Chapter Text
Crystaliqueeen's Soukoku Realm Presents:
IMPRISON ME, DETECTIVE
"Nakahara Chuuya, accept this ring as a smaller handcuff for your chibi finger and as a symbol of how you're imprisoned to me right now, to this mission. I promise to tease you with all my heart, and 'til this mission do us part."
Nakahara Chuuya, a convicted criminal, was sent on a dangerous mission to pay for his crimes; namely, to defeat the largest child trafficking syndicate in the world. It shouldn't be a problem at all, but he's paired up with the calm, calculating, and extremely annoying Dazai Osamu, one of the best detectives in town. Who would've thought that a lot of things would unfold in this mission.
It is supposedly the usual boring day in the life of Nakahara Chuuya.
Waking up earlier than usual, warming up in his personal cell (there is a reason why it is personal, of course) with extreme non-locomotor exercises, getting out of the cell with the annoying handcuffs on his wrist before being kicked into kitchen, or the bathroom, or the prison's backyard to do dignified works, eating a shitty food that seems like foods dogs would enjoy, and working again until his body and limbs would give up from exhaustion for the entire day— all while wearing an orange literally sickening outfit that doesn't, even in the slightest, matches Chuuya's fashion aesthetic. Sure, it is supposedly a normal day for him.
But little did he know, today is far from the usual, normal day that he expected ahead.
It started when Chuuya finally managed to do 100 push ups. His sweats run down his collarbone in which he immediately wipes with the towel he washes yesterday. He's breathing hard. His blue eyes shine in a little annoyance, and his orange hair falls asymmetrically on his shoulders. He sighed. It's still early in the morning before they'll make him do the usual routine. It's still too early but then he's already seeing two of the guards walking with blank looks on their faces closer to his cell. Of course, Chuuya would be nothing but annoyed. They're an hour early and he hasn't even taken a bath yet. His body is still sweaty and sticky from exercising. Chuuya hates not getting enough time to shower after getting covered with sweat, it's gross.
But annoyance rises further over him when the guards unlock his cell and harshly hold both of his arms. He hissed but didn't fight back until both of his wrists were handcuffed behind him, leaving him restrained. Chuuya doesn't know what triggers this unusual early event but he just gives the guards his fierce look.
"Hey bastards, it's too early for me to clean the fucking kitchen, don't you think? Aren't 'ya going to give me proper time to shower?" He stated but the blank faces of the guards didn't reply anything. Tsk, such a robotic piece of shits.
Chuuya just shuts up for a moment as the guards start holding both of his arms rudely as they go outside the cell. He's pissed off, really. He's still wearing the baggy orange pants that prisoners wear and a black sleeveless sando. He still hasn't cleaned himself yet and he's being grabbed like this?
He's expecting that the path they'll walk to is towards the kitchen (since he mostly cleans that dirty place every morning) but confusion flashes in his eyes as they walk in different ways. Different and far more different from where most of the cells are located. He's still handcuffed and guarded as they continue walking. Chuuya wants to ask where they are going but judging from the men's actions he will get no answer so he just stays silent and observes instead.
They stopped at the huge metal door with the words, "Authority Personnel Only," and Chuuya knows that this is probably where they'll assign him to do something. In this huge technological prison, criminals with heinous crimes are sent out in dangerous missions to pay for their sins. Almost 95% of those criminals died in the mission, though no one really cares because they believe that the criminals who died deserve death anyway. Chuuya sighs.
He's been sent out on a mission two times already with two different squads. The Sheep and The Flags. In those squads, only he survived. Two fucking times. He's always the only survivor in his squads and now, it seems like he'll be sent out again on a dangerous mission. Chuuya followed the guards silently along the silent hallway with a metal floor. Since he's barefoot, he can feel the coldness in his skin and the eerie atmosphere in the said hallway. He didn't need to look around carelessly to realize the place is filled with CCTV cameras and sensors. He remained silent until they reached the last room in that hallway.
The door is plain white and boring. Chuuya walks inside and he confirms his thoughts earlier when he sees Director Fukuzawa sitting on his seat. He has this calm expression and gentle eyes. Chuuya can't believe that he's capable of sending prisoners to their own deathway but looks can always be deceiving, don't they?
