Chapter Text
Atsushi Nakajima believed he was the epitomy of the word "loser". He was born a loser, had grown up one, and would probably never escape being one. He would probably die one, earlier than most, worked into his grave.
At least, that was what he had thought until fate brought him to Dazai Osamu.
In a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere, Atsushi worked long hours in a convenience store. The shop owner gave him a dishevelled room in the property above, in return for a large part of his wages. He made his way through each day drearily, with little excess income to spend on distractions, and no family or friends to speak of.
Atsushi hadn't always been an orphan, of that he was pretty sure. If he plunged deep enough into his memory, he could vaguely remember a time when he was held in someone's arms... a hazy memory of being pushed on a swing... but his parents were vague shadows. They had died when he was 5, leaving him in the care of an estranged Uncle who always hated him. He had lived for 7 years in his Uncle's home, a place bereft of any kind of love or care. But it was a roof over his head. After an incident when he was 14, involving stolen items being found in Atsushi's room, he was kicked out onto the street. Atsushi was not the type to ever even think of stealing, and still to this day he didn't know how they had ended up there. The only thing he could think was that it was a cruel ruse to get rid of him
Atsushi lived on the streets for a difficult few weeks before he found the job with lodgings being advertised in the store. The position wasn't exactly in high demand, as his employer was a cold-hearted old man, and the deadbeat town wasn't exactly a top holiday destination. But Atsushi was eternally grateful to the store-owner for taking him on. Now he worked 8AM to 10PM every day, long shifts in which he cleaned, restocked shelves, served customers, and basically served as a dogsbody who undertook any task that was asked of him. The pay was as basic as it comes and it wasn't exciting work, but what else could Atsushi do?
So the weeks passed very slowly, with little to look forward to or cherish. On this particular day, the shop was very quiet. It was a weekday, which one Atsushi couldn't tell you. Sometime after lunch, Atsushi was restocking the shelves when several young men entered the store. Atsushi didn't register them at first, after all, it was nothing out of the ordinary. From behind a stacked shelf, he didn't hear the clicking sound that beared some similarity to that of a firearm. It wasn't until he poked his head over the top of the shelf as he restocked the top layer that he froze in shock at the sight before him. A young man with long, startingly red hair, stood with his gun pointed directly at the old man's forehead. Several other young men stood around, laughing and sniggering at the store-keepers obvious fear.
"Are you scared, old man?" The short man said, although the jokey tone of his voice was laced with real danger. "Well, it's about time you started paying us some protection money."
Atsushi realised as he looked at the red-headed man that he was wearing all-black... slowly the realisation dawned on him who this was, and Atsushi swore internally. These men must be part of the notorious local gang, Double Black. While Double Black were mostly nothing more than delinquents, they were always causing trouble in this town, seeming to take it upon themselves to scare the boring locals as much as they could. Atsushi shook a little, and realising that he was out in the open, ducked behind the shelf just enough to see what was happening.
The store owner shook violently, but didn't move. The red-headed man moved closer and laughed again. "Oh look at him, poor wittle shopkeeper quaking in fear!" The surrounding gang members laughed in tandem. "Oh come on, don't make me bring out the big guns." His face turned into a much more serious, intimidating expression now. "You got ten seconds before I hurt you so badly you wish you'd never been born." The rest of the gang were still laughing, as if it was all some sick joke. Atsushi's heart pounded in his chest as he watched the store-owner stay stock still. What the hell was he playing at? They were going to take the money either way, he might as well try and spare himself. The ginger man had almost finished counting down from ten now.
"2... 1..."
In a split second Atsushi watched him direct the gun to shoot into the man's shoulder and upper arm, and simultaneously a cheery call was heard from out side the shop.
"Chuuuuya!"
The red-head snarled again and turned his head just as a young man with floppy, chocolate hair and bandages wrapped around much of his skin appeared in the shop doorway.
"What the fuck is it, Dazai?" He asked, scowling. "I was almost done here."
The man named Dazai stepped into the shop lazily and pushed Chuuya's gun down so it was pointing to the ground. "Now, is there really a need for such outright violence? You know we have to keep a low profile." Although Dazai scolded him in an almost playful way, Atsushi couldn't help but shiver, feeling a sinister threat behind his words.
Chuuya tossed his hair back. "Well, things were just fine here before you barged in. What do you suppose we do now, jackass?" He spat back.
Dazai's eyes flashed darkly and he raised an eyebrow.
"Just fine? I'm not sure that causing such a huge, unnecessary mess in broad daylight would be my definition of fine. Oh, sorry, but were you having fun?"
The dark-haired man's tone was still light somehow and he took the gun off Chuuya, who snorted in response. Dazai looked around the store. "You're lucky Chuuya, that this old man is the only one around-" He stopped as suddenly his eyes met the bright amber ones that peeked over the top shelf. Atsushi froze, unable to move, caught in that stormy, paralysing gaze. The man's eyes were dark and full of a depth that unsettled something in Atsushi's stomach. Things swirled in his pupils that Atsushi couldn't even begin to comprehend, let alone put into words. He realised he had been found out, and trembled a little bit in anticipation of what might happen now.
But to his suprise, the dark haired man just turned back to Chuuya and the store owner, who thankfully didn't seem to have noticed.
