Chapter Text
It was rather rare for Chuuya to be able to leave work in the afternoon.
Most days, he would enter his office at nine in the morning and then leave whenever he was no longer needed, which most of the time meant he would shut the door to his office anytime between extremely late at night or extremely early the next day.
That day, however, he was walking home beneath a marmalade sky, the orange tinted streets packed with school children dawdling in cafes and shoppers making their way home with bags weighing down their arms (one shopper in particular he recognised to be the agency’s physician, but a cheery straw-haired child was carrying her bags for her).
Chuuya looked up at the sky, his coat thrown over his shoulder as the late afternoon sun warmed his back. It had been a good couple of months since he’d last been able to walk home so early, and a little part of him wanted to make the most of the small freedom given to him.
After all, going home in the mafia doesn’t necessarily mean work is done; as soon as he got back to his apartment he still had some emails to send, and even then if he were to get a call asking him to come back in, there was no way he could refuse.
The time before he returned to his apartment, however, was completely open for him to do what he liked.
Scratching his cheek in thought, Chuuya decided to walk down the winding street which led to the seafront where he could spend a little time enjoying his own company.
Well, that last bit wasn’t completely true.
After his last time using corruption, Chuuya could feel Arahabaki’s presence a lot more than usual.
Of course, it wasn’t like there was a person next to him whispering in his ear or prodding him like a poltergeist of some kind.
With Arahabaki, it was more like there was someone standing next to you; not saying anything, simply standing there and following your gaze.
As a teenager, this rather frustrated Chuuya; if he were to be a vessel for a god he would want it to at least be a good conversation starter, but for the years and years that it had resided within him there was only ever silence.
Even when he used corruption, it would wordlessly overtake him, the animalistic nature which possessed him the only indication towards what kind of personality it had, if it had any at all.
As an adult, however, the silent presence constantly beside him was something he found more sad than frustrating.
To be contained for so long, unable to experience things for itself, must be painful in ways Chuuya couldn’t bring himself to imagine.
Whether or not it had any personality, or whether it had any way of expressing itself other than when it overtook his senses during corruption, it still made Chuuya feel bad.
It didn’t matter to him whether Arahabaki was a good god or a malicious one; he grew to understand that his own suffering of containing it was most likely equal to Arahabaki’s suffering of being contained.
Staring out at the sea, he strained his eyes to catch every detail; every boat that dotted the horizon, every wave rolling towards the shore and each speck of sunlight which glimmered on its surface.
That way, even if it was contained, it was a way for Arahabaki to see some of the world it most likely wished to walk on again.
He leant against the railing, gingerly pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.
It was a pleasant part of the city; a couple of steps to his right led down to a stoney beach, and a little further past that stood the back of a high school. To the left stood the backs of shops and some houses, all fairly quiet save for the sound of the waves lapping against the stones below.
For about ten minutes he simply stared out at the sea, breathing out puffs of smoke with the silent presence beside him for company.
Suddenly, a loud splash came from the water to his right, and a few hushed giggles could be heard from one of the top windows of the high school.
Chuuya frowned in annoyance; while there were some exceptions, he held a dislike towards most children, especially teenagers. They were loud, arrogant and had little concern for the consequences of their actions.
Basically, they act exactly how he did as a kid.
Glancing down at the disturbed water just below him, he could make out what looked like a school bag and trainers floating towards the surface and being pulled back and forth by the tide.
Taking a large inhale of his cigarette, Chuuya felt his frown deepen; bullying was still a problem it seemed.
Stepping back from the railing, he began to turn back towards the winding path which would lead him towards the bustling streets filled with shoppers and commuters.
Well, it wasn’t any of his business.
As he turned on his heel, he heard the back door to the school open slowly, and he stopped in his tracks as the face he had seen just the other week on Higuchi’s phone peered out and hurried down the steps onto the stoney beach.
Damn, now it was definitely his business.
Crushing his cigarette under his foot, he looked from the path leading back to the city centre to the young teenager pulling off her socks as she prepared to step into the water.
