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Chuuya knew he was dying. It was inevitable, all humans die. But he knew that the last time he used corruption, with or without Dazai, he was going to die. Well, if the blood that is continuously seeping into his lungs after both the Tatsuhiko incident and the Guid Incident was anything to go by.
If he did live, it’d be by the skin of his teeth, and even then he wouldn’t have long afterwards.
Did he tell anyone? No. Why would be bother? Ane-san would worry and go ‘mother bear’ and refusing him to work. The Boss would make him use it at any available time.
He wasn’t smart or bright, but he was stupid or Dumb. Compared to Dazai, sure, but he knew when someone didn’t like him, when someone was trying to manipulate him.
And the Boss hated him. He was an unpredictable force of pure power, and without Dazai to regulate that power he was a wild Card. Not to mention if the Boss died, he would be looked to as one of the best canidates for the Boss role.
He had a good reputation.
And he knew the boss hated him for it. But couldn’t get rid of him, since Chuuya was unkillable with his ability always active. Like Dazai, he couldn’t really turn it off. Turn it down, sure, but it was always active in some way. And he used it so that he wouldn’t be surprised by any assassination attempts.
So with the Boss and Ane-san out of the picture, the only one he was somewhat close to was Akutagawa and… Kaiji.. He supposed.
Kaiji was… weird and eccentric, and he felt like a mother trying to keep an eye on her son. But he wasn’t… close to him.
Akutagawa he took under his wing after Dazai left, and he sees the emo child as his little brother.
His emo, angry, salty emo child who has barely any survival reasonings despite living on the streets for his childhood.
Though he once heard that someone thought that Akutagawa was the love child of him and Dazai. Not too tall, dark hair, grey eyes (Grey and blue are similar being both light colours), being temperamental, living on the streets in his childhood, and being ruthless.
He did wonder what it would be like if he and Dazai had a Genetic Child, but Dismissed the thought because yikes.
He didn’t hate Dazai. The opposite actually. He adored the Man. the thing is, he has to keep his act up because Mori, and just how they’ve acted since they were 15. If he suddenly changed his attitude, things would seem weird.
He knew what he’d do if he went back. He would try to help Dazai. He wouldn’t be as rude or horrible to Dazai, and try to even befriend the male. And don’t even get him started on leaving the Mafia. He’d do it in a heartbeat if Dazai ever asked.
There was no point in doing it now though. Been in the Mafia for seven years, build a reputation, and with multiple people under you? Unlike Dazai four years ago, he has feelings.
He sighed, and contemplated what it would be like to die.
\\//\\//\\//
Dying hurts like a bitch. Kids, don’t try this at home.
Well, slowly dying that is.
“Chibi should get some rest, maybe this time you’ll grow with enough sleep.” Dazai’s gentle teasing voice said behind him. He sunk into Dazai’s warmth, feeling the other man freeze. “Chuuya?”
“I’m not going to make it, Dazai.” he said, and Dazai chuckled.
“Silly Chuuya, of course you’re going to make it. You have every other time-” Chuuya cut him off.
“I’ve been dying for years Dazai. Ever since we first used corruption, I knew that my time was limited. so … let me talk for a bit. Kay?” He asked tilting his head up feeling Dazai’s chin on his forehead.
“Chuuya, how are you so sure…”
“I’ve been coughing up blood every since the guild, and I’ve always had an extra problem since the start. It put the pieces together after the Guild. With the Fog Incident that was pure-fucking luck.” He explained and he felt Dazai’s grip move so he was hugging Chuuya. He started shaking.
“No… no, please. Not you too.you… you can’t die on me now.” Dazai whispered and he chuckled.
“I wouldn’t go if I had a say in it.” he chuckled and then sighed. “I love you, Osamu.” he confessed.
“What?”
“I’ve never hated you. You were annoying at first, but I knew you just followed Mori. I tolerated, which turned into a crush, and then realised it was just love after all. But I couldn’t say anything. You’re straight, Mori would use it to his advantage, and I doubt you’d like me back. But, no regrets before death ey?” He chuckled, before coughing up blood. It was more than usual.
“Chuuya… I love you too. I have ever since you kicked me into that wall when we first met, how when you laughed the world brightened, your loud but easy going personality. but … I thought you hated me, and I knew how Loyal you were to the Mafia so… I left you. I didn’t want to, and I regret it now because… I could have saved you…” he said and Chuuya felt himself smiling.
“Wow, we’re fucking idiots. Love since the beginning, more or less, and it takes me dying for everything to come out.” they chuckled, and Chuuya felt his energy draining away. So he turned enough to be able to pull Dazai down for their first, and last, ever kiss.
“Stay strong, Osamu. You’re doing so good out of the Mafia. Oda would be proud. Do me a favour though…” He said and smiled a tthe determined nod, despite the tears streaming down Dazais face.
“Take Mori down. Expose his secrets and let him die a slow death. I want justice for the pair of us, seeing how he fucked both of us up.” He said and felt a hand at his cheek.
