Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The night was a dreary one, the kind that people called in just to stay inside and avoid the vengeful rain that Yokohama’s fall season nurtured. A thick veil of fog blanketed the city and its surrounding outskirts and that alone was enough to ward any drivers off. Of course, that was everyone except for Dazai Osamu.

The sleek black car kicked up the near flood-level waters on the questionably paved street as it sped along, cutting through the fog. The torrential downpour hit the car like bullets, though Dazai wasn’t focused on the surrounding weather, paying it no heed as he held the phone up near his mouth.

“I’m just getting back into town from a week-long trade agreement and you are just now informing me of this information?” His tone of voice had an unimpressed dip to it while anyone else would be raging at the prospect of having to come back into work after a week straight of nothing but discussion of trade bargains and boundaries.

The sheep, a bunch of teenagers with too big of heads for their own good, had been tough to deal with. While Dazai could have sent the order to annihilate every last one of the children, they were still of use to them. A group he would keep in the back of his pocket should any other group encroach on their territory and have mercy on the children.

They were not children, they were little devils.

Dazai gripped his steering wheel just a little tighter.

“Yes boss,” Hirotsu, his most trusted subordinate, sounded equally as monotone over the phone. “We understand that you have gone through a lot of negotiations over the week but the executives need you for the meeting. After all, they need your approval to pass anything on.”

Dazai sighed, how tiring. If he knew what a hassle being a mafia boss would be then he would have defected a long time ago, though it wasn’t that he had a choice. The title had been thrust upon him with no mercy.

“I suppose I have no choice in the matter then,” Dazai mumbled over the rain pelting down on the car's sunroof.

“My apologies,” Hirotsu sounded far away and muddled, the line cracking under the influence of the storm.

“Inform the five executives that I’m on my way-”

Dazai’s headlights were bright and blindingly so, a perfect way to see through the dense atmosphere and the reason why he noticed the thing bolting out in front of his car. He instinctually swerved, letting his foot off the gas and tipping his steering wheel in the opposite direction to avoid colliding with whatever had stepped in front of his path.

The water on the road fanned out in all directions as if caught in a waterspout until Dazai’s car finally managed to make a safe stop. Luckily, he had not hit anything and the airbags had not deployed.

“Sir?” Hirotsu asked from the phone that had fallen to the floorboard, “Is everything okay?”

The windshield wipers worked furiously on the car window, but Dazai had to squint through the raindrops obscuring his vision to see just what he had swerved to avoid. Something dark and alive, by the rapid rise and fall of its chest, or perhaps that was the wind whipping the corpse of an animal around.

Then he heard it, piercing through the deafening sounds of the howling wind was a sharp yelp.

He had hit a dog.

Or, he swerved out of the way of a dog, he was absolutely sure he would notice if he had hit it.

It still wasn’t moving from its place in the middle of the road, just waiting to be hit by more oncoming cars. (Though it wasn’t likely that there would be any more vehicles out at this late hour.)

What a suicidal dog. Dazai should join it.

“Hirotsu, change of plans.” Dazai started, putting his car in park and unbuckling his seatbelt. “Move the meeting to a later date, I am unable to attend tonight, unfortunately.”

“Of course boss,” no more words were exchanged and the line went dead. Either Hirotsu had hung up or their signal had been lost.

Dazai was not using this dog as an excuse to get out of work. He was simply being a… good samaritan. Yes.

Dazai was immediately assaulted by the elements when he stepped out of his vehicle, bandages growing completely damp within the ten seconds it took him to kneel next to the animal. It was wounded, obviously.

Dazai’s headlights gifted him with enough light to see the crimson mingling with the rainwater collecting on the street. It seemed as if the dog had been running from something and in the process, gotten injured.

He carefully prodded at the dog's shoulder area where the jagged cut had been and it immediately whimpered, trying to escape Dazai’s grip. “Hold still,” Dazai hissed, though the order was lost in the wind.

He couldn’t assess much with their current settings, though Dazai could tell that if the dog remained here then it would surely die.

There was nothing stopping him from leaving the dog on the road and simply continuing on with his night. Dazai didn’t particularly care for this dog's fate and he wasn’t a good man either. Though an idea had sparked in his mind, an idea that was mutually beneficial to him and the dog currently suffering under his fingertips.

Dazai was not an animal person though he knew that dogs were loyal, more loyal than any other subordinate who would eventually backstab him. This dog would know who its master was and would listen to his every command with the proper training.

Saving it tonight would be him extending a branch of opportunity out to the animal.

“Come here,” he wrapped his arms around the dog’s stomach and hefted it out of the water. It was heavy, but not devastatingly so. It made noises, low growls from its chest, and high whimpers, but Dazai could tell that it was more out of pain than aggression.

He chose not to mourn the loss of a clean interior of his car because he saw no use in making a fuss over something replaceable, though despite that he grumbled under his breath as he hefted the dog into the back seat. “Such a hassle you are.”

The dog gave him a look from between matted fur, an innocent one that made Dazai snort as he closed the door and slid into the front seat, soaking that too. “Don’t give me that look, it won’t work on me.”

Now for the next order of business.

Surprisingly his phone still had service, so Dazai searched for the nearest vet and set it on his GPS. Only about five minutes away, how lucky for them. Or, for just the dog. Dazai had nothing to lose if it died because dogs too could be replaced.

Then it made another high, keening noise from the backseat and Dazai reached to adjust his rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of the dog trying and failing to lick its wounds. “Refrain from bleeding in the back of my car please.”

The leather seats were already stained crimson.

The dog stared right back at him into the mirror, big eyes blinking slowly as if Dazai’s reflection was the most interesting thing in the world.

“You sure are a strange specimen.”

Its lips drew back as it panted, revealing sharp canines as if it was smiling.

Yes, certainly a strange one.

In the four minutes it took to get to the pet clinic, the rain had only increased, and once Dazai successfully parked, that rain had turned to hail. The universe seemed to be against him that day.

Dazai had previously been driving in the rural part of Yokohama though now he had encroached upon the Urbanized section and it seemed that mother nature had no mercy for either part.

The hail battered against his car and the dog continued to whine and Dazai felt the undying urge to drive his car off of that nearby cliff, but instead, he simply flung the door open and threw bandaged arms over his head as he carefully moved to retrieve the animal from the back seat.

Not a single tennis ball-sized piece of ice hit him.

Dazai hadn’t noticed it before, but now that the dog was in his arms it was shivering violently. His leather shoes sloshed through the water collecting in the parking lot.

Another suit ruined though the amount of clothing Dazai had lost during his time in the mafia was in the triple digits, most unsalvageable with rips and tears he couldn’t re-sew. Just one more number to add to that list.

Another thing he should have noticed the moment he parked was how desolate the place appeared. Lights off and no movement inside, though it was hard to tell through the thick onslaught of rain and hail.

Of course, it would be closed during a storm and the late hours.

Dazai’s muscles tensed as his brain, a well-oiled machine, prepared to reroute his plan to its next destination, though before he could put any of that into action, the car’s door next to him opened.

Dazai had figured that the car had been abandoned or broken down in the storm, but apparently, things were not as they seemed.

A figure stepped out of the car (that looked slightly more worn and beaten compared to Dazai’s, yet more personalized.) and he couldn’t see any identifiable features with that large jacket.

Whoever it was, they were short.

The first thing this figure yelled up to him over the storm was, “Why in the hell aren’t you covering your dog!”

Dazai didn’t bother correcting that the dog wasn’t his, “Well sorry I don’t rescue dogs for a living.”

The figure audibly growled, cursing under their breath so obscenely that even a sailor would blush before the dog in Dazai’s arms took priority, “Is she injured?”

Though the question was a no-brainer, Dazai nodded and suddenly he was being pulled by the elbow with a surprising amount of force towards the clinic. Ah, this must have been a worker closing up.

He watched as the person shucked their own jacket to hold over the dog and block out the elements as they hustled up the concrete steps and to the glass double doors, slightly wider than normal doors to accommodate for larger animals. As expected, the figure drew keys from their pocket and fumbled with the key, jamming it in the lock before shoving them both into the building.

What a warm welcome.

“It’s dark as hell in here,” the figure grumbled in a slightly raspy voice, reaching over to flip on the switch and oh-

Dazai’s vision was assaulted with fiery hair, ocean eyes, fair skin… The man wore scrubs with little paw prints on them and Dazai felt his mouth dry up.

Why he had that reaction, he would ponder on later during one of his sleepless nights because Dazai had never been one for experiencing emotions, and at the moment that weird organ in his chest was fluttering-

Perhaps this man was so hideous that Dazai went into cardiac arrest.

Now the man was prodding the dog, fingers delicately running through waterlogged fur as he shushed the animal. Dazai’s gaze traveled even more downwards and he spotted the glint of the name tag ‘Chuuya Nakahara.’ At least now he had a name to match with that horrendously ugly face.

“Hey, idiot” he snapped his finger in Dazai’s face, “are you listening to me?”

“No.”

Dazai realized how long they had been standing there because a puddle had started to form under the two of them, rainwater dripping from their damp clothes like waterfalls. Chuuya rolled his obnoxiously blue eyes and gestured for Dazai to follow him past the reception desk and down the dark narrow hallway before they arrived at a room in the back.

As Dazai set the dog- it was a her right?- down on the table, Chuuya flitted around the room, pulling on latex gloves that looked far too uncomfortable on wet skin and grumbling under his breath. “To think I'm doing this after my shift.”

He must have really liked dogs because Dazai would have left Chuuya at the doorstep had their positions been reversed.

“What in the hell happened?”

“Shouldn’t you be stitching her up?” Dazai shot back to be annoying.

“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Chuuya pierced through him with a glare, “get out and fill out an information sheet if you're not gonna help.”

Dazai yawned, “wasn’t planning on it, later.”

He could have left that vet when he had the chance that night. He could have dragged his already soaked feet on the already soaked floor and jumped into his already soaked car to drive to his dry house and try and fail to get some sleep.

Instead, he took the towel Chuuya had thrown at him, dried himself off, and saw himself out to the reception desk.

This place would have been eerie with the storm and the low buzz of the light system, but the office that Dazai was often secluded in was isolated enough to the point where the sterile vet clinic seemed bursting with life.

Dazai plucked a slip of paper from the reception desk and scanned over it. Information for a check-up, what he was assuming Chuuya wanted him to fill out.

Settling down on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the waiting area had been the first order of business, and the second had been ditching the uncomfortable plastic chair for the atomically more comfortable one by the reception desk. It was probably a staff member but Dazai paid no mind to the revelation, it could be the presidents for all he cared.

What he could fill out on the slip of paper was regretfully limited, considering Dazai had only known this dog for half an hour.

The dogs breed? He had no idea, big and black.

The dog's height? Perhaps to about mid-thigh

The dog's Weight? He could answer that one with at least some form of accuracy, around 60 pounds taking into account that Dazai could carry her and her waterlogged fur.

Any allergies? Dazai might as well put everything

Any concerning habits? Running in front of random cars in the middle of the night

Easier to do than filling out the dog's information was the information about himself, or rather, his alias.

Dazai, with only the company of the pitter-patter of the rain, remained seated until Chuuya emerged from the back room exactly forty minutes and fifty-five seconds later looking slightly exhausted but mostly proud.

His face fell when he spotted Dazai.

“Hey! That’s Yosano’s chair, get the hell off!”

Dazai didn’t know who Yosano was but she sounded annoying.

“Such dirty words for a middle schooler,” Dazai easily slid out of the chair before Chuuya could push it to the ground in a fit of rage.

Chuuya’s face reddened to match his hair, “A wha-” surprisingly enough, he closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. “You’re a rude customer especially when I just saved your dog. She would have bled out,” cold eyes met his, “don’t let her have a run-in with any wild animals anymore.”

Dazai leaned against the front of the desk as Chuuya took a seat, “ah, so that’s what happened? For the record, it isn't my dog, it just ran in the front of my car all injured.”

“For the record,” Chuuya shot back, latex gloves being ripped off and discarded into a nearby trash bin, “dog’s are living animals so don’t call her an ‘it.’”

“Yes, my apologies,” Dazai said flatly.

Chuuya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Dazai noticed Hirotsu doing when he requested a particularly tedious task to be completed. He must not be a night shift worker. Dazai studied the redhead as he scooted the chair forward, reaching out to snatch the paper and look over its contents.

“Normally I would make you put more but considering she isn’t your dog, you filled out a considerable amount…. Shuji Tsushima?’

“Yes, that is me.”

The veterinarian gave him an apprehensive look as if sniffing out the truth of Dazai’s fake alias. “Well, since you saved her it’s your choice to choose what to do with her.” Though with the hard look in his eyes, Dazai felt that he had no other option than to take her to a warm and safe home or he would die a horrible death.

Dazai didn’t know if he could do the ‘safe’ part but his house wasn’t particularly cold, in fact, it had a state-of-the-art heating system.

“What are my options?”

Chuuya let out a tired sigh, brushing his still wet hair out of his face. Dazai had mercy and threw him the towel he had used earlier and the veterinarian wordlessly started wringing out his insultingly long hair. “Well, regardless of whether or not you keep her she still needs to stay here overnight, I’ll stay with her since the storm is preventing the night shift from coming in.”

Dazai would never understand how people like Chuuya remained so attached to their jobs.

“I looked her over for a microchip, but with the condition of her fur and body, it’s doubtful that she had any previous owners. You can take her to the pound where they’ll probably euthanize her, or care for her for the time being until someone wishes to adopt her.” At the mention of euthanization, Chuuya seemed disheartened and that look on his face just made him uglier so Dazai spared him the trouble of looking so hopeless.

“I suppose I have a steady amount of income,” steady being an understatement, “so it won’t be much of an issue to take her in.”

Chuuya paused in the motion of wringing out his hair, eyebrows drew upwards. A smirk grew on Dazai’s face, “what, surprised?”

Chuuya rolled his eyes, very unprofessionally, might Dazai add. “Yeah, no offense but you don’t seem the charitable type.”

“Offense taken.”

There was a long beat of silence with only the rain and wind outside to fill it before the chair under Chuuya squeaked as he stood up to file away the paper Dazai had filled out. “Well good thing you have a steady paying job because I’m not skipping out on the bill. You can pay for it tomorrow, of course, when you come to pick her up. She had a good amount of stitches so you’ll have to be gentle-”

“Chibi?” Dazai asked, and Chuuya looked over his shoulder to him.

“What- cut it out with the nickname!"

“You can tell me about her tomorrow too, but it’s late and you don’t want me to slip on ice and crash, do you?”

Chuuya sneered, yet another image to put into the catalog of ‘Chuuya’s many ugly emotions’ and when-

When did he have a catalog?

“Eat shit,” the redhead cursed, then shot one last glance at the paper to see if Dazai’s contact information had been written in. “I’ll call you tomorrow to come in and get her, you better not be late.”

Chuuya probably wondered if Dazai would abandon the dog and never come back, in fact, it had probably happened many times in his profession. “I’ll be back, no need to worry you’ll be blessed with the sight of my handsome face again.”

Chuuya looked as if he wanted to shove his bloodied gloves down Dazai’s throat.

“Just get out of my clinic.”

Dazai ducked out before the angry redhead could throw a scalpel at him. All in a day's work, he supposed.

The rain outside had lessened to a harsh sprinkle and Dazai had a couple of calls to make because now apparently he wasn’t the only member of his one-man family any longer.

Chapter Text

Shuji Tsushima was going to be a pain in Chuuya’s ass, he could just tell. From the way he came into the vet not even worried about the wounded dog in his arms, and the way he mercilessly made Chuuya, already tired from his day shift, stay overnight to watch his dog.

(Though Chuuya supposed that the last part was his fault for accepting another customer and not getting out of there before the storm reached its worst.) But he would blame it on Shuji anyways because it seemed like the most logical thing to do.

Chuuya was also very apprehensive about who he handed his patients back off to. There were some shady people in the dog breeding business who mistreated the animals and even worse, animal traffickers who made the dogs fight in dog rings. It was inhumane and it made Chuuya’s blood boil. He had seen many cases of it lately.

Then again, Chuuya knew he shouldn't judge a book by its cover even if the man did not seem like the type to take in a dog out of the goodness of his heart. Perhaps he was lonely, Chuuya wouldn’t be surprised with that attitude of his.

But he would ponder the strange situation later, hopefully when he got in a few decent hours of sleep and the storm wasn’t currently threatening to flood his clinic. There was a break in the storm after Shuji left, though it only began showering down twice as hard after the fact.

Chuuya impatiently tapped his foot as he watched the waters rise outside, reaching the first concrete step. There was always a storm like this once a year, though Chuuya had usually spent them in the comfort of his own apartment with his own pets, not stranded out at his job.

Well, Chuuya was no god and he couldn’t control the weather, so there was no use in wasting any time worrying.

Chuuya had already changed into the spare set of scrubs he kept in his office for emergencies and restocked all of the shelves and medical equipment he had used stitching up the dog. (Since she didn’t have a name yet, Chuuya would start referring to her as Daisy because it was obviously the best flower out there.)

A particularly loud rumble of thunder shook the ground as the lights flickered. From her kennel in the back, Daisy whimpered and Chuuya’s heart tugged at the sound. Normally there would be more yips from the small dogs and yowling from the cats during a storm of such intensity, but Daisey was currently his only overnight patient to look out for. The other kennels remained eerily empty.

The day hadn’t been busy enough for many patients, the only notable case being the client who brought their pet ring-tailed lemur( pickles, her name was pickles). Chuuya had to play rock paper scissors against Yosano and the rest of the staff to see who got to take care of pickles and Chuuya, of course, won. Much to his co-workers' chagrin.

Pickles was the cutest client Chuuya had gotten in a while.

Chuuya told Pickles owner to stop by anytime if needed. He would find some Lemur treats online if he had to.

Another strike of thunder and more cries from Daisey.

Chuuya took a moment to mull over his options. It was very unlikely that anyone else would come in this storm like that crazy bandaged idiot did, though if there were any pets in danger then there would certainly be calls.

There were no other animals to watch over so Chuuya saw no issue with what he was about to do…

He slipped into the back hallway and opened the back door. The room was a lounge area with kennels stacked along the wall. Daisy occupied the furthest one to the right, huddled against the back. Chuuya had done what he could to make her comfortable, dried her fur, and combed through it, given her a full meal (that she obviously hadn’t had in a while.) And even rewrapped her bandages to not be as constricting.

Though none of that seemed to have helped, maybe she had a case of kennel claustrophobia.

“Hey girl,” he murmured in a low tone to not startle her. She was a skittish one, but sweet and Chuuya could tell she had a budding personality somewhere under that mop of fur. “I’m going to let you out, but you can’t tell the other dogs because they would get jealous.”

Daisy made a low huffing noise as if agreeing with him, listening intently, and Chuuya cracked a smile at that. Daisy had stopped panting after Chuuya administered a small dose of Metacam. While she had not had surgery, he was more worried about the inflammation of it and whether her injury got infected. It would have been a lot easier to know what animal had attacked her, but Chuuya would keep a close eye on the sutures for any signs of infection.

“Come on kid, you're coming out here with me,” Chuuya knelt to unlock the cage and Daisy easily stepped out, eyeing him wearily. She could technically be considered a rescue because it was apparent that the conditions she was living in before Shuji had nearly run her over were harsh ones.

Chuuya bent to pick her up, she was slightly heavy in his arms but she could stand to gain a lot more weight and was nothing compared to the rippling muscles of the Monitor lizard he had picked up the other day with the help of Kenji.

“How’re you feeling now?” He asked because it was impossible for him not to talk to the dog who was blatantly staring at him. She licked his face with a hot tongue.

“I take that as a good sign then,” Chuuya grunted as he lowered her down on the bed he had dragged out to the reception desk. “Down you go, don’t go busting through those glass doors now, the last dog that did that ran off.”

Daisy’s tail wagged minutely.

Chuuya reached into the drawer and dropped a dental bone next to the dog to distract her from the elements outside, turning to his computer to complete the logs for the day and go over his teams. Most times they forgot to log their patients to the computer before leaving and Chuuya didn’t have a problem with picking up their slack.

Because they were obviously the best veterinarian practice in the area and those damn Russians who ran a clinic across town were not about to beat them.

Chuuya immersed himself in work until the lights flickered and Daisy pawed at his leg uneasily. Chuuya looked at the time to see that it was three in the morning and that even his eyes were starting to droop. Normally if he had to pull a double shift like this he would have coffee but their coffee machine was cheap and Chuuya refused to drink the coffee straight up with the creamer they didn’t have because he was not a monster.

He powered off the computer and slid down to the uncomfortable floor, leaning against the back of the desk. Daisy was a skittish dog and Chuuya could tell that she would have a hard time warming up to anyone, especially men, and despite that she placed her head in his lap and allowed him to stroke nimble fingers through her fur.

He would sit here all damn morning to get this dog to calm down from the storm. He would even play Beethoven on his phone and waste his battery because animals were like humans and responded to other sounds.

And sit there all morning he did.

When Yosano Akiko turned in for work on Wednesday morning it had been yet another humid day with an overcast sky. But at least it was no longer raining cats and dogs outside. Due to flood waters, she had to avoid certain routes to arrive there, apparently, everyone else did too because they all arrived more or less around the same time.

Of course, Chuuya’s car remained parked in the same spot since yesterday when he insisted everyone go home early to avoid the worst of the storm. It was a new sight since he normally drove his motorcycle instead of his old beat up car, but a wise decision to avoid the rain.

“Good morning Yosano-sensei!” Kenji waved. He was a bright kid and a strong one too, always good to have his helping hands around for emergencies, even if he was just an intern shadowing Kunikida.

“Such a lovely one, isn’t it?” She mumbled sarcastically, jamming the key into the door and pushing it open only to be faced with the sight of-

She felt an evil grin creep up her face. This was certainly an interesting sight.

She walked across the floor, heels clicking against the tile as she rounded the corner of the desk to get a better view, Kenji following closely behind. Chuuya had been forced to stay for the night and he had obviously fallen asleep on the job, though Yosano didn’t blame him.

He leaned against the desk in what looked like an uncomfortable position, head squished against his shoulder. A blanket had been draped over him to block the chill of the building. What was strange though, was what seemed to be a new addition to their Vet. A dog was napping on his lap, Chuuya’s hand resting on her snout.

Oh. Oh, this was perfect.

“Yosano-Sensei, are you sure it’s the best idea to take pictures of him while he’s asleep?” Kenji asked respectfully as Yosano whipped out her camera and knelt to get the good angles.

“No it isn’t,” a deep voice interrupted her response and the two’s heads snapped over to Kunikida who stood at the doorway of the nearest check-up room. He held a spray bottle and rag in hand, performing his morning clean-up even if Chuuya had already left the place spotless.

“Don’t ruin my fun,” the woman grumbled, pocketing her phone and standing up to place her work bag down on the desk. “How long have you been here?”

“Not too long,” Kunikida adjusted his glasses, “About thirty-five minutes. He hasn’t moved a muscle. I tried to wake him up and ask him about the dog but he just mumbled something about saving her last night.”

“Well, not much we can do about that because he's the heaviest sleeper on the face of this earth,” Yosano shrugged, pulling out her chair to sit on. It was slightly damp and she would interrogate the man on that later. “I say we give him a few hours and let him have the day off after he deals with this dog.”

“Yes, that would be the most ethical approach, but it is unbecoming of us if any customers come in to see him passed out on the floor.”

Yosano gave Kunikida a quizzical look, “our regulars have seen far worse than one of us asleep on the floor. Do you actually think any of them would care?”

Kunikida simply let his shoulders drop and returned to the back room because it was true. Their vet was known as one of the most spontaneous ones with an array of different personalities, which drew Yokohama’s attention and gained their affection.

Yosano snorted as she lightly kicked Chuuya on the side.

He would be so pissed at them when he woke up.

Dazai received the call later than he had expected, his phone buzzed in his pocket around lunchtime. He drew his legs back from where they had been resting on his desk and answered the phone, “Shuji Tsushima how may I be of service?” He asked, just to be annoying because he knew the tone would get on the veterinarian's nerves.

“You already know why I'm calling,” Chuuya answered, sounding a bit worse for wear. Had he had a party at the animal clinic after Dazai left and was now hungover? “Your dog is ready, I have more information here about her and her injuries, I can fill you in when you're available.”

“I’ll be over soon Chuuya-Kun~”

The line went dead.

Dazai slipped his phone back into his pocket. Someone was in a bad mood.

Dazai grabbed his overcoat from the coat holder and slid it on as he exited his office, the guards that always stood watch outside his door bowing in a show of respect. Dazai never liked them, insisting that he didn’t much care for people standing outside his door and hearing every conversation he held but apparently it was a precautionary move in case of attack and Dazai wouldn’t argue about proper foresight.

Even if now he could just have a dog to rip intruders to shreds.

Dazai was not a dog person or an animal person at all. They were significantly harder to read than humans and the dog Dazai had graciously saved the life of last night caught Dazai in a good mood (well, mostly it was an excuse to skip out on the executive meeting, but white lies never hurt.) But of course, Dazai wouldn’t use his own energy and waste a suit and the back of his car for any human or dog unless he was benefiting from it.

The dog was going to pay him, of course, with time.

And with the assignment the Port Mafia had shouldered. The dog could easily help with it but once the job was said and done he could probably just take it back to Chuuya and the veterinarian could decide what to do with it.

“Boss, may I ask where you are going?” Hirotsu asked somewhat cautiously.

Dazai continued on his walk down the extensive halls of the building, letting Hirotsu fall in step slightly behind him and ignoring all of the other subordinates who were shocked by his presence.

“I’m going to pick up a dog,” he said simply.

The old man didn’t seem too surprised, and with his years in the Port Mafia watching over Dazai, he probably wasn’t.

“Will you be back for the executive meeting in,” the man checked his wristwatch, an expensive one that anyone on a normal salary wouldn’t dare spend their money on. “Twenty-five minutes?”

“No, reschedule it.”

Dazai had avoided the boring clutches of yet another meeting.

Hirotsu looked tired as he bowed, departing with a ‘yes sir.’

Perhaps Dazai should give him a day off.

The weather had subsided and the back of Dazai’s car had been washed by a few nervous-looking subordinates who asked if he was injured, assuming he had gotten into a gunfight of sorts by the condition of the vehicle.

Another thing the executives insisted on was that Dazai had a driver with him wherever he went but he would simply draw the line at that point. One too many times had he driven places on his own accord to get jobs done himself, yes a guerrilla squad worked under him though Dazai himself wasn’t sent out on the field often, playing the tactical approach to any threats.

While Dazai oftentimes procrastinated his paperwork everyone knew that the port Mafia couldn’t possibly function without his tactical genius.

A tactical genius who shouldn’t be seen walking up to a pet clinic to retrieve a pawn he would soon place on his chess board.

“Welcome,” a woman at the reception desk said without looking up from her papers, sitting in the chair that Dazai had occupied last night. This must have been that woman Chuuya claimed he had stolen the seat of.

Once she looked up, eyes meeting his bandages, she leaned back in her chair and yelled back to the breakroom, “Oi Chuuya, that bandaged dude you were telling us about is here to pick up his dog!”

The door opened and Chuuya poked his head out, looking disappointed when his eyes landed on him.

“Oh, does Chuuya talk about me?” Dazai asked, blinking in a way that would get on the veterinarian's nerves.

“Don’t worry, it was only bad things,” Chuuya grumbled. He shut the door then reemerged with the dog on a leash, leading her toward the front. He handed the lead over to Dazai who took it easily, staring down at the dog with scrutinizing eyes.

Her dark fuff had been shaved in the area adorned with bandages but her matted fur had obviously been washed and brushed through with no more blood flaking her coat. Dazai then looked back up to Chuuya who took a seat in what he presumed was his chair, and he must have actually stayed all night if those horrendous bags under his eyes and empty coffee cups piling on his desk was anything to go by.

How tragic.

“Before you go runnin’ off I need to tell you the precautions to take with her,” he droned, pulling out a paperclipped stack of paper to hand off to Dazai. He pointed a finger to each section as he went over them, “I sure hope you know how to sign your name. We need your address here in case one of us needs to drive to your house in the event of an emergency. Contact information…” Chuuya continued on until he nearly fell asleep then stopped himself, “whatever, you get the gist.”

Dazai grabbed the paper from him, ignoring the big ball of fur standing on his foot.

Chuuya took a moment to take a long swig of coffee, finishing it off. A blonde kid swooped in out of nowhere and took the cup.

“And for the important stuff,” he continued, “you need to change her bandages every twenty-four hours. No extensive exercise for her and you check on those stitches for inflammation,” he gave Dazai a hard look, “If she gets an infection take her here immediately.”

“Yes I understand no need to give me that look,” Dazai waved him off, the dog was now slobbering on his pant leg.

“Right,” Chuuya seemed to come to his senses, something lingered in the back of his eyes but he most of all showcased exhaustion. He was a strangely passionate person, it was a strange personality to be around, combating the dead eyes of the Port Mafia members.

“You seemed to have found a black german shepherd. A strange breed to find around here, though there is always a chance she could be a mix with another species. It is impossible to tell without DNA testing and knowledge of lineage but if you want us to get a sample to find out-”

“There will be no need for that, I don't particularly care.”

Chuuya continued as if he didn’t hear him, not even batting an eye. “You’re lucky, this breed is often protective and smart if you’re looking to train her.”

Just what Dazai wanted to hear.

Chuuya handed off another paper to Dazai, and upon a glance he discovered that it was the information chart he had filled out the previous night, though it was now filled out with the correct information.

“You weren’t too far off on her weight, she’s around forty-five pounds. A little underweight so you’re going to need to feed her a good amount of puppy food, I wrote a recommended brand on the bottom of the paper. It’s decently priced so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

Money was the least likely issue with this dog.

Chuuya’s handwriting was at the bottom as he claimed it was, small and unneat.

“With her age, she should be on puppy food anyways, despite how tall she may look at the moment she’s still only a puppy. Maybe around eight months or a year old.” Chuuya continued on about the necessities of the dog while Dazai signed the papers. Dazai had a feeling that the redhead was just lecturing him at this point.

“I am aware of most of this information,” Dazai stated, sounding unconcerned.

“Yes well, this is last-minute having to take care of a dog. She’s not a toy you can just play with for one day and set aside, you need to actually give her your attention and care.”

Dazai raised an eyebrow, “Now why would you think I would ever neglect her?”

Chuuya scoffed, and they could both feel the argument blooming. “I’ve met your type before. Only get a dog for show and never actually take the time of the day to spend time with her.”

Chuuya had surprisingly read Dazai, even if he wasn’t going to show the thing off, he wasn’t exactly intending on giving it his love and affection either.

“Well, that is my business is it not?”

Chuuya looked ready to pounce over the reception desk and tackle Dazai like a linebacker. Despite the apparent all-nighter, he looked alive as a fire burnt in his eyes.

He was fiercely loyal and protective of animals. A dog he had barely met. Dazai found himself more and more intrigued by his motives and decided to tone back on the hostility because if he wanted to study this man more then he would need him in his good graces for the moment.

Dazai also wouldn’t mind studying that ugly red hair and equally as ugly blue eyes either. Just so he could point out all of their flaws, of course. Nothing more or nothing less.

“But, you seemed to have misread the situation because I don't plan on abandoning this dog.” Just sprinkle on the white lies so and he had a perfectly crafted one.

Chuuya seemed to relax, eyes softening as he leaned back in his seat.

Then suddenly the little bell on the door chimed and what looked to be a customer walked in with one of those annoying yappy dogs on a leash. It looked crusty. Apparently, Chuuya did not discriminate and loved all dogs because his lips curled upwards as he greeted the woman and her dog.

Those little abominations deserved to be discriminated against.

“I’ll be with you in a second ma’am,” Chuuya smiled. He actually smiled. Dazai had never seen it before because everything aimed towards him had been sneers and bared teeth therefore he had never got to see the glorious sight of Chuuya’s dimples and white teeth.

Gloriously ugly, that's what it was.

“No, you won’t be with her in a second because as soon as you're finished talking to this guy you’re going home and resting.” The woman- Yosano- who had been silently listening in on their conversation interjected.

Chuuya gave her a pleading look, ”just one more patient, she’s a regular and I always give Sparky his treats.”

Oh, so that was the thing's name? Sparky? Dazai’s nose scrunched in disgust.

“No exception or I'm kicking you out.” Dazai didn’t dislike this woman.

“You can’t kick me out, I'm the boss here, this is my clinic!”

Oh, this information was new. Chuuya ran this pet hospital? Despite being the boss he still seemed to tackle the more active roles, unlike Dazai who only went out on the field when needed.

Yosano gave him a withering look and shockingly, Chuuya caved in. “Fine, but only because I’m tired as shi-” he eyes the old Woman standing behind Dazai “...Heck.”

“Yes, nice comeback Chibi.”

Sapphire eyes cut to him, “I don’t want to hear any lip from you jacka- jerk. Take your dog home and take care of her and for goodness sake, give her a name. I don’t want her nameless by the time you come back.”

“Oh but I do have a name.”

Chuuya’s eyes widened, “You do?”

Dazai placed a hand on his chin and let Chuuya wait for a few moments in anticipation, "Yes, I was thinking something dignified, like ‘dog.’”

Chuuya’s lip curled as he looked Dazai up and down, "You're a real piece of work, you know that?”

“How nice of you, alas I am a busy man and I can’t hang around with a middle schooler all day.” Dazai collected his papers, having already given his card to Yosano to pay for the visit.

Chuuya was no doubt about to either throw Dazai out the window or throw himself out the window.

“Fine, but I have you scheduled for next Wednesday so I can give her her vaccines and check in on her injury,” Chuuya explained in a surprisingly stable voice. A man with blonde hair walked out from the back and greeted the old lady, and he looked even more fun to annoy than Chuuya.

“I suppose I can free some space in my schedule for that time,” Dazai, made a mental note to reschedule the executive meeting for Wednesday. An unfortunate pet visit would cancel it. 

Yosano handed him his card back and Dazai quickly escaped the piercing glare Chuuya shot him, then the soft look he gave the dog.

Chuuya Nakahara was very strange.

Chapter Text

“Yes Hirotsu, I am one hundred percent free for the executive meeting on Wednesday, preferably…” Dazai checked the registration papers for the time he would need to take the dog back for vaccinations. The paper read ‘Five O’clock.’ “Around five in the afternoon is fine.”

“I am glad you managed to free your schedule sir, I will get the word out,” Hirotsu sounded somewhat relieved and really, he shouldn’t trust a single word that escaped Dazai's mouth. 

“And are you planning on coming back in for work today?”

“...We may have to do a raincheck on that, I am dealing with matters of the utmost importance at the moment.”

The dog in the seat next to him made a dramatic whining noise and Dazai immediately put a hand on her snout to silence her. She licked his hand and he jolted back with a noise of disgust, wiping his hand off on her fur.

“Do You need backup sir?”

“No,” Dazai replied, shooting the she-demon a nasty look, “everything is perfectly fine Hirotsu.”

“If you insist, sir.”

Dazai had been the one to hang up this time, a smirk on his face as he had evaded yet another meeting. He would thank the dog if she wasn’t being so incredibly rude at the moment. “Don’t you know that distracting a driver will cause a wreck?”

Her tail continued to thump furiously against the seat as she nosed around the limited space she had, leaning back to sniff the window. The paperwork Chuuya had given to him fell victim to her claws as she stepped on it. When Dazai ordered her to step off she actually did.

For such a street rat she strangely listened to directions well.

As it turned out, on the back of the paper Chuuya had given him was a long list of ‘necessary supplies’ to get for the dog. Or, it was written that way in the veterinarian's demon scrawl ‘Get these items or I'm never letting you step foot in my clinic ever again.’

There were certainly a lot of items on that list and Dazai didn’t know that dogs were so needy. But he also needed to prove Chuuya wrong because while not letting the dog die on the side of the road was a last-minute decision, he was not some unprepared child. This was all for his own propaganda after all.

So immediately after he departed from the clinic, he drove to the farthest pet store (to avoid another meeting,) and the dog of course didn’t make things easy.

“What are you staring at?”

The dog continued to stare straight into the side of his head.

“Stop that,” Dazai gave her a dismissive wave and not even that swayed her attention. “You know what, you’ve lost front-seat privileges, get in the back.”

Surprisingly enough, the dog reacted this time. Lifting one foot to crawl back over the center console, Dazai hummed in approval. Though the victory was short-lived because instead of going to the back seat as he had instructed, she crawled across the armrest and directly into his lap.

“Wait no-” Dazai swerved to regain the control he had lost over the car, the road around him erupting into chaos of people cursing and honking their horns at him, all while satan herself lay down on his lap, tongue lolling out in a happy way.

Dazai put his maneuvering skills to the test (He had none whatsoever, having failed his first driver's test until he went the illegal route and received a fake license,) and pulled into a nearly empty parking lot.

He put the car into park and crossed his arms, staring down at the dog who looked up at him as if it had done nothing wrong. “You know what you did.”

A head tilt and a tail thump.

Dazai shook his head “Don’t play innocent with me. Go on, shoo.”

The dog let out a high-pitched whine and Dazai put a hand to his chest, ”Me? No no no, this isn’t my fault-”

As he was moving to nudge the dog off of his lap he caught sight of the car that had parked next to him, and of course, four sets of eyes were watching him with fascination. Couldn’t anyone have an argument with their dog in peace?

Dazai was not one for the public eye and he certainly did not want to be on the newspaper headline with ‘Local drug addict has an argument with his dog’ as the title.

“Go now or I'm giving you to that family.”

Dazai did not like dogs, he was the opposite of an animal lover because, unlike humans, animals were hard to read. Though strangely enough, this dog was significantly easier to analyze than the others.

She unattached herself from Dazai’s legs and slowly moved to the back. The warmth of her fur was now gone and Dazai didn’t even notice the touch at first. Normally his skin would be on fire, alive as if fire ants were crawling through his veins, if anyone so much as brushed against him.

Dazai was starting to think that this dog was actually a demon.

They continued their car ride in silence, the dog moping in the back seat like a dejected child who had just gotten yelled at.

And if Dazai thought his dog-related issues stopped there, well he was wrong.

The pet store didn’t seem too busy with it being a Wednesday afternoon, the unlucky people who couldn’t escape their work duties were all busy with their own issues. While Dazai… he almost wished he was back at headquarters at the moment. Almost.

“Dog, come on.” He pleaded for what seemed to be the twentieth time. Though the dog stubbornly remained secluded off in her own timeout corner. Dazai had the back door open, tugging lightly on her leash. “Why are you like this?”

The little demon wagged her tail.

“You’re enjoying my suffering aren’t you?”

Another tail wag.

Dazai resisted the urge to knock his head against the car window and hopefully break the glass. Expensive damage was therapeutic damage.

“Fine,” Dazai announced, hand curling around the top of the door, “I’ll leave you in here while I get your stuff, just don’t scare any little children. Or do, I don’t necessarily care-”

Before he could even finish his sentence the dog bolted out of the car and was pressing all of her weight against his leg in an attempt to get him to pet her. “You just want attention,” Dazai huffed as he closed the door and pulled her along, “if you don’t cause any trouble I may let you sleep inside.”

As if she understood what he was saying, her lips drew back in a grin, showcasing her canines. Dazai rolled his eyes, “that’s not something to be happy about.”

The dog was still deemed to be the strangest creature that Dazai had ever met. He had taken notice that she was underweight, though it was a bit hard to tell under all of that fur. He would have to get the workers to give her a trim while he was here.

According to logic she should be skittish and mistrusting. She was, Dazai had seen that side of her just earlier when that old woman and her ugly crusty white dog walked into the pet clinic and she had hidden between Dazai’s legs.

Though she warmed up fast. It seemed to make sense that she was trusting of Dazai since he had been the one to save her and even more so with Chuuya because he had stayed the night with her. And well, to be a veterinarian Dazai would assume one would be good with animals. Dazai himself would be ill-suited for anything that wasn't his current job.

The first bout of confusion for the dog happened before they even managed to enter the store. As they walked closer to the sliding doors, the dog suddenly growled, a low rumble reverberating from her chest. Dazai looked down from his phone to see that she was now standing behind him, her fluffy tail between her legs and ears pressed flat against her skull.

His eyes followed what she was staring so intently at and he sighed, “Dog, I thought your type was supposed to be smart.”

Another low growl.

“It’s just your reflection, come on.”

He dragged her into that store as if she was a toddler, yipping and howling at the unseen enemy until they made it past the double doors.

The pet store was large and only a few people occupied the cash registers, one customer in line thankfully without an animal.

“Welcome,” one of the workers called, smiling brightly. He had an asymmetrical haircut and slightly heterochromic looking eyes. Certainly, a strange look to see in the homogeneous society that was their country. Just as Chuuya was with his nasty red hair and blue eyes, he had been meeting a lot of intricate-looking people lately.

It must have just been all of the crazy people who worked in the animal business.

Because compared to the blacks, greys, and other muted colors of the Port Mafia, Dazai could have lived the rest of his life believing he was colorblind if he hadn’t met these people.

“My name is Atsushi, do you need help with finding anything today?”

Dazai’s eyes roamed the area until they landed on the pet washing station in the corner and the worker seemed to notice because he enthusiastically walked from behind the counter, “Oh, yes we wash and groom animals if that’s what you want!”

Well, at least Dazai didn’t have to do much of the talking.

“Yes, I need to look for supplies for her so I will leave her in your care for the time being.”

The white-haired teen flushed and nodded, “Of course, is there anything specific that needs to be done?”

Dazai shrugged, flapping his hand, “you get free reign just don’t dye her hair or anything crazy like that.”

And somehow the worker's smile got even brighter and Dazai had to avert his eyes so as to not be blinded. Atsushi knelt in front of him, facing the dog. She drew back slightly, pressing against Dazai’s legs for the third time that day.

“Ah, is she a rescue?” Atsushi asked, holding out the back of his hand slowly, telegraphing his movements to allow the dog on his heels to tentatively sniff at it.

Dazai simply nodded and if he was being relatively unresponsive then the other didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ll be careful with her,” his tone was reassuring even if there was nothing in particular that Dazai needed reassuring on. “What’s her name?”

“Dog,” Dazai stated simply.

“...Oh.”

The she-demon grew accustomed to the white-haired teenager's touch and eventually allowed him to scratch his fingers through her fur, but when Atsushi took the leash to lead her to the washing station she remained firmly rooted to the ground next to Dazai.

Dazai was unaware that he had claimed a leech as a pet, though he had read somewhere that canines preferred to stick by their owners in a public setting. And that they liked affection. How bothersome.

Dazai sighed and lightly nudged her forward, “go on, I’m not going to leave you here.”

Apparently, that had been enough to soothe her separation or even abandonment anxiety because it was the push she needed to follow Atsushi to the back.

Free from the clutches of the canine, Dazai proceeded to check off the items on Chuuya’s very long, very expensive list of items that apparently every dog needed. If Dazai knew any better he would say he was attempting to spoil her.

Normally he would just send out a subordinate to collect any needed objects or order online to not have to go through the hassle of getting out of bed. It wasn’t like he got out too much anyways, never going to the store and pantry bare because he never saw the point in buying groceries if they were to simply expire in his pantry or fridge.

But Dazai was fairly certain that to gain the dogs trust he would need to actually be involved in her life, and well, if Chuuya got wind that he was slacking off on his ‘parenting’ duties then the crazy redhead would stomp all the way to the fake address he had put down on the paper, and upon realizing that it was a safe house, burn it to the ground.

An interesting outcome but not a desired one.

So Dazai grumbled as he stopped in the first aisle of dog food, he would have just grabbed a random bag but the kind that Chuuya very explicitly stated he got was right in front of him so he lugged it in the cart and continued on to the dog beds.

Honestly, he could just let her sleep on the couch, she would get fur everywhere but it wasn’t like his place wasn’t already a mess and that he cared. The only thing the dog hair would do was ward off any visitors who were allergic and that was a win in his case.

He grabbed the largest dog bed anyways.

A kennel?

Dazai had planned to just make her sit next to his desk during his boring workdays because if he had to suffer through them then so did she. Then again a kennel would keep her from bothering him…

Dazai eyes the slightly crumpled paper, and under the word ‘cage,’ Chuuya wrote,

‘May need, but be careful she gets anxious in them.’

Why Chuuya cared so much about the wellbeing of the dog, he would never know.

Dazai held off on buying a cage.

Then came the subject of the cursed puppy pads.

Was this dog housetrained? Probably not.

Would he stand for it soiling his floors? Absolutely not.

He might as well cover every square inch of his floor with these things because he did not feel like cleaning up the dog's mess. He had his own mess of a penthouse to worry about as it was.

Though Chuuya’s ‘professional’ opinion on Puppy pads was also pretty clear.

‘If you get puppy pads I will wring your neck. Unless you want that dog to think it’s okay to piss all over your floor, you better not be lazy and just make her go on the pads. House train her, she’s a smart dog she’ll pick it up in a few days.’

Chuuya’s opinion was not needed.

Dazai added in a few boxes of the puppy pads and continued on his journey to the toy aisles.

Couldn’t the dog just chase her own tail or something? Maybe sit on the couch and watch TV? Dazai didn’t see how any of these neon colorful toys could help cure the dog's boredom. They all looked noisy and nauseatingly polychromatic.

Dazai didn’t know why he found himself looking back on that paper for Chuuya’s unneeded advice.

‘Toys- None of those shitty Nylon chew toys unless you want to bring your dog in with a fractured tooth. Nothing with stuffing in it unless you want to waste more money and pick up a mess. Stick with the rope toys and deer antlers, they last a while and are better than rawhide.’

Dazai was left to wonder when Chuuya even took the time to write this all down. Did he do it to all of his customers or did he believe Dazai to be dumb?

Dazai grabbed a case of the antlers and a long rope that felt uncomfortable under his fingertips.

Finally, he reached the last aisle of what looked to be dog treats and was just about ready to go back to his penthouse, escape another day of work, and rest his heavy bones.

Though of course, life never went according to plan and it certainly wasn’t going to now.

Just as he had placed his last item in the cart was when the horrible sound could be heard. The loud battle cry echoed in Dazai’s very bones, shattering the relative peace of the pet store and plunging it into chaos.

Accompanying the loud howl was a voice, the familiar one of the worker who was frantically trying to reassure what Dazai assumed was his dog.

He was half tempted to just walk out of the store while he still could, but before he could do that there was yet another howl, somehow louder than the first, and the sound of metal crashing to the tiled floor.

The scraping of claws...

And if Dazai wasn’t imagining things he would say the sounds were growing closer…

He dared to poke his head out of the aisle only to nearly be beheaded by the cart sliding his way. He narrowly dodged and poked his head back out to see the warpath the dog had left.

She made a lap around the store, fur soaked with suds of soap dripping off. An unfamiliar harness was securely around her body, pink in color, and attached to that was a leash…. A leash that was currently wrapped around Atsushi’s wrist.

Like some morbid waterslide, she was dragging the worker all around the store and Dazai should really go now-

Somewhere around their third lap around the store the birdcage had been knocked over and now not only was the dog whimpering and barking but now the birds were obnoxiously screeching and the cats in the opposite corner were hissing and even the damn fish in the fish tanks were brainlessly watching-

“This is wonderful,” Atsushi’s co-worker murmured under her breath, an evil smile on her face as she stood on top of the check-out desk and recorded the whole thing.

Dazai avoided the camera view and regretted all of his decisions in life.

“Luuuuccccy!” The white-haired teenager screeched, “Help!”

“Not a chance!” She yelled back, snickering under her breath.

By her fourth lap around the perimeter, Atsushi’s face was growing green and Dazai figured that getting the dog's attention would be better than a public scandal of ‘Man’s dog kills an innocent worker mid-evil torture style.’

Bringing bandaged fingers up to his lips, Dazai whistled.

The noises stopped.

“Dog,” he called, “behave please!”

After a moment he could hear the worker who had been essentially tortured get up with a weak “thank you!”

Once the girl co-worker, Lucy, got down from the cash register Dazai wheeled his cart up for her to actually do her job, and while she was scanning the product the dog slowly emerged from her hiding place amongst the shelves, ears pinned down in shame as she slowly sat in front of Dazai, head down.

Her fur was still soaked and Dazai got the issue now.

She freaked out when she had gotten wet, no doubt remembering the night when she had gotten hurt. Perhaps it was best to keep her away from water for the time being.

Atsushi rounded the corner with a towel and slowly started to towel her dry. The dog didn’t move an inch.

Dazai crossed his arms, “You’re a troublemaker, I should have left you in the car.”

A whimper.

“Yes,” Dazai nodded along, “You know you're in trouble for making a scene.”

Her ears twitched on her head and she let out a long whine.

“Yes yes, I have eyes. I saw what happened. Perhaps you won’t have to sleep outside but you’re not getting off completely free.”

Dog finally looked up at him, eyes shimmering and pink tongue lolling out. It was not cute, not at all.

Atsushi chuckled and finished drying her fur, getting up from his crouched position. “You two are pretty fluent, it’s almost as if you understand what she’s saying.”

Dazai paused. Was that normal? “Well, it’s pretty obvious,” he decided, because it was. Just as he could manipulate people into a position that would best favor him, he could easily communicate with this dog.

“Huh,” Atsushi murmured, “well, I’m sorry for the ruckus, but I managed to get a harness on her which is a lot safer than normal collars.”

Dazai was pretty sure he saw that written somewhere in Chuuya’s notes. That and ‘ABSOLUTELY NO RETRACTABLE LEASHES.’

“Would you like a nametag for your dog? We can put your number on it in case she ever gets lost,” the worker offered, and considering the dog's knack for getting into trouble, it sounded like a good investment.

“Yes yes, that sounds fine, just put her name and I can give you the number to put on there." He would put Chuuya’s number instead of his.

“Sir, are you absolutely sure you want me to put her name as… Dog?”

“Yes,” Dazai nodded, patting her head “factually speaking, it is the perfect name.”

Chuuya’s phone buzzed somewhere near his head and he was heavily considering leaving it alone. He had almost drifted off to sleep again until there was yet another buzzing.

“Ugh,” he groaned, rolling onto his back and patting the mattress until he felt the hard surface of his phone.

He had gotten back to his apartment not too long ago, maybe an hour and a half. He managed to microwave a meal and feed his own animals (Copper had always been jealous of him when he returned from his shifts, sniffing the other dogs on him) and collapsed into bed.

And now, into the limbo and wakefulness and sleep, he had been pulled from it to check his phone in case of emergency.

It was Yosano.

A text message.

‘Isn’t this your dog you recently stitched up?’

Attached to the text was a link.

Chuuya immediately tapped on it, all signs of exhaustion gone as he squinted at the screen. The other tabs he had opened were all compilation of animal videos because Chuuya was a sucker and he liked watching cute animal videos during his breaks, so sue him.

The video she had sent him seemed to be blowing up on the internet, and Chuuya almost dreaded what he was to find when the screen loaded up-

But he had certainly not expected to see Daisy in what looked like a Pet Smart store that Chuuya recently frequented, dragging poor Atsushi around on the floor.

“What the fuck?” He asked breathily, snorting at the scene yet feeling bad when Atsushi was flung into a shelf. That kid really needed a raise.

Then there was a piercing whistle and the dog halted, immediately looking guilty. The video ended there and Chuuya could assume that Shuji had been the one to whistle. At least now he knew that he actually took Chuuya’s list and went shopping for Daisy.

He was also going to hit Shuji upside the head the next time he saw him for just letting her run around like that with that injury.

Chuuya yawned and set his phone back down, the mental image of Daisy branded in his brain. That had certainly made his shitty day a tad bit better.

Chuuya shifted and Copper at the edge of the bed pawed at his leg.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll go to sleep now,” he ran his fingers through short fur. “Goodnight buddy.”

Chapter Text

Much to Chuuya’s utter amusement and Dazai’s utter horror, the video of Daisy dragging Atsushi through the store quickly spread through the media like wildfire. It had quickly become a topic of conversation among Chuuya’s clinic.

A week had passed by and not a day was spent without watching it.

He would be sure to rub it in Shuuji’s face the next time he saw him, whenever that would be.

Chuuya’s alarm rang way too early in the morning as it usually did, and he could only grumble out a complaint as he lumbered to the shower. Copper watched him get ready from his comfortable place on the bed and Chuuya glared.

“Yeah yeah,” he grumbled, voice husky from sleep. “You enjoy your day of napping while I provide for you.”

If Copper had a long tail then it would be thumping against the mattress as Chuuya stumbled through his apartment to get ready at the utterly obscene hour in the morning. Maybe he should just call in and stay back at the apartment and spend the day with his animals, though it was an option he considered every morning, and every morning he shut it down because there were other animals that needed his help.

He couldn’t exactly remember if he had any appointments lined up for today, it was a Wednesday and usually, Wednesdays weren’t too busy.

Wednesdays were also Chuuya’s least favorite days because somehow they always managed to end in disaster.

Once they had a full-grown donkey trample in their reception area and it wasn’t fun to clean up. (They had all had to stand on the reception desk and watch the chaos unfold and that video too became viral.)

And what was the start to a shitty Wednesday without a bad morning?

Chuuya’s coffee machine had been broken the previous night. It wasn’t anyone's fault but his since he had moved it over slightly to the right when trying to climb the counter and reach the top cabinet and forgot to place it back. Poor Mackerel had knocked right into it, not used to the new placement. The cat seemed frightened but really, Chuuya wouldn’t trade her for the world, even if his morning cup of coffee was now gone for the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, Chuuya took the loss like a champ and only remained slightly grumpy.

“You stay on the bed and don’t cause any trouble for Mackerel,” Chuuya chastised as he draped the blanket back over Copper. He was such a big baby. And well, he did not want to have another 'Stuck in the bath’ situation.

After moving from his bedroom he placed food in his animals' respective bowls, spotting Mackerel lounging on the countertop. He tapped the counter next to her so as to not startle her before reaching out to stroke her ear as a goodbye.

He ended up departing from his apartment slightly later than usual, just as the morning rays started to peek through the cityscape and Chuuya felt significantly more alive.

Well, that was, until he hit the traffic.

Chuuya absolutely loved his motorcycle, it was flashy and a friend had given it to him as a gift that he couldn’t turn down. It was nice to feel the breeze against his body when he rode (even if it was occasionally hard to subdue the road rage when bastard drivers totally discarded him because he was a motorcyclist.) and it woke him up, but now, he was in stuck in traffic in the now cold Yokohama weather and admittedly, he should have just driven that damn heap of scrap metal.

He preferred to drive his car during the winter months anyway, even if the heating system sucked, it was better than being stuck outside.

He arrived about fifteen minutes late, gloved fingers shaking as he pushed past the glass doors to let the warmth envelop him and-

A bright flurry of colors disoriented his vision and a loud screeching made his eardrums feel as if they would start bleeding at any second.

Oh no.

Chuuya was tempted to just walk back outside and direct his motorcycle straight back into the traffic because he knew this customer and their stubborn animal-

“Chuuya! Thank god you’re here!” Yosano called from her place near the reception desk. She had oven mitts on and looked as if she was about to pounce at any given time. “Coco’s being a real fighter today.”

Chuuya bit his tongue to resist groaning because Coco was always a fighter.

It was too damn early in the morning to be dealing with this.

Chuuya brought his fingers to his lips and whistled, a pitch higher than the screech of the bird. The occupants of the room cupped their ears while the bird (A cockatiel with the most beautiful colors Chuuya had ever seen yet a nasty attitude.) Flew down from her perch on their desk, claws sinking right into Chuuya’s hand as she perched.

Chuuya was relieved that he had gotten into the habit of wearing his gloves otherwise there would be even more scarring from the exotic bird's claws.

Coco had always been a trouble patient because her owner never cared enough to pay better attention to her, and Chuuya always had to resist taking in yet another animal because he already had three strays he didn’t need another-

“It looks like you’ve won over that bird again,” Yosano snorted, shucking her oven mittens as Kunikida, Kenji, and the Tanizaki’s emerged from the back. They were all cowards and betrayers.

“It’s his hair I'm telling you,” Naomi whined, and she wasn’t wrong considering how the bird was currently digging into his hair with her beak.

“Yes, cockatiels are more sensitive to colors than humans-”

“Thanks for the info, Kunikida,” Chuuya gave him a tight-lipped smile. The hair jokes would never stop.

“Well, seeing as you already have Coco, you should be the one to give her a checkup,” Yosano smirked and Chuuya was definitely going to walk back out into oncoming traffic-

“Whoever scheduled Coco for an appointment at six in the morning is a menace.”

The bird squawked directly in his ear and Chuuya was already done with the day before it even started.

Dazai, for once, had a somewhat decent morning.

Well, if waking up to fifty pounds of fur rolling around on top of you and leaving sloppy kisses on your face counted as a ‘decent morning.’

It was a wonder that he even managed to get out of bed, though he hadn’t been able to sleep his issues away with the dog that always managed to jump on him and lick his face until he got out of bed. She was a very unwelcome alarm clock.

She had been doing this… well, ever since he brought her back to his apartment (though it was practically a penthouse, he owned the building after all.)

Really, the only benefits of having the dog was that she had already been housebroken. Dazai had planned to coat his entire floor with puppy pads only for the dog to scratch at the door that led to his backyard (Dazai never used the pool but it was a nice view in case he was ever forced to have a formal gathering at his place.)

Dazai had immediately invested in the dog door because no way in hell was he going to willingly get up just to let the dog out.

When she had first been introduced to the house she automatically sniffed around, which Dazai assumed was what all dogs would do no matter how annoying. Though his place didn’t matter as much since despite skipping out on his normal duties, he spent most of his time in his office where no one would bother him.

The dog though, she always found a way to claw at the curtains and chew at the blinds in such a way that the sun would shine directly in Dazai’s face when he woke up from his nap, and yes- this dog was nothing but an annoyance.

“Gah,” Dazai startled into wakefulness, rolling over to escape the wrath of the dog's tongue. He had locked the door so how did she even get in-

“Ugh, gross!” he whined, pushing her snout away so he could sit up and blink at the wall a few times. It was the morning.

He flopped back down. He could deal with this later-

The dog rolled on top of him and Dazai was forced to emerge from his cave and start his day.

“Sir,” Hirotsu greeted once Dazai had sluggishly made his way to his office, not sparing a glance to the dog panting happily next to him. “I believe the executive meeting you planned is scheduled to start within ten minutes.”

Dazai feigned thought and Hirotsu could already sense that he had found yet another reason to skip out on it-

“Yes, no can do you see, I have to take my dearest dog to get her vaccines.”

“Sir,” Hirotsu tried because this was the fifth executive meeting to be canceled, “if you wish I can take her to the vet in your steed.”

Dazai waved him off, “I can take her, she is my investment after all.”

Hirotsu cautiously eyed his boss, then the dog, and nodded. “Very well.”

“Hmm,” Dazai patted the dog's head once Hirotsu was out of earshot. “That wasn’t as dramatic as I expected it to be.”

The dog huffed and pawed at his pant leg and Dazai sighed, “I suppose I still can’t escape taking you to the vet now can I?”

Dazai ended up leaving ten minutes later than when he was supposed to, though he forced the dog to sit in the back seat. He had learned his lesson from last time when he had nearly caused a multi-car accident.

Dazai wondered if dogs liked music. He himself much preferred the silence of the car but to drown out the noises the dog was making he flipped through the stations. Most of them were generic hip-hop artists who Dazai didn’t care much for, though he halted when he flipped to some old western music.

The dog in the backseat immediately reacted, ears flattening and scooting back as if she had been burned.

Well, no dog of Dazai’s was going to like country music, so he supposed he could rest easy.

He settled for classical until he eventually pulled into the vets' driveway. It was surprisingly not in the middle of Yokohama, but rather in the outskirts where trees could surround it, yet it was still populated.

Not many cars occupied the parking lot, maybe three or four, so Dazai parked next to a motorcycle that he couldn’t recall seeing before. Chuuya’s trashy car was nowhere to be seen so it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

He would definitely be teasing the veterinarian for owning a hot pink motorcycle.

“Come on dog,” Dazai opened the back door and the german shepherd immediately jumped out, Dazai snapped his fingers when she strayed a bit too far. He had never used a leash on her, seeing no point if she was going to remain by his side.

Through the glass doors he could tell that the interior of the building remained the same, even if there were a few colorful feathers littering the tiled floor…

“I’m here for my appointment~” Dazai announced as he pushed past the door, and the dog immediately seemed to notice where she was because she went up to jump on the reception, her front legs propping her up on the desk.

Yosano’s face split into a smug grin as she pulled out a treat from the desk to pass to the dog and ruffle her fur. “Well if it isn’t our internet sensation!”

Dazai cringed at the memory, migraine coming back at full force as he shook his head, “Don’t remind me,” then he scanned the room, “say, where is the chibi?”

Yosano snorted, “Chuuya? He’s sleeping in the back. Told me to wake him up like an hour ago but I let him sleep.”

Dazai leaned on the desk next to his dog as Yosano held up a finger, the keys clacking on her keyboard as she typed furiously. “Well, it looks like you’re his only appointment for the day so I'll go grab him.”

She pushed herself away from the desk to get up and disappear to the back at the same time as one of the other workers exited the office, the blonde man who looked as if he had a stick shoved up his-

“You’re ten minutes late,” he huffed, glasses glinting under the harsh lighting. “If Nakahara fit’s you into his schedule then please take care to get here on time.”

Oh, so he did have a stick shoved up his-

“Oh, it’s you,” Chuuya grumbled as he emerged from the back with Yosano, shouldering past the blonde man as if he wasn’t a whole head and a half taller than him.

“Is it really professional to be sleeping on the job?” Dazai taunted as Chuuya blatantly ignored the insult to sit in his own seat. Though he didn’t miss the small smile Chuuya shot his dog from over the reception desk.

How come the dog got a smile and Dazai didn’t?

“I can sleep if I want to,” Chuuya grumbled under his breath as he typed information on his computer, yawning the sleep away occasionally. Now that Dazai actually had the time to look at him, he did look like he had a shit morning with the way his scrubs were slightly rumpled and his hair was up-

And his hair was up.

Dazai’s mouth went dry.

“Your hairs up,” he pointed out and Chuuya froze in his typing, slowly looking up at Dazai with a perplexed expression on his face.

“Well yeah, I don’t want my hair all up in your dog's space while I'm trying to do my job.”

Dazai supposed that made sense. But there was absolutely no reason for Chuuya having to wear his hair up like that because it was killing him-

Perhaps his mouth was suddenly so dry because the sight was ugly.

Dazai should get a new veterinarian if Chuuya’s sheer ugliness was affecting him that much.

Despite that, when Chuuya waved him into the back room, Dazai followed with the dog tugging him along.

“Alright,” Chuuya handed him off the papers and Dazai wordlessly took them, “normally we’d make you fill those out in the waiting room but there’s no wait so you can just fill them out while I'm giving her shots to not waste time.”

“How time-efficient of you-”

Chuuya bent down to scoop the dog up and normally Dazai would ask if he was too short to reach the table but there were definitely some muscles under those scrubs-

Dazai cleared his throat.

He needed water all of a sudden. How strange.

“Look at you girl,” Chuuya spoke to the dog, who apparently recognized him immediately with the way she nuzzled into the palm of his hand. “You look a lot healthier,” he murmured to himself as his fingers skirted over her admittedly shiny fur coat. He curled his fingers around her snout to get a look at her teeth and continued with what Dazai was assuming was a normal checkup.

“You’re being awfully quiet over there,” Chuuya directed the statement to Dazai and he was pulled from his… musings. “No jab to make about my height today?”

Dazai shrugged, shifting in the uncomfortable plastic chair, “Oh, I have plenty of jabs I’m just saving the best for-”

A deafening howl from the next room drowned out the rest of Dazai’s sentence and he winced at the sound, though Chuuya continued on as if it were a completely normal occurrence.

“Uhh, should I be concerned?”

Chuuya paused, blinking at Dazai as if the most painful howl to ever be heard on the planet had not just been unleashed. “Oh, the noises? That’s just pepper, Husky’s are the most dramatic dogs you will ever meet.”

“Huh,” well, Dazai would consider himself lucky that he hadn’t picked up a Husky off of the side of the road because he wasn’t sure he would be able to live with that.

And now that Chuuya commented about his lack of teasing Dazai felt that he had to comply now. “Is that hot pink monstrosity outside yours?”

It seemed to be the right thing to say because Chuuya’s head wiped over to glare at him, though his gloved hands continued to smooth over the dog's fur in gentle motions that contrasted his look of absolute hatred.

Dazai smirked, “Ah, so it is yours.”

“Leave her out of this, and she’s red, not hot pink. Get your eyes checked!”

Chuuya absolutely seethed as Dazai snickered, though his victory was short-lived as one of the assistants- a girl with dark hair- entered the room with a tray in hand, placing them on the counter.

“Ah, thank you, Naomi,” he nodded to the girl who bowed and fled to do whatever assistants did.

“So, has anyone come to claim her yet?” Chuuya asked as if Dazai hadn’t just insulted him.

“Excuse me?”

Chuuya shrugged as he pulled the contents from the tray, they were needles that Dazai assumed were the vaccinations. “Well, she is way too well trained to have just been a stray her whole life. I’m assuming someone dumped her a while ago. But cases of this have happened where when an animal gets popular online and the previous owner or even a random stranger will try to take the dog away, claiming it's theirs.”

“Well, no such thing has happened yet,” Dazai answered, and Chuuya did have a point because Dazai didn’t even have to house train her much less teach her to sit.

“That’s good,” Chuuya hummed as he completed fiddling with the needle, lips tugging into a small smirk. “I go back and watch that video when I need a good laugh, though was there a specific reason as to why she dragged Atsushi across the store?”

He had concern laced in his tone and Dazai had yet to understand why he cared for the animal so much.

“Well, I'm assuming the water triggered her.”

Chuuya patted the dog between the ears, “yeah, she’s a good dog so I was assuming that something had happened there.”

Dazai watched as Chuuya switched back into work mode, smiling at the dog as he scratched between her ears. And then he was talking to her-

“Hey girl,” he said in a gentle tone, telegraphing his movements as he showed her one of the needles, “this is a shot and you may not like it, but it’s just a little pinch. You’re a strong one so I'm sure you can do this without kicking me in the face?”

Dazai had assumed that Chuuya had been kicked in the face many times.

The dog blinked at Chuuya, lips pulled back to look like that dopey smile she always wore. “Alright,” Chuuya grinned, “cool.”

“You sound like a psychopath talking to the dog,” Dazai pointed out and Chuuya didn’t even spare him a glance as he leaned close to the dog, shot in hand as he injected the needle into her subcutaneous tissue.

She didn't move an inch as Chuuya got his job done.

The veterinarian pulled back in surprise once he was done, “You lady, are one of the most well-behaved dog I have ever had the pleasure of treating.”

A strange tingling sensation erupted in his chest and Dazai quickly stomped it down.

The dog let out a small woof in agreement.

The appointment didn’t last for much longer and for that Dazai was thankful because when he got away from Chuuya he was sure the strange suffocating feeling in his chest would subside.

“Alright,” Chuuya concluded once they were back out at the reception desk. Yosano and some blonde kid were taking pictures with his dog and Dazai didn’t even bat an eye at the veterinarian's antics at this point.

They were all very… eccentric people.

“She may develop a small fever and be sore for two to five days but if it lasts longer than that or progresses then take her back to me. I checked on her stitches and they looked good so no infection at her injury sight. We waited to see if Anaphylaxis occurred with her but I saw no signs so she’s good to go.”

Chuuya continued to lecture Dazai on how he could now stop dressing the dog with bandages, even if Dazai wanted to continue to do so since it was a very upfront fashion statement.

If those grandmas could dress their poodles in ugly knit sweaters then why couldn’t Dazai dress his dog in bandages?

Chuuya finished typing on his computer and looked up to Dazai, “That’s about it, so hopefully if nothing happens in between then, I should see you next year.”

Something small cracked in Dazai’s chest.

Next year? That was too much time to go without teasing Chuuya.

As Dazai was just about to exit the glass doors Chuuya called to him.

“Shuuji?”

He halted, momentarily forgetting that he had given him a fake name, then turned back. “Yes? Was there something that your small brain forgot to inform me about?”

Chuuya raised a confident eyebrow, “Didn’t I tell you to give her a name by the next visit?”

“Oh but I did!” Dazai proclaimed, “Her name is dog!”

Chuuya practically shook with rage as Yosano made an ‘O’ shape with her mouth.

“She deserves a real name jackass, give it to her or I'll name her for you!”

And despite all of Dazai's previous teasing, Chuuya actually looked angry this time. It was so typical of him to get worked up to defend an animal instead of himself.

And slightly...endearing.

In an ugly way. Because Chuuya was not endearing.

Dazai looked down to the dog on his heel then looked back up to Chuuya, surprised when he found himself being genuine. “I will see what I can find.”

Chuuya nodded, satisfied. “Good, now get out of my vet before your face scares the customers.”

“You already do a pretty good job at doing that!” Dazai called back, not letting Chuuya get in the last jab as the doors closed behind him.

“Well, he’s an interesting one,” Yosano sounded way too amused for Chuuya’s liking, and she had that scheming look in her eyes that Chuuya never liked.

He sighed, “He’s a headache, that’s what he is.”

To Dazai’s utter horror, the five executives all sat in the lobby the moment he stepped foot into the Port Mafia headquarters.

The door shut behind him and he slowly turned around to see Hirotsu.

“I’m sorry sir,” his tone was apologetic but his expression certainly wasn’t. “I had to reschedule the meeting to an hour after your vet appointment, Ozaki Kouyou was the one to enforce it.”

Dazai gasped.

Was this what betrayal felt like?

Chapter Text

“Would you mind explaining just why you have disagreed with all of the executive meetings and just why, well…” Kouyou pointed a perfectly manicured finger to the chair next to Dazai, a chair that the dog occupied.

“Oh her?” Dazai shrugged, “she is simply my guard dog, don’t mind her.”

“But sir?” Tachihara cleared his throat, shrinking under Dazai’s gaze. Dazai was unsure of why other members that were not a part of the five executives were even present, though he had assumed that Hirotsu had seized the opportunity to have them all on the same page, the black Lizard and assault squads included.

“Is there an issue?”

“Um, I just....” Tachihara eyed the other member of the room for help, “I just thought you were allergic to dogs… or anything with fur.”

Dazai faked surprise, “now just where would you get that idea?”

Dazai could recall the exact time around three months and five days ago when he had been sent with the Black Lizard and stray dogs had crowded them on their walk. There had been a fluctuation of them in the area. Dazai had complained that he was deathly allergic to animals with fur to get the assault squad to chase them away.

Tachihara stuttered and Dazai waved him off, “I’m not allergic anymore.”

“Yes sir.”

“So you’re claiming that you now have a… guard dog?” Kouyou asked apprehensively.

“I’m not claiming, I'm stating. The grunts guarding my door have failed with catching many assassination attempts and shooting people in the head is exhausting,” Dazai huffed and Hirotsu appeared somewhat guilty, even if the occupants in the room knew all too well that Dazai was in no real danger. “I figured that a dog would be able to sense an oddity before humans could.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” the woman admitted, “though your absences are not fit for a Port Mafia boss.”

Kouyou Ozaki was one of the only ones who would call Dazai out for his bullshit and he admired that, there were few who would talk to him as if he were a normal person. (Just like that vet-) Dazai resisted the urge to slap himself.

Kouyou was a sharp one.

“Well we all know I go about business in a different way than the previous bosses of the Port Mafia,” he drawled, fingers scraping over the wooden table as he idly traced patterns into the surface. “Nevertheless, I am vital to the organization and what I say goes, so if anyone has any objections with my way of working…”

The others avoided direct eye contact as Dazai scanned over the room, Kouyou providing him with a satisfied smirk.

While it was true that Dazai had the tendency to slack off, the revenue the Port Mafia had been receiving during his reign as the boss had nearly tripled. The other leaders had been stupid ones, though Dazai preferred to pull the strings from the shadows instead of calling for an all-out war with the other organizations.

“Now,” Dazai leaned forward, hands clasping in front of his face, “Shall we discuss business? That is what we're here for, no?”

Many listened as they talked over strategies, Dazai only intervening a few times. He had never been very vocal, so when he did speak everyone listened intently.

He discussed the recent boundary disputes with the Sheep and the GSS and how he had managed to stay in the good graces of both organizations should they ever team up. The Port mafia could decimate them either way.

They discussed budgeting and frankly boring topics, though, towards the end of the meeting, Dazai didn’t know how the meeting had turned into a ‘Slander Dazai’s dog naming abilities’ discussion.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, what is her name?” Tachihara asked from his place standing behind Hirotsu, Dazai didn’t miss the way Gin kicked his foot.

“Hmm, oh, the dog?” Dazai asked, eyeing the dog next to him. She had patiently sat through the whole meeting on the chair as a normal human being, just looking happy to be there.

“Yes,” Tachihara nodded vigorously, “I figured she was trained, and if we ever needed to call her name..” he trailed off and Dazai decided to have mercy on his floundering.

“Her name’s dog.”

This time not only did Tachihara seem shocked but Kouyou’s face twisted in disapproving confusion. “You refuse to give her a proper name even though she is the one protecting you?”

Dazai frowned, “Well, seeing as she is factually a dog, I see no issue with addressing her as such. Besides, she reacts well to the name,” he snapped his fingers, “Dog.”

Her head immediately turned to him, tongue lolling out as she attempted to get down from the chair and lick Dazai’s face, though he quickly put a stop to that. “Stay,” she planted her paws on the chair.

The look of disgust never left Kouyou’s face, and she has somehow reminded him of the way Chuuya looked at him…

Dazai needed to stop thinking of that monstrosity. He rode a hot pink motorcycle for goodness sake-

“I feel that she deserves a proper name,” Kouyou spoke, the other executives looking between her and Dazai for some sort of sign of a blooming argument.