"Good morning, Nakahara Chuuya." The director gave Chuuya a small nod as a greeting and Chuuya just replied with his slightly glaring eyes, "Your performance in the previous missions given to you is outstanding."
Outstanding? Chuuya wants to laugh. The people that go with him are dead, he can't even save a single life, and his performance is outstanding?
"Shut up. Can you get straight to the point? What exactly is this? Are you going to send me on a damn mission again?" Chuuya replied rudely but Director Fukuzawa didn't seem to mind the tone of the younger one's voice. He just calmly answered him.
"Yes. In fact, I'm afraid this will be your most dangerous mission so far."
Chuuya's still standing and the guards are still beside them, "Oh yeah? What a pain in the ass."
"Please sit down and let me fill you in on the information." Fukuzawa stated. He looks at the guards and without any hesitation, the guards bring Chuuya a meter away from the director's table and make him sit in a comfortable chair. Chuuya didn't even resist. He just sits there and looks at the man, "Your current mission is against the largest child and woman trafficking syndicate in the whole world. Once you're ready, you'll be released temporarily in this prison as you conduct the mission. Like the previous ones, all your needs will be provided. You already know the consequences if you try to run away from the mission or even leave your mission behind."
Chuuya exhaled heavily once again as his shoulders stiffened a little. He remembers in his first suicide mission when one of the members of the squad decided to actually run away. Before they all know it, his guts exploded because of the microcapsule implanted in his stomach that contains poison. If that poison were to be released, that person's guts would explode without hesitation.
"Now, if the mission is that important, why entrust it to the hands of a criminal? Don't you have the best person to handle that case?" Chuuya answered as he leaned on his seat.
"The best person for this mission is already handling this case. However, we will need you to accomplish the case with that person. You are the best prisoner in terms of combat and such, Nakahara Chuuya. We will need you for this mission."
Chuuya ignores the probably half-meant compliment as he realizes something, "Fine. Let me meet my squad, then, and what would be my reward once I finish this mission?"
"Your freedom," Director Fukuzawa stated calmly and Chuuya's eyes widened slightly, "You'll be permanently released from prison if you were to accomplish this mission. All your criminal records will be pardoned. But there must be a misunderstanding here and I need to clarify something. This time, you won't have a squad. You won't need a squad."
"What do you mean?"
Fukuzawa calmly looked down on his table filled with different folders, "I told you earlier that the best person for this mission is already handling the case. You will support him. That is why, for your last mission in this prison, you will have your partner."
Partner? The fuck does it mean? Chuuya's eyebrows curl in confusion. If the mission is this dangerous, he will need more people, or at least, more than two. He's confident with his skills but if there are only two of them against a big ass syndicate, Chuuya doesn't know what to think. What if his soon to be partner is a piece of shit who's weak and all those other shit that will only burden him? He can't stomach that. If that partner were to die in the middle of a mission, then it only means Chuuya needs to accomplish all those missions alone on his shoulders. The only thing that assures him a little is the director's words that he's been partnered up with 'best person' for the mission.
"Ok." That's all Chuuya can reply after a long rant and monologue in his brain, "Can you at least remove my handcuff? I'll read the files later and I need to fucking take a bath."
Fukuzawa nodded, "Very well. You'll be departed later by your personal service and bring you to your own place. But before that, it is appropriate to meet your partner."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Chuuya stands up and he let the two guards hold his arms again, "If he ever make something stupid to fuck our mission up, I'll kill him, ok? And even though I've killed him, you promised that I will still have my freedom as long as the mission is accomplished."
"Please get along together. I wish you two the best of luck." Those are Director's Fukuzawa's words as Chuuya was again guided outside by the guards.
Chuuya just sighed. He's not fully believing that too good to be true reward that he had promised. He knows that after all the murder and crimes he committed, a lifetime punishment is not enough. Of course, he can at least try a prison escape or a quick jailbreak if he wanted to but he's not doing any of that nonsense. He's been in prison for half a year now, and in those six fucking months, he feels... well, more alive and less miserable. Maybe. Ironic, really.
"Hey, remove my handcuff. I'm just going to meet whoever that I'm doing the mission with, don't I? I don't see the purpose of the restraints." Chuuya stated and the guard didn't reply again. Chuuya deadpanned, "Tsk."