“Anything for you chuuya. I’d take over the world if you want me to.” Dazai smiled, but chuuya could barely see it.
“No need to go that far… I’m… going to go sleep. Don’t come too soon, you hear me?” a small nod and a sob. He smiled. “Good…. I love you, Osamu….” and it was as though he fell asleep.
Like he would wake up and it would be a bad dream.
‘Chuuya’ a voice echoed out. He opened his eyes to see the place where he had just fought, but everything was… whitened out. He looked around to see a woman with white hair and eyes, a white top, but the skirt? Over skirt? Was black, and she wore a cloak that looked like it was filled with the stars of the universe.
“Yes?”
‘It’s about time you came to me, child. However there is something that you have and we want back.’ The woman stated and he wondered briefly before sighing.
“If I knew how to get rid of Arahabaki, I would have already. Take him.” he shrugged, and she chuckled.
‘That is my sister’s child. I am unable to take Calamity back from you. However, my mother could. Follow me.’ she said and he did. Obviously this woman was death. Not sure who her ‘sister’ would be, and ‘mother’? He stopped trying to figure it out, knowing he’d get a headache thinking about it.
Death led him and the world around them changed. They were in what looked like an edgy-emo teenager going through their goth phase.
He should know, he had to Drag Akutagawa out of that phase by the god-damned ear. The woman flushed what seemed awkward.
‘Sorry for the mess, I don’t often have visitors. And I haven't bothered to change my room.’ and he realised that this was death's room.
“Goth phase?” he asked and Death sighed.
‘That obvious?’ she chuckled.
“Well seeing how I dealt with an edgy-emo-teenage-nightmare for a good few years before dragging him out of that phase forcefully, sure.” He shrugged and it got a chuckle out of death.
‘Well, no time to waste. Let us meet my Sister and Mother.’ and like that, Death was gone and he followed. He met four other females and a male.
One of the women, a blond showing lots of skin with a cut turtleneck and shorts, was yelling the male who had a long-ass scarf that seemed to grow constantly. A black-haired girl in the same get-up as Death but inverted, a brunet with her hair up and in what looked like medieval clothes but modernised, and a woman with long flowing hair all colours but nothing looking overly bright or contrasting, in a simple white gown.
‘Sister!’ The raven-haired girl greeted, only to see him.
‘Oh! One of Spaces Children with Calamity? Oh my, that won't be good…’
‘See! I know what Mother can and can’t do, we won't be able to get Calamity back if we dont reverse him!’
‘You can’t mess with time, Fate, you know this! I won't just bend the rules for one mortal!’
‘Bend the rules for your great Nephew then you shit-head!’
The two arguing argued even more, and the other two to not have spoke both sighed.
‘Fate is Right Uncle.’
‘Yes, even I am unable to separate the two without something going wrong. The best way to split them would be to reverse them.’
‘But if I did that, then sure, Calamity and the mortal will be seperate, but he! His current self will be sent back! With all his memories! He could change things!’
‘Good! What happened wasn’t good anyway! Not to mention, Love has been sorely upset when the Moral died because they were Soulmates! They were so close to being together, love was so upset! What would you rather do, have a bad outcome, everyone upset, and a mortal forced to reside with us because of Calamity, or a good outcome because a mortal had knowledge of people and major events, allowed to live with his Soulmate and able to pass on without dealing with this shit?! Use some common sense you fuck-wit!’
It continued, and he lost track. He looked to Death for help who sighed.
‘Uncle time doesn’t like tampering with Time, while Fate likes it when things go smoothly, which things will if Time didn’t have a stick up his arse.’ she explained.
‘That's enough you two! Fate, that is enough insults even if they are justified. And Brother, must you be so difficult? Calamity is Life’s Child just like Space. Like Void and Spectre are Deaths Children. Like Love is Fates child. Like Luck is destiny’s child. Would you really be this adverse to doing it if it were them? I understand that the flow of time shouldn’t be messed with, but you should consider if only for Family.’ the one who he could only assume is ‘Mother’, chides… ‘uncle Time’.
The one who he assumes is destiny gives him a cup of tea.
‘I’m sorry, this happens every time we need to mess with… well, time. The best plan of action is to send you back before you merged with Calamity, or Arahabaki as you him, and take him before anything bad happens. This will change… almost everything.’
“Well, I can see why. I don’t know how long I was in that tube, but it was enough for those two spies to hear about it and infiltrate which released me and Arahabaki-uh, Calamity. If I don’t have Calamity with me at that point, then I would have no clue what could happen.”
‘Yes, and that was a major event, it could change a lot of things. Especially how you meet your soulmate’
He smiled at that.
“Osamu… yeah, I’ll still kick him into a wall. If only because he said thats how he fell in love with me.” that gained a chuckle out of Destiny.
‘It seems we have come to a conclusion. Don’t worry, Chuuya, Uncle Time dislikes you, but he won't hurt you.’
And like that, he was given a pat on the head from everyone, a kiss on the head from ‘Mother’ who simply smiled and eventually given a head pat from Time, where he could feel his body reverse. He was reversed so far back that he could feel what he felt like before he had Arahabaki in his body.