If it was any other kid, he felt slightly ashamed to say that he would probably leave it and keep going back home, but as he saw her wade into the sea he remembered just how sad she had sounded when he had mentioned bullying over the phone.
What’s more, her personality reminded him of many of the kids he had known in the Sheep, and seeing her in such a sad situation made him feel both angry and guilty.
More than anything though, he remembered Higuchi’s face of worry and sadness when he had mentioned it those weeks ago. Since then, the two of them had started talking much more, not just at the coffee machine in the break room but also before and after missions and whenever they bumped into each other out of work. Most of the time, she talked about her sister, the crazy neighbours in their apartment complex, or else she would listen to him talk about his plans to build a wine cellar in his apartment or brief mentions of people from his past.
They’d formed a firm bond with each other, and even though they hadn’t properly met yet, that bond had somewhat extended to her little sister too.
Casting one last glance at the winding path behind him, Chuuya made his way down the steps, the stones beneath him crunching loudly under his feet.
“I hope her stuff hasn’t gone too far...” He thought to himself, kicking off his shoes and socks; he hoped none of his colleagues would be in this part of town either, especially a certain ex-colleague - he’d never hear the end of it.
“Hey, Natsu.” He called over to the blonde girl who was now knee deep among the waves as her stuff had been pulled far out into the sea.
The girl turned around with a bewildered expression, and as she saw him her expression remained bewildered until recognition and surprise lit up her features.
“Oh, um hi!” She greeted cheerily, the melancholy expression he had seen on her face quickly fading away.
“You having fun there?” He asked with a small smile, leaving his coat and hat beside his shoes and wading into the water himself, cursing under his breath as he did so; it was much colder than it looked.
“Aha, yeah this is..uh,” Natsu gave him a nervous smile. “...yeah.”
“Your trainer’s gone pretty far.” Chuuya observed. “I’ll get that one, you get the bag since it’s closest, and then I’ll get your other trainer too.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that.” Natsu said with a worried expression.
“Actually I do.” Chuuya replied with a stern expression. “You are the little sister of one of my fellow mafia colleagues; if you are in trouble then I have to do what I can to help.”
He waded out until the water was up to his waist, and successfully grabbed the trainer which had drifted the furthest away.
Behind him, he heard Natsu splashing about in the water to grab her bag, and he spotted the other trainer just a few metres to his left.
“Well, I did promise that I’d be sure to meet you in person.” He said, throwing her trainers at her as they walked back on to the stoney shore.
Catching them in her rather damp hands, she gave him a sheepish grin. “I kinda hoped it wouldn’t be at school though…”
Chuuya cast his gaze up at the school window where her things had been thrown from; it seemed empty.
“Your teachers do know about this, right?” Chuuya may have never gone to school himself, but he had guesses of how it worked; in his opinion it was rather similar to the mafia, what with the piles of work and punishments for disobeying orders.
Natsu’s face darkened, and Chuuya decided to not press any further.
“If it gets too bad, you could just-”
Natsu shook her head determinedly, her expression changing from one of melancholy to fierceness.
“My big sis can handle thugs and puts her life on the line every day! I can handle a couple of stupid bullies.” She declared, crossing her arms.
Chuuya let out a bark of a laugh, pulling on his shoes and throwing his coat back over his shoulder - she was definitely an interesting character.
“You know, it’s okay for it to get you down.” He laughed, waiting for her to get her things sorted out.
“It has.” She made her way towards him and up the steps. “But I don’t want it to get me down anymore. I don’t want them thinking they’ve successfully ruined my life.”
“Okay, okay.” Chuuya sighed, giving her a weary smile. “Since this wasn’t necessarily how we planned on meeting up in person, how about I walk you back to your apartment so I can help explain to your big sister why you’re soaking wet.”
A gleeful smile on her face, Natsu walked in front to lead the way. “Well you’re soaking wet too, more than me at least.”
Chuuya groaned as she realised she was right; man, when did he become such a charitable guy? Well, if it made Higuchi feel better, then that would probably be worth it...
Wait, why was he thinking something like that?