Dazai’s mind flashed to what Chuuya had asked before he departed from the pet clinic-

“...I agree,” he said reluctantly and now the whole table was shocked. “What do you suggest?”

The occupants all eyed each other as if searching for the trap because it was very out of turn for Osamu Dazai to ask for one's opinion, especially on personal matters.

“Well,” Tachihara, ever the one with no filter, spoke first. Dazai should include him in more meetings. He made things more amusing. “We’re in the Port Mafia so how about something cool like ‘Grim reaper?’ Grimmy for short.”

Then Akutagawa spoke, a rarity since the Akutagawa’s had always been shadows. “With all due respect, that is the ugliest name I have ever had the displeasure of hearing.”

Dazai couldn’t help but agree.

Dazai snorted, leaning back, “Oh yeah Diablo, you have a better suggestion?” He teased, and Akutagawa’s face flushed crimson.

Tachihara snickered but Gin kicked him with twice the amount of force, almost sending him tumbling to the velvet carpet. Hirotsu shot them a warning look.

“It would be easier if it was a kitten,” Akutagawa defended himself, Higuchi nodding furiously next to him. “Then perhaps we could name her Meowcifer or Clawdeen.”

Dazai honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

Apparently not, his face remained stoic.

“Well, I don’t think a furball would have the ability to protect me. They are unloyal and I am fairly sure that once their owner dies that they eat their decomposing body.”

No one elaborated further on the topic.

Finally, Kouyou spoke up from where she had been brainstorming names. She eyed the dog curiously, “I believe that Daisy would be an appropriate name.”

Tachihara blanched but before he could protest Gin bowed before excusing the both of them out of the room.

Dazai hummed, “It’s not exactly an intimidating name…”

Kouyou whistled and the dog’s ears perked up, “Daisy, what do you think about that name girl?”

The little traitor barked in agreement, tail thumping so hard it nearly hit Dazai’s leg.

The executive smirked, “I suppose we have a name then.”

Dazai sighed, “I suppose we do.”

She had won the battle but she would not win the war.

A week and three days later found Dazai laying in his Alaskan king-sized bed, staring up at the ceiling and occasionally letting out a dejected huff of disappointment.

He was bored, and incredibly so.

There was no one around he could annoy who would have the same facial expressions as Chuuya. No one around who would treat him as someone of equal value and throw a chair at him when they got mad.

Dazai sighed dreamily and felt the bruise on the back of his shoulder after he had said one too many taunting retorts to the veterinarian.

It appeared he would have to wait for another year to roll around until he could pester Chuuya and maybe even that blonde man (Kunikida if he remembered his name correctly.)

Daisy nosed at Dazai’s bandaged hand that hung over the edge of the bed and Dazai pulled it away with a noise of annoyance. “I refuse to take you on a walk, take yourself you know how to escape the yard anyways.”

True enough, Daisy could easily clear the fence if she wished to.

Dazai rolled over when she nipped once more at his fingers.

“Get your nasty germs- ugh!” Dazai complained as the large mass of fur jumped on top of him, refusing to move an inch from his stomach, wet nose coming into contact with his neck.

“I hate you.”

Daisy didn’t seem too phased as she landed a large kiss on his cheek.

Dazai would never understand why she was so touchy.

“How am I ever going to live without annoying the Chibi! I can only see black and white in a world full of colors,” Dazai proclaimed dramatically, throwing an arm over his face. Daisy howled along with his complaints apologetically.

“I have so many ginger jokes stored in my mind yet I shall never get to use them!”

Daisy huffed in agreement.

“I will not be able to pass away happily without making fun of his face just one more time-” Dazai paused when his eyes landed on his nightstand, littered with trash because he would never be able to properly clean up after himself-

Then he spotted it.

A chocolate wrapper.

He felt the devious smirk replace his frown as Daisy stilled in his hold.

Who says he had to wait a year?

The fall season brought many strange cases to Chuuya’s clinic over the years.

One woman had dressed her Great Dane in a Tutu though unfortunately, the large dog had ended up tangled in the article of clothing… He was a bit too large for the costume. Of course, the owner had no sense and ended up taking her dog to the vet instead of cutting him out of the tutu like a normal person.

Though Chuuya will never forget last Halloween when he was called out at three o'clock in the morning to help a horse deliver a baby. The mama horse had been dressed in the most visually insulting jester costume that Chuuya had ever seen and the owner refused to take off her costume while she gave birth.

He punched the owner in the face and proceeded to do a kick-ass job of delivering the foal. Their vet had lost that customer though Chuuya wasn’t sure he would be able to stand seeing the man again anyway.

Not only was work-life busy, but social life was too.

Social life meaning his ongoing war on Twitter with the Russian’s and the American’s veterinary practices. Chuuya’s vet ran the port though the other two vets also had a good portion of the population going to them for assistance.

The war had started as soon as the Americans moved in (Seriously, who in the hell named their Vet ‘The guild?’)

Chuuya ran his vets' social media and drunk tweeted a message slandering their name. The guild had been quick to clap back with their own insults and the Russians absolutely enjoyed the chaos and drama.

Of course, all of their customers from all three of the vets were absolutely overjoyed with the drama and regularly kept up with it.

It seemed that this Halloween would stir up some more drama.

It was honestly the best part of Chuuya’s day.

“Chuuya!” Yosano waved from the reception desk as he arrived for the day shift. It was a Friday, their busiest day besides Saturdays. A lot of families liked to splurge and buy new animals during or before the weekends.

“Morning,” he greeted, momentarily dropping his bag off in the back before coming to take his seat. A lot of times they switched off on who got to sit at the desks and who got to wait for appointments in the back. Yosano and Chuuya had won rock paper scissors against Kunikida and Tanizaki for the month.

“Have you checked the drama on Twitter lately?” She smirked, “It’s getting heated.”

“Really?” Chuuya asked, still half-asleep as he took tentative sips of his coffee. “I don’t think we got tagged in any posts…”

“Well, there was a scandal about our dear Russians across the way.”

If Chuuya was asleep before, he was fully awake now as he fished his phone from his coat pocket, (his last white vet coat had been destroyed in an unfortunate accident involving a donkey so he hadn’t been able to buy a new one until recently.)

He scrolled through his following list until coming across the guilds profile, smug to see that they hadn’t passed them up in followers. Yosano scooted her chair closer to look over his shoulder as he read…

It was a Tweet from Mark Twain. He had always posted the most interesting things on social media (borderline questionable.)

-Mark Twain

‘A vampire found sucking the blood of an innocent animal in the back alley of Fyodor’s vet clinic. He looks awfully familiar… @Fyodor’sClinic have anything to say for yourself?’

Chuuya clicked on the video linked and it was a very grainy, very low-quality video of a man with dark hair with his back to the camera. The video lagged and suddenly the man turned, red smeared over his lips and fingers as he gave the camera a panicked look.

Honestly, Chuuya would have assumed it was a random man if not for the Russian's extremely pale complexion (The palest person that Chuuya had ever laid his eyes upon) and his signature hat he always wore.

The video ended and Chuuya snorted.

“Keep scrolling,” Yosano told him and he did just that until he found Fyodor’s response.

Social media-wise, he was not the...best with interaction, so the tweet wasn’t too reassuring…

-Fyodor Dostoevsky.

‘@TheMoneyMakinGuild, I had ketchup on my face.’

And well, he probably did have ketchup on his face. 

“Well…” Chuuya stared at the screen, “That was interesting.”

Yosano snorted, pushing back to reclaim her own chair, “C’mon, join in on the seasonal banter, our vet can’t be left out!”

She was right.

No way in hell was Chuuya missing this opportunity. It appears that this Halloween the Guild and his vet would be joining forces.

He typed out his response.

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘@Fyodor’sClinic, at least try to stay out of the sunlight next time you feed. Thanks.’

Chuuya pocketed his phone, putting it on silent mode for the sake of their ears before the flood of likes and retweets could be heard.

“What an eventful morning,” Yosano sighed as she leaned back in her chair. It was considering all they tended to do was nap until the customers started flooding through the doors.

Though apparently, it would only become even more eventful.

Because with crazy Halloween cases, Social media wars, Great Danes dressed in Tutus, and horses dressed as jesters, the Autumn season also brought along an especially annoying client that would become a thorn in his side.

Shuuji Tsushima burst through the doors as if he had owned them, Daisy in his arms looking way too happy to fit Dazai’s distressed face.

“I need the Chibi!” Dazai wailed, “My dog is going to die!”

Chapter Text

Dazai’s master plan was put into action only a mere three days later after some speculation. Thanks to the information he found online (and some very interesting Twitter wars that he would definitely stay up to date with) Dazai knew the exact opening time of Chuuya’s vet and when the optimal time to annoy him would be.

(The morning, of course. Dazai had limited facts on Chuuya Nakahara even if he did go and search for his name on the internet like some stalker. But he did know from personal experience that Chuuya was not a morning person.)

It wasn’t that Dazai actually liked Chuuya’s ugly face or his equally as visibly insulting hair. His paw print scrubs and those gloves he had never seen him without. Not at all. Dazai was simply… intrigued.

There wasn’t much that could catch Dazai's attention with the type of life he led, though with the few times he had met the veterinarian he had been pulled into that amusing attitude and bickering of his. He had sharp teeth yet a soft tongue. It was a strange sight and Dazai was simply compelled to learn more.

Yes, that was exactly the reason he had awoken in a cold sweat after the sight of fiery hair assaulted the back of his eyelids when he slept. Precisely.

That Friday morning when Dazai walked the halls of the Port Mafia before the sun even rose, all of the occupants had to stop and stare at the sight of their boss and the dog on his heels.

Daisy wasn’t a rare sight anymore, in fact, the members had grown quite fond of her, Tachihara even going as far as to fetch with her when Dazai was too lazy to lift his arm and throw the ball himself.

It was the very fact that Dazai was up before one o’clock in the afternoon at work, walking the halls fully dressed-

The worker's faces paled in alarm as they looked for the fire.

They wouldn’t find such an emergency, Dazai was simply tending to his ‘Annoying Chuuya’ duties and Daisy seemed more than happy to be included in his antics even if the details were lost on her and her dog brain.

“Sir, is everything alright?” Hirotsu asked, meeting him at the parking garage. He sounded slightly out of breath as if he had been running just to intercept him before he left.

Dazai blinked innocently, “Yes, why wouldn’t they be?”

Hirotsu looked as if he was about to throw up right then and there in the parking garage, and Dazai patted his shoulder. The man looked more alarmed than reassured.

“Hirotsu, perhaps you should take the day off?”

Now Hirotsu definitely looked as if he had seen a ghost. Or Dazai’s smirk was just that unnerving.

It was strange to see such a composed man crumble in such a manner. Dazai probably had worn him down with the mushroom fiasco last week and allowing Daisy to piss on his documents so he didn’t have to fill them out…

He was probably spiraling towards the dark abyss of insanity as they spoke.

“Sir,” the man protested, “There is work to be done-”

“Yes yes,” Dazai waved him off, “work that can be done at a later date. There are no important tasks to oversee today, go smoke a cigarette in the comfort of your own home.” Dazai offered out of the kindness of his heart because a burnt-out subordinate was a useless subordinate.

For a moment Dazai was worried that the man had a stroke, and apparently, Daisy shared the same thought process because she pawed at his pant leg worriedly. Hirotsu robotically bowed, mumbling a ‘yes sir' before heading back to the elevator.

Well, now that no one would be there to yell at Dazai for skipping out on work again, he whistled at the dog to jump into the car parked closest to the elevator before they were on their route to annoy Chuuya.

Wonderful.

They arrived right on time.

“Alright,” Dazai bent down under the car door to unbuckle Daisy’s seatbelt because he may be a hardened criminal but cleaning up the mess of his dog flying through the windshield would be a hassle. (And she had grown on him just a little. Only a little bit though, she still annoyed him.)

“You- hey stop that,” he pushed her snout away from where she was licking his bandaged neck, pulling away from the car to let the dog jump out. Dazai resumed his orders, crouching in front of her, “now, remember what we practiced?”

Daisy’s tail thumped against the concrete.

“Good, act distressed. Match my energy. I can’t be the only one pulling our weight now.”

Dazai opened his arms and Daisy seized the opportunity to launch herself in them, pressing her side against his torso for attention. Dazai snorted and reluctantly gave her a pat before hefting her up and-

She was definitely heavier than before.

And bigger.

Dazai groaned to himself before climbing up the steps of the building, they seemed a lot steeper than before. Collecting all of his shameless bravado, he played the role of worried pet owner well because as soon as he burst through the double doors, wailing that ‘His dog was going to die,’ Chuuya choked on the coffee he had been drinking.

Dazai stood there for a solid twenty seconds, watching as Yosano aggressively patted Chuuya’s back as he coughed until his eyes watered. Once he was done he immediately stumbled to his feet, his face a hardened line of concern as he rushed from behind the desk.

Azure eyes scanned over Daisy before leading Dazai to the same room they had inhabited during Daisy’s last appointment.

“Call if you need assistance or X-Rays!” Yosano’s muffled voice echoed through the vet’s halls and Chuuya was too hyper-focused on pulling out the dog's charts from a folder he snatched before leading them to the room.

Dazai gingerly placed the dog on the examination table, cording bandaged fingers through fluffy fur, though his attention was on Chuuya.

It seemed that he had yet another fashion statement for today. He now appeared to look more like a veterinarian with his white coat typical of a doctor or lab worker. He set the files down as he pulled his hair back, looking half asleep as he turned to Dazai.

“What in the hell happened to make you come in like that?” his tone was breathless as in a flash he replaced expensive leather gloves with latex ones.

Dazai launched into his explanation, a perfect one considering how rapidly Halloween was approaching. Perhaps in a week now. Families were storing their chocolate and children were irresponsible…

“She ate chocolate!” He wailed, throwing himself on top of Daisy who wasn’t doing a very good job of acting distressed.

“What?” Chuuya shouted, pushing Dazai away so he could examine the dog closer. Dazai was enraptured as his fingers came up to wrench the dog's mouth open, well, until Chuuya turned to him with a look of alarm.

Perhaps Dazai shouldn’t have come in so dramatically…

Chuuya hounded him with questions, “Idiot why’d you let her get ahold of chocolate! Why didn’t you call the pet poison control or the vet instead of coming in during the ass crack of dawn-”

“My my how unprofessional-”

“Has she shown any symptoms yet?’

Dazai shook his head, and after his fair share of research, he learned that dogs didn’t show symptoms until after a while of eating chocolate.

“No, One moment I was looking away and the next some little heathen was feeding my baby his chocolate bar!”

Chuuya’s eyebrows pinched together in distress. He was always so expressive. He was already moving around the room, pulling his stethoscope from around his shoulders as he continued his questioning.

“Watch your dog better- do you know how much she consumed? If you brought her in early enough I can give her some charcoal but if she had a lot then IV fluids-“

“Oh!” Dazai interrupted the veterinarians' fevered rant, “I remember how much she had! It was this much.” He held his hand out in front of Chuuya’s face, his thumb and pointer finger nearly touching into a pinch to give an accurate representation.

Chuuya’s face stilled as he slowly took the stethoscope and let it rest back on his neck.

“You mean…” Chuuya started, and with utter glee, Dazai could practically feel the rage emanating from the small man. “She only ate… that much?!”

Dazai nodded, fingers clasping over his lips to hide the smile twitching his lips. “Yes, is that bad?”

Chuuya closed his eyes and counted to ten and Dazai praised whoever his anger management counselor was.

Once he opened his eyes again he appeared calmer, “you and I both know that a pinch of chocolate is not lethal by any means. It probably couldn’t even kill a small chihuahua.”

Dazai faked relief, “that’s wonderful!”

“Wonderful my ass,” Chuuya grumbled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat and retreating back out of the door, “giving me a heart attack at six in the morning.”

“Chuuya should stay alert on the job~” Dazai responded, patting Daisy’s head.

She jumped down from the table, catching up with Chuuya to let the veterinarian pet her as they walked back to the reception desk.

Yosano raised an eyebrow as Chuuya greeted the dog, and he waved her off with an ‘I’ll explain later.’

Dazai was pleased to know that he would be talked about.

Chuuya sat back down, the weight of the world falling off of his shoulders. (Perhaps Dazai would devise a less-lethal plan so that Chuuya wasn’t practically tripping over himself to treat the dog. No matter how funny the sigh may have been.)

“I don’t know why you decided to run in here like that,” Chuuya berated, “but don’t do it again unless she is bleeding to death unless you want your privileges to this vet revoked. Because I can and I will kick you out-and those Russians and the guild are pricks who are way too overpriced.”

Dazai smirked, leaning forward on the desk as his dog joined him. Yosano discreetly passed Daisy a treat.

He certainly didn’t want to be kicked out, not when he still had a lot of the Chibi to figure out.

Such a ball of fiery emotion he was.

“I will refrain from doing it again, I suppose. And I must admit, I would not like to go to a veterinarian practice if the owner is a vampire…” he murmured, referring to the latest Twitter discourse.

Yosano snorted and Chuuya fought back a smile.

Dazai cataloged that in his mental file of ‘Chuuya’s ugly expressions.’

He had a lot of snapshots of those.

“Well, here you go,” Dazai handed over his card connected to one of his many fake bank accounts under one of his many false names.

“I didn’t even treat her,” Chuuya didn’t accept the card, “just do us a favor and get out of here before the morning rush comes in.”

Dazai didn’t argue as he retracted his card back into his wallet, a bit surprised that Chuuya didn’t take the opportunity to charge the shit out of him.

That action alone spoke volumes of him.

The veterinarian was a mess of contradictions. Headstrong and loud spoken yet diligent and silently precise with his job. His words were loud and cutting yet his touch was calm and soft. He was rude yet generous.

What an interesting human.

“Shuuji?”

Chuuya was oddly personal with first names, though perhaps there was some sort of familiarity between the two of them.

Or he just lacked social cues.

Not that it mattered, Shuuji wasn’t his real name anyway.

“Why yes chibi?”

Chuuya’s teeth were wearing down to little nubs with the amount he was grinding his teeth.

“Drop the nickname,” he snarled, his tone becoming tamer once he leaned forward to rub at the dog's ear (who was standing on her hind legs against the desk to be included in the conversation.)

“Did you find a name for her yet?”

“Ah, in fact, I did!”

Chuuya looked apprehensive and Dazai didn’t blame him.

“Her name is Daisy!”

Chuuya momentarily looked shocked before he schooled his expression. Dazai supposed that the name would have been surprising to anyone though he looked a bit more surprised than expected.

“Is there a problem?”

Chuuya shook his head, blinking rapidly. “No it’s just- it’s a good name.”

Chuuya smiled.

He smiled at him.

The overcast clouds outside moved from the sky and the sun shone down as a halo the engulfed Dazai. An angel chorus chimed in the background and god himself-

Dazai needed to get out of the clinic.

Without a further word, he picked up Daisy and fled.

Chuuya blinked too where Dazai had disappeared. “What’s with him?”

He himself was still a bit shocked at Shuuji’s name choice. It was the exact name he had been calling her before and the only person he had told was Ane-San when he had been complaining about a particularly annoying client.

Yosano seemed absolutely delighted by the turn of events, “that man is truly hopeless.”

Chuuya turned his confusion on her, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

The woman eyed him like she did Shuuji. As if he was the dullest person in the room. Chuuya did not like the look directed towards him, he immediately went on the defensive as she spoke.

“You mean to tell me that you don’t know why he comes so often to annoy you?”

Chuuya slowly shook his head and she sighed.

“You’re both oblivious, the lot of you.”

A mere day later at the Port Mafia headquarters, all was quiet and peaceful.

Tachihara hadn’t had too busy of a week, though he was still reeling from that insane executive meeting…

He had some free time so he was currently on his way to the boss's office to take Daisy on her daily walk. She had a lot of pent-up energy and he and Gin didn’t necessarily mind taking her out while the boss was occupied with his work.

Or whatever he did while he was locked away in that dark office.

He and the black lizard got worried sometimes.

“Boss?” He knocked on the door, “I’m here.”

There was no response.

Tachihara frowned and looked down to his watch, it was around lunchtime, the usual time he or a different subordinate came to entertain the dog.

(She had become somewhat of a baby to all of them. A mascot, if you will.)

“Boss?” He tried again.

And the door opened, he really didn’t mean to open it, he didn’t. It was just cracked right in front of him and he couldn’t resist pushing it lightly…

The boss of the port mafia was crouched on the floor in front of the dog, whispering at her as if conspiring.

“No,” he hissed, “you have to- like this.” He grabbed one of her paws and lifted it, then brought it down. “Then- you know what,” he got to his feet and limped around the room in a lap as the dog followed him with her head.

Much to Tachihara’s amazement, Daisy fell in step with him and started limping.

He slowly backed out of the office.

He had seen nothing.

It was attempt number two for Dazai.

For some reason the image of Chuuya smiling had embedded itself in his core memory, overloading the files in his brain and corrupting them.

It was truly disgusting.

Dazai was going to get payback, and he had trained Daisy for a whole day before he launched his counterattack.

Not as early in the morning this time, because Dazai’s vengeance burned its best in the afternoon. Preferably when Chuuya was about to be relieved of the day shift, right when he thought his work for the day was over.

It was peak time, even better than bright and early in the morning.

Dazai left his not very neatly stacked paperwork on his desk as he left the office for the day, slightly earlier than normal. (Occasionally he would sleep in there, though who was anyone else to judge.)

Hirotsu had returned from his one-day vacation where he somehow squeezed in snorkeling somewhere in Hawaii and zip-lining somewhere in the mountains of North America. How restful of him.

Once he came back he did twice the amount of paperwork than normal.

“Sir, are you departing early?” He asked, and it was strange considering that the Port Mafia performed most of their activities (the illegal ones, at least) during the night under the veil of darkness.

“Yes, I have to go annoy Chuuya some more.”

“Have fun, sir.”

“I always do.”

Dazai was in a rather prosperous mood and let Daisy sit in the passenger seat this time around. She seemed happy enough to poke her head out of the window and let it ruffle her fur. Perhaps it would give more of a distressed effect.

And this time around, instead of entering In a flurry of limbs and yelling in distress, Dazai silently entered the building, in fact, the staff who had been cleaning up for the next shift didn’t even recognize him until he was at the front desk.

Dazai cleared his throat and Chuuya immediately turned back to where he was sorting through the files, Yosano barely sparing him a glance from her phone.

Chuuya’s eyes flashed over Daisy in his arms then back to Dazai himself.

“You seem calm this time,” he sighed, walking around the counter. “Did she have a reaction to that Chocolate?”

“What chocolate?” Dazai asked innocently.

“You-“

“Chocolate never was a problem,” Dazai hummed, “she has a limp.”

Chuuya raised an eyebrow, holding his arms out in a silent offer. Dazai handed her off, finding slight amusement in the fact that he had to bend down slightly.

Chuuya, as if sensing the taunt on Dazai’s tongue, shot him a warning glare before he could vocalize it.

What a shame, it was a good joke too.

Yosano didn’t move to help at all, she most likely caught on to Dazai’s master plan. She was sharp, Dazai would need to watch out for her, or perhaps join forces with her if the need to relentlessly bully Chuuya arose.

Chuuya lowered Daisy to the floor gently, keeping a good hold around her waist.

“Mind telling me why you came back just a few days after with your dog presumably injured again?” He asked with a raised eyebrow and Dazai shamelessly shrugged.

“I’m not a very diligent pet owner.”

Chuuya snorted at that “presumably you aren't, let me see here… which leg is injured?”

“Her front right one.”

Chuuya’s hands prodded along her front right leg, a frown slowly overtaking his face. “I don’t feel any breaks or sprains… no swelling…”

He gave Dazai an apprehensive look and Dazai shrugged shamelessly. “She woke up this morning limping, perhaps she’s possessed?”

Chuuya rolled his eyes and let go of Daisy “alright let’s see her walk.”

She took one step forward. Then another.

No limp in sight.

“Well, there doesn't seem to be a problem anymore…”

“How strange,” Dazai sighed, then crouched down to cup his hands around the dog's ear. “Come on, we practiced this. Limp and I’ll give you a thousand biscuits when we get home.”

Daisy enthusiastically barked and started walking around in a circle, limping perfectly.

Dazai was a wonderful teacher, and the fact that Chuuya’s head tilted to the side in confusion as he tried to figure out what in the hell was going on made it even better.

Yosano finally spoke from her chair, “you seriously taught your dog how to limp?”

Dazai shot her a sharp smile “why yes, I figured I would let you see my new trick! Bring some magic into the workplace!”

Chuuya whacked his shoulders with a bruising amount of force. “Magic? You just make the workplace full of pain and despair. Maybe I’ll charge you this time.”

Dazai snapped and Daisy returned to his side, “Chuuya is too nice for that.”

“Don’t test me, bastard.”

Chuuya slumped his shoulders and Dazai silently celebrated yet another successful day of bothering Chuuya.

“I don’t want to see your face for another year,” the redhead groaned, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palm.

Dazai couldn’t quite tell if Yosano was on his side or not, but with the way she smirked and slung a hand over Chuuya’s shoulder, he could tell she most definitely was.

“But Chuuya, he makes the place more lively! I’m sure you would enjoy seeing his face every day,” she said smugly.

Chuuya gave her a long, painful look.

Dazai would dissect the words later, preferably when he was on the cusp of sleep and wakefulness and not aware of his thought process because he would rather not willingly think about the Chibi.

“Well, Shuuji,” she tilted her head towards Chuuya, “if you want to spend so much time with Nakahara then perhaps you should join us tomorrow for lunch?”

Ah yes, the perfect opportunity to study and annoy and-

Dazai glowed at the possibilities.

“Why of course!”

The world around Dazai was now seen in brighter colors.

The world around Chuuya was crumbling into a fiery ball of destruction.

Yosano and Shuuji’s taunting was going to be the death of him. He would eventually corrode away And die-

His blood pressure had been extremely high lately when the man was introduced into his life, and his antics were nothing short of childish. Sure, Chuuya had had some helicopter Patients that came in far more than necessary and called once a week, but this was obnoxious-

As soon as Shuuji exited the building he ducked under Yosano’s arm.

“You are going to regret this.”

She smiled, “you’ll thank me later, trust me.”

Chuuya highly doubted that.

Chapter Text

Chuuya was highly considering calling in sick. But just as he always did, he dragged himself out of bed after a full ten minutes of trying to get Copper off of him. Copper may not be the biggest Boxer but he was dense in muscle.

He woke up slightly earlier than normal, his alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet. He could chalk that up to waking up in a cold sweat due to the prospect of having to go out to lunch with one of his most annoying clients. At least it was with Yosano and the others, though Chuuya had been ignoring Yosano ever since she invited the rat along with them.

Chuuya canceled his alarm clock, finding no use in trying to go back to sleep if he had to be awake in another thirty minutes anyways. Maybe he would even have time for a run, though those usually got put off to the nights when he came back from work. He always enjoyed the nice burn in his muscles.

He flicked on the lights in his apartment, sliding his socked feet against the wooden floor to rifle through the cupboards in his kitchen. He finally managed to purchase a new coffee maker, small blessings.

As he leaned against the counter, absentmindedly stroking Mackerel’s orange fur, his phone buzzed in his sweatpants pocket. “Dammit,” he cursed under his breath, he thought he had turned off his alarm-

He slipped his phone from his pocket to realize that someone was calling him. He wasn’t surprised to see that it was Ane-san, he quickly swiped on the answer button and brought the device up to his ear.

“Good morning Lad,” she greeted, sounding wide awake compared to Chuuya’s raspy voice when he grumbled out his own ‘good morning.’

It wasn’t lost on him that his sister worked for a shady organization, most active during the night and early morning hours. It also wasn’t lost on him that she played a critical role in that organization. Though she was tight-lipped about it, not wanting to involve Chuuya in the dangerous workings of the Mafia.

That was perfectly fine by Chuuya, as long as those Mafia bastards stayed away from his clinic he was perfectly content.

He and his sister hadn’t talked since last week, so it was nice to hear her calming voice again. Chuuya trapped his phone between his shoulder and neck as he went about getting ready for the day, listening to any recent news about his sister.

Apparently, she too had noticed the sudden fluctuation of strays in the area, rather concerning though sadly not rare.

“Why do you suppose all of these dogs are showing up on the streets?”

Chuuya shrugged, nursing his mug of coffee in his hands, letting the liquid nurture him to life. “Well, there are a lot of shady dog breeders throwing them out, and there could always be an illegal dogfighting ring, I heard of one that got busted about five years ago.”

Kouyou hummed thoughtfully over the line, “yes, that is quite possible.”

Chuuya wondered just why she needed information on the stray dogs of the area. She had never seemed curious until now, though maybe it somehow got in the way of her work…

Chuuya wouldn’t question it, though such a heavy topic was not one to be talked about at five o’clock in the morning, so he moved on to the real issue at hand.

“Hey Ane-San, remember that bastard I was telling you about?”

“Your client who kept making height comments?”

Chuuya sighed, “Yeah, him. Anyways, he finally gave his dog a name, and believe it or not, he named her Daisy.”

He had told her how he had unofficially named her Daisy, their favorite flower, during their last phone conversation.

“What a coincidence,” his sister didn’t sound too surprised. “Well, perhaps you are more fond of him now that he gave her a name?”

Chuuya snorted, turning on the sink and holding his empty mug under the stream of water to wash it out and place it on the drainboard. “Ane-san, I don’t think I can ever grow to like that bastard. He’s annoying and he interrupted my work just to fake his dog's injury and scare the shit out of me.”

“Well, he sounds lonely to me.”

Chuuya’s mind flashed to that flashy car and those annoyingly pristine suits he always wore and shook his head. “I’m sure he keeps good company.”

“Money does not come with happiness,” Kouyou sounded as if she was speaking from experience and Chuuya felt the urge to reach through the phone and give his put-together sister a piece of his mind.

Nevertheless, he refused to talk about the annoying man on one of his rare phone call with his sister, and she seemed to agree because she changed the subject.

“Lad, have you scheduled an appointment yet?”

Chuuya didn’t have to ask her to elaborate because it was what she asked every time they talked, and every time he would reply with- “No Ane-San, I’m not going to go to the hospital to get my brain scanned, nothing has changed for seven years and nothing will change now.”

He could practically feel her disappointment radiating from the phone, Chuuya set the device down on his nightstand as he switched his clothes out for scrubs.

“You know how important those are, give your sister some peace of mind.”

Chuuya bit his lip because she was playing the guilt card and he could never resist if his decisions were affecting her-

“Fine,” he sighed, “We’ve been busy with the season but once things at work calm down I'll schedule an appointment and text you the results, even if they are inconclusive.”

“Good, that is all I needed to hear.” There was shuffling on the other end of the line and Chuuya could see her getting up to place her tea dish in the sink. Their conversation was over. “You need to remember to take care of yourself, Chuuya.”

Chuuya sighed and nodded, “Of course, the same for you Ane-San. Come see me sometime, Yeah?”

“I will find some time in my schedule. Perhaps in a week's time?”

“That sounds good, Ane-San.”

No more words needed to be traded between them as Chuuya let her hang up, he would need to remind himself to make a note to clean up the apartment before she visited.

Maybe though, the day wouldn’t be too bad if it started off with a conversation with his sister.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

When he arrived everything seemed to be in order. There was no annoying man named Shuuji Tsushima and his dog limping around, and there were no birds flying around wreaking havoc.

In fact, the morning was calm and Chuuya was going to enjoy it by cyberbullying Fyodor some more. Ever since the spread of the vampire rumors even the patients hopped on the bandwagon, calling their vet a ‘den of vampires.’

Chuuya was pretty sure the police had gotten involved at one point.

“Hmm, I don’t think we’ll have many patients this morning,” Yosano mused, and it was a Sunday so it was probably a true observation.

“In that case,” Chuuya rose from his chair, stretching his arms, “I don’t have any appointments this morning so I'm going to hang in the back with Buddy until lunch.”

Yosano nodded resolutely, “I will gather everyone around lunchtime.”

Chuuya left her to visit with Buddy, their Labrador who had to stay overnight and let him loose from his cage to walk around the breakroom. He enjoyed hanging out in the back with the animals, they were much easier to deal with than whoever walked to the reception area.

Another reason why Chuuya’s vet was the most loved one in Yokohama. He personally took the time to spend with the animals, not because he felt obligated to, but because he genuinely enjoyed it. He got well acquainted with them and treated each as old friends as if they deserved the world because animals, were far less shitty than humans could be.

“Hey Buddy,” he greeted, dropping to a crouch to open up the crate. The dog enthusiastically woofed, exiting the cage and leaving a sloppy kiss on Chuuya’s face. Buddy was a regular and unfortunately, he was unlucky enough to come in contact with a snake. Chuuya had administered the anti-venom and kept him overnight.

He was a calm dog and was completely content with just relaxing with Chuuya on the couch for the beginning half of the day.

Chuuya didn’t even realize how much time had passed until he was roused from his state of half slumber when there was shuffling outside. Sparing a glance at the clock on the sidewall he could see that their lunch break had started only a few minutes ago.

Before he could rise from the couch and put Buddy back up in his crate, the door opened to reveal a not-so-appealing sight. That idiot Shuuji stepped through the door, wearing the same ridiculous suit he always did (or maybe he owned one for each day of the week.)

Chuuya wasn’t blind, he could admit that Shuuji cleaned up nicely if it weren’t for all of those damn bandages, but his attitude by far outweighed any advantages he may have had.

“Oh,” Chuuya frowned, “It’s you.”

Shuuji pulled an offended face (and one thing Chuuya had learned about him was that he was fake as hell. He was obviously hiding something and he was doing a damn good job at it.) “I bothered to come early and that is the greeting I get?”

“You shouldn’t have bothered coming at all,” Chuuya huffed as he tapped the lump of fur on top of his lap. Buddy whined but moved off of him, letting Chuuya do one last check over him before placing him back in the crate.

“But I was invited by your dear co-worker, and I promise to stop bothering you every day! Perhaps just once a week,” Shuuji dodged Chuuya as he plowed past him and out to the hallway.

“Once a year is enough for me,” Chuuya murmured, and Shuuji once again looked offended, though Chuuya could tell he was more amused than anything.

Seriously, what a weird guy,

Outside the building stood Yosano, Kunikida, the Tanizaki’s, Kenji, and their newest addition, Atsushi. After the incident with Daisy Atsushi too had caught fame and Chuuya took it upon himself to look through Atsushi’s records to see that he was participating in Vet school at a nearby college. He now worked there part-time, an assistant like Kenji.

When Atsushi noticed Shuuji he paled significantly, “I-it’s you!”

Shuuji shrugged, “so it is. Do I know you?”

Atsushi looked like he wanted to run away, and just in case, Chuuya kept a firm grip on his shoulder. “Atsushi, this is Shuuji, an annoying pain in my ass, Shuuji, this is the kid your dog terrorized at that Pet Smart.”

Introductions out of the way, Chuuya prepared to turn to his motorcycle and speed to their normal restaurant, or perhaps as far away from the situation as possible.

Then Yosano spoke, and she still wasn’t on Chuuya’s good side. She definitely wouldn’t be for a while, not after the stunts she kept pulling. “Shuuji, do you know the way or do you need to hitch a ride with Chuuya?”

And Chuuya could imagine it now, Shuuji would say yes just to annoy the shit out of him and distract him while driving. He would squeeze on his waist until Chuuya felt like throwing up his guts- or maybe that was just the close proximity to the man.

Surprisingly Shuuji took one look at his motorcycle before shaking his head. “No way am I riding on that death trap. I wouldn’t be caught dead riding a hot pink motorcycle anyways, and Chuuya is so small that the weight distribution would be off-”

”-Oh c’mon says the beanpole!”

“I don’t want to die in such a way-”

“-You Idiot my motorcycle isn’t hot pink, she’s red and I’m a responsible driver!”

Upon a glance, Chuuya could see that the others had already departed for the restaurant and he felt his stomach contract with hunger because he only had coffee this morning. Gritting his teeth, he glared up at Shuuji. “You’re just trying to agitate me, let’s just go. Follow behind me in your car or whatever.”

“I don’t know if I will be able to see Chuuya-”

Chuuya delivered a swift jab to Shuuji’s stomach, finding an overwhelming amount of satisfaction with the way he doubled over.

They ended up arriving at the restaurant slightly later than the others. It wasn’t a terribly fancy place, but it wasn’t a burger joint either. Once a week they would come to eat here, and they all loved Italian food so it was a win-win situation.

Anyone who didn’t love Italian food, in Chuuya’s humble opinion, was an uncultured swine.

And apparently, Shuuji was that uncultured swine.

As soon as they walked into the restaurant and its blessed smells wafted through the air, Shuuji's nose scrunched up in distaste. “Why come get Italian and load up on carbs when you can go to the perfectly fine seafood place right next to this one,” he complained.

“You were the one who was invited here,” Chuuya hissed at him as they pushed past a group of people in the waiting area, carefully avoiding plowing over the children. They always had a table reserved for them by the time they got there, Kunikida usually being the one to make the reservations, so Chuuya dragged Shuuji past the front desk and to their normal place in the far corner in the large booth.

“I can’t believe you guys just left me like that-” Chuuya growled, placing his gloved hands on the edge of the table his co-workers sat on.

“Sorry,” Junichiro shrugged, not sounding too apologetic.

Chuuya sighed, “it’s fine, whatever just scoot over-”

“No can do,” Yosano interfered, not moving from her edge place of the booth even though there was plenty of room to fit Chuuya in. “There is no room.”

“What do you mean? Just move over.”

Chuuya was truly tired of seeing that smirk on Yosano’s face. “There is no room for you and our guest, unfortunately.”

Chuuya stared pointedly at the large amount of space until a waitress walked by and the unfortunate woman got grabbed by Yosano and pulled to occupy the remaining space.

“See, no more space.” She pulled a thoughtful face, “but maybe you and Shuuji can sit over there?” She pointed to one of those small tables meant for couples and-

It was reserved.

Chuuya had never felt so betrayed in his life.

“You were planning this since the very beginning-”

Yosano smiled sweetly, “have fun!”

Shuuji smiled, absolutely delighted as he pulled Chuuya by the elbow to the table, presumably to drag him to hell.

“Your co-workers are so nice,” Shuuji announced once they were seated. He and his freakishly long legs brushed against Chuuya’s as they sat and Chuuya physically recoiled.

“Keep your legs on your side of the table.”

Shuuji smiled and Chuuya was starting to see the resemblance between him and Yosano. “I simply can’t help the length of my legs compared to yours. Did Chuuya drink enough milk in his youth?”

Chuuya gritted his teeth and kicked Shuuji’s ankle.

The waitress arrived shortly, taking their drink orders, and quickly fled from their general vicinity. She could probably sense Chuuya’s bloodlust.

Chuuya pointedly looked down to the wooden table, avoiding any kind of contact because he wanted this lunch to be as painless as possible even if he felt Shuuji’s eyes drilling into his soul.

“Chuuya?”

“What the hell do you want?”

“To play twenty questions,” Shuuji supplied casually, and Chuuya finally looked up to give him a confused look.

“Huh?”

Shuuji leaned forward, “Is Chuuya deaf? I said-”

“I know what you said,” Chuuya huffed, “you want to play an icebreaker game made for little children?”

Shuuji shrugged, “It'll pass the time better than you staring a hole into that poor table.”

And Chuuya supposed that he did have a point. It would definitely be less awkward and the chance to learn more about Shuuji was tempting because other than him being some fancy dude who was as dramatic as any Husky Chuuya had ever met, he didn’t know much about him.

Chuuya would like to know more about the thorn in his side.

“I guess I’ll go along with it,” Chuuya tried not to let his curiosity show. “It’s your idea, you go first.”

“How gentlemanly,” Shuuji didn’t take long to think of a question and it hadn’t been one that Chuuya expected. “So tell me the real reason why you don’t go to the seafood place?”

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows, halting in playing with his straw. “Why would you ask that?”

“Ah ah ah, answer my question before you ask your own.”

Chuuya sighed, how could he have found out? Chuuya said nothing about the seafood place. He sighed, “I’m allergic to most seafood, there, you happy?” He decided to leave out the details on how he went with his co-workers, wanting to make them happy, but ended up having an allergic reaction in front of everyone.

Shuuji nodded sagely, “Very, thank you for the important information.”

Chuuya eyed him wearily, “Don’t try to make me go into anaphylaxis shock, you’ll be charged with attempted murder.”

The man shrugged as if attempted murder was no big deal. Honestly, Chuuya wouldn't be surprised if he was some kind of mob boss.

“My turn, how did you even know about the seafood?” Chuuya asked, “what gave it away?”

Shuuji shrugged, lockpicker fingers tapping against the table. Either he played an instrument or just naturally had good hands-

Chuuya shook himself from that thought process. Hopefully, he would never revisit it. Ever.

“You’re quite easy to read, you show every emotion,” Shuuji answered, and Chuuya was surprised by the honesty in his tone. He didn’t make it sound like being able to read Chuuya like an open book was a bad thing either, almost like he liked it.

“So, why did you become a veterinarian?”

Chuuya didn’t hesitate to answer. “Because animals are better than people in every way, and they deserve love and affection because humans can be assholes to them.” People could be cruel, Chuuya knew it all too well from personal experience-

He would venture further down that rabbit hole when he was alone with only his rampant thoughts to keep him up at night.

Shuuji hummed thoughtfully, though he wasn’t disagreeing.

Now at least Chuuya could ask what he wanted without being judged, he held off his questioning momentarily when their food had arrived, spaghetti for Chuuya and seafood alfredo for Shuuji.

The man gave him a mocking smile when Chuuya noticed the food.

“I hate you,” Chuuya deadpanned.

Shuuji laughed and it wasn’t one of those fake ones. Chuuya ignored the way he buzzed with satisfaction. It was probably just how good the food tasted. Probably.

“Well,” Chuuya twirled his fork in the spaghetti idly, “what do you work as?” He’s had a few guesses, a world-class criminal, some hotshot CEO of a popular business (it would explain the jerk attitude) but he was genuinely curious.

Shuuji made a show of glancing around the room to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation and leaning forward, foolishly, Chuuya found himself leaning with him. “I’m an undercover agent.”

Of all things, Chuuya hadn’t expected that.

“Like, some kind of detective?”

Shuuji leaned back “you could say that.”

And now things made sense. Chuuya frowned, so what parts of Shuuji’s personality were even real? If he was off the job shouldn’t he be genuine? Even if everything he said felt like he was speaking through a mask.

“Wait-”

“Nope,” Shuuji said, popping the ‘p’, “my turn!” he made a big show of thinking before asking possibly the most cheesy question that Chuuya had ever heard. “What’s your favorite type of flower?”

Chuuya looked down at his spaghetti, wondering what deity had gotten mad enough to bestow this fate upon him before answering the question.

“What was that?” Shuuji taunted, "I couldn’t quite hear you, maybe speak louder.”

“Daisies,” Chuuya said, a bit too loud because the surrounding people who were dining turned to him. “My favorite flowers are Daisies,” Chuuya finished, voice significantly lower.

Shuuji didn’t seem surprised, “How romantic that I named my dog after the Chibi’s favorite-”

“Enough,” Chuuya groaned, hopefully, he would choke on the spaghetti. Anytime now.

“Well, Shuuji,” it was Chuuya’s turn to give the room a conspirative once over. “There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now.”

Shuuji gestured with a bandaged hand, and if Chuuya weren’t a decent human being then he would ask about the bandages adorning his body and eye. “Ask away.”

“What’s your real name?”

Shuuji paused, calculating eye analyzing Chuuya like he was a piece of information. “Come again?”

“You heard me the first time,” Chuuya gave him a guarded look, “The name never sat right with me, it just doesn't… fit your face.”

“Huh,” the man huffed, “you’ve got quite the intuition on you.”

Great, so Chuuya at least knew he wasn’t going crazy. “So what’s your real na-”

“Color,” Shuuji interrupted. “It’s my turn. What’s your favorite color?”

The simplicity of the question threw Chuuya off and he knew Shuuji Was trying to throw him off of his trajectory but he was a man on a mission. “Brown,” he answered without thinking because the color had been right in front of him when he stared into the man’s eye-

Ugh.

Shuuji smirked but it was wiped away when Chuuya asked his question. “What in the hell is your real na-”

“Here’s the check,” the waitress interrupted them at the worst possible time and Chuuya was coming awfully close to ripping out his own hair and shoving it down Shuuji’s throat-

“Thank you, ma’am,” Shuuji smiled politely, it was a charming one, borderline flirtatious as his hand slipped inside of his suit to grab a wallet.

“Hey, stop that,” Chuuya moved to grab his own wallet because Yosano had been the one to invite him so he should be the one paying-

Sensing his thought process, Shuuji quickly handed off his card without looking at the bill, “it’s quite alright, I can pay for all of you if you truly wished.”

“Idiot don't just go throwing your money around like that,” Chuuya complained, though it was useless because the waitress was already gone with the card. He slumped back in his chair, “fine, but I'm paying next time.”

Shuuji tilted his head, “there’s going to be a next time?”

Chuuya would have answered the question indignantly, but he shook his head instead. “Nope, I can’t answer that question you have to answer mine.”

“Oh,” Shuuji swallowed and Chuuya’s eyes traced the movement of his Adam's apple. “I wasn’t aware that we were still playing that game.”

Chuuya was done with the dramatics.

“What's your real name?”

Shuuji’s eyes roamed over Chuuya’s face for what seemed like forever, and Chuuya could practically see the wheels turning in his head. The staring went on for an uncomfortable amount of time and Chuuya was about ready to say ‘forget it, drive back to wherever you came from,’ though whatever he was looking for, he must have found because he spoke.

“Dazai. Osamu Dazai is my real name.” Shuuji rested his cheek on his palm, “does that match my face?’

Honestly… Yeah, it did.

“Dazai,” Chuuya tested the name. It sounded right.

Dazai frowned, “You aren’t going to call me Osamu?”

Chuuya rolled his eyes, “I only called you Shuuji because it felt correct. Now I can call you idiot Dazai.”

Dazai pouted, “I regret ever telling you my real name.”

Chuuya scoffed as the waitress returned with the card and receipt. “Yeah, and I regret ever telling you I had a shellfish allergy. Who knows what you’ll do with that information.”

Dazai smiled innocently as he signed off his name on the receipt, “I had fun, Chuuya.”

Chuuya really needed to dunk his head under cold water for a good while to purge any thoughts that may have come to mind.

“So,” Yosano shamelessly opened the restroom doors as Chuuya was doing just that. “Care to tell me what you're doing?”

Chuuya wiped the water from his face with a towel she had passed to him, “What does it look like?”

“...Cleaning your spotless face?”

“Cleansing myself of the evil that took root in my brain,” Chuuya supplied, tossing the towel down, “I can’t believe you did that.”

Yosano leaned against the doorframe, looking much too pleased with herself because nothing got past her. “Oh but you enjoyed your lunch with him. You two were bickering like an old married couple and scared off everyone in the vicinity. True love.”

“True annoyance, that’s what it is.”

“I mean I don’t blame you,” Yosano continued, “if he wasn’t so obviously emotionally confused with you and I wasn’t so obviously into your sister I would be all over him.”

“Oh come on,” Chuuya groaned, “I just purged my head of thoughts!”

Yosano snickered and put her hands up in defense, and Chuuya eyed her. “....What did you do?”

She shrugged as if she had done nothing wrong, but Chuuya wasn’t buying the act for a second.

“I may or may not have invited your man to our annual Halloween party.”

Chuuya’s eyes widened, “You WHAT-”

Chapter Text

Dazai wasn’t accustomed to normal social situations, preferring to sit in silence. They made his skin feel itchy and he always tended to wound an extra layer of bandages around his tender skin to avoid scraping into anyone. The only ‘parties’ he had gone to were formal gatherings at his home with the executives and he supposed he could blame his lifestyle for that.

But who was he to pass up the perfect opportunity to relentlessly tease Chuuya?

Yosano was truly on his side, as it appeared because she had handed off the invitation with a sadistic gleam in her eyes.

“Now what is this?” He has asked as she conspiringly winked at him, slipping the invitation in his hand like some kind of drug dealer.

“An invitation to our Halloween party. Usually, only our lifelong clients and the other veterinarians in the area can go but I suppose you can be Chuuya’s plus one since he never invited anyone else.”

Dazai was quick to match her smirk, pocketing the envelope. “Why of course I’ll come, should I match with my plus one?”

Yosano’s smirk grew impossibly bigger, her eyes lighting up. “Oh I like you,” she leaned in closer, and from across the parking lot, Chuuya gave them a suspicious glare. Dazai waved innocently.

“Chuuya has his costume already hanging in the back. Come dressed as a rockstar.”

Dazai snorted.

A Rockstar?

Of course, Chuuya would pick such an embarrassing outfit. Not that Dazai had seen him outside of his work clothes, but he would assume that he had a bad fashion sense.

“I will see you Friday~” Dazai told her, sliding into the driver's seat of his car.

Thus began the reign of Dazai having a social life with the pet clinic workers. An unlikely thing, really, but it made it all the more amusing because if there was one thing that Dazai had learned, it was that everyone in the pet industry was just a little… eccentric.

And everyone in the Port Mafia wasn’t exactly sane either so it was a good fit.

The week flew by, fairly uneventful. Dazai had canceled another meeting and announced to Hirotsu that he had a party to go to. (In which Hirotsu asked if he needed backup, believing that he was going on a solo job or getting kidnapped.)

When the night arrived and Dazai was walking out of his office people scrambled around to make it look like they were working. No one had ever seen Dazai out of his office as much as he had been lately, and definitely not out of his usual suit and into a Halloween costume.

The black lizard had intercepted him in the parking garage, different looks of shock on their faces.

“Sir,” Tachihara sputtered, “are you going to… a Halloween party? That’s not a Port Mafia-run one?”

“Correct,” Dazai answered.

“Sir, you are positive it’s not an ambush? At least take Gin with you-”

“I know what an ambush is, Hirotsu,” Dazai interrupted him. “I don’t need protection, I was just invited by a dear friend.”

The three gave him apprehensive looks because Dazai was not one to throw the word ‘friend’ around, in fact, they had never heard the word escape his mouth.

Surprisingly, Gin was the one to break first. Though she didn't speak much, she shrugged off her cloak and bent down in front of Daisy to drape it across her shoulders.

Tachihara brightened up, “Oh right! If you’re going to a costume party, you might as well dress your dog up too! Now you two can be matching rockstars.”

Gin shot him a thumbs up.

Hirotsu sighed, “very well, request backup if you need anything I will have an extraction team ready.”

Dazai snorted, crossing his arms, “what’s next, a curfew?”

“Midnight.”

Dazai halted, “...Huh?”

“Be back by midnight or I will send the team out to retrieve you.”

Dazai groaned, turning his back to the three and dramatically leading Daisy away. “You’re not my dad Hirotsu~”

Though Hirotsu had always been there for Dazai when he first joined the Port Mafia and gave him sound advice. Huh, perhaps he was an important figure to Dazai.

“I’ll be back before Midnight, no need to worry,” He waved them off as he opened his car door.

Dazai pulled out of the parking garage before anyone else could stop him, only pausing to look over to Daisy to see her pawing at the cloak around her, hood falling down her head. Dazai huffed in amusement, reaching over with one arm to assist her in adjusting the cloak accordingly. At last, they matched now. In fact, the cloak somewhat matched the bandana around Dazai’s neck.

The costume wasn’t hard to coordinate, Dazai had even gone as far as to paint his nails black and dawn his blue electric guitar, wrapping it around his back by the strap. Dazai knew how to play most instruments though he much preferred piano or violin compared to the loud noises the guitar made.

Chuuya seemed the type of dude who would like the louder, more obnoxious instruments. Even more of a reason for Dazai to hate him.

Upon pulling up to the party, the parking lot was the most packed Dazai had seen it, and of course, that unsightly motorcycle was parked directly at the front.

The outside of the building had changed since the last time Dazai had seen it, cobwebs hung on the roofs and shrubs, a giant mechanical spider was perched on the roof, occasionally making dying noises. Purple and orange lights blinked and pumpkins littered the deck where a few people hung out, chatting amongst themselves.

Well, they had really outdone themselves.

Dazai could imagine Chuuya struggling to reach the lights and his lips tugged upwards at the thought. He should have set twenty-four-hour surveillance so he could have the footage as blackmail, he would need to set that up.

“Come on Daisy,” Dazai tugged on Daisy's leash, but once they reached the steps, she halted.

Dazai raised an eyebrow and looked around for any bodies of water or anything that could have set her off. “What’s... “

He followed the dog's gaze to the spider on the roof and sighed, “don’t tell me you're scared of a spider?”

Daisy made a low noise from her chest, moving behind Dazai’s legs. Dazai really didn’t have time for this. He bent down and picked her up, grunting at the strain because German Shepards grew and they grew fast.

He continued on and a few of the people near the front of the glass doors waved at him, he didn’t recognize any of them and his hands were a bit occupied so he gave them a wink before pushing past the double doors.

The interior had changed too.

Fog hung low and thin on the floor, swirling around Dazai’s large boots. Streamers decorated every entrance and exit and the reception desk now doubled as a snack stand, human and pet beverages alike lined along it.

Halloween Music played in the back, not booming loud but not elevator music either.

All in all, nothing like the fancy stuck-up parties Dazai had been forced to endure for a good amount of his life.

He’ll give it to the veterinarians, they knew how to throw a party.

“Look who decided to show!” Yosano grinned at him, breaking from a group to head over to him and pass on an eyeball cup full of punch. Dazai took it apprehensively and she winked at him, “no, the drinks aren’t spiked as far as I can tell.”

“Oh, too bad,” Dazai hummed, putting Daisy back down to properly hold his cup.

Yosano shrugged, taking a swig from her eyeball cup, “you can always pretend.” The veterinarian wore a teal dress with a black fur overcoat. “I’m supposed to be a gambler,” she answered his silent question.

“Ah, now I see it,” Dazai replied as the Woman caught sight of a man walking past them, grabbing him by the elbow. He looked as sharply dressed as her, tuxedo and a couple of poker chips hanging out of his breast pocket to match the cards in his hand.

“Shuuji, this is Ranpo.” She gestured to the man, and Dazai took notice of how Chuuya hadn’t compromised his real name. Not that it mattered if he did, but it made something knot up in his gut.

“Oh!” The man exclaimed, sharp eyes opening to reveal emerald as he gave Dazai a sly smile. “You’re the one who keeps bothering Nakahara, correct?”

Dazai liked these vet people.

“The one and the only,” Dazai smirked back.

“I work the night shift so you probably won’t see too much of me,” the man continued, “though color me impressed, we’ve had a few creepy clients but none of them have gone as far as to match Halloween costumes with Nakahara to pursue him.”

...Pursue?

Instead what Dazai asked was, “wait creepy?”

Yosano groaned, “oh yeah don’t get me started! Chuuya has gained our clinic some really… dedicated clients.”

Dazai’s gut twisted at the thought, but he quickly thought of Chuuya running over the so-called ‘creepy’ clients with his hot pink motorcycle and he quickly huffed out a laugh.

“You’ll see some of the other night shifters around here,” Yosano waved her gloved hand across the rather packed room. “Kyouka may be small but don’t underestimate her. And Haruno too,” then Yosano slumped, a pout on her lips, '' I'm just upset that the hot sister of Chuuya’s didn’t show up.”

“Oh? Sister?” Dazai tried to imagine a girl version of Chuuya, even shorter and even more angry.

Yosano stared at him, “whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”

“Noted,” Dazai quickly erased the image from his mind, “If Chuuya had a plus one then why didn’t he invite her?”

Yosano sighed, “apparently she’s always busy with work. I’ve only seen her face once and I would die for her.”

Huh, what interesting information. Dazai would have to dig for more later.

“Well,” Ranpo cut into Yosano’s complaining, “if you’re looking to annoy Chuuya some more, last I saw him he was hanging out with the animals in the back, making sure they were okay.”

Of course he was.

Before Dazai could say anything else Yosano was dragging Ranpo off to one of the mini-games they had set up in the corner of the room.

Dazai looked across the room. There looked to be a good amount of people with animals by their side, Dazai looked down to Daisy, who was crouching down, trying to nip at the fog around their feet.

“You’re stupid for such an intelligent dog,” Dazai lightly kicked the fog away and Daisy sat back up as if she hadn’t just been pouncing on it.

“My my what a fine specimen,” a voice from behind Dazai spoke and Dazai quickly turned around to see a man around his height with shoulder-length dark hair and violet eyes and-

“Wait… You’re that vampire dude.”

The Russain looked as if he had been called that one too many times, “Call me what you wish,” his eyes trailed down to the dog, “as I was previously saying, your dog is truly wonderful.” He reached out to scratch her between the ears and Dazai was half hoping that she would bite his hand off.

“Yes,” Dazai agreed, “good thing she belongs to me.”

The pail man hummed consideringly before reaching in his pocket and pulling out a card to offer to Dazai, “I would love to treat your dog,” he purred, “my name is Fyodor Do-”

“Dostoevsky!” A loud, familiar voice yelled, nearly making the earth quake with its sheer loudness. They both turned to see Chuuya, absolutely fuming as he stomped over to them, swiping the card from Fyodor's thin fingers and proceeding to rip it to shreds in front of his face and throw it to the ground to stomp on it repeatedly.

“Every year! Every damn year you try to snatch my customers from me dammit!” He cursed, face almost as red as his hair as he pointed to Fyodor’s chest, who seemed oddly composed as if this had happened multiple times before. “I see you do it one more time and you and your shady vet are not allowed at my parties anymore, got it?”

Fyodor simply shrugged as if saying ‘it was worth a shot,’ before proceeding to be pushed to the corner.

Chuuya turned to Dazai, an apologetic look on his face “Sorry he does tha-” then he seemed to notice that he was talking to Dazai and his nose scrunched up. “Oh, never mind you can go with the Russians if you want.”

Dazai eyes the group of pail people in the corner before slowly shaking his head, “no, they look like a cult.”

Chuuya snorted, rolling his eyes. Now that he wasn’t bullying a poor business card Dazai had time to look over his costume and...

Ripped leather pants hugged his legs and a loose studded belt hung low on his hips to make room for the red and black tank top that did a good job of showcasing muscle that would otherwise not be seen by the scrubs. The leather jacket was expected and so were the gloves and choker he always wore but…

Ew, was that a hat?

Gloved fingers snapped in front of Dazai’s face and he now could see that they were fingerless gloves and that Chuuya had painted his nails red-

“Idiot? Are you in there?”

Dazai blinked back to life, responding with an intelligent nod. He immediately averted his gaze from Chuuya’s legs and instead let his usual taunting smirk slip on his face, “Look Chuuya! We match!”

“So we do,” Chuuya murmured, sounding mildly disgusted as he eyed Dazai. He looked as if he wanted to hit Dazai upside the head with the fake microphone that hung off of his belt.

“But I look much better,” Dazai announced, “ditch the hat chibi, it’s not gaining you any inches.”

Chuuya kicked him with boots that definitely had raised soles.

“Shut the hell up you didn’t even need to come.” Then Chuuya proceeded to lean down to Daisy -pants spreading tantalizingly over his legs and oh fuck Dazai avoided eye contact- and proceeded to talk to her. “But you, you’re always welcome,” he scratched her cheek and she leaned into the touch.

“The blatant favoritism hurts,” Dazai whined and Chuuya shrugged.

“I was never trying to hide it.”

Before Dazai could whine some more, someone bumped into Chuuya’s back, sending him tumbling forward and into Dazai with a yelp.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” A woman squealed, she looked mousey with brown hair and glasses, then paused when she noticed Chuuya peeling himself away from Dazai with a noise of protest. “...Nakahara?” she asked, eyes flitting from her to Dazai as a smile grew on her face, “did you finally bring someone with you to a party? How nice you’re even matching!”

Chuuya’s face lost its color “Haruno wait-”

Before either of them could protest she pushed Chuuya closer to Dazai, whipping out her phone. “Wait! I’ll get a cute picture of you two and Oh! Even a dog!”

Dazai didn’t even protest as the woman tried to get a good angle with her phone but Chuuya looked absolutely scarred.

“Haruno I didn’t bring him with me he’s a leech-”

Dazai pulled Chuuya closer, “I am absolutely not a leech-”

“He’s a rockstar poser-”

“No, I’m not the one with an ugly ass hat-”

“Stop criticizing my personal preferences dammit!”

Haruno’s head whipped back and forth between them as she slowly continued to snap pictures. “Well, I got a few good pictures in Nakahara! It's the least I could do after you took pictures of me and the girls. I’ll send the pictures to the group chat!”

In a flash, she was gone and Dazai and Chuuya slowly looked at each other.

“Let go of me,” Chuuya said flatly.

“Right,” Dazai pulled away as if he had been burned, then proceeded to look around. “I figured Chuuya would bring his own animals.”

Chuuya’s eyes widened at the question as if he wasn’t expecting it. “None of them are comfortable with parties like this-” His eyes landed on a group that had suddenly pushed past the door, all wearing fancy costumes, fashionably late.

“Dammit!” He groaned, “the American’s are here.”

He didn’t even elaborate, moving past Dazai to greet the guest. The tall blonde man looked down on him with a snake-like smile, offering his hand to Chuuya.

Dazai momentarily thought about embarrassing Chuuya in front of his co-workers to pull that red-faced reaction he always had but decided that he enjoyed it more when he was allowed to step foot into the building.

So instead he would bother his other Co-workers.

He had gleaned valuable information for the next few hours.

Kunikida was as easy to work up as Dazai assumed he would be. He looked uptight even in his own costume (some weird phantom of the opera getup) and when Dazai poked fun at him for it Kunikida nearly manhandled him out of the clinic.

The reaction he had was the same as Chuuya’s (with significantly less cursing) but for some strange reason, it wasn’t as gratifying.

Dazai much preferred the short veterinarian yelling up at him.

The girl who had given the shots to Chuuya and the other ginger were siblings and obviously had some weird thing going on with them, so Dazai was quick to get out of making conversation with them, saved by Kenji and Atsushi.

They were significantly easier to hang out with since they filled in the gap of conversation that Dazai did not play a role in, though just as Kenji was about to dive into an embarrassing story about Chuuya and some cockatiel, the crowd in the building began to shift.

“We will be revisiting this topic,” Dazai told Kenji, very seriously.

The boy nodded and Dazai wouldn’t put it past him for the information to completely leave his mind but he had no time to push it because suddenly everyone grew quiet and Chuuya was standing on top of the reception desk to be seen.

“Alright, guys!” He announced, a winning grin on his face “I think it’s about that time for a tradition we always do here at our Halloween parties.”

Dazai curiously looked around as a ripple of cheers erupted across the room.

And really, If it was talked about this much then it probably had something to do about pets and cheesy-

“Our pet Halloween costume contest!”

The cheers only grew and Kenji practically vibrated with excitement next to Dazai.

Dazai should have expected this.

“We have our stage set up,” Chuuya continued, pointing to the role of red carpet leading from the entrance to the reception desk. Dazai hadn’t noticed that before. “Now, Yosano will play the music,” he gestured to Yosano who tapped away on the computer behind him, “and I will be judging. Good luck!”

Chuuya sunk down to sit on the desk, avoiding the food around him as the fog at their feet grew thicker and the lights dimmed to point to the stage. Dazai looked at Kenji in question, “what, a doggie fashion show?”

Kenji nodded enthusiastically, “Yep! They do it every year, but this is my first time to see it.”

Dazai looked to Atsushi who shrugged, “I didn’t even know this existed until today,” he answered sheepishly. Well, that made two of them.

More cheers sounded as the glass doors opened and people began to strut down the runway like models. At one point a lady tripped and Dazai accidentally laughed.

There were many different animals, some of which made Dazai cringe in disgust. The redhead named Lucy (Apparently she too had moved onto veterinary practice, but chose to study with the guild,) Had a weird lizard, it was on one shoulder, matching her steampunk look.

Another one was two very colorful parrots on each side of a blonde man's shoulders, the same blond man that Chuuya had greeted at the door. Dazai could assume that he was Fitzgerald.

Then there was a pig.

Not one of those large ugly ones, though a pig was still a pig in Dazai’s eyes. Its owner was also a part of the guild, some farmer dude.

The Russians who participated also had quite a lot of reptiles on their side.

None of the remaining customers were notable, and by the end of the long and exhausting fifteen-minute show, Dazai was absolutely positive that the two parrots were going to win.

Which was why he was so offended when Chuuya stood up after the clapping and announced that someone named ‘Mrs.Chiyo’ won.

Dazai looked over the crows, squinting. Who in the hell was Mrs.Chiyo?

“Come up here ma’am!” Chuuya grinned, and that’s when Dazai noticed the ripple of people moving, parting like the red sea for a grandma and her crusty white dog.

The very same lady who had tripped and Dazai had snickered at. The same lady who had walked into the vet when Dazai was picking up Daisy.

She must be one of their long-term members.

Chuuya crouched down from the reception desk to shake her hand and pass her some kind of golden leash. ‘The leash of honor’ Kenji had whispered to him as if it was some kind of explanation.

“Congratulations,” Chuuya announced and gave the dog in her arms a scratch on the head.

With the buzz of the fashion show ending, some left, and some continued to mingle around. Dazai wondered if they threw many parties here.

When he was eyeing the now empty eyeball cup in his hands was when the woman- Mrs.Chiyo- had approached him. Her dog, decked out in some ballerina outfit and a new golden leash, sniffed at Daisy, who looked down at her in confusion.

Daisy looked up to him and Dazai shrugged helplessly.

“Ahem,” the woman cleared her throat and Dazai’s attention was pulled to her. “Hello my name is Chiyo, I don’t think we have met before?”

She held her hand out and Dazai just stared at it.

“Shuuji,” he supplied simply.

His unwillingness to talk to her (and look her ugly dog in the soulless eyes for one more second) didn’t seem to sway her. “I’ve been a customer here for years, even my grandchildren come every once in a while.”

Dazai was wondering where her point in all of this was.

“Well,” she continued, “Only longtime guests are allowed here and I guess I would have known you before if you were dedicated to coming here.”

Dazai resisted the urge to laugh in her face. Who did the woman think she was, the owner of this establishment?

“I’m here as a plus one for Chuuya,” Dazai shrugged, careful not to let the amusement show on his face at the woman's slightly startled reaction.

“Oh my, what a wonderful boy Nakahara is. I’ve tried setting my granddaughter up with him but dating doesn't seem to be his thing.”

Well, if her granddaughter looked anything remotely like this grandma then Dazai didn’t blame Chuuya.

“Well then, your dog is…” The woman eyed Daisy with something faint of disgust in her old eyes.

Dazai felt a flare of something in his chest.

“Wonderful? I know.”

“Why did I not see her in the fashion show? Of course, she probably wouldn’t have beaten my little petunia,” she lifted her dog closer to Dazai’s vision and Dazai resisted the urge to get as far away from the thing as possible.

Petunia was an ugly ass name, but the shoe fit the foot, Dazai supposed.

“Daisy doesn't like other dogs,” Dazai pointedly looked at the woman's dog and she finally seemed to get his point because she let out the most dramatic gasp Dazai had ever heard. (He himself gasped like that on many occasions.)

“Are you trying to say-”

“What are you two doing?” A familiar voice asked and Dazai looked down to see Chuuya with both eyebrows raised. He must have come to Dazai’s rescue-

“This man- Shuuji- is claiming that my Petunia is ugly!” The woman wailed and Chuuya cringed as if this was a normal occurrence.

“Well she isn’t,” he stated, hands up in a soothing gesture. “Shuuji is just a jerk.”

“I am no-”

“Well, it’s getting awfully late,” Chuuya made a show of checking the clock on the wall, “it’s about that time, don’t you agree Mrs.Chiyo?”

The woman also looked at the clock and nodded, “Yes, I usually leave around this time anyways. Until next time Nakahara,” she leaned in to give Chuuya a kiss on the cheek, “and think about texting my Granddaughter back!”

Once the woman turned her back to them Chuuya’s carefully composed mask crumbled and twisted to disgust as he wiped the side of his face off on Dazai’s jacket.

“That was absolutely horrendous,” Dazai supplied and Chuuya nodded in agreement.

“She keeps trying to set me up with her damn granddaughter- ugh,” he pulled away, “at least she doesn't stay here all night.”

“You picked the ugliest dog to win that costume contest, you know,” Dazai told him and at that Chuuya actually looked offended.

“It’s not about how stuck up the owner is or how the dog appears,” he grumbled, pointing his gloved hand to the dog and the woman, “Doesn't the dog look happy?”

And well… It did.

“She probably doesn't get enough attention at home,” Chuuya let his hand drop, “so every time she comes here I play with her.”

Ah, that made much more sense.

“You’re not a fair judge.”

Chuuya snorted, “If I was then Fitgerald and his damn parrots would have won.”

The night went on.

One important thing, possibly the best information that Dazai could have learned about Chuuya that night was that… Chuuya was a lightweight.

Dazai was one hundred percent sure that this event was supposed to stay a family one for even old people like Mrs.Chiyo to enjoy. But that changed the moment the Russians spiked the punch like some kind of boring high schoolers.

Fyodor and whoever spiked the punch (some kind of white-haired dude with a braid.) would have definitely been kicked out if Chuuya had noticed.

Dazai wondered if it was revenge for that one vampire rumor spreading around.

Either way, it just made the experience more enjoyable for him, the flashing lights and fog machine became more bearable with the slight buzz in his system.

At one point Yosano had tried to strip on the reception desk with Ranpo (to which Haruno had dragged them down,) and Chuuya had all but disappeared. When Dazai had moved through the thinning crowd to the backroom Chuuya was, as expected, sitting in the backroom talking to the animals.

“Is Chuuya drunk?” Dazai asked after a few moments of watching the redhead talk to an asleep cat about how cat food tasted.

Chuuya jumped, quickly turning around and losing his footing, falling to his ass.

Well, that answered Dazai’s question.

Though they hadn’t spiked the punch enough to get anyone truly drunk (Dazai had the feeling that Yosano and Ranpo were the types to strip while sober.) Unless…

“Chuuya’s a lightweight!” Dazai exclaimed, and Chuuya stuck his tongue out at him, only further proving Dazai’s point when he leaned against the wall to stand up.

“What are you going to do chibi? Spend the rest of the night in this room?”

Chuuya shook his head with too much force, nearly toppling over again. He began to lumber towards the doorway like a sailor in a storm and now that he was growing closer Dazai could see the alcohol-induced flush on his cheeks.

“I’m gonna go home,” he answered, trying and failing to push past Dazai.

“How are you planning on doing that when you can’t even stand straight? You’ll just cause an accident with that horrendous motorcycle of yours.”

Chuuya swatted Dazai away, hiccuping. “Don’ make fun of her.”

“Motorcycles don’t have genders, Chuuya.”

Chuuya huffed as he pushed past the streamers and back to where the main party was, Dazai following closely in case he decided to make a fool of himself and fall.

Once Yosano spotted them she bit her lip to hold in her laughter. “Wow, he’s hammered.”

Chuuya struggled from Dazai’s hold, “No ‘m no-”

“He’s going to be pissed to learn that this party turned out this way,” Ranpo snickered.

Chuuya opened his mouth to continue on a drunken ramble but Dazai placed his hand over it, letting Yosano speak.

“Damn, Shuuji, would you mind taking him home? I’ll have to stay and do crowd control. It’s past Kunikida’s bedtime so it looks like it's my job.”

Somehow, Dazai didn’t feel like he had much of a choice in the matter.

Which is how he ended up dragging a half-conscious Chuuya to his car.

“You- you’re dressed like a mommy,” Chuuya slurred and Dazai raised an eyebrow.

“A mummy?”

Chuuya brought a finger up to feel the bandages on Dazai’s neck, the touch making Dazai want to push away and lean into it at the same time.

“Psst, same thing.”

“Well for your information,” Dazai grunted as Chuuya suddenly decided to lean all of his weight on him, “I’m a rockstar. A better one than you.”

Chuuya patted his chest, “Sure sure, ‘m sure you have a wonderful voice.”

Well, if a dying bird counted as a ‘wonderful voice’ then Dazai would take it.

Dazai opened the passenger door to his car, quickly putting a hand out to cover the top of the entrance to soften the blow of Chuuya hitting his head on it while sliding in. Daisy hopped in after him, much to Chuuya’s delight, laying right on the veterinarian's lap.

Dazai had managed to get his address from Ranpo before departing and was thankful for that because Chuuya wouldn’t have been much of a help. Instead of giving directions, he was full body-hugging Daisy, whispering to her as if telling her a secret that Dazai couldn’t hear.

Dazai could hear every bit of it.

“Hey Daisy,” Chuuya whispered, “I think your owner is a hot jerk who can’t keep his shit together.”

Dazai could very much keep his shit together-

Wait.

Dazai’s lips curled into a smirk, “Chuuya thinks I’m good looking?”

Chuuya looked down at Daisy, “why did you tell him?!”

Chuuya was an entertaining drunk to listen to, though it didn’t last because Chuuya fell asleep halfway through on their drive, head leaning down on Daisy.

It wasn’t endearing at all. It wasn’t.

Dazai quickly looked away from the sight so as to not get into a car crash.

By the time they arrived at Chuuya’s apartment complex Dazai had called Hirotsu to let him know that he was alive and to not send a search team out. Chuuya had also sobered up slightly after his nap and after chugging down the water Dazai had passed to him.

Though his eyes still had that glazed look to them.

“Thanks, I guess,” he grumbled, hand on the handle of the car door.

“Is Chuuya sure he’ll be able to make it to his apartment without getting lost?”

Chuuya gifted him the middle finger before stumbling out of the car. Dazai stayed after an extra ten minutes to make sure he actually got into his apartment safely before driving back to his own place around one in the morning.

Perhaps parties weren't as bad as he made them out to be.

Chapter Text

Chuuya woke up with the headache of the century. Even worse than the recurring migraines he got with all of the bullshit life kept throwing at him.

Of course, it only got worse.

