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Chuuya didn't make it a habit of his to pick on weaklings for no reason. Even when he was a part of the Sheep, he'd always held a certain disdain for incidents of bullying. Now that he was in the mafia, he found himself thrown at the defenseless more and more often, but that always had some sort of grand purpose, even if the boss could be frustratingly vague.
This, however, was too far for him.
"I want to see your strength," One of the runts Dazai had picked up stood before him. His eyes were almost as dull as Dazai's. The oversized coat he wore sat loosely on his shoulders, though he'd probably grow into it once he wasn't actively dying from malnutrition. "Dazai-san seems to respect you, I want to know why."
Chuuya couldn't help but snort at that. Dazai didn't respect shit. Whatever this kid had seen, it couldn't have been right. "I'm not going to fight you if that's what you're looking for. I'd snap you in half."
The smallest frown was the only indication Chuuya got. He jumped out of the way with less than a second to spare before the coat sprang to life. Four blades implanted in the wall where Chuuya had just been standing.
"Dazai-san said that I need to be strong to be of any use to the Port Mafia," The boy turned his head towards Chuuya. There was a strange fire in his eyes now as he spoke. "I've heard that you're the strongest there is."
The coat retracted from the wall. It shot at him once again. The attack was fast, but Chuuya was faster. He effortlessly jumped out of the way with the aid of his gravity manipulation.
"Do you really think you can be strong like that?" The boy glared at him as he continued to launch attacks. Chuuya continued to dodge. Maybe someone without his ability would be sliced to pieces, but Chuuya had more than enough practice with this sort of thing. Besides, Randou's attacks had been faster. "You look like a twig! You can't get strong if you're not taking care of yourself!"
"I don't need your pity!"
"It's not pity," Chuuya side stepped an attack that managed to graze his jacket. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. It would be annoying to repair it later. "It's the truth. You can't just rely on your ability for strength."
To prove his point, Chuuya rushed past the next attack. It caught the boy off guard enough to allow for a clear opening. Clearly, he needed more training if something so simple was enough to make him so vulnerable.
Without the aid of his ability, Chuuya punched the boy in the stomach. It wasn't hard enough to do major damage but it sent him to the floor doubled over. After being knocked to his knees, he let out a harsh, rattling cough.
"If you don't hone your body too, then you're defenseless if your ability fails," He held out his hand to the boy. "And I won't fight you for real if you're not going to take your own needs seriously."
"My body..." He said the words between coughs. The boy clutched his chest with a grim look. "It doesn't matter what I do. It will remain weak."
Chuuya sighed. "What was your name again? Gin?"
"...Ryunosuke."
"When was the last time you had something to eat?"
"What does that matter?"
"Just answer the question."
The fact that he had to stop and think about it for a while was bad enough. Even worse was his answer of, "Three days ago."
"What the hell? Is that asshole not giving you meal breaks?"
"Don't talk about Dazai-san that way!" Another attack was sent his way, but it was far too slow to catch him off guard. Chuuya casually side-stepped it before offering his hand again.
"If he's being an ass, I'll call him one," Chuuya crouched so that he was at eye level with the kid. "Let me treat you to something nice."
"But I need to get stronger-"
"You can't get stronger by skipping meals," Chuuya grabbed his arm. Surprisingly, that didn't provoke yet another attack. "I'm sure Dazai won't mind if I steal you for a few hours."
"Hours?" Chuuya pulled Ryunosuke to his feet, ignoring the skeptical look.
"After you have some good food in you, I'll consider fighting you."
At that, the boy's eyes lit up. He eagerly followed Chuuya with a new fire in his eyes.
Hopefully he could teach him at least some self preservation.