On the way home, Natsu was clearly excited to talk to him in person, and all thoughts of the bullies fell behind them as she asked about what his job was like (he had to really make it clear that he couldn’t tell her quite a few things), what her sister was like at work and just how accurate mafia movies really are (she was slightly put out but not surprised at finding out that they’re mostly inaccurate).
As they finally arrived at the door to her apartment, Natsu fumbled with her bag to find her keys, but had only just slipped them into the lock when the door swung open and Higuchi grabbed her little sister by the shoulders.
“Why are you back so late?! You should have been home half an hour ago, I’ve been worried sick!” Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and instead of a suit she was wearing a black jumper and blue jeans.
It took Chuuya slightly aback to see her in such casual clothing, and for some reason it made his cheeks darken.
“I dragged your little sister from the sea, don’t worry.” Chuuya said with a wry smile. Higuchi jumped up and made a muffled sound of surprise, the tips of her ears tinged red; she clearly hadn't seen him there.
“What were you doing in the sea?!” Higuchi nearly shrieked when she had processed Chuuya being at her apartment, shaking her sister at the shoulders.
“It-was-school-stuff-no-big-deal.” Natsu panted out as her sister eventually let her go.
Higuchi frowned, and she turned to Chuuya as though asking: “it wasn’t too bad, was it?”.
Chuuya shook his head, keeping a friendly smile plastered on his face to reassure her.
“Anyway, Chuuya has to stay for dinner!” Natsu said suddenly, staring up at him determinedly.
“I do?” He blurted out.
“Yup, isn’t that right sis?”
Higuchi opened and shut her mouth, thinking hard.
Chuuya already knew what she was going to say, though. When it came to her sister, he knew that she would do practically anything to make her happy, even if that meant inviting her mafia work colleague to dinner.
“Is curry okay?” She asked weakly, giving him an apologetic smile.
“Sounds great.” He sighed. Even if this wasn’t something he was planning on doing that day, he couldn’t deny that he had been hoping to meet Natsu at some point, and honestly eating dinner with Higuchi was far more inviting than going home.
Higuchi invited Chuuya inside, and even if they had been bonding far more over the past few weeks, it was still surreal to see him step into her apartment so casually.
“Since your clothes are so wet, do you want to change into some others?” She asked, seeing how uncomfortable and cold both him and her sister looked.
“Kay!” Natsu dashed for her room immediately, but Chuuya just kind of stood rooted awkwardly to the spot.
“I don’t really have a change of clothes on me..” he mumbled.
“Well, we’re about the same height, so you can always wear one of my spare suits.” Higuchi suggested. Both her and Chuuya felt their cheeks colour at the very suggestion, and after a few seconds of silence both of them laughed nervously and waved it aside as a silly idea.
“I’ll just blow myself down with a hairdryer.” Chuuya cleared his throat, Higuchi pointing to the bathroom which he quickly hurried towards, shutting the door as politely as he could since he was in someone else’s home.
For a moment, Higuchi simply rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, not really knowing what to do with herself.
The sound of Natsu fiddling about with her clothes and Chuuya blasting the hairdryer was all she could hear, and the whole scenario still felt slightly comical to her.
A month ago she wouldn’t have ever expected this to happen, but over a seemingly small amount of time they were now the closest they had ever been, and Higuchi genuinely considered Chuuya a really good friend.
She had learnt a lot about him since their conversation at the hot springs, but she still wanted to know more.
The door to the bathroom opened and Chuuya stepped out, patting down his waistcoat which was slightly crinkled from the blasts of hot air.
“You okay?” He asked as she continued to rock back and forth in thought.
“Yeah.” She stopped her rocking and gave him a small grin. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to help with dinner since I’m not the best cook.”
Chuuya gave her a smirk, rolling up his sleeves as he walked towards the kitchen.
“Sounds like fun.”
It wasn’t the most professional thing to be doing, she thought to herself as she argued with Chuuya over what type of curry would be best and how to cook it, but it was definitely fun, and being with Chuuya made Higuchi feel, more than anything, happy.