They entered again in a room and unlike the director's room, this place is a little darker. He gives the guards a confused gaze, and he stops looking around the plain room when his eyes darted on the person sitting at the corner of the room. That person is facing his back and he seems to be reading a book. He remained standing silently while watching the person's back but the person didn't seem to mind his presence. Minutes after minutes, the person ignored Chuuya and that annoys the orange hair.
Chuuya fakes a cough to get the man's attention.
After that, nothing happens.
"Hey, fucker, I don't have all the time to wait for you. Don't you have anything to say?" Chuuya started and it made the man stand up straight before he closed his book. Even from afar, Chuuya sees the title of the book and his eyes twitch when it's something like, 'Manual to painless suicide 101.'
"Nakahara Chuuya," The man stated calmly (his voice is surprisingly gentle) before he turned around to face Chuuya, and Chuuya's blue eyes widened with the recognition, "How's your stay in this prison?"
Suddenly, Chuuya can feel his blood boiling like hell. He blinked once. He blinked again. If his hands aren't restrained, he'll even rub his eyes. He keeps blinking until a cold water of realization splashes over him.
"You... you bastard! You're that blind fucking guy on the train tracks that got me caught! What the fuck are you doing here!?" Chuuya shouted in anger when he saw the familiar face of the man.
He can never forget it. He will never forget this man's face, whoever he is. As a part of a mafia organization, he was sent on a mission like this. Unknowingly, his mission seems to flow more smoothly than he thought, and then before he knew it, he's already trapped in a scheme for an unknown person. He was chased in the train station, and he knew he was about to escape, really. But then while running, he saw a blind man on the train tracks. Of course Chuuya can just ignore that blind brunette but he's literally on the train tracks! If he were to die there, Chuuya's conscience (surprisingly he has one) would slap him every night.
So instead of running away for his life to avoid getting caught, Chuuya ran towards the man to save him from the upcoming train.
And when he gets caught by the agency that's been chasing him, the man removes his dark glasses and gives Chuuya a victorious, dark grin before he pulls something like a handcuffed inside his pocket. Chuuya can remember how his face crumpled at that time and he also remembers the only words the man told him before finally handcuffing him.
"I finally caught you, Chuuya."
The fuck is this man doing here!? I should've let him get run by the trains! Who the fuck is he? Is he a policeman in disguise? The hell.
The man's eyes widen slightly with delight like an idiot as he grin playfully, "You recognize me, Chuuyaaa~" Then his playful grin turns into a slightly calm and manipulative smile, "Though unfortunately, you're not intelligent enough to realize that I'm here as your partner. It seems like you don't even know that you, being here all this time, is my doing."
Chuuya feels his hands getting cold because of intense anger. His hands always get cold whenever he feels extreme emotion like anger and annoyance. He feels his veins pulsing and he wants to jump towards the man and give him a strong uppercut.
"So you disguise yourself to just catch me when I'm trying to escape? Who the fuck are you? And... and don't you dare call yourself my partner, it makes me sick to my stomach."
The man chuckles gently, "Chibi, you're being hot-headed. You're a wanted man from a dark organization. You have piles of cases, and most of them are solved and cleaned up by me. I have to work on all your dirt. Who am I? I'm the person who must catch you and restrain you because I had enough with your criminal records."
"Then don't fucking clean up my records, you bastard. You can just give it to someone else or something! You even pretended to be a blind person to just—"
"Ah~ for a criminal, you're surprisingly kind." He smiles again and his secretly teasing smile annoys Chuuya beyond his comprehension. There is something in this man that triggers all the anger hormones inside his body.
"Shut up! If you're my partner, then shit... this is crazy." Chuuya sighed heavily as his eyes looked on the ground. He doesn't want this guy to be his partner in this mission or in any mission. Possible death aside, the brunette annoys the shit out of him.
"Come on, don't be hard on me, Chuuya~" The man's playful eyes turn a little serious before he looks at the guards with a meaningful calm gaze. The guards immediately unlock Chuuya's handcuffs (which make him a little startled) before leaving the room. The men leaves them two alone, "From now on, we have to work together. By the way, I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Osamu Dazai."
Chuuya looked at the man blankly before he sighed heavily, "Yeah, whatever, shitty Dazai."
