Chapter Text
His dazzling sky-blue eyes strike as powerful as lightning. Just as electric as ever.
The so-called duo “Double Black” fighting again. Neither of them thought they would be involved in such situation after four years, but there they were, as sparkling as ever. No enemy could defeat them.
At least, no known enemy.
“Shut up, it’s not the time for your silly little games” – Chuuya spat.
“Oh, that means there is a good time for my silly little games, right?” – Dazai answered.
“I told you to shut up”.
The enemies were vanished in minutes, some ran away, some found death.
Yokohama’s port was covered by blood and tears. Only the two boys were standing, looking towards the horizon. At least, that’s what they believed.
“Ahh~” – Dazai complained – “We did a good job”.
“True… But can you remind me again how you ended up in my apartment again? I should’ve refused”.
“You couldn’t ~. I still have your keys”.
“Why the fuck do you still have my keys”.
“You never tried to get them back” – the boy shook a bunch of keys, which jingled, accompanying the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks.
“Wha– That’s not true, what is wrong with you!? – Chuuya, instinctively tried to get his keys back, but Dazai couldn’t help but raise his arm. It was always a good time to mock his partner’s height.
“Come get them!”
“You bastard”
They haven’t finished insulting each other when a portal materialized before them.
“What the hell…?”
A hand emerged from the portal.
[That red glove is indeed familiar] – thought Dazai.
The hand was holding a red STOP sign. Dazai turned around, just to find the clown standing behind them.
“Ohhh! Why did you turn so rapidly? I had prepared many more signs for you to read!”
Indeed, Nikolai dropped some more signs on the ground. Dazai and Chuuya tried to figure out what kind of joke the clown was playing on them.
“Don´t look at me with those eyes~ We’re here just to play!”.
“We’re?” – Dazai couldn’t help to repeat the clown’s words.
“Of course! But you’ll need to come with me”.
“We’re not going anywhere with you” – Chuuya talked.
“I promise it will be fun!”
“Fun for who” – asked Dazai, who was starting to see through Nikolai’s words.
“That’s a secret for now”.
“If you want us to follow you, you better start spitting up what is going on here” – said Chuuya.
“But that would ruin the whole surprise, would it not?”
“Nikolai, what are you doing here?”
“It’s simple. We’ve prepared a fun game for you two, and I’m here to guide you”.
“Again with that we? Who is we?” – while Chuuya was talking, Dazai laid his hand on his partner’s shoulder.
“Where do we have to follow you?” – asked Dazai. His words were filled with serenity.
“Have you lost your mind? How are we supposed to trust this guy!?” – both Dazai and Nikolai ignored Chuuya.
Nikolai, with a huge smile, start walking towards a car and opened the door for Dazai and Chuuya.
“Are you serious, Dazai? Is this some kind of shitty joke?”
Dazai got into the car and Chuuya, with a long and exhausted sigh, followed him.
“Do you even know how to drive?” – asked Chuuya.
“Of course not, but we’ll have to take risks” – answered Nikolai, who didn’t seem to be worrying about that fact – “Please, you’ll have to place that cloth band over your eyes, you can’t see where we are going!”
“What? No, I’m not. What’s all of this for? – Chuuya was tried to comprehend why everyone looked so calm when they were literally being kidnapped – You know what? Forget it. If you tell me again about that “surprise” I’m going to lose my mind just as Dazai did.
Chuuya muttered the last part of the sentence. Dazai was still touching his shoulder, Chuuya started to suspect it was to nullify his ability. The only question Chuuya could ask himself was “What is going on?”
Dazai but the band over his eyes with no complains.
“Chuuya, do it” – was the only thing he said.
He prayed Dazai had a plan. There was no way he didn’t have a plan. It was Dazai, after all.
“OK! Let’s go! – Nikolai exclaimed”.
The turbulent trip didn’t last more than an hour, but it seemed an eternity for Chuuya. He needed answers, and he needed them as soon as possible.
Why didn’t Dazai stop Nikolai? Was he involved in that surprise? No, absolutely not.
“Don’t take off your bands, we’re here!”
Nikolai opened the door and drag the boys out of the vehicle. Then, they entered a building.
