sorry, I’m not good at this, I’ve never had to console anyone before. Just tell me what to say, alright? Tell me whatever you need and I’ll do it. Anything, just stop cryin like that, please..”

A second later he heard her speak, just barely above a whisper. “A-Anything?”

Forcing his head to nod back immediately, Chuuya shouted. “Yes! I swear, you just gotta say it.”

And he meant that with his entire heart. Anything to make her wipe that utterly hopeless aura that was around her. Anything to stop the corruption that was so clearly taking place. Hell, if she asked him to cut off his own arm he probably would’ve done it right then and there.

Anything to bring that stupid goofy smile back onto her face.

The air was silent then, Chuuya waiting with baited breath for her next words only to be caught off guard completely. “T-Then..can I call you Chu Chu..?”

And to be honest, the arm decapitation example he just used seemed a lot more bearable than her actual request. She had to be kidding, right? Out of everything she could’ve possibly said, it had to be that. “H-Huh?”

She must have sensed his displeasure though, the girl’s voice immediately shrinking back into herself as he watched her shake her head dismissively. “S-Sorry, it’s dumb. Forget it.”

It was dumb, the stupidest thing in the entire world but although he recognized that, her sad and depressing response was enough to get him to speak without thinking. “N-No no it’s okay. You can, you can call me that.”

But once it was said, it couldn’t be taken back, Chuuya watching Asa’s head perk up just slightly in hopeful resolve. “R-Really? You promise you won’t take it back?”

Ah hell, she really wanted this didn’t she? Was this seriously the only way she’d stop being so depressed and keep going? Because of that, Chuuya felt his throat sound in groaning defeat.

What’s the worst that could happen, right? He wasn’t even sure if this girl was going to make it out of here alive tonight. If this is all he could do for her then so be it.

Closing his eyes for a moment, the mafioso then opened them before replying begrudgingly. “Yeah yeah, I promise. You gotta stop crying though.”

Yet, the moment those words left his lips, Chuuya then watched as her sad and quiet sniffles seemed to evaporate into the air, almost like they never existed in the first place. “Okay!”

Wait what?

Feeling immediately whiplashed with confusion, the boy tried to process the reaction to no avail. Hold on, there was that feeling again, the one that gave him an unpleasant sense of deja vu.

The one he always felt when talking to Dazai. “Huh?”

Just then, the door slammed open again, shattering his suspicions and redirecting his attention to a group of about a dozen men as they surrounded both him and Asagao wordlessly. “H-Hey, what the hell are you doing?!”

The men simply didn’t answer, their hands unhooking the long chains from both of their restraints before both of them were pulled up and roughly shoved towards the door.

And soon enough the two found themselves in a large room, surrounded by other port mafia traitors as Chuuya furiously found the tied bandaged bastard in the very center, still being bound by a chair.

There that stupid mackerel was, and if he didn’t die today then Chuuya promised that he’d be dead in another way for leaving his poor sacred girlfriend all alone tonight.

A loud snap was overheard then, causing the men to immediately shove both the gravity manipulator and Dazai’s girlfriend on their knees before the soft click of a gun was pressed to their temples in silent wait.

Feeling his breath sharply gasp at the sight, Chuuya immediately called out to the seemingly calm mafioso. “You better get her out of this or so help me, Dazai!”

Dazai then pretended to think for a second before shaking his head once, enraging his partner even more. “Mmm no, I don’t think I will.”

Gasping at the complete disregard for his own girlfriend’s safety, the boy felt like he was going to be sick with fury. After the utter hell Asagao had gone through tonight because of Dazai's own reckless actions, he still wasn’t going to save her?

And though he should’ve expected the behavior, that didn’t make it any less awful. He thought that just maybe, there was a sliver of a chance that things were going to be different this time, that the demon would be able to see the utter helplessness in her eyes and finally give a shit for once.

But here he was just like all the times before, destroying anything that didn’t bring him value, killing this girl with his own words right in front of her eyes. It was cruel, he was so cruel for this.

So much so, Chuuya couldn’t take it anymore. “W-What?! You piece of shit, take that back! She’s your girlfriend and you put her in danger! Take responsibility for something in your damn life for once, will you?!”

His yelling did nothing to shake him though, Dazai simply turning his head with absolute disinterest before the traitorous kid cut him off, sick of the melodrama that was happening around him. “That’s enough out of you. Now, Dazai. What do you say? Will you choose my offer or will you watch your precious little girlfriend die in front of your eyes? Which will it be?”

Then as if to prove his threat, his captor snapped his fingers once more as the safety disappeared from the gun holding Asagao hostage before she seemingly shuttered.

Poor girl, she couldn’t even look up at them to see Dazai’s betrayal. Oh how those words must’ve hurt her deeply to not even have the strength to lift her sorry head.

Yet that’s when Dazai’s words turned into something different, something more condescending than before. “I choose the third option.”

Feeling himself pause, the kid frowned. “Third option? But there is no third option..”

His response only seemed to spark amusement though, coating Dazai’s entire face in order for him to narrow his eyes once more in a mocking reply. “Not that you know of, but it’s always been there. Isn’t that right, my loyal hound?”

Chuuya only groaned in response though. Now was not the time for that stupid degrading nickname. He didn’t even know what the hell he was talking about. “Dazai, I told you to stop calling me that!”

Dazai then closed his eyes, a calculating smile appearing on his lips before opening them with pure sick delight, almost like he had been waiting a long time to say his next words.

And when he did, everyone in the room could feel the power they held. “Oh Chuuya, this time I wasn’t talking about you.”

Then the demon prodigy shifted his gaze from his idiot partner to the quiet and pensive girl beside him in order to speak his command loudly. “Sic ’em’.”

Almost instantly, the air around the entire space dropped, shifting like a curse before hearing the seemingly docile and traumatized civilian’s lips start to sound in a sick twisted giggle, almost like she couldn’t hold in her excitement anymore.

Then everyone watched as the beast from hell itself lifted her up head with a bloodthirsty and terrifying grin, shaking the very foundations of the room. “Finally! I’ve been waiting all day to play around with you. Let’s hope you make it worth my while.”

Chuuya then blinked in utter shock before somehow finding that the situation had changed in an instant, watching as Asagao seemingly switched places with the man holding her at gunpoint.

No, now she was on top of him, pressing her foot into his back, his stolen gun hovering above the back of his head as the man was cuffed and chained with the restraints that she had been in a millisecond before.

Hold on, what was going on?! Had Chuuya just imagined that? He thought for sure that she was one being held captive. How did things change around so quickly? He didn’t even see her move at all. Did she move at all?

And most importantly why was she holding that gun like a trained professional?

She was just a civilian, right?

The men around her seemed to be unable to process the scene as well, their weapons immediately drawn in order for Asa’s excitement to spiral tenfold at the smell of a fight. “Well then, who’s first?”

Gritting his teeth, the leader of the group then pointed his finger out to the crazed woman before shouting roughly. “Get her!”

Then all at once, every single thug raced towards her all at once, causing Asagao’s fingers to shake with that all too familiar adrenaline she loved to drown herself in. “Oh, I’m gonna enjoy this...”

And Chuuya could feel the shift immediately, the lingering and lethal aura around her entire body as she practically shivered with growing anticipation for the oncoming threat.

Almost like she was daring them to live up the challenge of pleasing her insatiable appetite.

Yet before they could reach her, the girl seemingly disappeared from beside the ginger haired boy, the thugs gasping in order to feel a hand on their shoulder, tapping them condescending from behind. “Looking for someone?”