Instead of being offended, Dazai just chuckles at Chuuya's response.
Chuuya can't help but to check his partner (insert internal screaming of angry noises) and observe the man. Dazai has a mildly wavy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that look like creamy golden coffee. He has his hair frame elegantly on his face and he has a slim and tall body. Aside from that, he's wearing a brown colored trench coat with black vest and dress shirt and pants underneath. But what catches Chuuya's attention the most is the amount of bandages wrapped around his body. He looks... manageable, barely not sickening. Chuuya didn't realize that he was already staring at the tall bandaged man in front of him.
"We just met, Chuuya. You can't just fall in love with me at first sight."
Visible veins appeared on Chuuya's temples as he gritted his teeth in annoyance. His eyes widened in disbelief, "Hah!? The fuck are you talking about, you bastard!?"
Dazai laughs when despite those words, he sees the small tint of red in Chuuya's face. He's definitely not blushing— he's just excessively angry, which amuses Dazai.
"Come on. We don't have time to slack off. We need to start working..." Dazai replies as he walks closer to Chuuya, in which the orange-haired is trying his best to not throw a punch at the man, "...and you need to take a bath. You look like you've just finished doing a hundred push ups earlier."
"Oi, waste of bandage, you told me that we need to start working. Is this your way of actually working?" Chuuya asks as he sees Dazai lying lazily on the couch.
"Do you think eating mushroom soup will kill me painlessly?" Dazai asked mindlessly and Chuuya's brows furrowed in confusion.
"The hell are you talking about? If you want to die, tell me and I'll gladly kill you!" He hissed in annoyance before exhaling, "Anyway, are you hungry? I'll buy some groceries. Do you want to eat anything, you piece of shit?"
Dazai's just shrugs while staring at the ceiling. He kept mumbling things about mushroom sandwiches, or fried mushrooms, any types of mushroom food that will satisfy his taste buds before dying. Chuuya, on the other hand, has no time for his nonsense so instead of waiting for Dazai's serious response, he just puts on his shoes and goes outside to buy some groceries.
They just arrived in their shared condominium. Shared. Chuuya kept on protesting a few hours ago while they were in a car (Dazai drives like a madman, by the way) but all his protests failed. Dazai told him that they need to share a place for each other's safety and knowing that their mission will be hard, they need to always be together for the sake of the mission. Dazai also doesn't want Chuuya to stay in his place since he claims how Chuuya is a bratty slug. Last thing, the entire agency or executives are the one who provided the place, the money, and everything they need so Chuuya had no choice but to stay on the same roof with Dazai.
Thankfully, there's a separate bedroom. He will NEVER be able to bear sleeping in the same bedroom as the bandage freak. Aside from his brain is filled with suicidal thoughts (that is Chuuya's primary observation of Dazai even in a short amount of time he met him), Chuuya can feel like there's a lot of things hidden under Dazai's sleeves that he isn't showing yet. This man is annoying and dangerous at the same time. As a criminal who causes danger to everyone around him, Chuuya knows how to detect danger himself, and Dazai... that man... he's dangerous.
Or maybe it's only because he's a freak and his bandages are disgustingly creepy.
Chuuya uses the car that Dazai drives in earlier before arriving at the grocery store. Thankfully, he's no longer wearing the annoying prison uniform. Right now, he's wearing his usual stylish choker and black gloves, with his usual black clothes and black hat. The agency knows exactly what he wants and when he opened his room's cabinet earlier, he saw clothes that matched his style. At least, that's the bare minimum the agency can do as they are making him risk his life any moment.
It's already afternoon. Dazai drives three hours from the prison to their condominium, and after arriving, Chuuya falls asleep in his room while unbelievably tired. He doesn't know why he feels tired, though. It's as if talking to Dazai sucks all the energy within him. After sleeping for five hours, he was awakened by the growls in his stomach. Unfortunately, there aren't any groceries in the kitchen yet so he must work on those since his partner doesn't seem to be the type of person who cares about his food intake.
Now, Chuuya is facing the greatest trial of heights as he looks up to the rows of cooking ingredients at the upper part of the columns.
"Tsk, damn it." He muttered to himself.
