Work Text:
“Did you know,” Mori commented, as he led Dazai to the lowest levels of the Port Mafia’s main building, “that dogs are used to hunt foxes?”
Dazai stopped walking, his heart freezing in his chest.
“Come along, Dazai-kun,” Mori said, without looking back.
Dazai's body moved, but Dazai felt like he was floating. Not dogs. Not dogs, not dogs, please not dogs, he thought desperately. Anything but dogs.
Mori didn’t say anything else until he stopped in front of a door; Dazai could hear snarling beyond it.
Mori gave him a slimy grin as he opened the door. The smell of the foul beasts spilled from it as the creatures started yowling, barking and snapping and lunging against their chains—
Dazai whimpered, attempting to move backwards.
Mori tutted. “No, no, Dazai-kun.” He caught his wrist, but Dazai yanked his arm out of his grasp on instinct, too focused on the dogs to not make Mori angrier.
“Freeze,” Mori snapped. Dazai did. Even his trembling stopped. “I thought you were better behaved than to try and run away like a frightened animal.”
Dazai couldn’t respond, eye set on the beasts beyond the door. If he looked away, they might escape, and then he would be chased and chased and chased and not again, please, please, not again.
He heard Mori sigh. “Dazai-kun, go into the room,” he said as though he were a disappointed parent. Dazai's breath hitched on a sob as he felt himself move forward, stepping past the door frame. The room was large, much larger than Dazai had expected it to be. Still, the smell of slobber permeated the air, snarls echoing off the walls.
“Mori-san, please,” he whispered, gaze never leaving the dogs.
“Please?” Mori prompted him. Dazai could hear his satisfaction, but couldn’t be brought to care.
“Not dogs,” he choked out, unable to look away.
Not again, not again, not again—
He hadn’t done anything—
“But this is a punishment,” Mori said, sounding genuinely confused. Dazai would have snarled at the pretense, but showing aggression in front of these creatures was a bad idea.
“Please, Mori-san, please,” he begged, cringing backwards as the chains holding the dogs creaked ominously.
“Change into your true self.”
Dazai bit back a defensive growl as he shifted.
“All the way, Dazai-kun.”
Not an animal, he wasn’t an animal.
He turned fully into his fox form. His ears were fully flattened on his head as he hunched into himself, his tails wrapping around him.
“Yes, this is who you truly are, Dazai-kun,” Mori hummed, stepping past Dazai towards the dogs. “Platz.” The dogs suddenly stopped their straining, lying down quietly at Mori's order. “They are almost as well behaved as you, Dazai-kun.”
Dazai whimpered, pushing backwards against the wall beside the door. He briefly considered making a run for it, but he knew he wouldn’t get far. And if he ran, these beasts of hell would chase after him, yowling as they caught up to him and tore him apart and—
“Focus on me, Dazai-kun,” a voice broke through his haze, and his vision sharpened on Mori. He realized, his stomach lurching, that the dogs were no longer on their leashes.
“Do not exit that door,” Mori directed, and Dazai flinched as he felt the order settle over him. “These are trained attack dogs,” Mori explained, eyes watching Dazai with a hungry glint as he panted, hyperventilating. “From Germany, actually. They cost a pretty penny, but I got them just for you. Isn’t that nice?”
Dazai trembled. Mori didn’t seem to like his lack of response, as he said, “Fass.”
Dazai shrieked as the dogs suddenly lunged forwards, scrambling to the side, but there was nowhere to run, what was he supposed to do, how would he get away.
“Halt.”
The dogs stopped, not more than two feet away from where Dazai was trapped in a corner.
“I thought you would be more grateful, Dazai-kun.”
“Yes,” Dazai gasped immediately, “Yes, thank you, thank you, please.”
Dazai could hear Mori's smile in his next words. “You're very welcome. Since you appreciate it so much, you can stay here with them.”
Dazai sobbed. “Please, please…”
Mori moved forwards, towards him. “Such a shame, ruining your pretty white fur.” Mori stopped, bending over to caress Dazai's flattened ear. Dazai whined desperately, looking up pleadingly at Mori. He knew it was hopeless by the grin the man wore.
“Please,” he tried anyway. “Mori-san, I won’t-”
“Misbehave?” Mori interrupted him, his grip tightening on Dazai's ear until it ached.
“Yes. I won’t- won’t misbehave,” Dazai breathed, shame filling him. “I’ll— I’ll be good. Won’t cause trouble. Please.”