The armed man then turned around only for their gun to point at the intruder before finding absolutely no one there. Hold on, they could’ve sworn they heard a voice.

Blinking once again, Chuuya then found a flash of turquoise, the fluffy princess skirt swaying in silent wait as she stood in front of him with her back turned and arms outstretched. “Come on, give me a real fight! Show me what you got!”

She was taunting them, mocking them to attack her to which they complied, the men quickly turning back around in order to give her what she asked for, much to her very obvious excitement.

Yet the moment one of them swung their arms across, Asagao was gone, appearing by his side in order to dodge his measly hit like it meant absolutely nothing to her.

And try as they may, none of the lowly thugs could even touch her, the girl moving too fast in and out of reality for them to even comprehend where she was before hitting thin air instead.

It was like she was doing it on purpose also, purposely slipping just out of reach in order to toy with the newest pieces she had acquired for her sick little game.

Yet with each miss the men seemed to grow more and more furious, their senses heightened before finally landing a powerful and painful blow to her stomach. Finally, now she would be sorry and pay for her games.

Although that’s when they heard Asagao simply laugh, holding the pained area with even more unriddled adrenaline and sick delight. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Ah, you’re making me wanna show off now!”

Chuuya then watched in stunned horror as the men around him suddenly started screaming as bleeding bullet wounds appeared like some sort of sick curse, shooting through their arms, legs and other non fatal patches of skin in order for them to crumble with breathless panic.

What the hell was going on? What kind of ability was this? Was this seriously Asagao? No, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t believe it. This was like an invisible bloodbath, the bullets in the girl's gun causing mass casualty in a mere second.

Then his thoughts were brought back in order to see the man next to him seemingly clutch onto his chest in agony as the arm holding the gun to the ginger's head snapped unnaturally in the wrong direction, causing him to drop the weapon in an instant.

Not knowing what to say, Chuuya then wordlessly stared as Asagao appeared beside him, her face unseen and body moving behind him as the boy couldn’t help but question absolutely everything.

A million thoughts ran through his mind but only one seemed to break through the silence, causing his lips to waver with uncertainty. “H-How?”

He needed to know, more than anything else. How did she do this? How had she managed to take down so many enemies in the span of seconds. It had to be an ability of some kind. But what was it?

Yet that’s when he felt her fingers brush against the restraints behind his back, touching the skin silently before Chuuya gasped at the world around him.

Suddenly, everything was still, like someone had just hit pause on the entire fight.

The thugs that had been running towards them seemed petrified in place, their arms outstretched like statues or strange stagnant art pieces. Hold on, was this her ability? Was this how she was able to move so quickly and hurt all those people with ease?

Feeling her fingers fiddle with the cuffs behind him, Chuuya then sharply drew in a breath before the metal restraints fell towards the ground and the world to reanimate with just as much noise and shouting as it had been a few seconds before.

Suddenly things started to make more sense. Her ability stopped time, didn’t it? He had gotten it wrong, she wasn’t moving too fast for him to comprehend, she was simply taking advantage of the suspended moments in order to seem invisible.

The very thought made Chuuya shiver unexpectedly. What a scary power that was, being able to manipulate the world around her while everyone else stood clueless. And was this just showing off? The thought was absolutely terrifying to think about, how she could bring down such a large group of men without a single touch.

Just who in the hell was this woman?

Dazai on the other hand just stared wordlessly at the carnage, the screams and shouts of pain deaf inside his ears as he watched Odasaku’s sister take down one measly thug after another.

He knew she was powerful but this was the first time he had seen the extent of her ability up close. When they spared together she was fast sure, but she was never this fast, the girl always opting to hold back in order not to seriously injure him on accident.

But right now there were no boundaries, her opponents didn’t have the same mercy that he was given, and now he was seeing her for the very first time, in all her hellhound glory.

The meticulous shots, the absolute carnage she could conjure from seemingly nothing, it was all on display right before his very eyes.

And he loved every minute of it.

Sure, to most the scene would’ve been alarming, sending even the most daring people away immediately. But not Dazai. To him the blood and the gruesome sight only enhanced a part of her that he found absolutely enthralling.

Blinking once in pride, Dazai then paused in order find Asagao standing in front of him, someone else’s blood on her turquoise princess dress, a stolen loaded gun hanging by her side and an unruly mane of red fiery auburn falling around her face as she stared at him with that very familiar dead hollow gaze that captured him time and time again.

The sight caused a breath to lodge in his throat without permission.

God, she was so different than anything he had ever seen before, commanding his attention and drawing him in without a single word.

Sure, she had always been pretty. He wasn’t blind. For someone as experienced as he was with intimacy even Dazai could decipher when someone was pleasing to the eye.

It was never about that though. His relationships were merely an indifference of appearance, an uneven scale to what they could offer him. Beauty was a shallow thing, doing nothing for the boy rather than one night of indulgence before he quickly got bored.

He just never cared about appearance in the kind of way that other normal boys did. It simply wasn’t a factor in the equation for him.

Personal gain was what mattered most which meant that the boy had no desire in things that wouldn’t end with that result.

He never sought after giving gifts or special treatment with frivolous promises that he knew he couldn’t ever keep.

Which was why it was so strange that he had changed his self made rule the day he walked by that hauntingly alluring teal and turquoise dress hanging in the window by the port mafia base.

It was almost like he couldn’t help it, his eyes immediately drawn to the fabric and losing himself in the color that he knew so well.

And he tried to ignore it, by god did he try, but it seemed that whenever he tried to leave he always seemed to find himself back at that store window.

Not only that, wandering thoughts haunted him wherever he went, imagining how the brightly colored hue would look against her skin and fitted around her curves over and over like on repeat.

Then before he could even comprehend what he was doing, the item was in between his fingers inside a frilly pink bag, clashing against his broody and black style almost immediately.

She didn’t seem to mind his moment of weakness though. On the contrary, Asagao was overjoyed by the dress, spinning around with it against her chest in a happy little circle when she received it.

But when she asked him why he had done such a thing, even he couldn’t give himself an answer.

Those thoughts kept him occupied most of the day, his eyes staring at her with silent conjecture while sitting in that cafe.

At the time, he just didn’t understand what coaxed him into doing such a thing, into breaking the very clearly placed rules that he had set for himself.

Yes she looked good when she first tried it on, fitting the idealistic clean and expected air of normality. Not a hair was out of place, each wrinkle carefully pressed and tuned to orderly demure.

But staring at her right now, Dazai realized that it was so much more than that.

Because what he was looking at now couldn’t be described, not in anything that Dazai could perceive in his own fucked up mind but there were words, fractured syllables and sentences that still broke through the silence.

A rarity, a one of a kind wonder, a gem of absolute unique brilliance. It wasn’t something that just anyone could understand the value of.

Suddenly, everything started to make sense, his lips falling open with careful realization.

That put together version of her was nice but this was the version that made everything inside him flatter and malfunction.

Everything about her now was wild, unkempt and messy, insanity mixing with sensibility, and Dazai couldn’t get enough of it.

She was absolutely radiant, the blood on her dress and the cold lifeless look in her eyes causing him to sharply breathe in a light headed air.

Those foolish idiots that overlooked her all those years just didn’t get it. They took one look at her and claimed her as unfinished. They only saw and labeled her as unworthy, as a faulty result..

But in this moment, Dazai only saw perfection.