His alarm didn’t go off that morning, which was a blessing in disguise since if it had then Chuuya wasn’t sure he would have survived the atrocious amount of noise. Instead, he woke up to Copper licking his fingertips, giving them love nips as he did when he was worried.

Chuuya groaned, the hammering in his skull becoming apparent as his eyes fluttered open. “Copper,” he groaned, voice low and grating, “stop that.”

The dog immediately stopped chewing on his fingers, hopping back up on the bed and settling down right on top of Chuuya. He moved his arm from where it had been hanging off the side of the bed and carded through Copper's short fur, letting himself suspend in a muffled reality until around ten minutes later, he sunk back to the depths of reality.

He felt as if he had been run over by a semi-truck, he was still dressed in the uncomfortable Halloween costume (that he knew he rocked, thank you very much), and he was a grown man. A grown man who worked and had a job that he should probably go to…

Chuuya forced his eyes open, and thank fuck drunk him had the foresight to close his blackout curtains over his window because otherwise, he was sure he would have shriveled up like some vampire upon exposure to the light.

The room was hazy with his blurred eyesight and absolutely reeked of sweat. Chuuya’s nose scrunched up and even that small movement sent a flare of pain to his head. He hadn’t been hungover in a while.

Chuuya stumbled out of bed, unsteadily kicking off those sticky leather pants and jacket as he shuffled to the kitchen to sluggishly open a bottle of Advil (after dropping it to the floor and cursing child locks existence) and chug down a bottle of water.

A glance at the clock told him that it was half-past twelve and that he should really get up off of his ass and drive to work and help the others take down the decorations as they did each year.

Which begged the question, were they all as hungover as him? There was no doubt that those damn Russians had spiked the punch and would definitely not be invited to another party of his (at least not without being checked for alcohol of any sort.) Though admittedly, Chuuya had the lowest tolerance out of the others so they were probably unaffected.

Well, good for them.

Alerted by the noise in the kitchen, Mackerel made her grand entrance. Chuuya tapped on the counter before reaching to pet her, and shortly after that Copper joined them for their impromptu breakfast.

Chuuya’s stomach rolled at the thought of food so he ended up just placing their food down and retreating back to the stillness of his room.

Chuuya left his phone on the bed, deciding to check on it after he soaked for a good hour in the bath and let the Advil kick in. Partially because he was petty and because if he looked at the bright screen then his eyeballs would surely melt.

So to say that it was a surprise to see the flood of notifications lighting up his phone screen once Chuuya was done toweling dry his hair was an understatement. Sure, he expected maybe a few notifications but nothing from twitter and nothing too important.

A storm warning had been issued which was probably why there was no sun peeking past his curtains, also meaning he would need to put Copper on sedatives for when the worst of it rolled over.

Past the storm warning was, of course, texts from his co-workers. He had given Yosano the cold shoulder lately but he opened hers up first.

Yosano: Man u were hammered last night. Take some Advil and sleep it off, DW about the rest of us we got it covered, if u come into work today I’m feeding you your own intestines.

Chuuya had to wonder if she was completely sober. He moved on to the other texts, which said much of the same things, Kunikida complaining about how the event ended and also suggesting that Chuuya stay home. Naiomi sent him videos of the dog contest and him judging it, saying He looked 'absolutely delicious'  in his costume.

He considered blocking her.

Just as he was scrolling through Atsushi’s apology paragraph Yosano texted him again, though this time the matter was not as serious.

Or so he had thought.

Yosano: Check Twt.

Chuuya fell back under his covers and let out a long-suffering sigh because nothing good had ever come out of logging into that damn app.

The first account he saw, of course, was Mrs.Chiyo tagging him in a picture of her, Petunia, and the golden leash she had won. She may not be the best woman but the dog looked extremely happy and that's all that mattered.

Then, as he scrolled down to another post he had been tagged in, his heart leaped to his throat. Haruno had posted the picture of him and Dazai dressed in their matching outfits with Daisy sitting at their feet. They both seemed somewhat shocked by the photo, though Dazai was grinning and Chuuya had a frown on his face despite Dazai pulling him closer.

Chuuya felt the ghost of the touch over his side where Dazai’s hand had been in the picture and tried not to think about it.

It was captioned ‘Finally glad that boss Nakahara found someone to invite to his parties! Hope to see more of him around <3’

Everyone from his vet, Fitzgerald’s vet, Fyodor’s vet, and even Kouyou had re-tweeted.

All of them were damn traitors.

Chuuya twisted around in bed and continued scrolling, and if he thought that the last post had been bad then this one was leagues worse.

-Mark Twain

‘@ThePPA, Nakahara, that party was truly off the charts last night, can’t wait for the next one. Whoever spiked that punch was a creative genius. Though it appears as if we have a scandal on our hands… A picture was taken by our newest intern Lucy and is now circulating along Yokohama’s internet. Is Nakahara Chuuya, our talented yet temperamental veterinarian finally seeing someone?’

The image attached was one of Chuuya, cheeks flushed and eyes glazed over, most definitely intoxicated, hanging off of Dazai. One arm wrapped around his shoulder while Dazai tried his best to support him, looking as if he was nearly dragging him out of the clinic.

Chuuya’s brain shut down.

When the…

What the…

How did that even happen?

Sure Chuuya could recall Haruno forcing them into a picture but him hanging off of that idiot Dazai would have certainly rung a bell.

Chuuya could delete this app right now and start a new life in France, but for some damn reason, he kept scrolling to see the replies.

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

‘@TheMoneyMakinGuild, it does appear that they are a bit intimate. Perhaps there is more going on than meets the eye. Wonderful party @ThePPA, it was good of you to bring your boyfriend along, Nakahara.’

He had been ganged up on.

Double teamed.

Chuuya was going to crawl back into his bathtub and drown himself.

He ripped the covers from on top of him, successfully scaring Copper who had settled in next to him and tumbled to his closet to slip on a jacket. Nothing came easy for him in life and they probably never would.

He texted Yosano that he was on his way because he needed answers and he would pry out her and anyone else's teeth to get them.

Upon arriving at the building, the rain had just started to pour buckets on him, though Chuuya made the smart move to take his car with his current condition so he didn’t get soaked. (And apparently, he wouldn’t have been able to take his motorcycle anyways because he had left it in the veterinarian building parking lot after the party.)

Yosano had probably taken him home then.

The cobwebs shrouding the building had been taken down, thankfully, because the rain would have ruined them and Chuuya was not in the mood for buying new Halloween decorations for next year's party. (If he even had one, he was debating whether or not he would just cancel future parties altogether.)

Atsushi and Kenji had been in the process of packing away the last of the decorations and hauling them to the doors of the building when they had spotted him, both perked up and gave him a wave though Atsushi looked a mix of apologetic and worried.

“Nakahara-san, aren’t you supposed to be in bed? You don’t look the best today…” Atsushi flushed at his own words, clamping a hand over his mouth, and Chuuya couldn’t help but chuckle at his actions despite the burning ball of rage curling in his gut.

He didn’t blame Atsushi for his words, Chuuya probably did look like shit at the moment with his jacket, his sweatpants, and his overall hungover look. Neither of the interns had ever seen him this low.

“Calm down Atsushi, I’m not working today I just have business to attend to-”

“But that is work-”

Chuuya waved them off as he pushed past the doors, the rain now pouring at full force behind him. It sure has been raining in Yokohama a lot this season.

Yosano shot him an unimpressed look from where she was wiping off the reception desk of the mess they had made last night. “I should have known you were coming in,” her eyes scanned over his appearance, “but you aren’t working today I see. Not that there is much work to be done, no customers today. It’s just a clean-up day.”

Chuuya had expected as much.

Yosano raised an eyebrow and kicked her chair towards him to urge him to sit as she worked. “You look like you’re about to collapse, sit down.” Chuuya complied, “you could have just called if you wanted to talk about those tweets, you know.”

Chuuya’s eyebrows pinched at just the thought about them as he leaned back into the chair. It was much too comfortable and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get back up from it. Chuuya sighed, “I don’t even care, but I'm not inviting them over ever again.”

“Aw, cmon, they were fun to hang out with until that punch was spiked,” Yosano spoke and for some reason, it eased the tension in his shoulders. Maybe he had just been overreacting.

Yosano halted in her movements and looked to Chuuya, “Besides, their gossip about you is lame. Dating someone? Everyone does that and they’re acting as if it’s some scandal that the great Nakahara Chuuya had been swept off his feet by some handsome brunette who’s probably a Mafia boss or something.”

Chuuya flushed and opened his mouth to retaliate and fill her in on his ample list of ‘100 reasons why Dazai Osamu is not appealing,’ but she kept going.

“Look, everyone thinks Fyodor is a vampire so you dating someone is not nearly as bad of a rumor as that one was. Besides, maybe now that Mrs.Chiyo thinks that you're dating someone she'll stop setting you up with her granddaughter.”

And… Maybe Yosano had a point. For someone so hell-bent on ruining his life she seemed to know how to make him feel better.

“You’re right,” he nodded, “it could be worse.”

“Yeah,” Yosano snorted, “a client could walk in right now and see those eye bags under your eyes and automatically assume that you had a good fuck last night-”

Chuuya threw a clipboard at her.

He took everything back, she was a jerk.

But maybe he should leave in case someone happened to walk in and see the state he was in.

“I hate you, you know that?”

Yosano shrugged, lips quirking upwards, “I have to make you feel better before you feel worse. Take some of that hangover remedy, yeah?”

“Whatever,” Chuuya grumbled, closing his eyes for a full second to think. He would need to cover his motorcycle with a tarp or wait to drive it to his parking garage when there was a break in the weather.

His head spun-

Then he opened his eyes, remembering the question on his tongue. “When you took me back to my apartment last night, did you mess with the doorman again like last time because I do not feel like dealing with his complaints-”

“Chuuya,” Yosano interjected, "I didn’t take you home last night.”

“Oh,” was Chuuya’s intelligent response. His tongue felt numb. “I assumed you did-”

“No no, I had to stay back and kick everyone out of the party once it got too late,” Yosano said slowly, and dread slowly crept up Chuuya’s stomach because if she hadn’t taken him home then he had a sneaking suspicion-

“Is the chibi wondering who was as chivalrous as to take him home and tuck him in bed?” An annoying voice asked and a shiver ran down Chuuya’s spine. He turned to see the remaining streamers connecting the waiting room from the back hallway shifting to reveal that idiot Dazai and all of his not-so-glory.

“It was me, of course!”

“Oh,” Chuuya said, unimpressed. “Thanks, I guess.”

Dazai frowned at the response, or lack of one, and pushed past the streamers until he was leaning against the desk by Chuuya. Yosano had moved on to removing the lights from the walls and Chuuya shot her an accusing look.

“Why is this idiot even here anyway?”

Dazai made an offended noise and Yosano hummed casually, “He was being a leech and kept sticking around this morning so I put him to work, he was picking up in the hallway with Kunikida but from what I can tell he was just annoying him.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes because of course Dazai would push his annoying agenda on Kunikida.

Dazai eyed him in a way that reminded Chuuya of last night for some strange reason. “You look like you had a rough night,” he snickered and Chuuya rolled his eyes. He remembered that Dazai had never seen him out of work clothes and his Halloween costume before so yes, he definitely did.

But if Dazai cared about that then he could fuck right off, rumored boyfriend or not.

Chuuya paused.

Rumored boyfrie-

He needed to change the subject.

“Where’s Daisy?” He asked, and Dazai looked as if he had been shot in the foot.

“I take a drunk Chuuya home and sober Chuuya just asks me where my dog is? How hurtful.”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes but let Dazai continue speaking because he had many questions, he just refused to ask Dazai them and add fuel to his ever-growing need for attention.

“The party was wonderful, by the way, good planning, and good fruit punch, if you know what I mean.” And much to Chuuya’s disdain, Dazai didn't look in the least bit hungover, in fact, he looked the most alive that Chuuya had seen him be ever. At least Yosano looked a little dead. “But nothing beats taking the Chibi home, he was very touchy and loved talking about his feelings.”

Chuuya choked on his own spit, “excuse me-”

“It’s all true!” Dazai put his hands up as if he wasn’t the one at fault here and Chuuya didn’t miss the way Yosano’s ears perked up from where she was pretending not to listen in on their conversation.

“You were having a whole conversation with Daisy about how hot I was!”

Dazai seemed a bit too excited and… a bit too truthful.

When Chuuya was drunk or even a little tipsy his lips were loose and he said things he would normally never admit to, so while yes it was common sense that Dazai wasn’t the worst looking human being he had ever seen, his shit personality should have made up for that.

Well, apparently for drunk Chuuya, it didn’t.

“Well,” Chuuya said, “you only have Daisy as a witness and she’s not exactly a reliable one is she?”

Dazai’s one visible eye darkened and not for the first time Chuuya wondered just why in the hell he had a full-on bandage over it. A fox-like smirk curled his lip and Chuuya refused to budge from his chair.

“Well, I may not have a witness but I won’t forget it.”

Chuuya mentally groaned.

Dazai was telling the truth, wasn’t he?

Chuuya resisted the urge to throw him out the window and get pissed but only held back on that because he knew Dazai fed off of those reactions from him, though Chuuya had no idea why.

Instead, he leaned back, pulling his feet up on the chair. “Well damn, I'm not blind I guess, good to know. I’m not stupid Dazai, I see the general appeal.”

Chuuya expected Dazai to go along with the olive branch he had extended or to tease him only for his ego to grow to impossible lengths. (A backfire for a risky plan,) but he hadn’t expected Dazai to just… freeze.

The detective had a vacant look in his eyes for a full two minutes, looking as if he had just had a stroke. Chuuya was about to reach out and check for a pulse, genuinely worried that the idiot had just died standing up, but Dazai had simply walked out of the building without any further words.

That went better than Chuuya could have ever anticipated.

“You know,” Yosano said from the floor from where she had fallen off of her step stool in shock. Served her right, “you really are an idiot.”

Chuuya twisted his chair around to face her, confusion evident on his face, “how so?”

Yosano shifted on the floor to a sitting position, “I mean you did just bluntly admit that he had good looks… I thought you hated the guy?”

Chuuya hummed, “Whatever gets him out of my clinic faster the better.”

Yosano gave him a contemplating look as if she was analyzing every thought running through his head before nodding slowly. “Sure Chuuya, if that is what you want to believe.”

Chuuya would have to ask her what she meant later. Preferably after he slept for a full twenty-four hours. 

Despite staying up all night the previous night and spending the morning at the boring (well, not so boring) pet clinic waiting for Chuuya to return so he could tease him, Dazai was not tired in the least.

He always had some sort of bone tiredness weighing down his muscles, and sometimes he knew he moved as if the world had crashed down its weight on his frame, but now he felt lighter than ever.

Though Dazai couldn't figure out if Chuuya’s comment was just the redhead playing mind games with him or being incredibly blunt as he always was. Chuuya wasn’t one to dance around an issue at hand, Dazai had learned, so it made the conversation all the more liberating.

Of course, that weightlessness was stolen from him when he had returned to his office around lunchtime. He hadn’t turned in until around two in the morning though thankfully Hirotsu didn’t send Gin out to retrieve him.

Speaking of Gin, Dazai had placed her cloak that Daisy wore on his desk and it was gone by the time he returned from Chuuya’s pet clinic.

Then came a knock on his door.

Dazai should have expected this, “Come in Hirotsu~”

The man stiffly entered the large room, bowing down to Dazai before proceeding to the front of his desk.”Sir, the executives are waiting outside for you.”

Dazai should probably accept his fate. “Another meeting, I presume?”

Hirotsu nodded, “Some issues have arisen with the Sheep and the GSS, and other pressing matters need to be discussed.”

Judging by Hirotsu’s body language Dazai could tell that he hadn’t been the one to orchestrate the meeting this time. Dazai himself knew of the issues but wasn’t planning to have a meeting until things were coming close to escalating.

“Very well,” Dazai leaned forward, reveling in the glint of surprise in the older man's eyes. “I shall be out in a few minutes, though do me a favor and invite the attack squad and the rest of the black lizard along, I do not feel like explaining myself multiple times.”

Well, it was a half-lie. Dazai knew that Akutagawa and anyone else would follow his orders without question, though having subordinates there that were not a part of the executive circle certainly did make things more interesting. He was confident that there were no leaks among them and if there did happen to be then it was no hair off of Dazai’s head, just more pawns to dispose of,

Hirotsu didn’t question him either, simply bowing and leaving to gather the requested few while Dazai tapped Daisy on the head, who had been napping for most of the day. She seemed to be the more affected one out of the two of them by the party.

“What kind of guard dog falls asleep on the job, huh?” Dazai taunted as the dog climbed out of his lap as if she had done nothing wrong.

Well, perhaps she didn’t but it was the principal of the matter.

Half of the executives that were normally present were gone, though they would be excused from the meeting since an out-of-country mission needed their expertise. Dazai could play well with what he had currently.

“Good afternoon~” he greeted, plopping down in his seat. Daisy took her seat next to him and Higuchi and Tachihara looked at the dog with something akin to adoration.

“Good afternoon boss,” they repeated back along with a few other scattered ‘good day's' that were significantly less enthusiastic.

“Now as I am aware of the current issues at hand, you may not be,” Dazai looked across the table that seemed to be divided between well-informed and clueless. He snapped and Hirotsu had pulled out a bulletin board of a map of Yokohama to roll out behind him. “Now, let’s discuss the issue of stray dogs in the area, shall we?”

Those who had not been expecting his words scrunched up their eyebrows in confusion.

“Sir… what do stray dogs have to do with us?” Higuchi asked and no one objected to her out-of-line way of speaking.

“Well these dogs aren’t our typical stray mutts,” Dazai stood from his chair to gesture to the map, “they have been disrupting our business lately, scaring away our clients from drug and organ deals. Reports of them have been seen, large rabid beasts with glowing eyes.”

“Sir,” Tachihara frowned, “That sounds like an urban legend.”

“I assure you that it is not. These dogs have run off half of our business though as I said, these are not just any normal dogs, they all come from one source of rottenness…”

Kouyou, who had been silent for most of the time, raised an eyebrow, “Are you saying that these dogs are genetically modified?”

Of course, she would be the first one to figure it out.

“That is exactly what I am saying,” Dazai confirmed, and the atmosphere of the room shifted. “Illegal dog fighting rings, they have been found in Yokohama before and it looks like we have a new one now, a sloppy one that is testing on their dogs and letting them escape.”

Dazai had picked this up easily. When the dogs, larger than normal and foaming at the mouth, had been chased away from the black lizard on that mission. When clients had first started reporting large bests prowling the streets and dominating the nighttime.

The Port Mafia was lenient with illegal activity since it is what they did, though when there was another illegal activity that was messing with their own, it would obviously need to be exterminated.

“Now, no one else here will need to worry about this case because I will be personally overseeing it.” There was a ripple of tension through the room because Dazai was never one to personally offer his help.

“Well!” Dazai continued, moving on from the sudden uneasiness, “now for our real business, the GSS, and the Sheep…”

They were clashing once more despite the somewhat peaceful meeting they had with them only a month ago. Or that was what they wanted Dazai to think, he knew they had joined forces and he knew they were planning to make a point soon, a ‘point’ being explosives.

Dazai knew their plans well because he too would proceed with them, though he would always be a step ahead of them, as he had explained to his subordinates.

“They want to bomb along our supply route,” he concluded, “Now we cannot sway their actions but we can divert their focus and strike before them. If they were to have a secret rendezvous, it would be around here,” Dazai pointed a slender finger on the map around the outskirts of Yokohama. “If we were to destroy the area they would know that we know of their new partnership and re-think their decision.”

“So,” Kouyou had been the first to speak after a long bout of silence, “we send a squad there to exterminate any activity we may see. Any civilians will of course take the impact as well, though if we must prove our point…”

Dazai stilled, not having expected for Kouyou to even bring up the aspect of civilians at such a meeting, not when she had never seemed to care for them before. Dazai studied the way her sharp eyes flickered from the map to him as if trying to convey a silent message and-

Dazai looked at the area he was pointing at on the map and completely dismantled the plan in his head.

If he decided to send a squad out to this area then Chuuya and his business would suffer and perhaps even he and a few of his co-workers would die. (If Chuuya didn’t kill the people Dazai sent out.)

Though for some strange reason something heavy and leaden sunk in his chest and Dazai was forced to move his finger to a different area on the map.

“This is the road the GSS and the Sheep send supplies out to each other, plans included. It is a backroad and if we can obstruct it then we can get our hands on their next move.”

It wasn’t a good plan, but Dazai could take the blow.

Kouyou nodded as if his sudden change in the plan made any sense and Dazai was left to wonder just how she knew the location was an important one. Did she know Dazai had been visiting there recently? Or perhaps she knew someone…

“That sound’s good boss,” Akutagawa nodded in approval, and Dazai was ripped away from his train of thought. He would need to revisit it later. “Just give the order and we will destroy the road and everything around it.”

Dazai returned to his seat and scanned the room, “I would much prefer an attack sooner than later. Akutagawa, Higuchi, and the Black Lizard will depart and do as I tell them. I trust you can handle it?”

The members of the room nodded and the meeting didn’t last for too much longer after that.

Though if Dazai had known that his orders to destroy the area would somehow get him involved in a football match then perhaps he would have changed plans while he still had the chance.

Chapter Text

Two days later found Chuuya storming into his clinic as he always did, coffee clutched in hand as he gave everyone the ‘Do not talk to me until I’ve finished at least three cups of coffee’ look.

Yosano talked to him anyways while the others scattered to avoid Chuuya.

“Morning Chuuya.”

Chuuya stared at her for a second before sitting down in the chair and replying with a short and gruff “Morning.”

Apparently, she took it as a sign to continue to pester him. It looked like some things would never change.

“Did you hear about the incident that happened yesterday night? Apparently, it was going to be on the news but everyone was hush about it. I only found out this morning when I drove past it.”

Chuuya took a long sip of his coffee, letting it burn his throat before he nodded. “Yeah, I read some gossip articles about it. Apparently, the whole main road was destroyed, luckily it didn’t affect us,” he grumbled in the last part and Yosano snorted.

“It may not have affected us but you know who it did?”

Chuuya hummed “Literally everyone else in Yokohama?”

Yosano nodded, “Well yeah, but Fitzgerald and Fyodor’s clinics also took a large hit.”

Chuuya mapped out the city in his mind only to discover that Yosano was correct because while the city was in mayhem at the moment, the only way to reach their veterinarian practices was from the main road that was now in shambles.

Their business was taking a large blow from it.

Chuuya shrugged shamelessly, “that’s what they get for making their business so out in the open. I’d say it’s karma for them crashing my Halloween party like that.”

Now the only available vet in the area was Chuuya’s who had the foresight to build his business along the outskirts that were easy enough to get to but seemed more personal than the others in Yokohama for that very reason.

“More business for us I guess,” Yosano nodded, not completely concerned about their rivals.

The Americans were loaded and it was well known. And the Russians… probably got their large budget from being extras in the Twilight franchise.

“But,” she continued, “did you see what they posted?”

Oh, so this was the real question she had been meaning to ask the whole time. Chuuya eyed her skeptically, “Hell no, I turned off my Twitter notifications.”

“Well, you may want to turn those back on because it seems we’ve been roped into their shenanigans.”

“What,” Chuuya hissed, now wide awake as he fumbled to open up the devil app. He could have gone the rest of his life without seeing another damn tweet from that dumbass Mark Twain.

-Mark Twain

‘It is sad news about our Vets having to close down for the time being, though with that comes exciting news! To raise money and positivity during this time of confusion, we invite you to our football match! Want to see the chance to see us, @FyodorsClinic, and @ThePPA, fight it out? The link to the tickets is down below. ;)’

Chuuya tapped on the link attached with a bit too much force to see the fairly cheap ticket prices and the location and rapidly approaching date of the football match.

“That’s bullshit!” Chuuya seethed, “we didn’t even agree to this!”

Yosano didn’t seem too swayed, “They're always sniffing up a way to raise money, what did you expect? Besides, the money will be distributed between us evenly and you get the chance to tackle Fyodor and his lackeys into the dirt. I'd say there are no downsides to this.”

And well… she did have a point. Chuuya had been looking for a legal way to beat up the Russian for a while now.

The Guild was obviously wealthy enough to stay afloat and Chuuya was sure Fyodor had some shady way to earn money without actually working, but they had made the road being shut down advantage and with Fitzgerald’s sharp eyes, all he could see was new opportunities to make money.

“Fine,” Chuuya smirked, “well beat their asses.”

He didn’t hear Yosano’s response, too busy furiously typing out his reply on his phone.

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘@TheMoneyMakinGuild, You can play your American sports all you want, but still expect to be beaten. We’ll win.’

Of course, in response, their clients who treated their Twitter pages as some kind of celebrity gossip retweeted and took their sides.

“Have you even played football before?”

He took a moment to ponder Yosano’s question. No, he had watched it once or twice since it was a huge thing in America, but he never saw the appeal in it, it seemed mindless to him. But maybe actually playing it and being able to experience it would give him a different perspective.

Chuuya snorted, “Me? Absolutely not, but they’re going down anyway.”

Which was how they ended up at a stadium that had heard about their ‘money issues’ and let them play there for free.

It was a Saturday afternoon and it was a pretty day, not a cloud in the sky, but with October passing it was now November which meant even colder weather. There was a chilly breeze but it was nowhere near as freezing as it had been when the last storm rolled around.

The bleachers were actually pretty full with still more people trickling in wearing different colors to support the teams they were on. Chuuya was smug to know that he had seen more Reds in the arena than Yellows and purples.

“What a good turnout!” Kenji exclaimed cheerily, “this will be fun!”

“Kenji,” Chuuya patted his shoulder, “I need you to put your game face on, glare at the others, and demolish them.”

The kid looked at him with wide eyes as if he didn’t know how to be rude.

He probably didn’t.

Chuuya didn’t even try with Atsushi, who sat towards the corner, eyeing the crowd with terrified eyes.

Yosano and Chuuya himself were probably the only ones who looked ready to play, Ranpo had snuck off somewhere to the concessions stand and the rest of them were… chatting with the other vets like this was some kind of get together.

Though Chuuya had other problems to focus on.

Such as Kunikida abandoning them.

“What do you mean he said he’s not playing?” Chuuya yelled as the crowd started to settle down in their seats, waiting in anticipation for an announcement of sorts. It was drawing closer to the game and they were one man down.

Tanizaki rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, “Well… When he found out that we had no official referee he decided to take the job upon himself…” he gestured to the sidelines where Kunikida was now wearing a black and white striped outfit, a whistle hanging from his neck. His jersey was in Tanizaki’s hand.

“Goddammit,” Chuuya groaned, “We can’t play with our amount of players right now we need one more person.”

Yosano put a hand to her chin in contemplation, “We can still play, we just need to ask someone in the crowd if they would like to join in.”

Chuuya huffed, but agreed, “Yeah, that makes sense,” his eyes roamed across the crowd, “now find the tallest most jacked-”

He paused on someone who was walking through the entrance, a tall thin brunette wrapped in bandages, and a smirk grew on his face. “I have a better idea.”

Dazai really didn’t expect to be roped into a game of American football that Saturday. If he did know then he would have stayed in bed for the foreseeable future.

The plan had worked well, sending his assault team out to block the GSS and the Sheep from having further in-person contact, and they wouldn’t be able to communicate remotely because they knew well that Dazai could hijack every channel.

Yokohama, or at least the side that was affected, was plunged into chaos and that allowed Dazai to work in broad daylight.

It also meant he had to work.

There were no developments in the stray dog situation, though there would be a breakthrough soon. For now, he opted to travel alone to his next target. A stadium that should have been empty and should have been completely silent so he could set the next trap.

Though he was wrong.

There were people there, rowdy and large in number as they all looked down to what looked like teams all wearing different jerseys.

As far as Dazai could recall, he did not remember any plans for a major game though…

The Twitter thread between the vet clinics he had been stalking for his own amusement, a football game was announced though Dazai hadn’t checked the location…

Oh.

He stepped in the shadow of the entryway and watched as Chuuya (easy to spot despite his lack of height) seemed distressed, talking to another ginger and Yosano.

Dazai had been planning on visiting the vet again to annoy Chuuya some more after his work here was done though it looks like that would have to wait for another day.

Dazai slowly started to back away as Chuuya’s eyes started to scan across the crowd as if looking for something and Dazai quickly turned on his heel to walk away because he was not about to be pulled into whatever this was-

“Dazai you idiot!” Chuuya’s booming voice called over the roaring of the crowd, “Get your ass over here don’t you try to run from me-”

Dazai picked up his pace.

“Don’t ignore me either, I know you hear me!”

Chuuya’s grating voice grew closer and hell encroached on Dazai as his familiar red hair entered his vision. A strong fist grabbed the back of Dazai’s collar and nearly choked the life out of him as Chuuya dragged him across the field and threw him onto the bench next to Atsushi and Yosano.

“You,” Chuuya jabbed a finger to his chest, “are going to help us beat their asses.”

This was worse than Dazai thought, Chuuya was going to actually make him play. He had figured they would force him to be some cheerleader on the sidelines with those glittery palm palms but this was monumentally worse.

“Why me?” Dazai asked calmly, crossing his arms defensively. “I could have work to do, you know.”

“Yeah?” Chuuya asked, with no sympathy in his tone, “then why’re you here?”

“Well I was supposed to investigate something in this stadium,” he spread his arms out, “but apparently I should have checked the link on the Twitter thread and not have wasted my time coming here.”

The color drained from Chuuya's face, his lips drawing into a thin line. “You… You see their tweets?”

Dazai crossed his legs, letting the aura of confidence overtake him even if he was being held hostage by some crazy football fanatics. “Of course I do,” a smirk grew on his face as Chuuya’s cheeks grew red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “Perhaps I should have come willingly to support my boyfriend~”

“Oh shut the hell up,” Chuuya groaned, and Dazai expected his taunting to make the redhead launch him into the atmosphere and pick a new candidate to play football with, but it only seemed to spur him on.

“Put on the damn jersey,” he threw it at Dazai’s face.

It looks like his plan to piss Chuuya off has backfired. He removed the material from his face, “Why do you want me to play I haven’t even played American Football befor-”

The look on Chuuya’s face was all the answer Dazai needed.

He wanted to see Dazai suffer.

“We need a spare player,” the redhead answered innocently. “Kunikida ditched us to be a referee.”

Of course, he did, Dazai didn’t necessarily blame him.

He clutched the uniform in his hand, “I’m getting you back for this.”

Chuuya snorted, “Sure you are, put it on idiot.”

Dazai looked down at it. “I don’t think it will fit me if the chibi gave it to me.”

“It’s Kunikidas,” Chuuya frowned though it seemed as if nothing could defeat his victorious mood as he watched Dazai grumble and slide off his overcoat and pull on the jersey over his button-up. “You look stupid as hell.”

Dazai very maturely stuck his tongue out.

“Well now that that’s settled” Atsushi smiled nervously after overseeing their strange conversation, “we have a team now, we can tell Fitzgerald that we're ready-”

“Good evening everyone!” Fitzgerald announced over the speaker system, startling the crowd into silence. “Such a nice day isn't it? I’m glad you all took the chance to come out here and relax!” A ripple of agreement from the audience and Dazai had to admit that the man sure did know how to work a crowd.

“I know that American football is not too popular here,” he started, “so the rules go…”

As the blonde man explained the rules Dazai moped and Chuuya whacked him hard upside the head.

“This will be held tournament style, Fyodor and his team will first compete against The guild, and the winners will get a break before proceeding to play against Nakahara’s team. Does that sound good?”

There were cheers and Dazai really wanted to go home. This was not his strength, he would honestly much rather be a cheerleader at the moment.

“Wonderful!” Fitzgerald gave the crowd a winning smile and from next to Dazai, Chuuya absolutely seethed, saying something about ‘Annoying charmers snatching my customers.’

“Now, before we proceed with the Football match…” Chuuya stiffened and Dazai looked at him in question, even if everyone else seemed just as confused. “We have mini games!”

Dazai and Chuuya both placed their heads in their hands for a solid thirty seconds before emerging from their self-isolation.

“Did you know about this?” Dazai asked, to which Chuuya dejectedly shook his head.

“Hell no. I didn’t even want to participate in the first place.”

Though it seemed like they were the only discouraged ones because both Kenji and Atsushi smiled excitedly at the prospect of staying and tiring themselves out more than necessary, and even Yosano had a competitive smirk on her face.

She turned to Chuuya and faltered, “what crawled up your ass and died?”

“I’m not doing this shit, you guys can go do their little mini-games,” Chuuya gestured to where Fitzgerald and his group of devils were setting up the competitions. “But I am sitting right here-”

Yosano promptly pulled him up and whacked him upside the head, and at least that seemed to make Dazai snicker.

“You are our boss,” she had a fiery gleam in her eyes, “don’t be like that just because you don’t want to play limbo in front of an audience and win because I've seen you play limbo before and you are a beast. You have to lead our team and we will win each and every single one of these mini-games.”

And that pep talk alone seemed to get the fire to return back to Chuuya’s eyes because now he looked more determined than ever.

Dazai admired it for a short moment in disgust before attempting to tiptoe out of the arena.

Of course, he got pulled into their stupid mini-games too.

And really, Yosano was not lying about Chuuya being a beast in limbo because somehow he had managed to defy gravity and win against that weird Nikolai dude, securing their victory in the first match. Dazai of course had been no help, forehead hitting the pole in the first round.

Their second round was a close call between them and Fitzgerald's team when there was a relay race, though most people in Chuuya’s vet were active and they pulled ahead even when Dazai walked the whole time.

The third was an arm wrestle between Kenji and some weird dude with black hair named Lovecraft and once again it was their win. The Russain’s weren’t even trying anymore.

After a particularly painful boxing match Chuuya had come out victorious and a nearly psychotic smile, mumbling something under his breath about ‘Not letting egotistical American’s steal his title.’

He was possibly hallucinating.

Then the mini-games grew weird.

Chicken fights, to Dazai’s understanding, were a normal competition activity, but a match of chess with loud blaring music playing in the background (‘Eye of the tiger’ an English song none of them had heard before) and while blindfolded was certainly strange.

When Chess was first mentioned Chuuya deflated because apparently, competitions that actually involved brains were his downfall. Then he looked Dazai in the eyes and pushed him into the chess chair in the middle of the field across from Fyodor.

“Now this isn’t just any normal game of chess!” Fitzgerald announced once they were seated and the teams surrounded them, despite the less athletic activity the crowd still seemed interested in what was going on. “It will be broadcasted on the big screen for a better view, but our players will be blindfolded, and to avoid any teammates telling them what to do, there will be blasting music playing in the background!”

The cheers from the crowd were almost as deafening as the music.

Well, it seemed that they enjoyed Dazai’s suffering too.

Before Chuuya wrapped the blindfold around Dazai’s eyes, his touch oddly scorching, he whispered into his ear, “If you fuck this up I’m going to punch you in the face so hard you’ll need to shove a toothbrush up your ass to brush your teeth. Are we clear?”

Dazai didn’t know what else to do but nod.

And Dazai would have considered losing because his competitive streak was nowhere near as large as Chuuya’s was, but the last thing he saw before the blindfold was fastened was Fyodor’s ugly smirk and calculating eyes and Dazai knew there would be no coming back from it if he lost against him.

What a pain.

Half an hour later, Dazai tapped on the chessboard to indicate that it was once again Fyodor’s turn. He was truly a formidable opponent and also seemed to have memorized the chessboard, neither had managed to catch each other's kings yet though Dazai had caught his queen, a trap meant for his own king.

It obviously hasn't worked.

The music had been playing for a while and Dazai was sure that his ears would start to bleed if he was forced to listen to anymore ‘Journey’ or 'Backstreet boys.’

He needed to win this now because even the never-dying energy of the crowd who had been singing along to the songs to the best of their ability was starting to dull out and Chuuya’s threatening grip on his shoulder grew more like an encouraging anchor.

And that alone was scary enough to make Dazai kick his leg out and hook it on one of the chair legs across from him, pulling to get it to topple over. The audience gasped as there was an echoing topple and a thud- hopefully Fyodor’s body hitting the grass- and Dazai was quick to move his rook over to the opposing king and knock him off of the board and somewhere in the grass.

“Alright!” Fitzgerald announced immediately after as if he had been waiting for the event to end for a while now. “A win for Nakahara’s team!”

Everyone seemed to have been completely blind to the blatant cheating as they cheered and Chuuya’s fingers curled over the fabric on Dazai’s blindfold to take it off.

“You won,” he said in approval.

“I cheated,” Dazai stated blankly.

Chuuya stared at him for a long moment before shrugging, “something tells me that you don’t care very much about cheating.”

“Correct,” Dazai arose from his seat to stretch, “do I get a kiss from my boyfriend~”

He got a slap instead.

They didn’t even have time to do anything else before the last and final mini-game was announced.

“Now we have our last game before the real football starts… Stand-up comedy! We have Mark Twain on our side and Nikolai Gogle on Fyodor's!”

“Shit!” Chuuya cursed rather loudly, stamping his feet into the grass like a five-year-old. “We can’t win a damn comedy competition, where’s Ranpo-”

“And Nakahara’s representative is Atsushi Nakajima!”

All of their heads shot to Atsushi who looked absolutely floored, “Wa- Me? No no no,” he waved his arms around “I didn’t even know about this, why me?!” His panicked eyes settled on the new redheaded member of the guild, Lucy, and he let out a whimper. “Lucy she- she set me up! She knows I'm bad at this stuff!”

He panicked all the way up the stage as Yosano hauled him up there and placed him next to the two other men who seemed at ease.

“We are so fucked,” Despite his words Chuuya sounded completely and utterly defeated as he banged his head against Dazai’s shoulder.

“Now, how will we determine the winner for this competition, you may ask,” Fitzgerald pointed to the large screen that was showcasing the last chess match, “there is a meter on here that will determine who got the crowd to laugh the most.”

There was a murmur of understanding through the crowd and against Dazai Chuuya made a dying cat noise.

Mark Twain went first.

He was charming and witty, as expected from the man who controlled the guild's social media. He moved around the stage and told- probably fake- stories of his life that easily made the audience laugh.

After his turn was Nikolai, the dude who rivaled Chuuya at limbo. (If he had been any shorter he may have actually won because his back was creepily flexible.)

He did not start as Mark Twain did, and it appeared that he had a costume change because instead of wearing a football jersey as the rest of them were, he was wearing a full-out clown outfit, face paint, and everything.

“Is this dude really a veterinarian?” Dazai asked, “he looks like he just escaped a clown car.”

Chuuya made a miserable noise.

Nikolai was… immature. More so than Mark Twain had been. He made jokes that had the crowd howling in laughter and to finish the joke off, he pulled out a… balloon.

“Now I bet you can’t all guess what shape I can make this balloon? Any guesses?”

There were many responses from the crowd.

“A Lion?”

“A Dragon?”

“A screwdriver?”

Nikolai shrugged, “good guess but no.” He turned around from the audience to twist the balloon around, making them wait in anticipation until he finally turned around.

“It’s a…”

He pulled it out from behind his back and Dazai absolutely did not laugh. He didn’t.

“Is that a…” Chuuya squinted, “inflatable dick?”

Half of the crowd was staring in shock and the other half were laughing so hard that it definitely beat out Mark’s jokes. Realistically, no one should have laughed at such an immature joke and half of the audience agreed, though Dazai supposed that it was the shock factor.

With a self-satisfied smirk, Nikolai popped the balloon and brushed shoulders with Atsushi on his way off of the stage. Atsushi looked paralyzed and for a moment Dazai thought that Yosano would have to carry him onto the stage.

He managed to stumble on and look down at the floor, a white knuckle grip on the microphone. “H-hi," he said weakly, shifting slightly, “I’m Atsushi Nakajima- though you already know that since Fitzgerald-San told you… heh.”

Dazai was about ready to get out of there and as far away from the stadium as possible. If he could feel an emotion such as embarrassment then he would be feeling a lot of secondhand of it at the moment.

“I-I’m here to tell you some jokes… Though I guess you already know that too-”

Atsushi suddenly stopped when he tripped over the cord of the mic, falling flat on his face.

When he looked up, much like a deer in the headlights, the audience was spurred to laugh. Whether it was out of pity or the fact that he just fell on his face in front of hundreds of people was lost on any of them.

He slowly got back to his shaky feet, and before he could speak any further, Kyouka, who Dazai knew to be a relatively silent person, spoke from the side of the stage.

“Tell them about your favorite animal.”

Atsushi jumped a little in surprise, but nodded and looked back at the crowd, slightly more confident than before.

“So… My favorite animal was tigers growing up… A-and I was so obsessed with them that I dressed as one every day until the age of ten.” He flushed bright red at airing his dirty laundry to the crowd but they chuckled so he kept going. “I was so obsessed that when a circus came around that I snuck into the tiger cage and kinda just… hung out with them for a while.”

“They didn’t eat you?” One of the girls asked from the crowd, and Atsushi shook his head.

“They let me pet them, but that was how I ended up shipped across Japan and was a known criminal since apparently hitchhiking in a Tiger cage is illegal?”

That earned an almost rambunctious laugh from the crowd and Atsushi sputtered to say something else out.

“Bu-but please don’t look up my headshots!” He said genuinely, “I’m wearing this embarrassing tiger onesie and it’s embarrassing!”

The laugh from the crowd was near hysterical as Atsushi continued to plead with them to not search him up, and even Chuuya had emerged from his isolation to smile fondly at the kid.

In the end, Atsushi lost, but Chuuya didn’t seem as upset as Dazai thought he would be. Instead, when Atsushi approached with his head hung low Chuuya clapped him on the back, “Good work out there,” he said proudly and that enough seemed to make Atsushi brighten back up.

Dazai was about to ask why but Chuuya looked at him with a very serious look in his eyes, “Atsushi has pretty bad social anxiety so to see him up there actually enjoying himself- that was enough for me.”

Dazai cringed at how noble Chuuya was acting.

The afternoon was upon them, the sun high in the sky when their football matches finally started, and for some reason, there were even more people than before.

“Now, are we ready for the real event?” Fitzgerald asked, and the crowd, still alive and well, all cheered and whistled. Fitzgerald grinned, “without any further ado, the guild versus Fyodor’s clinic!”

The two teams began to set up their positions and Dazai realized that Fitzgerald wasn’t even playing. Instead, he watched the events from his seat and Dazai was suddenly extremely envious, though the guild did have a lot of players, he supposed.

The Russians were losing by twenty-five points by halftime.

“Aren’t Russians supposed to be all big and intimidating...you know, fight bears and stuff?” Dazai asked idly, from next to him, Chuuya snorted.

“Fyodor's anemic ass is going to topple over before I even get the chance to tackle him.” Chuuya then looked to Dazai, “You too, you’re a beanpole. Put some sunscreen on before you burn like a vampire.”

Dazai huffed, accepting the sunscreen for the small unbandaged portions of his body, “Vampires shimmer under the sun they don’t burn, Twilight logic.”

Distantly halftime ended but all Dazai could hear was Chuuya’s violent retort of, “Well you can take your Twilight logic and shove it up your ass.”

The Russian’s did end up losing, meaning that the guild was now their opponent. Chuuya stood in the middle of the semi-circle of his co-workers plus Dazai and gave them all an even look. “We cannot lose this match,” he growled intensely, “we are obviously better than any of them, but if we lose that’s public humiliation. Do we want to end up like the Russians?”

Everyone shook their heads. Their faces had been painted with black streaks by Nikolai, who had offered his face paint to make the experience more ‘amusing.’ Dazai didn’t like that guy and told him to return to his circus troupe when he tried to get anywhere near his face.

“Now,” Chuuya nodded approvingly, nearly done with his pep talk, “the most important thing to remember is-”

“To have fun?” Atsushi offered weakly.

Chuuya stared at him for five seconds, “absolutely not. It’s to foul as much as possible without Kunikida spotting you.”

A pretty solid game plan.

But putting it into action was much harder than expected. Dazai was simply not built for sports, so for the most part he stood off to the side and pretended to do something useful as he watched the chaos.

Chuuya, on the other hand, absolutely thrived in football, apparently, if the way he plowed past people twice his side and ran nearly three-quarters of their touchdowns to the end zone was anything to go by.

Sweat was not an attractive thing, neither was being active, but for some reason Chuuya made it look seamless.

Perhaps it was that weird gremlin charm of his, he had probably hit Dazai with some strange spell because Dazai was normally able to control his heartbeat, but for some reason, he couldn’t get it to return to a normal rhythm.

Dazai’s mouth went dry when Chuuya jumped up, impossibly high, and used someone else's shoulder to launch off of and catch the ball.

Was that even a legal move in Football?

“Close your mouth, you’re catching flies,” a voice teased and Dazai immediately shot a nasty look to Yosano. His mouth had clearly been closed.

“You were staring,” she answered, “though I don’t blame you. His sister is more my type but to each their own I suppose.”

The whistle was blown and Kunikida yelled at Kyouka for crawling in between someone's legs to snatch the ball from them.

“Wha-”

“I see the way you look at him,” Yosano cut off Dazai’s defensive retort, “you just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Figured out what exactly?” Dazai asked with a raised eyebrow “that he’s so ugly I have a small stroke every time I see him?”

Yosano looked at Dazai as if he was an insect under her shoe.

“You’re clueless.”

“I was the one who won the chess match-”

Chuuya emerged from the clump of players and stared lasers into the two of them, “Get off your asses and come play! We only have ten minutes left and we need to catch up to them!”

The guild was only a few points ahead of them, the game the whole time had been a close one, but the last touchdown would determine who would win.

Dazai was actually forced to play, a huge blow to his lazy work ethic and rather low sportsmanship.

In front of him was that crazy redheaded girl that recorded Atsushi being dragged around by Daisy at the pet store.

“I don’t tackle women,” he stated, just as Yosano yelled, ‘ready set hut!’

Dazai may not have tackled women but she sure tackled him.

His back was sore for a whole week after the incident.

Though at the very end of the game, a winning touchdown would need to be made. Tension hung thick in the air as they all huddled together, Dazai’s nose scrunched up at the smell of sweat around him.

“We’re close enough to the end zone but those American’s are damn good defensive players,” Chuuya murmured.

“Yeah I know,” Dazai whined, rubbing his bruised tailbone and pride.

Chuuya ignored him, “forget all of those fancy football strategies we spent the last week learning, someone needs to slip past the defense and let Yosano throw the ball for them. She has a good aim, we just need a good catcher.”

The others nodded and understood, not that it mattered much to Dazai because he would be standing off to the side as always and watching.

“Dazai-san,” Atsushi looked up at him with a very serious expression once they had resumed their positions, “I am going to block both Lucy and Steinback and let you go on.”

“What-”

“I can do it,” he claimed, “trust me.”

Dazai flapped his hand in the air, “no that’s not the issue, I just don’t want to run.”

“Dazai-sensei the end zone is literally like five feet away-”

“Ready!” Yosano hollered, the ball held protectively in her hands. Chuuya stood next to her, poised like some kind of attack dog, he had been blocking anyone from getting to her the whole time. “Set! Hut!”

Before Dazai could protest further he was pushed forwards with some hidden strength by Atsushi, who as promised, blocked the two American’s from pursuing him and suddenly Dazai reached the end zone with long strides.

He really didn’t need to run.

“Dazai! Catch,” Yosano smirked and suddenly the ball was arcing towards him in a perfect spiral and Dazai scrambled around, not really sure what to do with his hands and-

A blinding pain bloomed from his nose as the football hit him dead in the face.

Unluckily for Dazai, Yosano was always true to her aim.

He fell back, the football in his hands as the momentum of it sent him sprawling on his back.

One moment of silence, two, then the crowd erupted into obnoxious cheers and Fitzgerald announced, “Wow! He caught it with his face!”

From his place on the ground, Dazai groaned and the football fell from his face to reveal an angel looking down at him. His vision was doubled and blurry but he was sure he had seen nothing more divine than-

“Idiot?” Chuuya looked down at him, snapping his fingers in front of Dazai’s face, “you don’t have a concussion do you?”

Dazai cursed himself for those thoughts and made a mental note to drink some bleach later as he swatted Chuuya’s hand away from him.

“Oh,” the redhead said, “you are okay.”

Then a hand was wrapping around his back and helping him sit up, and Chuuya grinned one of those big grins reserved to only those close to him, not even his clients, and suddenly Dazai’s body didn’t ache anymore.

“We won! We fucking did it!” Chuuya’s smile didn’t leave his face and Dazai squinted.

Then suddenly the veterinarian’s expression morphed into confusion, “Oh, is your nose bleeding from the football?”

And now that he mentioned it… Dazai’s nose did feel a bit strange.

“It doesn't look broken,” Chuuya reassured, more of himself than Dazai because Dazai was more focused on the way Chuuya was tilting his chin and using his own shirt to plug the bleeding.

Soon enough the team crowded around them in congratulations, passing a rag for Dazai’s nose.

Around five minutes later everyone had calmed down and Fitzgerald was thanking everyone for coming.

“Thank you all very much, with the outcome of this event we may make this an annual competition so stay tuned for more Twitter updates. And for our closing, the winning team will make a speech!”

Chuuya looked more resigned than surprised as he was pushed to the stage.

“You all heard what he said, all of those boring formalities,” he said into the microphone, “I see more supporters of my vet here than anyone else, so of course we won.” He smirked as all of his clients in the crowd obnoxiously cheered. Then Chuuya’s lips tugged upwards in a smirk, “Now my team can say that we beat the Americans in their own sport!”

What Dazai had learned is that Chuuya had a competitive spirit. Perhaps a bit too competitive for anyone's liking.

He returned that evening, bruised and utterly broken as he walked through the halls dead on his feet. Never in his life had he done such strenuous exercise. He had been tortured before and he would much rather endure that than ever play football ever again in his life.

Horrified subordinates quickly scattered out of his way as Dazai returned to his office and Hirotsu had made his appearance, openly staring at Dazai.

“Sir…” He murmured in shock, “did you get some sun today?”

Dazai slowly lowered his head to his desk and Daisy, who had been with Tachihara for most of the day, licked at his hand.

“Get me an ice pack, will you? I fell into an ambush today Hirotsu. It was the worst thing I have ever had to experience.”

Chapter Text

Strangely enough, the days started to speed by for Chuuya. What was once days that dragged on in some endless loop seemed to be oddly cut short. Maybe he really should get his brain scanned as Ane-San had advised, yet when he did the results would prove to be inconclusive as always.

There was nothing wrong with Chuuya, in fact, he was perfectly fine. Perhaps he was doing a bit too good.

The following month after destroying Fyodor and his goons and Fitzgerald with his Americans at the tournament had truly gone by in the blink of an eye.

The road had been repaired and the two businesses were once again making money, which Chuuya was regretfully thankful for because his clinic had been busy with the brunt of their customers while they were out of commission.

That idiot Dazai, of course, had come by many more times, uselessly lazing around his pet clinic and talking with the customers and their pets. The only upside to that, of course, was that Chuuya got to see Daisy and that he sometimes put Dazai to work, who strangely didn’t complain about it.

There had been no issues at that time, and Chuuya was on edge.

When he had confided with Ane-San about it, she simply stared at him with the same look in her eyes that Yosano often held and her lips tilted upwards in a devilish smile. “Well Lad, you know the saying, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun.’”

Chuuya was certainly not having fun.

He didn’t know what she was talking about.

Just because he saw Dazai often did not mean everything was suddenly less boring, no, in fact, Chuuya should feel more frustrated with his flitting around his clinic.

But sadly, his feelings didn’t work that way.

It seemed that Chuuya would have to resign to his fate of being a reluctant ‘friend’ of Dazai’s. It didn’t seem like the man had too many anyways with the way he clung to Chuuya constantly, really, he should have been annoyed.

But once again, he wasn’t.

It was nice.

Chuuya was going to strangle himself with his own scarf for thinking such thoughts, still slightly mad at the way feelings worked because not even he understood himself.

“Bundling up?’ Yosano asked with a smirk that morning as Chuuya walked into the workplace.

“Fuck you,” Chuuya hissed, teeth chattering as he removed his scarf. “It’s the first day of December and it’s already cold as shit.”

“I heard it was going to plunge into record low temperatures this month,” Kunikida called from the back, probably manning the coffee machine. (Though they had replaced the coffee with hot chocolate packs, much to Chuuya’s disdain.)

“Wonderful,” Chuuya grumbled, “that's exactly what we need, a busy winter.”

“Should I set up precautions for it then?” Kunikida asked, poking his head from the back room, watching as Chuuya pulled on his white work coat to replace the heavy one he had come in with.

Chuuya shrugged, “Might as well, we’re gonna get slammed so it's better to be prepared than unprepared. Go ahead and order a dozen more cages and dog beds please.”

Kunikida nodded and ducked back into the room. Chuuya trusted him with the budgeting of things more than he did himself anyways.

“So,” Yosano leaned forward on the desk, not looking fully awake herself. “Did you-”

Though unfortunately, she never got to finish her sentence before the double doors burst open. Chuuya tilted his head up, half expecting to see Dazai dramatically tumbling into the room as he always did, but that wasn’t the case.

A woman in her mid-thirties pushed through the doors, a bundle held protectively between her arms. The only indication that what she was holding was a living creature was it shivering.

It seemed that their winter rush had already started.

Chuuya was the first on his feet, easily taking the blankets from her hands and peering into the fluffiness of them to see… well, it wasn’t a pretty sight, but he could work with it.

“Ma’am, is this your dog?” He asked quickly, and Yosano was already moving behind him to grab the heated blankets and to prepare the closest room.

“No,” she admitted, shivering herself. “I-I found her on the side of the road. It looks like she hadn’t been taken care of.”

Well, that was certainly an understatement.

Chuuya held the bundle closer to his chest as he took a step back, “Well, she’s not in critical condition but she needs to be treated. If you could sit in the waiting area and fill out a sheet for me that would be wonderful.”

The woman nodded, seemingly still in shock from picking the dog up off the side of the street, as most of the people in the situation acted. Well, except for Dazai, but he was a weird case altogether.

Yosano emerged from the back room, giving him a thumbs up and Chuuya nodded. “Tanizaki! Get this woman a blanket please!”

The woman nodded in thanks as Chuuya walked past her to get the room, thus, signaling the start of a busy day.

Dazai, of course, came in at an inconvenient time as he always did.

Around lunchtime, he entered the pet clinic with Daisy, and Chuuya momentarily cursed himself because today was supposed to be when they went out to the same Italian restaurant they always did.

“Good afternoon Chuuya~” Dazai announced even though Chuuya wasn’t even in the room, but instead he was in the same room he had been in all day, taking care of the Shih Tzu the woman had brought in that morning.

His legs were starting to cramp from standing in the same position for hours, but his work was almost done. Once the dog was warm enough, he had to deal with the issue of shaving all of her clumped-up mats off. They were much too clumped and dirty to brush through with a comb. 

Yosano must have pointed Dazai to the room Chuuya was in because he annoyingly entered the room, Daisy remaining in the front with Yosano. At least he had the respect to keep his dog away from Chuuya’s patient, though Chuuya would much rather see Daisy’s face than Dazai’s annoyingly good-looking one.

“Can’t you see I’m working?” Chuuya asked under his breath as he carefully maneuvered the clippers in his hand to shave off another clump of fur. The skin underneath the dog's fur was damaged, as always, there was no telling what you would find after you shaved a dog's fur coat off, but this situation wasn’t too surprising to Chuuya.

There was a shuffling sound before Dazai was pressed annoyingly close to his side as he leaned over his shoulder to probably judge every one of Chuuya’s moves. Chuuya resolutely ignored him.

“How long have you been at it?” Dazai asked, and Chuuya shrugged.

“All morning, we had to warm her up first before I went in and shaved her.”

“All morning,” Dazai repeated as if the prospect of actually working shocked him. Chuuya didn’t know how he hadn’t gotten fired with how much he skipped his job to visit the vet.

“Hmm, well, it seems that I should leave the chibi to it then,” Dazai backed off and Chuuya almost dropped the clippers out of surprise.

He couldn’t afford to look back, but he did raise an eyebrow, “You’re… leaving me alone?”

“Well yes, Chuuya is busy isn’t he?”

“Well… Yeah, but I'm always busy and that hasn't stopped you from bothering me before."

Chuuya could feel Dazai’s smirk without having to turn back to see it. “Chuuya likes it when I bother him, doesn't he?”

“Get out of my workspace.”

Surprisingly enough he did.

But unfortunately, not for long.

Nearly an hour later Chuuya had been setting the clippers down to flex his hands because even they were starting to cramp when Dazai had returned, and his co-workers all made weird sounds of joys when he arrived, sounds that Chuuya had never associated with anyone seeing Dazai in his building.

It wasn’t long until the familiar smell of his favorite Italian dish was flooding his senses and Dazai had re-emerged with a bag of takeout in his hand.

Chuuya stared at him for a long moment. “What the fu-”

“Well, you were all too busy to have a lunch break so I figured I’d bring the food to you.” He said as if it were no big deal as if he probably hadn’t just spent more than a hundred dollars on him and his office’s food.

Chuuya kneaded at his hands as he gave Dazai an apprehensive look, though he probably couldn’t hide the appreciation that shone through. “What are you up to?”

Dazai pouted, “I can’t just help my friends out?”

Chuuya sighed and even he couldn’t deny the cramping in his stomach, the hunger gnawing at it. “Fine, I’ll eat it in a bit if you haven't poisoned it, I just have to take a few more hours to finish up here-”

“No, you don’t.”

Chuuya paused, “Excuse me?”

“I said no you don’t,” Dazai repeated. “Is Chuuya going deaf?”

“Idiot,” Chuuya rolled his eyes and turned back to the clippers, dreading the pain he would have in his hands for the next three days but swallowing it down. “This dog is under anesthesia for a limited amount of time, I have to finish up here.”

“Which is why I'm taking over for you,” a voice interrupted their conversation and now Kunikida was in the room with them, slipping on a pair of latex gloves. “We dealt with the rest of the patients but you’ve been with this one all morning, take a break Nakahara, let me help.”

Chuuya stared at Kunikida but judging by the blonde's tone, he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.  And judging by Dazai’s look of victory he had planned this.

Chuuya mentally flipped both of them off as he turned to replace his gloves back with his normal ones, letting Kunikida take the clippers. He didn’t realize how much his whole body was tense from concentration until he was moving around, taking the bag with an achy hand and following Dazai to the breakroom where the others appreciatively ate their food. All of their orders were the same ones they had eaten last time.

Were Dazai and his freakishly observant mind trying to take over his clinic?

“Dazai snorted, and as if sensing his thoughts, said, “You’re thinking too much, Chuuya. I, for once, have no ulterior motive.”

And well… It didn’t look like he was lying.

After checking his food for any seafood that might have been mixed in, Chuuya dug in and sighed. He wasn’t happy, he was just… enjoying the moment.

He stayed until the others finished and continued on with their duties, letting him relax. He would have been in better condition if he had gotten any sleep last night, but unfortunately, a storm had rolled in and he had stayed up all night with Copper and Mackerel to calm them down until he had been forced to give Copper some acepromazine, a sedative he always kept for him just in case.

(On the side of the bottle it said ‘consult with your vet before getting a prescription’ but Chuuya was the vet so that was the only plus side to the situation.)

“Chuuya’s hands are shaking,” Dazai pointed out to where his fingers were wrapped around the chopsticks.

“What an acute observation,” Chuuya said flatly, “I was just treating a dog for an hour with my hands in the same position, of course, they’re going to be that way.”

“So feisty,” Dazai grumbled. That had been expected, what had not been expected was the way he gently grabbed Chuuya’s hand and pressed into the fleshy part of his palm with dexterous fingers and kneaded at his hand.

Chuuya couldn’t help but let out a hiss then glared at Dazai and that smug look on his face. He tried to rip his hand from the monster's grip but for once, he held a strong grip on his leather-covered hand.

Dazai hummed curiously, pressing harder into the material. “Say, why does Chuuya wear the gloves so much? I don’t think I've seen him without them before.”

Chuuya settled with his fate and gave up on trying to wrench his hand away, letting Dazai continue his ministrations.

At least those sneaky ass hands were good for something.

“Yeah, I keep 'em on for a damn good reason. You shouldn't have seen my hands.”

Dazai frowned and pressed harder, thumbing with the edge of the glove. “I can take them off anytime I want to.”

“Yeah, but you won’t because I'll drop-kick your ass.’

“Hmm, Yes, you probably would.”

Then his thumb dipped below the edge of the glove, ghosting over the scarred flesh of his palm, and Chuuya couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine at the sensation.

Dazai didn’t say anything else, and it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them, but a charged one.

Dazai wordlessly moved on to his other hand once he had deemed Chuuya’s left hand acceptable.

And Chuuya didn’t know why he opened his mouth to talk, but he did. “There are scars under my gloves,” he answered. And Dazai didn’t look surprised, only humming idly.

“Are they from animals?’ he finally asked, and Chuuya surprised himself with actually answering because he should have just left it at that.

The scars were not a pretty thing, they were thick and angry red, wrapping around his hands like constraints. The other ones, from his years of treating animals (Lots of bite and scratch marks), were explainable.

But Chuuya himself didn’t even know where the other ones had come from. Ane-San had never given him a straight answer so he stopped asking.

“Some of them, yeah.”

Dazai didn’t ask what the other scars were from, thankfully.

“Alright,” Dazai said cheerily after another ten minutes, dropping Chuuya’s hand. The touch lingered slightly but Chuuya didn’t mind it, surprisingly. Stupid Dazai.

Chuuya rotated his hands, popping his knuckles, and when no pain came, a wave of relief washed over him. He looked into Dazai's expectant eyes and sighed, “...Thanks, I guess.”

Dazai smiled in a way that made his eyes slant and Chuuya had never seen that kind of smile from him anywhere else. Chuuya immediately avoided eye contact to return to his food.

“So…” Dazai started, and Chuuya groaned because he knew Dazai was going to ask for something. “I have been acquaintances with Chuuya for… how long?”

“Two months,” Chuuya answered immediately. Two months of having this thorn in his side.

“Hmm, don’t you think I deserve a phone number?”

Chuuya nearly dropped his chopsticks, then slowly turned his head to Dazai. “...My number? You idiot, you could have found that on the vet website.”

“Yes, but that is not the same as having Chuuya’s personal number~” Dazai whined and Chuuya scoffed.

“Well I was assuming you just wanted it in case Daisy got hurt again, but now I know you just want it to annoy the shit out of me.”

Dazai grinned mischievously because he knew he had been caught.

Chuuya rolled his eyes again, and with the number of times he had been rolling them, they were going to go into orbit. He held a hand out, “give me your phone, idiot.”

Dazai halted, then slipped his phone from his pocket, as if he wasn’t expecting Chuuya to hand over his information so easily. But if there was one thing that Chuuya had learned, it was that Dazai was persistent, and he would get what he wanted eventually. Might as well willingly hand it over to him and not suffer through his complaining.

Dazai’s screen savor was bland, the default background, and there were absolutely no apps on his phone. Chuuya tried not to let his eyes linger on the only three contacts Dazai had in his contacts list as he added his own number to it.

“Here,” he handed it back to Dazai. It was a big ass phone, the newer version. “Just don’t go callin’ me at three in the morning.”

“No promises~” Dazai slid his phone back into his pocket in a way that told Chuuya he would definitely be spamming him in the early hours of the morning. What a mistake he had made.

He couldn’t regret it now, though. All he could do was continue eating his food as Dazai stared at the ceiling with an oddly vacant look on his face until a phone rang.

Chuuya moved to his own phone only to find out that it wasn’t his, then looked to Dazai who hadn’t moved.

“Oi idiot, answer your phone.”

Dazai seemed genuinely surprised when he found out that someone was, in fact, calling him. Chuuya snuck a small glance at the contact as Dazai fished the phone back out to answer it.

Someone named Hirotsu.

“Dazai Osamu,” he answered blandly, not going by his usual ‘Shuuji.’ It must have been someone he was close to or someone he worked with.

There were a few beats of silence as the person on the other line spoke and Chuuya tried not to listen in because it wasn’t his conversation to hear.

“Uh-huh, well, that does sound like an issue,” Dazai murmured. “I will be there shortly to diffuse the situation.” Dazai swiftly hung up without a goodbye and rose from his seat.

Chuuya found himself… curious. Because he hadn't seen Dazai act so properly or mature before.

“I must take my leave,” Dazai sighed, “Duty calls.”

Ah, so it had been work.

Chuuya waved him off and looked at the clock. “It’s time for me to get back to work anyways,” he shrugged. “I’ll see you later.”

Dazai wiggled his bandaged fingers in some weird wave as he exited the room, “I’ll be sure to message you at the worst possible times~”

Chuuya absentmindedly rubbed at his hands as he watched Dazai leave.

He didn’t even text Chuuya, in fact, he hadn’t even turned up at the vet for the next few weeks, their tentative schedule broken.

Chuuya tried to ignore the empty feeling in his chest that had formed after the first few days.

Chapter Text

The business to be taken care of hadn’t been as much of an emergency as Hirotsu had originally depicted it to be.

Or, perhaps it was and Dazai was underselling it. He had always tended to not take what was considered an emergency seriously.

The only mildly alarming thing for the others was the sheep showing up to the Port Mafia’s headquarters doorstep.

Bound and gagged, just as Dazai had requested them to be.

“Boss!” Hirotsu said once he spotted Dazai approaching the meeting room that held the other executives. “The sheep they are-“

Dazai held up a hand, “I am aware. I was the one to order their capture, after all.”

The man, for once, looked just as confused as the rest of the occupants in the meeting room felt.

“What is the meaning of this,” Kouyou was the first to speak once Dazai had reached his chair, Daisy on his heels.

“Take it as it is, the sheep have been captured and will be distributed across Japan so they can no longer reunite to form their organization again,” Dazai said casually.

“Yes, how kind of you,” Kouyou amended, “but how did you manage to pull it off?”

“As I once said,” Dazai started, awfully bored. “The GSS is an organization that only takes sides of who has the most money to offer them and well, the Port Mafia by far outclasses the Sheep budget-wise. At the territory meeting I held with the three of them two months ago I ordered the GSS to go undercover and discover the Sheep’s secrets and tear them apart from the inside out. A good investment, as it turned out.”

The room was filled with silence until finally, Tachihara from the corner blanched. “You… are a scary man.”

Dazai let a devious smirk show, “as I’ve been told.”

“Well,” Kouyou spoke, elegantly rising from her seat, “I see no reason in remaining here if the work has already been taken care of.” She swiftly took her leave as the others followed behind her after Dazai had shrugged and dismissed the short meeting.

There was little about executive Ozaki Kouyou that Dazai did know.

She was one of the most well-respected females amongst the mafia members and while she valued her looks, they were the very thing that caught her enemies off guard. Her sword was hidden by her umbrella, a smart tactic, and she was also the most skilled swordsman that Dazai would ever have the pleasure of meeting.

She was an executive before Dazai had become the boss and Dazai decided to keep her that way.

But besides that, there was not much he knew. He liked to hold knowledge over his subordinates' heads, if they had a family he could easily mention them and silence any insubordination with just an utterance of their child’s name.

But Ozaki Kouyou kept whatever family life she may have a well-guarded secret, Dazai didn’t even know her address or place of living.

Though she had shown no signs of meddling into Dazai’s business, Dazai would not delve further into his research on her until it was called for.

The mafia was a prickly place where everyone seemed to walk on glass around each other, yet another reason why Dazai’s recent escapades had been to the vet where everyone said what they wished.

Dazai watched as the executives and subordinates silently filtered out of the room, some in more of a rush than others to get back to their stations until he was the only remaining one left.

And getting up from the chair and calmly returning to his living quarters had been the last lucid memory Dazai held.

“That idiot,” Chuuya growled, running a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. “I gave him my damn number and he isn’t even texting me back!”

“How long has it been?” Yosano asked, and Chuuya could just tell she was eating up the drama. Then again, she was one of the only ones he could talk about this stuff with.

He sighed, “three days? Am I being dramatic? No, don’t answer that, I’m perfectly in the fucking right here.”

Yosano hummed thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat. “Well, considering how clingy he is…. No. And he isn’t even showing up here as he does literally every other day?”

“Hell Yeah!” Chuuya threw his hands up. “I should be taking this as a blessing with him not breathing down my neck for once but he left weirdly. Said he had to deal with a work call.”

Yosano smirked, which was not appreciated in the situation. “You miss him~”

“The hell I do not. He can stay away for all I care.”

Yosano snorted, “yeah sure, you said he left for work?”

“Yeah,” Chuuya rested his cheek on his palm and watched the glass doors carefully, hoping for some customer to come in and save him from further conversation with Yosano. Or maybe even Dazai, it would be a nice sight even if Chuuya would never admit it out loud, especially not to the demon next to him.

“Damn, he gave you a hand massage and left you with absolutely nothing. Was it at least a happy ending ma-“

Chuuya promptly got up and walked to the back room because he didn’t hit his friends.

Even if one was acting like a bi-

Time flowed at a molasses pace. Though in this state of mind, time was of no meaning to Dazai. For all he could deduce, he could have been here, laying down in the supposedly comfortable mattress that felt rock hard under his aching muscles for a mere hour. Or perhaps even a week.

The last morning Dazai had recalled he had managed to drag himself from bed only to realize that it had come, and it had hit hard.

He should have expected it, though the wave hadn’t hit him in a while even if he was pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind most of the time.

He couldn’t bear to look into the mirror to see the empty-eyed reflection that would look back to him. He had to quit brushing his teeth after adding the toothpaste to the toothbrush because the few extra grams had felt like pounds.

In the end, he had let it win, retreating back to the cave of his covers without a second thought in his mind.

It was the same, the familiar all-encompassing feeling of uneasiness settling in his gut like a stone shouldn’t have been comforting.

But this was who Dazai really was, and at least now, in these times, he was honest with himself.

Distantly Dazai had felt the abrupt vibrations of his phone, yet the ringtone sounded as if it was underwater. The vibrations rattled his bones.

Dazai had peeled an eye open to blankly stare at the blurry contact and the left text messages.

He knew it was from Chuuya even without seeing the text messages. In reality, it had been easy to find his personal number and memorize it but it was all the more gratifying asking him for it.

Dazai couldn’t lift a finger to respond to the probably pissed veterinarian.

If somehow Chuuya had found out Dazai’s address he would no doubt be kicking down his door by now because judging by his current condition, Dazai had been in bed for a while.

The light barely pooled past the closed curtains and upon further inspection, the contents of his room were not as he left them. There were half-empty bottles of sake littered on the floor accompanied by wrinkled clothes and bandages he had never managed to clean up. He had been up and about yet he didn’t remember moving at all.

The clothes he was currently wearing were sour-smelling at best, and the bandages that adorned his skin were stiff and uncomfortable though he had grown used to the feeling.

Has it been a week now?

Two?

Suddenly a wet sensation was slathered on his hand and Dazai dully squinted at the dog he forgot that he even owned licking at his hand.

He knew she must have been well fed and played with over however much time he was spending in the same position because Hirotsu and the others tended to linger when he was in such a state, though they knew not to bother him too much unless a dire situation was to take place. (Though Dazai had made sure to clear the disaster schedule for the month, dealing with the sheep and GSS because he felt the pull of the wave before it even washed over him. He tasted the salty tinge in the air and knew.)

Without any warning Daisy jumped up onto the bed, tongue lolling out and slobbering all over Dazai as she settled down right next to him, nuzzling her snout right into his neck and causing a tingling sensation to spread through his body.

“What do you want?” He grumbled, voice raspy from disuse.

Daisy made a small sound, only scooting impossibly closer to him, getting black fur into his dry mouth. Dazai sputtered, spitting the fur from his lips, and Daisy seemed absolutely delighted by this development, pulling back and licking over every inch of Dazai’s face until he was forced to push her face away before he drowned.

The slobber left a warm sensation on his skin and it was the most he had felt in a while.

Dazai moved stiff muscles to wipe it off and Daisy took the chance to burrow between his arms. Dazai sighed, resigning to his fate as he looked down at chocolate brown eyes. Now that she had his attention, Daisy’s tail thumped as she looked up at him with a strange look in her eyes.

She seemed… strangely caring.

Dogs were certainly strange creatures.

Dazai lifted a heavy hand to rest on her head and she settled in practically on top of him, unmoving for the next five hours.

“Sir, he’s still in his room,” Tachihara reported, hanging the leash on one of the nearby hooks. He had just taken Daisy on a walk and dropped her back off at his boss's place, and he obviously hadn’t moved an inch in the time he was gone.

It was common knowledge that the boss would unexpectedly take weeks off due to some sickness and no one asked any questions, though now that Tachihara knew of the details, it really only made him more worried.

He had been assigned to dog duty and watching over Daisy, though even if Hirotsu hadn't ordered him to, he would have been happy doing it anyway.

His superior nodded grimly, standing ramrod straight. “It has been a few weeks now…”

Tachihara furrowed his eyebrows, “Is that bad?”

Hirotsu sighed in a way that absolutely terrified Tachihara. “While it is not vital that we need him at the moment, his mental state still is at risk the longer we allow him to be shut off in his room.”

Tachihara scratched nervously at the back of his head nervously, “are you suggesting we somehow get him out?”

“No,” the man shook his head as he pulled out his personal phone instead of her burner one. “That is something we don’t have the capability of doing. Though he has two colleagues I can rely on to pull him from this state.”

“...Friends?”

Tachihara didn’t know what exactly to think because the boss's personal life was unknown to almost everyone who worked under him. The very possibility of him having friends seemed like a very impossible thing to him.

“Somewhat like that,” Hirotsu answered after a moment of dialing a number, pulling the phone up to his ear. “I need a direct flight to be sent to London and back as quickly as  possible, and someone contact Oda Sakunosuke, we need all hands on deck.”

Tachihara wondered how he ever got himself into this life.