"Now," Dazai held up a pair of keys to show the store-owner. "I'll be coming in here each night to ensure you are leaving out our little gift." He flashed him a smile. "Otherwise next time it will be more than your brittle old shoulder getting smashed up." Coming from him, that threat sounded much more terrifying than anything the red-head had said. Slowly, the men had been leaving the store, and just as the chocolate-haired gangster was about to cross through the front door, he said. "I'll see amber eyes outside in half an hour."
Atsushi froze once again, realising he was talking about him. Slowly, shakily, he got down from the stepladder and made his way to the front of the store. The old man was sat on a stool, wiping his brow a little. He didn't say anything for a moment, obviously shaken. After a moment, his only comment was; "Well, you better go and see that bastard."
*
Half an hour seemed to pass incredibly slowly as Atsushi sweated in anticipation. What was the delinquent going to do to him? Beat him up? Blackmail him? He had always been a weakling and he wouldn't even know how to fight back. After what felt like an age of worrying and envisaging possible scenarios, he saw the clock hit half past two and nervously headed out.
The street was empty as it was a hot, muggy afternoon, but the brown-haired man was nowhere to be seen. Atsushi walked along the road a little, and when he got to an alleyway heard a rattling tin noise. He looked left down it to see the delinquent kicking a tin can against the wall, hands in his pockets. He gave Atsushi a smile and beckoned him forwards, which Atsushi dutifully obliged by, his body shaking a little and his eyes full of fear.
Dazai clocked the look on the boy's face and clutched his hand to his chest dramatically. "Am I really that terrifying? I'm not gonna pound your head in, you know."
Atsushi was severely taken aback. He had not expected a question like that. "B-but aren't you going to threaten to shut me up?" He asked.
Dazai looked suprised. "Threaten you? No... I wanted to apologise for the way my affiliates acted in your store earlier."
Atsushi was once again taken aback. Coming from a delinquent who had just dealt a death threat to the store owner, that last sentence seemed like an absolute joke.
Dazai saw the disbelief in his face. "No, I mean it." He said sincerely, then sighed. "Chuuya's just a troubled kid. He has a bit of an alcohol problem... I mean, really it's a shame. He's got no one who cares about him... You understand that, don't you, Amber eyes?" Dazai looked away wistfully.
For some reason it made Atsushi shiver when the delinquent called him that. "Yeah, I guess..." he replied shakily.
Dazai continued. "I mean, going to prison would probably just make things even worse. The poor kid would have nothing to live for."
Atsushi began to feel guilty. There must be a reason why this juvenile gang were so bad... they probably had shitty little lives just like him. He fidgeted, knowing that the dark-haired man's goal had been achieved. There was no way Atsushi would report them now, not that he'd even been planning to before. He knew his emotions had been manipulated by the sob story... but he couldn't help feeling bad, as he found himself empathising with the boys.
Dazai smiled a little to himself. "But hey, maybe he has it better than you. How old are you?" Atsushi looked back up at him at the question.
"Uhh... 18." Atsushi bit his lip a little.
Dazai looked at him almost pitifully. "And you work at that store everyday, 9 till 5?"
"Longer." Atsushi answered. "From 8 in the morning to 10 at night."
Dazai's eyes widened. "Surely that's against labour laws?!"
Atsushi gave a weak smile. "I have to earn my keep." He answered honestly.
Dazai tutted a little. "Honestly... someone like you is wasted there." Atsushi was beginning to relax a bit now, although he was still a little on edge. He didn't really know what to say in response, instead just tugged on one long strand of his raggedy hair.
"I have to get back to work." He said honestly. "If you're done, that is."
Dazai looked a little sad, but nodded. "Sure... but what's your name?"
"Atsushi." He said, his eyes wide as usual.
Dazai smiled a little. "Goodbye, Atsushi. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."
Atsushi found himself smiling back at the delinquent. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, he thought as he walked back down the street. That was until he heard someone call out behind him. "Dazai!" The voice rang out, and Atsushi spun around quickly. He soon realised the voice was addressing the man who had been in the alleyway with him. No way... he couldn't be... Dazai?
Dazai Osamu, the leader of Double Black and most notorious delinquent in this town? The man who'd just apologised to him...
Atsushi was pretty confused. He spent most of the rest of the day thinking about Dazai and everything that had happened. Double Black weren't so bad in some ways, after all, they were the only source of excitement in this town. But they were still scary... The things he'd heard about Dazai were scary.
That night, Atsushi finally undressed after what had been a long and strange day. He put his hand into his pocket to take out his lucky charm... only to find it completely empty. Atsushi began to panic, and checked all his pockets frantically but it was nowhere to be found. He always kept it on him, a tiny silver tiger. It was the only thing he owned that had any importance to him, and he knew how silly and sentimental it was, but it meant a lot to him. He got ready for bed but then began to cry, deeply upset by the charm's absence.
Eventually, when he was unable to keep his damp eyes open anymore, Atsushi made himself crawl under the sheets. Suddenly, he was jolted back awake again by an invasive rattling at the window. His heart racing from the noise, he opened his eyes but couldn't see anything outside. However a few seconds later, a few light stones shuddered against the window pane. Atsushi got up cautiously and opened the window to see a dark figure standing below.
"D-Dazai?!"