And he was damn glad that he had broken those rules and bought her that dress.

So much so, his dazed expression couldn’t help but soften at the sight, his lips speaking out without permission. “Stunning..”

Almost instantly though, the boy seemed to catch himself, screwing his lips shut with embarrassment before feeling slightly more self continuous then before. What was that, why did that slip out so suddenly?

He didn’t mean for that to happen.

Yet that’s when Asagao simply smiled, her lips mimicking his gentle expression before reaching her hand out of him. “There you are, Osamu. I missed you.”

Feeling his heart tumble inside his chest at her words, Dazai then watched her use her ability to disappear before he felt the chains around his arms and chest start to loosen all at once. “Now sit still, I’m here to save the princess.”

A second later, he felt movement return to his muscles before he rubbed the marks on his wrists silently. Sure, he could’ve gotten out of this way sooner but having Asagao help him was so much better than him doing it himself.

So, instead he acted dumb and let her be his knight in shining armor.

Then once he was standing Asa gave him a sideways glance in order to hear about a dozen more men enter the large empty space before sliding the stolen pistol she had acquired into his palm. “Here. Now let’s have some fun. What do you say?”

And both Asagao and Dazai knew the lure of such a thing was far too appealing to be ignored, the demon prodigy simply smiling with acknowledgment in order to take the weapon gladly.

Before finally turning back to her with a look filled with lingering adrenaline and absolute adoration.

“You know I could never resist such a tempting offer. Especially from you, love.”

-------

Forcing his tired and woozy legs to function onto his knees, Chuuya huffed out a struggling breath from the other side of the room in order to join the fight now that he had his ability back.

Before snapping his head back up at the sound of gunfire once more.

But this time what he found wasn’t just Asagao but rather Dazai as well, working in tandem just like he had witnessed back at the karaoke bar earlier today, their steps concise and hypervigilant as they raised their fists and weapons towards the group of traitors.

And though he hated even thinking about it, Chuuya couldn’t help but be awed at the sight just like he was during their silly little performances. There was just something about it, the way they both narrowly avoided their hits by a mere millisecond, predicting and adapting in real time before his very eyes.

Hell, even Chuuya knew he was never this in tune with his own partner. It was almost as if the two rehearsed this shit or something considering it was so flawless.

Grumbling at the implication, the ginger then activated his ability in order for the rest of the men around them to seemingly collapse under the suffocating weight of their own gravity, rendering the threat gone before those two freaks could finish picking them off.

Dazai then perked his head up before whistling back loudly to the fuming dog. “Finally you do something useful. I was starting to think you were just gonna make us do all the work.”

Rolling his eyes, the boy grumbled back. Did he not just see that he had been drugged, chained and beaten up until now? “Shut up, you damn mackerel. This was all your fault in the first place.”

The executive then opened his mouth to speak again only for the so-called “leader” of the traitors to do so for him, his eyes howling at the absolute desecration and bloody carnage around him before speaking distantly. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

His men, his following, they were all gone except for him. And it was all because of that woman, the one that he had foolishly painted as an innocent civilian.

Dazai then lifted his hand up casually, stepping around one of the unconscious bodies with ease. “I can answer that question. You see, I knew from the extent of our scheduled meeting that you had plans for an uprising against the port mafia, so I decided to have a little fun with it.”

The words were lost in his ears though. “A little fun..?”

Nodding once, the demon then extended his hand out to the blood covered female beside him before smiling maliciously. “But I knew that you’d never be dumb enough to target me directly. Enemies find weakness after all, and nothing is more weak than that of a defenseless lover, right?”

Asagao then smirked before putting her wrists together to mimic the chains that were once around her. “Tell me, was I a good enough target for you to kidnap?”

And although the traitor was certainly taken back by their words, Chuuya was the one that felt his mouth drop open with a brain numbing malfunction. No, it couldn’t be.

He had criticized Dazai all day for putting his girlfriend in danger, for flaunting her in public and in the eyes of enemies without a care in the world. But all of that dismissal, it was on purpose, it was to make her the target all along.

Everything began to make sense now. Their place in front of that large bay window overlooked the crowded streets, the way Dazai clung to her like a desperate lover and showed extreme pda for everyone to see.

It was because he knew that these guys were watching, and the two of them were just giving them the show they wanted to see.

What shady little freaks. They knew that they would end up here all along, didn’t they? All this time, the two of them had planned all of this to take down the port mafia traitors without them knowing.

That bastard's reaction, the one that Chuuya had been fuming over, it wasn’t based on disinterest. It was based on calculation.

That’s why he didn’t jump at the chance to save her. Chuuya thought he was just being cruel but perhaps that wasn’t the case at all. Perhaps he had counted on her from the very start.

Could it really all have been an act all this time? The cruelty, the discard, was it all lies or just an over exaggerated version of the truth?

The ginger didn’t know the answer but what he did know was that by trusting Asagao to go this far, Dazai was already far out of his usual character. Suggesting that perhaps the affection for this girl ran deeper than even Dazai seemed to realize.

The kid then stuttered back, unable to grasp onto the slipping power that he once had by the second before countering. “I-I doesn’t matter. No one will believe that I turned into a traitor. My men are loyal to me. Even if you kill me you have no proof of what happened here today.”

Yeah, that’s right. His friends had been sworn to secrecy. Even torture wouldn’t reveal his true intentions to cause harm to the port mafia.

Yet that's when Asagao simply turned her head in question. “Oh, you mean proof like this?”

Lifting her hand up, the girl then ran a couple fingers across the wild auburn strands before pulling out a small tiny bobby pin in order to push the button of the side as a very familiar voice filled the air.

His voice.

“You see, once I get you and Dazai to spill Mori’s dirty little secrets and follow me instead, I’ll have more than just my freedom, I’ll have the world and not even Mori will be able to stand in our way.”

And just like that, his entire regime crumbled before his very eyes, the hands by his side turning so white from rage that he couldn’t slow it. This bitch, she was recording him this whole time, coaxing him into revealing his plan.

It was over, everything was over. It didn’t matter if he got away today, he was a dead man either way. “Y-You..what..”

Asagao then turned her head to the side, her lips protruding in a mocking fashion before reveling in his downfall. “Aww poor baby, still too complex? Let me dumb it down for you some more. You’ve been played, doll.”

Those words, they were the same ones he had taunted her with and yet now they slapped right back into his face, making his entire body redden with embarrassment. How dare she treat him like an idiot and condescend him like that.

He was supposed to be the one with the power. Not her.

Dazai then laughed cynically at the dumbfounded face of his enemy before wrapping his bandaged arms around Asa’s waist in order to speak plainly. “All of you are so stupid, undermining her like nothing when my girl is way more capable than any of you will ever be.”

The way he spoke those words, they were so prideful and laced with admiration, two things that no one in the room thought a demon was capable of except the girl beside him.

And the second he said it, Asagao felt her eyes widen a fraction of an inch before a flustered blush crept into her cheeks without permission

His girl.

He just called her his girl .

Osamu had never done that before.

Yet that seems to be the last straw for the faltering villain, Dazai’s words causing the kid to scream with fury, his hand reaching outwards as red lethal strings started to seep from his fingertips in order to face the unbothered girl across from him.

How dare Dazai’s girlfriend make him look like a fool. She was going to regret that more than anything. “Y-You deceiving bitch! You ruined everything! I’m gonna kill you!”