“Woooo-never again!” a childish voice came from beside him. A blond mess of hair and a baggy top and red eyes looked up at him.
“Oh, hi vessel! Sorry for killing you, but thanks for holding on for as long as you could. Maaaaaaaa, I want cuddles!” he yelled and he was instantly being cuddled by Life.
A gentle hand on his head made him look up to ‘mother’ who smiled.
‘Child, don’t fuck the world up, but feel free to raise a little hell.’ and with a cheeky boop to his nose, he fell asleep.
Only to wake up to explosions, screaming and then silence.
He sat up, looked around and realised that he was the first thing he remembered. He sighed, and left, knowing what was to come and decided to play it low-key.
//\\//\\//\\
Nothing changed? Granted, he was less angry, and more laid back. But he was just waiting and biding his time.
He was pretty sure that he was somewhat-taller even. He wasn’t as short as he remembered. Smaller than most, but he remembered Shirase being at least a head taller.
When it came to meeting Dazai, he made sure to leave a bruise.
“Huh, the Mafia is recruiting Kids now?”
“You’re still a kid yourself!”
And it went on.
//\\//\\//\\
Dealing with Dazai was easy enough.they had 3 years to bond, and he made sure that dazai had an inkling of his feelings.
He didn’t rise to a lot of Dazai’s taunts, dazai’s main taunt of his height (now at 5’4 rather than 5’3, he was doing better!) didn’t irk him as much.
He realised that Corruption must have stunted his growth.
How did he make sure Dazai knew he liked him?
Easy, flirting.
It wasn’t easy, making the ‘demon prodigy’ fluster, but it wasn’t impossible.
You only had to be Chuuya Nakahara.
Like, if Dazai got too close, trying to size of intimidate Chuuya, Chuuya would walk closer, and bring Dazai to his level, making Dazai back pedel.
It was cute.
He made himself obvious, so when the night that Dazai decided to leave, after hearing about Oda’s death, he fled.
He had gotten close to Oda as well, wondering if there was a way to prevent his death. Giving hints and even flat out telling Oda to not go fight mimic.
‘Oda, please. You’re going to die if you fight them.’
‘Thats fine’
Like hell its fine.
He made sure to run away, leave everything behind.
He didn’t let ane-san get too attached, he helped Akutagawa out with Dazai (preventing the self-destructing child he would have been) and booked it. He made his way to Ango, who was also a friend (they bonded over worrying for Dazai) who helped clear his records, as well as Dazai’s when he heard from Ango he did book it from the Mafia, and left. He found Dazai scarily quickly, who said he wasn’t going back to the Mafia.
“Dazai.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry chuuya, but I’d rather die than go back there.”
“You’d rather die anyway.”
“Exactly, and I know that Mori wants me alive. I wont go back.”
“I’m not taking you back, shit-head.”he said.
“I won’t go with-wait what?”
“I also defected. We’re both traitors asshole. You’re not the only one who hates Mori’s guts. I could tell he was using me as a chesspiece and I hated it. Not to mention, he fucked you up mentally, killed Oda and his kids, I’m pretty sure Kouyou-nee has some scarring because of him, so yeah, I hate him as much as you do. I just thought ‘Fuck it, I’ll leave, Dazai can bring me back kicking and screaming.’ I’m not taking you back, I’m here to tell you that I was able to convince Ango to wipe our records. I know you don’t like him, but we both tried to help save Oda. we saw how that went. Ango is grieving just as much as you and me, Dazai.”
Dazai was crying and he collapsed against chuuya. He sobbed his heart out, and Chuuya held him. They fell asleep, and drowned out the world with each other.
\\//\\//\\//
The second time round, things are different now.
First of all, he’s not even 20 and he’s dating Osamu Dazai (Now using his first name to tease the other), he’s working with the Agency and more specifically with Dazai, they helped and saved Atsushi via adoption (preventing that whole mess with the guild), he let atsushi save kyoka (he can’t solve everyone's problems), and he’s pretty sure that Ranpo knows.
…
Scratch that, ranpo knows and seems chill with it.
He’s also drinking buddies with Yosano, so thats a plus.
Life is good, he ‘s now 5’5 and not growing any more, he has a child that needs a therapy dog (Despite the whole Part-Tiger thing), and is most importantly dating Dazai.
When he heard Mori finally died and the Mafia was taken over by Kouyou, he whooped in joy.
When Fyodor attacked, he wasn’t stuck in a book this time. He gave subtle hints to Dazai and Ranpo, more specifically Ranpo.
Honestly, he didn’t know if he could get any more clear with ‘I’m tempted to go for an expensive Tea with some classical music.’
Both bosses (his own and Kouyou) were saved if albeit quicker than what had happened last time seeing how he was also on the task of finding the asshole.
(He was the best candidate seeing how he could really only get hurt when Osamu nullified Tainted Sorrow.)
And so life went on, Chuuya stepping into the world of unknowns with Osamu by his side.
He could live with this.