Chuuya could smell the humidity of the building, it had to be an abandoned place. Was this some sort of haunted house?
A door behind us closed, and they heard how Nikolai started running.
“Where are you going?”
Dazai’s voice sounded much more serious now. He had noticed there was something wrong with that place.
“No need to worry. Please, take off your bands”.
That voice.
“Dostoyevsky” – Dazai knew that voice very well.
Both boys saw, for the first time, the building they were in. The walls were dirty and grey, the floor was filled with moss. When they looked above their heads, they noticed that building had several floors. More than they expected.
“Correct” – said the voice – “Welcome to this little party we’ve organized for you. Courtesy of the Decay of Angels”.
“Why?” – Dazai looked fed up.
In matter of seconds, his attitude went from calm and carefree to cold and listless. He definitely knew that Chuuya and him weren’t there for attending a ‘little party’.
“Please, follow my instructions, were about to commence” – said Fyodor through the speakers that were placed all over the room.
“Oh, this won’t be so easy for you” – Dazai sentenced.
[What’s wrong with him? A minute ago, he was willing to follow Nikolai till the end of the world if he asked to, and now he starts challenging Dostoyevsky?] – was Chuuya’s first thought.
“Oh? I thought we had agreed you would come over”.
“I didn’t agree with anything. Knowing Nikolai, it had to be some sort of joke.
Dazai’s expressions were turning more serious as time passed, and Chuuya couldn’t stop repeating the same sentence over and over again in his mind: ‘we haven’t got a plan’.
“Although, I should’ve known you were the one behind this ‘surprise’, none of you can get away from the other”.
“I can say the same” – Dazai couldn’t see it, but he was sure Fyodor had a smirk on his face – “The only difference is that a knew Chuuya was going to be here with us”.
Dazai sighed. A long, tired sigh.
“Okay, this meeting was fun, now let us go” – talked Chuuya.
“Oh, no… We haven’t started yet. Let me explain you the rules”.
None of the boys complained this time. The sooner Fyodor finished talking, the sooner they could go home.
“Nikolai was very insistent about naming this surprise ‘The Bond Games’. The rules are simple: Survive till the end of the night without breaking your bond as parters. Once the Sun rises, the games will be over, and you will be free”.
“Explain yourself” – ordered Dazai.
“Sigma, please come” – they heard Fyodor’s voice fading and being substituted by another voice.
“Please don’t make this more difficult. Both of you are truly intelligent, and both of you know you won’t be able to escape Fyodor’s hands so, please, be fast. The Games won’t be easy, in any sense, but playing is the only way of getting out”.
“You brought Sigma into this as well?” – asked Dazai, who’s anger raised rapidly, even though he was trying his best to hide it.
“Oh, but of course I brought him! He’s part of the Decay of Angels, isn’t he?”
The room became silent for some seconds, and Fyodor continued his speech.
“Now you’ll go into the first game. It’s a simple game, extremely simple. Please, enter the room in front of you”.
Both walked through the door. That first room was identical to the entrance of the building. Same grey walls, same amount of moss in the floor. The only difference was a wooden table in the middle of the chamber.
Resting on the table, some handcuffs and a collar.
“I told you it was going to be easy” – said Fyodor – “One of you will wear the handcuffs until the end of the Games. You have five minutes”.
“These people are fucking crazy” – complained Chuuya.
“They are, that’s why we have to follow their orders”.
“I didn’t know you were in such a passive mood, mackerel”.
“Time is running up, let’s think, we’ll leave jokes for tomorrow”.
Chuuya didn’t answer this time. Looked like neither of them wanted to wear the handcuffs, but they didn’t want the other one wearing them.
“This is not a simple game, it can’t be. Sigma said it, none of these games are simple at all”.
Silence came again. After a few seconds Chuuya spoke.
“Do you trust him?”
“I do”.
Chuuya nodded, he knew Dazai enough to know when he was lying. He was not.
“I’ll wear them. I don’t need my hands to shatter Fyodor”.
“You’re being braver than you should”.
“Why?”
[…]
“I don’t know”.
Since they met, Chuuya hadn’t heard Dazai say ‘I don’t know’. Ever.