Chuuya’s eyes immediately widened anxiety, the red glow of his ability threatening to seep out before he watched Dazai simply step in front of her the girl, shielding her from the hit as the bandaged boy’s ability nullified the attack the second it threatened to touch him.

Faltering a single step back, the kid then physically flitch as Asagao’s smile dropped at the attempt on Osamu before his blood run cold. The traitor then felt his ribs crying in pain as both his legs snapped without warning, bringing him down to his knees before crumbling towards the cement floor with a scream filled with so much agony and ear shattering torture. “F-Fuck, you broke my legs?!”

Snapping his head up in fury, the kid then froze as Asagao’s hollow and lifeless stare met his shaky one, her finger cocking the pistol in her hands in silent wait.

She then turned her gun slightly before speaking. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, I can do much worse. Wanna see?”

Placing her finger immediately over the trigger, the traitor gasped in horror as she took the shot, his eyes squeezing shut with a pathetic little scream.

This was it, it was over. No, he didn’t wanna die! Please no, anything but that. He was still a kid!

Yet that’s when he heard the bullets from the chamber clatter onto the floor with a careful cling, like she had emptied them before pulling the trigger. But how?

It must have been her ability that changed his fate at the last second. That was the only explanation.

Narrowing her cold eyes, Asa then lowered her hand down, disarming herself with a hiss. “But, I refuse to go back to that, especially for someone as insignificant and ugly as you.”

She spoke them like a mantra, like they weighed more than her life itself, so much so the kid felt his lips quiver out a breath of relief.

The calm was short lived though, the kid watching as Asa’s nose then scrunched with disgust as her hand began to shake on the gun by her side.

It was almost as if she was holding herself back from breaking that promise, the emptiness in her eyes revealing only murder and destruction.

And Asagao, she could feel it. The adrenaline, the training she had been given as a child sounded in her head, begging her to finish the job as she has been conditioned to do.

But even so, she withheld, the girl allowing a crazed chuckle to seep from her lips instead to release some of her insanity. “And you’re damn lucky I’m not an assassin anymore otherwise every single shot I just delivered would’ve been fatal. Let that sink in, will you? How easily I could’ve ended every single one of your lives with a snap of my fingers.”

At the sound of her words, Chuuya’s gaze then shifted towards the multitude of unconscious and bleeding bodies around them, the warehouse looking more like a graveyard more than a building now.

Was she serious? Every single shot, every place she hit was deliberate? That was absolutely crazy.

Then again, it made sense. No one could blindly shoot and miss someone’s vitals every single time like that. Even a shitty wielder would’ve gotten lucky at least once.

How absolutely terrifying, to know that this girl could’ve killed everyone in the room if she really wanted to. Hell, the fact that she held back honestly felt scarier than just getting the job done.

Because now there was the lingering dread hanging in the air, signifying that they were one breath away from an absolute bloodbath.

Sucking in a heavy breath, Asa then purposely stepped on his broken leg, causing her captor to cry out before smiling sweetly. “Now that you understand, I’m gonna explain it to you in simple terms, Kay? Don’t mess with my boyfriend again, or else you’re really gonna piss me off, and trust me. You don’t wanna do that.”

Almost immediately the kid nodded back, the pain of the pressure on his shattered bone creating black spots in his eyes.

Oh god, Dazai was right. He was the least scary thing in the room right now. That demon was nothing in comparison to the psychotic unpredictability of Asagao.

That reaction seemed to be enough for her though, finally allowing the pressure to disperse before putting the pistol by her side. “Great, glad we could come to an understanding.”

Closing her eyes, Asa then turned around with a lazy shrug of her shoulders, speaking mostly to herself. “But don’t think you’re completely off the hook yet. I mean, I still have no idea what to do with you but you gotta pay for some things.”

She then paused for a moment before touching her bottom lip with a small pout of disappointment. “That was my first kiss too..”

Suddenly, all the air seemed to get pushed out of her lungs as Asagao felt a rough hand grab onto her forearm, pulling her backward and into a very familiar patch of black fabric.

Widening her eyes, Dazai’s arms then pressed her face against his chest before swiping the gun by her side in order to immediately shoot the traitor without a second thought.

Killing him instantly.

And not only that, he kept on shooting, each bang erupting more final than the last as each bullet pierced the corpse of the boy over and over again.

It was only when the soft click resounded that his finger lifted from the trigger in order for Asa to finally pry herself away from his hold in order to look at the dead body silently.

Shifting her gaze upward, Asa then paused, noticing the absolute murder in her boyfriend’s eyes, the iris’ still trained to the body like he was in some sort of dark loop.

She had never seen that kind of look from him before in the year she had known him. Was this the true form of the infamous demon prodigy she had heard so much about?

There was something else there as well. An anger, a wrath she couldn’t quite reach. So dead and yet so emotional at the same time, drowning silently in a torment unknown to her.

This was the first time he’d killed in front of her and thought she wasn’t traumatized in any way, the girl was certainly surprised.

Huh, that guy must’ve said something he really hated.

Humming to herself in silent thought, Asa then crouched down beside the body before poking his chest with her finger absentmindedly. “Well, that solves that problem I guess.”

And now that the enemy was eradicated, Chuuya’s mind seemed to have more time to process whatever the hell just happened

Sure, seeing Dazai kill that guy was disturbing but it wasn’t anything new. Besides, that wasn’t what he focused on the most. That bastard had it coming anyways.

But what did bother him was the absolute personality shift he had just seen from the seemingly sweet and innocent Asagao.

No, there was something odd about all this, and it was more than just her ability or her animistic fighting style.

Determined to get his answer, Chuuya then stomped up to the occupied girl, the back of her auburn hair appearing across his vision. “You two better tell me what the hell is going on right now! You’re telling me all of that shit was an act?!”

Slowly standing up from the sound of his voice, Asagao only chuckled at his desperation, finding it absolutely hysterical. “Come on, Chu Chu. It was all in good fun.”

Fun? Yeah right, she called getting drugged, chained and beaten fun? Maybe for a psychopath or something but certainly not for him.

Just then, his throat began to groan at the sound of that god awful nickname again. “Don’t call me that.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Asa only hummed. “But you said I could.”

And yes, that was true but he only said that in a desperate attempt to raise her spirits. Why in the hell would he ever let her continue that, especially after Dazai came up with such an annoying plan and dragged him into it.

Grumbling all at once, the ginger frowned’ “Yeah well, I take it back.”

Although that’s when he heard her chuckle even more, the sound resounded through the space before finally turning around to face him. “Oh silly Chu Chu, did you forget already?”

Yet nothing could’ve prepared him for what he found when she finally locked eyes with him fully for the very first time, a sick twisted grin present of her lips as she finished mockingly.

Almost as if to say “ I won” in silent victory. “You promised me that you wouldn’t, remember?”

Feeling all the blood drain from his face, Chuuya took in the words slowly before shivering at the cold dead look in her eyes.

It was a look that was so sickeningly familiar, one he had only ever seen on only one other person in his entire life.

A person he hated more than anyone else in the entire world.

And now it was staring back at him, stunning him to complete silence. Hold on, wait.

That didn’t mean..

Then all at once, the realization crashed into him without warning. The reason why Dazai kept her around, the reason why he was always filled with an unpleasant deja vu every time he was around her..

Shaking his dead in denial, Chuuya shoved the thought away, wanting anything then to believe that it’s true. No, anything but that. “Oh fuck no..”

Taking a shaky step backwards Asa then turned her head in confusion only for the ginger to point a shaky finger from Dazai to her and finally connect the dots.