It had been a while since Oda had received a direct call from Hirotsu, Dazai’s second in command and most trusted subordinate. Oda appreciated the man, he dealt with Dazai well after all and kept him out of trouble when he could. (And as an ally when he did get into trouble because Dazai had always been a trouble magnet.)

And speaking of Dazai, it had been… quite a while since Oda had seen the man.

Their usually once-a-week meetings at bar Lupin had been on hold, the bar going under repairs after some sort of attack from an organization, though Oda mostly did grunt work so that was all the information he would ever get on the situation. And with Ango being on a three-month-long intelligence mission in London, the group didn’t seem as full as it once was.

So Oda figured that once the ruckus and missions dyed down then they would get back to their normal traditions whenever Dazai felt the need to call. (Though the man never used his phone, barely checking it and leaving it in random places.) Which was why it came as such a surprise to Oda that Hirotsu had been the one to call him.

Oda quickly removed himself from the room with an apologetic smile, though the orphans he had been visiting didn’t seem to cry about his random disappearances as much as they once did. Now that they were older they seemed to understand that his job, even if he was low ranking, took a lot of work.

Though Oda knew that one of the only reasons he was still involved in the business was Dazai himself. He knew that Dazai found him interesting, a comparison to the weird shattered way all of the other executives and subordinates worked, Oda simply did not kill.

Contradictory to his job, he knew, though when Oda had first been assigned to work with Dazai the kid was fourteen, an unfortunate age to be thrown into this kind of life. Mori’s only protege.

It was a small job and Dazai was one of the most quick-witted kids Oda had ever met, finding it amusing that Oda did not kill instead of giving him a disgusted look as some of the others did. Even at the age of fourteen Dazai had that same fogged-over look in his eyes, as if the curtains were closed, not revealing the window to whatever soul he may have had in there.

(Lately, though, there had been a minuscule shift in rust-colored eyes, though neither Oda nor Ango had yet to point it out.)

It was Oda's natural instinct to take in strays, orphans, pets, and well, apparently he had also felt the urge to keep the future port mafia boss under his wing. Not for selfish reasons as one would assume, but it had been decided when they had walked down those streets, Dazai, small and lanky, gave a curious look to an ice cream stand.

A kid who had never had ice cream before, a kid who had never had a childhood in the first place. Well, there was no reason for Oda not to keep a close eye on him. Just for a little bit.

Unfortunately, Mori Ougui had died and he had been forced into the role much earlier than anticipated.

Oda still felt a faint jabbing feeling in his heart when he thought about the misfortune of Dazai.

Oda answered the phone on the third ring, answering with a short, “Oda Sakunosuke.” He wasn’t big enough to use any aliases even if Dazai hadn’t revealed his true name to him until a full year of knowing each other.

Hirotsu was blunt and straight to the point.

“Have you had any recent contact with-”

“The boss?” Oda asked. If it were any other person then Oda would have refrained from interrupting them but he and Hirotsu weren’t strangers either. “No, not for three weeks.”

“Not to worry, he is safe, though…”

Oda halted at the hesitation then his eyes flickered to a nearby calendar and the date-

He should have marked it on his calendar. In big red marker marks and arrows because it was around this time of year, Christmas and oncoming winter when he knew Dazai felt his worst. Every year without fail the seasonal depression kicked in, and Oda wasn’t sure if Dazai himself had noticed it (though he was much too sharp not to.)

“I understand,” he said grimly, already thinking of excuses he could use to cut his meeting with the kids short. “I will handle the situation and Ango-”

“Should be arriving shortly. The jet landed not too long ago.”

The two of them didn’t bother with any goodbyes as they hung up, Oda pocketing his phone and grabbing his overcoat from the coat rack. If Hirotsu had bothered to call him and even fly Ango all the way out from London, interrupting his job well… this couldn’t be any good.

It wasn’t any good.

As Oda’s gut had predicted, Dazai’s penthouse apartment seemed desolate from the outside, the shudders closed and the lights dimmed.

Oda and Ango had access inside thankfully, possibly one of the only ones to have the privilege. Oda and Dazai hadn’t met Ango until much later, though he seemed to fit in with them just fine. Oda may have been the responsible one but Ango by far had the most sense.

Speaking of the man, he looked jet-lagged, drooping eyes and hair far more mussed than its normal slicked back appearance. Even his glasses were sitting unevenly on the bridge of his nose and Oda wanted to reach out and steady them. He also wanted to insist that Ango run back to his own place and sleep for the next few days though the predictable response would be. ‘I flew out here for a reason, I'm not going to sleep now.’

So instead Oda said nothing as he unlocked the door and pushed past the clothes laying out in front of it.

The first thing he was met with was not Dazai, but a mass of dark fur skidding along the tiled floor to jump on top of him and lick at his face.

Daisy would be a horrible guard dog.

Ango set his briefcase down and locked the door behind him, making a disgusted noise at the scene. He couldn't escape Daisy’s enthusiasm either though, because in a matter of mere minutes they were both coated with a large amount of slobber.

Oda chuckled and patted the dog's head.

The two of them had been the first ones Dazai had introduced Daisy to, according to him. Oda had not seen it coming, though it wasn’t unwelcome because oftentimes animal companions brought out the best in their owners.

Even if Dazai wasn’t most people, maybe Daisy’s chipper mood would rub off on him.

“Hey girl,” Oda grumbled under his breath as he moved past the dog who unsurprisingly followed along on his and Ango’s trail as they ventured further into the penthouse apartment. It was littered with trash, as expected because during the few times the two had been there it had never been clean despite Dazai’s status in his work life.

Contradictions after contradictions.

Ango scrunched up his nose in distaste and Oda couldn’t help the mirthful smile.

“Are you going to clean up his apartment for him?”

Ango took a large scan of the room as if he was actually considering strapping on some rubber gloves and dawning a cleaning mask but he did none of those things.

“He needs to clean up after himself or at least hire a maid.”

Oda didn’t make a comment because they both knew well enough that Dazai barely trusted them to be up in his personal business, much less a maid. God forbid she finds the secret passageway that he no doubt had somewhere in the messy dump of a living area.

Luckily their search didn’t continue for much further because Daisy led them to his room as they expected him to be. This hadn’t been the first time they were recruited to drag him out of his cave after all.

They knew the procedure.

Oda nodded as they shared a mutual glance and Ango departed to the kitchen to at least straighten up the area and see what he could find in the pantry while Oda faced the den of the beast and entered without a second thought.

Dazai, the beast in question, lay unmoving under the sheets, mop of messy hair poking out as he stared vacantly with his one eye at the wall, the other fully covered with old bandages.

Oda didn’t show an outward reaction as he interrupted Dazai’s line of sight to stand in front of it and tug the sheets down.

They had already learned after two failed attempts of gently trying to wake Dazai that he did not listen to anything but force.

In this state, he much reminded Oda of a teenager, of the very ones he had seen and taken care of. Despite having the weight of the world on his shoulders and artificial emotions, Dazai would only ever be the lost teenager he always was in Oda’s eyes, drifting without a stable anchor in the world.

He would just need to find one but for now, Oda and Ango would have to do their best.

“Hey,” Oda said flatly as Dazai blinked, something swirling in his dull eye as he came back from wherever he had been.

“Hey,” Dazai returned the bored tone, though at least he was talking to him. How long had he been here? Judging by how fowl he smelled, he had probably gone a week or two without a shower.

The first order of business was now in mind.

“Dazai, get up.”

“Hmm?’

“I said get up,” Oda repeated patiently. By now the blankets had been thrown to the floor haphazardly but knowing Ango he would probably pick them up later despite his unwillingness to clean. That was just the type of man he was, Oda had come to learn.

After a few moments, Daisy took action, practically jumping on top of Dazai as she attacked his face with kisses, pawing at his chest and letting out a deep whine from her chest.

She was worried.

Dazai didn’t move until Daisy took his wrist in her mouth and pulled on it. Oda had to wonder if this was some sort of trained rescue dog as Dazai was dragged up.

“Thank you,” Oda said to the dog, who wagged her tail in a proud way. “I can take it from here.”

She seemed satisfied as she trotted off, probably to go bother Ango.

Dazai slowly came back to life as they started on their somewhat reluctant routine. A bath was drawn first, then a shower. Oda of course had left the room during that time because not even he had gotten to see what was under Dazai’s bandages and he hadn’t planned on breaching that level of privacy and trust between them.

When he heard the shower water shut off he wordlessly cracked the door open and pushed out a roll of bandages and a towel he had made sure to buy from a nearby convenience store.

Thankfully Dazai didn’t smell as he emerged from the restroom, though it was evident that he was still not at one hundred percent because he was not in work clothes, but rather his normal clothes he wore when he met with them at the bar Lupin. A turtleneck and his jeans. He was not yet ready to remerge into society and work but this was more than Oda could ask for because he at least looked presentable.

Well, except for the wet hair.

From his place arranging Dazai’s belongings on his dresser (There really wasn’t much, his penthouse apartment was quite impersonal with no knickknacks or photos, though now with the dog's toys spread on the ground it seemed to have a dash of life added to it.) Oda snorted, “at least dry your hair, no need to get sick.”

He had expected it though and threw a smaller towel at Dazai to dry his hair.

Not giving Dazai any time to react, Oda placed the grocery bag in bandaged hands. “Here, toothbrush, toothpaste, other stuff.”

Dazai also didn’t like making too big of a deal about things, because no matter how much of a playful personality he played or carelessly he acted, Dazai was never someone to take at face value. 

Dazai nodded and made his way back into the restroom.

Now for the second order of business.

While Oda may cook more often than either of his co-workers, Ango had the most skill at it. Upon returning to the kitchen there was crab, Dazai had been very vocal about it being his favorite meal. Ango had always pretended to ignore the facts but he had always succeeded in making the meal in the same situation.

The kitchen had obviously been cleaned, the dishes placed on the drying rack, and the counters holding a luster to their obsidian surfaces that they did before. Ango had moved on to the living room by the time Dazai had sat down at the table and eyed the meal.

He ate slowly, picking at the crab and only consuming about half of the meal, but at least he was eating something. Of course, Oda didn’t let him have anything but water because the new pale sheen on his skin was unhealthy and spoke of dehydration.

They didn’t talk during the meal.

Though Oda couldn’t help the noise of amusement he made when Daisy placed her head in Dazai’s lap and gave him the begging look.

“No,” Dazai said shortly, resolutely ignoring the begging dog though Oda could see his resolve slowly crumbling the more and more whimpers she made.

“Stop that,” Dazai said, and while it wasn’t his usual complaining whine, his tone was getting there. In fact, the color had already started to return to his skin.

Daisy thumped her tail and let out one last pitiful nouse and that seemed to be the breaking point for Dazai because with nimble fingers he snatched the chicken that Ango had made as a side and shoved it into the expecting dog’s mouth.

The dog let out a little wuff and Dazai huffed, “Yeah, you’re welcome.”

And Oda couldn’t help but feel a little bit of weight lifted from his shoulders because perhaps this dog was a better influence on Dazai than he had originally thought.

By the time the next three days had rolled around Dazai seemed to mostly be back to normal. And while he would not be against remaining in his bed for the rest of his life as he attempted, the people he had ghosted who had dared try to enter his life sure didn’t appreciate it.

Dazai hadn’t gotten around to checking those texts yet.

But he had called Oda and Ango (who had surprisingly decided to stay for a while longer, in no haste to return back to London) and invited them for a meeting at the bar Lupin for the first time in a while.

It wasn’t a show of gratitude, for the two to clean his apartment and lug him around like he was some sort of child, because gratitude wasn’t something that they ever outwardly displayed for each other. Not when Dazai had moved Oda’s orphans to a secure location and not when Oda had rescued Ango from being held captive.

It showed that everything had returned back to normal and that all of them could continue living their life as they once did, even if they were somewhat miserable.

And one new thing that had come with the reconstruction of Bar Lupin was the lack of guests in their basement bar and their pet policy.

As soon as the bartender spotted Daisy they were not kicked out, instead, he cooed in a way that was comical with how large he was, and tossed her a bone he had apparently been keeping on him.

Dazai sat in his normal chair and tried not to think much of it as Daisy happily gnawed at the bone. Perhaps he should buy her some more on his way back.

The night went as followed.

Oda arrived shortly after, then Ango, who was punctual with everything except for their meetings.

Their first few drinks were spent in an acknowledging silence as if they would need a few drinks in their system to even be able to talk to each other.

Then began the usual conversation topics. How Oda’s kids were doing, how Daisy had been settling in, and when the next time he could drop by Oda’s with her could be. But they never broached the subject of Ango's trip to London or Dazai’s recent capture of the Sheep and manipulation of the GSS.

Work matters were never a topic they ever talked about at the bar Lupin, shunned as if the night of normalcy would make up for their life of bloodshed.

The only other time Dazai had felt as normal as he did here was at the pet clinic with Chuuya… who was probably so pissed at him that he would never want to see Dazai’s face again. Of course, switching clinics and going to the vampire seemed appealing, but Dazai wouldn’t put his tail between his legs and run off from the matter. He had become invested, an unlikely thing for someone like him.

“...You haven’t texted him back have you?” Ango asked, a disapproving look in his eyes.

Dazai blinked at him innocently as another drink was placed in front of him. “I do not know what you are insinuating Ango.”

From the other side of Dazai, Oda sighed and took one long swig of his drink, nearly draining the whole thing before heavily setting it back on the counter. He always seemed to need at least one drink in his system before he even talked about any matter relating to Chuuya.

It hadn’t been the first time that Dazai would go on long ranting complaints about him and it wouldn’t be the last.

“The veterinarian?” he asked, “you should text him back before he gets worried.”

“That ship has sailed Odasaku,” Dazai groaned, making an airplane gesture with his hand before making it swoop down and crash on the table. “Perhaps I should invest in the Guild and take Daisy there.”

Ango idly tapped at the edge of his glass, "I can recommend a few specialists-”

“But no!” Dazai interrupted and Oda took another drink without any hesitation. “It has to be the Chibi! Life would be devoid without annoying him!”

“That sounds co-dependent-“

“Angoooo!”

“And problematic I feel bad for Nakahara-“

“But Ango~”

Oda cleared his throat, “perhaps you can visit him soon.”

“I will,” Dazai reassured somewhat not reassuringly, “I just have to come up with more ways to annoy him before I return. Maybe I can TP the inside of the clinic before it opens? Wait there's a night shift…”

“What are you, twelve?”

Dazai eyed Ango with a glitter of amusement in his eyes and Oda basked in the fact that it wasn’t fake.

“Mentally or physically?”

From the floor Daisy finished her bone and panted happily, pressing her snout into Dazai’s lap, who placed a hand on her head.

Dazai continued, “the Chibi is really so annoying. His ugliness is truly outrageous, I will have to scrounge for a picture but he is truly horrendous. My heart palpitates in a very unhealthy way when I lay eyes upon him.”

Oda and Ango held eye contact from over Dazai’s head, leveling each other with unimpressed looks.

“Right,” they said flatly.

“And that’s not even the worst!” Dazai whined, only stopping for a breath when he took a sip from his emptying cup. “He acts as if he owns the clinic! Which he does, though his attitude is almost as hideous as his hair! When he puts it in a ponytail for work he looks like a beautiful Maiden and it’s truly terrifying!”

Oda and Ango both simultaneously held their empty glasses up for a refill.

“Though it is fun to see his reaction whenever I burst into the clinic. It is truly the highlight of my day!”

“Uh-huh,” Oda nodded along.

“The highlight,” Ango repeated.

“I am still trying to figure out what weird fluttering emotion in my chest is though,” Dazai said, sounding slightly whiny. “I have never felt it before,” he turned to Oda and he was tempted to walk out of the bar. “Odasaku, do you know what it is? Have you ever felt it before?”

Oda stared down at Dazai who looked up at him with puppy eyes, then Dazai tapped Daisy who also gave him the puppy eyes and-

Let it be said that Oda wasn’t the strongest man.

He sighed and turned to his drink, and Ango gave him a ‘cut it out’ gesture behind Dazai’s back.

But it was too late, he was already in too deep.

“The fluttering feeling is not you going into cardiac arrest Dazai, rest assured. That feeling is often associated with a person you… a person you care about.”

Oda had expected some grand reaction, for Dazai the claim their meetings were over and to run into oncoming traffic.

But instead, he simply shrugged, “yes I care for Chuuya.”

Oda and Ango gave each other wide-eyed looks.

Was this it? Had their boss finally got an emotion through his thick head-

“I care about annoying him.”

And that was when Oda had seen it in Ango’s eyes, not resignation but a determination.

Ango uncharacteristically grabbed Dazai’s shoulder and spun him around to face him. “You care about Nakahara,” he said simply. “Like a crush. A twenty-two-year-old man crushing on someone.”

There it was.

The atomic bomb had been dropped.

Not even the limited patrons of the bar made a sound as a look of realization crossed over Dazai’s face as if he had been blind to the possibility this whole time.

Oda held his breath and Ango plowed forward.

“Dazai you've already been courting him since you first met. Lunches every Wednesday?”

“Yes but with his co-workers-”

“You don't sit with his co-workers, ” Ango interrupted. “You've stated very clearly that it is just you two. And the Halloween party, no normal people who just met each other weeks before would go in matching costumes and create a whole fake dating agenda on Twitter!”

For the first time in the history of forever, Dazai looked to be at a loss for words, his one visible eye widened.

It really shouldn’t have been as big of a realization but for Dazai who struggled with emotion, it must have been something important.

And this was where Oda’s role came in.

He gave Ango a look as if saying ‘we’ll talk about this later,’ because it was unfair of him to spring it on the poor twenty-two-year-old like that when they had agreed so simply let him figure it out on his own time (however long that would have taken.)

“Dazai,” Oda said firmly, yet cautiously. “What are you thinking?”

Dazai took a long moment to speak, looking across the room looking slightly dazed.

“He… he was correct.”

Oda really wanted to leave now, “who, Ango?”

“The feeling… According to him, it’s what he described. I actually want to be by Chuuya no matter how disgusting…” he looked at Oda with abject horror in his eyes “is it true?”

Oda sighed, “do you think it is?”

Because if there was one thing that Dazai Osamu would be remotely afraid of, it would be his own feelings and the fact that he was perhaps more human than he had originally thought.

And Dazai’s silence was answer enough.

“You have it in you,” Oda pressed his hand against Dazai’s chest and felt the beating in there. “A heart, it may be closed off but emotion is there.”

Dazai nodded slowly and Oda could see the cogs in that brain of his turning and turning.

“You are correct,” he said in a low voice, then pushed from his chair. Daisy made a whimpering noise and nosed at his pant leg. “I need to ponder.”

Without any further words, he left in some deep thinking haze that he tended to fall in.

Ango and Oda shared a look.

“…at least he’s done complaining.” Ango offered.

Oda needed another drink.

It had been nearly two weeks.

Chuuya was at his wit's end and he didn’t even know why. The idiot had finally taken his advice and left his veterinary practice alone and now it was nice and quiet.

Almost too fucking quiet.

Chuuya hasn’t even gotten any fun animals to take care of lately.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” Yosano asked that morning.

From the back Kunikida yelled something about language but they both chose to ignore it.

When Chuuya didn’t say anything Yosano continued “oh, your boyfriend hasn’t called you yet over the weekend that we all forced you to take off?”

Chuuya glared at her sarcastic way of delivering the question because all he had done during that weekend Kunikida had forced him to take off since his vacation days were piling up, was sleep on the couch with his animals and eat an unhealthy amount of chips.

He would need to run an extra mile this afternoon to make up for it.

“No, and he can fuck off and never contact me again for all I care,” Chuuya grumbled, though he could tell he was convincing a total of no one.

“Well, I can always pull up his address in our address book and break in…”

“That’s illegal.”

“Fine,” Yosano huffed and sat down on her seat. Their rock paper scissors tournament for who would get to sit at the reception desks again was coming up soon.

Chuuya would obviously win.

“Call him.”

Chuuya tilted his head to the side to eye the woman, “what now?”

“Call him,” she repeated, already reaching in Chuuya’s scrub pocket for his phone “right now, guarantee he’ll answer.”

Chuuya let her grab his phone without much struggle, she already knew his password so there was no use in resisting.

“Why is it gonna make a difference this time from when I called him last night and he didn’t answer?”

Yosano’s lips tilted upwards and she raised an eyebrow, “you called him last night?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Originally Chuuya hadn't had Dazai’s phone number at all since he had been the one to give it to him. But when he found a note shoved into his phone case with Dazai’s number he felt like an idiot.

Though he hadn't found it until about a week ago, how Dazai had snuck it in there, he had no idea. For all he knew the idiot had slipped it in there the first time they met.

“Maybe he’s not answering because it’s a random number?”

“He has my damn contact,” Chuuya took his phone back from Yosano when the name Mackerel (for his dead-looking eye) flashed across it and… a time signature.

He had actually answered?

Chuuya scrambled to hold it up to his ear, many things ready to leave his mouth at once because now of all times he answered?

Where the fuck had he been?

Why was he even on radio silence for so long?

Was Daisy okay?

He settled for an etiquette, “what the fuck.”

“Good to hear from you too Chibi~” he sounded the same as always, smug and utterly annoying. He also sounded unharmed and not in dire need of any medical assistance.

For some reason, Chuuya felt warm.

He should just hang up while he had the chance-

A beep filled the room, and Chuuyas attention shifted to the double doors. A man walked through, lanky and just a bit taller than Chuuya, though he looked levels shorter with the way he held himself.

His clothes were casual and almost dirty looking but Chuuya had never been on to judge his clients so he nodded in greeting as the man who he had never met before- notably without an animal- lumbered up to their desk.

Chuuya regretfully told Dazai to shut the hell up before looking at the potential customer, “hello sir-“

Before he could even Complete his sentence a small phone with a cracked screen was shoved in his face and a video was playing on it.

The viral video of Daisy dragging Atsushi through the pet smart store from nearly three months ago.

The man pointed a dirty finger to the screen “this dog, she’s mine.”

Chuuya blinked and slowly brought the phone back to his ear.

“Dazai you better get your ass down here right now we have a problem.”

Chapter Text

For not the first time in his life, Chuuya had so many questions on the topic that related to Dazai. He should have never met the idiot in the first place because Chuuya preferred to be in the know.

Though much to his disdain the moment Dazai walked through the double doors for the first time in days Chuuya couldn't help but run his eyes over the man.

He seemed… Relatively okay, yet different.

The suit he usually wore for his job was replaced with a bit more of a casual look. A turtleneck and an overcoat with slightly baggy slacks though he still made it work. His hair was slightly more unkempt than usual and his skin looked a shade lighter than its already pail appearance but he was up and walking.

He walked in without any fuss, Daisy trailing behind him cheerfully, her tail wagging at full speed.

The man who Chuuya had sent (banished) to the waiting area stood up, a cracked toothed smile spreading over his lips.

He had made a huge fuss when he had shown the video to Chuuya and Chuuya had tried to deny that he didn't know who the dog was. He had started yelling because according to him, his black German shepherd had escaped his yard in the middle of the night and when he had seen the video of his dog through the store he had also seen Atsushi who did terrible stand up comedy and connected the dots of his dog going to the vet.

Chuuya didn't believe the story for one second, this wasn't the first time a shady figure had entered their vet demanding that their animal be returned to them. Chances were, they were just going to sell the animal or use them to breed.

And Chuuya absolutely would not let that happen, though unfortunately, he needed to keep a mask of professionalism and instead calmly sent the man to wait.

And thankfully, Dazai had shown up as soon as possible. He must have sensed the seriousness in Chuuya’s tone. That or he was finally going to apologize for fucking ghosting him without a warning, but the first was more likely.

As soon as Dazai took a step closer to the reception desk, a questioning expression on his face, Chuuya abruptly stood up to hiss at him, “where in the hell have you been? You better have a good damn excuse because-”

“Shush, chibi, ” Dazai, as annoying as ever, put a heavily bandaged finger to his lips, though there were pools of something unidentifiable swimming in his eyes.

“You want me to shut up in my own vet-”

“I was sick, ” Dazai admitted, his tone changing to one of complete sincerity, making Chuuya back down slightly.

And now that he thought about it, Dazai did look slightly more twiggy than usual, which was saying something because he could always use some more meat on his bones.

“It was terrible Chuuya! I could hardly move a finger to annoy you and my appetite was gone and the light from my window would have melted me if I had opened the curtains!”

That sounded… A lot like depression to Chuuya.

Dazai clasped his hands in front of his face and looked down at Chuuya, “it was bringing me physical pain not to text Chuuya and annoy him, even if I did get his missed calls.”

And that was probably the best apology and explanation that Chuuya would ever get, so he would take it.

Doing one last scan of Dazai Chuuya nodded shortly before bending into a crouch and giving the much more welcomed guest a grin. Daisy woofed and licked Chuuya so much on the face that he almost didn't notice the shady client approaching him.

And apparently, Dazai had kept an eye on him the whole time because he stepped in between them, giving the man a warning glare.

Chuuya stood and patted the dog next to him (who had seemed to have grown a lot since the last time he saw her.) Yosano watched carefully from her desk but did not get involved in case another customer happened to come through the door, though the lobby remained thankfully empty.

“Sir, ” Chuuya started, voice firm “take a seat and we can talk your situation over.”

He remained standing and that was the best Chuuya would get, so he kicked Dazai on the leg until they were standing practically side by side across from the man.

“There is nothing to talk about, that dog there,” he pointed in between Chuuya and Dazai to Daisy, “is my dog. She's been mine until she ran off.”

And that rang some alarm bells because even if untrained, Daisy was not the type of dog to run off unless she was alarmed and felt the absolute need to.

If this man had owned her previously then he wasn't a very good owner.

Chuuya felt his blood boil, though it simmered down when he realized that Daisy looked at the man with no recognition in her eyes.

If an abused reunited with their abuser then there was always a reaction. A defensive growl or a tail tucked away between her legs, but there was none of those except for her looking on guard, possibly picking up on Chuuya and Dazai’s hostile behavior.

She was a damn smart dog, Chuuya would give her that.

“That's not your dog, ” Chuuya said confidently, “we gave records that clearly state that she is this man’s.”

Daisy huffed in agreement and Dazai looked at the man with a distant look in his eyes.

“The hell she isn't, ” The man took a step closer to level them with a stink eye to which Dazai stared at unblinking.

That was when Chuuya felt something tug in his gut because he knew that Dazai had never been too invested in Daisy and was technically pressured by Chuuya to take her in so this would be the perfect excuse to get her off of his hands and-

“I'm afraid to inform you but I've had this dog for her whole life, ” Dazai lied easily, and even Chuuya almost believed it. “She is not for sale and she will not be going to whatever illegal business you may run.”

Dazai placed a secure hand on Daisy’s head, right next to Chuuya’s, and Chuuya’s heart immediately stopped pounding in his throat.

Dazai wouldn't get rid of Daisy and Chuuya felt guilt creep up his spine for second-guessing him even if he was flighty at best.

Then the man's face grew visibly red from under his ball cap and Chuuya needed to cut the situation off before it could grow to something worse than it already was.

He stood a bit taller to seem at least a little bit more intimidating. “Sir, Dazai here has legal paperwork binding him to this dog, and I'm going to need to see yours as proof so we can resolve this-”

“I Don't have to show you shit!” the man yelled, ripping the cap from his head and throwing it down to Daisy’s paws. “Since when do I have to prove that my own dog is my dog!”

Dazai didn't react but at the sudden yelling Daisy backed away, and if there was anything Chuuya didn't tolerate in his veterinary practice it was animals not feeling safe.

He took a step in front of Daisy and didn't miss how Dazai closely watched him with analyzing eyes. “Show me the papers or get the fuck out of my vet, ” he jutted a finger towards the door.

Before Chuuya could even add to his sentence as he planned, the man took a lunge forward.

Chuuya reacted immediately, senses not as honed with his slacking off in martial arts, but he would forever have the moves ingrained in his mind.

It was over almost as soon as it started, Chuuya sidestepped and grabbed the man's outstretched arm, twisting it around to hold behind his back in an angle that made the customer grunt in pain. To prevent any further movement Chuuya grabbed him tightly by the back of his collar.

The man struggled, letting out enraged noises as Chuuya only held together, using his weight against him. Once he seemed to finally realize that moving was futile he stilled and Chuuya grinned, “are ya done?”

“Fuck off,” the man said from between clenched teeth and Chuuys rolled his eyes.

“Yeah sure, do me a favor and never come back, ” he released his bruising grip on the man's arm and pushed him into Kunikida and Kenji’s arms, who both whisked the man out of the double doors sternly.

Yosano whooped from where she was sitting, having recorded the whole interaction like it was some kind of live entertainment for her (which it probably was.) And Chuuya was glad that other customers hadn't been there to witness the whole debacle because who knew how they would have reacted.

Even if the video later to be posted on Twitter would no doubt blow up later that night.

“Well, ” Chuuya sighed, turning back to Dazai who’s eyes still remained solidly on him. “That's one problem out of the way.”

That was when Dazai finally broke his attention, blinking back to life, then the familiar smirk grew on his face and Chuuya hadn't missed it he didn't-

“Ah, so there are multiple issues?”

Dazai was so fucking annoying.

“Did you not forget the fact that you straight up ghosted all of us for nearly three damn weeks-”

“Two weeks and three days-”

Chuuya gave him a look that very clearly conveyed ‘one more word and you'll end up like that man outside.’

Dazai shut his mouth for once and strangely something had changed about him. He seemed to be… observing Chuuya more closely than normal.

Chuuya’s skin prickled and he felt the need to defensively slam Dazai’s head into the reception desk.

“You know how you can make up for it?” Chuuya asked, idly running his fingers through Daisy’s dark fur. “You pick up your damn phone when I try to talk to you, and you come back, tomorrow's Wednesday and you know what that means.”

The smirk on Dazai’s face grew and for some reason, it seemed less taunting than normal. That made Chuuya want to punch it off of his stupidly handsome face.

“You mean Wednesday lunches are back on?”

“Yeah, they are!” Yosano called from the back and Daisy perked up at her voice, trotting around the desk to greet her. “Better come tomorrow, our dearest boss Chuuya has been extremely down in the dumps without your presence-”

“He can stay away for all I care!” Chuuya refuted, shooting Yosano a scalding look. He was going to kill her.

“Chuuya was missing me?” Dazai asked and his voice was tinged with genuine curiosity. “Does he want another hand massage?”

Chuuya turned the look to Dazai as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't know why he even missed the idiot in the first place because wherever he went he only brought annoyance with him.

“Absolutely not. Just answer your phone so I know you're not dead in a ditch or something.”

Because it was always a possibility.

Something in Dazai’s visible eye softened “of course~”

Chuuya really only liked Dazai because of his dog. The idiot couldn't even answer the phone and was embarrassing to be around and-

And Chuuya still couldn't figure out why life seemed to be a lot more enjoyable and brighter when Dazai was around.

“Dazai, ” Chuuya said in a hesitant voice, avoiding eye contact as he twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers like some school girl.

“I have something to tell you and it's…” there was a faint blush dusting his cheeks, “I know a detective like you wouldn't want a veterinarian like me but…”

Dazai tilted Chuuya’s chin up so they could make eye contact and-

Daisy jumped on top of the bed, completely shattering Dazai’s dreamscape.

Would Chuuya ever act that way?

Never.

But was it funny to imagine?

Absolutely.

Dazai had taken the time to think and ponder, it was what he tended to do best after all. But after his recent conversation with Odasaku after he had returned from the vet that morning all the man had offered was ‘to let emotion dictate this one decision and not stone-cold logic.’

So that was what Dazai did. He didn't take the time to think about how something as mushy as being fond of someone could ever happen to him, especially if the feelings were directed towards Chuuya of all people.

Chuuya, who had a disgusting shade of red hair that looked surprisingly soft. Chuuya who is short enough to get lost in a crowd yet could possibly dropkick someone with those short yet toned legs and-

Yes, perhaps Ango and Odasaku had been correct,

Later that night found Dazai, painfully alone in his penthouse apartment (exept for Daisy always a silent presence) with the lights turned to the lowest setting as Dazai looked up ‘the methods of seducing’ on his dying phone.

Because he had taken a full three minutes to think his plan over before he decided that trying to seduce Chuuya Nakahara was obviously the way to go.

Dazai was confident in his skills, in fact, he was sure that the veterinarian had already fallen head over heels for him and just needed a little push to confess his undying love to him.

Which brought Dazai back to the current situation.

He didn't use his phone too much, in fact, most times he even forgot it existed, leaving it in random places. He preferred the burner phone, much easier to use the newer version he hadn't even wanted to invest in in the first place.

But now it seemed he was getting the hang of learning because the internet had a vast catalog of advice, some good and some bad.

“Wow, who knew the internet could be so educational.” He scrolls through, Daisy laying next to him and eyeing the phone screen judgingly. “Compliment her but not too much, what the fuck is that supposed to mean.”

He continued through.

“Lean close while talking to her?” Dazai grumbled into the darkness of his apartment, “but I may get neck pains, the chibi is so short~”

Daisy nipped playfully at Dazai’s wrist and Dazai rolled away from her.

It was futile though since she only scooted closer.

“Avoid focusing only on her physical features while talking… Well, what am I supposed to look at, the wall? Practically impossible, Chuuya has a target on his back with all of that red hair.”

He scrolled some more.

“Tease her? Perhaps Chuuya had already fallen for me then…”

And some more.

“Avoid lying to the woman you like… But Chuuya isn't a woman so it should be perfectly fine…”

The night continued in that fashion until Dazai had formed his perfect plan that would in no way fail at all.

Really, if Chuuya wasn't confessing to him by the end of the day Wednesday then he was obviously delusional.

It was six in the morning the next day, when Chuuya’s shift started, that Dazai called the reception desk. As expected, Yosano picked it up.

“Pet protection agency how may I-”

“Good morning~”

“...Oh, ” Yosano said blandly, though from one devious person to another, Dazai could sense the amusement in her tone. Had she been expecting a call?

It was a good thing that she was obviously on Dazai’s side.

“I need a little favor.”

Yosano smirked, “I'm listening.”

Dazai ran contingency plans in his mind as he pulled into the vet's parking lot. The sun was due to set in about two hours and he arrived just on time, strange compared to how he usually arrived at least thirty minutes late for each meeting.

Because apparently, it was good to show up on time.

Instead of swooning right on the spot for Dazai being so punctual Chuuya scrunched up his nose in disdain.

Maybe he wasn't a good afternoon person. Their usual lunch had been changed to dinner plans, after all, Dazai read on some website in some foreign language that dinner was nicer than lunch and much more romantic.

“Hey, Chuuya?”

“Hm?”

“You’re very handsome.”

“What?”

“But not really, don’t get ahead of yourself you ugly bitch.”

“…”

Dazai quickly marked the ‘compliment your woman but not too much’ step off of his list. It was confusing and unnecessary and that was definitely how the scenario would go.

So instead he tried his best to give a greeting look as he walked into the vet. Chuuya and Yosano were already cleaning up the place for the night shift.

“What's wrong with your face, ” Chuuya asked, slightly appalled. “Stop making that weird expression.”

Dazai would also mark off the step of ‘smile a lot' because it was also completely unnecessary and made his face muscles hurt.

“What a hurtful greeting, ” Dazai pouted and Chuuya relaxed a little. He must have thought that Dazai had momentarily gone insane.

“Well you're the one who wanted to go for dinner instead of lunch, ” Chuuya grumbled even though he didn't seem too upset.

He had changed out of his scrubs, presumably right before Dazai arrived. He wondered if they were comfortable. Thankfully he wasn't wearing his leather pants because Dazai wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it if he did, but he thought the tight jeans weren't much of an improvement.

Dazai shrugged in a not sorry way, “urgent work matters appeared and I was forced to skip lunch. But Chuuya just seemed so crestfallen when I couldn't go last time so I just had to reschedule!”

Chuuya rounded the counter and leaned over it to grab his backpack that carried his work clothes and Dazai avoided looking at him until Chuuya turned around to face him, slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

“Yeah well your work hasn't gotten in the way of anything before,” and Dazai had to admit, he made a very valid point. “I mean you've skipped out on it so much that I was assuming you had been fired but I wasn't going to ask.”

“I am very much employed and paid very nicely, thank you very much.”

Dazai had also read somewhere that women preferred their men to have money or at least a stable paying job though unless Chuuya was duller than he thought, he should have picked up that up by now with the suits he wore.

But it never hurt to flaunt it a bit, even if it was blood money.

Chuuya chose to ignore Dazai and turn back to the other occupants who seemed to be done with packing their own stuff and putting everything away.

“Were leaving, come on, ” Chuuya held his keys in the air and Dazai smirked because the first phase of his plan was about to be set into action…

“Sorry boss! We can't go, ” Kenji said all too happily, pointing to himself and Atsushi who looked like he was one breath away from a nervous breakdown. Dazai was glad Atsushi wasn't the one talking because he couldn't lie to save a life.

“Me and Atsushi were going to go to a family celebration at my house!”

Chuuya nodded in approval, “sounds exciting, tell your mother I say hi Kenji, and thank her for that cake, it was wonderful.”

“Will do!” The boy smiled and dragged Atsushi out of the vet building.

“Alright, ” Chuuya looked to the others, “it looks like it's just us guys-”

“Actually, ” Tanizaki chimed in nervously, “I have to bake a cake… At my house… For no reason at all.”

Chuuya’s eyebrows slowly rose “is everything okay-”

“Yes!” Naomi grabbed her brothers arm “he was going to make one for me since I have such a sweet tooth~”

The two siblings shared a conspiring look and Dazai didn't even want to know what words lie below their gazes.

Soon enough they were gone too.

“I am very sorry to inform you but my schedule does not allow for any room for dinner plans.” Kunikida bowed in apology and Chuuya didn't look too surprised by that.

“That's fine, it can be us three,” Chuuya turned to exit the building and when Yosano cleared her throat Dazai saw the exact moment all of the hope vanished from Chuuya’s eyes.

“You're not coming either, are you.”

“Nope!” she said happily, sitting back down in her seat. “I figured I'd stay back and watch the place then hang out with Ranpo when he got here. He owes me money.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes and gave her a betrayed look that reminded him of a wet cat.

“You're terrible.”

She waved to them, winking to Dazai “have fun you two.”

Chuuya didn't even acknowledge Dazai as he pushed past him to go to the parking lot.

Perfect, the first step had been completed.

The second followed soon after.

As soon as Chuuya stepped outside he wrapped his arms around himself and froze. Dazai stepped out next to him.

“Is there an issue Chuuya~”

Chuuya glared up at him, shivering slightly, “idiot I’ll be right back I left my jacket inside.”

The winter had grown stronger and now ice patches lingered on the streets.

Chuuya left Dazai’s side to go inside and ten minutes later emerged empty-handed. Dazai checked his watch and looked down at Chuuya. “I’m assuming you didn’t find your jacket?”

It was to be expected, Dazai asked for Yosano to swipe it from Chuuya’s bag after all.

“I don’t know where the damn thing went,” Chuuya grumbled, breath crystallizing in the air around him. “I could have sworn I put it in my bag…”

“Well,” Dazai feigned surprise even if everything was going according to plan. “You drove your motorcycle correct? Won’t it be cold in that?”

Chuuya blinked as if he was confused about the question, “oh, motorcycle? No, we’re not driving to the restaurant we’re walking.”

Now that… was not according to plan.

“Isn’t the Italian restaurant twenty minutes away-“

Then Chuuya was the one smirking, “yeah but we stopped going there momentarily. They had a kitchen fire and closed down for the moment, though you wouldn’t know that since you’ve ditched out on eating lunch for weeks-“

“Fine fine I understand, you aren’t going to let this go anytime soon are you?” Dazai groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

“Absolutely not.”

“Well fine then,” Dazai supposed he deserved the treatment. “We can always stay here and look for your jacket” even if they wouldn’t find it. “Or perhaps you could wear mine…”

Dazai had already started to slide his overcoat from his shoulders and Chuuya’s eyes widened in shock as he followed the movement.

“Why,” he asked blankly when Dazai tried to hand it over.

“Well-“

“No way in hell am I wearing that,” Chuuya snarled, teeth clenched and if Dazai wasn’t mistaken then that was a blush on his face. Whether it was from the cold weather or the embarrassment though, was lost on him.

“Oh come on Chibi~ I will be perfectly fine without a jacket-“

“I know that dumbass,” Chuuya was definitely a red color now. “I’m not worried about you, you can freeze for all I care. Those bandages are like a second layer I’m sure you're perfectly insulated-“

“Harsh-“

Chuuya pushed Dazai’s jacket back and gave him a glare that left no room for argument. “I would honestly rather freeze to death. Besides, it’ll drag on the floor and get all soggy.”

The last part must have been hard for Chuuya to admit because he didn’t even look at Dazai as he shoved the jacket back in his face and continued on his merry way.

Dazai hastily slid his overcoat back on and followed Chuuya so as to not get lost.

That was one plan that failed but he had many more up his sleeve.

Of course, Chuuya suffered all the way there and Dazai occasionally teased him for looking like a grumpy cat, saying that his job was rubbing off on his looks.

By the time they had arrived at the restaurant, Chuuya looked about ready to become a popsicle or throw Dazai into oncoming traffic but either way they made it there in one piece.

It looked to be another Italian restaurant, just significantly smaller than their regular spot.

But Dazai, he would need to redeem himself and gain more points from his failed attempt at letting Chuuya use his coat like one of the chivalrous men he had read about. No matter how funny it may have been to see him freeze, it only put him in a worse mood.

The restaurant didn’t look too packed so Dazai walked slightly ahead of Chuuya (which wasn’t hard because well, there was a vast difference in their leg length much to Dazai’s amusement and Chuuya’s horror.)

“After you,” Dazai smirked and held open the door, though when he looked back Chuuya wasn’t there and as he opened the door the redhead was much closer than expected and-

Dazai winced as the door hit him straight in the nose.

There was a moment of silence where all Chuuya did was glare daggers at him as he lifted his hand to cover his no doubt bruised nose (and ego) and Dazai slowly backed away.

Though all Chuuya did was cradle his face and say in a defeated tone, “I hate you,” before continuing into the Italian restaurant.

Well, this was going splendidly.

The waitress led them to the back because apparently everyone in the vet industry liked to sit in the very back of the restaurants while Dazai much preferred to be near an exit or a window to spot any upcoming threats.

Chuuya slid into the booth, rubbing at his irritated nose, and Dazai remained standing. “Don’t run off Chib, I have important matters to take care of~”

Chuuya opened his mouth to question just what important matters Dazai had to take care of at an Italian restaurant but Dazai had disappeared before he could vocalize the question.

Dazai hadn’t spent a long time in the back of the kitchen though, returning shortly after and sliding into the booth easily.

At Chuuya’s raised eyebrow Dazai raised his phone, “a work call.”

Chuuya gave him an apprehensive look, “you’ve been busy lately?”

Well, Dazai might as well roll with the story while he had a good lead. He slipped the phone back into his pocket, silencing it.

“Yes, the detective agency put me as the head to a recent case about stray dogs.”

Chuuya’s eyebrows shot up as he fiddled with the edges of his gloves. “Are you even allowed to tell me this?”

“…No, probably not. But it’s not like the Chibi will spill all of my secrets.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes, “yeah, I don’t have to do that because you’re already doing it.”

Before Dazai could reply, a waitress appeared at the end of their table, notepad in hand. She introduced herself though Dazai didn’t listen much to her until she asked for their drinks, to which they both surprisingly ordered water.

“Well,” Chuuya looked Dazai dead in the eyes and the look sent a shiver down his spine. Dazai had faced people with a death wish, people wanting to carve his heart out, but the looks Chuuya gave him somehow spurred even more emotion in his chest than the other killers did.

“You were sick?” Chuuya asked though Dazai could tell it was an accusation.

So he truly hadn’t brought Dazai’s story.

He had the feeling this dinner would become more of an interrogation than the romantic ‘make Chuuya swoon by the end of the night’ plan that he had crafted.

That didn’t matter, Dazai had more plans by the end of the night.

Dazai shrugged, “maybe I was.”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes, placing his elbows on the table as he leaned forward, “with what?”

“The flu,” Dazai answered easily, “it’s going around, is it not?”

“Maybe, but I can tell you’re lying so it doesn't make much of a damn difference,” Chuuya announced confidently and Dazai had wondered when they had gotten to know each other well enough that now the redhead could read him. It was a scary thing, it made him want to run and hide like a little child.

“My my Chuuya, I’ve never been accused of lying about having the flu before.”

Chuuya snorted, “that’s a damn surprise.”

“Well it’s the truth~” Dazai inconspicuously slid his hand across the table to carefully fold the napkin. “I never go as far as to fake a sickness, I just skip whenever I wish.”

“You make it sound like you’re the damn boss or something,” Chuuya said half-heartedly and Dazai felt his own amusement at the correct accusation.

The sound of clicking footsteps could be heard and Dazai’s next phase was about to be put into actions

“Well you damn sure weren’t sick-“

“Your waters sirs,” the waitress said, looking rather frazzled. The restaurant was a small one with presumably a small staff meaning that she was overworked and an overworked person was more prone to making mistakes…

She set Dazai’s water down first, then Chuuya’s glass down onto the napkin that Dazai had just folded, not realizing the napkins were unbalanced.

It happened fast, the water tipped over as soon as the woman’s manicured nails left the rim of it, proceeding to spill all over Chuuya’s torso and lap.

Just as Dazai had planned.

All was still for a long three seconds before the waitress was apologizing profusely, grabbing the napkins from her apron to wipe the table. Dazai snickered at the tight-lipped smile Chuuya had on his face as he shivered at the sudden ice-cold water.

“I’m so sorry sir I apologize-“

“It was a mistake-“

“Here let me help-“ and when the waitress moved from drying the table to dabbing at Chuuya’s chest (he wore a white shirt that didn’t quite do a good job at hiding anything while wet,) was when Dazai would need to put a stop to things because that was supposed to be him.

“All is fine,” Dazai said in a forced tone, leaning over the table to block the waitress and her snake grip from Chuuya and snatch a cloth from her apron. “You can run along now,” he waved her off, “perhaps return with another water.”

The woman flushed and backed up, eyes lingering slightly on Chuuya’s chest and just to be petty Dazai slowly ran the cloth from the droplets running down Chuuya’s neck to his chest.

Chuuya jumped in surprise and glared at Dazai and the woman wrenched her eyes away from the sight to bow. “Again I apologize, the meal will be for free for the inconvenience.”

Well, Dazai was planning on paying for it to show that he was not in fact broke, but he wasn’t going to turn down a free meal even if it was cheap.

She scurried off and Dazai continued to dab at Chuuya’s shirt, only stopping when the redhead whacked his hands away and took the cloth from him to try to clean himself.

Dazai leaned back and watched as Chuuya looked back up, looking a mix of embarrassed and slightly angry.

“This is bullshit,” he grumbled, wiping at his shirt that they both knew wouldn’t dry anytime soon. “I should have just made you come to lunch next week.”

Dazai tried his best to keep his eyes focused on Chuuya’s face and not travel any lower than that.

“Is Chuuya not enjoying his time with me?”

“No, it’s all been a shit show,” Chuuya grumbled, setting the cloth down onto the table, seemingly giving up.

“How hurtful,” Dazai mocked offense.

They both stared at the table for a few moments before Dazai spoke again. “You know Chibi, it is obscene to look at you right now. I mean I can see everything through that white shirt. Everything.”

Chuuya looked down to his shirt and quickly crossed his arms over himself, giving Dazai a glowering look.

“Well, there’s not much I can fucking do about it now besides wait for it to dry.”

Chuuya looked as if he wanted to leave and Dazai couldn’t have that, now could he?

“Well luckily for Chuuya, I am responsible enough to not leave my coat laying around.” For the second time that day, Dazai offered his coat to Chuuya, and the redhead gave it a long, considerate look before snatching it from his hand and wrapping it around his shoulders to hide his shirt.

“Fuck off,” he grumbled and Dazai raised his hands in surrender.

“I haven’t done anything-“

“Thanks, I guess,” Chuuya murmured and at least one stage of Dazai’s plan had gone accordingly.

“Of course~”

“Stop being so nice, it’s weird.”

And Dazai supposed that to Chuuya, he would be acting awfully out of character by now.

The waitress momentarily came back with some more water and took their orders, and when their food came would be when the next part of Dazai’s plan would commence. But for now…

“Don’t think you’re off the hook from that distraction,” Chuuya warned, and Dazai should have expected that because Chuuya always had a hard time letting things go.

But unexpectedly, Chuuya leaned back against the seat, pulling Dazai’s overcoat even further around himself, “but if it’s that bad, then you don’t have to tell me just don’t fucking lie to my face I don’t appreciate it.”

Well, Dazai had lied to Chuuya’s face a lot and it was different than lying to anyone else. Dazai was never one to feel guilt which was why he was so confused about the conflicting emotions that came with Chuuya.

Dazai had also read about ‘a man being vulnerable is appealing to a woman’ but Dazai didn’t feel man much less a human, and Chuuya definitely wasn’t a woman so it was a gamble. But the nagging feeling in his chest wouldn’t let him choose any other option.

“Well I was sick,” he admitted, then lightly tapped his head, “Mentally.”

“Ah,” Chuuya nodded, and there was no judgment in his eyes. Surprisingly, it was understanding instead of the annoyance he had been expecting. “A real ass-kicker, but next time,” blue eyes cut into rust-brown, “you answer the damn phone and call me. I’ll come and do whatever I need to.”

And if Dazai wasn’t convinced that he had a heart before then now he would be sold on the prospect of it because that organ in his chest was fluttering in the same way it had when he had first seen Chuuya and thought he was about to go into cardiac arrest.

…Oda was correct. It was not a heart problem after all.

“Perhaps I will,” Dazai said, and Chuuya must have ignored the weird breathiness in Dazai’s tone because he nodded, satisfied as he sat back.

Done with the heavy topics, Chuuya moved on. “Do you know where the hell my jacket actually went because I was sure it was in my bag?”

Dazai pulled a thoughtful face, “I haven’t seen a sign of it at all in my entire life.”

“…Uh-huh.”

“But the good news is that you can pull off my overcoat just fine!” Dazai half taunted, “even if it is a bit… oversized.”

Chuuya flushed and he looked like he wanted to strangle Dazai with his own jacket. “Oh shut the hell up, this coat is large even on you. Try picking the right size for once jackass.”

“Perhaps I like my clothes to fit large.”

It was a half-lie, he was always too exhausted to buy his own clothes so they were brought for him, and apparently whoever shopped for him assumed he was larger than he was.

And while Dazai’s suits were tailored his overcoat was not.

“You wear those damn suits all the time, I’m going to force you to wear some normal clothes for once. Ones that fit.”

Dazai was not going to argue against that.

“Someday,” he agreed, then rapidly changed the conversation flow. “So chibi, any strange clients you haven’t been able to complain about? This is a safe place I won’t go post it on Twitter for the other vets to see. Unless it is something truly juicy.”

“Actually…” Chuuya took a moment to consider, “there was this one man who wouldn’t stop being a fucking creep…”

He launched into a story about some crazy psychopath who wouldn’t stop bothering Chuuya and the other staff members and while a Dazai would have easily shot him Chuuya was forced to go a legal route to get a restraining order.

The conversation surprisingly kept both of them entertained until their food had been brought, a different waitress this time because apparently the last was too embarrassed to show her face to them again.

Chuuya ordered what he usually did, his Alfredo, which was set down in front of him. It only made Dazai’s plan easier…

~20 minutes prior

Chuuya was sitting at the booth looking at the menu even though he probably already knew what he wanted. Though that worked out in Dazai’s favor because he snuck off to the kitchen easily with the excuse of ‘work calls.’

It was also easy to get what he needed to get done completed with the type of restaurant they were at. Dazai didn’t even need to disguise himself to slip into the kitchen.

The restaurant made big batches of food and distributed them to the people who ordered the certain meal, from what Dazai could deduce. The pasta noodles were easy to find, boiling in a pot manned by a bored-looking chef.

“Boss wants to speak with you,” Dazai announced, making the man jolt. He dropped the wooden spoon to the floor and Dazai wondered if they had ever cleaned their utensils.

“M-me?” The man asked, looking around with bloodshot eyes. “I just joined a week ago man I can't be fired-“

“He wishes to speak to you anytime today now.”

Without another peep, the man scurried off to find the boss of this not so fine establishment.

Dazai plucked another spoon from a nearby drawer and gave the noodles a good stir. There were different stations memorized by the workers and everyone knew this was Alfredo, it said so on the label though…

Dazai slipped a sticker from his pocket he had printed out in the middle of the night last night and placed it over the label.

For good measure, he sought out the bag of shrimp and placed it next to the pot.

Right on time, the nervous-looking man returned, looking even more confused than before.

“Man I don't know what you’re talking about, the boss said maybe you got the wrong dude?”

“Oh!” Dazai gasped, “perhaps I did, a name mix up! You may proceed normally.”

Dazai stepped away from the pot and smirked as the man’s eyes darted to the label.

‘Seafood Alfredo.’

“I could have sworn it was normal Alfredo,” the man grumbled under his breath as Dazai took his leave.

“Thank you for the meal,” Chuuya told the waitress as she smiled and walked off to greet another table.

Dazai watched carefully as Chuuya twirled the noodles around in his fork, his own meal completely forgotten as Chuuya lifted the silverware up to his mouth and….

“What the hell?!” Chuuya screamed as the fork clattered to the restaurant's floor, then turned to Dazai, who had whacked it out of his hand.

“Stop being an idiot that was-“

“Look,” Dazai said calmly, pointing to the fork on the floor and next to it…

“Is that a fucking shrimp?” Chuuya squinted his eyes, suddenly not as angry as before.

“Don’t touch it, you’ll die,” Dazai said flatly and Chuuya gave him an equally deadpan expression.

“You’re an Idiot.”

Dazai wiggled his eyebrows, “an idiot who saved your life. Chuuya could have died right here and now under the slimy clutches of that shrimp.”

He had been valiantly saved by Dazai so if he wasn’t swooning by now then something was definitely wrong with Chuuya.

“I have my EpiPen on me I would have been fucking fine-“

“Excuse me gentlemen, is something wrong?” their waitress returned, her eyes on the fork and noodles on the floor. Now that Dazai looked around, the other occupants of the restaurant were all staring at the situation.

Oops. Chuuya would definitely not like this.

“Everything is fine,” Chuuya said through gritted teeth the exact time as Dazai wailed “you almost poisoned my dear Chibi!”

The waitress pailed, “poisoned?”

“Don’t listen to a word he says he’s a lying snake,” Chuuya said quickly and Dazai grabbed a fork full of his spaghetti and shoved it into the redhead's mouth. Someday he would like to do it again, but less forcefully.

Chuuya made a choking sound and dove for his water as Dazai took over the conversation.

“He ordered normal chicken Alfredo yet you have given us seafood Alfredo!” Dazai pointed out and the woman shifted nervously, “he is deathly allergic to seafood and would have swollen up like a balloon and imploded into a billion pieces!”

Chuuya recovered from the spaghetti attack, “no I would not have-“

“Yes he would-“

“I am so sorry,” the waitress bowed properly and Chuuya shot a scalding glare at Dazai even when he should have been looking at him with heart eyes for his act of heroism.

Chuuya turned back to the woman and sighed, “it’s not your fault, I’m sure there was just a mix-up.”

“I will go see it right away,” the woman reassured reaching for Chuuya’s plate. “The meal is on the house for this I am so sorry!”

Well, it was already on the house anyway. 

“That right there chibi, is the sound of a woman not wanting to get sued.”

Chuuya kicked Dazai from under the table. Hard.

And well, perhaps Dazai was being a bit brash.

“Though it isn’t this lovely waitresses fault,” he chimed in easily and the woman relaxed, smiling slightly. “Miss, check the label for the seafood Alfredo, it may not be what it seems.”

“…Okay sir,” the woman frowned and Chuuya quickly waved her off before he could say anything else.

They eyed the fork in the floor for a solid minute before Chuuya spoke again.

“You didn’t need to smack it out of my damn hand, you know.”

“It was the only efficient way to make sure you didn’t eat the devil's popcorn.”

Chuuya scrunched up his nose and snorted, “the devils what now-“

“Chuuya should really stop coming to this place if the staff tries to kill him,” Dazai said casually and Chuuya pinched the bridge of his nose as if a headache was coming on.

“They didn’t try to poison me it was just a mix-up and now it’ll be fixed- wait how did you know about the damn Alfredo labels?“

“Next question.”

Leaving the restaurant an hour later with full stomachs was the end goal for Dazai’s plan, second only to getting Chuuya to admit his passionate and undying love for him.

Though for today it seemed he would have to settle for the full stomach part. Dazai hadn't eaten a lot lately, he didn’t eat much period, but when he was with Chuuya he always seemed to clear the plate.

Though a part of the redhead nearly forcing it down his throat may also be a part of that equation.

But the last phase of Dazai’s plan was not put into action until they left the restaurant.

Dazai had looked at every aspect of the plan and scheduled accordingly, also meaning he would know when the rain would start.

Halfway during their walk back (and much to Dazai’s dismay Chuuya had thrown the borrowed overcoat back to him once they had stepped outside.) It had started to lightly sprinkle.

And with the current temperature, it was basically light sleet.

“Dammit,” Chuuya grunted, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Not to worry,” Dazai silently thanked the weather, then pulled Chuuya back by the strap of his backpack, unzipping it and pulling out an umbrella.

Chuuya eyed it, “that wasn’t there before…”

“Correct, I placed it there when you weren’t looking. It is not too fashionable to carry around an umbrella when it’s not raining.”

Well, unless one was Kouyou Ozaki because she seemed to make it work just fine.

Though Chuuya was getting too damp to care about the situation, swiping the umbrella from Dazai and opening it.

“Nah ah ah, Chuuya has to let me hold it because he is simply too short- ouch!” Dazai dodged the umbrella aimed to hit him in the face.

Though Chuuya refused to give the umbrella up, holding onto it like a lifeline until Dazai was forced to give in and crouch to get under it.

This was certainly not how Dazai had imagined it, after all, he was destined to be the one with the umbrella while Chuuya wore his jacket and thanked Dazai for being so responsible and remembering necessities.

But now Dazai was getting half soaked while Chuuya stood absolutely jacketless and at risk for hypothermia because apparently, he would rather die than rely on Dazai anymore.

Perhaps Dazai had crafted this plan for the wrong person. Perhaps he should have searched up ‘ways to get an irritable redheaded man to swoon for you’ instead of women though he probably would not have gleaned good results from that either.

Dazai would need to adjust another plan because Chuuya was simply too prideful and too-

Or maybe Dazai just shouldn’t try to put shrimp in his food because that also didn’t seem morally correct.

In the end, a car had driven by Chuuya and splashed water all over him, successfully soaking him, and he hadn’t said a word to Dazai the whole way back after Dazai had simply put a jacket over his shoulders.

Well, not until they got back to the vet, at least.

“That sucked ass,” he stated, “I am never eating dinner with you ever again.”

Well… the announcement wasn’t completely unexpected.

They stood outside of the vet, under the protection of the porch. Through the glass walls, Dazai could have sworn he saw Yosano and Ranpo conspiring with each other as they recorded their conversation.

“Yes I figured-“

“I’m not finished,” Chuuya shushed him and Dazai clamped his mouth shut. “I may have almost fucking died and I may be soaking wet but it wasn’t the worst.”

Dazai had not expected that admission.

“It’s good to know that you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere after those three weeks.”

The gnawing guilt crept back up Dazai’s spine.

“So don’t be an idiot, answer your damn phone when you get home or I’m going to look up your address in that address book and storm your place.”

Dazai nodded, “yes, I wouldn’t expect any less.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes and reached a hand up, and for one moment Dazai thought he would do something caring like push his hair back or something equally as tender and he jerked back momentarily at the possibility. But instead, Chuuya simply reached up to flick his forehead but that was enough for Dazai.

“I’ll see you later idiot, it was nice to see your face for once.”

Chuuya wasn’t exactly swooning yet but they were getting there.

“So let me get this straight,” Oda’s voice crackled over the phone, “you put shrimp into his food even though he is deathly allergic to seafood… only to take it out and save his life?”

“I know, such a good plan, just committed on the wrong person,” DazI slouched down on his couch.

“Dazai, that's not normal.”

Dazai took a moment to consider because he didn’t exactly know what ‘normal’ was considered to be.

“I’m not very good at being a smoldering man.”

“…A what now?”

The truth was, Dazai was not one of those chivalrous men he had read about. So perhaps he should stop trying to be one even in his own devious way.

“Dazai you don’t need to be any of that,” Oda said after a beat of silence, “if Chuuya is going to like you then it can't be one of those fake fronts you put on. Be truthful even if it can be hard for you, because putting yourself out there for a person you like, that’s what it takes.”

Oda always had the best advice.

Before Dazai could reply he got another notification. An incoming call from Chuuya.

Dazai would need to actually start trying to be honest with himself if he were to be honest with anyone else.

He answered the call.

And the storm never stopped raging outside.

Chapter Text

“A severe weather warning has been placed over Yokohama with the incoming snowstorm. We heavily advise citizens to stay off of the streets until the weather watch has been lifted and to not go into their jobs. The massive amount of rain we have gotten will soon turn to snow and here are some precautions we urge citizens to take in preparation for this storm…”

The TV’s volume was lowered and Chuuya set down the remote in his hand, staring at it as if it had personally offended him. “Wonderful, just what we need more damn storms. We’re already jam-packed as it is with all of the rain-”

“We’ll survive, remember last winter?” Yosano reassured from her chair, and Chuuya turned his glare over to her, reaching out to swat at her boots.

“You get your damn feet off of the reception desk.”

“Fine fine,” she followed Chuuya’s orders because technically he was still her boss, removing her snow boots from the desk may be the thing that kept her a secure job. Then she would disrespect boundaries again because that was what she tended to do. “What’s got you in a pissy mood, I thought you enjoyed your dinner with Dazai the other night?”

Chuuya gave her a sour face because she and Ranpo were traitors and had been recording him and Dazai returning in their soaked clothes.

It was true that the dinner had been shit. Chuuya had been freezing for the entire duration of it (he had found his jacket laying on the reception desk when he returned, only meaning that Yosano had hidden it from him in whatever scheme she was cooking up.) And he was soaked to the bone, but the worst part was the shrimp. Definitely the shrimp.

He was lying about having his EpiPen on him so Dazai wouldn’t try to talk to the manager like the pesky person he was because he wasn’t planning on eating shrimp that day dammit. But he came out alive and unscathed for the most part, and he had missed that idiot's face and his weird-ass attitude no matter how annoying it could get.

So no, he wasn’t upset about the dinner.

The vet had been packed recently, people just dropping off animals like they were some pound and Chuuya had no choice but to treat them. It wasn’t uncommon, but their back room was just about at full capacity and they would all need to work double with the crowd.

Plus…

He swiped his phone from his pocket, opening up Twitter and showing Yosano the most recent thread that had been blowing up, a part of the Twitter wars.

-Mart Twain

‘Has everyone seen this video of Nakahara returning from a date with his boyfriend :0 Sorry for those customers who had a massive crush on him, RIP me, @NikolaiGogol, @Shibuzawa, @Thatoneoldladywhowonthegoldenleash, @Thatoneladywhowonthegoldenleashesgranddaughter, it was a good run. You customers can mend your heartbreak by coming to @Themoneymakinguild vet.’

Attached was the video Yosano and Ranpo had posted on the internet.

“Hmm,” Yosano hummed idly, “scroll down, did you reply?”

“Damn right I did, told em’ I wasn’t dating that idiot but no one listened. This is your fault.”

Yosano shrugged in a way that reminded Chuuya of Ranpo, “You’ve built yourself quite a harem there.”

Chuuya felt his face go red and he would say it was rage, “It’s not my fault they find me attractive, they’re all freaks.”

“Hey, think of it as a good thing,” Yosano pointed out and Chuuya did not want to hear whatever point she was trying to make- “If you ever need a hookup I’m sure any one of them would take you up on the offer-”

“You’re fired. Pack your bags, you're out of here-”

“Oh!” Yosano’s face brightened up as she scrolled through Chuuya’s phone, completely ignoring Chuuya. “You got a message from Dazai.”

“What?” Chuuya swiped the phone from her hands, checking the contact to see that it was, in fact, the idiot. They had been texting, much to Chuuya’s surprise, because he assumed that after that dinner Dazai would ghost him again, but later, at two in the morning, Dazai had sent him some meme to which Chuuya responded with ‘Go the fuck to sleep or I’m blocking you.’

Yosano tried to peek over Chuuya’s shoulder and he pushed her face away.

Mackerel: Coming over to bother you~

Chuuya quickly responded.

Slug: Don’t fucking slip on black ice and leave Daisy behind, there’s a busy crowd today, we wouldn’t want her to get nervous.

He put his phone back in his pocket and as much as it pained him to make Daisy stay behind, it would be better for her at home than here at the moment.

“So, he’s coming? You know he freeloads on us so much we should put him to work,” Yosano suggested and Chuuya had put thought into it before.

“Well he’s got a job and he would only complain,” Chuuya waved her off and rounded the desk to sit back down on his seat, taking the remote to turn on the closed captions.

“Of course he’s got a job, those suits…”

“Shut up.”

“And he’s fairly handsome, is he a model…”

“Shut up, he’s a detective.”

“A detective… He can solve the mystery to your heart-”

Chuuya turned and gave her a deadpan look. The only thing stopping him from sending her home right now was the damn workload they were handed today.

“Go check on the dogs in the back, I'm sure they’re restless.”

Yosano tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, “Kenji and Atsushi are sitting back there with them, I'm sure they’re fine-”

Just then the double doors opened, allowing the cool breeze to push past it and make Chuuya’s gloved fingers grow numb. He opened his mouth, ready to yell at Dazai for being inconsiderate and opening the door so wide, but shut it when he saw three people standing at the doorway, all holding their own animals.

They stumbled in and Chuuya looked past them to see even more cars pull into the parking lot.

“Well,” Yosano said, pulling on her latex gloves, “It seems that our crowd has arrived.”

Upon pulling into the parking lot, Dazai had discovered that Chuuya certainly hadn’t been lying about there being a large crowd that day. The skies were a polluted gray color, the rain falling from it cold and frozen, slapping against the vehicles with only the beginning rage of the coming storm.

Dazai had not lost control of his car due to black ice, though he couldn’t say the same for a few unfortunate cars who sat in this parking lot, dented from their ordeals.

He was glad he had left Daisy back with Tachihara because he could tell that nothing good would come with today, like the salty smell in the air before a tropical storm, he could sense the rottenness of today.

Dazai maneuvered the car into one of the free parking spots towards the back and exited the car, pulling his overcoat closer to his bandaged skin as he ducked his head low and shuffled to the building and up the stairs to the shelter of the vet.

And if he thought the outside looked packed, then the inside was certainly a level up because the waiting room looked to be in full capacity, pet owners all chatting nervously over the howling of the growing storm outside, some standing with no chairs left to sit on.

“Did I arrive at a bad time?” Dazai asked even though he knew the situation when he woke up that morning and saw the storm warning issued.

“Oh no not at all,” Yosano smirked, putting the phone back in its holder after hanging up on a call, “In fact, you chose the perfect timing.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Dazai tried to turn back to the doors and walk back to his car but bumped into Chuuya. He looked from left to right before looking down in a very slow way, “Oh, my bad I didn’t see Chuuya there he is so short-”

The air was punched from his lungs and he was forced to bend over as Chuuya seized his hair, a feral grin on the redhead's face as he held out a pair of latex gloves. “We need an extra pair of hands, idiot.”

Dazai gasped, “You betray me! I came for a nice visit and now I am being put to work?”

Chuuya let go of Dazai and pushed him back, throwing the gloves at his face, “You freeload around here enough as it is, just follow instructions and don’t get in the way.”

Dazai whined and slipped the gloves on, letting Chuuya lead him to the back so he could discard his jacket and belongings with the rest of the workers. (He then promptly texted Hirotsu that he was entering a new profession before setting his phone on silent.)

“Don’t I get scrubs too?” Dazai asked, poking at Chuuya’s deep blue ones, to which the veterinarian swatted his hand away.

“You won’t need them idiot unless you're planning to scalpel deep into a dog's stomach today.”

“I respectfully decline that offer.”

Chuuya snorted, “thought so.”

“They look like pajamas anyway.”

“Better than those damn suits you wear,” Chuuya halted and quickly turned back in the hallway to look Dazai up and down, then gave him an approving nod. “At least you look slightly better now.”

Dazai raised an eyebrow and looked down at his outfit, not a suit but a black turtleneck and sand-colored slacks. Chuuya seemed to like the look. Dazai cataloged it in the back of his mind and continued to follow Chuuya down the hallway, idly nodding along as the redhead gave him a quick rundown of the rooms and their purposes.

In truth, Dazai already knew all of this information, but it was giving Chuuya a quick break from the crowd so he would pretend that he didn’t. He even threw in a few questions for good measure.

Well, that was until Chuuya was pulled back into the chaos.

“Nakahara!” Kunikida called, “another room just opened if you’ll take the next patient back here for me to handle! Then the others need help in the back, we have run out of kennels to use!”

Chuuya nodded as if he had been expecting this and Dazai had to wonder just how long he had worked here with these people and how long he had been a veterinarian because they worked perfectly in sync. It could not have been too long considering Chuuya was his age, twenty-two. In fact, he must have graduated early…

“You go to the back,” Chuuya pointed to the furthest room, “I’ll be back soon, I just have to help get the patients to their rooms.”

“Right,” Dazai agreed, but just to be difficult he tugged on Chuuya’s hair before departing from him. It had been in a ponytail today, and it felt much silkier than it looked, which was saying a lot because it had a healthy sheen to it…

Dazai needed to get his head out of the gutter.

At least now though, he had stopped lying to himself about Chuuya’s ugliness.

“Dazai-San?” A familiar voice asked once Dazai entered the kennel room, “have you come to help us?” Atsushi poked his head from above a kennel, his voice floating over the nervous whines and howls of the other animals.

Dazai sighed and took a moment to wonder just how he had allowed himself to get roped into this before nodding. “Yes, because I am a wonderfully charitable person.”

“Oh good,” Atsushi smiled and tightly held onto the dog's collar he had been leading to a cage, one of the last available ones Dazai had noticed. “Can you clean up that dog pee on the floor?”

Dazai sighed.

It would be a long day.

Chuuya had joined their effort in the back shortly after, just as he said he would. He didn’t get to witness Dazai cleaning up the dog's mess, for that Dazai was eternally grateful for.

Now though, Dazai was trying to master the art of putting a leash on an overexcited labrador, because it simply would not sit still. As fast as a whip, the dog's tail hit him on the side with a bruising force and Dazai let go of its collar, “Ow! I’ve been impaled!”

Chuuya was quick to take the dog's collar and snap a leash on the metal loop, giving Dazai an ‘are you serious' look before rolling his eyes at his antics. “Yeah, Lab's tails tend to do that.” He then looked down to the dog, “C’mon, let's get you back to your family so you can escape the worst of the storm.”

And Dazai hadn’t seen much progress in the storm considering he was all the way back in the windowless room keeping an eye on the animals as the veterinary staff filtered in and out to collect animals to give back to their families, but he had certainly heard it. The wind was howling almost as loud as pepper the Husky in crate number 69, and the sleet turned rain was not doing any favors either.

“How is it out there,” Dazai asked Chuuya once he had returned, because sitting here and staring into the eyes of the little demons was getting awfully boring.

Chuuya shrugged, sitting down on the couch with an animal in hand, and upon further inspection, it looked to be a rabbit. The thing was small and fluffy, its coat white and brown splotched. It shivered, long ears twitching as Chuuya rubbed them and shushed it.

“It’s worse, though I'm sure you could have figured that out. The customers started to clear out, there's only a few now. Guess they didn’t want to get caught in the storm.” he said in a low voice, and suddenly Dazai noticed how silent the kennels had become as if the dogs respected Chuuya enough to be silent during his conversations.

Chuuya and his weird animal cult.

“Why back here and why with that thing?” Dazai leaned against the wall across from the couch, eye following Chuuya’s fingers as they carded through the rabbit's fur.

“‘Thing?’ She has a name and it’s Reese's."

“Like the chocolate?”

“I guess.”

Dazai watched as Chuuya took a scan around the room and then slid off the latex gloves, the scars on his hands now on full display as he continued to pet the small animal in a way that got her to stop shivering.

“Her owners were saying she was having severe anxiety, told me to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t have a heart attack. It’s further away from the storm back here.” Chuuya didn’t have any annoyance in his tone, only fondness. He was not agitated with spending precious time on one animal because Dazai knew he valued each one.

Which begged the question.

“Why does Chuuya like animals so much anyway?”

Chuuya’s eyes shot up to Dazai in a cautious way, “trying to make small talk now of all times?”

Dazai shrugged, “perhaps I am, though if you are uncomfortable with the conversation topic we can always discuss that Twitter thread and just why so many people are jealous over me going out on a date with you.”

Chuuya bristled but his hands around the animal remained relaxed, “I should have known you nosed into that damn Twitter thread. And it wasn’t a date, and if it was then it was by far the worst one I’ve been on.”

“Hmm, I'm sure the chibi will have many good dates in the future…”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes, “What is that supposed to mea-”

“Animals,” Dazai repeated, gesturing to the bunny, “any specific reason you have such an attachment to them?”

Chuuya’s eyes hardened and Dazai could tell he had landed himself on a deep subject at just the first question. What a good small talker he was. The redhead then looked down to the small bunny in his hands and gave it such a tender look that Dazai got the feeling he wasn’t supposed to witness the moment.

“I guess I always liked them,” Chuuya said, voice almost drowned out by the rain and wind outside, “when I was a kid I was… sick. Not many friends. But animals didn’t seem to mind, they kept me company.”

Sick?

Dazai could always imagine Chuuya as one of those outgoing demon children, always yelling. He imagined he would be as athletic and hot-headed as ever.