That could only mean things were getting hard soon and, if the main goal of the games was surviving, they would have to fight for their lives.
“Are you sure about your decision?” – Dazai wanted to make sure there were no doubts on Chuuya’s mind.
“Of course, I am. Besides, you will need your hands to nullify the enemy’s ability”.
Fyodor’s voice returned.
“Oh, I nearly forgot to mention it. The collar needs to be worn by the one who hasn’t chosen the handcuffs. It will nullify your ability”.
“You stole it from the Port Mafia?” – asked Chuuya.
“Steal is a strong word. I took them from one of Ace’s workers a long time ago, I believe his name was Karma. Obviously, we had to do some adjustments, but you won’t need to worry about that”.
“Don’t listen to him” – Dazai looked at Chuuya – “You choose the handcuffs?”
“Yes, I do. Help me to put them on before I regret my choices”.
The handcuffs closed around Chuuya’s wrists with a strident click. Seconds later, Dazai closed the collar around his neck.
“Delightful. Easy, isn’t it? The second game is waiting for you”.
“How many games are there” – Dazai asked.
“As many floors in this building: fourteen. In case you survive in all of them, of course” – he left some seconds between his sentences, he seemed to be expecting some kind of reaction from Dazai and Chuuya, but the boys wouldn’t give him that pleasure – “Now, please walk to the stairs and you’ll get to the second game”.
“How many days have you been preparing this?” – Dazai asked.
“I will not tell you. That would be giving you more information than you should know, and I’m going to make sure you can’t have any advantage”.
“So, you think we can defeat you, isn’t that correct?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way… This is not a competition between you and me, the games will test your bond”.
[Our bond?] – asked Chuuya to himself – [What does he know about that]
“Please, now reach the first floor using the stairs” – asked Fyodor.
“Oh! It’s my turn~” – Nikolai was the one talking now – “I’ve created this game just for you two, so I really hope you like it”.
Chuuya and Dazai finally arrived at their destination. Before them, a white door, that would lead to the game.
“Don’t open the door yet, let me explain you the rules. I called this game “Mirror Illusion”. The room that you’ll find behind the door is full of mirrors. A labyrinth. Your objective is arriving to the end of the area before the countdown arrives to zero. If you can’t do it, all the mirrors will crash at once, killing you in matter of seconds. Dos-kun was studied your ability beforehand, Chuuya, you won’t be able to stop the glass before it digs into your skin”.
His tone was happy. Viciously happy.
Chuuya couldn’t help but think Nikolai was enjoying all that challenge more that Fyodor.
“When you open the door, the countdown will start” – Nikolai’s voice faded.
“Let’s do this” – Chuuya said, as he opened the door.
A seven-minute countdown started. All the mirrors were the same, forming identical corridors. Maybe that would be harder that they first thought.
“Don’t get lost” – Dazai said in a teasing way, extending his hand towards his partner.
Chuuya sighed and took it, as they started walking though that mirror maze.
“Six minutes!” – exclaimed Nikolai.
“He has something under his sleeve. Nikolai may be a clown, but he isn’t stupid” – said Dazai – “Do whatever you want, but do not get away from me”.
Dazai tried to find the exit, while Chuuya made sure they weren’t walking in circles, which was harder than he first thought, all the corridors were the same.
But not exactly.
“We’ve walked though this corridor before” – sentenced Chuuya.
“There’s no way that’s true, we’ve walked in a straight line all this time”.
“I don’t care what you say, look” – Chuuya pointed one of the mirrors and Dazai noticed a spot of dust in one of the upper corners – “I’ve seen it a few minutes ago”.
Both remained silent.
“Are we lost?” – asked Chuuya, but Dazai didn’t have the chance to answer.
“Are you lost?” – mocked Nikolai – “Let’s make sure”.
The mirror in front of them broke, getting in the way of both boys and separating them.
“Guess you’ll must find another way to find the exit… You have four minutes, be fast!”
“Chuuya, as I said earlier, don’t get lost”.
“Thank you, that’s such a useful advice” – Chuuya talked with an exaggerated level of sarcasm.