No, it couldn’t be. Please let it be a lie. “There’s two of you..you’re like him..”

And the cocky grin from Asa gave him all the confirmation he needed to know.

His worst nightmare had come true.

She wasn't a civilian, she was just as bad as Dazai.

------

Chapter 18:

To say that Chuuya was unprepared for this night was a massive understatement. In fact, it was the biggest understatement of his entire life.

Because staring him directly in the face was the sickest joke in the entire universe, one that the ginger didn’t think would have been possible until now.

If there was one thing that was absolutely certain to him, it was that he hated Dazai. More than anything else on the planet, more than his entire body even allowed, he despised every single thing that even had the hint of him blended in.

Everything associated made his skin crawl on command, like a fight or flight response he couldn’t control no matter how hard he tried.

It was all that bastard’s fault for making him that way though. Poor boy had been mentally tortured, been stuck on the wrong side of his sick games and had been dragged through the rigger so many times that he had been conditioned to feel his skin crawl at the mere mention of the bandaged demon.

But as much as Chuuya loathed him, there was a single solitary idea that made him feel the tiniest better. Sure, it wasn’t much but it still gave him some kind of delusional hope sometimes.

And that was the fact that there was only one of him.

Yes, the guy was messed up in the head but he was also unique, so much so that Chuuya found solace in the idea that there could be no else in the world that could match how evil and despicable he was.

He had found hints, pieces of the demon, sure, but never a full copy of the devil and Chuuya truly believed that such a thing couldn’t have been possible.

No one could match him in that kind of way, enough to bring the same kind of furious rage and disgust that always seemed to harbor inside of him whenever Dazai was mentioned.

Yet all of that wishful thinking had been shattered tonight, the ginger staring fearfully at the bouncing and giddy auburn haired devil before him, staring directly into his soul as a familiar case of deja vu slammed into him without permission.

Only then did he realize that he had been wrong this entire time.

Almost instantly, he felt his throat forcibly close up without permission in order for his hands to turn numb as blinding white rage to course into him, taking over each one of his senses like a plague.

No, it couldn’t be. Her eyes, he had seen them a million times before, staring him right in the face, laughing at him, making fun of him, taunting him over and over again. Just like that bastard , just like the man he hated more than anything else..

This girl, this whole time she had given him that same feeling, the one that he thought was impossible to copy, the one that he wholeheartedly believed couldn’t be duplicated in any captivity.

She was just like Dazai.

It was so hard to believe, so hard to comprehend from the seemingly innocent civilian he had met only twice and if someone told him that before tonight he would’ve laughed at them.

But all of this, every single thing that happened today was a set up, a fucking joke that he got dragged into without his consent. He had been played, manipulated without even knowing it by these two sick fucks.

And that last sentence of hers, the cocky ass tone of her voice had sealed the deal like a slap in the face.

She had pretended to be in distress just so he would agree to her stupid fucking nickname, even made him promise to keep it forever cause she knew he’d wanna take it back when he found out.

What a manipulative little brat, and from the creepy way she was eying him, it was obvious that she knew that as well, a victorious shit eating grin still plastered on her lips as it felt like she was mocking him wordlessly.

Okay, but seriously, what the fuck was up with her eyes? No sane person looked like that. They were so cold and empty, almost like they lacked a soul or any signs of life.

They kinda freaked him out, and that was saying a lot because Chuuya had seen millions of fucked up things in his life.

But the way she looked at him, it made his skin crawl in a new and unexplainable way.

God damn it, she was a psychopath just like that bandaged wearing freak and he didn’t even see it. “There’s two of you..you’re like him..”

Watching her take a step closer to him, Chuuya instinctively took one back, still unsure how to process the new information as Asa clapped her hands excitedly. “I know! Isn’t it great?”

Then he watched Asa simply turn around before lifting her hands straight up in order to press them against Dazai’s palms with a happy squeak. “Ah! That was so much fun, Samu! Thanks for setting all this up. I’m all energized now!’

The bandaged boy then shifted his fingers around in order to clasp them around her hands and pull her closer with a mimicking smile of his own. “Anything for you, my darling. It was certainly a treat for me also, getting to see that big scary hellhound side of yours. Now if only those fingers of yours would wrap around my throat next. Then I'd truly be able to die happy!”

Asa only laughed though, pulling one of her hands away in order to ruffle his messy brown locks with a shake of her head. “Oh Samu, you’re so silly. You know if I did that then it would be a very painful way to go.”

Dazai shook his head in response, using his free hand to reach around to the back of her waist in order to pull her even closer with a hum of satisfaction. “Nothing could be painful when I have a beautiful woman like you next to me, love.”

Asa didn’t react though, the girl clearly comfortable in his possessive hold before tilting her head slightly to the side. “Oh by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Chuuya said that you were cheating on me at karaoke. What did you two talk about?”

Waving the idea away, Dazai groaned at the memory. “Oh, it was nothing. I just asked her to commit double suicide with me.”

His words only caused her to nod though, answering casually. “Ah, and how did it go?”

Flopping his head dramatically on her shoulder, Dazai cried pathetically into the open space. “She turned me down. Alas! Another dead end, I had a good feeling about her too. Whatever will I do now, Asa-chan?”

Asagao’s expression then softened before placing a hand on his fluffy hair in order to tousle it with reassurance. “It’s okay, Samu. You just gotta stay positive and keep trying. You never know, the next person you ask might say yes.”

Pouting his lips, Osamu whined back. “But staying positive is hard..”

The auburn haired girl then smiled to herself before shifting her hand to the back of his head in order to cradle in against her shoulder with a gentle hum. “Then I’ll just have to do it for you.”

And sure, the bastard’s pickup lines were disgusting but his words seemed to unlock something within Chuuya, his numb and weightless fingers squeezing together until his knuckles turned white with a frantic shout. “Great? How could you say that it’s great? This is my worst fucking nightmare!”

Why in the hell was she so calm about this, couldn’t she read the room? She had knowingly screwed him over and she was still just smiling there with an idiot with those dead ass eyes.

In fact, it was strange. She sounded happy and her lips clearly reflected the same but her eyes still didn’t change, almost like they were unable to. But did that mean that her emotions were fake all this time, just like her acting tonight?

Hell, he really didn’t know anything about this girl, did he?

Was all this innocent and kind shit just an act also? Because from the way nothing reached her soulless eyes it currently seemed like it.

And listening to her and Dazai’s sick conversation, it just made his realization even more real. The way they just talked dying and suicide like it was nothing. The way she casually brushed off the mackerel’s cheating habits and didn’t even flinch.

What the hell was wrong with these two freaks?!

The girl then dropped her hands, the smile falling from her lips in order for it to turn to Chuuya with confusion before she spoke calmly. “Sorry Chuuya but I don’t understand your reaction. You said that I could call you Ch Chu once I get your permission, right? I did ask you and you said yes. What’s so wrong with that?”

Didn’t understand his reaction? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Now he knew that she was screwing with him. How could anyone not understand the shit she put him through tonight?

Even Dazai was always self aware of the torture he implemented so he knew she was the same. “Are you serious!? What’s wrong is that I thought you were in distress and you took advantage of the situation like a shitty ass person!”

He didn’t even know why he was explaining this, it was obvious. Of course he’d be pissed over Asa purposely manipulating him while he was in a vulnerable state to get what she wanted.