From a few meters away, Dazai is leaning on the wall counters while giving the orange hair a glance. Inside his head, he's teasing the chibi with his hardships on getting the necessities at the higher places. Chuuya didn't even know that he followed him earlier. The chibi is so confident in himself that he probably forgets how their life is at risk every second. If he were to go anywhere alone and Dazai is far from him, he might die.
Not that Dazai actually cares. His previous partners in different missions die easily. This tiny, microorganism that he's absolutely not stalking right now, can't be any different.
"Shit, who the hell put these things up there?" Dazai chuckles to himself as he reads those words from Chuuya's lips. Even though he can't hear them, he can see the movements in his lips cursing repeatedly. Poor chibi.
Chuuya's been jumping repeatedly to grab whatever it is at the top. No one seems to notice the man since they're all busy with their stuff. With a calm exhale, Dazai dials the management's supervisor. How did he get the supervisor's number? Dazai's brain can be bigger than anything so he basically just knows it. How again? Logic can't imprison Dazai— he imprisons the logic itself, bruh.
The person on the other line answered the call and with a gentle smile on his lips, Dazai stated, "Hello~ I'm here to report a robbery from a chibi with the orange hair over counter number 8. Oh, yes, he seems agitated..." He glances again at Chuuya's who's courageously jumping up and down to get something up, "...and courageous enough to do whatever his will is. No worries, don't mind, it's the role of every good citizen to report such weird things happening around them."
Dazai ended the call as he waited for the things to unfold.
Chuuya is still trying to get the pack of spices up the counter and while he's jumping as hard as he can, he sees some guards approaching him and his brows just curl in confusion. Not that he minds getting approached like this since he knows he's not doing anything wrong but the guards are moving in a defensive way, enough to make Chuuya stop jumping and look at them instead.
"Put your hands up! Give us what you're trying to steal, Sir." One of them started and it made Chuuya's one eyebrow raise.
"Hah? Trying to steal? You mean this?" Chuuya pointed on his cart with bundles of foods and necessities like toiletries, "Or do you mean that piece of shit over there that you fuckers put up there without any consideration for your buyer's welfare?" Chuuya points at the pack of ingredients on the top of the counter.
The guards look at each other with confusion like they're confused whether to believe the oranged-haired man or not.
"We're sorry we got some tip that some 'chibi' in this counter's trying to steal stuff. It's probably not you. But how can we help you, Sir?" The guards asked and Chuuya pointed to the pack that he was trying to reach. Obliged by the sudden judgements, the guards immediately get the pack at the top and give it to Chuuya before bowing in forgiveness.
"Let me guess, the one who tipped you told you how there's a chibi with the orange hair trying to steal something in this counter, right?" Chuuya asked as if he knew what that person would say even for a short period of time he met him.
The guards nodded and Chuuya cursed Dazai ten times inside his mind.
"We're truly sorry."
Chuuya puts the pack inside his cart and he crosses his arms, "No need. You're just doing your job."
The guards bow again before they turn around and finally walk away. Without any hesitation, Chuuya pulls his phone from his pocket and the only number in the contacts is probably Dazai's number. Even the phone is provided by the Director Fukuzawa and his agency.
"Where are you?" Chuuya asked in an annoyed tone.
"Meters from you." The caller replied and his smirk is visible even from the call.
"Come here, shitty Dazai. I'll kill you."
"No, Chuuya, I'm scared~" The bastard replied in a mockingly and teasing tone before Chuuya heard some chuckles again, "No, thanks, I'm good. Shouldn't you thank me at least? You finally get the packs that you need. Your chibi height doesn't need to exert any more effort."
"Oh, yes. Thank you," Chuuya replied gently with a sweet smile on his lips, which turned into an angry annoyed face as he continued, "Thank you for absolutely nothing. You should've come here and help me yourself instead of tipping people that I'm a thief!"
"But you were a thief!"
"I know! But right now, I'm not! So come here and I'll fucking choke you to death, Dazai!"
"Kinky~" The bandaged man replied and it makes Chuuya's anger increase even more to the point that he's having premature headaches. Instead of talking to Dazai more, he turned his phone off and just continued shopping.
Chuuya massages his forehead in stress. Right now, he realizes how kind he is as he's walking towards the dog food corner for Dazai's dinner later.
>>> to be continue.