It wasn’t a lie, Dazai could tell, but it wasn’t the full truth either. There was something else, something much worse, but Dazai knew when and when not to push, and in this case, he would be satisfied with the information he had at the moment.

“I suppose that could make one like animals,” Dazai agreed, eyes lingering over the scars on Chuuya’s hands. Some angry red and strangely patterned and others from obvious claws. “Though-”

“Nakahara!”

Both of them turned to the doorway where Kunikdia held onto the wall, looking slightly distressed as he readjusted his glasses. “We need immediate assistance, we have a case here, all hands on deck.”

“Shit, really?”

Like a flash, Chuuya was up on his feet, gloves slid onto his hands with lightning efficiency. He frantically searched the room before he collected the bunny back in his hands and promptly dumped her into Dazai’s hands.

Dazai tensed up, not expecting the contact, “Chibi-”

“Shut up,” The veterinarian told him as he slung a stethoscope over his shoulders, “just hold her until I or someone else comes back here to get her. Got it?”

Dazai supposed he had no other choice but to agree, watching as Chuuya quickly exited the room with Kunikida on his heels and Dazai felt it in his chest like something had dislodged in there because this was when the day was going to start going to shit. He could feel it.

The dogs in the room started to whimper and whine again and Dazai looked down at the shaking animal in his hands. Fragile and innocent, something Dazai should not be allowed to touch should he corrupt it.

He held on tight anyway.

“Don’t you think it’s boring being an animal?”

No answer.

“You eat the same food every day, lay around, and do the same thing every day. If I were you I would have given in to death a long time ago.”

Still no answer.

Well, from the rabbit at least.

“Are you seriously suicide-bating a client?” Yosano asked from the doorway, "A rabbit no less.”

“My reach does not stop at humans,” Dazai answered blandly, stiffly holding the rabbit and giving her up when Yosano reached out to collect the ball of fluff. “I assume my work here is done?”

“Well, with the bunny at least, the other clients all cleared out, none left, but we’re still in a pretty tense situation.” Yosano exited the door, gesturing for Dazai to follow her, but before they could make it to the main operating room where everyone was buzzing about, she turned to Dazai with a sharp look in her eyes. “An impossible one, if you know what I mean.”

Dazai nodded because he did know exactly what she was insinuating. Because all jobs had their risks, some significantly higher than others. Death was a large part of Dazai’s job, though the loss of his own life had always been accepted. But for the medical industry, it was the deaths of other lives that were put in your hands that they had to cope with.

Possibly one of the hardest jobs out there.

“Alright, you won’t be helping in this one but I need you to watch the front desk while I’m gone,” Yosano paused at a door and Dazai could peek through it enough to see familiar red hair and Chuuya yelling out muffled orders as he bent over a medical table, hands working at a lightning pace as they moved over something so soft and precious.

Then they continued to the reception desk and just as Yosano had claimed, it was vacant, with no one in sight. Dazai took the opportunity to sit on Chuuya’s chair and kick his feet up on the desk.

“I think you know the drill by now,” Yosano pointed to the phone, “answer the calls and just look up the information online if someone needs help, but if it’s urgent you come to get me. Got it?”

“Understood,” Dazai said, wondering how he should greet the callers. ‘Yokohama crematorium you kill them, we grill them?’

Yes, it had a nice ring to it…

“Say Yosano, what is the case you are currently dealing with?” Dazai asked as there was more ruckus from the room. The woman eyed the room before leaning against the desk, and Dazai could see something behind her eyes, something formulating.

“A litter of puppies. They were dumped in a box at the front doors by a random stranger. We know little to nothing about them besides the fact that they have severe hypothermia and… half of them in the box were already dead before we got to them. They had been dead for a while.”

Dazai nodded along. He had been expecting something like this since it sadly wasn’t rare, but knowing Chuuya, he was no doubt seething in rage at the moment.

“We’re trying to get their body temperatures up for now. We’re using all of the heating blankets we can, and Chuuya… well, he’s not right at the moment.”

“...Care to elaborate on that?”

Yosano shrugged, “When he’s dealing with patients, he gets in the zone, but when he comes out of that zone, especially after a case such as this one, it is never a good thing.”

Dazai hummed in thought because that could be a dangerous thing. Chuuya getting hyper-focused on his activity and not anything around him could leave him open and vulnerable. “I understand, and you have a plan?”

“Of course,” Yosano said shortly, and it didn’t take long for her to return to the operating room with the rest of the staff, the customers with the rabbit had left too.

But it also didn’t take too long for the operation to end, because even Dazai knew that those puppies were not expected to live even without seeing them. About an hour later, an hour of noises of urgency coming from the room and loud footsteps, the sounds had finally settled. It was a solemn silence, one that made the world feel devoid of life for one long moment.

Then Yosano and Kunikida emerged first, not looking shaken but their eyes conveyed a hard ordeal. Yosano promptly thanked Dazai for manning the desk before sitting in her own seat, picking up the phone.

“Yes, now would be a good time,” she said into it, and Dazai had a lingering guess on just who she was contacting.

With a resigned sigh, she placed the phone down, and Kunikida returned with a clipboard, lips drawn into a tight line. “That’s six,” he said, jotting something down, “I will look at security cameras at a later time when the storm lessens.”

Dazai eyed the glass doors and the storm had in fact grown very much over time. The skies were no longer grey, but an inky dark color, the frozen rain coated the concrete of the parking lot making for an unforgiving atmosphere. The thunder and lightning had momentarily stopped but it would come back.

Then Atsushi, Kenji, and the Tanizaki’s emerged, all looking downtrodden as they slipped off their gloves. But Dazai could tell that they had learned something in that room, something important and a large part of their job. Death.

“Any new customers?” Naomi asked in a watery voice and all of their heads turned to Dazai, who shook his head.

“No one new came in during the elapsed time, I doubt anyone else will.”

“Yes, we may have to shut down early,” Kunikida agreed, then did a scan of the room, “did Nakahara stay behind?”

“He said he needed a minute,” Atsushi answered, a worried tinge in his voice, “I think he was wrapping them up in blankets and-and-”

“It’s fine, he does that to all of the animals,” Yosano reassured, and Dazai was reminded again how Chuuya went above and beyond for all of his patients, even the dead ones. He truly did care, and he cared so much that even Dazai felt it in his own small heart.

“It will take a few hours to clean up, and if that is the case we should start closing up now,” Kunikida instructed and the younger ones nodded numbly, moving to their assigned jobs. Dazai remained sitting, and when Chuuya finally emerged from the room, Dazai did not particularly enjoy the sight because he did not radiate the same aura he usually did because even with his size, it was impossible not to notice him when he entered a room.

But now he was silent, head tilted down in a defeated way as he tugged on his leather gloves, skin pail, and hair was partially undone from its ponytail.

That alone was worrying enough because while Dazai knew Chuuya didn’t care too much about his appearance, there was never a hair out of place or a wrinkle in his clothes.

Yosano was the first to approach him, grabbing his hand that held a broom in it. “Ah, you’re not helping with cleanup today. Go home, check on your own animals.”

And the shocking thing was, Chuuya didn’t even protest. He handed the broom off to Yosano and simply slipped his jacket on, stepping out into the unforgivable weather without even a wince as he opened the door of an unfamiliar grey car.

Dazai had… many questions.

“He couldn’t have driven in that condition,” Yosano answered, wiping down the reception desk. Dazai removed his feet from it out of courtesy. “This happens, not a lot, but it does. We called Fukuzawa to pick him up, the previous owner of the vet, but when he retired he handed it off to Chuuya.”

Ah, that explained the strange car out there.

“I would have asked you to drive him,” Yosano continued, “but he needs a few hours alone.”

Yes, that was understandable. Dazai preferred to be by himself most of the time, and even if it was strange for Chuuya to take on those tendencies, the situation called for it.

And a few more hours they gave Chuuya.

Dazai still wasn't sure why he decided to stay and actually help in the clean-up operation. He didn't even put this much effort into his real job, but he felt as if he owed it to Chuuya to pull his weight a little. Especially after the last debacle.

And once all was done a few hours later, the streets were just as they had been when Dazai had first met Chuuya, flooded.

“The night shift won't be coming in tonight,” Yosano announced, “if there are any major emergencies, the clients have our numbers. But for now, get back home before we start to lose power.”

“Yes Yosano-sensei, ” Atsushi bowed, and just like that, the workers began to filter out of the building.

As Dazai rose from the seat, Yosano pressed a folded piece of paper into his palm. Dazai raised an eyebrow and unfolded it and eyed the digits written out on it.

“It's his address, ” Yosano answered his silent question, pulling away and lugging her bag onto her shoulder. “You go check up on him. My number is also on there in case you need anything.”

By the look on her face, Dazai could tell he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

That was perfectly fine since he was planning on doing so anyway.

“How do you know I'm not some psychopath?” Dazai asked curiously as they were on their way out of the door, Yosano flipping off the lights and shutting the doors.

She gave him one long once over before shrugging, “I don't care if you're a psychopath, just don't kill Chuuya and we're good.”

What an interesting answer.

Stepping outside was like stepping into a whole different world. The temperature had plummeted severely, as the news had claimed they would, and Dazai predicted that soon this wouldn’t be a normal storm, but a snowstorm.

He wasn’t too bothered by the prospect of a big freeze, he had many backup generators and despite his appearance, never got too cold. But Chuuya, well, he was in an apartment (if the coordinates on the sheet Yosano aided him with were correct) and he was not in the best state currently…

So it was in Dazai’s best interest to quickly make his way to the veterinarians before the news station would announce that no vehicles were allowed on the streets.

Dazai’s nose and fingertips went numb on his trek to his car, scarf almost untangling from his neck. The piercing cold even managed to penetrate his bandages but it didn’t bother Dazai too much.

“See you later!” Yosano called over the wind from across the lot as she stepped to the driver's side of her truck, “better take damn good care of him or I’m going to kill you!”

Dazai shot her a thumbs up and loaded into his own vehicle.

As he predicted, the day had gone bad. Normally when he felt the feeling of wrongness he would stay in his room all day but this time he had stepped out to see the consequences.

But there was still more of the day left to go, and Dazai certainly would not be getting any sleep later that night because the dinner where Chuuya got soaked and the stress of the recent puppies he had lost seemed to catch up to the redhead because when Dazai found him, he was on his couch spiking a dangerously high fever.

Yes, Dazai had a long night ahead of him.

Chapter Text

“Citizens of Yokohama avoid going onto the street with a vehicle, stay inside, and do not go out to work until the shelter in place warning has been lifted.”

The radio crackled, and of course, Dazai had been expecting this. The reason why he was in a bit of a rush to get back to Chuuya’s apartment. Thankfully Dazai did not need directions to remember where his apartment complex was located, even if the last time he had driven Chuuya here was after the Halloween party when he was mildly intoxicated.

It had started to sleet heavily once again by the time Dazai had parked his car in the space closest to the entrance of the building. There was a parking garage where Dazai assumed residents of the complex normally parked, though Dazai didn’t have the time or energy to beat the system and secure a space there.

He was momentarily thankful for leaving Daisy with the black lizard (she had been hanging around them an awful lot lately. Not that Dazai particularly minded, they got her energy out.) Because he was unsure of when the next time he would be able to return to his own house would be.

“Hello,” the doorman, or doorwoman, greeted once Dazai walked past the door. “Do you live here?”

This complex slightly reminded Dazai of one of those fancy hotels, and it made sense that Chuuya would live somewhere at least not run down with a veterinarian salary, but perhaps a house would have been more beneficial for him. Maybe he was planning on moving out soon.

Dazai also didn’t know the rules of this complex, if there were any visitations allowed during this time without an apartment resident. So he shrugged, “Of course I live here.”

The young woman furrowed her eyebrows, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before…”

A devious plan slipped into Dazai’s mind.

“Hm? Oh, I am just moving in with my boyfriend who already lives here. I’m sure you are aware of him, Chuuya Nakahara?”

Dazai smirked as the woman's face immediately grew red, “Oh I wasn’t aware he had a boyfriend… I'm sorry you may continue.”

Dazai snickered to himself as he loaded onto the elevator because now Chuuya’s whole apartment complex would think they were dating. They already had all of Twitter convinced so it was one small step for Osamu and a huge leap for Dazai kind.

Chuuya’s apartment was located on the top floor and was surprisingly large. Dazai put his ear up against the door and heard no movement or shuffling. He would not waste his time with knocking on the door, so instead, he simply picked the lock and easily slid in.

The lights were all off in the apartment, the only lighting coming from the large wall-sized window facing the city of Yokohama. It was a wonderful view and now Dazai understood why Chuuya would want to live in a place such as this one.

Dazai slipped his shoes off next to Chuuya’s and slid his overcoat off. The heat was very warm in the apartment, which Dazai was a little thankful for, but soon it would be a sauna in here.

“Chuuya, I’m home~” Dazai called into the dark apartment as he traveled further in. The living room was spacious with a couch and coffee table and large TV. The Kitchen was to the right and to the left was a hallway to what Dazai assumed was the bedrooms and restrooms. Dazai had expected Chuuya to be unorganized and messy with that brash personality of his, but it was quite the opposite. The tiled floors were nearly spotless and there were no clothes on the floor, just some random clumps of fur here and there.

Then, Dazai realized that the lump of blankets on the couch had something living under it as it shifted slightly. Dazai casually strolled to the couch and lifted the blanket, revealing a head of red hair. Chuuya groaned and cracked his eyes open, giving Dazai a hazy look, staring through him as if he wasn’t even standing there.

Well, that certainly was not good.

Dazai crouched down and further inspected the couch, and was met with yet another surprise when a dog poked its head from right next to Chuuya. The dog lay on top of him like some kind of canine heater and Dazai snorted at the sight, but also quickly realized just what Chuuya meant at that Halloween party when he said that his animals weren’t really equipped to go to a party.

The dog had three legs.

And the cause of that was possibly what made him skittish.

Well, that explained a lot. Knowing Chuuya, he probably got the stray dog as a patient and didn't have the heart to let him go back on the streets. Typical Chibi.

“Move,” Dazai told the dog, and surprisingly, he did. He jumped from the couch and sat at the base of it, nervously clawing at Chuuya’s multiple blankets.

Dazai refocused his attention on Chuuya. Was he perhaps in shock or dissociating? Though he quickly found out the answer when Chuuya closed his eyes again, coughing into the blanket violently until the fit subsided.

Dazai put the back of his bandaged hand to the other's forehead and felt the heat radiating through the fabric. Well, this was an issue.

He hadn’t expected Chuuya to actually fall sick but considering the events of the past week, it shouldn’t have come as a surprising thing. Dazai stood up from his crouched position and pulled the blankets back up over Chuuya’s head, who seemed to really be needing the heat with how much he was shivering.

That was a good thing right? One was supposed to sweat out a fever.

Dazai eyed the kitchen as he slipped his phone from his pocket and dialed the number Yosano left behind on the paper.

By the time Yosano answered he was in the kitchen, opening up Chuuya’s cabinets and nosing into its contents.

Healthy homemade stuff in the cupboards. Of course. Not even a tub of ice cream or anything in the fridge.

Dazai scrunched up his nose in disgust at the number of vegetables in there.

“Yosano speaking, how may I help you?”

“Ah, ” Dazai shifted his phone to his other ear and tried his best to keep his voice low. “Yes, we have an issue.”

“...Dazai?”

“Yes, that is me.”

Dazai suddenly wondered when Yosano had heard his real name.

There was shuffling over the other end of the line and Yosano spoke again, “is Chuuya doing alright? I know how he can get after a case like that.”

“Mentally, he does not seem present. Physically, he has a high fever.”

Yosano paused, “oh, that is not good. Chuuya doesn't get sick much but when he does…” she trailed off.

Not a good sign then.

“I would drive out there, ” she continued, “but if you've been listening to the radio, I obviously can't. You're going to have to help him out here.”

Dazai should have known it would boil down to this. And it wasn't even any of their schemes either. By alone time with Chuuya to annoy him, Dazai did not mean this.

“Right, ” Dazai agreed, flipping on the kitchen light. “I'm going to need instructions.”

“Don't know how to take care of a sick person?” Yosano asked voice tinged with amusement.

Dazai couldn't even take care of himself most times, let alone someone else.

“Correct.”

Yosano snorted, “alright, there should be medicine in his medicine cabinet. He stays stocked. I'm sure you can read the instructions on the fever reducers.”

Dazai nodded to himself as he shuffled down the hallway to a cracked open door that he assumed was the restroom.

It was large in size, with a bath and shower. Dazai spotted the cabinet and opened it up and spotted multiple medicine bottles. Yosano was not joking about him being well stocked.

“Keep him hydrated, make him eat. You know, normal human functions. If his fever gets past 103 then call me and we'll see what we can do. We may have to contact his sister-”

Yosano halted for a moment before speaking again.

“I gotta go, a customer is calling. If you have any more questions look it up online, it's not that hard.”

Before Dazai could beg her to just come over so he wouldn't need to be responsible she hung up.

He dejectedly put his phone back in his pocket. It looked like he was alone now.

Suddenly a cat brushed against his elbow, evasively sniffing all up his arm.

Well, maybe he wasn't.

The cat had a collar, the name mackerel flashing on the charm along with Chuuya’s number. Mackerel continued to cautiously sniff Dazai and strangely enough, Dazai caught sight of cloudy grey eyes.

Oh, now it made sense.

Mackerel was blind.

Dazai lifted a hand up to tap on the cat lightly before running his fingers through orange fur. “Chuuya has a habit of collecting strays, does he not?”

Mackerel, of course, did not reply.

As Dazai collected a thermometer and a couple of promising-looking medications, he heard retching noises coming from the living room and almost dropped the items in a haste to get to the couch.

Luckily for him, Chuuya had the foresight to place a bucket under the couch and was now hunched over it on the floor, heaving violently. The smell of sickness filled the room and Dazai resisted the urge to plug his nose as he cautiously slid forward to pat Chuuya’s back.

When he was done, Chuuya at least seemed more aware because he looked up to Dazai in confusion.

“How In the fuck did you get here?” he asked, voice raspy.

“Save your breath chibi, ” Dazai grabbed the other man's elbow and helped him back up to the couch. “Yosano sent me to check in though, it doesn't seem like I'll be leaving anytime soon.”

“Great, ” Chuuya muttered, sitting back on the couch and resting his head on the cushion. His dog- Copper, Dazai had read the name tag- whined and nuzzled his snout into Chuuya’s neck.

“Don't sound so downtrodden, ” Dazai poked the end of the thermometer against Chuuya’s lips, forcing him to open his mouth. And Dazai knew that despite him being aware and talking, this was just a wave of awareness because it would soon get worse.

Chuuya only grunted and opened his mouth slightly, allowing the thermometer in. And once it beeped, Dazai eyed the blinking numbers with disdain.

101.

The first order of business would be to find the thermostat and turn it down.

The second would be to make Chuuya change from the scrubs and into more breathable clothes.

The third was to get him to drink water and perhaps eat something before he went back to sleep because it was already dark outside.

Easier said than done. Chuuya threatened to hang him if he touched the thermostat, which Dazai ignored and changed anyway to a much more tolerable temperature.

Dazai didn't know how to cook. So he settled for pouring the can of soup he found in the back of the pantry (into a glass bowl. He had learned his lesson after using a plastic one.)

Dazai placed the bowl on the coffee table (the soup was only slightly burnt.) Along with a water bottle, Chuuya slightly shifted, poking his head out from under the blanket to scrutinize the five-course meal Dazai had prepared for him.

Then promptly ignored it.

Dazai obnoxiously shook his shoulder, “Chuuuuuuyya~ you have to eat. Wouldn't want you to get all weak and scrawny now.”

Chuuya didn't even move.

“I will pour all of the wine I found in there down the drain of your bathtub.”

That seemed to give Chuuya the motivation to sit up and reach out to the spoon. He must have really enjoyed wine. At least now Dazai had some information on an unhealthy habit of Chuuya’s.

The storm outside slapped against Chuuya’s window and Dazai decided to draw the curtains over the window to at least attempt to block out the chilly air.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dazai saw Chuuya slouch back down and the pink shade of his cheeks seemed to be getting worse.

The soup had only been eaten halfway but Dazai would take it as a win. It probably tasted bad anyway.

Now came the slightly harder part. Dazai offered Chuuya the water, and the redhead looked up to him. He looked significantly more out of it than he had looked for the past hour and Dazai guessed he was losing his lucidity.

Chuuya stared at the water and Dazai sighed exaggeratedly as he held the pills in his hand. “Don't make this any harder than it has to be Chuuya, as you know, the pills will help lower the fever.”

Dazai wasn't sure whether Chuuya heard him or was simply grabbing what was offered to him, but the redhead swallowed the pills and sipped on the water without cursing him out.

He was much less problematic while sick.

Just as Chuiya was dozing off again, Dazai nudged his shoulder. Chuuya blinked his eyes open and Dazai jerked a thumb to the hallway, “aren't the work clothes uncomfortable short stack?”

Chuuya grumbled something under his breath.

But suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, Chuuya opened his eyes all the way and sat up ramrod straight.

Dazai cautiously moved back, wondering if he would have to call an exorcist.

Chuuya looked at him with glassy eyes “my animals.”

Dazai raised an eyebrow and slowly looked to Copper, who was cuddled up on Chuuya’s lap. “...Yes, what about them?”

“Feed, ” Chuuya threw the blanket from his lap to stand up, “t...they need t’ be fed.”

“Whoa there, alright, ” Dazai placed his hands on Chuuya’s shoulders and pushed the man back on the couch. “I can handle this, the food?”

Chuuya’s eyes scanned over his apartment as if he were somewhere he had never been before Dazai snapped in his face and he blinked. “Th’ pantry.”

Easy enough.

Of course, even when slightly delirious, Chuuya would firstly worry about his animals.

The metal bowls were easy to spot. One on the floor and one on the countertop, the animals' names were on the bowl. Dazai should have known Chuuya would spoil his animals by buying them custom-made food bowls.

The food was on top of the pantry and Dazai could reach easily enough but he snickered at the thought of Chuuya climbing the shelves in order to reach.

“Alright Chuuya, ” Dazai announced as he placed the bowls down (setting Mackerels in the exact same spot it had been so she wouldn't be confused) “the deed has been done.”

Dazai expected for Chuuya to give him an adoring look or to be asleep, but upon returning to the couch, Chuuya gave him the most offended look anyone could possibly muster.

Dazai threw his arms out as the animals ran past him to their food, “what have I done this time?”

“You f’rgot t’ feed Princess.”

Dazai slowly let his arms rest back at his side as he scanned the apartment for a rabbit or another cat. “You… Have another animal?”

Chuuya nodded from his place on the couch and looked to his room, “‘n my room.”

Three pets in one apartment seemed obsessive to Dazai.

He sighed, “I will handle it.”

And well, he certainly tried to.

Chuuya’s room was at the end of the long hallway and it was just as neat as the rest of the apartment. The bed was one of the largest Dazai had ever seen, an Alaskan king size by the look at it.

Was Chuuya perhaps a restless sleeper?

The floor here was still dark tile, though there was a fuzzy rug under the bed and a dark oak dresser and mirror, then there was a tank in the corner next to the nightstand with a…

A…

Dazai squinted and blinked three times to make sure he was seeing things right, then for extra reassurance, pinched himself. Unfortunately, he was not in a dream.

“Of course Chuuya would have an animal like that and name it Princess,” Dazai murmured, then louder. “Chibi, you have a snake?!”

There was some tumbling from the couch and Dazai momentarily regretted calling his name, though he was sure anyone else would do that in this situation.

Chuuya appeared at the doorway, leaning heavily against it. Well, now at least he could sleep in his own room instead of the leather couch because now he wasn’t looking too good at all under the new lighting of his room. Skin blotchy and pale, angry red around his cheeks and nose. His eyes were constantly glassy and his hair looked messier than Dazai had ever seen it.

Perhaps he should have found a way to bait Yosano to be with Chuuya instead.

“That’s Princess,” Chuuya stated blandly.

Dazai looked from the cage and back to Chuuya multiple times, “You let that thing sleep next to you?”

“Pssht,” Chuuya flapped a hand and that alone put Dazai on edge. The medication must have been kicking in for him to act so loopily. “She’s a baby, wouldn’t hurt ‘a fly.”

“Yes, of course,” Dazai said dryly.

Chuuya wavered in place and Dazai moved out of the way so the redhead could stumble to sit on his bed. Before he could pull back the covers and lay down, Dazai stopped him, “Nah ah ah, change first.”

Really, it was as if he was watching a toddler.

“Fine,” Chuuya grumbled, then started to change right in front of him.

Dazai quickly avoided eye contact and darted to Chuuya’s closet and blindly grabbed for a shirt and a pair of sweatpants, throwing them directly at Chuuya.

The veterinarian stared at the clothing as if just realizing he had been stripping, “Oh, thanks,” he murmured.

Dazai wondered just how much of this Chuuya would remember in the morning.

For both of their sakes, he hoped it wasn’t much.

Chuuya slipped under his covers, and despite how loud Dazai’s inner turmoil might have been, he was out like a light the moment his heated face hit the pillow.

Well, it seemed Dazai was on his own… faced with the snake.

It was big, and Dazai might as well ship this thing off to a zoo. It… or she had dark brown scales, speckled like a leopard.

Of course, Chuuya would own a ball python.

Princess glared at Dazai with the force of a thousand suns, black beady eyes narrowing as her tongue flickered out against the glass of the tank. Dazai wondered if the glass was bulletproof enough to keep her from slithering out and biting his head off.

After another few moments of contemplating, Dazai shook his head. No, he simply could not do this. He had taken many lives, tortured many people, but there was no way he was sticking his hand in that tank, much less touching a mouse or rat.

So, he resorted to the expert in everything Chuuya and called Yosano once again.

She answered on the first ring.

“It’s only been three hours, you already gave up?”

“Yes, well no one told me Chuuya had a pet Python.”

Yosano chuckled and Dazai felt betrayed, “What, Princess? She’s a sweetheart. Is she the issue?”

“Yes, she is the issue. Chuuya told me to feed her and I refuse-”

“Walk over to the tank and tell me what number is written on there,” Yosano instructed, and Dazai caught off guard, did as he was told, albeit cautiously. There was a number written in sharpie on the corner of the glass tank, and it looked as if it had been erased multiple times over.

“It says three.”

Yosano hummed, “then there is no need to feed her. Snakes like her only need to be fed around seven to ten days. Chuuya probably hasn’t even brought her next meal yet.”

“That is wonderful news.”

“Oh trust me, you’ll have to feed her eventually, you just caught a lucky break.” Dazai could practically see Yosano’s smirk from the other end of the line, “Chuuya must be really out of it if he asked you to feed Princess when she’s already been fed.”

“Yes, the medication and the fever are making him awfully… out of character.”

“Oh?” The woman sounded intrigued now, “if you get any pictures of him acting weird while high on the medication send them over.”

From the bed, Chuuya mumbled in his sleep and shifted, kicking the blanket to the floor as he lay spread out on his back. Ah, so he was a restless sleeper. Drool ran down Chuuya’s lip and Dazai snapped a picture and smirked.

“I’m already on it.”

“I expect some good ones. Stop calling me, text me if you need anything else.”

“Fine, fine, I have it handled here.”

It was a lie. Dazai shouldn’t be the one here in the first place. Couldn’t that Fukuzawa dude just watch him? Or Chuuya’s sister?

Well, none of that mattered anymore, he was stuck here now.

As if the universe had not cursed him enough, the lights flickered before completely going out, the hum of the generator lost by an overwhelming silence.

Copper let out a frightened yelp and jumped up onto Chuuya’s bed, laying down practically on top of the veterinarian in a haste to escape the darkness.

Dazai snapped a picture of that too.

Then left Chuuya’s room, the door cracked as he went to blow time looking through Chuuya’s personal items.

Tonight would be a long night.

Red was all it saw. Crimson surmounted its senses as it struggled to breathe in, choking on its own blood. Sometimes, late at what it assumed was night, it wondered if its own blood was red. The experience now was equally as gratifying as it was painful.

It just wanted it to stop.

It didn’t know much. Not about its age, not about what a normal life could be like. Because if this was what normal living was like for everyone, then it wondered then what the point of living even was because of this. This was not living.

Its hands hurt. A burning sensation traveled through his hands as if spiked tendrils were grabbing hold with a barbed wire grip and just tugging it forward. Then there was the muscle deep agony, flaring through its fingertips, knuckles, palms, then wrist.

It let out a noise, not a whimper or a groan, it had moved past such noises. Now it was an animalistic growl torn past its worn vocal cords.

The hot chains wrapped so restricting around its fingers and hands tugged, It felt the jagged concrete floor scrape and chafe at its calloused feet.

Another noise of despair.

There were background noises. Sounds of people whispering to themselves, muttering under their breaths, talking behind its back. It was accustomed to it. It was accustomed to all of this.

Pale moonlight was shed from the small opening of the concrete room's ceiling, the only light source it had ever had the blessing of seeing. Late at night, it would stay up just to watch the moon travel in the sky, and once it was fully gone, it prepared itself for yet another day.

Though now, not even the light could save it from the pain these people bestowed upon it.

The chains rattled and clanged from the ceiling, heated to full temperature, enough to scald all layers of skin off. They hung down, grabbing ahold of its hands and torso, leaving marks that would last for as long as it would be alive.

Which it hoped wouldn’t be for too much longer.

Each day, it rose and wished for death.

The moonlight tonight was brighter than normal, reflecting nicely off of the chains. It tried to focus on the small details, to ground itself through the next wave of pain.

The whole world seemed quiet as experiment A5158, later to be known as Chuuya Nakahara, let out a deafening screech.

A sound that followed Chuuya even into wakefulness as his vocal cords let out a scream, one that he did not recognize as his own until he finally managed to open his eyes. To swim his way to the surface of the nightmare.

Everything around him was dark as he reached out, thrashing around to escape the heat as it threatened to consume him. Everything was dark, not even any moonlight. Distantly, behind the panic, Chuuya wondered just where that nightmare had come from. He had several just like that but no memories of it.

Then suddenly, there were hands, cold ones against his hot skin as they grabbed at his thrashing wrists and held them still. A voice accompanied the hands, though what it was saying was lost, sounding underwater and muddled. But the tone was soothing enough to get Chuuya to listen to it intently.

“Chuuya?” it said, sounding composed. “Are you with me? I need you to calm down, listen to my breathing.”

But Chuuya couldn’t hear the breathing. He couldn't hear anything besides the rush of his blood and the beating of his heart. It was an obnoxious sound, loud and ringing. Chuuya wrenched his wrist from the person's grip and covered his ears, tugging at his hair to just get the sound to stop-

Then he was being held again, elbows in a secure grip with one hand as the other one was tugging at the front of his shirt, dragging him up into a sitting position. Chuuya did not enjoy being manhandled, but his muscles were cramping up and his heart was still racing. The touch was familiar and not threatening, not as the others had been, so he allowed the person to push the back of his head to a surface.

Soon Chuuya realized that it was a chest. This person had pushed his ear to his chest so he could hear the heartbeat. A steady thrum, over and over again. The man pronounced his breaths in an exaggerated way that made Chuuya frustrated just as much as he was relieved.

He was unsure of how long it took for him to regain his breath, but a few things did occur to him in that time.

He felt like shit.

Not the kind of shit someone normally felt after a traumatizing nightmare. His skin was on fire as if he was being cooked from the inside out, and his head was thrumming as if a sledgehammer was pounding down on it. Nausea constantly rolled in his stomach, threatening to crawl up his throat, and hot tears constantly filled his vision, his nose too stuffed to do anything about it.

The flu, maybe. He knew he shouldn’t have gone to that dinner with Dazai.

And speaking of the bandaged idiot-

He now recognized the voice and was horrified to realize that Dazai was in fact the one holding him currently. Though his muscles were too leaden to fight against the pull, especially with sleep fighting to reclaim him.

“Chuuya,” Dazai said, pulling back. Chuuya leaned all of his weight back against the headboard, and Copper immediately laid in his lap. “Can you breathe now?”

Chuuya nodded numbly, feeling his throat constrict. For a moment he was prepared to jump and make the sprint to the restroom to throw up whatever Dazai had made him eat earlier, but the wave of vertigo quickly passed.

“Yeah,” he rasped, though didn’t offer anything else.

Another thing he was noticing was just how cold the apartment had grown. It had always felt cold but now, he would need to put on multiple layers of socks and a heavy jacket. He reached over with whatever strength he had left to tug on the lamp's string, but no light came.

“The power went out about six hours ago,” Dazai offered, shifting to where he wasn’t on Chuuya anymore, sitting at the edge of the bed. “You were out for a while, in and out of consciousness, though I'm sure you’ll lose it again.”

It was all a strange feeling, being told that he had been awake even if Chuuya didn’t remember it. (Though he had grown used to that feeling,) and Dazai was being strangely serious. Chuuya knew he put on a fake front, but to see him take it down for the sake of him was just as weird as it was endearing.

Dazai moved to grab the candle on Chuuya’s nightstand and the lighter he kept in his coat pocket, lighting the wick and setting it down so Chuuya could see more of the room in dim orange color.

Chuuya didn’t remember getting back to his apartment earlier that day. He could distantly recall a storm and-

A stabbing pain in his chest.

It had been a busy day. He had lost six puppies, all abandoned and left for the dead. He remembered trying so hard to revive them, to breathe some life back into their cold bodies, but the others had simply looked at him helplessly because the outcome was decided before Chuuya could even get his healing hands on them.

He inhaled sharply, and Dazai reached a hand out to push him back down. Chuuya didn’t even realize he had been moving to get up.

Dazai must have seen something in Chuuya’s eyes, perhaps the heartbreak, because his lips tugged into a thin line and an unexplainable expression dawned over his face. “It wasn’t your fault, yeah short stack?”

Chuuya shivered, glaring at Dazai defensively because it was the only thing he knew how to do in the situation. “Quit with the name.”

“Never.”

They settled into a comfortable silence as Chuuya felt his eyelids droop, eyes following Dazai’s movements as he protruded a water bottle from the nightstand and two tablets of what Chuuya hoped was fever reducer.

“Take it before you sleep again. And this,” the brunette passed the thermometer to Chuuya and watched with analyzing eyes as Chuuya slightly fumbled with it to get it under his tongue.

He hadn’t seen the numbers once it beeped, but judging by Dazai’s blank expression when he saw them, it was probably not a good number.

Chuuya took the pills and swallowed them down with water, chapped lips feeling just a little better with the moisture. Though that was all he got to do before sleep was tugging at his hands once again, bodily dragging him back into the murky water of fevered dreams.

Dazai didn’t move from his place on the bed.

By the time morning rolled around Dazai had been tired, more so than he had been when he pulled three all-nighters in a row. Perhaps it had been with the added stress of being responsible for Chuuya’s health, or the fact that he woke up every other hour, screaming and thrashing around in his bed.

Dazai was left to wonder just what Chuuya had been dreaming about. Something horrendous enough to give him panic attacks that would last for twenty minutes. That would make him scream into the dead of night.

Dazai was no stranger to nightmares. He was haunted, though that was to be expected in his line of work.

For Chuuya though, it seemed all wrong. Dazai was also not a stranger to masks, one a person used to shield something. Chuuya was defensive, got that way when he had no other option, like a caged animal.

Chuuya’s fever had spiked during the night, around one o’clock in the morning. He had been doing temperature checks every thirty minutes, and it had gotten as high as 102 degrees, though thankfully had not risen past that. If it had, then Chuuya would be in the hospital.

Chuuya’s animals had been nervous, staying by his side, and even Princess the snake seemed unsettled if a snake could feel any emotions.

But Dazai’s savior had come in the form of Yosano around lunchtime the next day.

The power had come back on around seven in the morning, along with the roads opening back up, though there was a heavy advisory against driving anytime soon. Not that Dazai necessarily listened, and Yosano wasn’t the type to either.

Chuuya had not woken up since three in the morning, sleeping peacefully once Dazai had found the melatonin in his cabinet. Dazai was sure to pile the blankets on him last night with the loss of the heating system, but of course, Chuuya had kicked those to the floor too. Dazai felt for whoever had slept with him in their lives because they would get a face full of Chuuya’s fist.

Dazai severely hoped it would never happen to him.

(But if he did intend to further pursue the veterinarian then… maybe he would have to accept his unorthodox sleeping habits.)

“Anyone home?” Yosano asked as she pushed past the front door. Apparently, she had a key because Dazai was sure he locked the door.

Dazai looked up from the couch as the woman slipped off her shoes, moving to the kitchen to set the grocery bags down.

“You bring gifts?” He questioned, gesturing to the bags.

“Just food for Chuuya, sick supplies, more dog food,” she shrugged, “how are things going?”

Dazai leaned back further into the leather couch. He would lie if they were talking about himself, but he had known these people for a while and there was no reason to fib about Chuuya’s condition to his best friend.

“Things were patchy throughout the night, though they are better now. His fever has lowered significantly, barely one hundred now.”

Yosano’s shoulders relaxed at the news as she greeted Mackerel, who had jumped up on the counter to sniff at her. “Glad to hear you didn’t kill him,” then she studied Dazai and he was aware he wasn’t the most appealing looking at the moment. Clothes wrinkled, bandages loosened, and eyebags slightly heavier. “Maybe you should go back home, I can handle things from here?”

Dazai was ready to refuse the offer, to deny it, and go back to sit on the edge of Chuuya’s bed and let that overwhelming feeling flood his chest as he watched over the redhead. But his phone buzzed and he was reminded that he had skipped out on his duties an awful lot lately and the perfect opening for his plan involving the illegal dogfighting ring was rapidly approaching.

He had unavoidable work matters to attend to.

“Of course,” he rose from the couch, “I have to go into work, you are staying with him, I assume?”

“Work? It’s still storming outside, I figured detectives were safer than that,” Yosano snorted, then turned and began taking items out of the bag. She was much more equipped to deal with an ill person than Dazai. “And yes, I’ll give you updates if you want, even give you a call whenever he’s back on his feet- and you better send me those pictures I’ll post them on Twitter.”

“I like the way you think,” Dazai called over his shoulder as he made his way back to Chuuya’s room. He made a mental note to keep the pictures he did not want in the public eye to himself. It was his duty as Chuuya’s ‘Boyfriend’ after all.

Chuuya hadn’t woken up yet, though he had moved around, now on his back, though laying sideways on the bed. How strange. The blankets piled around his ankles and Dazai noticed the goosebumps over his skin, electing to pull the blanket further up Chuuya’s body.

His hair was a mess and drool was running down his chin, but for some reason, those factors did not make Chuuya any less attractive.

Dazai cursed his own heart for falling into the trap of Chuuya.

“Good morning, short stack,” Dazai said to himself, and surprisingly enough, Chuuya responded.

“Mornin'.”

Dazai looked over to see if he had woken up, only to find out that he was talking in his sleep. Amused with the turn of events, Dazai eyed the candle on the nightstand, still burning, albeit dimly,

He blew out the candle and left Chuuya’s apartment complex with more questions than answers.

Chapter Text

Three days later, Dazai gazed down at the cage the Black Lizard had so helpfully placed into the Port Mafias headquarters basement. The dog inside had patchy hair, revealing flaky skin underneath that was not well cared for at all. It was a large dog, one of the largest Dazai had ever seen and was salivating from the mouth as it glared up at Dazai, baring chipped teeth.

They had been on the search for a dog such as this one, and the Black Lizard had set a trap, catching it in the dead of night. It is in very bad condition and highly combative, growling and nipping at anything that gets near it, tearing at the food they slipped between the bars.

As expected for a dog who had spent the majority of its life in a dogfighting ring. Specially bred by two muscled dogs to become a champion. It had scars littering its body, clumps of matted fur would need to be cut off eventually, once it allowed people to actually touch it.

It barked once again, an echoing sound through the corridors.

There was no wonder it had escaped, though this was a sick dog. Its saliva was off-color, its eyes were completely dark. In no way was it healthy, but it was powerful. A dog that should not be roaming the streets. A dog that they would want back.

Dazai saw an opportunity here. A large one that he would not pass up.

He slipped his phone from his pocket, dialing the personal number of a man he had been watching for a while now. He was the owner of a nearby pound, a perfect cover for the illegal dogfighting ring he controlled. The dogs- the dangerous ones that would usually be euthanized- he found much promise in. Instead of taking their lives, he made them worse by shipping them off to the ring and making them fight.

It was a perfect cover-up, though Dazai had suspected him from the very start.

The phone answered quite quickly, the other end was silent. It looked like Dazai would need to initiate this conversation.

“Hello Fukuchi, how is everything at the pound~”

There was a moment of silence, “who is this?”

Dazai let his finger scrape against the top of the cage, and the dog grew silent. “I am sure you are aware of my existence since I have shown a sudden interest in you and posted lookouts to keep an eye on you at all times. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Shuuji Tsusushima, the leader of the Port Mafia.”

The name drop seemed to capture the man's attention because the movement on the other end was still. “Why the sudden interest?”

“You see, I've caught one of your dogs, thus discovering your dirty little secret,” Dazai smirked as the man cursed on the other end. “Not to worry, I do not plan to report you to the police, at least not yet. I am a Mafia Boss, after all, I just need a favor.”

In the background of the calls, Dazai could hear dogs barking. Fukuchi was in a rush to leave his pound. How innocent of him. “Yeah, and what is that?”

“I just want to be a part of the fun, see a few dogs fight tooth and nail to stay alive. I have never seen a dog fight in person.”

Fukuchi paused, and Dazai could tell he was mulling over his options, even if he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. “And my dog?” he asked, “I lost one of my winners two nights ago, I don’t suppose you have him now?”

“Why yes I do, but I had assumed you already microchipped him?”

Silence.

Ah, so they hadn’t microchipped the dog.

“Awfully sloppy of you not to keep a tight leash on your dog, at least watch him when you pump him with steroids, yeah?”

“I’m gonna need that dog back,” Fukuchi said in a low voice that was meant to be threatening, but Dazai only felt sick glee.

“Of course. I will give you your canine back if you allow me in on the fun. Sounds like a deal?”

“...Fine. Tomorrow night, I expect that dog to be back here, we will meet at the Port.”

“Of course, I will see you then. Save this number, I see a bright future ahead of us~”

Dazai hung up on the pound owner.

The first steps of the plan had been set into place.

Chuuya was finally off of bed rest, something he had been on for the past three days. The fever had broken the previous day, but even then Kouyou forced him to stay in bed, claiming he was still in no shape to go to work.

He hadn’t agreed with her at the time, but now that he was mostly feeling back to how he used to be, he now saw just how shitty he felt and agreed with her.

Yosano had to go help with the clinic and influx of animals after the storm, so Ane-San had taken a couple of days off to be with him, even if Chuuya claimed that he was a grown-ass adult and could take care of himself.

Though he was glad his sister took off because he didn’t realize how much he had been missing her until she came to visit him. She even insisted upon it, saying cheesy shit like ‘he was her baby brother and she would always take time off of work for him.’ It was disgustingly sweet but it made Chuuya’s heart feel lighter.

He didn’t remember too much of when he had first fallen ill, but Yosano had filled him in about the unfortunate situation and that Dazai had been the one to help him through the worst. The thought of him actually doing that made Chuuya actually want to vomit...but in a good way.

He didn’t think that was possible but here he was.

He slightly remembered the crippling nightmares and Dazai being there for him, but not much beyond that.

Dazai hadn’t texted or called at all, and when Chuuya asked Yosano about it, she claimed that he had to leave for work matters. Chuuya was assuming that he had an important case or something, but shot him a text anyway, telling him he better eat some damn food or he’ll pass out.

He never got a response, and frankly, that made him pissed.

“Work matters?” Kouyou asked in an amused manner, sipping on her tea.

Chuuya sat across from her, grudgingly sipping on his own tea because it was clearing up his sinuses and he would need it for the long workday ahead of him. “Yeah, that idiot just ghosts me for no reason. To add fuel to the fire, half of Twitter thinks he’s my fucking boyfriend and a shitty one at that.”

Chuuya hadn’t gotten the chance to catch Ane-San up with all that's been going on in his life recently, so now at least it felt like a breath of fresh air.

He had missed her judging face.

“Would you want to be?” She asked, setting her tea down with a perfectly manicured hand.

Chuuya couldn’t help but feel a bit off balance because he was never able to lie to his sister, “No of course not. That’s fucking gross.”

“Yes of course, of course,” she nodded along but Chuuya had the feeling that she wasn’t agreeing with him.

Chuuya looked at his watch and pushed away from the table with a sigh, “time to do early morning check-in.”

“You could have let Yosano handle it, you know,” Kouyou said and Chuuya shrugged.

“I just have to jump back into the fray, felt bad being gone for so long.”

Kouyou’s lips quirked upwards, “four days was not nearly enough. You could stand to stay for another, but luckily I am feeling merciful.”

Chuuya snorted as he took his dish to the sink, running it under water before placing it into the dishwasher. “Yeah, merciful.”

“Don’t patronize your big sister,” Kouyou got up along with him and set her own dish down, watching Chuuya with sharp eyes as he placed the stethoscope around his neck and slid his jacket on. “Temperature check before you go?”

Chuuya gave her a long, painful look.

“Come on, amuse me.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes and grabbed the thermometer offered to him, placing it under his tongue and staring Kouyou straight in the eye in a staring contest before the device beeped. He peered down at the numbers and smirked triumphantly, “Back to normal, see?”

“Yes, I see I have no reason to worry.”

“You didn’t need to worry before Ane-San, it was a fever, I am fine now.”

Kouyou gave him a skeptical look, “A high fever with some very intense fevered dreams?”

Chuuya cringed to himself at the memories because waking up screaming had not been his proudest moment.

Something in Kouyou’s eyes softened, “The dreams, what were they about?”

Chuuya tried to shake the thoughts from his head, of the copper taste on his tongue and the metallic clinging. “I told you it was nothing just…” a shaky breath, “I was in a room, and there were chains, and everything hurt-”

Kouyou looked oddly distraught, something shone in her eyes as if she knew something that Chuuya didn’t. “Perhaps you should take another day off?”

“No,” Chuuya denied because working again would help keep his mind off of the very nightmares he didn’t wish to think about. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Kouyou sighed and stepped aside, “If you insist. Call me if the need arises.”

Chuuya smiled for the first time in three days and leaned up on his tiptoes to kiss the top of his sister's head. Then he promptly looked for the time and stumbled for the door, “I’ll see you later Ane-San, love you!”

Kouyou gave him a look filled with both love and pain, “I love you too lad.”

“Nakahara! Welcome back, I hope your time off was restful,” Kunikida greeted once Chuuya walked past the front door.

He shrugged off his coat and hung it up on the coat rack, “It was as restful as it could get,” he chuckled and Atsushi, who had poked his head out from one of the operating rooms, furrowed his eyebrows.

“Chuuya-San you sound hoarse, are you sure you’re okay?”

Chuuya cleared his throat and nodded, “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

He intended to arrive before everyone else, but he had run into traffic on the way. He forgot how much he detested the traffic. So now, he was here and everyone was asking questions. Yes, Chuuya may not have gained all of his color quite yet and his voice was still on the quiet side, but he could still work just fine.

“If you say so,” Atsushi nodded, then smiled brightly, “it’s been busy here, but we had it all handled.”

“Wow, that makes me feel better,” Chuuya said sarcastically and at Atsushi’s crestfallen look, he quickly shook his head. “No no, I didn’t mean that, I'm glad you guys were able to work without any issues.”

Like a switch, Atsushi smiled once again and returned to helping Kenji clean the operating rooms. There must have already been a few patients.

“All in a morning's work, worrying over Chuuya Nakahara,” Yosano proclaimed, patting the chair next to hers. “We had a few house calls, but we’ve been getting some more, so take a seat we have a job to do.”

Chuuya cautiously sat down on the chair and stared at the woman, “I sense a but…”

“Yes, you know me well,” she smiled. Chuuya did not like that smile. “Check Twitter the next chance you get.”

Chuuya did not like that sentence either. Giving Yosano a nasty look, he immediately snatched his phone from his pocket (now cracked because apparently, he knocked it off of the nightstand during one of his night terrors) and pulled up the app he hadn’t been on in a while.

He should have expected it, he really should have. Yosano was acting way too nice.

Of course, posted under her account, was a picture that Chuuya also should have expected. The room was dim, but he could tell it was his bedroom. It was strange seeing himself sleeping, and it definitely felt a bit invasive. He was sleeping as he always did, on his back and with Copper’s head on his shoulder. All in all, it was a picture Chuuya would like to have framed of him and his dog, but that definitely didn’t mean the whole Twitter world had to see it.

‘Akiko Yosano- A picture of our most hard-working veterinarian sleeping a virus away. Wash your hand's folks and stay away from the storm so you don’t end up like him~’

‘Mark Twain- Aw man how come he can look like that while sleeping while I look like a dying cow. Someone explain. Get better soon Chuuya!’

‘Fyodor Dostovetsky- Now I have ammo against Chuuya Nakahara. Thank you very much Yosano.’

‘Nikolai Gogol- @MarkTwain, we are in agreement. Sleep well Chuuya<3’

Chuuya scrunched up his nose in disgust and shut off his phone. All of the ‘get well soons’ were starting to make him feel like he should have listened to Ane-San's advice and stayed home after all.

“So, what do you think?”

Chuuya shot Yosano the most withering glare he could possibly produce, “Akiko-”

“Ohh the first name,” A voice interjected, and Chuuya was about ready to rip his own hair out as he looked to see Dazai standing at the entrance, “what did she do this time?”

“You checked Twitter? Not that it matters, I’m sure you have those photos saved anyway.”

Chuuya looked between Dazai and Yosano, “Am I fucking missing something?”

“Oh?” Dazai was now leaning against the reception desk, and Chuuya noted Daisy’s absence. “Well, I am the one who took those photos after all.”

Chuuya stood from his chair, ignoring the wave of vertigo that still lingered, “You idiot I should have known-”

“Ah,” Dazai lifted his hands in surrender, “I am not here to cause conflict today. How is Chuuya feeling?”

Chuuya pocketed his phone and raised an eyebrow, “you couldn’t have just texted?”

“But I had to come in person to make sure dear Chibi wasn’t in any more pain~” Dazai reached an arm out and Chuuya quickly deflected it.

“I’m fine, no thanks to you. Too busy to even spare me a damn text message?”

“My my, but I was the one who nursed Chuuya back to health. In fact, he still sounds a bit sick today!”

“Idiot check your phone every once in a while-”

“Knock it off!” Yosano clapped, “no lovers quarrels near my reception desk.”

Chuuya turned his glare to her and Dazai gave the redhead a smug grin. Chuuya sighed and sat back down, ”Fine, thanks for looking after me idiot.”

“Why of course. See, was that so hard?”

Chuuya resolutely ignored Dazai’s comment and looked around the area once more, “where’s Daisy?”

“It seems that you miss her more than me,” Dazai pouted and Chuuya only shrugged.

“Yeah, it took you a while to figure that out.”

“So mean,” and suddenly, Dazai sobered up, “well, I am actually here for work business.”

Chuuya had to blink to make sure he was still not sick and wasn’t hearing things, then he slowly looked to Yosano, who looked just as shocked. Okay, so he wasn’t hearing things. He looked back to Dazai whose face looked carefully neutral, “Work business?” He asked, because Dazai rarely talked about his own work, let alone brought it to Chuuya's workplace.

“Don’t act so surprised, I do have investigations, it is my job after all,” a caramel eye scanned over Chuuya and he must have seen something in his expression because he was quick to reassure, “though not to worry, your veterinary practice is not under investigation.”

Chuuya scooted his chair closer and leaned forward against the desk, an anchor to how off-balance he was feeling. “Yeah? Then why bring whatever you are investigating here?”

“Ah that is simple, I simply have a few questions about someone you may know.”

Chuuya honestly thought the whole situation was absurd. It was strange enough as it was seeing Dazai actually act serious for once. He should have just stayed home.

“Yeah yeah, wanna flash me your badge like all of the other detectives?” Chuuya asked, and surprisingly enough, Dazai obliged, reaching into his overcoat and pulling out a badge that looked pretty damn genuine. Not that Chuuya would be able to tell, he had never seen one before.

“Is Chuuya satisfied?”

Chuuya huffed in an amused way, “yeah I guess. Hurry up and ask your questions. Customers should start coming in soon.”

“Of course of course,” Dazai didn’t even take a moment to think about his questions or the way he asked them, keeping a blank face. He was better at his damn job than Chuuya realized. “What is your opinion on a man named Fukuchi Ochi?”

Chuuya blinked once again, not expecting that specific question. It was straight to the point, so unlike Dazai. His mind strayed to Fukuchi, the man in question. He was a mountain of a man, one of the largest Chuuya had ever seen, very muscled and towered over anyone near him. But despite that, he was a very good leader and took care of those around him.

“He’s a good man,” Chuuya decided, and when Dazai didn’t say anything else, he took it as a sign to continue. “The owner of one of the only pounds in Yokohama. There’s not many so it’s always packed, but he tries his best to take care of the animals and find them homes.”

Chuuya had hung out with him a few times, gotten drinks with him. He was a standup dude, so the fact that Dazai was asking questions about him…

“Why ask about him?” Chuuya asked with narrowed eyes.

“He’s a suspect,” Dazai answered immediately, and Chuuya wondered if he was even supposed to be hearing the details of an investigation, but it was too late for that now. “In your professional opinion, Chuuya, has there been a sudden influx of stray dogs in the area lately?”

A bit thrown off by the question, Chuuya nodded perplexed. “Yeah, a lot more. The most there have been in years. They’re all dogs, most of the time we can’t bring them in here because they’re too dangerous.”

Dazai hummed in agreement, “Yes, those are the results of an illegal dogfighting ring, a new one that is losing control of its animals. It will soon become dangerous to everyone, not just the private investigations department, but everything will suffer.”

And that made sense to Chuuya because stray dogs, frightened and terrified, were known to lash out. To attack innocent people and send them to the hospital. To disrupt businesses and even the other illegal businesses would have a hard time. Eradicating them would be the best option, however…

Chuuya rose from his seat once again, and while he may have been angry beyond words, his tone was deadly calm. “You don’t plan on killing those dogs, do you? Because even they deserve a damn chance to live, they’ve been tortured all of their lives, of fucking course they’re not going to be in the best mental state-”

A finger was on his lips and Dazai was silencing him. “I never said that Chuuya, in fact, I came to you for a way to not do that. Killing them is the last case scenario, of course.”

Chuuya let his mouth shut and his body relaxed slightly. He had been jumping to conclusions. That begged the question, “Me? Why would you need me involved in this?”

“Well, you are a professional are you not? Sometimes us investigators need other specialties and none of us know animals quite as well as you do.”

Chuuya stamped down the swell of pride in his chest, “Oh yeah? Then stop trying to flatter me, what’s really going on here?”

A bell dinged and the door opened, revealing Chiyo and her dog. Chuuya looked over Dazai’s shoulder and sighed, “that'll have to wait.”

“Nope,” Dazai denied, grabbing Chuuya by the sleeve and gently tugging him away from the desk, “I have something to show you.”

Chuuya cautiously looked into Dazai’s one visible eye and saw no signs of deception. He sighed, looking at Yosano, “can you take care of Ms.Chiyo today? I’m going to see what I can do to help this idiot.”

Yosano nodded, shooting him a thumbs up and Chuuya looked away before he could see her wink at Dazai.

“Ah, Chuuya, hello” Chiyo greeted just as Dazai reached for the coat rack to hand Chuuya’s coat to him. “Where are you off to?”

“Ah, sorry ma’am, I have some personal business to take care of so I probably won’t come back today.” Chuuya apologized and the look on the woman's face was enough to tell him that he was doing something wrong. He paused, “Is something wrong with Petunia?”

“Ah, no, I had just assumed I would let you treat her today.”

“Yosano is just as good as I am,” Chuuya nodded to his co-worker who was already collecting the files for the patient.

Chiyo made a sour face but nodded anyway, then unexpectedly, raised a hand to touch Chuuya’s forehead. Chuuya pulled away, slightly surprised and just a bit disgusted.

“Just checking your temperature, making sure you're feeling better.”

Chuuya was once again reminded of the Twitter picture that had been posted of when he was sick and pointedly flipped both Yosano and Dazai off as he walked through the door.

Fucking Twitter.

Dazai was a bit shocked that Chuuya even agreed to skip work and even come along with him, though he did seem to be a bit more trusting with him now, strangely enough.

Has something shifted in their relationship without Dazai even realizing it had happened?

Well, he could not dwell on that now because letting Chuuya in on this ‘investigation’ was a risky thing. Of course, there was no way he would find out that Dazai himself was the leader of an illegal organization, too focused on the fact of the dogfighting ring.

According to Chuuya, Fukuchi was a good man. Dazai knew well enough that some didn’t seem to be the type to involve themselves in illegal activities, but some got so money hungry, blinded by greed, that they would keep the act of good samaritan up.

Dazai distantly wondered if it was too early for Chuuya To return to work because he still did not look like he was at one hundred percent. Though Chuuya was persistent and there would be no convincing him to simply stop what he was doing, especially not with the plan Dazai had in mind.

“So why in the hell did you drag me all the way out here?” Chuuya asked as he scanned the area. “It looks like you’re about to murder me or something,” he paused, “are you?”

Dazai shrugged, “only one way to find out.”

And it did look like a rather shady scene, he would admit. Multiple people had probably been murdered before in this ally in this bad part of Yokohama, but it also provided coverage, The perfect place for a safe house.

Dazai led Chuuya all the way to the back of the ally way and stopped abruptly at a pile of crates, covered in snow, and kicked them to the side. He felt Chuuya’s curious gaze on him as he jiggled the locked doorknob. Well, no one had broken in, a good sign.

Dazai reached along the top of the doorway, gloved fingers brushing the snow aside as he felt the ridged edges of a key.

“Seriously, what the fuck,” Chuuya offered his opinion as Dazai worked on unlocking the door. “Hurry up, it's freezing out here.”

“So impatient,” Dazai tisked as the door opened, creaking on its hinges. “Here we go.”

Dazai continued down the stairs directly in front of him and Chuuya cautiously followed, closing the door behind him. There were no lights, resulting in a few stumbles along the way, but by the time they made it to the bottom of the cobblestoned floor, the low growls could be heard.

Ah, they had woken up the best.

Upon hearing the growl, Chuuya tensed up next to him as Dazai groped around for a light switch, and once he did flip it, Chuuya did not seem to become anymore settled. Perhaps the room reminded him of something?

Though it didn’t matter because the moment the veterinarian spotted the cage in the middle of the room, he twisted to look at Dazai with a dangerous expression, a storm brewing in his eyes.

“You better tell me now, why in the hell do you have an injured and sick dog locked up in a cage!”

At the sudden rising of his voice, the dog who had previously been asleep, the same one the black Lizards had caught, rose its hackles, yellow teeth on full display.

Dazai did not back down from Chuuya, “take a wild guess, short stack.”

Chuuya took one long look at the dog before his face lost all color to it, “This… this is a dog from the dogfighting ring isn’t it?”

“Spot on,” Dazai congratulated, and Chuuya did not seem too happy with his correct accusation. He probably wished he had been wrong.

Chuuya looked at the dog with saddened eyes, and Dazai wasn’t too surprised when he approached the cage, calmly and slowly. “This dog,” he said under his breath as to not startle it. “He won’t live much longer if he keeps going on like this. Did you even give him medical attention?”

“We tried,” Dazai answered, “though unfortunately, he is very anxious and territorial. Whenever we give him food, he nearly bites our hands off.”

“He’s scared,” Chuuya said lowly, and sat right in front of the cage. The dog did not nip at him but still remained on guard. Its body was still covered in lacerations, some made by other dogs and some made by humans, but had started to scab over. The whites of its eyes were red and puffy, and the rest of its body was in a sorry state.

Chuuya slowly took all of this in and Dazai watched.

“Drugs,” the redhead said, “steroids, maybe prednisone.”

“Speak English please.”

Chuuya did not look at Dazai over his shoulder but Dazai could still feel the annoyed glare aimed his way. “They were pumping this dog with drugs, probably experimenting on Prednisone and mixing it with others. He is sick, probably won’t get better.”

Dazai could not see Chuuya’s face, but he could certainly see the tenseness in the lines of his back and his balled fist.

Before he could speak, Chuuya was slinging the satchel from off of his shoulder and unzipping it, revealing medical supplies. Dazai should have expected he would carry them around.

“The dog won’t let you near it.”

Chuuya finally turned back to Dazai, eyes cold and hard. “But I damn sure can try.”

“Yes, but before you attempt that, have you stopped to think why I have brought you here?”

Chuuya stopped sliding the latex gloves on, “...To treat the damn dog?”

“You are half correct. Think about my first line of questioning.”

Chuuya looked somewhere to the right, deep in thought, but he was sharper than Dazai had expected because it only took a few moments. “What’s an illegal dogfighting ring have to do with Fukuchi, huh?”

“It has to do everything with him,” Dazai watched the realization dawn upon Chuuya’s face as he continued. “Being the owner of a pound puts him in the perfect position to own a ring and experiment on these animals to make money off of them. These animals don't have families or homes, so there is no one to notice their absence until they escape and end up on the streets. Only then they have become an issue.”

Chuuya halted, vision going distant as he mulled over Dazai’s words. Then, he set his medical bag down and stood up, never placing his back to the cage, but still facing Dazai. “That’s a pretty damn good case you have there. I can’t think of any loopholes but where's your evidence?”

“Of course I have it, I was expecting the question,” Dazai pulled out his phone and swiped through his audio files before pressing play.

“And my dog?” Fukuchi’s voice crackled over the speaker, “I lost one of my winners two nights ago, I don’t suppose you have him now?”

A beat of silence.

“I’m gonna need my dog back,” he said again, then the recording ended. Their phone conversation earlier, while heavily edited, all Chuuya would need was the two sentences.

Suddenly, Chuuya turned to the cage to see the dog huddled in the very corner, a low growl reverberating through its chest. It was defensive. “You’re right,” the redhead admitted, “this dog, he showed reactions of abuse just now. He’s scared of Fukuchi, and was trained to be that way.”

Dazai heard the slight tremble in Chuuya’s voice. He was angry.

“That man is a vile bastard,” Chuuya finally turned away from the dog and stomped to Dazai, grabbing a hold of his collar to manhandle him down to his level. “Just fucking arrest him already, ain’t that evidence enough?”

Dazai remained calm, “while I could, wouldn’t you like the opportunity to help save the other dogs?”

There was a flash of surprise in Chuuya’s eyes before he let Dazai go, “some of them are past saving, beyond fucked up. But there have to be other ones there, younger ones, pups, that we can save.”

“Correct, now you are getting it,” Dazai patted Chuuya’s head and Chuuya dodged it easily. “Once they are secure, I intend to send them to your vet so you can take the proper action for them and get them off of the streets. That is your role in this operation.”

“No,” Chuuya denied, and Dazai raised an eyebrow.

“No?”

“Some of those dogs are going to need immediate medical attention, I’m fucking going so I can stabilize them, then you send them to the vet.”

That had not gone according to plan, as most things with Chuuya did not. He was certainly unpredictable and Dazai never intended to get him mixed up in the actual operation, even if he was simply posing as a medic.

But Chuuya was glaring at him with full force and he certainly wasn’t a dainty flower. He could handle himself just fine.

Dazai shrugged, “I suppose I can allow you to be involved, I'm sure you are aware of the… risks.”

Chuuya smirked wickedly and no longer burned holes into Dazai with his eyes, “how do you plan to find the location?”

Dazai looked over to the cage and Chuuya followed his gaze.

Of course, he would disapprove of that plan too. “You’re using him as bait?” Either Chuuya simply did not have the energy to get angry anymore, or he was considering other options.

“He should not be harmed, you are there after all. And in the end, one dog versus at least a couple dozen, what do you say, Chuuya?”

“I say,” Chuuya made his way back to the dog, slipping the latex gloves back on, “you are a cold-hearted bastard. But you know how to get your shit done. What time are we doing this?”

Dazai smirked, ignoring the small twinge in his chest at the cold-hearted comment. Chuuya was correct, after all. “Tonight. We would prefer to have this done as soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Chuuya agreed, “tonight."

Chapter Text

The Port Mafia was buzzing with activity, anticipating the latest operation. It took priority with the sheep and the GSS no longer an issue in their scope. In fact, this was the most peaceful the Port Mafia had been in a while, though Dazai was sure his reign as the boss had something to do with that. The other bosses had all been power-hungry and money-thirsty, incompetent fools who couldn’t handle the job with cold intelligence.

The operation of getting the stray dogs off of the streets and out of their territory was more of a clean-up than an attack plan. Especially with Chuuya now an addition to the equation. It wouldn’t be hard for them to pretend to be an investigator force, they just wouldn’t get to shoot Fukuchi on the spot as they usually would.

Well, that only meant they got to take the man into custody and crack his jaw against a curb and shoot him three times, typical port mafia style.

Dazai had been sitting at his desk, for once reviewing the plans and being responsible as he had never been before. He just needed to predict all of the variables and equations in case things were to go down south (though none of his plans ever had, so it was highly unlikely.)

There was a knock at his door, a singular one with force behind it. Dazai raised his head from the papers, placing them down on the wooden desk. “You may come in, executive Kouyou.”

She wasted no time in pushing past the doors, fearless unlike all of the other subordinates who shrunk under his gaze. She barely spared a glance to the large window facing Yokohama’s skyline as the others tended to gawk.

Dazai did not like sniveling cowards, meaning he much liked executive Kouyou, who did not shrivel under his gaze. She was very independent and not afraid to share her thoughts, the thing that made a warrior, and a bad subordinate.

Luckily for her, Dazai did not care about insubordination as the other bosses had. Everyone in the Mafia had their own agendas, provide for their families, owing a debt, being born into the life, but in the end, it boiled down to whoever was the most loyal. And she most certainly was aligned with her own intrest.

Though now, there was no reason for her to be visiting his office.

“May I ask just what you are here for?” He asked, straight to the point as she came to a stop in front of his desk, bowing shortly.

Well, she was certainly upset about something.

“The newest operation.”

Dazai hummed, “yes, the stray dogs one. Do you have your own input to tell me…” he exaggeratedly looked at his watch, “a mere three hours before the start of the mission?”

She looked at him with a hardened gaze, “I heard you are including a civilian in the operation.”

Now just why would that of all things pique her interest? She was not even involved in the operation, after all, just playing it by ear and staying behind.

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes, ”you have never felt the need to do this before. We should leave the public out of our mafia dealings, I had assumed we were on the same page.”

“Me and you,” Dazai gestured between them, “are not conspiring. I am ten pages ahead of you, know your place. And as for the ‘why’ well, I felt the need to include the civilian for their knowledge. They will help us keep these mutts off of the street for good.”

Kouyou did not budge, standing tall, “I am sure we would not suffer from a few strays being left out.”

Then it dawned upon Dazai, and he arched an eyebrow, “it couldn’t be that you are worried for this civilian's safety, is it?”

The woman in front of him let down her posture, only slightly, but enough to tell Dazai that he had discovered the truth.

How strange.

And awfully caring for an executive.

“Well, I did not think I would need to reassure you on the matter, but I am not changing plans now. This person will come out alive, though as you know with all Mafia activities, being unscathed is not a promise.”

The executive opened her mouth to say something but Dazai promptly cut her off.

“And if you are worried about our identities, they do not know we are the Port mafia. They believe we are a private investigation agency.”

“Involving them in illegal matters without their knowledge,” Kouyou upturned her nose to him, “how manipulative of you.”

She was correct. Dazai dismissed the small cracking feeling in his chest. He was only manipulating Chuuya to keep him safe… and perhaps his identity.

“It is all part of the job.”

“Just so you know boss,” Kouyou said in a last-ditch attempt, for whatever personal reason, to convince Dazai to not include Chuuya in the operation. “I highly detest this plan.”

“Yes well,” Dazai shrugged, “you do not have any say in it anyway. You may leave now.”

Kouyou stubbornly stayed in place.

In a harsher tone, “You may leave now, executive Kouyou Ozaki.”

She bowed tightly, and with a swish of her kimono, left the room.

“How strange,” Dazai mused to himself, picking his papers back up.

It was just before midnight when Dazai pulled up to the vet. If Chuuya was to be involved in the operation, Dazai made him agree to do as he said, which meant Chuuya was not allowed to drive his own vehicle or go anywhere without Dazai or someone else until it was over. Not wearing anything too flashy either, they had to dress the part.

Most people in the underworld liked to show up wearing expensive clothing as a show of power, but with something as unorthodox as a dogfighting ring, it was mostly inconspicuous clothing.

Chuuya had elected to help the night shifters until he left, apparently, he had also told them to expect an influx of patients that night, all hands on deck. Dazai was unsure of what excuse he made to them to make them believe him, or perhaps since he was their boss, they automatically agreed to him. Though the important part was, no one was in the dark.

The black lizard stepped out of the car along with Dazai, all dressed in similar clothing, an array of blacks. Hirotsu was their driver for the night, a perfect getaway driver. Of course, there were other squads involved, but they worked more in the shadows.

“Hello, here to pick up Chibi~” Dazai called once he and the other three breached the doors. The room was empty of customers, as to be expected for the middle of the night.

Chuuya looked up from his phone where he had been sitting in his normal chair and placed it back in his pocket. He rose from his seat and scanned each one of them, his eyes lingering on Tachihara, much to Dazai’s dismay.

He squinted at the other redhead, “Have I seen you before?”

Tachihara, who Dazai had noticed was attempting to hide behind Hirotsu and Gin, vigorously shook his head. “No! Of course not!”

Chuuya shrugged, “...Okay then, I gotta go to the back and clock out, make sure the waiting room doesn't blow up while I’m gone.”

During the night shift, apparently, there was a very limited number of workers because once Chuuya was gone, they were the only four in the room. Dazai immediately turned his attention to his subordinate, “do you perhaps know Chuuya?”

“Huh?” Tachihara jolted, “oh, I’ve seen him before. I had to take my pet chameleon, Fluffy, here once and Nakahara was the one to take care of him. I guess he has so many customers he doesn't remember me too well.”

While Dazai highly doubted that, it didn’t matter now if Chuuya recognized Tachihara or not. For now, he was more worried about… “A pet chameleon named Fluffy?”

Tachihara flushed and looked to the ground. Dazai could have sworn he actually saw Gin’s eyes sparkle with amusement but that could have been the lighting.

“Ah, as I previously mentioned, we are currently a police force. Not mafia members, understood?”

The group nodded and Tachihara snorted, “A mafia boss undercover as an investigator. Oh, man.”

Dazai’s lips tugged into a lazy smirk, “well, I am glad you can find some humor in the situation.”

Just then, Chuuya’s voice came from the back, “I’m out, catch you guys later,” as he exited the back room, his clothes changed from his scrubs. Now at least he would blend in, with his leather jacket, and (damn those leather pants made a re-appearance) maybe he would blend in a little too well.

Dazai’s mouth went dry and he absolutely was going to demote Tachihara with the way the subordinate seemed to choke on his own spit. Perhaps decapitation was an option.

Dazai glowered to himself as they exited the vet and loaded up in the spacy car. Chuuya graciously offered to sit in the middle back with Dazai and Tachihara, while Hirotsu and greedy Gin took the front seats.

They could have easily taken four different cars, though they needed to look slightly more inconspicuous.

Dazai reached into the cramped space and grabbed Chuuya’s hood, pushing it up over his hair. Chuuya looked up to him in question.

“Your hair is too recognizable, even if your head will not reach above the other peoples, a chance we cannot take.”

Chuuya looked a strange mixture of annoyed and thankful because they both knew that Fukuchi recognizing him would be problematic.

Of course, that would not happen.

“Speaking of your hair,” Tachihara had the audacity to reach over from the other side of Chuuya and touch his luscious red hair. Dazai would not stand for this. “It’s natural right?”

“Yeah, I don’t use that fake shit to dye my hair,” Chuuya shrugged, much to Dazai’s annoyance, not seeming to mind Tachihara’s sudden interest in his hair. Dazai silently pouted to himself and he could have sworn he saw Chuuya smirk at him.

Oh, he was enjoying making Dazai feel this way.

Before Tachihara could further pursue his line of questioning, Dazai cut him off, “I shall go over the plan only once more.”

Now he had everyone in the car's attention, he continued. “First we have to meet Fukuchi at midnight, ten minutes. It is a trade-off, I give him the information on where his dear pet is located and he will give us the location of the event. Now, he will expect us to come another day, but while he is expecting us to come another day, we will go while he is collecting his dog. Gin and Tachihara will scope the place and stay out of sight, Gin will sneak to the back and evaluate the dogs while Chuuya and I stay with the crowd and see the information we can collect. If there is no sign of Fukuchi there approximately ten minutes after arriving then it is a trap and we evacuate immediately, but if everything goes as planned we take him out, chop the head off of the snake. Understood?”

There was a chorus of ‘yes sirs’ and a nod from Chuuya.

Dazai eyed the redhead- his redhead- “Now, they don't know we are police investigators. They think we are a part of the Mafia organization known as the Port Mafia.”

Chuuya snorted and rolled his eyes, “yeah, I would believe it too.”

A heavy silence hung in the car and Chuuya slowly eyed everyone, “What, did I say some-”

“No no!” Tachihara scrambled, “at least we’re convincing?”

“Yes,” Hirotsu nodded in agreement. “We are.”

To correct Tachihara’s earlier statement, A Mafia boss undercover as a detective undercover as a mafia boss. Oh, the irony.

They arrived just at midnight, in a vacant parking lot with only one flickering streetlight. “This isn’t fucking shady at all,” Chuuya grumbled to himself once Hirotsu, Gin, and Tachihara stepped out of the car. Dazai opened his own car, getting out, using Chuuya’s head as leverage.

He left his hand on Chuuya’s head for a few more moments than necessary, and Chuuya let him.