Yet he was taken back when Asagao’s brow twisted down in silent thought, almost like she hadn’t made that connection in her brain before turning back to Chuuya with a frown. “I did? But how else was I supposed to do it?”

Feeling himself pause, Chuuya’s eye began to twitch in response. This couldn’t be real, right? She was still messing with him, she had to be.

Why in the hell was she speaking so innocently and asking such stupid questions when she was the one that came up with the plan to trick him? It was common sense to not turn to manipulation like she had. Did she really not understand that?

Not believing a word out of her mouth, Chuuya scoffed. “Literally any other way! Is your brain broken or something? Normal people don’t turn to manipulation when they want something!”

He then watched her soak in his response before putting a finger to her lips in silent thought, almost like his words were genuinely mind breaking ones that she hadn't had before this moment.

And it looked so real, the way she contemplated the words with clear curiosity, so much so that even Chuuya questioned her act.

If she was still faking then she was pretty damn good at it because right now it actually looked like she was struggling to understand what he was saying.

After a moment, Asagao finally dropped her finger before nodding mostly to herself, almost like she was taking an invisible note. “Hmm I see. I guess I did it wrong then.”

Chuuya’s mouth then dropped open with disbelief. She was just figuring that out? No, this had to be an act, no one was that dumb. “You think?! That should be obvious. You seriously can’t be that dense, right?”

Looking up to meet him again, Asagao, then reached a hand to the back of her neck before giving an awkward uncomfortable chuckle under her breath. “Ahh well..”

Yet before she could finish, a pair of bandaged arms slung around her shoulder, causing her to stumble back in order for Dazai to rest his head on her shoulder casually. “Now Chibi, don’t be rude. You’re her birthday present after all. Try to be a little less stupid, will you?”

And though the insult was not lost on him, the first part of his sentence stuck out more than the second, another warning bell flashing inside his mind. “Excuse me? What the hell does that mean?”

Asagao then brightened up immediately, bouncing on her heels as she spoke. “Oh yeah! Samu set all this up so we could meet again. He knew how much I wanted to see you, so for my birthday..”

Nodding once, Dazai finished plainly.“...I lent my dog out for a playdate.”

Almost immediately, Chuuya grumbled at the stupid degrading name, his anger growing by the second.

Asa didn’t see anything wrong with his statement though, her dead eyes staring straight through Chuuya’s soul with sick delight. “Yeah! And it was the best present ever! I figured out your relationship with Osamu the first time we met and ever since then I’ve been just itching to see his dog in action! And boy, did you not disappoint!”

All at once, Asa’s fingers then slid up to his bandaged arms before gripping the gauzed wrist silently in order to give in a tiny squeeze. “Honestly, this whole day has been amazing. Getting to fight and screw over those traitors all in one night? Ah, you really know how to treat a girl, Osamu. I’ll tell you that.”

Dazai simply responded by pushing the arms around her even tighter, his head still frozen on her shoulder before his lips dropped down into a darker expression, nuzzling himself further into her neck to hide the sight.

Not everything had gone to plan after all.

There was a miscalculation on Dazai’s part, one that he still wanted to skin someone alive for at this very moment. But the last thing he desired was to ruin her night with his lethal and twisted thoughts. Especially when she looked so happy right now.

So instead, Dazai kept them to himself, his cold gaze shifting over to the mutilated body just a couple feet away from them as he counted the bullet holes in the traitor's skin. Not enough. He deserved a million more.

Yet the pair were finally brought back from their two different realities when Chuuya lifted up a hand in their direction, his voice loud and angry for what they were implying. “Hold on a damn minute, I am not some kind of thing you can just lend out whenever the fuck you feel like it!”

Dazai was thankful for his outburst though, giving him something else to focus on besides the deadly ideas in the back of his mind. Making fun of the slug always seemed to bring him back to earth, given that it was his favorite pastime.

And right now was no expectation, the boy purposely saying the words that would infuriate him the most. “Oh but you are, I just don’t understand why anyone would want you. But my darling was adamant on seeing your short, stupid, ugly face again so who was I to argue?”

Almost immediately, the dog did as intended, Chuuya’s face turning red with fury, as he took a challenging step closer to the couple with intent. Oh yeah, he was definitely snapping. Took a lot longer this time, perhaps that’s because he still didn’t know what to make of Asa yet. Stupid slug.

Chuuya on the other head was livid, his entire body shaking with rage as that same disgusting feeling of hatred coursed through him like a curse. Just what the fuck was this guys problem, calling him ugly and short?! He’d make him eat those words, just you wait!

Yet that’s when Asagao simply stepped away from Dazai, her brow turning down in a disapproving frown for a way things were playing out. “Aww come on, Samu. That’s not very nice..”

It sounded like she was scolding him and for a second Chuuya thought he saw her humanity. He had painted her as a copy of Dazai but perhaps that wasn’t the case. Maybe she had some good in her after all.

Yet that’s when Asa simply pointed to the ginger before finishing plainly. “It’s not Chu Chu’s fault that he’s short.”

And just like that, any good natured thing he had thought for her flew out the window.

Short, she called him short. That’s it, that’s fucking it.

God damn it, she was making fun of him also, wasn’t she? Calling him short, indirectly not pointing out the stupid or ugly comment on purpose so that it was implied as truth, what a shady horrible girl picking out his insecurities like that.

Both of them were insufferable, the two feeding off one another’s energies and throwing it back in his face. Chuuya was sick of it. He didn’t want to hear it anymore. One Dazai was bad enough, but two? No, that’s where he drew the line.

Shaking his head in order to quell his anger, Chuuya scoffed. “Unbelievable..”

Then the boy turned around before leaving the scene as fast as possible. He may be stuck with that bastard but that didn’t mean he had to stick around just to be tortured by another sick twisted demon.

Yet just before he reached his escape, he felt a hand tug on his sleeve, stopping him immediately. “Hey, wait a second..”

Grumbling immediately, Chuuya shook off the touch like poison, sharply turning around to find that Asagao had followed him to the exit. Oh you’ve got to be kidding me, hadn’t she done enough? Why couldn’t he get rid of her?

Not saying anything for the fear of exploding, the boy then watched as her soulless stare cut through heart with a cold chill in order for her to smile in his direction. “I was just wondering if you’d wanna be friends with me?”

Excuse me?

No, he must’ve heard that wrong because there was so way this girl had just asked that. The very same girl that had manipulated him and made him look like an idiot was now asking to be his friend? Yeah right, what a joke.

Feeling his eyes twitch once more, Chuuya gave an empty laugh. “Are you kidding me?”

Asa only frowned though, that same confused and perplexing look on her face in order to tilt her head slightly. “No..I don’t think so..?”

Her response only caused the ginger to laugh even harder though, his fingers running through his hair with an air of disbelief for what he was hearing. “You’re seriously asking me that after all of this...”

It was ridiculous, what she was asking from him was outrageous. Even Dazai never went this far in his mocking. Why couldn’t she see that? Or was she still playing some kind of trick on him even now? She wanted to watch him squirm, didn’t she?

He then watched her fingers move towards the ends of her bloodied skirt with a nervous laugh to cover his bitter one. “Listen, Chuuya, I..uhh how do I put this.. I’m not great with things like this so you’re gonna have to be a bit more clear with what you’re saying.”

The idea caused that fragile string of control to finally snap in the back of his head as the familiar hot blinding white covered his vision before turning back to the girl with a hiss. “You want me to be clear? Fine.”