“Okay, that was funny, but follow my advice. Walk on a straight line and don’t lose more time”.
Chuuya nodded and both took different paths, they didn’t have any other choice.
Dazai took a deep breath. This shouldn’t be a challenge for him at all, something was going wrong. He felt the corridors were changing its directions as they walked.
[There must be an exit. If the Decay of Angels want to have fun with us, they won’t kill us in the second round.] – thought.
“Chuuya?” – yelled Dazai, hoping his partner was able to listen his call.
“Here” – answered after a few seconds.
“The corridors are changing, run as fast as you can”.
“Two minutes!” – Nikolai announced.
Chuuya and Dazai run towards what they thought it was the exit.
[What does he mean by ‘the corridors are changing’. It’s impossible they do without us noticing”.] – thought Chuuya, although he knew Dazai was right – [When I noticed that dusk spot, Nikolai know he fucked up and broke that mirror to add more difficulty to the challenge. After all, this is just a game.]
Chuuya finally saw a white door before him.
[One last push…!]
…
[No…]
It was a trap. A dead end, literally.
As he got close to the door, he noticed how it wasn’t a door. It was just another mirror, but different to the rest.
[Funny joke, Nikolai…] – Chuuya thought – [But you ain’t fooling me]
Chuuya tried to figure out another exit. He had to be close to the real exit, but how close exactly?
[It’s just a fucking trick…]
[Wait]
[Mirror Illusion]
[That’s it]
Chuuya had it. At least, he thought he had it. They wouldn’t find the exit walking in a straight line, the exit had to be inside the mirrors.
He wasn’t afraid of some pieces of mirrors and, with all the strength he could find, he kicked the mirror in front of him and broke it.
[A portal… Good one, Nikolai]
“Dazai, I’ve got it!” – yelled Chuuya.
“No! I got it first!”
“It’s an illusion!” – both voices intertwined as the sound of broken glass filled the room.
“Thirty seconds”
Dazai and Chuuya had to find the correct portal before the countdown went to zero.
[No, not this one]
Now, not only the noise filled the room, but also despair.
[Where is it…?]
“Ten, nine, eight…”
“Shut up, Nikolai!” – screamed Dazai.
“Found it!” – exclaimed Chuuya when he one of the portals was different from the rest.
Yes, it could be another dead end, but he took the change. He had no other option.
“The exit door can only be open once! Five seconds!”
“Chuuya open that fucking door” – Dazai’s voice was low. Extremely low.
“Not without you, come on!”
“Three seconds”
“Dazai”
[…]
[…]
Dazai appeared next to Chuuya on time.
“Zero”
Nikolai’s voice suddenly changed. It wasn’t happy anymore, just as he was upset.
They opened the door, but the mirrors start breaking behind them. Some of the broken pieces even got stuck in their coats and backs, but they exited before it was too late.
“Challenge completed, very well” – they heard Fyodor’s voice one more time – “You don’t seem like you’re having fun, how sad…”
“You’re free to play the games with us” – answered Dazai, his mocky voice tone had returned.
He had been nearly killed, but it seemed like he had already forgotten about it. He didn’t fear death.
“No, no, that would ruin the purpose of The Bond Games. You are the main characters tonight”.
Chuuya turned around. The door was closed, they weren’t in danger for now.
[What was the purpose of The Bond Games? Why would the Decay of Angels be interested in their bond?]
“Don’t get me wrong, this is all part of a plan. World domination is just the final step but, until then, we’re determined to have fun”.
“Demon Fyodor, do you only have fun seeing others suffer?” – Dazai asked, he smirked.
“Oh, are you suffering?”
“You’re not going success so easy”.
“We’ll see that soon”.
“I’ll be waiting”.
[What exactly is going on between those two?] – Chuuya and Sigma though at the same time. Chuuya couldn’t see Sigma, but both boys had the same confused look on their faces.
Chuuya knew about Dazai and Fyodor’s weird relationship, although he didn’t really know if they were enemies, friends or if they were just messing around. Whatever it was, messing around wasn’t the word Chuuya would use to describe it.
“We hope you are enjoying these games; we really do. So, please, head to the next floor, Sigma will explain you the rest”.