“Well, good thing you can stay in the car like a child.”

Chuuya’s face twisted, “hey-”

“Be right back, Chuuya.” Dazai shut the door, not able to see anything past the insanely tinted windows, then faced the other car across the parking lot. It was the Pounds van.

Fukuchi exited the van, looking just as unhinged as he sounded over the phone. Dazai hadn’t expected much from the owner of a pound but perhaps he separated his normal appearance from his ring leader persona.

“Why hello Fukuchi!” Dazai greeted as they walked across the parking lot, “what a beautiful night it is!”

The man looked up to the sky and Dazai couldn’t see any lip movement under his mustache, “it’s all polluted,” he replied, “can’t see a star in the sky.”

“I am overwhelmed with positivity,” Dazai said dryly.

“Cut the pleasantries,” Fukuchi sounded aggravated, almost desperate. He was scared, terrified of Dazai.

It felt nice.

Dazai smirked, “correct, you will give me the coordinates to your renowned dogfighting ring and I will give you the location of your most prized dog.”

Fukuchi crossed his well-muscled arms and both Dazai and his team watched every movement, every twitch of his muscle, he made. He was a formidable enemy, large and towering over even Dazai and Hirotsu. It would take at least three people to hold him down should he try to attack, though Dazai could thank modern weapons for giving him the edge.

“And how should I trust you?” He asked, having every right to be suspicious because when making a deal with Dazai, ninety-nine percent of the time one would get crossed.

“Well, I have nothing to lose, it is a simple dog, yes?”

Fukuchi shifted and Dazai felt Tachihara and Gin tense beside him, “Do you have him?”

“Yes,” Dazai confirmed, “I have proof if you would like to see it?”

The man nodded tightly and Dazai pulled out his phone, the screen shining through the dark of the night as he slid to his camera roll and showed him a picture, one of Chuuya leaning into the cage stitching up an injury on the sedated dog.

“I even did you a favor and hired someone to fix her up,” Dazai smirked at the man's beady eyes, “I am sure you are very aware of who Chuuya Nakahara is?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, inspecting the picture closely until Dazai pulled it away from his face. “I planned to involve him.”

Dazai raised his eyebrows because he had certainly not expected that, “What, involve him in the dogfighting business?”

“He would be a wonderful investment.” Fukuchi continued, and Dazai could see the greed in his eyes in person now. It was truly a sickening sight, the man had lost his head. “He could heal the dogs, over and over again, after they tore each other apart.”

How vicious he was.

It made a laugh bubble in Dazai’s throat.

At least now he knew this man's stance on Chuuya, and it was not a good one. The redhead was only in more danger, even more reason to shoot this man the next time Dazai had a chance.

“And you think he would willingly do that?” Dazai asked, genuinely curious.

Something dark glinted in the man's eyes, “I never said he would willingly do it.”

Nothing could disturb Dazai. He had seen mothers holding their children as they were burned alive. He had killed countless and committed even more crimes. He may be a sociopath, but this man…

Dazai felt ancient old anger at the bottom of his stomach, sitting like a large tumor.

Then there was a smaller hand lightly tapping his. Gin’s hand.

Dazai broke the staring contest with the man, “Yes, well we all have our wishes we will never get, will we?”

Fukuchi did not reply.

“Well, as promised, the address your dear dog is located in,” Dazai handed over the slip of paper, “burn it once you are finished.”

Chuuya had argued a full hour with Dazai the previous day, a difference in opinion. Chuuya had desperately wanted Dazai to give him a false address so as to not put the dog in any danger, but doing that would not gain them Fukuchi’s momentary trust. If he was led to the wrong address then they would never be able to get the other dogs.

They could always set a trap, but Fukuchi was not the type to fall for such tricks. Besides, to take down an organization, there was always something so gratifying about seeing a leader lose all of his dignity in front of his own organization.

If Dazai were slightly more bloodthirsty and Chuuya was not accompanying him on this mission, then Dazai would have made Fukuchi’s own dogs eat him alive.

Fukuchi eyed the paper in his fingers, “how can I trust this address?”

“My word,” Dazai shrugged, “as I said, I have no reason to lie to you about such subjects. He was too vicious to take out here, though I trust you have a tight leash on him?”

The large man nodded, mustache twitching, and Dazai assumed he was smiling.

“If my dog ain’t there, I'll come for your head.”

“Yes, I would expect you to. Now, do you wish to hold up your end of the deal?”

Fukuchi nodded and handed over his own slip of paper. Dazai eyed the address for one moment before taking out his lighter and burning it, a source of warmth in the snow before it was reduced to embers under Dazai’s boot.

“I expect to see you there, tomorrow is when the good fight will be. A good one to start off before you start betting.”

Dazai slipped his lighter back into his pocket, “You have a good business here, getting people to invest their money to supply you for buying more illegal steroids. Really, I envy the entrepreneurship.”

Fukuchi nodded as if he even knew what the word meant, and Dazai had been truthful. It was a good money maker, better than the jewel smuggling and organ selling of the Port Mafia. Over time, Dazai had learned that he would not be able to put the animals in such a situation they did not ask for.

He was becoming awfully Human.

“Retrieve your dog, I will see you tomorrow, Fukuchi.”

“Of course,” the man nodded and outstretched his hand, “I will.”

Dazai eyed the hand before turning around and making his way back to the car, the other three on his heels.

The silence was broken once everyone was loaded in and the doors were closed from any prying ears.

“It’s located in the old section, one of the many abandoned warehouses of the port.”

Tachihara groaned, “Yeah but there are hundreds of those! How do we know which one?”

“It is quite simple,” Dazai said, lightly jabbing Chuuya’s ribs to wake him up. It was probably a mistake taking a recovering person out of his house, but all would be fine. “We go to the one with the most noise. Drive, Hirotsu.”

The hollars and screams could be heard from inside the car, and thankfully this area of the Port was abandoned, safe from any police eyes. Of course, the situation could have been resolved by a call to the tip line, but the police never got the job done correctly.

Dazai was no doer of justice, but he tended to take it into his own hands. Injustices and justices alike.

Cars were parked around the warehouse, all broken down looking. Though Dazai would not let them fool him because wealthy people tended to gravitate towards these events.

“Hirotsu, you may drop us off and drive around the perimeter in case of emergency. Do not park under any circumstances.”

This was also the place human traffickers tended to hang around, hiding under cars to slash people’s heels and kidnap them.

“Understood sir.”

Dazai looked at Chuuya, “is Chuuya sure he would not prefer to stay with Hirotsu and come in whenever we retrieve the dogs?”

“If there are dogs fighting in there right now, then I am going to need to be there.” Chuuya leaned over Dazai to open the door, and Dazai took that as a sign to get out before the redhead crawled over him.

Dazai had only intended for Chuuya to not get in harm's way and to stay with Hirotsu, though there was no swaying him.

Perhaps he should have listened to Kouyou after all, though one way or another Chuuya would have learned about this operation and gotten even more pissed at Dazai for not warning him.

It was a lose-lose situation.

“Alright alright, you know the drill?”

“Stay near you, and don’t open my mouth,” Chuuya grumbled, getting out of the car after Dazai, their boots sinking into the mud. “Got it.”

“And you two know your places, I hope?” Dazai turned to Gin and Tachihara as Hirotsu drove off.

They both nodded. Tachihara was simple enough, he was a talented sharpshooter, but for this, he would be accompanying Gin as she disappeared to the back to look for the kennels.

“Here, Gin, you take this so we come off as more inconspicuous,” Dazai took the bag from Chuuya’s shoulder and passed it to her. Bringing a medical kit into the ring was a huge mistake if they were supposed to be attending as guests, and they would immediately be kicked out or worse if they were searched.

“You will hand it back to Chuuya once Fukuchi has been apprehended and we are in no more danger. Understood?”

More nods and Chuuya crossed his arms. He was not stupid though, Dazai knew he knew it was necessary to the plan.

Dazai didn’t need to tell the other two to disappear, because, by the time he looked back at them, they were gone. Thus started their operation.

There was a man standing at the entrance, much like a bouncer would be, he was tall and muscled, though Dazai did not bat an eye. There was no line, meaning the events for the night had already started, and Dazai knew that most people who came here on nights like this, to see fights that were violent but not deadly with the newbie dogs, were the faint of heart coming with women on their arms to impress them.

The bouncer gave them a strange look, and on top of being late, it was awfully suspicious.

Playing the part, Dazai grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, “Hey man, we got a little mixed up, went to the wrong warehouse. Mind lettin’ us in? ‘S our first time, don’t wanna miss out on the fun if ya know what I mean?” Dazai raised his eyebrows and lowered his shades and the man had definitely seen this act before because he was no longer on guard.

The man's gaze swept over Dazai, the further down to Chuuya, who looked at Dazai in a confused manner when Dazai held his arm out.

Dazai shared a look with Chuuya that said ‘play the part.’

Chuuya shared a look with Dazai that said ‘I will kill you later.’

Then he grabbed onto Dazai’s arm in a python grip that reminded Dazai of princess the snake. Though it seemed to work because the man nodded and stepped aside, letting them into the warehouse. Step one completed.

Once they were out of sight Chuuya immediately pulled away from Dazai as if he had been burned and Dazai pouted, “was it really that bad?”

“Yes, your arm is a fucking twig. Very uncomfortable.”

Dazai sighed and eyed the surroundings as they stood away from the crowd surrounding the ring for a moment. Smoke hung like a thick veil, some from cigarettes drifting through the air and hanging at the ceiling, only being released by the few holes in the ceiling. There was certainly a large crowd, all wearing what Dazai had expected, mostly black, some of the women wearing tight dresses and the men more casual clothes. From what Dazai could tell, the ring itself separating the dogs and the crowd were made of measly cardboard, though the dogs had heavy metal leashes on anyway, so there was not much need for a barrier.

There was a man in the corner sitting on a cooler, only moving to get off of it when people offered him money. He passed them beers from the cooler and thanked them with a smile that only had a few teeth.

Well, Dazai knew who he could talk to first.

There were no dogs currently in the ring, being dragged back by a few of the workers. One was limping heavily and the other was bleeding, but neither was dead. The crowd cheered obnoxiously as the arena was cleared, and Dazai would guess there was an intermission about to take place.

Dazai looked to Chuuya, and thankfully the redhead didn’t seem to notice the arena, partially because they were in the very back and the other taller people blocked the view. Dazai was grateful for that small blessing because there was no telling how he might have reacted. Chuuya was a very passionate person, though that made him a threat to the mission.

Dazai placed a finger to the comm system in his ear, brushing his hair back slightly, “are we all set?”

Luckily the crowd blocked all noise of him talking, most were too intoxicated to notice him anyway.

“Yes sir,” a voice, Tachihara’s, said over the system. “The dogs are in a conjoined warehouse though-”

The line went silent and Dazai spoke into it once more, “there should be two men approaching in there with two dogs, they just left the arena. Stay silent and do not get caught, though if Gin is able, be sure she steals the keys from them. How much time do we have before Fukuchi arrives, Hirotsu?”

“Ten minutes,” the man answered shortly after Dazai’s instructions.

“Perfect, me and Chuuya will get more information as we await his arrival. Do not release the dog until I give my instruction and Fukuchi is down. Understood?”

There were three clicks, one for each team member, and Dazai let his hand drop. Suddenly Chuuya was pulling him along and Dazai hummed in question.

“People were starting to give us weird looks for just standing around there like idiots,” Chuuya said under his breath, then nodded to the man on the cooler, “how about we get some beers, huh?”

“Yes, it seems we are on the exact same page.”

Dazai had to wonder just how Chuuya was so good at an operation such as this one when he had never even been on a mission together. Perhaps it was just that he and Dazai worked well together, or that Chuuya was very prospective and just naturally good at such work.

Dazai wondered if he could somehow pull Chuuya away from the vet life and induce him into the mafia, though quickly dismissed the thought because he did not want to involve Chuuya in this kind of life more than he had to. He was strong and willful with very strong morals, and Dazai would not enjoy seeing those morals be broken.

Or for him to face an early demise.

“Can I get you a beer?” The man asked, patting the cooler in question. There was a jar full of money beside him and a chart hung on the wall, names of dogs on them with money in each slot, “or perhaps you’re here to bet?”

“Hmm,” Dazai eyed the chart, “no bets tonight, I am afraid. Though two of whatever you have would be wonderful.”

“You got it,” the man stood and retrieved two bottles from the cooler. They had no labels on them, obviously knockoffs, though no one here seemed to care. Dazai held the drink but never opened it. “Say, how long have you been around here for?”

The man chuckled, leaning back. “It’s not often someone wants ta start a conversation with me.” He took a moment to think, “I was one of the first ones. Lucky me, I can even sell my own stuff.”

Chuuya held the bottle up to his face and swirled the liquid around, “Moonshine?”

The man nodded, his crooked grin making a return. Ah, a way of self promotion, he made his own moonshine (very illegal and very rare to see in Yokohama.)

Dazai elbowed Chuuya, ‘Good work.’

“So, if you have been here since the very beginning, how many dogs would you say have died so far?” Dazai slipped back into the conversation and the man shrugged.

“On days like this, it’s mostly just picking the good ones. The newbies go up against each other and the ones who show some real potential get to continue.”

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows, “...And the ones that don’t?”

“Ah, no one really knows what happens to them. The runts, if I were to take a guess, get thrown out on the streets to fend for themselves. We had one not too long ago, maybe three months, blackest fur you’d seen, but she wasn't like the rest of these mutts. She was smart, too friendly. Everyone loved havin’ her around, but boss must not’ve liked her.”

Dazai did not let any expression show on his face, though he felt Chuuya stiffen next to him.

Well, now at least he knew where Daisy had originated.

Chuuya was no doubt pissed.

“But a lot of the dogs, they don’t die, they go mad until we’re forced to put em’ down,” the man shrugged, “I suppose it’s part of th’ business.”

Dazai subtly placed a hand on the small of Chuuya’s back. Not as physical support, but so Chuuya wouldn’t attack the man in front of them.

“Yes,” Dazai nodded, “that makes sense. And this ring, are there others like it?”

The man let out another chuckle, “awfully curious huh? Well, as far as I know, this is the only one around here. I think the big boss wants to expand, he just needs more dogs for that. Maybe he was plannin’ on breeding more or stealin’ from the vets. To save some time.”

Chuuya snorted, “and how did he plan on doing that?”

“He’s got his ways. A sneaky man.”

“...Right,” Dazai nodded along, and now he had all the pieces to the puzzle he needed to know. There were no other rings in this area, after this ring was busted and Fukuchi was taken in or killed, the dogs would no longer be an issue.

It seemed that their ten minutes were up, because a ripple of murmurs broke across the crowd as the doors opened, a lumbering figure entering with a dog at his side. Fukuchi and his star champion, who looked downright blood thirsty.

“There he is,” the man pointed a bony finger to the two of them, “he got his dog back, good on him.”

Yeah, Dazai thought to himself, good on him.

Now, they just needed to separate Fukuchi from the crowd.

Though it seems that their plan would have to be adjusted because instead of overseeing the activities as he normally did, he moved to the middle of the concrete ring, taking all of the audience members' attention as his eyes scanned over the crowd.

Dazai was quick to grab Chuuya’s hood and pull it up to cover red hair.

They went on unnoticed.

“What a turnout we have tonight!” Fukuchi announced, a lie since the crowds were usually twice as big. But keeping the crowd's spirits up was what really mattered, Dazai supposed. “We’ve seen some new dogs out here, but I have a special treat for you tonight!”

Dazai felt something in his gut twist as he quickly rerouted his plan. He did not like unknown variables.

Fukuchi raised the heavy metal chain connected to the dog's neck, “since I have found my prized dog, out of celebration, we will let him fight tonight! What do you say!”

The room burst into loud cheers and whistles. They found a sick glee in pitting dogs against each other. Dazai had no interest in such shenanigans, and apparently, neither did Chuuya because he looked absolutely livid.

The gleam in Fukuchi’s eyes returned and Dazai knew he was planning something much worse.

He raised a hand and suddenly a cage was pushed into the arena, a much smaller looking dog, one with dark fur that had not yet been torn through.

“Now, what better fight would we have than family against family?”

Everyone went silent.

“This dog,” Fukuchi continued, pointing to the one in the cage, “is the son of my prized dog. What do you think? Does he stand a chance?”

There were loud noises of disagreement from the crowd. Not because they disagreed with the prospect of a father beating his son to death, but because they all knew there was no chance the son would win.

Everyone scrambled to place their bets on the father while the cage was opened, and the chains were pinned to the ground. Enough length to let the dogs nip at each other and roll around, but not enough slack to let them escape.

Excited chatter surrounded the two of them as Chuuya suddenly grabbed Dazai by the collar and pulled him down. Apparently, he had been trying to get Dazai’s attention while he was thinking.

“Do you fucking hear me!? Do I have your attention now?”

“Yes, yes you do, though I need it back to think-”

Chuuya lifted his hand back to slap Dazai across the face, and Dazai avoided making any noises or causing a scene, simply blinking at Chuuya.

“We can’t let them fight, that bastard said he would let this dog take a break!” Chuuya hissed into Dazai’s ear, “The dog he’s going against- his son- it looks like he's going to get fuckling torn apart, but he’s not. The father is sick, he is going to die in this!”

Chuuya’s professional opinion far outweighed the crowd's opinion on who would win. Of course, Dazai trusted it more.

“We can do nothing about the situation currently,” Dazai stated calmly, laying out the facts, “Fukuchi is not in a good position to take down, not around those dogs. If we can find a way to separate them-”

“Dazai they cannot fight,” Chuuya stared at Dazai with a cold stony glare, one that made Dazai’s insides stirr. “They will fucking die, and you’re just going to allow this to happen?”

Dazai had no choice, really. After the fight would be the proper time to detain Fukuchi.

Chuuya seemed to notice his hesitation because he scoffed and roughly pushed Dazai back, releasing his grip on the front of his shirt and making him stumble back a few steps.

“You’re fucking useless, I’ll do it myself.”

“Chuuya-”

Dazai saw the exact moment their carefully crafted plan crumbled apart as Chuuya turned his back to Dazai. Dazai reached out to grab him, but it was all in vain.

The dogs were now in their places, barking and baring their teeth at each other as the crowd cheered and rumbled and Fukuchi, still in the arena, watched over them like some kind of demented ringmaster.

Chuuya made his way through the crowd, pushing past people and shoving them out of the way, and shortly disappeared from Dazai’s vision, then, much to Dazai’s dismay, he jumped over the barrier. The crowd all gasped at the intrusion, pointing at Chuuya’s figure as he stormed across the arena, getting closer to the dogs. His hood fell, revealing fiery hair, and Fukuchi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Dazai slowly put his fingers up to the comm system, “I am going to need a Mafia medic on the scene as quickly as possible. Proceed normally until we have Fukuchi detained.”

Dazai was not one to hitch his hopes on small chances, but he often gambled and putting his trust in Chuuya seemed to be the only thing he could do. Dazai himself would be no use in the arena with him, the best he could do for the redhead was pull strings behind the scene and…

Dazai felt the pistol strapped to his side.

“You!” Chuuya announced in a booming voice, pointing to the crowd, “are all fucking sick bastards, wanting to watch this shit. You’re miserable,” he snarled, then turned his attention to the dogs in front of him, the older struggling against his chains, foaming at the mouth to attack Chuuya. The other didn’t seem to want to attack him as much, defensive.

Dazai saw a moment of sadness flash across Chuuya’s face as he looked at the dogs in front of him, then it turned to one of pure hatred as he looked up to Fukuchi.

“And you, you are the fucking worst.”

Fukuchi clapped slowly, “while I am impressed by this show of bravery, what do you plan to do, Chuuya Nakahara?”

Chuuya ignored the man for a moment to stare at the younger dog, and Dazai could not hear what he said from his distance as he pushed past the crowd to get close to the barrier, but whatever he said made the dog sit and cower.

“And you,” Chuuya whipped around to the other dog, “there's no talking to you. You’re out of it, huh?”

The dog continued to growl, but did not bite Chuuya’s hand as he confidently reached it out to pat at his head, showing no signs of fear. “You’re past saving,” Chuuya continued, “but just stop the suffering.”

Dazai saw pain and panic in the dog's eyes as Chuuya walked past him, but he nor his son lunged at Chuuya.

An unsettled silence fell across the audience, some murmuring in awe to each other as Chuuya approached Fukuchi.

“How would you people like to see humans fighting instead of dogs, huh? Would that fulfill your sick interest?”

A stone sunk in Dazai’s stomach as the crowd cheered once more, deafening. Louder than it had all night.

Chuuya turned back to Fukuchi, “Well, you hear what your crowd wants. Can’t disappoint, can you? If you’re going to continue making these dogs fight, then how about you fucking fight to, throw your weight around?”

The taunting by Chuuya was enough to make even the most level-headed accept the challenge. Fukuchi’s mustache twitched and Dazai saw the malice in his very posture as he started to stretch out his muscles.

“I can arrange this, I suppose,” he stood at full height, towering over Chuuya by a good two heads, then looked to the crowd, “Bets must be made right now. Me, or the redhead?”

It was obvious who the choice was, and Dazai did not particularly blame the audience for their choice, chanting Fukuchi’s name as if this was some sport.

It very possibly was to him.

The dogs were pulled off to the side as Fukuchi spoke again, “how about we raise the stakes?”

Dazai sincerely hoped Chuuya wasn’t stupid enough to take the offer.

Chuuya cocked his head to the side, “Let’s hear it then?”

Dammit.

Dazai finally managed to push his way to the very front, and once Chuuya caught sight of him, he nodded.

He would be fine.

Well, that was certainly hard to believe.

“If I win, you stay here,” Fukuchi offered, “and treat the dogs so they can continue to fight.”

Chuuya crossed his arms, “and if I win?”

“You can have my star dog. I can tell he’s losing his use, soon enough, he will die in a miserable fight just as the other dogs here.”

Fukuchi’s words seemed to set a fire under Chuuya’s bones because his whole body went rigid with hatred.

“I fucking accept,” he spat as they got into positions, about five feet away from each other.

There was nothing Dazai could possibly do now besides cause mass hysteria in the crowd by shooting Fukuchi on the spot, and even then it didn’t seem like something a private investigator would do. His hands were tied and the stone in his gut grew heavier as the sounds around him increased.

Executive Kouyou had been correct.

A year ago Dazai would not have dreamed about going out on a mission with someone so close to his heart. A year ago Dazai hadn’t even dreamed of having anyone close to his heart. Dazai would have lowered a subordinate a rank for letting their feelings get involved in a mission and now…

Dazai was contradicting every rule he had set for himself.

He was paralyzed.

The audience counted down but it was only because white noise in Dazai’s mind as he watched Chuuya roll his shoulders and drop his jacket to the blood-stained floor. Dazai really wished he had seen the gesture under different circumstances.

There was something dark in Chuuya’s look, something that Dazai had never seen before. His eyes were empty, the same eyes Dazai had seen in his mirror when he looked into it every morning three months ago.

It made Dazai’s skin itch.

“Fight!” the crowd, a stampede in Dazai’s ears boomed, and the fight had been initiated.

It was over before they knew it.

Honestly, he didn’t even stand a chance.

Fukuchi charged at Chuuya, barely giving him a moment to prepare himself.

Chuuya didn’t need a moment because he was swooping low, narrowly avoiding what would have been a devastating blow. Like some deadly dancer, Chuuya twisted around and grabbed Fukuchi’s muscled arm with both of his arms, using the man's momentum against him and swinging him around. It was the beginning of the same maneuver Dazai had seen Chuuya use on one of his customers before.

Though that simple maneuver wouldn’t stop Fukuchi. He took a step to stop the move, but that was what Chuuya had wanted. The redhead used the moment of Fukuchi trying to regain his balance to use his grip on the man's arm and lift his own body upwards.

Dazai now saw what he was going to do, and calmly walked past the barriers.

Chuuya twisted around and wrapped his legs around Fukuchi’s neck, jabbing his thumbs into the man's eyes and squeezing his thighs as hard as he could until Fukuchi was forced to his knees.

After that, the rest was up to Dazai because Fukuchi had his meaty hands wrapped around Chuuya’s arms in a bruising grip as a last-ditch effort to get the redhead off of him, but Chuuya was persistent and hung on until the last moment where Dazai had pulled out his pistol and aimed for the jugular, shooting with perfect efficiency.

The shot rang out across the room, echoing off of the tin walls, making the crowd all scream and shout in fear.

Fukuchi’s body went limp and his arms let go of Chuuya, falling to the floor.

“You Judo slammed a crime lord,” Dazai pointed out.

Dazai offered a hand to Chuuya, and Chuuya took it, pulling himself off of the large man and brushing himself off. The veterinarian looked down at the man with a slight quirk on his lips, ignoring Dazai's previous statement, “A dart?”

“Indeed,” Dazai nodded, inspecting the yellow dart sticking from the man's throat. “Non-lethal, of course, but he will be out of it for a while.”

“Well, serves him right. A public ass beating was just an added bonus.”

If Chuuya were a subordinate, Dazai would be banishing him from his sight immediately for directly disobeying orders for his own emotion. Dazai still had some lingering issues with what Chuuya had done, but he was not a subordinate.

“You were not supposed to do that,” Dazai pointed out as Chuuya pulled his jacket back on. The people watching the dogfights cleared out, talking on their phones on their way out.

The message of the arena being shut down would spread like wildfire. A good thing.

“Yeah, I know,” Chuuya huffed, “but I don’t fucking regret it. So if you're gonna yell about it, then go bitch somewhere else.”

Brash and reckless as always, Dazai should have predicted this would have happened. He sighed and felt the stone that had settled in his gut lighten.

“You are never working with me again,” Dazai decided, pushing the feelings aside until later when he was locked away in his room.

“Yeah, I don’t plan on it either,” Chuuya smirked, “and Dazai, I wouldn’t have fought him if I didn't think I could have handled myself. He had a tell, an easy one. His right hook was weak, he had injured his shoulder a year ago and it buckled as I grabbed onto it. I knew it would.”

Dazai placed the gun back in its rightful place and nudged Fukuchi’s body with his foot, “my my, so vicious of you.” Then he put his finger up to his ear, “we are clear. Transport the stable dogs in the transport trucks and send someone to retrieve Fukuchi. Chuuya is on his way to treat the unmovable dogs.”

“Yes boss,” Hirotsu responded, “should I send the medic in?”

Dazai eyed Chuuya for any injury and shook his head, “no, that will not be necessary.”

Once Dazai put his hand back in his pocket, Chuuya was already untying the chains of the younger dog who seemed much less violent. “So,” he grunted, “where are the other dogs?”

Dazai pushed past the cardboard ring, “right this way, chibi.”

The clean-up operation had lasted well until sunset. There had been multiple dogs, about a dozen, that needed Chuuya’s immediate attention, half of which were unapproachable. There were many injuries, Dazai had assumed because they were the newer dogs, less experienced. But that also meant they were mentally salvageable.

Once they were finally done, Chuuya was visibly tired and Dazai had many regrets about bringing him out here, but the job had gotten done.

Currently, they were outside of the warehouse, leaning against the wall as more and more Mafia cars arrived. Dazai had never thought Chuuya to be a smoker, but despite that, the redhead took a long drag and pulled the cigarette away from his lips, releasing the smoke shortly after. It mingled in the cold winter air, crystalizing almost immediately with their breaths.

The sun peeked over the horizon and they both stood in silence.

“Here,” Chuuya grabbed the cigarette between his fingers and reached up, jamming it between Dazai’s lips. “You look like you could use it.”

Dazai hummed appreciatively and inhaled.

“The newbies, they’re gonna be fine, hopefully, find good homes,” Chuuya informed shortly, “the old ones… they’re gonna have a hard time, but they’re not unsalvageable.”

“That is good to hear,” Dazai watched as cars started to pull away from the warehouse. The police couldn't even find this place if they tried. “And what of Fukuchi’s mutt?”

Chuuya took the cigarette back from Dazai and leaned his head back against the wall, face upturned towards the sky. Dazai mentally cataloged the image. “He passed,” Chuuya opened his eyes to the sky, “refused to leave Fukuchi. Grew enraged. His heart couldn’t take it, I guess.”

“I suppose not everything can come with a good ending,” Dazai watched the smoke billow in the sky, then averted his gaze to the dog sitting at Chuuya’s feet. “And what of this one?”

Chuuya placed a gloved hand on the dog's head, chocolate brown fur smoothing under his fingers. The same dog who would have been forced to fight his father if Chuuya had not intervened. “His name's Weller and he’s coming home with me.”

Dazai couldn’t say he was surprised.

“Weller? As in the whiskey? I did not believe Chuuya was a whiskey type.”

Chuuya rubbed at the dog's ear, “No, wine is definitely fucking better. I just like the name.”

“And is Chuuya sure his apartment is large enough to accommodate two dogs, a blind cat, and a menacing snake?”

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows and jabbed Dazai with his elbow, “Leave Princess the hell alone. And I can always buy a larger apartment.”

“Can Chuuya affor-’

“Yes,” Chuuya stomped on Dazai’s toes, “I can afford it.” Blue eyes followed Dazai’s line of sight and saw Hirotsu pull up to them, Gin and Tachihara must have taken a different car back because they were nowhere in sight.

“Let's go,” he ordered Dazai, flicking his cigarette before throwing it to the clump of snow and stomping on the embers, “I have to check into work.”

Dazai climbed in the car with Chuuya and met Hirotsu’s eyes through the rearview mirror, “yes, take Chuuya home, he will not be working today.”

They both ignored Chuuya’s protests all the way back until the redhead grew tired, eyelids drooping as he rested his head against his new dog companion laying on his lap.

Yes, Dazai had predicted this would happen.

The day had proven a lot to Dazai, though he would not admit that the power display Chuuya had shown would be on his mind for the rest of the night, and he absolutely refused to admit that it had stirred up something in his gut.

Dazai pulled out his phone to alert Yosano that Chuuya would not be turning in for work.

Chapter Text

The next time Dazai saw Chuuya was two days later, of course, after executive Kouyou questioned his every motive.

“So, I take it the operation went smoothly then?” She asked the morning Dazai and the Black Lizard had returned. Dazai had let the Black Lizard go back to their homes and sleep the day away, not wanting any sloppy mistakes after their second overnight mission in a row.

Dazai nodded along and patted Daisy’s head. After smelling the scent of other dogs on him, she had been curiously nosing at his clothes for hours until he was forced to take a shower and wash the scent away.

“Yes, while there had been a few minor setbacks, ones that I’m sure you were made aware of, the operation went without a hitch. In fact, it was easier than I had anticipated. The dogs ruining our operations will no longer be an issue, and we reclaim our area of the abandoned port.”

The woman nodded, though she did not look too pleased. She was never pleased, always standing tall and with a tight posture. Dazai supposed she was what every proper boss should be like, though he preferred the unorthodox.

“The setbacks…”

“Yes,” Dazai sighed, “as in the civilian I brought along with me single-handedly took down a crime boss three times his size and helped re-locate the dogs. A truly noble accomplishment.”

“For this line of work, one does not need to be noble, there is no room for it.” executive Kouyou spoke only the truth, Dazai would admit. “And this civilian, if you plan to induce them…”

“No need for that,” Dazai waved her off, “let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. I do not plan on offering this person a position in this line of work, they are simply not made for it.”

And for once, he and executive Kouyou seemed to come to an agreement because she did not argue.

Dazai would like to keep Chuuya far away from the underground world, especially after the events of last night.

“They let their emotions dictate their actions,” Dazai continued, eye glinting, “a loose cannon such as that one would be fun to deal with, No?”

The woman stiffened, but she knew that Dazai was only playing tricks on her.

“Nevertheless,” Dazai sighed, leaning back, “I will not let someone so brash work under me. While entertaining, who knows the number of other plans that could go astray. I would much rather have someone like you, executive Kouyou, under my watchful eye.”

As a threat or a compliment, Kouyou would take it as she liked. Because between them, it was a constant game of cat and mouse lately, though Kouyou was not suddenly defensive for herself, Dazai could tell. She was in the Mafia, after all, she was willing to throw her life away.

Though that didn’t mean she would stop protecting the thing dearest to her.

“You are excused,” Dazai ordered, and the woman bowed and left without further words.

Dazai did not know what she could possibly be holding so close to her heart. But if she started to become pesky and intervene with his agenda, then Dazai would need to address it.

The next day Dazai noticed that people were awfully… cheery. Half of Dazai’s subordinates opted to skip work with lame excuses and both Odasaku and Ango texted him ‘happy holidays,’ Odasaku even added a picture of him with the orphans.

It was strange because last Dazai checked, it should have been a completely normal day.

Snow piled outside, not enough to limit travel, but enough to play around in, as Dazai noticed the citizens of Yokohama doing as he drove across the city on his way to the vet. There were couples out walking the streets, bundled up and acting oddly joyous as they shared secretive looks to each other.

...Was he missing something?

“My my, I wonder what the big deal is,” Dazai asked himself and Daisy, sitting in the passenger seat (much more behaved this time around) only stared out the window in wonder. It had been a while since Dazai had taken her to the vet.

In his pocket, Dazai’s phone buzzed, and if he was to make an educated guess, then it was Chuuya. Though he was already on his way to the vet hospital anyway, no reason to check his phone now.

Upon arriving, the vet was more vacant than usual. There were not many cars in the parking lot, so Dazai chose to park next to Chuuya’s car, idly wondering if he decided to park his motorcycle in the parking garage for the remaining cold season.

Daisy shoved her head against the glass of the car window and whined, tail thumping against the dashboard. Dazai narrowly avoided her tail as he shut off the car, “Hey! Watch where you fling that murder weapon!”

Daisy looked back to him with excitement in her canine eyes and Dazai smirked, “do you know where we are?”

Daisy whined and did a circle in her seat, body wiggling with excitement.

Dazai felt the smirk on his face grow. She wasn’t cute. She totally wasn't.

“Where are we?” he repeated, and Daisy barked, crawling over to the driver's seat in an attempt to get Dazai to let her out. Dazai snickered at her reactions and pushed her away.

Daisy let out a long howl which could possibly be heard through the car and Dazai finally gave in, opening his door. Daisy wasted no time, jumping out of Dazai’s side right after, nearly plowing him over in her haste to run up to the glass double doors.

“Patients dog,” Dazai called as he slowly walked up the steps. As he approached the glass doors, he saw Chuuya standing on the other side, jogging up to open the doors. He was certainly excited to meet Daisy.

The dog slipped through the doors and immediately jumped up on top of Chuuya, sending them both to the floor.

“Down!” Dazai ordered, amused as he reached the doors and closed them, not allowing any more winter air to slip into the building.

“Hey girl!” Chuuya greeted, seemingly accepting his fate as he lay on the floor, letting Daisy roll on top of him and slobber his face up. Chuuya reached his arms out and hugged Daisy, chuckling as the dog continued to yelp happily.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dazai caught Yosano snapping a picture of the moment before Chuuya was pulling himself up, digging his fingers into dark fur to scratch her.

“Good girl,” Chuuya repeated, “good to see you.”

Daisy pulled back with one last lick and went to greet the other workers. Dazai offered a hand and Chuuya took it, lifting himself up from the tiled floor.

Chuuya looked significantly better than the last time Dazai had seen him. He had gained the normal color of his skin back and no longer looked as if he had pulled three all-nighters in a row. Dazai took a closer look and Chuuya’s eyes…

The shine had returned to them.

The heavy weight that had been sitting on Dazai’s shoulders immediately dissipated at the sight.

Then Dazai scanned the vet and…

Decorations were strung out, red and green. Kunikida seemed to be setting up a tree in the corner of the room and now that Dazai was focusing on his surroundings, the scrubs the workers wore were either red or green with festive designs on them.

Dazai’s eyes went back to Chuuya, who took the red scrubs with little bells on them. Tying Chuuya’s hair back was what looked like a green ribbon and the redhead was looking at Dazai with furrowed eyebrows, snapping in his face.

“Idiot? Why do ya look so lost?”

Dazai gestured to… well, everything. “What is all of this?”

Chuuya’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he carefully observed Dazai as if he had a concussion. Chuuya opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and took a moment to think about what he was going to say before opening it again. “Check your phone, dumbass.”

Dazai hesitated before pulling his phone out and looking at the message he had missed on his drive to the vet.

‘Slug: Merry Christmas idiot.’

Attached to the message was an image of Copper, Mackerel, and even that damn snake all wearing tiny Santa hats. The photo drew a snort from Dazai.

Now, he knew what he was missing.

“Ah, Christmas,” a foreign matter to Dazai, since he had never cared too much about it.

“Christmas eve,” Chuuya corrected, “do you not celebrate it?”

Dazai shrugged, “I do not usually join in on the festivities, my schedule does not allow for it.”

“Well, your schedule can burn in hell,” Chuuya announced, and from the back, Kunikida yelled out something about adding a nickel to the curse jar. Chuuya grudgingly stomped over and shoved a whole dollar into the jar on the reception desk before continuing, “we’re hosting another party here tonight. Hopefully nothing like the dumpster fire Halloween party. You’re coming.”

Dazai smirked, just to piss Chuuya off, “now am I?”

“Yes, I'm making you,” Chuuya said very seriously, and Dazai had a hard time believing he was joking.

Daisy made her return, brushing against Chuuya’s leg like a shark. “Welcome back,” Chuuya greeted, pulling a treat out from his scrub pocket and passing it to her.

“Ah, how is the other dog?” Dazai asked suddenly, “Weller, I believe his name was?”

“Oh” Chuuya brightened up, “I haven’t taken him back home with me yet, gotta let him stay here and recover, get his vaccines, and try to socialize him with other animals. He was only in that ring for a short amount of time, a smart dog.”

Though there seemed to be something else Chuuya was wanting to say to him because the redhead looked from Dazai and back to Daisy.

“Is there an issue?”

“I have news,” Chuuya seemed conflicted and that set Dazai on edge.

“Good news I hope?”

Chuuya eyed the other occupants of the room before grabbing Dazai’s sleeve, pulling him to the back room where the other animals in the kennels were. “Daisy, come on!” He called out, holding the door open, and the dog jumped to attention, entering the room.

“What seems to be the issue?”

Chuuya shut the door behind him and put a hand on Daisy’s hair, though not to calm the dog down, but to stabilize himself. Dazai crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for the veterinarian to speak.

“I did a little digging,” Chuuya reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “You remember that guy who visited not too long ago, claiming that he had owned Daisy?”

Dazai nodded but said nothing.

“Well, I think you and I both know that it was entirely possible that Daisy originated from that ring, bred to fight. Though now I confirmed it. That man, I saw him there, in the crowd. And the one selling the moonshine? He said something matching her description too.”

Dazai looked down to the dog who was now sitting patiently, looking back and forth between the two of them, zeroing in on their conversation. Compared to the bulky and snarling dogs Dazai had seen, it was hard to believe that she was meant to be raised like that. Though Dazai supposed every dog was born normal until given a reason not to be.

“Yes, so she is,” Dazai agreed.

“But it doesn't stop there, I had to check,” Chuuya unfolded the paper with careful hands and passed it to Dazai. “The dog, Fukuchi’s star. I got some bloodwork done after, and he’s a match.”

Dazai eyed the contents of the paper. A DNA test, linking the two dogs together.

“So, Daisy’s father was, in fact, the star dog?”

Chuuya nodded and looked at Daisy with sad eyes as if he hadn’t saved her life. Daisy seemed oblivious, though licked Chuuya’s fingertips anyways.

“But,” the veterinarian continued, “that’s not all.”

“It gets worse?”

“No,” Chuuya smirked, “it gets better.”

Dazai watched as Chuuya moved to one of the nearest kennels, whispering something to the animal inside before unlatching the crate and opening it up. Weller stepped out, looking significantly better than when chained up and growling at the humans.

He had been washed and his thick fur smelt like soap all the way from where Dazai was standing. He was defensive, stepping out and cautiously glaring at his surroundings, but froze when Daisy approached him.

Dazai expected for a fight to break out, for Weller to attack Daisy, though Chuuya was a professional and he would not do anything that wasn’t safe. They both sat back and watched as the two dogs circled each other, and once Daisy leaned in to sniff him, she looked back to Dazai in excitement.

Dazai raised an eyebrow, “what is it?” He asked the dog, not missing Chuuya’s smirk. So what if he talked to his animal? At least it wasn’t the puppy talk high pitched voice that everyone else seemed to do.

“Daisy and Weller,” Chuuya gestured to the two of them, a soft look on his face. Rare. “They’re siblings.”

“Ah,” Dazai nodded, and they did in fact look alike. “Same biological father and mother?”

“Yep,” Chuuya confirmed, “the chances were low since there were so many batches of them but I had a feeling.”

“Well, you were correct,” Dazai handed the paper back to Chuuya, “at least now, these two won’t be separated, correct?”

Chuuya’s eyes widened at the hidden question beneath Dazai’s original one. Dazai knew he would read between the lines.

“Yeah,” Chuuya decided, “I’d be damned if they were to ever be separated.”

If anyone were to ask Chuuya if he had stayed up matching DNA records, then he would deny it. If his sister were to ask if he had gotten involved in some shady dealings about a dog ring, he would also deny it. Luckily, neither had happened and everything was smooth sailing.

Ane-San had fought tooth and nail to keep Chuuya from whatever life she was leading, though one day he would have to make her understand that whatever she did would not make him love her any less. Especially if she was doing it for his sake.

So when Chuuya returned home after the dog-ring and told his sister that he had to take another day off from feeling sick, he had not brought up the real reason when she dropped by with some more tea.

Sure, it helped. Chuuya’s muscles were sore and he was overtired, but it was just as hard not telling her everything that had happened, because obviously, it would be confidential.

He was so focused on hectic work matters and personal issues that he hadn’t realized it was Christmas eve until it was upon him the next day.

And he practically cursed himself out when he realized that he hadn’t sent the invitations out yet.

After the last party, he had threatened not to have anymore, but Chuuya knew it would be a good business move after the storm and all of the vets in the area suddenly received all of the stray dogs from the street. The vets hadn’t had any time to connect over the holiday besides bullying each other on Twitter, and Chuuya would reluctantly host another party.

And hope this one wasn’t a shit show.

“Yosano, you know how to hang the damn lights correctly, stop horsing around!” Chuuya ordered, a mere three hours before the party.

The woman shot him a petty look from her place on the step ladder and readjusted the lights along the ceiling. Atsushi laughed nervously next to her, passing her some more lights.

Kenji sped past Chuuya, tensile in hand, and he made a mental note to sweep the trail the intern had left later.

Kunikida, much like Chuuya, was bossing the others around, though he handled things outside. If Chuuya were ever to mysteriously die, he would want that man to take his place. Chuuya peered out the window to see that things were coming along nicely, the lights on the outside had been hung and the inflatable decorations had been blown up, just in time for the next wave of snow to come down. Thankfully, it was nothing like the harsh and unforgiving sleet, but more of a fluffy powdery substance.

Chuuya snorted, shaking his head. Leave it to fucking Christmas for the weather to get its shit together.

Then, the amusement quickly drained from his body when he spotted it on the floor. Small and glinting evilly, pointy side up. Chuuya quickly swooped low to grab it and tossed it in a nearby trashcan, storming back to the other workers. “Whoever left that thumbtack on the floor, count your fucking days!”

“Curse jar!”

“Dammit!”

“Another one.”

“Dang it!”

“That’s better.”

Chuuya stuffed another dollar into the coin jar and he could practically hear Dazai snickering in the back of his mind, even if he had forced the idiot to stay in the back room with the dogs to watch them. Looking back on it now, Chuuya didn’t know what got into him, trusting Dazai to be responsible for once.

Maybe it was because he had seen how serious he could be with that damn job of his.

Chuuya eyed the time and pushed past the back room, eyes narrowed as he saw Dazai sitting out on the couch, leaning over one of the dogs and talking to them as he…

“What in the hell are you doing?” Chuuya asked, unimpressed.

“Ah,” Dazai didn’t even jump, simply turning to Chuuya to fully show his hard work, “I figured I would help our dear dogs get into the festive spirit!”

Chuuya couldn’t help but huff at the sight as the dogs ran up to him, both wearing matching elf hats and striped socks on their paws. “You’re like one of those damn mothers who dress their children the exact same way.”

“But they're siblings!” Dazai argued, rising from his seat, “they are practically identical!”

Chuuya would beg to differ. Weller was larger than Daisey in both height and weight with much more scars under his fur. Daisy, obviously, looked more cared for, and while she had chocolate eyes, Weller had bluish ones. Though the color would fade to gold with time.

Chuuya paused, “Wait, where in the hell did you get these decorations?”

Dazai simply pointed to the supply closet and Chuuya facepalmed as he opened the door and picked up the last tub filled with Christmas supplies. He knew he was missing some, but now he had them all.

“I believe a ‘thank you’ would be nice!”

Chuuya stopped at the doorway to glare at Dazai, ”Don’t you have work or something?”

“All of my subordinates took off~”

“Yeah, because it's Christmas eve you jackass,” Chuuya shot back, “go home and change before you drag yourself back here. You are not about to wear fucking black at my Christmas party.”

“But I have no festive clothes in my closet!”

Chuuya sighed because that was extremely fucking sad. “Just pick up one of those ugly sweaters on your way back. Whatever.”

Dazai made a look of disgust but Chuuya had no more time to console him on having to wear what he considered a ‘fashion disaster’ because he was running out of time to get decorations out and-

He still hadn’t sent out the invitations.

Dammit.

As Chuuya instructed, Dazai had left to try to attempt… whatever it was that people did during the holidays. Of course, he failed miserably and ended up back in his office, though he wasn’t there for long because by the time the sun was setting, Chuuya texted him something along the lines of ‘you better get your lazy ass back here’ to which Dazai actually responded.

A thumbs-up emoji.

Chuuya disliked the message.

Dazai, of course, ended up showing fashionably late because he had forgotten to expand his wardrobe with festive clothing, and all of the stores nearby were closed. (Though he would tell Chuuya that he had fallen asleep and was in no rush to get to his Christmas party.)

So by the time Dazai and Daisy arrived, night had fallen and the parking lot was almost at full capacity. Dazai somehow found a space close to the front and admired the completed look of the decorations once he stepped out of the car.

Golden Christmas lights hung from the roof, the kind that flickered and looked like icicles. Shimmery tinsel was woven through the bushes alone with smaller lights along the walkways. The blow-up decorations were very child-like, Santa going down a chimney, though at least there was no giant spider this time around.

He was not big on Christmas, but this vet certainly was.
.
“Come along Daisy, don’t mind the obnoxious lights,” Dazai said, and Daisy woofed, following him in. No people were outside, the temperature had dropped, but there were not as many people as Dazai had expected. The Halloween one seemed to be open for customers but this one seemed to be for the vets and a small number of the customers (that probably funded the vet to keep it on its feet.)

A good business move, Dazai must admit.

“Well hello!” A boisterous voice greeted, and Dazai looked to his left upon entering to see Fitzgerald in a Santa hat.

Dazai waved.

But the man continued to say, “Ah, you must be Nakahara’s boyfriend. Congratulations, he is desired by a lot of people in the vet industry.”

Dazai didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about that last part, but the fact that now everyone believed they were dating brought him much satisfaction. Dazai had planted a seed and it had grown into a fine flower.

“I will keep that in mind,” Dazai smirked, “though I wouldn’t have my hopes up if I were them.”

“Understandable,” the man nodded, “you hold him close and- Ah,” he turned his attention to the small woman who had been tapping on his shoulder for the duration of their conversation. She whispered something in his ear and he half-heartedly apologized to Dazai before dismissing himself.

It seemed that Dazai was doomed to be ambushed the moment he walked into the door because next came an interaction that he could have lived the rest of his life without having.

“Why hello,” the woman, Chuuya’s customer, Ms.Chiyo, greeted. “I wasn’t aware that you were coming to this party.”

She smiled but there was no niceness in it. Dazai was much the same way.

“Why yes, I do not much enjoy parties but I am loyal to Chuuya and would not miss out,” he answered because he knew bringing up Chuuya would rub her the wrong way.

She gritted her old ancient teeth, “Yes, and where did Nakahara go the other day when I scheduled an appointment with him and you took him off somewhere?”

Ah, Dazai loved this little game.

He smirked, “yes, yes I did. Chuuya is a busy man and he was feeling a bit stressed so I figured I would take some of the stress off of his shoulders…” Dazai winked conservatively, “if you know what I mean.”

The woman's face twisted with disgust, “you are vulgar,” she spat, jabbing a finger to Dazai’s chest, “You and your hideous dog are not welcome here.”

Dazai raised an eyebrow, “My dog is beautiful, thank you very much. And your dog? She looks like she is decomposing so-”

“You better stop while you are ahead boy I fund this whole vet-”

“Yes well,” Dazai shrugged, “I’m sure I can offer much more funds than you can. In fact, I can buy this whole place out, though, for Chuuya’s sake, it would only be in his favor.”

The woman was red now, and it was strange to see such an old person get worked up, though it seemed he would not be able to taunt her into a heart attack because Chuuya quickly intervened, saying he was sorry to the woman for whatever reason then he was grabbing Dazai by the cuff of his sleeve and dragging him to the reception desk. Away from the entrance, thank goodness.

“You need to stop getting into fights with my damn customers,” Chuuya hissed, “we invite her here to keep up a good appearance, you know.”

“Yes, I am aware, though don’t worry about her pulling her money out of the project because I can simply offer mine.”

Instead of looking happy like any other sane person would be, Chuuya looked appalled, “you keep your money to yourself, idiot. I don’t want it.”

“Fine then,” Dazai sighed, “if you insist.”

“Oh, I more than insist,” Chuuya then looked down to the shirt Dazai was wearing, and Dazai was proud to say that the redhead snickered at it. Just what he had intended.

“Oh, does Chuuya like my outfit selection?”

“It’s cheesy as hell,” Chuuya shook his head and Dazai looked down at his red and green sweater.

There was a picture of a gingerbread man being split in half with the words ‘Oh snap’ above it.

Dazai thought it was the perfect shirt for the occasion.

Chuuya said no more about it as he bent down to greet Daisy, though Dazai could see the amusement lingering in his eyes. He scratched the dog on the ears then frowned, “does she not have anything to wear?”

“Well, there was the previous costume I made her and her brother wear-”

“Oh hell no,” Chuuya shook his head, “I'm not making her wear that. It looked terrible.”

Dazai watched as Chuuya took the pair of reindeer antlers from his own head and placed it on Daisy, who surprisingly didn’t shake them off. “There,” Chuuya nodded in approval, standing back up.

Dazai noticed that Chuuya still wore his Christmas-themed scrubs, though the antlers and the bell added to his choker (that Yosano had no doubt made him wear) added onto the look. “But now Chuuya doesn't look like a reindeer! Just like a dog with a bell on his collar.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, there are more pairs of antlers in the back. I would make you wear one but obviously, it wouldn’t make you look right with the sweatshirt.”

Dazai momentarily allowed himself to feel relief for not having to wear the itchy headband until Chuuya was reaching up and placing an equally as itchy Santa hat on top of Dazai’s head.

Ah. he had celebrated too soon.

Dazai looked around the room then back to Chuuya, “where is Weller? It was to my understanding that he had not been taken to your apartment yet.”

Chuuya looked at Dazai as if he had just asked a very stupid question, then a moment later pointed back to the break room. “I kept him back there, he just came back from a dogfighting ring. No way am I going to expose him to all of this.”

Ah, yes Dazai supposed it was a good enough reason. To be put back into a rowdy environment such as this one could trigger the dog, no matter how well behaved he may have been coming out of the ring compared to the others.

Even so, Dazai eyed Chuuya’s phone as he pulled it out, the screen showcasing a… camera.

Dazai’s lips curled upwards in amusement, “A baby monitor?”

Chuuya quickly moved his screen out of Dazai’s view and glared at him, “I wanted to make sure he was doing okay, fuck off.”

So Chuuya had set up a camera to watch his dog. Dazai wouldn’t put it past him to have one for each animal.

“To each their own I suppose,” Dazai looked down to Daisy, “Wanna see your brother?”

Her tail immediately started wagging.

“I can take her back to see him while I grab another pair of antlers,” Chuuya offered, and Dazai nodded in acceptance. Chuuya glared at Dazai, “Don’t go getting into any more arguments with any other guests, you hear me?”

“Yes yes, loud and clear,” Dazai said, already scanning over the crowd to look for someone to bother.

Chuuya gave him an apprehensive look but turned to follow Daisy anyway.

Dazai caught a glance of Fyodor and his vampiric looks and smirked at the number of insults he already had in mind, though before he could saunter over to him and his weird white-haired friend -Nikolai Gogol if he remembered correctly- that also had a weird infatuation with Chuuya, Yosano and Ranpo greeted him, wearing matching elf costumes.

“I already know what you’re planning on doing and we’re gonna save it for later,” Yosano grinned and grabbed Dazai, whisking him away to play some strange game of ‘pin the tail on the reindeer.’

Dazai had never gotten to appreciate the games Chuuya had set up at the other party, but this one he certainly did, especially when he ‘accidentally’ pinned the thumbtack into Ranpo’s costume.

Chuuya returned shortly, antlers back on his head, and Dazai flicked them and before Chuuya could yell in his face something caught his gaze as his eyes slowly followed something across the room.

Dazai looked over his shoulder to see what had caught Chuuya’s attention but Chuuya shoved his face away to stomp off somewhere, grumbling something under his breath like, “If Mark Twain actually came to my party in a damn sexy Santa suit I'm roasting him alive.”

Though the fun activities of the night did not end there.

“Now,” Chuuya announced, standing on the reception desk, “the game we have planned for tonight is one we have never done before. Is everyone okay with that?”

The room filled with cheers as a few lifted their solo cups. Dazai wondered if Fyodor had spiked the drinks again.

“Good, it’s a Twitter game. Ranpo and Yosano will read a tweet that someone from one of the vets has posted, and the people from each three of the vets here will have to guess who said it. I have no idea what these are going to be, Yosano and Ranpo are the ones who picked them out, so I’m just as in the dark as you guys are.”

Dazai saw the look on Yosano’s face, and he knew that promising things were to come.

Cheers and Chuuya continued, “we don’t have a buzzer or anything fancy like that, but the first to raise their hand will be chosen, and the team with the most points will get…” Chuuya looked to the side as if he hadn't planned this out, and from the crowd, a voice yelled, “A free date with Chuuya!”

Everyone roared in agreement and Dazai sputtered, “Wha- absolutely not!”

And for the sake of Dazai and Chuuya’s growing relationship, Yosano stepped in. “The winners get the golden leash, as always. You know the rules.”

Chuuya nodded, unfazed as if nothing had just happened, “Right, golden leash. I’ll hand it over to you two,” he jumped down from the table and walked back to where Dazai was standing.

“Shouldn’t Chuuya be in the very front so they can see his hand?” Dazai teased, and Chuuya rolled his eyes.

“I don’t really give a shit about this game.”

Though soon, Chuuya would contradict himself.

“Okay starting it off easy,” Yosano announced, grabbing a slip of paper Ranpo had given her from the Santa hat, “Who said, ‘You can play your American sports all you want, but still expect to be beaten. We’ll win.’”

Dazai hummed, “My I wonder who that could be. Whoever is brash and competitive enough to post tha-”

Fitzgerald raised his hand, “I clearly remember that being Nakahara.”

“Yeah,” Chuuya grinned, “You still sore over that loss?”

There was a ripple of laughs and a few pained noises from Fitzgerald and his vet before Ranpo continued.

“Alright,” he continued, “who here tweeted, ‘I had ketchup on my face.”

The crowd immediately went into uproar and Nikolai raised his hand the quickest, “It was when our vet was being accused of vampirism!”

“Yes,” Fyodor agreed, “I was trying to defend myself by tweeting that but apparently it did not work.”

“It’s okay,” Chuuya shouted to Fyodor over the crowd, “You can admit that you eat innocent souls for breakfast. We won’t judge.”

The crowd howled and Dazai decided to add insult to injury, “Yes, we may not bathe in the blood of virgins, but you can be who you are.”

More obnoxious noises and something in Dazai’s chest fluttered when Chuuya too laughed at the insult. Nikolai slapped Fyodor’s back, who looked like he wanted to crawl back to his cave and continue feeding on the innocents.

“Just for that, I have decided to give the points to team Chuuya,” Yosano announced, “not biased. Now, let's give Fyodor some time to recover and move on. Who tweeted, ‘Aw man how come he can look like that while sleeping while I look like a dying cow. Someone explain. Get better soon Chuuya!’

“Ah, this was recent,” Dazai observed, snickering at the look of dismay on Chuuya’s face.

“I bet you my life that Mark tweeted that!” Lucy shouted, raising her hand, and Mark seemed confused before nodding along.

“Correct!”

Lucy pumped her fist and Atsushi looked like a man on a mission as he answered the next tweet correctly. Did he perhaps have something against that girl?

“Next up,” Ranpo read the paper, “IDK how wine is considered girly, that shit can fuck you up man and 90% of girls out there drink it like it’s fucking Gatorade.’

“That,” Chuuya said, “was definitely me.”

The game continued on late into the night to the point where only a few people were still participating, and they had eventually gotten to the last tweet.

“For our last tweet,” Yosano smirked as she looked over the paper, “this one was from a while ago so no shame if no one remembers. But who tweeted, ``In high school, I had a crush on the dude and I didn’t know how to handle it so I wrote a letter that just said ‘get out of my school.”

The room grew silent and by the way Chuuya went pale, he definitely…

“Fun fact, it was actually Chuuya!” Ranpo announced with glee, and the redhead next to Dazai looked ready to strangle him, “He tweeted it while blackout drunk three months ago. I wonder what could have brought that memory up?”

Yosano wiggled her eyebrows and three months ago, much to Dazai’s delight, was the Halloween party.

“I barely remember posting that but I could have sworn I deleted it,” Chuuya offered as an explanation.

“Oh you did, I just screenshotted it,” Yosano replied.

In the end, Fitzgeralds' team ended up winning, which soothed their broken hearts over losing the American football competition.

By the time midnight hit, most of the customers had left leaving the workers. Things had started to wind down though, that wasn’t to say there had been some repercussions. Wonderful repercussions that Dazai found absolutely amusing.

He stood at the doorway of the vet, watching the scene with much satisfaction. Chuuya was standing next to him, also watching Ranpo and Yosano dance on the reception desk with little amusement.

“This ‘s stupid,” he grumbled, though Dazai had recorded the whole thing and Chuuya told him to send it to him later.

Dazai smirked because he had Chuuya exactly where he had wanted him for the whole night. “Hey Chuuya, look,” Dazai nudged the veterinarian, who hummed in response. Dazai pointed above them, “A mistletoe.”

He had expected Chuuya to punch him in the jugular and kick him out of the building, though instead, the redhead looked at him with slightly flushed cheeks because Fyodor had successfully spiked the eggnog as revenge for the Twitter game.

“Chuuya?” Dazai asked, and Chuuya grabbed him by the collar of his ugly sweater and pulled him down, lips crashing against Dazai’s cheek in a sloppy manner, though that didn’t stop the buzzing sensation to spread from Dazai’s chest all the way down from his toes.

Chuuya pulled away, wiping his lips off with his sleeve. “Merry motherfucking Christmas.”

Dazai placed a hand on his cheek and dumbfoundedly watched as Chuuya stalked off to get Yosano and Ranpo off of the desk.

That… Was the best holiday gift that Dazai had gotten in his life.

Chapter Text

Another day, another day of waking up at dawn and dragging himself to work with a hangover still in his system because Fyodor had spiked the eggnog after all, dammit.

Though despite the hangover dragging him down and his bed calling back to him, Chuuya got ready that morning feeling lighter than normal.

He had also called Ane-San that morning just to see how she had been doing. He was surprised when she actually answered, and of course one of the first things she had asked him was about his overdue checkup, to which he responded ‘No, he didn’t need one because he didn’t have a brain tumor and he never had. No more memory loss, but no more gain of it for that matter. Those dreams when he was sick, that’s all they had been. Dreams.’

Luckily the conversation seemed to end at that.

Chuuya contemplated opening Twitter while he was still at his apartment, though he decided he would amuse Yosano and opened it with her as he usually did.

So yeah, he guessed he was in a somewhat good mood.

He bid his farewells to Copper, Mackerel, and Princess, and soon enough he would be able to bring Weller back home. Then immediately after he would have to look for a new apartment because he had been thinking of it before anyway, but with the push of housing another animal, he would definitely need a new one.

The weather outside was still cold and the streets were still occupied with melting snow, but there was no black ice and it was deemed safe enough for Chuuya to drive on his motorcycle, finally. He had missed the way the wind felt on his body even if it was icy and he was covered with layers.

It felt nice after being in that damn car all day.

Apparently, the car had been paid off by Ane-San and she passed it along to him when she got her new vehicle.

Chuuya had a sneaking suspicion that she just did not enjoy seeing him ride his motorcycle in the winter, but he wasn’t going to complain about her being a good big sister.

Outside and inside the vet building, Christmas decorations still hung, some in disarray from the party. They would need to work on taking those down before the customers started to come in once again.

He parked in his usual parking spot and slung his work bag over his shoulder as he unlocked the door, flipping on the lights.

It had been a while since he had been the first to arrive. They had a lot of clean-up to do, though apparently, that wasn’t on Yosano’s agenda because Chuuya had heard her all the way from the back room where he had been paying attention to Weller when she entered.

The door opened loudly and Chuuya’s eyes darted over the room. He wondered if he could hide in one of the kennels.

Though if he did that Yosano would no doubt tell Dazai and he would never hear the end of the dog jokes.

“Chuuya!” Yosano called, the clacking of her heels approaching, “I know you're in here, there's no point in hiding! I saw your motorcycle parked out front.”

Well, dammit.

“I'll be back in a bit boy, ” Chuuya gave Weller a firm pat as the dog retreated back to the cage, “sit tight.”

Limbs feeling heavy, Chuuya lifted himself from the floor to lumber out to the reception desk where Yosano sat expectantly. Her bag was tucked away next to Chuuya’s under the desk.

“Good morning to you too, ” she huffed, though her pettiness was gone when she smirked, “good party last night?”

“No, ” Chuuya denied, taking his seat, “absolutely not. Fyodor's never coming back here again, He's a lying bastard.”

“That eggnog tasted good though, ” Yosano sighed and Chuuya shot her a nasty look because she had probably been in on it. “It sure got you hammered, ” she added, just to be annoying.

Instead of yelling Chuuya refrained, simply shrugging, “thank fuck it wasn't as bad as October.”

There was a beat of silence before Yosano swiveled around in her chair, resting her legs in Chuuya’s lap. She was going to ask the question that Chuuya most feared to hear.

“So, you check Twitter after that party?”

“I deleted it,” Chuuya said blandly even as he pulled his phone out to load the app.

As expected, more tags and tweets and…

Chuuya’s eyes widened.

Shit.

They had captured the picture, the moment that Chuuya didn’t regret because it was a good one and it felt right. Though that was only for him and Dazai, and even if he was slightly intoxicated he had meant it.

-Mark Twain.

‘Another wonderful party was thrown last night! That tweet game was a blast, Rip to whoever Chuuya’s high school crush was. As I was leaving I couldn’t help but notice…’

Attached to the tweet was a picture. A picture of the front doorway of Chuuya’s vet, the golden lights were twinkling blurs in the background as frost coated the windows. Though the center of the picture was him and Dazai, both in their tacky Christmas clothes as Chuuya pulled Dazai down to plant a kiss on his cheek.

The picture made emotions brew like a storm in Chuuya’s chest, though the look on Dazai’s face (for once surprised, his lips slightly parted as if caught mid-sentence and his eyes wide.)

Chuuya didn't dare open the comments or see who retweeted.

He discreetly saved the picture.

Though apparently not discreetly enough because he could feel Yosano’s gaze on him like some kind of dog looking for a bone. When Chuuya reluctantly met her eyes her smirk had intensified, though there was something else behind it. She seemed genuinely happy for him, “You two are totally dating.”

“The fuck, no we’re not,” Chuuya immediately denied, shutting his phone back off.

Yosano seemed to sense that he was being truthful because instead of pushing, she asked, “Would you?”

Chuuya took a moment to pause at that, because… Would he?

To him, the answer was pretty damn obvious. It had been for a while now, though Chuuya would never know how he could ever feel attracted to such a bandaged idiot.

Chuuya scoffed, “If he'd learn how to answer his damn phone then maybe I'll consider it.”

Yosano lightly nodded and returned her feet to the floor, her head turning as she greeted their first customer of the day. Whatever she was going to say in retaliation, Chuuya would never know. It was probably fucking mouthy anyway.

Things were going well. Chuuya had a new dog, had finally sorted through whatever weird-ass feelings he was feeling, and he and Ane-san were talking even more now.

Though just as things seemed to look up, as things always did in Chuuya’s life, they took a plunge down.

There was currently a meeting of utmost importance taking place. One that Dazai, for once, would not want to skip out on.

The looming shadow of threat towered over Dazai and his subordinates as one by one they filtered through the doors of the meeting rooms, grimly taking their seats.

As the boss of the port mafia, Dazai had dealt with a lot of fatal threats, though this specific one that had killed the previous boss and taken many talented executives…

It would be something Dazai would not get to play around with. No, he would need to deal with the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Boss,” Akutagawa asked, on edge as always, “what is the meaning of this?”

“I have not crafted a plan as of yet, though this meeting simply stands as a warning, a warning to watch your backs carefully now that I am certain an organization has reemerged and made themselves known.”

The mood in the room shifted because most times Dazai’s meetings were over trivial matters, this was not one of them.

Kouyou’s eyes narrowed at Dazai’s words, it wasn’t every day that he handed out warnings.

“An organization?” She asked, and Dazai could see the cogs turning in her head, “you do not mean…”

“Yes, they are exactly whom I speak of,” Dazai slid a paper over the wooded table for everyone to see.

A group of armed men, guns in hand caught on a street camera as they entered Yokohama. A man stood at the front, silver hair over his shoulder as he looked directly into the camera.

“Mimic,” Hirotsu said grimly, and his tone sent involuntary shivers down all of their spines because Hirotsu never used that tone.

Dazai only nodded and gave the room a few moments to process.

When he had first spotted them over the street camera, he couldn’t say he was surprised, though what they could possibly want other than Dazai’s head was unbeknownst to him.

They had taken Mori’s. Perhaps they were to take the boss down again and take control of the underground network of the port mafia. Though it could also be a number of other things, none of which Dazai would tolerate because he was not as foolish as Mori was and he would not fail.

Dazai was left to pick up the pieces Mori had left, as his successor, he simply had no choice in the matter. But what he had rebuilt was much more sturdy than what originally stood.

There was not much that they knew of Mimic other than the fact that they’ve always been a chronic pain to the Port Mafia’s side, assassinating higher-up members and smuggling their own goods, though this was a game that Dazai refused to lose.

Ango and Oda had been the first ones he had informed of Mimics return. Ango had been kidnapped by them with his job in the Port Mafia, people believed him to be a traitor though Dazai had proved he never was.

Oda had been shot. He refused to kill others, even if their leader did threaten the boss. Oda had been defending Akutagawa when it happened, though ever since he had not had another run-in with them.

Their reactions had been much like the other executives, serious. Both had told Dazai to let them know if he needed anything of them, though they all knew that Dazai would attempt to keep them out of this nonsense.

Even so, just before exiting the bar, Oda had stopped him with that tight look on his face. “Dazai, be careful.”

“Yes,” Dazai nodded, “I will not follow the old bosses' mistakes.”

And they left it at that, not to see each other until the looming conflict was resolved for their own safety.

Now, In the meeting room, the eyes of his subordinates darted wearily as if the very shadows were prepared to suffocate them.

“I am preparing a plan as we speak,” Dazai repeated, though he could see the paranoia lingering in the most unloyal members' eyes as if they were planning on dropping out of the life altogether.

“Understood,” Kouyou nodded slightly, jaw clenched ever so slightly. “I will trust your judgment boss.”

Dazai’s lips twitched in a pleased way because executive Kouyou seemed to understand.

“That is all of the information I have for now, unfortunately, though we will take the proper security measures. Train all of the cameras on potential entry points,” where Dazai had set traps long ago, “and up the number of guards around our perimeter. Executives may go unaccompanied if wished, though a squad will be at each of their disposals, understood?”

It was silent for a moment before the room broke out into a ripple of murmurs.

“I never recalled saying I was finished,” Dazai cut off the chatter and the others looked at him as if he was more of a threat than Mimic. “Now, we will hold weekly meetings, I will contact you when the time comes. You are dismissed.”

The lesser members scrambled out of the room while the older ones stayed out of respect, perhaps calculating contingency plans in their minds and finding ways to dismiss any people they hold close to their heart from being used as a pawn in Gide’s game.

Speaking of those close to his heart…

Dazai abruptly stood from his seat, leaving the room.

He would need to find a way to keep Chuuya out of harm's way. Limiting his visits would be the way to go. In a normal situation, Dazai would stay on radio silence until the threat passed but Dazai had recalled the look on Chuuya's face when he returned without any words. How much inner turmoil and a strange sense of guilt he had felt because with Chuuya, it seemed he could actually feel that horrible stinging emotion.

He could feel Kouyou’s eyes on his back as he left.

“Where are you going, might I ask?”

Dazai didn’t bother to turn back to her, “attending personal business.”

The personal business, as Dazai soon found out, ended up being warning Chuuya. Because after the events of the previous night (which still sent him to surprise when he thought about it) Chuuya would not talk to him again if he pulled a stunt of ghosting him.

Though the phone lines were no longer secure and waiting for the night to fall would give Dazai an excuse to mull over his plans and what he would tell Chuuya (perhaps that he was going on a business trip.)

And once the time did pass, Dazai checked his phone to see text messages from Chuuya.

Slug; idiot are you going to get your ass down here anytime soon?

Slug: thanks for all the help getting the decorations down.

Slug: Stop ignoring me we aren’t playing this damn game again.

Slug: Hello?

Slug: yeah okay, fuck you too.

They were all sent multiple hours ago and Dazai typed his obviously intellectual answer.

Mackrel: only if you want me to;)

Immediately the three dots appeared and Chuuya was typing, though Dazai quickly typed out his own response and pocketed his phone before Chuuya could argue back.

Mackrel: I will be there in twenty minutes, keep the door open for me would you?

Because Dazai intended to make it in between the slot for the day shift and night shift transfer. If Dazai was correct then Chuuya would be taking the night shift once more.

Dazai left to exit his office after closing all of the shuttered windows, and Daisy was immediately on his heels, tail shaking because she already knew where he was going. He had never considered taking her this time around though it could very well possibly be the last time they would see the vet in a while, so Dazai sighed.

“You may come along.”

Daisy made a huffing noise and circled around his legs as they continued down the now heavily guarded halls and to the parking garage.

“Are you certain you need to be going out at a time like this sir?” Hirotsu asked as a car was pulled up in front of Dazai, the driver stepping out so Dazai could be the one driving.

Daisy already jumped in as Dazai turned to his subordinate. “I have personal business to take care of and will only be gone for half an hour at most. Up the security, while I’m gone, there is a decoy in my office.”

And with those orders, Dazai climbed into the front seat, Daisy watching him from the passenger side as he pulled out of the parking garage and into the city.

“You know you are a guard dog,” Dazai told the dog, “with this crisis situation, it is time for you to do your job, don’t you think?”

Daisy only continued to watch the buildings pass the window and Dazai shook his head. He had saved her from that street for a reason, though instead of her being a simple dog, he was horrified to find out he had started to see her as a companion.

“You are a terrible influence,” Dazai sighed and took a sharp turn past a large building, a narrow street that cut through some of the forest. The backway to Chuuya’s vet building. Pathways did not matter much to him though now he would need to limit his exposure especially when leading himself to wherever Chuuya was.

Though he would only come back once to tell Chuuya he had out-of-state work matters to attend to for the foreseeable future. Until he exterminated Mimic.

Dazai also wished to tease Chuuya for that kiss.

Darkness surrounded the car Dazai drove, trees on either side of the road.

Something was off.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as Dazai quickly shut off his headlights and slowed down. Next to him, Daisy whimpered nervously as if sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

Dazai only had three seconds to think.

Three seconds of precious time.

Mimic was not a head-on organization. They did not like to brashly take any conflict on, much like Dazai, their leader preferred to attack from the dark. Though they may have been at a disadvantage with their numbers, they had the element of surprise on their side.

And they would do just what Dazai did not expect on purpose.

Everything moved in slow motion.

Headlights to the left of Dazai lit up the woods, and from between the trees, a large truck accelerated.

Directly into the driver's side of Dazai’s car, the truck plowed. Dazai had heard it before he felt the violent tossing of the car. Metal on metal, grating high and screeching in a wounded manner as it bent inwards.

The air bags did not go off.

Dazai put a palm of his forehead to lessen the blow of his head to the steering wheel, his other hand grabbing Daisy’s collar and pulling her close to him, shielding her from the window. Though none of his efforts, carefully calculated in those three seconds, could stop his car from rolling over three times, ripping Dazai’s body and sending white-hot pain as the window sliced at his skin.

The sound of the ground.

Dazai’s vision went dark for a second, though it slowly faded back once the car had stopped rolling. Smoke filled both of his vision and lungs though that did not stop him from remaining visibly unaffected.

He was hanging upside down though that was the least of his worries. The fur in his arms started wiggling impatiently and now that the ringing was gone Dazai could hear Daisy’s distressed whines. He settled her down onto the area outside the cracked window where no glass lay on the ground. She seemed unaffected, so Dazai returned his attention to the situation at hand.

The seatbelt holding him up had no doubt bruised across his torso and with the crimson leaking down from where he assumed was his face, he could tell that he himself was not completely uninjured even if at times it could be hard to feel the pain.

Dazai slipped the knife from where he kept it next to his gun and sawed at the material confining him until the seatbelt tore, sending him crashing to the glass-coated floor. The shards dug into his front as he landed and he looked up and saw the blurred light of the truck in the distance, remaining in the middle of the road parked.