Feeling the weight of his steps, Chuuya then stomped straight up to the haunting soulless eyes that had been hunting him all night before shouting back with so much unruly hate that it made his lips spit out the fiery words all at once.

Every single feeling over the last year, every grievance towards people like Dazai shot out like a gunshot, the target misdirecting towards the girl the moment she showed the same disgusting traits he always hated.

He was sick of being tortured, of being a dog, of being a puppet for someone else’s pleasure. The two of them had treated him like an idiot and he was sick of it, wanting nothing more than to scream his rejection for everything they stood for.

And scream he did, his chest heaving with a bomb of absolute fury. “Why would I ever want to be friends with a freak like you?”

And he thought for sure that she would’ve just fired back like nothing, like she had done for this entire night, like Dazai usually did when he insulted him. Chuuya expected an equally degrading comment or response, something that would prove his words like nothing.

But what he didn’t expect was for the seemingly confident and unhinged girl to physically flitch at his words, taking a step back as the ever permanent smile she always wore slipped from her lips. “O-Oh..”

Wait, what kind of response was that? Why wasn’t she yelling at him back?

But for Asa, it was physically impossible to do so, her words caught inside her throat as she felt herself choke on them all at once. Suddenly it was hard to see, to hear, to feel anything but the words Chuuya had given her.

Freak.

Suddenly, she was back as a child, hearing those very same insults and whispering all around her, telling her to disappear, telling her that she didn’t belong in their world. Of course, how could she have forgotten? That’s what everyone said, of course Chuuya was the same.

Grimacing at the thought, Asa then looked up to the ginger haired boy only to find the previous adrenaline instantly sucked out of her body, leaving the harsh reality of her world and her eyes.

This thing that the hellhound organization made her into, it forced her to see the ugliest parts of a human soul without her consent, forcing her to stare into the darkest and deepest pits of hell like some kind of cruel torture.

Yes, she had used her full vision up until now without it bothering her, but that was because when she was fighting her brain could replace those images with something to her advantage. She used her defect to aid in figuring out her enemies moves, distracting herself from the true purpose of her monstrous ability.

But it never did last, and the true curse always seemed to rear its ugly head the moment everything stilled, when the calm took over the chaos.

In those moments, the world gave her nothing else to focus on but the physical actions and underlying emotions that laid beneath the surface. The ones she had tried hard to ignore but simply couldn’t anymore.

And right now without her glasses, she was subjected to it all.

Her mind spiraled, focusing on every tiny thing that Chuuya had shown her. The angle of his frown, the cold and distant look in his haunting blue eyes, the veins popping from his skin, the closed off stance of his body, they flashed through her in an instant, like a camera flashing a million different photos in her face at the same time.

It was overstimulating, overwhelming, and over amplified, leaving Asagao breathless and absolutely unprepared for the onslaught of damning information.

She could see everything. His disappointment, his disgust, his hatred. Hatred for Dazai, hatred for her.

Oh god, his hatred. It was so much, it was obvious. He hated her. Well of course he did, She was a freak, he called her a freak. She was a freak, obviously. Why else would people be saying that if it wasn’t the truth?

And perhaps his rage wasn’t all directed towards her, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that. Dazai played a part in it as well but none of that mattered when she couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

She couldn’t see where the lines were divided and where the misdirection started or ended.

No, all she could see was the invisible bullet of his own uncontrollable rage.

Feeling her breath start to cave in on itself, Asa gasped for air, struggling for the words. Ah, she was ruining it, she needed to say something, anything to get that ugly look from his face. She couldn’t take that look. It was tearing her apart by the second.

Feeling her voice crack of her words, Asa then nodded her head absentmindedly as her hands fiddled around her body with no purpose. “Y-Yeah, no. That’s makes sense. Of course that’s what you’d say. That’s the most logical answer. Sorry, I just..got carried away..I guess..yeah..umm..”

The piercing spectators of his eyes only brought her words to the standstill though, her senses overloaded with only his rejection and disgust, so much so that it started to consume her all at once, the words of her peers still slamming in the back of her head as a reminder of what she was.

Freak. Scary. Annoying. Defect. Disgusting. Monster.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the suffocating sight, she tried to look away, her hands frantically searching her pockets for something to quell the hurt. “A-Ah, sorry..I just...my glasses..I’ll put them back on…I know they’re here..sorry..let me just..”

Yet the fabric on the inside of her pocket only bought her an empty reality. Shit shit shit, where were they? She didn’t want to see anymore. She didn’t want those horrible blue judgmental iris’ to haunt her anymore.

Let her live in ignorance, let her never truly see just how much of a goddamn monster she really was.

Because the more she looked, the more that positive view of the world started to become tainted, only seeing the absolute worst that life had to offer. How could she find the good when all she perceived right now was only bad? Chuuya’s face only showed the bad.

And she couldn’t look away, she couldn't get it out of her head. Oh god, please stop! It hurts. I don’t want to see anymore. Someone please..

Chuuya watched in stunned silence though, the faltering and unraveling girl causing him to stare with concern before reaching a hand out with mutter. “Come on..stop playing around. You aren’t gonna fool me this time. Using the same old tricks again..”

And truly, the boy wanted to believe it was a joke, simply because that’s what he had seen through the entire night. She played the victim and pretended to cry at least three times tonight so why would this be any different?

Hell, the girl was probably doing this on purpose just to make him cave about her stupid friend question. But this time he was stronger than that. He wouldn’t fall for it again.

His words only made her act even more erratic though, a choked laugh stuck inside her throat as she continued to search for something in her pockets. “S-Sorry...yeah of course you'd be bothered by this..I’ll fix it..I promise..I just have to..cover the ugly…just let me..”

Feeling a warning bell ring in the back of his mind, Chuuya then dropped his smug ass attitude before taking a step forward with cautious confusion. This was an act, right? Just like the ones before. She was faking it, right?

But if that was the case then why did it look like the girl was on the edge of a panic attack right now? Would she really take things that far for something so stupid.

Reaching his hand out once more, Chuuya spoke. “Hey..”

Yet before he could reach her, a pair of hands appeared out from behind Asagao in order to press his palms towards her eyes, covering the sight before forcing her to fall backwards into his chest with a soft mutter. “Now now Asa-chan. That’s enough. Give those pretty eyes of yours a rest.”

And just like that, the noise inside her head and the vivid images fizzled away into nothing. Her prayers had been answered, she didn’t have to see anymore.

Osamu had just saved her from an unspeakable destruction.

Relaxing against his body in an instant, she let out a shaky breath. “O-Osam..”

Dazai only cut her off though, pushing her head farther back in order to whisper in her ear gently. “Shh, I know. It’s okay, love.”

Feeling her lips close into a tiny whimper, Asagao forced herself to stay silent. It didn’t matter if he didn’t go into detail, she knew exactly what Osamu was trying to say with just those small seemingly insignificant words.

He knew. He understood what had just taken place. Maybe but not fully, in fact she doubted he completely grasped just how bad her eyes had dragged her away considering she only told him a vague explanation a year ago.

But to some extent he figured out the self destruction that her conditioned mind had conjured up, he had realized the shackles that she was confined to and gave her the one thing she couldn’t give to herself.

Then she felt a familiar cool metal object slide into her palm before gasping in recognition. Her glasses, he found them for her. Thank god. Now she could be normal again.

Just then, her hidden face flashed with realization for her previous question.

Perhaps he knew because they shared similar circumstances. If Osamu’s bandages were stripped unwillingly then he would’ve been the same. She had seen it firsthand after all, the very first time she tried to take away his security unknowingly.