He must have had a concussion of sorts because the world tilted as he attempted to pull himself up.

Footsteps approached. Ones that belonged to dark leather boots. The sound stood out amongst the wreckage and the shadow of a figure cut into the headlights, then Gide bent down in front of the smashed car window, peering into it to smile at Dazai. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“You should welcome me back to Yokohama,” was the first thing the man said, and it drew a dark chuckle from Dazai.

He spat out some blood onto the man's shoes though he didn’t even look down at the crimson. “I have awaited your return,” Dazai said blankly.

“Wonderful, I see you have made arrangements for me yes?”

“Of course,” Dazai felt more blood leak from his head, oozing at a fast pace. “Ups in the security system, I saw your entrance to Yokohama.”

“Yes, I knew you would,” Gide’s smile turned to one of malice, eyes glinting under the dim light the headlights provided them. “You are not quite like the other bosses were. I have found a truly formidable enemy.”

Of course, Gide would attack Dazai much differently than the other bosses because they had not been like him. Their attacks would be less honorable and more underhanded, the same tactics Dazai tended to use. Gide would not pluck the executives from life one by one as the boss watched in horror because Dazai would not watch in horror. He would watch with interest.

“I do not wish to kill you now, not when the fun is just beginning,” Gide did not lose the sick glee from deep inside his eyes, “See this as a warning. I will break you and take the Mafia as my own and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Dazai let his own smirk crack on his face, even if his lips were sore and his whole body ached with every inhale.

“We shall see about that, Gide.”

“Yes, we will.”

Gide stood from his crouched position, boots crunching over the frost of the grass as he returned to the unharmed vehicle. It marked the end of their conversation.

Of course, Dazai could have shot the man on the spot, though even his arm felt like putty now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

He took a moment to mull over his options, though his phone was unsalvageable and the public hospitals would be of no use to him besides getting him in a jail cell for twenty-four hours before he was inevitably released.

Suddenly there was a low growling noise from what once was a window, and Dazai’s vision focused on Daisy who had replaced Gide.

He… Supposed he had no other option.

It was a task to drag himself from the wreckage before the bomb planted in the car detonated, though once he was far enough away and the flames no longer licked his skin, he started to get the feeling back into his muscles.

He knew he was not injured enough to call for bed rest. No bones were broken, he possibly only had minor lacerations and a minor concussion and miraculously enough, Daisy did not seem to suffer any injuries.

She seemed to know her way because she very steadily continued along the road, letting Dazai occasionally lean against her, his hand twined in her fur as she pulled him along.

Just as Dazai had expected, the lights to the building were all still on and there were no cars parked in the parking lot besides Chuuya’s hot pink motorcycle. As they approached Dazai could see a blurry figure through the window, pacing around angrily.

Yes, it was most definitely Chuuya.

The silver of Daisy’s collar flashed in such a way that Chuuya’s figure halted, then he turned his head towards them and immediately pushed last the door.

Dazai could not see much of Chuuya’s expression from the darkness but the redhead was flying down the steps, taking them by two to jog up to Dazai.

It brought back flashbacks to the first night Dazai had met him.

Instead this time, Daisy was the one saving him.

Instead of scolding him, Chuuya quickly wrapped one of Dazai’s arms around his shoulders and took the brunt of his weight, hauling him up the steps and into the clinic.

Dazai shouldn't have been surprised by the display of strength, especially after the dog-ring incident.

Once they got past the glass doors and the light washed over them, Dazai was able to look down and deduce that his skin was far more pasty than normal. His clothes were torn to shreds from the glass, some of the shards still hanging on and glinting under the bright lighting.

There was also blood, though not enough for Dazai to die, just enough to make him dizzy. He had been hurt far worse before.

Though that didn't seem to matter to Chuuya because he still hurriedly got him to the back room and onto the couch.

It hurt to sit.

“What the hell happened?” Chuuya finally asked, eyes flashing over Dazai to take in the extent of the damage.

“A simple car crash, ” Dazai managed to get out, thankful that his voice was not rough.

Chuuya looked at him with exaggeration as he flitted across the room, gathering supplies to set on the floor in front of the couch. “A simple fucking car crash?”

“That is correct.”

Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows as if he wasn't buying his story, “I know you're shit at driving but…”

Suddenly there was a gloved hand prodding at his right cheek and a stinging sensation. Dazai showed no visible pain as Chuuya studied the large jagged gash. He pulled back, shaking his head, “i'll drive you to a hospital I just need to call someone to take us I doubt a motorcycle ride would be good for you.”

“In am not in need of a hospital, ” Dazai denied because, well, anyone in his line of work going into a public hospital would only be more of an annoyance than anything.

Dazai did not feel like dealing with legal matters at the moment.

Chuuya gave him a strange look, “you need stitches idiot, ” his eyes once again drifted to Dazai’s cheek, “not a lot but-”

“Can Chuuya just stitch me up?”

Chuuya’s mouth hung open and he gave Dazai the ‘are you serious?’ look.

And once he realized that Dazai wasn't joking, he crossed his arms. “I'm not a fucking human doctor, I don't deal with them because they always talk back.”

“Yes, Chuuya would have no patients in that industry.”

Everything blurred for a moment.

Chuuya cursed something under his breath then pushed Dazai down onto the couch in a lying position, and really Dazai would enjoy this in any other circumstance.

“Don't get back up, ” Chuuya ordered and the light blinded Dazai momentarily as Chuuya moved around somewhere near him, then sat on the edge of the couch next to him.

It seemed that Dazai would not need to go to the hospital after all.

Chuuya seemed to study the laceration, then a few others before sighing. “You gonna want a rag?”

It felt as if cotton was being stuffed into Dazai’s mouth though he quickly swallowed it down. “I do not need to hold a rag in my mouth. Continue.”

Dazai did not often feel pain, it was a simple thing that lingered in the back of his mind. Though he was not foolish enough to expect the process to be completely painless.

Chuuya doused a rag with something, a cleaning solution for wounds, Dazai guessed, and dabbed at some of the open wounds on his torso that bled past the bandages though did not need stitches for those.

He did not ask to remove the bandages.

Though he must have seen the dark bruise already blooming across his chest because Chuuya’s fingers gently ghosted over it. “That seat belt got you good huh?”

Dazai hummed in agreement because he wasn't sure he could get any words out with the way Chuuya looked down intensely, focused on the job at hand. And once the solution was over Dazai’s cuts that had already stopped bleeding, (some of the shards had needed to be plucked out,) Chuuya moved to his face.

No pain had come when Chuuya cupped the side of his face, possibly to keep him still though Dazai would like to think it was for other reasons, and brought the cloth up to lightly dab at the edges of it.

When any other medical jobs were being done on Dazai he had always studied them and whether they were treating him correctly, though he did not have to do so with Chuuya.

Ironic that he was a veterinarian.

Chuuya flicked his forehead, “don’t zone out idiot. Did you lose consciousness when you crashed?”

“No, ” Dazai lied.

Something was strange though, Dazai had realised, because Chuuya should have been asking more questions.

No pain had come, not even when Chuuya had gotten the needle and thread from the medical kit he had placed on the floor and began threading it through the wound. Though with any other person it would have because Chuuya’s touch was unlike anyone else.

He was violent and could judo slam a crime lord easily, but at the same time, he cared so fiercely. He had sharp teeth but a soft tongue.

Dazai spent the next few moments in a buzzing haze, feeling light as Chuuya completed stitching him back together.

Occasionally Chuuya would slap him lightly to ground him once again, and when he finally pulled back Dazai brought a bandaged hand up to his cheek, feeling along the perfect stitches.

“Don't touch those, ” Chuuya hissed, whacking Dazai’s hand away, “youll tear them.”

“For a veterinarian Chuuya sure is good at medical care for humans, ” Dazai hummed and Chuuya nodded stiffly.

He must have had more medical experience other than just pets.

Dazai sat up on the couch and swung his legs over. His body was still sore though the looming threat of what to come would not grant him any rest.

“Why did you come so late?” Chuuya asked, and here came the questions Dazai had been anticipating, “and what the hell really happened?”

Of course Chuuya would not have believed his story. He could always seem to tell when he was lying.

Dazai watched as Chuuya gathered the medical supplies. “My reason for coming so late was simply a matter of security.”

Chuuya raised an eyebrow, “are you undercover or something?”

“Yes something like that, I am to leave out of town for the foreseeable future.”

Chuuya packed the kit away on a shelf and furrowed his eyebrows, “out of town? Does this all have something to do with you being hit with a damn car?”

“Yes I am currently a… Safety hazard at the moment.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes, “maybe, but you're always a fucking safety hazard. So someone T-boned you?”

Dazai let out a pleased hum, “and how did Chuuya come to that conclusion?”

“It doesn't take a genius to figure out. You took the brunt of it and Daisy is unharmed.”

“Well color me impressed.”

Chuuya looked exasperated at this point and slightly on edge, “yeah color you- sit your ass back down!” Chuuya pushed Dazai back on the couch when he attempted to stand up.

“There is no reason to worry Chuuya,” Dazai attempted to reassure, though apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because the creace between Chuuya’s eyebrows only deepened.

“The fuck do you mean ‘no reason to worry’ you were hit by a damn car! Don’t take that so lightly.” Chuuya berated.

There were times where Dazai had been confused but now, he was genuinely confused.

Why would Chuuya care so much if he was fine now?

Chuuya must have seen the confusion on Dazai’s face because he scoffed in an unbelieving way. “You don't know why I'm yelling at you?”

“It was a simple car crash-” Dazai repeated though Chuuya cut him off.

“Are you not fucking hearing yourself?” and their conversation had taken a turn from civilized to whatever swirling emotions Chuuya was dealing with.

“Yes, I hear myself loud and clear-”

“Well, obviously not because you need to be more mindful of what you do. You may not care about yourself but at least consider the others who do.”

Chuuya's voice sounded fractured, and Dazai wished to tape it back together.

Dazai now was even more confused.

“Others who do…” he asked to himself, and with a have of realization seemed to know what Chuuya had been saying. His face went blank, “no one would care for the likes of me.”

And before Chuuya’s voice had cracked and he looked a strange mixture of distressed and angry, though now something shifted in his eyes and there was a look on his face that Dazai had never wished to see again. The same look as when he had lost those puppy's during the storm.

“You can't say shit like that, ” Chuuya started, his voice so low that Dazai had strained his ears to hear. Then it increased in volume, a crescendo that had even Dazai listening intently. “You can't say shit like that because it's not fucking true. Do you really believe that there is not one person in this world who gives a shit?”

Chuuya sounded betrayed. He looked betrayed.

Dazai’s chest hurt.

And Dazai’s silence must have made Chuuya realize that it was true. It was all true.

“You're dull, ” Chuuya chuckled lowly and it sounded like the rustle of dead leaves, “what can I do to get it through your thick skull that you're not some lingering detail, people know you here, they care.”

Dazai’s eyes widened and he sensed danger. This was spiraling out of control, as was the storm locked in the confines of his ribs.

He opened his mouth, “I do not understand-”

Chuuya’s eyes glinted fiercely and just lips pulled into a snarl. He was determined, ready to share an aspect of himself that Dazai had not been aware of.

“Then I'll make you understand.”

And despite being an against Dazai standing, Chuuya grabbed his tattered collar in a tight fist and hauled him up. Dazai only had one moment to take the sight in, of the flush high on Chuuya’s cheeks and the way his blue eyes cut into Dazai's brown ones before Chuuya had manhandled him down.

Enticing lips that Dazai had sometimes found himself idly staring at had finally hit their target, directly on his own chapped and bloodied ones.

If Dazai’s mouth was numb before then now it was alive, flaring with warmth as Chuuya’s own collided with his in an almost animalistic way. A desperate way that made Dazai return it shortly, slender fingers wrapping around the veterinarian’s middle as he pulled him impossibly closer, flush against his body.

The two of them had never been good at communicating through words, but now through this action, they seemed to understand each other crystal clear, no hidden meanings to analyze or lines to read between.

Dazai understood now, emotion.

Not all of it, though now…

Just as Chuuya and started to thread gloved fingers through his hair and Dazai was starting to get the rhythm Chuuya was setting, Dazai had pulled away slightly.

Chuuya pulled away even more, lips coming apart with a wet sound that should have been disgusting though it was only compelling. And the sight was equally so, Chuuya with the satisfied look in his eyes as he whipped away the remaining saliva on red kiss swollen lips.

That was all Dazai needed as an invitation to dive back in for more, delectable sounds escaping Chuuya’s throat that he had never thought he would get to hear before.

And with the new relevations Dazai felt the lies that had been coiled up in his throat spring lose, and suddenly they were rolling off of his tongue.

Between feverent kissing Dazai had mumbled, “I was targeted by an illegal organization called Mimic. I am the boss if an illegal organization.”

It did not seem like an appropriate time to make such proclamations, though nothing was ever at the right time with them.

Chuuya snorted against his lips, a rush of air as he pulled away. “My older sister works for you, you think I don’t know what a damn mafia boss looks like?”

Dazai… Shouldn't have been surprised. Executive Kouyou had been pulling the strings and Chuuya was not dumb, in fact, had was quite sharp.

“How long?” he asked, slightly amused.

“Since the damn dog ring. I'm not stupid enough to know that that wasn't a police operation.”

Dazai was the one who pulled him back in for more the second time around.

Dazai had knew Chuuya was smart with the way he unknowingly gave off information about animals in a passionate way and the occupation he lost dearly loved, but this was a different kind of logic he was currently displaying, cold and sly, the kind that dug under his skin like a poison.

Dazai had never felt so turned on before.

“Would you perhaps want to go out to eat with me?”

Chuuya made a small perplexed noise, breath fanning out across Dazai’s lips. He sounded unimpressed when he spoke. “I just kissed you.”

“Yes you did.”

“Willingly.”

“I would hope so.”

Chuuya groaned in frustration, putting a hand on Dazai’s forehead and lightly pushing him away. “You just want to hear me say it don’t you?”

“Of course~”

“Fine,” Chuuya said impatiently, “once this whole hit by a car situation is solved, we will get dinner together.”

Then it hit Dazai that he still had a target on his back. He should be doing none of this, letting someone close to his heart especially in the given situation.

If they found Chuuya...

Dazai knew Chuuya. He knew Chuuya would insist on staying, believing he was invincible despite Dazai’s best efforts.

Dazai was terrified to know that he actually cared for someone. Chuuya was a strong point and a weak point. The chink in his armor that was the most sturdy, though if hit in the correct angle, could shatter into a million pieces.

Dazai glanced down at Daisy, asleep on the couch.

This dog couldn’t be replaced, Chuuya couldn’t be replaced.

Which is why he had to put distance between them.

Because wherever he went, he only brought pain and suffering with wretched hands.

He was truly unfortunate, though Chuuya was even more so.

Chuuya sensed something had shifted in the atmosphere, because their last kiss, a heated one where their lips slotted together in a satisfying way, had been just that. Their last.

“I have business to attend, ” Dazai said darkly, for the third time that day.

He did not give Chuuya any further explanation, and ignored the stinging in his own heart. Just as it had been released, it was shot down.

How cruel.

Chapter Text

“He said he had a business trip, and that he didn’t know when he would get back, and fucking left me. He just…” Chuuya made an angry gesture to the glass door, “not even an ‘I’ll see you later’ or ‘we finally kissed Chuuya let’s talk about it!.” He finished the story in a fit of rage, though there was no way in hell he had mentioned the whole ‘Mafia boss’ part because that was between him and Dazai.

Yosano hummed, fully immersed in the conversation even as she completed typing on her computer. Chuuya has asked her to arrive sooner than normal and she did. She swiveled around in her chair because Chuuya knew she was eating this shit up. “So he just left you high and dry after an intense makeout session?”

“Well, yeah, that is what I just said,” Chuuya growled.

She did not look surprised, “well, that does sound like something Dazai would do.”

Chuuya scoffed, “no kidding, he has commitment issues.”

“Not necessarily,” Yosano pulled a thoughtful face and Chuuya knew that she was here to give helpful advice, for once in her life. “He seemed perfectly fine with trying to seduce you, I mean we all noticed.”

Chuuya gritted his teeth, “Don’t say it like that-”

“But it was once everything was said and done, and he was forced to be vulnerable for once, that he shut down. If it were my guess, I would say that he’s not used to that kind of stuff. He’s not necessarily closed off, but he does deflect his true feelings, I can tell.”

Chuuya took a moment for it to sink in.

He was feeling things. A lot of things. Dazai had just left him without an explanation other than he had a ‘trip’ meaning he was being targeted by god knows who, and could potentially die if the damn car crash was anything to go by. He was encompassed by anger, though a small part of that anger was hatred towards himself for even trusting Dazai and being worried about the idiot.

“He’s trying to block me out of his life because he’s so damn emotionally constipated,” Chuuya huffed.

‘He’s trying to block me out of his life because he actually likes me.'

“You know,” Yosano smirked, “you’re not the most emotionally available either. You two make a perfect pair, really.”

“I doubt he would even let me close anymore,” Chuuya leaned back further into his chair and attempted to chase the migraine forming in the back of it away. He had worked the night shift alone since they were short-staffed. He had Kyouka’s help, who did not pry and ask why Chuuya was acting strangely for the eight-hour shift, but the night work-wise was uneventful.

Which only led his mind to wonder.

And wonder some more.

Which was why he had forced Yosano to come down here early because while she could really be a bitch sometimes, she was the one he always told about his issues.

“With guys like him, you don’t care about boundaries or whatever wall he’s trying to set between you two. I know you Chuuya, you’re not one to care about that either, are you?”

“Hell no,” Chuuya shook his head, “I'm gonna find a way to drag his lazy ass down here one way or another, I just need to think of an approach.”

“Playing it tactically?”

Chuuya scowled at her, “shut up.”

She put her hands up in surrender, “you know, I didn’t have to come at four in the morning to talk about your emotional crisis. Especially when it's the typical case of, it’s not you, it’s him.”

Chuuya felt the guilt pool in his gut because that was very true. Chuuya himself was feeling exhausted from the work hours he had been logging in lately and just because he was doing so did not mean he had to call Yosano for his own issues-

“Stop overthinking it, that’s not like you,” Yosano derailed his train of thought, her fist hitting the top of his head as she messed up his hair.

Chuuya quickly went back to hating her.

“You know I’ll come whenever you call anyway,” she finished.

Chuuya did not hate her anymore.

He crossed his arms. She was right, he could get through this situation and go in headfirst to punch Dazai’s stupid walls down because when had he not before? He was persistent and unrelenting and while Dazai would say it was his least desirable trait, Chuuya would say it was his most. Because when dealing with an idiot like Dazai, one would need someone like Chuuya.

“...Thanks,” he admitted with regretful gratitude.

Yosano’s eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lighting as she pulled back from messing with Chuuya’s hair. “That’s what friends are for. Now, how could you ever repay me?”

“I thought having friends was free-”

“No no don’t be silly Chuuya everything comes with a price especially my advice. Oh! I have the perfect idea on how you can pay me up!” Yosano put a finger up, and Chuuya knew that it was not, in fact, going to be a perfect idea. “How about you finally fork over your sister's number?”

“I’ll give you money instead,” Chuuya deadpanned.

“Keep your money, give me the contact info.”

Chuuya really saw no choice.

Later that day during his lunch break when Chuuya was taking Weller on his walk (he was planning on bringing him back to his apartment that night.) he slipped his phone from his pocket to dial his sister's number.

She answered on the third ring just as she always did.

Chuuya spoke the moment she picked up, not letting her get a word in, “Just to let you know I passed your number onto a coworker, just agree to go on a date with her easily, it is the least painful route. You do not want to hear her pick-up lines, trust me.”

“Excuse me-”

“And I need a favor,” Chuuya quickly changed the subject. He eyed the woods around him, and just as he expected, there was a tree not too far off the road that had a significant amount of bark missing. Glass shards lodged into it, and on the ground surrounding it was a large indentation mark.

Dazai’s car was gone, but the evidence of wreckage still remained.

Chuuya released a shaky breath and it crystallized around his head, slightly warming his cold face.

Did he want this?

If he took a step forward, he had the feeling that he would never be able to go back again, but Chuuya never regretted his choices and he would not regret this one.

“What favour do you wish, Lad?” His sister asked, but it sounded like she already knew what he wanted.

Chuuya ripped his eyes away from the scene.

“I need an address.”

Dazai’s lips still tingled.

At times he would reach up a hand to touch his mouth and try to numb the feeling, but it always remained like some curse.

He probably should not have given in to his impulses but for once he had felt human at that moment. And even if it left a sting, kissing Chuuya had been worth it.

And now his organization was frightened of everything whilst he was being a good boss and… Laying in bed. Of course, he would get up at some point and put some real clothes on, but first the dark cloud would have to leave his head. He had not felt this way since before Christmas and that was when he had Chuuya…

He did not anymore.

The cloud grew darker.

Of course, panicking subordinates had stopped by, awaiting orders or needing something to do. Half of the time Dazai simply waved them off and placed them on guard duty and the other half were told to go home and stop bothering him.

Of course Hirotsu had been different because Dazai had an objective for him to reach in order to keep this little game of chess going.

“Sir, I see you are staying in bed this morning?” Hirotsu asked as he opened the front door. Dazai did not regret giving him a key because that meant he did not have to get out of bed.

“Yes, that is what I plan to do unless a problem has arisen?” Dazai asked, tilting his head slightly to see the man at his doorway.

“Of course not, there has been no new commotion from Mimic.”

“Well that does not matter,” Dazai said lazily, staring up at his ceiling, “if they wanted to do something in the shadows without us noticing, then we will not know until it is too late.”

“Then does this mean that we must take action first?”

“Well, we know that their agenda this time around is the same as the last ones, though he will execute it in a different way. He will not pick off the executives and you can give them my word that they will be safe. This is between me and Gide. This long feud ends with us Hirotsu. The next generation and boss will not have to deal with Mimic.”

Hirotsu looked as if he wanted to reach in his pocket for a cigarette because it was not often that Dazai made such proclamations.

“I see, how noble.”

“Not Nobel Hirotsu, not in the least. I just have cunning foresight.”

“Right,” the man nodded, “is there anything you want to put me up to today?”

Dazai hummed, “actually, yes, I would. Squad number 119, I need you to take all of them down to the interrogation room. Find the ones who were assigned to the night shift two nights ago and out of that group, find the mole.”

Hirotsu froze in place, “The mole… that is insinuating that we have a traitor in our ranks.”

“Yes Hirotsu, keep up. If you are not able to find the responsible one of course I can go down there and interrogate them myself,” Dazai smirked and wiggled his fingers. Fingers that had gotten many people to talk in the past.

“Of course sir, and once we find the traitor?”

“Keep them down there and starve them. No human contact whatsoever. The next person they will see will be me when I question them myself, understood?”

Hirotsu bowed shortly, though before exiting Dazai’s house he turned back slightly, a question in mind. “Might I ask just what tipped you off that we have a traitor in that specific squad?”

“It is quite simple really,” Dazai smirked, “The airbags did not go off.”

The only other people who had been able to get into Dazai’s house only hours later were none other than Oda and Ango, the closest thing to friends in the Port Mafia he would consider. Of course, there were the others Dazai had learned to communicate with. Yosano, Chuuya, the other workers at the vet, but he would like to keep them far from the Mafia. It was a mistake even getting involved with Chuuya in the first place.

“What’s on your mind?” Odasaku asked, staring down at Dazai as if he was a strange sight.

“Battle tactics,” Dazai answered shortly, still fiddling with the edge of his bandages.

Oda continued to look at him with a strange look in his eyes and Dazai could distantly hear the rattling of pots and pans in his kitchen that he rarely used. Dazai finally stilled to meet Oda’s eyes, “is there an issue?”

The other man blinked slowly before shrugging, “Usually when you’re like this you are different. This time you are…”

“More aware?” Dazai offered, “well I have important matters to focus on after all. I cannot let my own feelings get in the way of that, and at the worst possible time too.”

Odasaku looked like a strange mixture of shock and sadness. Was he surprised that Dazai was for once not letting his emotions win? Or sad that he was dismissing them? It would never make sense to Dazai.

“Yes,” Oda finally admitted, then scanned the room. “It’s not that messy here. Want to come to sit out in the kitchen?”

Dazai shrugged, and he knew he was not getting out of those two’s pity. “I suppose, though, why did you come here anyway? I recall sending you two into hiding until the mimic situation has been resolved?”

Oda placed a hand on Dazai’s shoulder as he pushed himself out of bed, and Dazai did not shake it away. “As I am sure you are well aware,” Odasaku led him to the kitchen where Ango was working, “the mafia is not a safe place. Even if we are located in safe houses, we are never truly safe. We figured we would chance coming out to your place.”

“A gamble, Mimic has all eyes on us. It is almost certain they know where I live,” Dazai said in a flat tone, and even then, he felt no fear in his heart. It was his own life on the line and he could handle that.

What he could not handle was…

“And mimic hasn’t attacked here yet?” Ango asked, setting a bowl down in front of Dazai. It was his favorite meal yet he could not bring himself to eat it because it would taste like cardboard. He had tried to eat something else after the car incident, but that did not taste the same either.

“Mimic is changing their tactics,” Dazai answered after staring at his food, and Oda and Ango exchanged weary glances. “In the past they would have used the opportunity to assassinate the boss when they could, but their objective has changed slightly this time. While they still wish control of the port, they wish to make me suffer in doing so.”

Ango pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, something that Dazai noticed he tended to do when upset. “I see, so they want to see you in pain. As far as I know, no physical means of harm can do that but…”

“Yes, they wish to look for someone close to me and use that as a weapon,” Dazai pushed the plate away, ignoring the understanding look Odasaku tried to convey to him. “Which is why I had decided to cut ties with any possible targets.”

The room grew silent, and the hum of the generator could easily be heard along with the sounds of Daisy snoring on the bed.

“So you cut ties with…” Odasaku trailed off, and then something had crossed his face. Disappointment, even worse than pity. “The people at the vet, they made you lighter. You might not have noticed it but we did because with them it was normalcy-”

Dazai clenched his fist and bit his tongue, “Don’t you think I know that?” He asked, “it is why I cut them off in the first place because they would have been a prime target and that would have been much worse than how I left things now.”

“I understand,” Ango said from his place in front of the sink where he had placed the dish. Dazai had not seen him move but he guessed he put the crab in the refrigerator. “In fact, I would have done the same thing.”

Dazai sensed a ‘but.’

“It was the logical choice,” Oda agreed, “but it was not what your heart wanted, right?”

Dazai almost chuckled at the prospect of ‘listening to his heart's desires.’ It sounded like something Odasaku would tell the Orphans.

“I know it sounds silly to you Dazai,” Oda said again, “but it’s true. I can tell something happened between you and Chuuya to make this hurt more, and you need to make it right.”

“I will, after Mimic has been pushed out of the way.”

“Do you have that long?” Ango asked, using the only clean rag Dazai owned to wipe the water from the plate.

Did he have that long?

No, he didn’t. He had done this to Chuuya many times before and Dazai would not be surprised if this was the last. Chuuya may have been stubborn and resilient, but one could only handle someone like Dazai leaving them multiple times for so long.

Dazai would have left himself a long time ago.

They took his silence as a no.

“Chuuya is stronger than you think if he’s been able to handle you for this long,” Odasaku sighed, then stood from the chair across from Dazai. “Give him some credit where it's due.”

And Dazai would give Chuuya as much credit as he deserved, but that still did not change his decision even if now he was seriously contemplating it. He would let logic make this decision because that was the best chance Chuuya had.

He scoffed at Odasaku’s previous words as he dragged himself back into bed after the two left.

Listen to his heart?

It was so small that he could not hear it anyway.

His next visitor had been completely unexpected.

Exactly six hours later his door sounded like it was about to fly off of its hinges with the force it was being banged on. Dazai did not get up and Daisy jumped from the bed, nervously circling around and trying to nudge at Dazai to move.

“It is fine,” Dazai placed a hand on her snout, and just as he did that there was one last kick before the sound of his door falling to the floor filled the once peaceful silence.

Daisy growled and jumped from the bed, but as she plunged into the living her sounds of distress were replaced with happy noises. There was no real danger here.

Dazai wanted to pull the blanket up over his head as footsteps approached, then stopped by his bed.

“You're not even going on a damn trip, you're just trying to avoid me!” a familiar voice yelled. Dazai should have expected this.

He rolled over to face Chuuya with an unimpressed look, and watched as Chuuya scanned over him, and then his place. He had been reminded that Chuuya had never been here before, nor had he seen Dazai too tired to put on his normal suits, simply wearing pajamas.

For some reason, he could not bring himself to care.

“I was right, you’re not going on a trip,” Chuuya repeated as if Dazai didn’t hear him the first time, “There's not even a damn bag packed.”

Dazai mustered up a disappointed tone, “why are you here, Chuuya?”

Chuuya paused and looked down at Dazai with a slightly hurt look in his eyes, and Dazai knew he would have caused it sooner or later. Though more than the hurt was a bright passion. “Because idiot, I'm not letting this go.”

“Yes, Chuuya does have a hard time letting things go.”

Instead of looking more hurt, Chuuya rolled his eyes, “You’re just trying to fucking push me away so you won’t feel pain. It’s selfish but I won’t judge you."

Dazai hadn’t thought of it that way before. He supposed Chuuya had a point.

“And I know you’re also trying to protect me or whatever by keeping me away, but that’s just worse.” By now Chuuya was hovering over Dazai, “I can take care of myself, and you had no right to just… leave like that!”

Dazai could see the slight flush on Chuuya’s face and he was reminded of that night. Chuuya had the same look on his face. The same tone in his voice as he yelled at Dazai, then pulled him in for more.

Chuuya was also correct about that. It had been wrong of Dazai to leave without a word.

“You make everything so damn overcomplicated,” Chuuya sighed, then pulled back from him. Dazai missed their closeness and the minty smell in Chuuya’s breath. “You could have just said you’d be back, but now you make me come find you.”

“That would have been a lie,” Dazai finally said, “I would not have come back.”

“A good thing I came to you then, because you’re a wimp when it comes to feelings,” Chuuya growled, and then suddenly there was a stinging pain on his cheek- the side that did not have stitches in it- and Chuuya pulled his hand back with a satisfied look on his face. “And stop doing that shit, you’re still trying to say mean things to get me to go away but i’m staying right here.”

Dazai almost laughed.

Typical Chuuya.

If Dazai were to be partners with anyone else they would have given up on him by now. But not Chuuya. He supposed it was time to put in some work and stop letting their relationship lie on just Chuuya’s shoulders anymore.

Of course, the fear and pain still lingered in the back of his mind. But the possibility of having Chuuya overshadowed that.

“Chuuya is like a loyal dog,” Dazai idly rubbed at his still stinging cheek. It felt good. “But I will not abandon him.”

Chuuya’s eyes widened as if he had not expected Dazai’s admittance. Then, he grew less tense, muscles slumping. Things were not completely repaired between them, but they would be.

“Well now that you’re done being an angsty bastard,” Chuuya grabbed Dazai by the shoulder- the one that hadn’t been bruised by the seat belt- and dragged him into the kitchen. “You have to have something to eat here…”

Dazai watched as Chuuya riffled through the contents of his fridge before victoriously placing the meal Ango had made for him earlier down in front of him. Chuuya set down a fork and a knife in front of Dazai and watched with close eyes as Dazai took the silverware. “Eat, you look like you haven’t in days.”

A wonderful idea bloomed in Dazai’s mind.

“But why can’t Chuuya feed me! The concussion, unfortunately, is still making my hand-eye coordination off-balance, Chuuya does not want me to accidentally slice my finger off does he?-”

Crab was shoved into his mouth, shutting him up.

Dazai blinked and looked down at the fork that had been shoved in his mouth, then the gloved hand that held it there. Chuuya glared at him but Dazai could detect the fondness behind his look.

“You losing a finger wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen,” Chuuya grumbled and pulled the fork back. Dazai munched on the food and surprisingly, Chuuya stabbed at another piece of the seafood.

Dazai swallowed the food, “A loss of any of my fingers would be terrible,” Dazai smirked, “especially for you Chuuya.”

Chuuya did not look impressed.

Before Dazai could make anymore jokes he shoved another piece into Dazai’s mouth. And then another. Until Dazai had completed the meal and he hadn’t even noticed. Strangely enough, he wished for there to be more so Chuuya could continue to feed it to him.

But the moment was over, and Dazai had a lot of questions.

“How’d you even find my house?” As far as he knew, only his close circle knew his address. He did not have an issue with it in the least though.

“Ane-san,” Chuuya answered shortly,

Ah, now it made sense. Dazai could recall Chuuya mentioning that Kouyou was his sister, and he was not too surprised, In fact, he should have realized sooner. “...Executive Kouyou, I will demote her for leaking my address-”

“Do that and I'll suplex you,” Chuuya said very seriously, and Dazai got the feeling he wasn’t joking.

They needed to get off of the topic of Kouyou before Dazai revealed more information because he knew that she was trying to shield Chuuya from this life and he was not going to be the one to reveal those.

Though he did not have to change the topic because Chuuya was in a talkative mood.

“You have a whole organization out there probably in shambles because their boss isn’t with them. That’s shitty.” It was not criticizing, but Chuuya was simply making an observation. A correct one.

Dazai nodded, “Yes, I haven’t necessarily been in the best… state of mind.”

Chuuya knew very well what he was implying. “It’s the depression huh?” He said, very straightforward. Dazai had expected nothing less. “It’s kicking your ass? Don’t let it. It’s you against yourself here. I already told you a while ago that if you felt this way again then to come to me, it doesn't matter if we had some weird-ass argument and you left me after kissing me, I’ll still be there.”

Chuuya was by far the most loyal person in Dazai’s life, even more so than his subordinates and executives. Dazai felt the knot in his throat grow until he felt like he was choking, but he couldn’t choke when Chuuya was sitting across from him, a hand now on top of his.

“Got it, idiot?”

Dazai swallowed it all down, “Understood.”

It was impossible for him to be drawn to a person as much as he was currently to Chuuya.

“Good,” Chuuya sat back in the seat, “how are your injuries?”

Dazai gestured to his head, “the concussion is gone for the most part.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes and snorted, “Making me feed you like some idiot.”

Dazai only grinned back, “my stitches have not ruptured and when the Mafia’s medics looked over my wounds they said it was as if a real doctor had taken care of me. What wonderful stitch work you have, Chuuya.”

“Well,” Chuuya shrugged, not bashful in the least, “I was gonna treat humans but they’re a pain in the ass.”

Then Chuuya’s eyes lingered to Dazai’s bandages, the one on his face. Dazai could read people easily and there was no doubt that he was wondering what was under his bandages and why he took the time to wear them constantly. Many people have before and knowing Chuuya, he would not push and pry on the subject unless necessary. He was not like Dazai, he did not thirst for all information on others possible.

Dazai’s mind flashed to the storm. When Chuuya had revealed his own scars under his gloves. They had been strange and painful, shapes that Dazai had not seen before. Dazai was the only one Chuuya had taken his gloves off around, so perhaps it was time for him to return the favor.

“Chuuya,” Dazai made up his mind. He was surprised to find that he was not in the least bit affected because he trusted Chuuya. Though trust was a two-way street. Chuuya had his and he had Chuuya’s, but they needed to show it because too many things between them went left unsaid.

Chuuya must have sensed the heaviness in Dazai’s tone because he sat up straight and eyed Dazai’s movements as he lifted a hand to the back of his head, to loosen the bandages.

He looked shocked and Dazai savored the look.

“Wait idiot,” Chuuya sounded breathless, “are you sure?”

“Since when have I ever been unsure Chuuya?”

"Stop trying to stretch back and reach them,” Chuuya stood from his chair and circled the table, “let me get it for you?”

Dazai let his hands drop and observed as Chuuya stepped closer to him, between his legs so he could reach for the bandages wrapped around his head. Chuuya was wearing something new today, no scrubs or intimidating leather pants. Instead it was a sweater that looked worn, but he had never seen before, and form fitting jeans.

Chuuya leaned closer, pressing Dazai’s nose to his chest and Dazai could smell the sweet laundry detergent before Chuuya pulled back, sitting on the table in front of Dazai as he unraveled what kept Dazai hidden from the world.

Dazai felt the bandages fall away to his lap, but he didn’t see anything but darkness in his eye. It looked the same as always.

He knew what his eye looked like, and it made for a truly disgusting sight. A cloudy gray pupil and pearly white surrounding it. He had stared at the mirror and willed it away many times but of course that had never worked.

Most would have cringed at the sight but Chuuya’s expression remained unchanging as he glanced over it like it was a simple newspaper headline. He hummed and Dazai felt Chuuya’s thumb brush across his cheek tenderly. It almost stung.

“So you can’t see out of this eye?” Chuuya asked as he held his hand directly in front of it.

“Shapes and shadows, but nothing important,” Dazai answered, and he could still sense the silent question on Chuuya’s tongue. He would answer it for him. “Losing an eye, it is expected in this line of work. In fact, it is a sign of mercy. There are worse fates.”

And that was when Chuuya’s expression finally shifted to one of anger, but not towards Dazai.

“So someone did this to you?”

“Yes,” Dazai confirmed, and he had not planned to dive deeper than this, but something was telling him he had to. “It was the previous boss. His name was Mori, a truly nasty man with a penchant for young girls. I messed up at a job, my first and only failed mission, and as a punishment he took a scalpel and-”

“Yeah,” Chuuya hissed, his grip on Dazai’s cheek becoming tight, “I got it.”

“Mori,” Dazai continued, “I was under the false belief that he had actually cared for me, but he was just as manipulative as I am. He found me on the side of the road after another failed suicide attempt and took me in, eventually becoming my legal guardian. Of course at his downfall I took over.”

“Dazai,” Chuuya’s touch was a blazing trail as he left ghostly touches on his face, “thank you for telling me this. You didn’t have to.”

Dazai’s lips tugged upwards, “but I had to.”

At that moment Chuuya looked like he wanted to lean down from the table and kiss Dazai harshly just as they had done the other night, but unfortunately just as Dazai tilted his head upwards there was movement at Dazai’s front door.

Or what was once his front door.

Hirotsu cleared his throat and Dazai pulled back, looking at the man as he stepped over the door on the floor. Dazai had also realized that Chuuya had cupped a hand over his injured eye to hide it from sight.

A warm feeling flooded his chest.

“Sir, I apologize for interrupting,” Hirotsu did not look phased, though there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Well, at least now he had finally met the veterinarian that Dazai had kept running off to. “But I have successfully gathered squad 119 and found the traitor. Your orders are being followed and he remains down in the chambers until we have any further commands.”

Dazai smirked, “wonderful job Hirotsu, when this whole mess is over you get two whole weeks of vacation off.”

Unfortunately, Dazai’s time with Chuuya was coming to an end and the redhead must have noticed that because he stood from the table after wrapping the bandages back on Dazai’s face. He bent down to hook a finger under the bandage and adjusted it.

Dazai took in the sight of his face and appreciated it very much.

Then he was forced to look away and back to Hirotsu, “Hirotsu, I am entrusting you to follow Chuuya home and make sure he arrives safely, understood?”

The subordinate nodded and while Chuuya looked slightly annoyed, he simply accepted it as he stepped towards the door he had broken.

“I’m not paying for the door idiot.”

Dazai shrugged, “I didn’t think you would anyway.”

Hirotsu stepped out of the room and Chuuya turned back to Dazai. This time they were parting on good terms though the question still remained. “When can I see you again?”

Dazai looked Chuuya in the eyes with his own solemn look, “whenever you are not at risk of being killed anymore.”

Chuuya snorted, “we’re all at risk of dying, Dazai. Don’t live in that fear and caution, ya hear me?” Not letting Dazai get another word in, he stepped out of the room.

Later that night Chuuya decides to take Weller on a walk. He was not seen after that.

Chapter Text

The room was unusually dark. Normally the shudders would be open, revealing Yokohama’s skyline the bustling city below it, but today they were securely closed and locked tight. He was not in the mood to see the city or its dreary weather.

Not a sound echoed through the thick silence, only the light noise of his breathing and pen on paper as he peered through the darkness.

Many men had already come through his office and not come out. Their bodies probably lie on the thick velvet rug somewhere, a tripping hazard if anyone else were to step foot in his space.

Though the routine had come to a halt when the door opened, and Dazai reached for his gun with dead eyes, only to stop when he realized just who it was that stood in the doorway. The light blocked his vision but even so, it was unmistakable who it was.

Dazai dropped the gun back onto the desk and stared with wide eyes as the familiar figure crossed his arms.

“You’re being an idiot,” Chuuya told him, his short yet demanding figure that Dazai had missed so much was ridged as he stomped further into the darkness until Dazai could only see his silhouette. Dazai felt a brush of skin, icy cold against his cheek. It was Chuuya’s thumb, and he reappeared right in front of his face, the darkness highlighting his most unattractive angles. Had his cheekbones always been gaunt? His eyes always so dark?

He opened his mouth and Dazai missed the way Chuuya’s lips felt flush against his, but now all he felt was cold dead ones.

“Come find me,” Chuuya whispered against him.

Dazai woke up with a start, eyes darting around his office wearily.

Everything was as he left it, not an object out of place. The shudders were lifted, because if Dazai had stayed in the darkness for too long then he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to escape it.

There was the sound of scratching and Dazai looked down to see Daisy, who had grown anxious over time. Weller sat obediently to the side and did not make a single noise.

“Boss?” A concerned voice asked, and Dazai quickly realized that ever since the incident, a subordinate was tasked to be at his side no matter what. Standard protocol. He wished that he could have assigned Akutagawa the job because he wouldn’t be staring worriedly like Tachihara was.

Dazai cleared his throat, “Is everything all right?”

Tachihara seemed to think for a second before shaking his head. “No, we just received word that Gide has reached out to us, just as you expected him to. We haven’t viewed the video but he has a hostage.”

Dazai narrowed his eyes.

“He has Chuuya.”

~Four hours earlier~

Just because some random ass people were after Dazai did not mean that Chuuya would just sit by and do nothing. He was not about to quit working either. Yosano had forced him not to take another night shift and go back to his apartment, and the only good thing about that was being able to finally take Weller back home with him.

Firstly he would need to socialize Weller with Copper and Mackerel, which would not be an issue, then he could hopefully sleep and think about all of the events that had unfolded in the past few hours. But of course, things did not go that way.

Weller was anxious and Chuuya could easily see the signs the moment he got back to his apartment. The dog would either lash out or choose one corner to stay in and Chuuya couldn’t have that.

“Want to get out and stretch your legs before it gets dark out?” Chuuya asked even as he hooked the clip of the leash to the dog's harness (because he would never make a dog wear a normal collar, dammit.)

Chuuya peered outside and he would need to hurry if he wanted to get back in time to make dinner, and thinking about it now he hadn’t been able to get a good run in a while…

Slipping on exercise clothes, Chuuya departed from his apartment (only after giving Copper an extra treat because he knew the dog could get jealous.)

It was still cold outside, almost too cold to be wearing a tank top, but Chuuya would come to appreciate it the more he ran. And as it turned out, Weller was a good running partner. He probably didn’t even need to make the dog wear a leash because he followed him just fine.

Chuuya’s running route was through the park near his clinic that had beautiful trees, their color’s usually much more vibrant when it wasn’t the winter season, and best of all, not many people frequented the running trail.

Chuuya’s breaths came out in puffs as they crystallized in the air and the goosebumps that rippled over his skin were soon chased away by the excitement of running. The dull ache in his leg muscles felt nice.

He was completely focused and in his own zone, which was why he almost missed Weller coming to a sudden halt in front of him. Chuuya yelped and tumbled over the dog. He quickly regained his bearings, rubbing at his lower back as he stood back up.

“What’s up?” He asked the dog, taking out his earbuds and looking around to make sure no one had seen him make a complete embarrassment of himself. No one was around. The sun was setting. They would need to start to run back soon.

Just as he prepared to turn on his heel and lightly tug Weller's leash in the opposite direction, he heard it. It was an all too familiar sound, one that he heard almost every day. The high-pitched whimpers made him stop in his tracks.

Weller’s ears twitched and his head tilted towards the noise, and by now Chuuya paused the music on his phone to pay his full attention to the situation. Just as he thought the sound stopped, it started again and twice as loud.

Chuuya tugged his sneaker further up his foot before whistling to Weller, and soon they were stepping off of the path and onto the grass that crunched underneath their feet as they headed towards the noise. It took them between the trees but not too far enough to where Chuuya could no longer see the path.

He took a moment more to listen to the sounds. It sounded like a dog, a small one. “Weller, you’ll scare the animal,” Chuuya murmured under his breath and as if he understood, Weller sat down on his hind legs and watched as Chuuya approached the noise coming from behind the large tree up ahead of them.

Chuuya rounded the corner, expecting to see a wounded dog or a puppy who had been abandoned by their mother, but what he had not been expecting to see was a radio. The sound came from it, occasionally crackling and the audio played on loop.

Chuuya’s heart sank and just as he immediately went to take a step back, instinctively reaching for his pocket, his back bumped against something solid. Large arms wrapped around him and a cloth was brought up to smother the lower half of his face. Upon the first inhale it felt as if the chemical scent would make Chuuya pass out on the spot, and he fought to keep consciousness as a wave of vertigo overtook him.

But he wasn’t completely useless.

Chuuya held his breath no matter how tight the man held the cloth to his face and quickly threw his head back to headbutt him under the chin. The movement caught him off balance, stumbling back, and Chuuya used the opportunity to slip from his arms and use his momentum to twist around and deliver a kick right to his diaphragm.

The radio had stopped making noises by now.

The man who had stumbled to the ground tried to grab for his ankle but Chuuya promptly brought his foot down on it, smashing the bone with a deafening crack. After the mans yell the forest grew silent and everything in Chuuya’s senses prickled with electricity. He couldn’t spot anyone else around, but he knew all too well that they could be hidden in the trees.

There was no time to go on his phone and request help, not that there would be any service anyway.

Chuuya ducked into the underbrush and back to where the trail was located, but he had reached his second dilemma when he burst past the bushes to see that the sun had now sunk below the horizon. The darkness chilled the air and the hair on Chuuya’s arms stood on end as he scanned his surroundings.

Where was Weller?

“Looking for your mutt?” An amused voice asked and Chuuya gritted his teeth to see his dog's leash tied to a tree. The man who stood next to him had a gun balanced between his fingertips. Chuuya felt his world tilt on its axis once more with the effects of the chemicals but firmly held his ground.

“Untie the leash,” he ordered, his voice cold.

“I don’t think you should be the one making the demands in this situation,” the man who Chuuya had never seen before raised an eyebrow. “How about you listen to what I say? Obviously we came to kidnap you, so kindly step into the car without putting up a fight.”

Chuuya gazed further down the path and he had expected to see a rickety van on it, but instead, there was a slick black limousine.

He bit the inside of his cheek and was suddenly glad for wearing his leather gloves on a run because they added a comfortable weight to his adrenaline shaking hands. “I’m not getting in until I know my dog is safe.”

The man shrugged, “If you get in I have no reason to shoot this dog, in fact, I quite like dogs. I will simply keep him tied here until another jogger stumbles across him in the morning. But If you don’t…” The gun was trained right for Weller’s head and Chuuya felt complete and utter rage swell in his chest.

The man would shoot Chuuya too and he knew that. They just needed him to prove a point to Dazai, dead or alive, but Chuuya was never one to give up a fight.

Quickly, Chuuya reached into the pocket of his jogging shorts and felt the heavyweight of the pocket knife in his hands before throwing it directly at the man's hand. The gun was knocked onto the gravel with a clatter and Chuuya ducked low to take a few steps before tackling him to the ground. The man yelped as Chuuya wrestled him onto his stomach and twisted his arms behind him before his shoulders were just about to pop from their sockets and he was screaming mercy.

Chuuya thought that these people would have been more dignified.

He snarled and pressed his knee down onto the man's elbows, causing even more noises of misery to come from him, but he didn’t care as he bent over to untie Weller’s leash from the tree.

“Go,” Chuuya hissed, “right now!”

Weller growled at the men but Chuuya pointed the way they came and the dog’s tail was trapped between his legs at the look on his face. He immediately set off to safety and now that Chuuya only had himself to worry about, he reached for the handgun that had fallen, weighing it in his hand before pressing the cool metal against the back of the man's head.

Chuuya had shot guns before but he never enjoyed it, preferring to use his own body as a weapon. And he had certainly never shot someone either.

He ignored the slight tremor in his hands, “Is there anyone in the van?”

The man whimpered and Chuuya sank his weight further onto him. “Tell me!”

“No! No it’s just me and the other!”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes and quickly slipped his phone from his pocket, ready to dial Dazai’s number and tell him that he had caught some of the idiots, but he never got the chance because the device was forcefully ripped from his hands.

He barely had a split second to look up before a harsh blow landed on his face and he was sent to the ground, the back of his head hitting a particularly sharp rock, making him see stars.

He felt the warmth of blood seeping from the injury and from his nose, but he had little to no time to get up because the cloth was once again being pressed against his face.

It was the man who’s wrist he had shattered earlier, and Chuuya cursed himself because one hit from him and he was put out of commission. His limbs no longer worked in his favor, growing limp as he twisted his head to the side to painfully resist the chemical, but soon enough he was coughing and choking and the horrible scent returned at full force until he could feel his eyes roll to the back of his head.

The darkness that overtook him was not merciful.

~Present time~

The clacking of both Weller and Daisy’s nails against the tile of the meeting room would have sent the other subordinates into a collective ‘aww’ moment if it wasn’t for the look of utter rage on Dazai’s face.

Usually, he kept a calm mask, completely blank and unreadable. But this time, as they filtered into the room, fear bigger than Mimic struck their hearts as they noticed the downturn of his lips and the storm in his eye.

The executives waited with bated breath as they all sat down, and finally, Dazai spoke.

“Mimic is using underhanded strategies this time around,” he announced, lines of tension in his body. “They have resorted to, instead of picking off the executives, to kidnap people who do not have anything to do with the mafia.”

At the announcement, he saw executive Kouyou's carefully composed face fall. She must have known even before the meeting. But at her and Dazai’s chagrin, the others simply looked confused.

“But boss,” Tachihara spoke up, “isn’t that a good thing? If we aren’t personally threatened-“

“I’m am sure you remember Chuuya Nakahara,” Dazai cut in, and the black lizard all looked downtrodden because Dazai had known that they had enjoyed working with him.

“Though he may have connections with us, it is not his place to be a tool in Gide’s game. We end this quickly, understood?” Dazai’s tone was cutting and they all nodded their heads.

“I will coordinate an attack once we learn more information, be prepared,” Dazai waved a hand in dismissal and those who had no idea of the gravity of the situation left.

But Kouyou stayed planted in her seat.

“Do we have any words from Gide?” She asked in a tight voice. She had been the one to find Weller wandering the streets without his owner, and proceeded to bring him to Dazai.

“A video that I have viewed,” Dazai flipped on the projector in the room and it flashed against the whiteboard until the video started to play clearly.

Gide’s face was close to the camera and Dazai sneered at the sight.

“I believe I have found something of value to you Dazai,” he addressed them as if they were close friends, “something irreplaceable to you.”

He moved a little further away from the camera, the satisfied look never leaving his face as it focused on the rest of the dark-looking room. The sight would always be something that Dazai would dream of only in the worst mindset.

He would see it every time he closed his eyes.

Chuuya. He was there and alive, but that did not change the situation. He must have been there for hours at this point, and Dazai knew that the effects of the chemicals used on him only lasted an hour. He had woken up, but for some reason, was unconscious now.

He was tied to a chair, a typical thing Dazai had expected. And he looked rather beaten up, worse than Dazai had ever seen him before. Crimson mingled with the already red color of his hair, though his face was not visible with the way it was resting against his chest.

Completely unconscious.

“Chuuya Nakahara, I think we can both agree that he is rather strange,” Gide said, and it was fine if Dazai thought that, but if anyone else but him said it then it was suddenly an insult.

“He managed to hurt both of my well-trained men, would you believe that?”

Rare pride swelled in Dazai’s chest because Chuuya wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“He broke one of their wrists and managed to dislocate another’s shoulders and even held him at gunpoint. Very impressive, I would try to induct him into my ranks if I did not have even better plans for him.”

Dazai watched as Kouyou’s face contorted. She had lost all sense of calm and Dazai could tell with the way her perfectly manicured fingernails dig into her palms.

“Now, this is not a negotiation,” Gide continued, “you will not get Chuuya back again ever whether he is dead or alive.”

Because just as Gide had claimed, he planned for Dazai to get torn apart slowly. He was doing a good job at It so far. Dazai distantly wondered who he planned to attack next because no one would be as painful as Chuuya.

“Now what are these plans, might you ask? I see no issue in revealing them. It makes it more amusing because you cannot do anything about it but watch.”

Gide moved closer to Chuuya and reached for him. Something inside of Dazai stomped and screamed.

The leader of Mimic grabbed Chuuya by the back of his hair, which was originally up in a ponytail, but had fallen down to his shoulders loosely. Judging by the state of his clothes Dazai could tell he had been jogging when the incident occurred, though he would need to get new clothes because these were tattered and bloody.

He lifted Chuuya’s head, revealing his bruised face to the camera, and hope had bloomed in Dazai’s heart when the redhead's eyelashes fluttered, but he remained thoroughly unconscious.

“There is no way he can escape us now. There is also no way for you to find him now that we have cut out the tracker implanted under his skin.”

He brushed back Chuuya’s hair that rested on the nape of his neck to reveal the flesh that had been cut out-

Dazai paused the video and scrutinized Kouyou, who for once reacted, her eyes cold and stony, but wide with distress. It was rare to see her act in such a way.

“Tell me,” Dazai said, his own voice cold, “did you know about this tracker?”

Upon first watching the video, Dazai had not known about the device that lay under Chuuya’s skin. He quickly realized that there was not much about his youth that Dazai did know.

“Play the video,” she ordered, voice low and tremorous.

“Executive Kouyou-“

“I said play the video and I will explain everything afterward.”

Dazai narrowed his eyes and complied, pressing the resume button.

Gide let go of Chuuya’s head and it lolled back down to his shoulder.

“I did some digging on Nakahara’s past, and you see, it came out to be very interesting. I am sorry to cut this short but I will say one thing, that he will return to the organization he was once a part of,” Gide then reached for the power button of the camera and Dazai took in the last view of Chuuya before the video ended.

He cleared his throat and flipped off the projector, “there are obviously aspects of Chuuya’s past you have been keeping from me… and him. Would you mind informing me on just what he meant by that?”

Kouyou had regained her senses and now her face was blank.

“Start with the tracker,” Dazai pushed.

She inhaled a deep shaky breath that Dazai pretended not to hear, before diving into her explanation. “I was aware of the tracker in him, though it had been turned off. It would not have mattered anyway. The truth is, Chuuya is not my biological brother, but he is just like one to me,” she said fiercely, as if trying to prove it to herself.

Dazai shrugged, “while I do not doubt that for a second, does this mean…”

The executive sighed, “Yes, he was a happy child with a happy life before he was kidnapped by an organization. I had known him before then, he was just a child, seven, and I was his babysitter. We had normal lives until he was taken, and both of our families met an untimely end. Though I had sworn to get him back, and once he was the age of fifteen, I located him once again. He was in an experimental facility, one known for the mistreatment of both humans and animals.”

The puzzle pieces were slotted together. It explained the dreams Dazai knew Chuuya had been having. It explained the scars on his hands and the tracker implanted in the back of his neck.

“And what of his memory?”

The woman’s shoulders were tight as if she held the weight of the world on it. The weight of her world. “He does not remember any part of it. Whether it be from the trauma or the testing of the lab. I make him visit the hospital on occasion, to attempt to prompt him to get a scan of his brain, and more importantly, to see if anything has occurred to cause the memory loss. Though it remains a complete mystery.”

Dazai hummed thoughtfully, “perhaps it is better off that he does not remember the events, though-”

“I am not here for you to question my choices,” the executive said firmly, “I decided to lie to him and claim he had a normal childhood. I put him through school and was the only one there for him through his youth so you cannot say a single word-”

Dazai held a hand up, “I was not going to criticize you, executive. Quite the opposite. I know you joined the mafia for Chuuya, a very rare reason, and it was very admirable of you.”

The tension left the executive's body and strangely enough, she looked as if they would lose her composure at any moment. It was a very real possibility that she had never talked about the subject with anyone else before. It was also very possible that she wondered everyday if she made the correct choice with Chuuya.

“You did the right thing,” Dazai said lightly, even if they both knew that her carefully crafted lie would soon crumple apart. “Though now, we must work on finding Chuuya.”

“And you have a way to do that?” She asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in her tone.

“We will take little steps,” Dazai slipped the phone from his pocket and dialed a number he had not called for a while. The man answered on the first ring.

“Katai, I need you down here immediately. Shut off the security cameras on your route here.”

Pain blossomed in the back of Chuuya’s head and his vision was constantly blurry when he opened his eyes for what seemed like the fifteenth time now. He had been fading in and out of consciousness, but lately, he seemed more and more aware each time woke up.

The nausea came in waves, crashing against the shoreline of his mind. He had bent over to retch into the bucket next to his seat more times than he would like to admit, but once he had managed to aim right towards one of the guards shoes and that had been satisfying even if he was punched on the side of his face once again.

He was sure he looked like a painting of purples and reds but that did not matter at the moment.

The last time he had woken up, he had made some real progress.

He had heard them talking, mimic’s leader and another man, while setting up some sort of camera in front of him. He had blinked slowly; the drowsiness was now a constant thing running through his veins, along with the constant soreness, but that was something he had grown accustomed to.

He knew what the camera was for.

They were going to record him and send it to Dazai, not as a ransom note, but just to make him suffer at seeing Chuuya. It was the only time Chuuya would get to convey something to Dazai because fuck knew when the next time he would see him would be. He would soon if Chuuya managed to do something. To give him some sort of hint.

He kept his head hung low as he glared at the cracked wooden floorboard and his tied feet. The place he was currently in was rustic smelling, like decaying wood, and it slightly burnt his nose every time he inhaled. He was somewhere abandoned, probably in the slums of Yokohama considering that Gide was not a citizen of Yokohama, he would need to find somewhere under the radar to take Chuuya.

Chuuya squinted and thought hard about where he could be.

He had been to this part of Yokohama many times when he was a highschooler. He had been a shithead as a teenager because he didn’t understand why he had forgotten everything about his life and didn’t know what to do. So of course he rebelled against Kouyou and traveled to area’s he wasn’t supposed to. He even came into contact with an organization called the Sheep at one point before breaking apart from them.

There were no lights where he was currently besides the one that flickered in the corner, casting a dim glow over the dense atmosphere. Despite that. he spotted it, the neon sign that was not turned on, but Chuuya would recognize it’s outline anywhere.

He was in a bar he used to frequent. The neon sign was a planet, Saturn.

A grin spread across his face despite how much it may have hurt his face muscles because he had a lead now. Wiggling his fingers tied securely to the chair behind him, Chuuya felt for the sharp edge of the chair where the base and the leg met. He felt it and dug the pointer finger of his left hand into it until finally, the material of his glove ripped, sliding past it until the leather fell away from it.

He may have broken his finger in the process, but if Dazai had any damn knowledge then he would be able to find him.

He felt blood trickle from his aching finger and slowly, the world darkened around him once again.

Once he fell unconscious, Gide filmed the video.

And now that he was fully awake again, the pain hit at full force, and he could only hope the damn suffering would be worth it in the long run.

“Ah, I see he is awake once again,” the boss of the organization, Gide, announced. Chuuya needed to throw up again, but he swallowed it down.

His tongue felt like cotton but he forced it to work, “Yeah?” He said, voice more rough than he liked it, “and what about it?”

“A long-awaited conversation,” Gide said easily, sliding into the chair across from him that replaced the camera. “I need to tell you what I plan to do with you.”

Something unhinged in Chuuya prompted him to laugh, and he spit the blood out from his mouth to rid his tongue of the metallic taste. “And why would you do that?”

“Why not? I am not completely evil,” Gide smirked like Chuuya actually had a say in what was going to happen. And Chuuya had expected for the man to kill him after the video to silence him because Chuuya had been mouthy when he got the chance, but apparently, that was not the case.

“I plan to sell you,” the man said casually, and Chuuya went rigid because that had not been something he had been expecting, but in hindsight, if they wanted to make a profit off of him…

“Like hell,” Chuuya growled, making his stand on the choice very known.

“I think I have someone who may change your mind,” Gide snapped and the back door creaked on its hinges as it opened, and into the room stepped a man who looked familiar. Something lodged itself into Chuuya’s throat and he felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

His mind flashed back.

Back to a lab he had only seen in his dreams.

Back to the chains on his hands.

The man was tall and his clothes were a stark contrast to the decomposing bar they were currently in. His hair had a braid in it and his eyes looked just like Chuuya’s own-

“Hello,” he greeted, holding out a hand and then chuckling tauntingly when he realized that Chuuya’s were tied up, “My name is Verlaine, your biological brother.”

Chuuya’s thoughts came to a screeching halt and suddenly he realized just why the man had seemed so familiar. He used to see him every day before he lost his memory.

“I know it may be a lot to take in, but I am sure that somewhere deep in your brain, you are well aware of the truth. That Kouyou Ozaki is not your biological sister, and that I am your true sibling.”

And the worst part was, he was right.

Chuuya had known deep inside that something was off, but he did not want to see it. He still did not because even so, Kouyou would be more of a sibling than this man ever would.

The barrier in Chuuya’s mind cracked one last time before shattering.

“Chuuya, it’s time to go to bed,” Verlaine said, much younger and much happier.

“But I don’t want to!” Chuuya stomped his feet, crossing his arms at his older brother. He was also much younger and much happier. Six years old, to be exact.

“But I'm older and you do as I say,” Verlaine herded his younger brother off to bed because the two of them had played this routine many times before and it wouldn’t be their last. “Mother and Father are out on another trip, and they said for you to respect me.”

Chuuya playfully stuck his tongue out and Verlaine rolled his eyes fondly as he pulled the covers up to his chin.

“Goodnight Chuuya.”

“Night!”

A month later, their parents returned.

Chuuya had always been the closest one to them, whether it be because he was the youngest or Verlaine was emotionally distant. Even so, Chuuya always tried to include his older brother in the family activities, and even Kouyou too, who lived just across the street, a close family friend.

The Nakahara’s would have what one would call a nuclear family, all four of them and even a dog were happy. Until they weren’t.

It happened on Chuuya’s seventh birthday.

His world shifted, never to be the same again.

Chuuya covered his mouth with a small hand to conceal his wails as he stared down at them. Both of them on the floor. It looked like they were sleeping soundly, but Chuuya was seven years old and he was old enough to know the difference between sleeping and death, especially with the sickly shade of red that surrounded them.

Then his brother was there, standing on top of the staircase.

Chuuya hurried up to him, tripping over the stairs uncoordinatedly to reach his brother because he would make everything better-

Then there was something being plunged into his neck. A needle.

Chuuya let out a choked cry as he looked up to his brother, his brother whom he had trusted and loved dearly. There was no love in those eyes.

He smiled, “Goodnight Chuuya.”

After that, there had been nothing worth recalling. Nothing but pain, and Chuuya had seen it all and felt it all.

The heated metal chains branded into his skin.

The hurt of the betrayal seared even deeper than that.

“Nothing of importance came from the experiments,” Verlaine continued to say, “but you were resistant, Chuuya. If we had managed to contain you for longer then we would have had an interesting experiment on our hands. We wish to continue them after you get healed up, in more humane ways because I have changed after all.” Verlaine smiled, “I wouldn’t want my baby brother to get hurt, would I?”

Chuuya leaned over and heaved into the bucket. Nothing came out.

Dazai needed to find him fucking soon.

“I don’t see anything that can indicate a location,” Katai said, typing on his computer so fast that Dazai could not see his fingers, “these people are good at concealing addresses.”

“Well try harder,” Dazai pushed, “we do not have much time.”

Katai’s glasses glinted under the lighting of the meeting room and he clicked one single button on the computer, one that zoomed in on Chuuya. The best shot they had found of him among the millions of other frames.

Dazai observed it, scanning over anything that could have seemed off because this rested on his shoulders now. He would have to be the one to solve this.

Chuuya looked the same as he had the past hundred times Dazai had watched the video, but upon closer inspection, there was something odd. A flash of skin and blood on his pointer finger that would normally be covered by his glove.

“Ah, I think I have found something of importance,” Dazai said calmly and Kouyou perked up from the other side of Katai. He pointed at the scream, “zoom in on Chuuya’s left hand.”

Just as he had expected, it looked like the material had been shredded away from it, along with some skin. Chuuya had purposefully sawed it away to convey something to Dazai, but just what was it?

“His finger is broken?” Kouyou asked, and Dazai nodded.

“Yes, but there is more to it… That is the pointer finger on his left hand. Chuuya is right-handed, and if you count the fingers on his dominant hand all the way to the pointer finger on his left, that would be seven fingers.”

Kouyou raised an eyebrow, “You think he is trying to tell us a number?”

“Yes, and strategically, Gide would be in the slums of Yokohama, the only place he currently has free access to.” Suddenly Dazai stood from his chair and snatched his coat hanging from the back of it, already on his way out of the room.

Kouyou was following closely behind him instantly. Katai stammered from the next room where the dogs had stayed with him but neither of the members of the mafia paid him any mind.

“You know where he is?”

“A bar,” Dazai answered, “it is called the seven rings of Saturn.”

Chapter Text

Dazai had put the best team members on the current job. The black lizard, stealthy and cautious, could have easily done it themselves but one could never be too careful when Gide was involved, especially if he had the upper hand.

It may have looked like Dazai had the advantage, his subordinates surrounding the abandoned bar and others keeping close surveillance on it, but Gide had tricks up his sleeve.

Dazai had ordered Akutagawa to stay back and watch over the Port Mafia’s attack squad with Higuchi, but to stay in touch if anything were to arise because while Chuuya took priority, Dazai did not want to spread his resources too thin. Especially when Kouyou had harshly insisted on coming along with him, and how could Dazai deny that?

She was just as angered about the situation, if not more than Dazai.

“He’s been in there for about six hours now, it is time to go in,” Kouyou stated her opinion, and Dazai lowered his binoculars to his lap because she was not wrong. They had only been steaking out for thirty minutes and normally they would wait until they saw movement to enter and raid the place, but they were impatient.

But Dazai had seen no movement at all from inside, not even a light flicker. Knowing Chuuya, he would have knocked over the chair he was in and not shut up until someone found him, so he was either unconscious, relocated, or…

There was a very real possibility that when Dazai entered the bar, he would see Chuuya’s body strung to the wall almost ritualistically. It was something Gide would do to prove his point.

“Yes, though we must stay on guard.”

“We are not staying back,” executive Kouyou said once again, instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword.

“I never said we weren’t,” Dazai reached for the handle of the car's door and silently opened it all while reaching to touch the communication device in his ear. “Black Lizard, are you in position?” He asked.

He got a response from Hirotsu, “waiting for your order, sir.”

“Wonderful, I am sure you are very aware that you will invade the other possible exit points while executive Kouyou and I take the front, so that being said, go ahead and enter.” Dazai distantly heard glass shattering in the background, the glass of one of the many windows.

The front was nothing special, especially considering what part of Yokohama they were in. Dazai carefully avoided the rotten parts of the wooden staircase that led up to the door, and the door easily gave way when he touched it. He stepped to the side and let Kouyou slip in first, her weapon already by her side. He followed closely behind, gun trained straight ahead.

The first thing he noticed was that it was dark. The rays of the flashlights the black lizard held flashed over the dim interior of the bar but did nothing to ease the swelling turmoil in his chest.

“Nobody is in here,” executive Kouyou finally said, and she was correct. There was not a single soul in sight. Dazai got out his own flashlight and shone it towards the bar area where high stools sat in front of a counter, and his heart sank to his feet.

Because there Chuuya was, slumped over on the closest chair, face down on the bar. The sight would have been a normal thing because by now Dazai knew that Chuuya had a thing for wine, but Chuuya remained in the same position, his chest not moving in the slightest and the blood from his ghostly white skin oozing heavily.

From next to Dazai Kouyou let out a choked noise and hurried towards her brother, but Dazai quickly snatched her sleeve to stop her.

Because something was not right.

At the moment it was difficult to see any logical reasoning, especially looking at Chuuya’s current state. His heart ached desperately in a way that he did not think it could. But Gide had planned to sell Chuuya, so why kill him off now?

“This does not make any sense,” he admitted, taking a step closer to the body leaning onto the countertop. That had been his mistake because the closer he stepped the closer he realized that Chuuya was off-color. He quickly reached out to touch what would have been cold skin, but his hand only met empty air, sliding right past Chuuya.

A hologram of sorts.

Dazai did not have much time to think about where Gide could have acquired such technology because that was when the beeping could be heard, faint but not silent enough for Dazai not to know what it was.

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes landed on the explosive device that had been just under where Chuuya was sitting.

He faintly registered that it read the digit three before he was turning back to the doorway and taking long and quick steps towards it, the others scrambling out of their own exits.

If he had waited for three seconds then all of them would be dead, but the mafia was not a place for hesitation and Dazai was good at his job.

Flames licked his backside as the explosion, large enough to level the bar but not the entire block, was set off. Dazai immediately hit the cracked pavement before the shocks could send him to the air, and he faintly registered executive Kouyou next to him. He shielded the top of his head from the debris and by the time the ringing in his ears finally subsided and his vision returned, the black lizard had rounded the corner.

“Is anyone injured?” Dazai asked in a slightly hoarse voice as he unsteadily got to his feet, Kouyou following suit. The three members of the black lizard shook their heads, all looking relatively unharmed.

“It was a trap,” Kouyou’s normally elegant voice shook with rage and Dazai too could feel himself slipping, little by little until he too was clenching his hands and unclenching them.

“We have not completely lost hope,” Hirotsu, ever the voice of reason, said truthfully.

Dazai realized he was correct.

“Chuuya is still alive. That hologram is proof that they will not kill him off, because they simply would have done it with the real one,” Dazai said for himself more than anyone else, but he could feel Kouyou latching onto the words.

“Plus,” Dazai smirked, “We still have a lead.”

Chuuya had been relocated.

To where? He had no fucking clue.

He could distantly remember how he had been untied from the chair and was shoved into the backseat of the same limousine that had transported him before. But it was hard to determine what was real or not with the turbulence of all of his other new memories.

One would think that sitting in a chair and the back of a car all day would give him a lot of time to reflect on how he felt about the situation, but it was hard to string coherent thoughts together, whether it be from the concussion he no doubt had or other factors.

The few things he had managed to determine was that he wasn’t mad at Ane-san for lying to him. She had been trying to make him happy. And the second thing was that he missed the idiot Dazai.

But any more complicated thoughts had been lost to him.

The rope around Chuuya’s wrists was tight and constricting. It reminded him of things he would rather forget. He had finally realized where the scars on his hands were from and that was the last time he had thrown up.

Suddenly the car rolled to a stop, or at least it felt like it did, and the door was opening. He could see the face of the man who claimed to be his brother, pulling him out by the elbow and hauling him along. Through a door. Through large halls. Through another door. And right onto a bed.

Chuuya closed his eyes after that.

The next time he reopened them he was not met with an obnoxious bright room, in fact, the lighting was nice. His eyes adjusted easily and he could tell that it was nighttime from the window to his right and that he was alone.

Chuya’s mind was hazy and groggy, but it felt different from before. His muscles were relaxed and he felt like he was sinking into the bed he was laying in.

He was lying in a bed, not sitting on a chair.

He was not tied up.

Two facts that his lagging mind processed very slowly. Then, he felt it. A pinch on the inside of his wrist. With all of the effort he had left in his body, Chuuya looked down to see the needle stuck into his vein, attached to an IV bag on a stand next to his bed.

He was in an infirmary of some sort and they were giving him sedatives.

Chuuya bit his tongue to regain feeling. He wanted to be able to think past this haze, to do something. Logically, he would be able to do that if he could just…

The effort was monumental, but he managed to lift his opposite hand to grasp for the needle, and after a few botched tries, he finally managed to tear it from his vein. He did not feel any pain, only a dull ache as he laid back and blinked the dots from his vision until eventually, his vision sharpened and his brain was no longer fogged over.

Fucking finally.

Chuuya scanned the insides of the room, the other vacant beds, and the tiled floor. He was in an empty infirmary, but there was no one else with him. Not even a guard.

This had to be some sort of trap, right?

Then again, Chuuya wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. Now that he had been taken to a second location, Dazai no longer knew where he was and it was highly unlikely that he would be found again, so he needed to solve this by himself.

He needed to get a map and layout of the place he was in to escape. He may not get it immediately, but the first step would be to get out of this damn bed.

Without the sedatives, Chuuya no longer felt like he was going to slip out of consciousness at any moment, but it also meant that the pain was coming back, slowly but surely. His muscles ached and the pounding in the back of his head would make anyone else curl in a ball and hold themselves.

But Chuuya had work to do. He had animals to get back to. He had to see Dazai again, and reassure ane-san that she had made the right choice with him.

Upon sitting up Chuuya’s whole body screamed in protest, but he also realized that he was no longer wearing his jogging clothes. He was in a medical gown of sorts. It was thin and scratched against his bare skin.

He guessed it was a fair trade-off for no longer being tied up, but panic settled in the back of his mind because he was going to go back there-

Chuuya but his tongue harshly.

He couldn’t think about that, not right now.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and immediately missed the comfort of the blankets as his bare feet touched the cool tile. Unfortunately, he had not stood in a long while and his muscles locked up the moment he rested all of his weight on himself. His descent to the floor was fast and hard, but he resisted scrambling to hold onto anything on his way down because that would attract too much noise.

“Dammit,” Chuuya grumbled to himself, vocal cords burning as he eyed his bruised knees and even more bruised body. If he had seen someone in this condition he would yell at them to stay in bed for a full week.

Chuuya didn’t have the luxury of bed rest.

Composing himself once more, Chuuya reached out with a shaky hand to hold the pole with his IV drip. It had wheels. It was almost as if these people wanted him to escape.

They must have wrongly dosed him with the sedatives and not expected him to wake up.

Chuuya scoffed as he pulled himself back to his feet, leaning heavily against the pole. That’s what they would get for underestimating him.

First off, he would need to find something to use later, because Chuuya was not stupid. He was in a building with armed men and he was bound to get caught again. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t escape again.

There was a cart in the distance and Chuuya knew from his job what it was. Slowly, he dragged his feet against the cold floor, the moonlight at times blinding him on his small journey. Once he reached it, he lifted the cloth from the tray to reveal an assortment of surgical tools.

He wondered if they were going to use them on him.

Chuuya’s hands were still tremorous as he reached out for the scalpel. He needed to think. He had nowhere to hide it. They had stripped him and left him with just the gown, of course, he could always stick it in the waistband of his boxers but it would stick out against the thin gown. He wouldn't be able to reach it if his hands were tied up anyway. 

He would need to be resourceful about this.

He reached back and winced at the mess his hair felt under his fingers. He kept his one broken finger out of the way as he felt around for the hair tie tangled in his hair before fishing it out.

Using his mouth to help, he looped the band around the base of the scalpel before sliding the sharp part of the tool against his scalp, under his hair until he gathered the rest of his locks into a ponytail.

He felt along the back of his head until he was absolutely certain that the scalpel was hidden under his hair.

The first step accomplished, now he would need to take a gamble.

The only exits were the window and the door to his right.

Upon further inspection, the window would be inescapable. Metal bars not large enough to slip through but big enough to see through blocked his escape. He peered through the bars to see that wherever had been, was a large place. He must have been on the second or third floor. He wouldn't have been able to jump down anyway unless he tied the blankets or sheets together and he didn't have the time or energy for that.

Cautiously, Chuuya decided to explore the second exit.

The door was unlocked.

He pushed past it and stepped onto the plush velvet carpet. The wheels on the IV pole would have a harder time moving him around, so Chuuya discarded it and instead leaned onto the wall as he continued down the hallway.

He mentally noted that he took a right.

The wallpaper was thick under his fingers. It was golden and had flowers decorating it. Wherever he was, it was a mansion.

He came across a stairway, leading down to his right. It looked as if it went down to the floor below him. No one else was coming up it but he could hear noises coming from below, footsteps, and chatter. He couldn't go down there, so he turned.

That was when a sight caught his eye. His heart almost leaped out of his throat and it thumped in his ears as he calmed himself.

It was just himself. His reflection. He was looking into a mirror, a large one with a golden rim. It looked like it belonged in a place like this.

He looked worse than he felt, which was a vast statement because Chuuya was having a damn hard time holding himself upright. He had more bruises and cuts on his body than untouched skin, and he averted his eyes so that he was no longer eyeing the sight.

It was a truly ugly one.

Then came the whispers. Chuuya had only heard in his dreams. At this point, he could only wonder if they actually existed or not.

They hissed toxicities into his ears.

Things that Chuuya would rather not hear.

“Shut up,” he told it, cupping his hands up to his ears, “shut the fuck up!”

Even with his palms pressing down and his fingers digging into his hair, he could still hear it loud and clear. He planted his feet and fought the wave of vertigo that overtook him.

He screwed his eyes shut.

He shouldn't be standing here doing nothing. He needed to get out of here. He needed to escape the mansion and escape his brother who he would never consider his brother, dammit.

The air grew stiff and the world went silent.

Slowly, Chuuya opened his eyes to look into the mirror. It was him he faced, but it wasn't. He was shorter and thinner. Much thinner. He could see his cheekbones and the way his sunken, miserable eyes looked back at himself.

Horror bloomed in his chest as he looked even closer to see the boy, himself, fall apart at the edges. Inky darkness overtook his body, starting with his head.

He was melting, his blood black as it dripped onto the floor. His facial features blurred and dislodged, oozing away between his fingertips as he took a different shape, one of liquid, and seeped below the floorboards.

Chuuya felt a scream rip past his throat and he looked away from the mirror.

He was here.

He was solid.

Then there were hands on his side, fingertips digging into his battered arms as he was shoved down the stairs, sending him tumbling until he was met with a million eyes, a million stares, a million people in the room. 

Chuuya woke up with a start, body fighting against the restraints around his wrists and ankles as he struggled.

“Shush, calm down,” a voice said, heavy with an accent, and Chuuya would always feel disdain at the voice. “It is alright, everything is okay,” a hand caressed the side of his face and it was gentle but cold. It was not Dazai’s.

Chuuya’s eyes rolled to the back of his head before he opened them.

He was facing the same ceiling he did when he first woke up. In the same room with the same floor and the same barred windows.

Had that been a dream?

“You are bound to have hallucinations,” Verlaine announced, his voice a purr as Chuuya regained a steady breathing pattern. Thrashing against the restraints was starting to burn, so he relaxed.

Chuuya eyed the IV still attached to the inside of his wrist. “The medication?” he asked, his voice raw. He had been screaming.

“Indeed,” Verlaine pulled his hand away when Chuuya snapped, moving his head away from it. “There is bound to be some confusion.”

“Keeping me docile?” Chuuya asked because he didn’t feel the urge to fight anymore. The medication was taking its effects.

Verlaine smirked, “yes, until we can manage to convince you that I am not your enemy.”

“You'll… You’ll always be my enemy. G-good luck,” Chuuya slurred, his eyelids feeling heavy.

“Well, none of that matters now,” the man shrugged dismissively, “you get shipped off very soon.”

Chuuya couldn’t register what other words Verlaine said, and he didn’t care much either. All he knew was that he was having trouble separating what was real and what was fake. He closed his eyes, signaling that he was done with whatever conversation Verlaine wanted to have with him and set his head back against the pillow.

He felt the cool metal of the scalpel tangled in his hair when he made the movement.

Chuuya didn’t outwardly smirk, but he came close to it.

This wasn’t working.

Dazai had tortured many people without feeling even a sense of wrongness, and not one person had managed to withstand his punishments, but for the one person he desperately wished to make crack, he wasn’t able to.

It was incredible that this man had managed to withstand the limits of what a human could. He had not even given Dazai a real name. He was one of Gide’s spies, carefully picked to infiltrate the mafia. Of course, Dazai had sniffed him out but that did not mean that he would be successful in gleaning any information from him.

After all, it was very evident that this man had been kept in the dark. Gide did not tell him a thing about his plans, only assigning this man a job to do.

And apparently, one of them was to waste Dazai’s time.

He had been at it for an hour now.

Dazai eyed the man's body in disappointment. He looked more like a lump of flesh than a real human at this point. He had been stripped of all of his clothes because Dazai knew that getting rid of one's clothes was also robbing them of their dignity, making it easier for them to talk.

Lash marks and bruises decorated his body, much like Chuuya’s looked like in the hologram. An image that Dazai could not get out of his head.

Dazai had tried all of the tactics. Ripping out fingernails and toenails, branding with hot metal, and even slicing the layers of his eyeball one by one, among other things. The man's lips remained closed throughout the entire process. He did not know anything and denying that would be fatal.

For some reason, this session felt different than all of the others. Dazai’s heart was involved in it.

If Chuuya could see him right now, he would no doubt be disgusted with Dazai.

But above the disgust and anger towards himself, Dazai felt rage towards those associated with Gide. He lifted the gun and aimed for the man's head. His finger would have mercilessly pressed down on the trigger if it wasn't for the interjection.

At the door, someone cleared their throat, and Dazai lowered his gun to face Odasaku.

“Are you sure you want to do that? You've changed lately,” he asked from his place leaning against the doorway.

Dazai eyed the gun in his hand. It was heavy. “I am a mafia boss, Odasaku, of course, I am going to have to get my hands dirty from time to time.”

“Let me rephrase that,” the man tried again, “would Chuuya want you to do this for him?”

No. No, he would not.

Dazai’s normally steady hand was not so stable anymore as he placed his gun back to its rightful place in its holster. “You are correct Odasaku,” he sighed, turning to walk out of the doorway, ignoring the man's whimpers on his way out. “As always.”

“Executive Kouyou wishes to speak with you,” Odasaku wasted no time informing him. “It seems that she has found a new lead.”

“Ah, thank you for fetching me then,” Dazai turned the corner that would take him to his office where Kouyou would no doubt be waiting.

“And Dazai,” Oda said before he could open his door.

“Yes?”

“Ango and I don't plan to make you do this alone. You may be the boss but we’re a team and we handle things together. If Chuuya is that important to you then we fight for him.”

Dazai’s lips tilted upwards in a fond amusement, “I didn't expect you of all people to want to fight, Odasaku… Thank you.”

Oda nodded and without another word, turned down the opposite hallway.

As expected, Kouyou had been waiting patiently in front of his desk. Tachihara stepped out of the room as Dazai stepped in and immediately sat down in his chair. “I am all ears, executive Kouyou. Have you found anything of use?”

She no longer looked as if she was going to lose her composure, in fact, she looked just as put together as she had always been. “I have, in fact, I know exactly where Chuuya will be at sunrise.”

Dazai sat up straighter in his chair, an eyebrow raised. Sunrise was in a few hours.

“Share your findings, executive.”

“I did some research,” she launched into her explanation, pulling a cream-colored folder from her long sleeves and delicately placing it onto Dazai’s desk in front of him.

He reached for it and opened it to see photos.

“The organization that had kidnapped Chuuya is called the Order of the clock tower.”

Dazai’s eyebrows shot up. He had heard of these people before, an organization that took citizens in as their own and experimented on them. They were on the legal side of the spectrum but all underground organizations knew of their notorious soldiers that were genetically modified to fight wars.

He eyed the image of the large organization's building.

“What does the Order of the Clock tower want with Chuuya?”

“They believe he is still their property,” Kouyou answered, lips pressed into a tight line. “They had him for almost nine years and tested on him. From what I understand he was their first child experiment. They did not manage to get any results at the time but now that he is an adult, they want him back.”

Dazai nodded along grimly and pushed the photo aside. “Well, unfortunately for them Chuuya is not their property, and I believe you agree with me on that.”

“He should have never been taken in the first place,” the woman admitted, looking guilty.

“Nothing can be changed about that now, and besides, I believe you gave him the best childhood possible, given the situation.”

Something flashed in Kouyou’s eyes, gratitude, and she nodded.

“Now, as for the whereabouts of Chuuya?”

“I believe it is self-explanatory, now that you have all of the information.”

Dazai looked at the information spread out below him before collecting it back into the folder. He handed it back to Kouyou who took it immediately.

“The Order of the Clock tower is an organization not in Japan. He will be shipped overseas, and given that Yokohama is a port city, he will be shipped under our territory.” Dazai mused, “that is awfully risky of them. Admirable.”

“And as for Gide?” The executive asked.

“I have him handled,” Dazai answered easily, “the order of the clock tower enjoys to make their negotiations in person, so it is only natural that he will be there to experience it. In fact, I believe he would like to record it and send it to me.”

“Yet another underhanded tactic.”

“One that would have been effective if we did not have the information.” Dazai tugged at the loose end of his bandage and Kouyou’s watchful gaze did not miss the habit. “I will set a team up to strike at sunset. The Black lizard will be sent ahead to spot any low-profile boats hanging around the docs. While the organization is a wealthy one, they do not want to be spotted easily.”

Kouyou nodded in a satisfied way, now visibly at ease now that they had a plan in mind. Though she still looked as if she had something else to say, Dazai waited patiently and watched.

“I tried,” she said, and her voice was steady and rather empty. “I tried to give him a normal life, to not drag him into one that wouldn’t make him happy, but I see that that was a lost cause from the very start.”

And if there was one thing that Dazai felt in the moment, it was guilt. He had been the one to get Chuuya kidnapped. He had been the one to destroy Kouyou’s carefully crafted lie.

“It will not happen again,” he looked down to the wooden desk, “I do not intend-“

“I am not asking you to get out of Chuuya’s life,” Kouyou spoke up, and Dazai tilted his head in confusion.

Had he misunderstood her?

“Chuuya would be much safer without me in the picture.”

“Perhaps he would, but you also make him happy,” Kouyou argued, “Chuuya isn’t necessarily a sad person, but even I noticed the changes he has undergone in the time he has met you. I am not asking you to push him away, Dazai, I am asking you to hold him closer.”

Dazai’s eyes widened.

It had been all he wanted. And given the conversation he had with Chuuya before the incident…

He smirked, “is executive Kouyou giving me her blessing?”

The woman’s lips quickly twisted to a frown, “marry him anytime soon and I will have your tongue.”

Normally if an executive said such a thing to their boss, their tongues would be the ones cut out. But Kouyou was not just any executive. She was Chuuya’s treasured sister and hopefully his future sister in law and through this incident, Dazai had started to see her as more of a person than a subordinate.

Dazai simply smirked, “we will see about that. I’m sure I can make Chuuya swoon enough to get him to marry me in a year's time.”

“Then I will be the one against that bet,” she announced confidently, “Chuuya has a strong will, he has dealt with you for so long, after all.”

“Yes, he truly is a light isn't he?”

Kouyou’s eyes softened.

“Yes, yes he is.”

One hour before the operation (they would be leaving an hour early to catch them off guard,) Dazai had a pit stop to make.

Both Weller and Daisy were kept back at the mafia despite their obvious protest. Dazai would have left the two with Oda and Ango but they had insisted on being involved in the rescue squad so he had left the dogs with a very unwilling Katai. The man was scared of canines anyway, he should pay Dazai for the exposure therapy he was offering him.

Dazai pulled into the parking lot, (he currently had no subordinates with him because this was the window of opportunity where Gide would be busy with other tasks,) and looked up at the apartment complex. It remained the same, and luckily enough, unharmed.

The greeter at the door looked surprised at his arrival, “Oh, hello sir!” She said, “I haven’t seen Chuuya anywhere, and from what I understand he is your boyfriend…”

Dazai very well couldn’t announce to the workers at Chuuya’s apartment complex that he had been kidnapped by some foreign organization, so instead, he shrugged. “He’s been spending time at my place, I just came over to fetch some of his clothes!”

The worker looked slightly downtrodden that she wouldn’t be seeing Chuuya around as much, but she quickly got over it. “Well, I am sure you know where his room is! Chuuya’s been getting a lot of visitors.”

As Dazai loaded onto the elevator he wondered just what the woman meant in her last sentence, and he quickly found out when he used the key he had copied from Chuuya’s without telling him to get into the apartment.

The lights were on and it looked as if someone had been in his apartment, something that Dazai hadn’t expected. Had his apartment been ransacked? Though that did not make any sense because the place looked oddly clean.

He should have been expecting Yosano to be sitting on the couch, lazily petting Copper as she checked her phone every once in a while. Upon Dazai entering she turned her head to him, the hopeful look in her eyes crushed when she realized that it was not Chuuya.

“There you are!” She got to her feet, “where have you been? And where is Chuuya?”

Ah, she had been kept in the dark about this whole thing. As far as she knew Chuuya hadn’t been answering his phone and didn’t show up for another night shift. Chuuya had not contacted her for eleven hours and that was very uncharacteristic of him.

“You know, I was going to file a missing person report as soon as I came and he wasn’t here, but he would need to be gone for twenty-four hours for it to be a valid claim. And I figured you would have something to do with it,” she jabbed an accusing finger to his chest, “so you’re going to tell me what's happening. And don’t give me some half-assed lie.”

Yosano could remind Dazai of Chuuya sometimes.

And looking at her face, there was no way Dazai could simply lie to her.

He cleared his throat, “you may need to take a seat.”

The woman's eyes widened but she slowly complied, her hand going back to Copper’s head.

“I am sure you are aware that it is uncharacteristic of Chuuya to not answer his texts or calls, which is why you came over here, correct?”

Yosano nodded and Dazai noticed that she was still in her work clothes. “His animals haven’t been fed. Something’s off. And where’s Weller?”

“Weller is safe, in fact, he is at my place at the moment.”

“So Chuuya’s there too?”

They both knew that was wishful thinking.

“Currently we do not know where Chuuya is, but we will have him back in about an hour,” Dazai answered bluntly, watching as Yosano’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You’re saying he’s missing?”

“Kidnapped,” Dazai corrected, “though we have a very strong lead. I and my team will retrieve him at sunset.”

Yosano scoffed, “Of course he’s been kidnapped. Leave it to Chuuya to get into that type of trouble,” she rolled her eyes and Dazai raised an eyebrow. Normally when friends and family members received this type of information, they would be in shambles, begging the police force to do their best (which Yosano thought was Dazai’s job) but Yosano was different.

“You do not seem too troubled,” Dazai pointed out.

“Well, he’s fine, right?”

Dazai shrugged, “beaten but alive.”

“Then he’ll be okay. You know Chuuya, to think he would let himself die in such a way would be underestimating him. He’s stubborn, he’s managed to stay with you for this long so he’ll pull through,” there was a fire in her eyes and Dazai realized that she was correct.

Chuuya was strong and still had a will if the clue he had left Dazai was anything to go by. It was a clever thing to do and Dazai would give him props for that.

“Plus,” Yosano continued, “you’re the one looking after him, he’ll be fine. And if he isn’t…” she rose from her seat once more and Dazai could have sworn he saw devil horns protrude from her hairline, “then I’ll kill you. So you better find him, alright?”

Dazai laughed nervously, “of course I will.”

“Good,” she crossed her arms, “I’ll stay here and keep his animals company until then, but I need you to tell me honestly because I know he’ll try to lie his way back into work. How much time off will he need away from work?”

Dazai paused to think for a moment because it was different for every victim. Knowing Chuuya, he would want to just get right back into work after he recovered from his physical injuries, and perhaps letting him do that was not a bad idea because Dazai knew that taking care of animals was like therapy for him.

“I would say three weeks for his injuries to heal, and after that, he may return but in shorter shifts so he does not overwhelm himself. A few hours a day and slowly build up until we know for sure he can cope with it.”

Yosano nodded, “I’m not even sure he’ll want to relax for three whole weeks.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Dazai winked, “I can handle it.”

“So you two finally got your shit together huh?”

“Yes, more or less.”

Their conversation tapered off after that. Dazai eyed the time and he would need to get back soon. So he did what he originally intended to do and set off to Chuuya’s room to snoop through his closet to find comfortable clothes for him. He ended up finding a sweater that looked similar to the one he was wearing yesterday when he kicked Dazai’s door down, and Dazai wondered if he wore clothes like this around his apartment all of the time instead of those leather pants. He stashed the sweater and sweatpants into his bag and closed the closet door, only to be faced with the tank next to Chuuya’s bed.

Princess -because of course that’s what Chuuya would name a snake- looked directly into his soul, sending shivers down his spine. Then there was another set of eyes on him, Mackerel who had poked her head out from under the covers of Chuuya’s bed.

They both missed him.

Dazai sighed and while he hated animals, these were Chuuya’s animals and he supposed that they were living things as well. He approached the bed and sat on it, letting the cat sniff him before tentatively stepping onto his lap.

Dazai lightly tapped her before running his fingers through soft fur, “Your owner will be back soon,” he said, somewhat awkwardly as he aimed the words at the snake too. “I will get him back.”

Princess eyed him, unblinking (well, snakes did not have eyelids so Dazai assumed it was a stare,) before her forked tongue flickered and she slithered to the cave Chuuya had gifted her within her tank.

Mackerel purred and rubbed against Dazai’s fingertips, which he considered strange because the last time he was here she had only tried to scratch his eyes out. Perhaps he smelled more like Chuuya now.

Dazai departed from the apartment complex twenty minutes later with another threat from Yosano, but he did not need threats to get Chuuya back.

The water of the port washed up against it in waves, the loudest sound that cut through the morning. The sun was just barely rising above the horizon, casting a small light to ripple along the water, but it would not be fully in the sky for another hour.

Dazai knew that they wished to get through selling Chuuya fast, so he would need to act quickly.

He watched from his place on a nearby cargo box (one of the many Mori had forced him to live in during his youth.) He had already infiltrated their lines of defense along with his other subordinates. Everyone was in place.

The moment Dazai heard the slightest movement from down below, he brought a finger up to the device in his ear. “Launch the attack, and remember our priority.”

“Yes sir.”

Chuuya was being put into a car once again.

He hadn’t woken up since the incident when he fell down the stairs (and judging by the ache in his side it had been very real,) but now the IV fluids were no longer being pumped in his veins and he was slowly but surely waking up.

He recalled someone slinging him over their shoulders and shoving him into another car. His hazy mind didn’t understand just why they were transporting him once again, but he remembered something that Verlaine told him.

He was being shipped out of the country.

And once that happened all hope of escaping would be gone for him. This was truly his last chance.

So he waited, pretending to be completely unconscious during the duration of the twenty-minute car ride. His head hung limply against the window and he even went as far as to topple over at the sharp turns the car made because by now he knew how the sedatives affect him, and he knew how utterly useless they made him.

He took the time to gather his thoughts and recover from the sedatives in his system until the car rolled to a stop and the back door opened.

“We’re here,” a familiar voice said, it belonged to the man that had chloroformed Chuuya. The man halted, “he ain’t awake yet?”

“I suppose not,” Verlaine’s voice was easy to pick out, and he leaned forward, uncomfortably close until Chuuya felt him lightly slap his cheek. Chuuya did not flinch. “The sedatives must have had a worse effect on him than I originally thought. It wouldn’t have hurt to lower his dose considering his size, but this will be fine.”

“He can’t struggle this time,” Chuuya could practically see the grin on the other man's face and he fought against the urge to tense up when he was roughly dragged out of the car, then lugged over one of their shoulders.

He couldn’t tell who it was and he didn’t necessarily care. All he could focus on currently was the iciness of the winter air that dug into his skin, and the flimsy hospital gown did absolutely nothing to help keep him warm. If he stayed here for much longer he would get hypothermia, which also meant that escaping by the water of the port would not be an option.

Soon enough he was roughly thrown to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and footsteps echoed throughout the cargo container where he had been taken to. Hands grabbed onto his limp wrists and tied a rope around them, then they reached down and tied his ankles together before pulling away and leaving him laying on the floor.
The only good thing about the situation was that Chuuya was lying on his side facing away from the entrance of the cargo container, away from whoever was guarding it. Also meaning that they would not see when Chuuya opened his eyes.

The container he was in reeked even worse than the bar did, but Chuuya pushed past the constant migraine and breathed in slowly through his mouth as he slowly lifted his head from the floor. His whole body felt bruised at this point but he would not stop while he had a chance.

Chuuya wasn’t a quitter, dammit.

His hands had been tied behind his back and he shimmied on the floor to try to get them to a comfortable position, but they were wound so tight that he shortly gave up and instead shook his head almost violently. Every movement sent a flash of white-hot pain behind his eyelids but finally, his hair band had come loose along with the scalpel still attached to it.

It fell to the floor with a clatter and Chuuya held his breath, waiting for whoever was standing outside of the container to barge in and press a gun to his head, but after a long moment, he let himself breathe again. No one was coming in, not yet.

He got back to the task at hand.

He rolled around and cringed as he eyed the dirty floor before tilting his neck in order to grab the metallic tool with his mouth before flinging it back to where his hands were behind him. It took a lot of groping the floor, but he finally found where it had landed and started to saw at the rope, occasionally nicking his wrist and opening up a new injury, but it didn’t bother him anymore.

Once he finally finished, Chuuya sat up and shot to his feet, leaning against the thin walls to gain his bearings. It had been the patrol's mistake letting him in a room alone. He needed to move, as far as he knew, they were ready to ship him off at any moment.

Despite how much he enjoyed the conflict, he would need to not face anyone because he was armed with only a scalpel and was injured. Even if he had a gun, his hand-eye coordination wouldn’t be any help with the thrumming in his head and his double vision.

He slowly made his way to the entrance to see the large dude who had probably gotten him out of the car, his back facing him. The scalpel shook in Chuuya’s hand. Could he do this?

Chuuya considered the tool before grunting in frustration, and instead of slicing the man's neck, Chuuya reached up to cover the man's eyes, then pulled his head back roughly, kicking his knee against the back of his head and delivering a blow that would make the man's brain hit his skull. As expected, he crumpled to the ground, and Chuuya’s knee hurt like a bitch, but at least he wasn’t dead.

Peeking out into the morning air, Chuuya narrowed his eyes to see through the darkness. The sun would rise soon, and at least Chuuya would have the chance to get away under the veil of the dark.

He was in a yard of abandoned shipping containers. There were men who walked around the perimeter, Gide’s men, Chuuya guessed. Then that was when Chuuya saw it. There was a boat parked along the edge of the port, its side slamming into the concrete, though that did not seem to matter to the people who were on it.

Their silhouettes could barely be seen, but Chuuya spotted three of them unloading from the boat, and the Gide, who greeted them. They must have just arrived. If Chuuya was to guess, then these people intended to lug him onto the small boat, then take him to a larger ship that waited out in the sea for them.

Chuuya cursed under his breath and quickly pressed his back against the cargo container as he silently moved in the opposite direction. His legs ached and he tripped over his own feet, but he still moved as fast as possible to the point where he could no longer push himself to move forward despite the adrenaline.

Chuuya’s bare feet got cut from the stray pieces of glass from beer bottles that littered the ground, and he breathed rapidly but pushed forward slowly.

Distantly he heard gunshots and sounds of fighting suddenly breaking through the calm atmosphere. Now he really needed to get out of here because getting hit by a stray bullet was not on his to-do list and he had no idea of what caused the fight.

Hope bloomed in his chest, but he stamped it down.

It could be anyone.

Suddenly, his back was being forced against the cargo crate, hitting it with such force that spit spilled from his lips, mingling with blood. Chuuya saw double of Verlaine’s in front of him, and the man's hand was wrapped tightly around his neck, making a necklace of bruises with how hard he was pressing down on his windpipe.

Chuuya wheezed and reached to scratch at the hands, but that wouldn’t work and he knew it, so instead, he struggled to make his mouth work.

He could feel his face turning an unhealthy shade.

“Why?” He asked, voice a whisper, and Verlaine’s grip loosened enough to let him talk some more. He was curious and obviously didn’t expect Chuuya to win this fight. “Why did you-”

“Why did I kill our family and sell you off?” The man chuckled as if he had just told a wonderful joke. Chuuya glared coldly at him. “I never cared for any of you, if you haven’t guessed, I don’t have much emotion of love towards them.”

But that was impossible because from what Chuuya could remember, Verlaine had been who he looked up to. It was hard for his older brother to fake such emotions of love.

Then that was when Chuuya realized it.

“The l…lab. T-they go-” Chuuya choked some more, “got to you be...before me.”

Verlaine did not confirm or deny it.

So he had really cared, but the lab had wormed their way into the Nakahara family like a parasite and infected Verlaine first. He was just as a victim as Chuuya was, but there was nothing Chuuya could do for him. If he had been experimented on and his emotions got taken away from him, he could never get those back.

Instead of answering any further, Verlaine’s hands tightened even further around his throat and lifted him until his feet were no longer touching the floor. Chuuya felt his eyes roll to the back of his head, but he wasn’t done. In a burst of energy, he whipped into action and brought his knees up between Verlaine’s arms, and when he spread them out, the man yelped in pain as his elbows popped. His grip was loosened and Chuuya used the moment to force his battered body to move and grab him by the hair to slam his face against the container.

Chuuya fought for breath on his knees, hands covering his throat. He eyed Verlaine’s limp body and nudged him to roll over. He couldn’t let out a strangled gasp at the moment, but the surprise of seeing his face scratched to the bone and the metallic whirling of said bone was gruesome.

The lab had done much more to him than Chuuya realized.

He couldn’t waste time here.

He got up to unsteady feet and moved.

He moved.

And continued forward.

To where he could see the parking lot of the port and the many cars parked there.

Just before Chuuya reached the edge of it, there was someone else darting in front of him. Tall and skinny, Chuuya instinctively reached an arm out to punch him right in the face, but his fist was caught by a familiar hand. A bandaged one.

His brain struggled to process what was happening and Dazai just smiled down at him.

“There is no need to keep fighting Chuuya,” he said, his voice soothing over Chuuya like it was something he had been missing his whole life. “You can rest now.”

Chuuya did not like looking weak and certainly not vulnerable, but this was Dazai.

As if on command, his legs gave out on him.

Dazai was here.

The boat had touched along the port and Dazai clicked his tongue. What a shame, this would only make the operation more complicated. Of course, Gide had been the first he had attacked with an unbearable amount of force. The leader of Mimic didn’t even see the bullet coming, he only felt as if lodged into his brain. Dazai stepped over his body.

It only felt strange to see such a man who had caused many deaths fall so easily, but Dazai supposed that he was only human, and not many humans survived a gunshot wound to the brain.

He was dead in an instant.

And that was when the enraged yells of Mimic soldiers could be heard as the shootout began. The people who had evacuated back to the boat looked like they were preparing to pull away from the port, though their engine only sputtered.

Dazai would need to take care of them-

There was a hand on his shoulder and he was lowering his gun to look at executive Kouyou, who pursed her lips. “The black lizard and I will take care of the remaining members of the Order of the Clock tower,” her eyes flashed to him, “you know the priority.”

Find Chuuya.

Wordlessly, Dazai ducked away to jog to the nearest man on the floor in front of a cargo container. He was knocked unconscious and not shot, therefore he had not been taken down by one of Dazai’s subordinates. Dazai peeked into the container to see that rope had been discarded onto the floor along with a trail of blood.

Chuuya had escaped from here.

Of course he did.

He probably would have been shipped away on the boat by now if he hadn’t put up a fight.

Dazai quickly followed the trail of blood until it faded away, and then he was forced to use his own senses to find Chuuya. The veterinarian must have been completely exhausted by now. He could not have gotten too far, and if he was aiming for a quick and easy escape then he would have been heading for the parking lot.

Just as Dazai rounded the corner, a familiar flash of red bolted from in front of him and suddenly Chuuya was there, his fist swinging wildly towards his face. Dazai would have let Chuuya punch him in the face just to feel his skin, but he did not want to further hurt his knuckles, so he gently grabbed his hand.

“There is no need to keep fighting Chuuya, you can rest now,” he found himself saying, and when Chuuya finally collapsed, “you did wonderfully.”

And suddenly the sounds of fighting and the smoke wafting through the air became background noise as he sank to the ground with Chuuya, simply allowing himself to embrace him because it had felt like years since he had his touch.

It was at that moment, that he realized just how irreplaceable Chuuya was to him.

Chapter Text

Chuuya ended up staying in the hospital for four days after the event.

Once they had escaped the port, Oda and Ango helpfully pulled up a car to them after Chuuya collapsed, his subordinates had been surprised when Dazai announced they should go to the hospital.

Dazai was sure that if Chuuya was awake then he would have protested it, arguing that Dazai shouldn’t have to go to the hospital with him because he now knew why he avoided them, but Chuuya couldn’t have argued because he was slouched over in the backseat and obviously drowsy from whatever medication they had pumped into his system.

“Are you sure?” Ango asked.

“Yes, the hospital,” Dazai nodded. Chuuya wasn’t in any life-threatening condition but he was beaten and possibly had fractures and at least a broken finger. Dazai refused to take him to the nurses of the port mafia because they were only there for the extra pay. They did not care for bedside manners and would remove bullets without antiseptic.

And those events were how Dazai ended up sitting by Chuuya’s bedside two days later. He had woken up a few times to look around before slipping off back to sleep, and in that time Dazai had not moved an inch. There had been many visitors. Kouyou visited every chance she got and so had Yosano (though she had not told her co-workers about the situation and Dazai wondered why.) Tachihara had even made a visit though he just stood there awkwardly.

Of course, there had been many questions from the doctors who treated Chuuya but Dazai had lied to them enough to convince them to not call the authorities even if his injuries were obviously from gang-related activity.

“Idiot,” a voice rasped, and Dazai perked up in the uncomfortable plastic seat to look over to Chuuya.

“Ah, I see Chuuya is awake once again!”

Chuuya winced, “stop being so damn loud.”

Dazai’s volume had been normal, but he softened his tone anyway. “How are you feeling?”

He knew that Chuuya would have snorted if he had the energy. “Like shit. Dehydrated.”

Dazai wordlessly reached over to grab the plastic cup, holding it in front of Chuuya. He had kept it at his bedside after the previous times he had woken up asking for water.

“Thanks,” Chuuya grumbled when Dazai pulled the cup away from his chapped lips, then unexpectedly, “better.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can move now,” Chuuya explained, raising his arms painted with bruises to rotate his wrists.

Dazai hummed, “that is certainly an improvement, though do not think you will start walking anytime soon, the glass cut your feet up good.”

Despite his words, Chuuya really had been recovering fast. The deep gashes he received had been stitched shut and now he could rest easy even with his fading concussion. Dazai would take this as a victory.

Chuuya cleared his raw throat. “What happened to the others?”

It took Dazai’s brain a moment to comprehend what the redhead was asking. “Gide and the order of the clock tower?”

Chuuya nodded even if the movement pained him and Dazai wondered if telling him the details of it would dredge up unwanted memories. The glint in Chuuya’s eyes told him that he really had no choice.

“I killed the leader of Mimic,” he answered, and when Chuuya’s eyes did not fill with disgust, he continued, “he will no longer cause the port mafia any harm. He will no longer cause you any harm. The Order of the clock towers people are being sent back to their homeland to face trial.”

“All of them?” Chuuya asked, tone cautious.

Dazai raised an eyebrow and once again shifted in the seat. Hospital chairs were possibly the most uncomfortable of them all, and Chuuya’s mattress didn’t look the best either. “I’m assuming you are asking about the blonde man?”

“Verlaine.”

“Verlaine… Yes, he was sent back with them too. A few of my subordinates found his body, and you were the one that defeated him, correct?”

Chuuya finally broke eye contact and looked up to the ceiling, eyes clouding over once again. His sudden burst of energy must have been wearing off. “He was my brother,” he said, voice somewhat broken and Dazai wished to tape it back together.

His brother?

Dazai sat back further in his seat. This was news to him. “He is still alive, no need for the past tense.”

“No,” Chuuya’s tone was now filled with turmoil despite how weak his voice may have sounded. “He stopped being my brother when…” the hate was replaced by an intense sadness. “When he killed my family.”

This is the most conversation they had in two days and Dazai almost wished they did not have to have it. “Do you remember now?” He asked tentatively.

Chuuya swallowed and Dazai followed the movement of his Adam's apple. “Yeah… all of it. We were-”

“Shush Chuuya,” Dazai pressed a cold hand on top of Chuuya’s warmer one. “Not now, perhaps later?”

Chuuya’s eyes widened by a fraction before he relaxed back into the bed and nodded, eyes automatically sliding closed. He was not prepared to face the conversation just yet, but they would eventually once he was mentally and physically sound, and Dazai would be there for that.

On the third day, Chuuya received a visitor that Dazai despised despite Chuuya’s obvious joy.

It was mid-afternoon when there had been a knock at the door. Dazai looked up from his laptop where he had been looking over damage reports from Akutagawa and his attack squad. Chuuya bookmarked the poem book he had been invested in. Kouyou had brought it to him from his house along with more clothes because just as Dazai had suspected, Chuuya refused to wear a hospital gown and simply wore nonconstricting clothing.

Chuuya shot Dazai a questioning look and Dazai shrugged before the door opened.

“Hey boys,” Yosano entered, and Dazai did not recall her saying she was going to make a visit today.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Chuuya interrogated and Yosano rolled her eyes.

“You’re laid up in this bed with multiple injuries and that's the first thing you ask?”

Chuuya shrugged shamelessly.

“Well, if you must know,” she shut the door behind her as she walked further into the room to sit next to Dazai. She too made a face at the plastic chair. “I’m taking the night shift. The others believe I finally managed to force you to take a vacation so they think you’re in Hawaii.”

Dazai gasped, “Chuuya, we should go to Hawaii.”

“Absolutely not.”

“But it can be our honeymoon!” Dazai whined and Chuuya did not budge an inch.

“I already told you bandaged bastard I’m not marrying you anytime soon-”

Suddenly a noise from Yosano’s coat caught their attention and they halted their arguing to slowly turn their heads to her.

“Umm, Yosano?” Chuuya shifted under the white sheets to get a better look at her, “what do you have there?”

“Oh, nothing,” she flapped her hand but the noise sounded again, this time it was loud and clear. A meow.

Chuuya’s eyes widened, “is that Mackerel?”

Dazai hated how hopeful his tone was because he never sounded that way with him. Then again, he would never know how Chuuya could recognize the cat just by the sounds it made.

Yosano sighed and eyed the door to make sure an audience wasn’t watching before she unzipped her jacket and took the cat out, plopping it down right on Chuuya’s chest. Instead of clawing him like she would have done to Dazai, her claws immediately retracted and she purred delightedly, rubbing up against Chuuya’s fingers as he chuckled.

Dazai turned to Yosano, “you snuck a cat into the hospital?”

She shrugged, “I’ve snuck a lot of things into the hospital.”

Dazai did not ask her to elaborate.

Once the cat finally calmed down and settled into the crook of Chuuya’s neck, he tilted his head back to Yosano. “How are the others and my animals?”

“They’re good,” she answered, reaching back into her jacket, and for one horrifying moment, Dazai thought she was going to pull out princess the snake, but instead it was a photograph. Dazai leaned over Chuuya’s shoulder to see it.

Daisey, Weller, and Copper were all together in Chuuya’s living room, lounging around on his couch like it was a whole bed. Chuuya snorted, amusement dancing in his eyes as he handed it back to Yosano. “You socialized them?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “good luck getting them apart; they're practically inseparable now.”

Chuuya genuinely smiled this time around and Dazai quickly took a mental snapshot of it because it was the first time he had seen it in a while.

After about twenty minutes Yosano was forced to stuff the cat back into her sweater when the nurse came for a checkup. She successfully sneaked out while Dazai flirted with the nurse, much to Chuuya’s annoyance.

“Oh don’t look so jealous,” Dazai smirked once the nurse was gone, “Chuuya knows he’s the only one in my eyes.”

Chuuya blinked, then blinked some more.

Dazai stared at him.

“You’re serious?” He finally asked.

“Yes, of course, I am.”

Chuuya searched Dazai for any lies then simply closed his eyes. Apparently, he was too tired for Dazai’s ‘bullshit’ as he would say.

Later that night after the nurse made her last round (and Dazai hid in a nearby closet so she would not know he was staying overnight once again,) Dazai had prepared to settle down for yet another night of back pain from the chair, but apparently, Chuuya had a different idea.

“Idiot, come here,” his voice sounded from the darkness once Dazai turned off the light.

“I am next to you, Chuuya,” Dazai reminded him.

“No- come here.”

It took Dazai a moment to get what Chuuya was insinuating but once he did, the weird rapid thumping of his heart started again. The sounds of shuffling filled the room as Chuuya scooted over on the small bed, making just enough room for Dazai to slide under the covers next to him. It took a moment for Dazai’s eye to adjust to the darkness but here, he was close enough to feel Chuuya’s breath on the side of his face.

“Is Chuuya sure he wants this?”

Chuuya snorted, “I’m just being a nice damn person, but try anything right now and I'm hitting the call nurse button, got it?”

Dazai smirked, “Is Chuuya insinuating that we can do it later then?”

Dazai could almost see the way Chuuyua’s face went red as he attempted to smother him with a pillow, but once things had settled and they were in comfortable positions, the veterinarian was out like a light. Dazai took a moment to simply enjoy the closeness and the way it didn’t burn as it did with others before slipping off into his own state of sleep.

It was the most sleep he had gotten in a long while.

He did not even stir when later into the night Kouyou entered the room and flicked on the light. She looked down at the sight of her brother and boss on the bed, limbs tangled together, before snapping a picture and exiting the room as silently as possible.

She would be showing this picture to Yosano. She would love it.

Later at night into the fourth day was when Chuuya had finally had enough. Dazai had seen him growing restless because even if he couldn’t walk, anywhere would be better than the sterile white hospital. A few times Dazai was forced to calm Chuuya down after he stared at them for too long and now his panic made sense.

Dazai almost wished it didn’t.

“The coast is clear,” Dazai announced as he poked his head out of the door.

Chuuya rolled his eyes, “This isn’t a damn spy movie, just get your ass back in here and help me out. The quicker we get this done the quicker we can get out of here.”

Dazai agreed with him.

“I put us under a fake name, so there is no need to worry about the hospital staff showing up at your door in the middle of the night,” Dazai explained in a low voice as he unfolded the wheelchair he spotted in the corner of the room. Chuuya’s nose scrunched in disgust as he sat up, his heavily bandaged feet dangling off of the bed.

“I don’t need a damn wheelchair-”

“Yes you do,” Dazai insisted, “we will need to make a speedy escape after all.”

“Fine,” Chuuya grumbled as Dazai took him by the elbow and helped him down onto the chair. Dazai quickly moved to Chuuya’s wrist to slide out the IV they had inserted in him for his pain meds (the kind that would thankfully not make him loopy,) then unplugged the heart monitor from the wall so that it would not flatline when they left.

If a code blue was called then their escape plan would be foiled.

Dazai plopped the backpack full of Chuuya’s clothes and supplies onto his lap and Chuuya wrapped his fingers around the straps of the bag.

The hallways were empty and dark as they proceeded down it, and instead of taking a turn to the front entrance where the staff members would be, Dazai pushed past a door that read ‘staff only.’ It was empty, just another hallway that somehow looked even lonelier than the last one.

“This feels illegal,” Chuuya said, voice echoing off of the endless halls.

“Yes, it most definitely is, ah, look an exit-”

“You two!” A loud voice shouted from behind them, a doctor. “What are you doing back here?”

Dazai and Chuuya shared one brief look before Dazai was pushing him out to the back exit, snickering the whole time.

Things had become blurred memories to Chuuya, easier to suppress and now not constantly on his mind 24/7 after a few weeks of recovering, though recovery, as he learned, wasn’t linear. Even after escaping the hospital (who hadn’t, in fact, shown up at his door,), he was forced to stay in bed until the cuts on his feet no longer stung every time he applied pressure on them.

He was beaten up, but alive.

Dazai didn’t leave him alone either, so not much had changed. He slept over at Chuuya’s even if he obviously didn’t enjoy the company of princess the snake, but the very fact that he had stayed made Chuuya want to get up and kiss the idiot.

And he did. Multiple times.

In the middle of the night, Dazai had asked if Chuuya blamed him for the situation, to which Chuuya elbowed Dazai harshly in the ribs before claiming the other's lips. The sensation would never get old, the red hot flames licking his skin and the rapid beating of his heart, but this time it was not rushed. It had become more languid because Dazai had whispered that they had all of the time in the world.

It was impossible for him to hate the idiot, especially when he said shit like that.

Of course, the nightmares had started to occur nightly now, much more than what it had been before the incident, but now he knew what the night terrors meant. He knew why he was seeing himself chained up in a cell with only the moonlight as his company.

That didn’t stop the agony, but at least now Chuuya wasn’t in the dark. At least now he had Dazai to guide him through breathing exercises, no matter what time in the morning, to get him back to sleep.

Though the events that took place did not only follow him in his sleep.

A sound had woken him up with a jolt, a crashing of sorts that was impossible to not open your eyes at.

Chuuya inhaled sharply and sat up, body aching dully (though not as much as it had been) and protesting as he wildly scanned his bedroom. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no intruders or strange weather outside.

Through his blackout curtains, the sun peeked through enough to tell Chuuya that it was early in the morning.

It was then that Chuuya realized that Dazai wasn't in the room with him as he always was when he woke up. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss the presence.

Chuuya groggily groped around the sheets of the bed for his phone and slipped it out from under his pillow, squinting as the blue light hit his eyes. He had a missed text from Dazai, surprisingly, who never texted.

Mackerel: Important business came up, B back by lunch ;)

Chuuya yawned and shoved his phone back somewhere onto the bed. His brain was cloudy and he was ready to fall back to sleep until he heard it again, a loud thumping noise.

Chuuya was now wide awake.

Paranoia crawled up his skin as he eyed Princess's tank next to his bed to see if somehow she had gotten out. She remained inside. Copper and Mackerel weren't in the room, another strange thing because normally they were taking up more of his own bed than he did.

He would have assumed it was Dazai moving around, but he was alone.

Fear mingled with adrenaline as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and gingerly lowered himself to the floor. The soles of his feet stung sharply then if they were covered by bandages and thick socks.

Dazai hadn't let him walk around by himself and now he saw why.

Chuuya reached for his crutch and leaned heavily against it as he made his way across the room to open his closed door. It wasn't locked like he usually left it.

Chuuya peered down the long dark hallway that led out to his living room only to see nothing. From his vantage point he could make out Copper laying on the couch, but he looked like he had been passed out for a while.

If there was an intruder there was no way in hell Cooper would attack anyone. Weller would, but Chuuya knew that Dazai probably took the dog with him to work so he could stretch his legs, meaning…

Chuuya continued down the hallway, careful not to get tripped up on the carpet when he silently opened the closet to his right to retrieve a metal bat he had kept in there. Of course, break-ins weren't normal especially in apartment complexes like his but Chuuya left it there anyway.

A thrill ran up Chuuya’s body and not in a good way once he finally reached the living room. There were more noises from the kitchen and Chuuya had the bat raised, muscles corded as he ditched his crutch to swing the bat down on the intruder and-

Yosano rolled out of the way.

The bat crashed down, successfully breaking Chuuya’s countertop.

They both stood for a moment, eyeing the cracked surface before Chuuya inhaled shakily and leaned against the fridge. “Dammit,” he hissed, and Yosano, despite nearly having her head caved in, didn't look surprised.

“Are you okay?” she asked, standing up, and Chuuya laughed somewhat hysterically.

“Am I okay?”

Yosano sighed and bent down to retrieve the crutch Chuuya had dropped, “yeah, you thought I was an intruder right?”

Chuuya didn't know how she seemed so damn calm because his heart was beating like a whole drumline. “I thought you were…” he trailed off, realizing just how stupid he sounded.

They were gone.

They wouldn't get to him anymore.

He changed his answer to a question, “why are you here?”

Yosano picked the bat up from the floor and leaned it against the refrigerator next to Chuuya, “Dazai told me he had work to deal with this morning so I decided to pay a visit while He's out of your hair…” she left a lingering glance towards him before turning to the pantry she had been rifling through. “I’m making breakfast, go back to bed.”

And for once, Chuuya didn’t argue.

And through the suffering Chuuya also got to see sides of Dazai that he never had before. In a home setting, he no longer wore fancy suits nor did he have the fake attitude, and even if people preferred the fakeness, Chuuya would rather have the real Dazai instead because he did not build his relationships off of lies.

The real Dazai, no matter how unappealing he thought he may be, was still Dazai in Chuuya’s eyes because he did the little things that made him…him.

The way he picked at the edge of his bandages.

The silent way there was always water next to Chuuya’s bed even if he never asked for it.

The way he bitched and complained when Chuuya taught him how to feed Princess.

The idiot was a mess but Chuuya liked him anyway.

“Does Chuuya remember what I asked him the night I got hit by a car?” Dazai asked suddenly because that was also one of his qualities.

Chuuya raised an eyebrow and looked up from his book to Dazai, who had suddenly entered his room. Chuuya didn’t even realize he had returned from whatever work he had to deal with.

“What, to stitch you up?” Chuuya asked, voice filled with mirth.

“Hmm, not quite.”

“To kiss you?”

“Also not quite.”

Chuuya opened his mouth and closed it again, “to… go out to eat with you?”

“Wonderful!” Dazai clapped, making Mackerel jump out of her skin from her place next to Chuuya. Dazai patted her apologetically, something that Chuuya didn’t realize he would do.

“Yeah, and what about it?”

“Well, that Italian place Chuuya dearly loves to go to is now open and Chuuya just looks so defeated lying in bed all day so I got reservations.”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes, “you’re being awfully considerate, stop it, it’s creepy.”

“Well, I’m taking that as a yes,” Dazai left the doorway for Chuuya’s closet to throw clothes that didn’t match at him, “we’re ten minutes late, let’s go.”

Chuuya went red with anger, “were what-“

And how their stumbling to the restaurant in time led to a somewhat civilized dinner, Chuuya would never know. Dazai wasn’t harassing the staff this time around nor was he slamming doors into Chuuya’s nose.

It was, dare he say, nice.

“This is so unlike the other restaurant where they attempted to poison you with seafood,” Dazai announced, stabbing at the spaghetti noodles as Chuuya scrunched up his nose.

“We all know you were the one who did that, bastard.”

Dazai blinked innocently, “I do not know what Chuuya is talking about.”

“Yeah, sure,” and despite Chuuya’s sarcasm, he enjoyed coming back to this place. The atmosphere was the same as it had always been, especially when they sat at the same table as always and Dazai wasn’t actually giving him a judging look when he downed the wine glass.

Then Dazai breached the subject that Chuuya wasn't expecting to talk about with him for another year.

“I think that Chuuya should live with me,” Dazai said out of the blue, and Chuuya choked on his wine, not even pulling away when Dazai patted his back while snickering under his breath. What a bastard.

“You can’t just spring that on me out of nowhere!” Chuuya yelled, and luckily the place wasn’t busy on a Wednesday night.

“Oh, well I thought it was obvious,” Dazai shrugged.

“Yeah, but you also need to learn to read damn social ques.”

“Well,” Dazai waved at him dismissively, “what is Chuuya’s answer? There is no need to be negative about it.”

Chuuya leaned back in his seat and eyed the empty wine glass, mentally willing it to fill back up. “I’m not negative about it, but you could have waited a bit later?”

As if following Chuuya’s movement away from the conversation, Dazai leaned forward and stared into his soul, “in truth, I did not wish to wait.”

“You never wish to wait.”

“While that may be true,” Dazai put his fork down and it was hard to take him seriously with the tomato sauce on his face, so Chuuya threw a napkin at him. “As I was saying, Chuuya was planning on moving out anyway, correct?”

“Well yeah, with all of the animals it’s getting hard to manage in the small space but it wouldn’t be trouble to find someplace else-“

“And it would be less trouble to simply move in with me,” Dazai cut him off, and it was then that Chuuya realized that Dazai really wanted this. Was he really that damn lonely in his own home? “You won’t have to go through all of the legal documents and as you have seen, there is plenty of space. Does Princess like to swim? I have a pool.”

Despite his joking tone, Chuuya could tell how serious he was.

And, much to Chuuya’s annoyance, Dazai made a huge point.

“Win me over.”

Dazai made a perplexed face, “huh?”

“You heard me,” Chuuya kicked Dazai’s leg with his ankle from under the table. “Present all of the prospects to me.”

Dazai assumed a more serious position, his fingers clasping in front of his face as if he was trying to sell the house to Chuuya. “Well, it is quite large compared to your current living place. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms, one of which is a master bathroom, though all of them are sizable. A kitchen stocked with supplies but not food. There is a very large dining area and a movie room for entertainment and large meals. A very large patio for formal gatherings and such-“

“Sold,” Chuuya held up a hand for Dazai to shake, and Dazai smirked, shaking it firmly. “Just answer one damn question.”

“Of course.”

Chuuya pulled his hand away so he could finish his meal. (He hadn’t eaten a good one in a while because between Dazai and Yosano’s shitty cooking he would rather starve.) “What made you start thinking about this shit anyway?”

“Well, it is apparent that Chuuya does not feel safe, and I would rather him not be on guard in his own house.”

“I think I can handle myself just fine!” Chuuya clutched the knife in his hand and Dazai eyed it wearily.

“Yes, you did nearly cave Yosano’s skull in with a baseball bat.”

Chuuya grumbled under his breath as he stuffed his mouth with more Alfredo. “She’s in on this too, isn't she?”

“She did suggest it, yes.”

And that very conversation (along with their first official date) triggered a chain of events that would lead to Chuuya slowly packing his personal belongings into boxes and letting Dazai drive them to his place while getting the legal documents filled out.

(Funny considering he would be living with someone who defied the laws, though that didn’t bother him nearly as much as it should have.)

Chuuya had asked Dazai many times if he would rather them just look for a house together like a normal damn couple, but he himself had grown accustomed to the feel of Dazai’s large penthouse apartment. (It was really more of a damn house than anything.)

By the time he was fully moved in, he had ditched the crutches and only 30% of his body had bruises on it. There were still strangulation marks that were angry purple but they looked worse than they felt and Chuuya always had his choker to hide the extent of the damage.

“This place has more life to it, I’ll give you that,” Chuuya huffed as his eyes roamed over the expansive space. Before it had seemed so lifeless, as if no one lived in it, but now that Chuuya had unpacked his stuff (and forced Dazai to go to a nearby furniture store) it looked like something they could call home.

“It did not have any life before?” Dazai asked, setting down the last box onto the obsidian kitchen counters.

“Absolutely not.”

As Dazai unpacked the last of the supplies Chuuya slowly strolled along a nearby hallway that he knew led to Dazai’s room. The walls were barren before but now there were framed photos lined upon them.

One of Daisy and Weller in Christmas clothes.

One of all Chuuya’s pets.

Odasaku, Ango, and Dazai.

The veterinary staff at the Halloween party. Chuuya cringed at that one because he didn’t look sober enough to even be there.

There was a picture Chuuya had guessed was taken recently because he was in a hospital bed with Dazai, both of them passed out.

Ane-San was probably the one to thank for that.

Chuuya came to a stop at the last picture. It was a colorful one with lights blurred of the background, though the point of focus was Dazai and Chuuya, locked together in a kiss.

Chuuya raised an eyebrow.

“You enjoy snooping around?” Dazai asked him, breath fanning over the back of his neck and Chuuya resisted instinctively elbowing him in the ribs.

“It’s my house now too, so it’s not counted as snooping.”

“You are correct, it is inspecting,” Dazai corrected himself.

“I didn’t bring this picture,” Chuuya pointed out, thumbs brushing along the oak frame. “You framed the photo of our first kiss? You’re such a damn sap.”

“Well,” Dazai rubbed the back of his head, “Yosano was the one who forced me to hang it up, but I certainly wasn’t against it.”

“Yeah, it looks nice,” Chuuya, for once, said in a quiet way, as if to not shatter the moment.

Sunlight poured from the hallway, dust bunnies danced through the air and highlighted the picture. They both stared at it for a moment longer before-

“Is there anything else Chuuya wishes to add to our home?”

Chuuya turned around to face Dazai and crossed his arms so the other could know he was serious. “Well now that you ask, what’s your opinion on sugar gliders?”

Not that Chuuya actually cared about the idiot's opinion.

Dazai’s look of content quickly transformed to one of shock and disgust.

“Sugar gliders?”

“You already know where I’m fucking going with this.”

“I have many questions,” Dazai stated, “but first off, why a sugar glider?”

Chuuya shrugged and leaned back against the wall, carefully avoiding the picture. “I was texting Yosano and she said that one had an unfit owner.”

“Well yes, I am sure those things are hard to take care of, also meaning that I refuse to care for it-“

“Come on when do you get to claim you have a sugar glider as a pet!”

“Hopefully never, those things are disgusting.”

“How can you fucking lie to my face like that,” Chuuya hissed, snatching his phone from his pocket to scroll through his camera roll before shoving it in Dazai’s face. The picture was impossible to look at and associate the word ‘ugly’ with. “Her name is peppermint and she doesn't have a damn home.”

“Chuuya, Weller would eat her.”

“The hell he would not.”

“Fine, then Daisy would eat her.”

“You are not training your damn dog to eat my damn sugar glider.”

“That is an obsessive use of Damn, Chuuya,” Dazai said calmly as they strolled to the kitchen, but Chuuya could see him breaking. “Though in hindsight, I am thinking of getting a shark tank installed in my office so it doesn't seem like too big of a deal.”

“I'll bring her home when I start working again-” then Chuuya let the last part sink in and froze altogether. “A shark tank?”

“Yes.”

“I hope they eat you.”

“I love you too Chuuya.”

Chuuya was finally allowed to get back to work and life resumed its normal routine. (except now his normal routine was waking up next to Dazai and whacking him mercilessly with a pillow to wake him up and occasionally getting waves from random Port Mafia members in the area. Chuuya didn't know why but they started to see him as some sort of secondary boss and when they started to bow to him, that was when Chuuya crossed the line.)

And of course, it was the day Chuuya returned to work that he heard the cursed words.

“Have you checked Twitter lately?” Yosano asked, leaning against the reception desk.

“Shit,” Chuuya cursed as he slipped his phone from the pocket of his scrubs. “No, not for weeks, I forgot that damn app existed… I’m deleting it-”

“You may want to check it, I'm just saying,” Yosano snatched Chuuya’s phone from him to scroll down until she got to the tweet she wanted, and then handed it back to him.

Chuuya mentally prepared himself before diving into all that he had missed. He should have ditched his phone when he had the chance.

-Akiko Yosano

‘Important news! I'm temporarily taking over the Twitter account for the animal protection agency since our esteemed boss is finally taking the break he deserves! To Hawaii!’

Attached to the tweet was a picture they had taken a while ago at the beach with Chuuya standing in the waves, looking like he was about to dive in.

There was an obscene amount of likes.

Chuuya already knew the idiot Dazai had framed it and was currently putting it up as he scrolled through Twitter.

-Fyodor Dostovetski

‘Finally, I was beginning to wonder if he would collapse from working. Not that it would have mattered, I would have taken his clients.’

 

-Mark Twain

‘Hot damn look at that body-’

 

-Shuuji Tsusushima

‘Whoa there.’

 

-Mark Twain

‘Oh shit, it's the boyfriend. Gotta blast.’

Chuuya clenched his phone to his chest, “I didn't even know that idiot had twitter!”

“He didn't,” Yosano shrugged, “he got it to ‘defend your honor’ or something like that. It was funny to see his face when he saw what the others were saying about you.”

Yeah, Chuuya could only imagine.

-Akiko Yosano

‘And one last announcement, we can't have a new year's party with our dear Chuuya on vacation! So I'm rescheduling it for a week after, we can all pretend that it is new year's, eh?’

Chuuya slowly looked up to Yosano. “You planned a party.”

“Yes.”

“Tonight.”

“Yes.”

“They’ll be here in an hour.”

“Yes.”

“Shit!” Chuuya jumped up from his seat, “we have to set out damn decorations! Don’t just sit there, move your ass, we have work to do.”

Yosano stood without complaint and smiled in a genuine way, “I’m glad your back.”

“Yeah,” Chuuya huffed, “me too.”

He turned his phone off and made a mental note to return it to the phone store and get his money's worth from it.

In the end, Kunikida had forced Chuuya to go home early once he saw that he was slightly injured. (He and Yosano had used the excuse that he got mugged… in Hawaii… but of course, Chuuya still beat their ass.)

If anyone else would have sent him home then he would have stayed, but Chuuya trusted Kunikida to decorate accordingly while he ‘got rest’ and returned on time for the party to start.

There were some perks to this, like getting to drive with Dazai there, but nothing could stop the worrying for the fact that he wasn’t there to oversee things himself.

“Chuuya, rest assured, I am positive that everything turned out fine,” Dazai said from his place in the passenger seat because Chuuya didn’t trust that fucker to drive. “Kunikida is the one looking after things, it would be hard to think he could screw up that phenomenally.”

Chuuya held a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

“You’re not fucking helping.”

Well, maybe he was just a little.

Something wet came in contact with Chuuyas cheek and he struggled not to swerve off the side of the road. “Daisy,” he gently pushed her face away, “not while I’m driving girl.”

Daisy made a pathetic noise and ducked to the back of the car where Weller was laying.

In the end, they made it without any car crashes taking place.

It was still cold outside once they stepped out of the car. Chuuya pulled his coat closer to himself and met Dazai on the other side of the car. Luckily, they didn’t have to wear any kind of costume, but Chuuya still forced Dazai to wear anything but his damn fancy suits for once, so they both wore somewhat similar outfits (Dazai with a sand-colored turtleneck and Chuuya a sand-colored sweater.) With New Years' decorations they found at the store for half off. (Cheesy hats and streamers.)

The decorations on the building were not as big as Halloween or Christmas considering it was New Year, but they were by far more artistic.

“Damm, are we late?” Chuuya asked himself as he, Dazai, and the dogs walked up the steps to the front door. There were already people in there, and it was evident that the other vets had arrived.

Suddenly there was an arm wrapped around his shoulder and Dazai was smirking. Chuuya did not like that look. “There’s nothing wrong with being fashionably late, is there?”

“Yes Dazai, I don’t know if you know what being a proper- agh!”

Chuuya was pushed into the building and there were people greeting him. Dazai watched from the side as the members from the other vets asked how his vacation was and Chuuya’s own co-workers proclaimed (some in tears) that they were glad that he was back.

They acted as if he almost died (which he had) but maybe Yosano told the story of his little mugging more dramatically than he requested her to.

“Nakahara!” Fitzgerald called, “it is wonderful to see you again after so much time.”

“It’s been a month,” Chuuya pointed out, “I thought you were still nursing your injuries from when I kicked your American ass at football.”

Fitzgerald flapped his hand that was decorated with streamers from the confetti cannons, “well, you are celebrating the New Year in a very American way so I will not complain.”

Thankfully Fitzgerald got distracted talking to his assistant and ended up leaving Chuuya alone, hopefully for the rest of the damn night.

Unfortunately, that also gave Nikolai the opportunity to drag him by the shoulder to their little corner where Fyodor liked to hang out at big parties. Chuuya may have disliked the man and cyberbullied him on Twitter dailey but he always put a chair in the corner for him.

Chuuya eyed the crowd for Dazai and his dogs but those little betrayers had gone off to talk to Ranpo and Yosano, surprising considering Dazai got a kick out of conversating with the Russians.

“Hello Nakahara,” Fyodor greeted, looking up from the red solo cup.

Chuuya narrowed his eyes and snatched the cup from him to take a large sip. He considered it for a moment before handing it back to Fyodor. “You didn’t spike any drinks yet but if I see you anywhere near the drinks I will kick you out.”

“You threatened that last time big boss,” Nikolai grinned creepily and Chuuya scrunched his nose up.

“I shouldn’t even let you roam around my clinic, not after you fucking scared those kids with an inflatable dick at the football competition.”

Nikolai shrugged, his braid (decked with festive ribbon braided into it) flinging over his shoulder carelessly. “Touché.”

“I’m fucking watching you,” Chuuya warned one last time before turning his back to them and stalking back into the crowd of rowdy people.

By the time he had tracked down Dazai, Yosano, and Ranpo, who were thankfully not dancing on top of the reception desk but eating the snacks on it, Chuuya had been stopped by twenty different people from the other vets. He didn’t mind them, but he certainly did mind when Ms. Chiyo got in his way.

“Hello,” she greeted, “what a wonderful party.”

She said that about every party.

“Yeah, we'll. I didn't plan this one, thank Yosano and Kunikida for the planning.”

The woman’s eyes trailed over the room, “that would explain why it’s not as organized as the other ones.”

Chuuya didn’t crack a smile, instead, he crossed his arms. “They worked hard on it, if you don’t like it then you’re welcome to leave,” he pointed to the door and the woman followed his finger with a surprised face.

“That’s rude,” she stated, but Chuuya didn’t care.

“I could say the same for you,” he found amusement in the twisted look on Chiyo’s face. He wasn’t Dazai but it was pretty damn hilarious the way she huffed to herself.

“So you were gone on vacation?” She asked, obviously trying to get over her embarrassment, “how did that go?”

Chuuya shrugged, “it was fun but I’m ready to get back to work.”

“Good good, my Petunia needs a check-up.”

Chuuya quickly realized who had been missing from this equation when the woman’s dog was not held in her arms. He looked around, “where is Petunia? And you could have gotten her a check-up when I was gone, the staff here is pretty capable without me.”

“Petunia is at home with my granddaughter,” Ms.Chiyo announced proudly because she couldn’t go one minute without involving her damn granddaughter in a conversation. “Perhaps I should let her come bring Petunia to this party so you two can have some more time to socialize,” Chiyo’s beady eyes shone with mischief.

“She's not invited,” Chuuya started very bluntly because there was no other way to get through her head that he did not wish to see her granddaughter no matter how beautiful she thought she was.

“Were having a nice conversation here I hope?” Dazai’s annoying tone for once was appreciated and Chuuya felt his presence press up against his side.

The look in Dazai’s eyes when Chuuya looked up at him proved that he did not believe so. Chuuya stepped on his foot slightly, but despite that, it was good timing on his part.

Chiyo’s smile did not reach her eyes, “we were just talking about my granddaughter.”

“With all due respect ma’am,” Dazai winked and grabbed Chuuya’s hand, twining their fingers together, “Chuuya has no interest in your granddaughter nor will he ever.”

The woman eyed their hands with badly concealed disgust, and once she registered his words, her face grew red and she promptly turned to storm out of the door.

Leave it to Dazai to get an old woman so enraged that she dramatically stomped away.

“Thanks,” Chuuya squeezed Dazai's hand before pulling away, "but I could have handled it in a way that didn’t make me lose a loyal customer.”

“If she leaves your vet I can sponsor it for you. All of it.” Dazai offered, and Chuuya pushed him away.

“Hell no, I'm paid well enough to cover the expenses. I don't need your blood money.”

“If Chuuya insists.”

Though as it turned out, the night was full of surprises.

Later into the night (once Chiyo was long gone and so were most of the regular guests) Chuuya spotted a very familiar figure across their makeshift dance floor (that only Ranpo used.)

“Ane-san?” he asked, pushing past a clump of Fitzgerald’s workers and ignoring Mark Twain's offended yelp as he reached his sister who leaned against the reception desk.

“You actually came to one of these-”

He was cut off when she suddenly pulled him in for a hug, a thing that was normal for them in private, but never in public since she preferred to keep who she cared for a secret. He patted her back until she pulled away.

“What was that about?” He asked, slightly worried.

“It is nothing to be concerned about,” Kouyou reassured, “after the events of the past month I just realized how much I had been missing from your life-”

“You're a perfect sister-”

“No I'm not Chuuya,” she said firmly, cutting off his refute. “I should have tried to be there for you more. I should have taken off work instead of getting so involved in it. I should have told you-”

Chuuya took his sister's hands in his own and gave her a look that shut her up. “Kouyou, you did what you thought was best, right?”

She slowly nodded, the lights of the disco ball Yosano had somehow managed to get her hands on reflected from her shimmery silver dress.

“Then you did enough for me.”

She must have seen that there was no room for argument, at least not now, and nodded once again.

“Now,” Chuuya pulled away and shot glares to the obvious eavesdroppers. “Let's have some fun, huh?”

Fun, as it turned out to be, later into the night (after another game of Twitter wars in which Chuuya was heavily targeted and exposed for many things. He was starting to think the game was unfair,) which led to a game of…

A game Chuuya swore he would never play in his vet ever.

“Are the cups all set up?” Yosano asked once she entered the room. Their referee along with Ranpo.

“Yup!” Nikolai placed the last cup filled with some sort of unknown alcohol onto the table to form the triangle.

Couples beer pong.

Kouyou was the one to convince Chuuya to take part in it because she was here this time and she wouldn't let him make an embarrassment of himself. She only had 50% of his trust but that was enough for Dazai to talk him into it.

“We’ll go first!” Nikolai snatched the ping pong ball at the center of the table before Dazai could reach it, and surprisingly, he handed it to Fyodor.

Chuuya honestly had no fucking clue that those two had been dating this entire time.

“Fine, fine,” Dazai shrugged, stepping back next to Chuuya and out of the ball's range, “we will beat you anyway.”

“I highly doubt it,” Fyodor said calmly, and something about that lit a fire under Chuuya’s bones because Fyodor was never the competitive one and Chuuya was not about to let him win now-

“Yeah,” he scoffed, you can try your fucking best.”

Ten minutes later found Chuuya cursing as he threw back his third red solo cup. He felt the disgusting-tasting alcohol spill down his chin as he slammed it down, there was a roar of cheers from behind him. Or it was the sound of his own heart beating in his ears.

“God fucking dammit!” he turned to Dazai and pointed an accusing finger at the completely sober man's chest, “you did that on purpose!”

“How rude,” Dazai pouted, though he didn't deny it.

If Chuuya had known that couples' beer pong required more teamwork than the normal version then he would have burned the damn table.

Dazai shrugged and let Chuuya lean slightly on him, “it is not my fault Chuuya keeps missing the cups, he is truly bad at this game, therefore he is the one who drinks the most!”

Annoyingly, Dazai reached for the ball and easily took out one of the remaining three of Fyodor and Nikolai’s cups. Fyodor took the cup, looking paler than normal, and Nikolai cheered ‘chug’ obnoxiously into his ear until he downed the whole thing.

Chuuya sucked at beer pong and he didn't know why he agreed in the first place, but luckily, Dazai was good because of fucking course he was. Though maybe Nikolai and Fyodor just sucked.

Chuuya could tell even with a hazed mind that Dazai had dragged the game as long as possible until he was left the winner. Chuuya wouldn't count it as a team win because he was the only tipsy one.

Someone tapped his shoulder and Chuuya twisted around to see Kouyou and Yosano, “you up for another round?” Yosano asked, a wicked smirk on her face.

“No,” Chuuya rejected, “I know when to pick my battles.”

Because really, Yosano and Kouyou would be the undefeated winners if they got involved and Chuuya wasn't sure if even Dazai would be able to beat them.

“One more round,” Dazai begged, giving Chuuya the puppy eyes, and Chuuya knew damn well that he never had good intentions when he pulled that look.

“No, you just want to get me drunk,” Chuuua whacked him, his voice slightly slurred.

Dazai smirked, “You're already halfway there.”

And that was when all around them the crowd started to thicken and erupted into a flurry of noise.

They were counting down.

“Shit,” Chuuya scrambled to look at the time on his phone.

It was 11:59

He didn't even realize how late it had gotten, and the party (filled with mostly intoxicated people) was in full swing.

Five.

“Didn't expect it to be so soon huh?” Dazai asked Chuuya over the ruckus.

Four.

“No I didn't expect them to count down,” Chuuya snorted, “it's not even new year's.”

Three.

“Yes,” unsurprisingly, Dazai pulled him closer, “but we can pretend it is.”

Two.

“Yeah,” Chuuya leaned closer to his side, “I guess so.”

One.

Chuuya observed the large group around him, blurred by the lights and the music, all hollering and celebrating. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a brief flash of Lucy, one of Fitzgerald's workers, dragging Atsushi into a kiss.

Didn't those two hate each other?

But it wasn't a surprise when he spotted his sister and Yosano together.

Yosano had worked her dark magic on his dear sister.

Suddenly there was a hand under his chin, forcing Chuuya to pry his eyes from the scene to face Dazai, who smirked down at him.

“You’re supposed to be focusing on me now Chuuya, not the others.” And that was the only warning Chuuya got before for once, he was the one pulled into a heated kiss.

The rest of the night was a blur.

There was something that was bothering Chuuya.

Later into the night (or rather, early in the morning), Chuuya shifted in the bed, the sheets rubbing against his bare skin as he turned to face Dazai, who lay there silently.

Chuuya had learned that he was a peaceful sleeper, never moving. He almost looked like a corpse and at times Chuuya would find his hands searching for the pulse point in his wrist. He was unlike Chuuya himself, who spread out as much as humanly possible.

“Idiot, you’re awake, right?”

Dazai’s eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks and he opened his visible eye. “Go back to sleep Chuuya, you are drunk.”

Chuuya rolled his eyes, ignoring the way the darkness around him made his skin crawl. “It wore off, you made me drink a lot of damn water.”

Dazai’s lips tugged into a lazy smirk, “I wanted Chuuya to be fully aware of what was happening when we got home. If he was drunk he would not have remembered the full experience~”

“Shush,” Chuuya reached up to sloppily put a finger over Dazai’s lips, “it’s too fucking late for your attitude.”

“Ok,” Dazai said simply, and Chuuya took a moment to relish in the silence until he broke it again. “What did you need?”

“Nothing, just…”

Dazai peered intently at him through the darkness and Chuuya stared back before moving an arm to wrap around the back of Dazai’s head and loosen the bandage around his eye. It fell to the pillow and a milky white eye stared back at him. Chuuya gently brushed a thumb under it when Dazai tensed.

“Do you always wear the bandage when you sleep?”

“No,” Dazai admitted after a long beat of silence.

“You don’t need to wear them around me,” Chuuya’s touch lingered down to the bandages around Dazai’s neck, “none of them.”

Something in Dazai’s eyes shifted, slow-moving like molten lava, and suddenly he was shifting even closer to Chuuya to twine his fingers through the back of his hair, then he was yanking him forward for yet another kiss.

Chuuya grunted into it, then relaxed. Dazai didn’t let him come up for air until he whacked his back, “enough,” he wiped the saliva from his lips, “we’ve done enough for one damn night.”

“Morning,” Dazai corrected.

“Whatever, morning,”

But despite the somewhat low mood, Dazai continued to hold onto Chuuya tightly, and Chuuya, in turn, didn’t let go.

They never had a way with words, but through touch, they understood each other perfectly.

You’re irreplaceable.

(January 15th, 2022.)

-Nikolai Gogol

‘That party last night was one of the best! The big boss finally let us get hammered, amen to that. Me and Fyodor may have lost but a rematch is in the future ;)

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘@NikolaiGogol, hell no, never again.’

-Yosano Akiko

‘Got a gf on New Year. Nothing better than that kiss at 12:00.’

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘@Yosano, fucking disgusting.’

-Shuuji Tsusushima

‘I didn’t get the 12:00 kiss because Chuuya was too busy watching you all make out :( I demand a redo.’

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘@Shuuji, next year.’

-Francis Fitzgerald

‘As @NikolaiGogol said, wonderful party! Until next year, my friends.’

(January 1st, 2023.)

-Chuuya Nakahara

‘💍💍💍💍’

-Dazai Osamu

‘I won the bet, my dear Kouyou. Pay up.’