The physical crutches they relied on, both of them knew it too well, enough to wordlessly recognize the utter desolation that waited when they strayed from their comfort.

And Asagao was thankful for it, for not having to voice such weak thoughts out loud. Osamu just understood, he always did, just like she always tried to do for him, he mirrored it tonight.

Chuuya on the other hand was at a loss for words, his hand reeling back in confusion. “That was a joke, right? Either way, it still isn't’ gonna work. I’m still not going to agree to be friends with her.”

Because although he was slightly shaken up from the sight, Chuuya still couldn’t believe that her display was real. How could he? I mean, this was the same girl that just fooled an entire section of the port mafia just so that they could discredit her as weak, that tricked the ginger into staying around tonight by making him feel guilty about her birthday.

Hell, this was the same girl that didn’t bat an eye when that traitorous bastard forcibly kissed her before going on a bloody rampage in order to torture the guy’s men one by one.

So it didn’t make sense that a simple rejection of his friendship was enough to crumble the seemingly unbreakable auburn haired devil. That meant she had to be faking it again. Nothing else was logical except that.

I mean, come on. She was the one that had screwed him over in the first place, her and that bandaged prick Dazai. He had a right to be pissed about it. It wasn’t the end of the world.

She was a copy of Dazai after all, she should’ve been able to handle a couple of harsh words after single handedly disposing of an army, right?

Yet the ginger haired boy paused when his Dazai’s eyes darkened, something lethal in the corners of his vision as he glared back. “That’s fine, she doesn’t need you anyway.”

And call him crazy but Chuuya felt a chill course through his spine at that. But he couldn’t be serious right? There was no way that Dazai Osamu, the least caring man in the universe, was being protective of this girl. It went against everything he ever knew about the boy.

But the way his partner was staring at him right now was nothing short of murderous, just like a hundreds of times he saw it reflected in their enemies eyes. Could it be, did Dazai actually care about her, more than just an act?

Although that's when Asagao reached her hand up before tapping the hands that were covering her eyes in order for Dazai to reluctantly let go only for her to quickly slap her glasses back on her face with a sigh. “Osamu, don’t blame him. It was my fault. I got carried away.”

She then took a long silent breath before turning back to Chuuya with a sad smile. “Sorry about all of this. I promise I won’t bother you ever again.”

Then the girl simply bowed her head with respect before walking away from the two boys, stepping over the unconscious corpses as she walked in order to stay true to her promise.

And fuck, he hated it but Chuuya felt really shitty for some damn reason.

Which was ridiculous because he had no reason to. But the sad pathetic way she spoke to him caught him off guard, more than he would ever admit.

Just what was that crazy girl doing to him?! Why was he feeling bad all of a sudden? He was just standing up for himself and calling her out on her lies. What was so wrong about that?

But if that was the case, why did he now want to run back up to her and apologize?

Damn it, this night was messing with him way too much.

Turning around to watch her go, he then glanced to the side only to find that Dazai was doing the same thing, his unbandaged eye narrowed with silent thought as Chuuya spoke his thoughts. “I know why you’re with her now.”

Although the executive didn’t move his gaze, simply staring forward with a hum. “Do tell.”

Balling his hands to his sides, Chuuya answered roughly. “You’re trying to recruit her to the port mafia, just like you did with me when we met.”

At first the boy didn’t know what kind of use Asagao could’ve provided to the selfish and self serving executive but after seeing her fight it could only be one thing. He wanted her power, he wanted her ability and Dazai was using this sham of a relationship to reel her into the mafia.

Just like what he did to Chuuya all those years ago, he was manipulating her into seeing no other option but the port mafia so she’ll have no choice but to join.

And yeah it was fucked up but the ginger couldn’t deny that Asagao would fit well in the place like that. In fact, he was sure she’d thrive in that kind of darkness if given the chance. Picking her to be his subordinate, it wasn’t a terrible move logically speaking.

That didn’t make it right but Chuuya could understand it at least.

His words seemed to stir something in Dazai though, the boy’s lips twitching with amusement and yet also disdain. “If she was anyone else then you’d be right. But the last place I will allow her to be is in the port mafia.”

Widening his eyes in shock, the ginger frowned. What the hell did that mean? If she was anyone else? If he knew her potential then why hadn’t he jumped at the chance yet? What was holding him back from sinking his claws into her and never letting go?

There was something he was missing here. “Why, because you don’t want her there?”

Dazai gave a low bitter laugh at that, knowing damn well that wasn’t the truth. In fact, if she hadn’t been given the safety net of being his best friend’s sister then Asagao would’ve been dragged into the mafia a year ago. He wasn’t that good of a man yet, after all.

That's right, if she hadn't been connected to Odasaku then Dazai knew he would’ve only seen her ability first, her use to him just like Chuuya had accused him of. But lucky for Asagao, it wasn’t that simple.

Testing the words on his tongue, Dazai decided to utter the truth, the words a binding contract of his promise to his only friend. “It’s not about what I want.”

Chuuya could hardly understand though, the unfinished puzzle of information looking more confusing by the minute.

Dazai had just implied that he did want Asagao by him in the mafia, but something was holding him back, but what could it be? Who had that kind of power to subdue the devil himself from such a tempting offering of power?

So much so, the boy couldn’t help to push further. “What the hell does that mean? That doesn’t sound like you at all. You've never been one to listen to someone else’s wants. You’re a selfish bastard who only thinks for himself.”

Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, Dazai then took in his words silently, the meaning tossing around in his defective little head before finally closing his eyes with reality.

If he truly was a changed man then he would’ve let Asagao go by now. He would’ve run away from her or hurt her so badly that she would never look his way again. But unfortunately for both of them that wasn’t the case.

He couldn’t live without her anymore, not if he wanted to keep that desolate feeling of grief away. He had indulged himself too heavily to ever give her the mercy of release. He needed her like he needed to breathe. He needed her security and her safety to get him through the day, he needed her like a vice.

And perhaps that in itself proved Chuuya’s words wrong.

Because yes he was listening to Odasaku, but that didn’t fully protect Oda’s sister from his greed. Nothing ever could. Someday he would fly too close to the sun and get burned.

It was only a matter of time.

Pushing his feet forward to walk past Chuuya, Dazai’s eyes then lingered back to the spot where Asagao had disappeared before moving down towards the mutilated body of the traitor that he had shot, a dark gleam flashing through his veins.

Those hideous lips, those disgusting hands, they were on her .

They kissed her.

Then the mafia executive leaned down, picking up a discarded gun off the floor before turning the object in his fingers with silent conjecture as his thoughts fell back into that familiar pit of hell, recalling two words that rang against his skull over and over again during their entire conversation.

Not enough.

Chuuya then watched wordlessly as the demon turned around immediately, shooting all of the stolen rounds into the corpse of the traitor, the dead body twitching with each lethal bullet.

And Dazai didn’t stop until the gun was empty, the click of the chamber sounding through the space in order for the mafioso to glare before throwing the discarded object away.

Feeling the blood begin to coat his solid black shoes, tainting him further, Dazai then finally turned back to Chuuya, the dark shadows of the warehouse overtaking the demon with silent ominous warning.

“Who says I’m not still selfish?”

-----

(Guys, I think Dazai is little pissed about that kiss. Just a hunch though.)

(Next Chapter is gonna be a good one, and it has to do with that kiss. Hehe)

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