Mori hummed, releasing his ear. “Well, I suppose I can lessen your punishment, then.”
Dazai could have cried in relief.
“See, I was going to chain you to that post, instead of the dogs,” Mori continued, moving towards the door. Dazai creeped behind him, keeping his body low to the ground, stealing terrified glances at where the dogs still stood, awaiting their own orders. “But since you are so willing to try to behave properly, I suppose I’ll let you run away from them instead.”
Dazai froze. “No, Mori-san—” he started, but Mori shushed him.
“Don’t speak, Dazai-kun. Foxes don’t talk.” Mori turned around at the door, Dazai still trapped in the room. “Keep on your toes, now.”
Dazai choked on his words, unable to make his mouth work.
“Fass,” Mori said as the door swung shut with a screeching noise of rusted metal.
Dazai shrieked, leaping forward as he heard the yowls of the dogs behind him. He felt hot breath at his feet, and some long-abandoned instinct took over as he pelted across the room.
Dazai didn’t know how long it had been, him barely escaping the jaws of the beasts behind him. He was growing exhausted, his movements slowing down. He felt as one of the dogs caught a bit of his fur, but he couldn’t even scream now, he had to save his energy, he had to keep on running, he had to keep going.
But he knew he would be caught eventually. He had had hounds set after him before, sometimes for punishments, sometimes for sport, and it always ended the same. He would be caught and then it would hurt and he would be left in the forest until he could lick his wounds enough to stumble back and return to his duties. And if he was caught too quickly or took too long to come back he would be sent right back out, and then it would repeat.
Dazai didn’t have the breath to scream his dread as he tripped, his legs falling out beneath him.
And then they were upon him, jaws on his tails, on his legs, he felt his ear burn as something tore at it, ripping noises accompanying his cries of pain and fear.
“Aus.”
Dazai sobbed as the beasts let go of him, his legs splayed behind him, mangled. He couldn’t move them. The right side of his face was drenched in blood, he couldn’t hear very well from that side. His tails, god his tails, he couldn’t tell if they were even there, did the dogs gnaw them off?
“Have you learned your lesson, Dazai-kun?”
Dazai nodded instinctively, looking up. Ah, right. Mori. But he could not speak, the command to be silent still sitting heavy in his throat.
“Good.” Dazai didn’t have the energy to resent Mori's smug face, instead letting his head fall to the ground, still keeping a weary eye on the man and his dogs, who were sat behind him, as though they hadn’t just tried to kill Dazai. “You may leave.”
Dazai whined, tears pooling in his eye. He shifted, but he couldn’t move his legs.
Mori, who had walked to the door, looked back in false surprise. “Don’t you want to leave, Dazai-kun?”
Dazai struggled, trying desperately to push himself to his feet. He could barely control his trembling front legs; his back legs remained too twisted to be of much use.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Mori said, and Dazai barely held back a snarl. “The door is open, when you wish to leave.”
Dazai whined desperately, clawing his way towards Mori, who watched him with great amusement.
“What's wrong, Dazai-kun?”
Dazai whimpered, shoving his pride down. Anything to get out of this room, to get away from the dogs. If he had to act like an animal, well, he was certainly well-practiced.
Dazai's front legs collapsed before he could reach Mori. He yipped pitifully, stretching his nose towards the man.
Those polished shoes walked towards him, and Dazai turned his head so that his face was pressed against the rough concrete of the floor. He felt bile rise in his throat as Mori looked down at him, false pity twisting his face.
“Such a tragic creature,” Mori said, bending down.
Dazai wanted to snarl, to scream at Mori, to remind himself that he wasn’t just a helpless kitsune anymore. But he was, wasn’t he? He was just a pathetic fox, writhing beneath the heel of someone stronger.
“Let’s get the little fox treated,” Mori hummed, scooping Dazai up none too gently. Dazai shouted in pain as his legs were jostled. “Shush, shush,” Mori comforted, his hand resting on Dazai's head. “Be a good little fox.”
Dazai cringed, forcing himself to not lean away from the slimy man’s hands. Anything to get away from the dogs, he reminded himself desperately. He couldn’t forget, or he would snap at Mori and then be sent right back in.
Mori cooed, and Dazai felt vomit rise up his throat. He swallowed it down.
Anything to get away from the dogs.
Dazai stumbled out of headquarters half an hour later, his legs wrapped in stints and clutching onto a pair of crutches Mori had given him. He walked in a random direction, just trying to put some distance between himself and the building. He caught himself against a pole as his head spun, his lack of hearing not helping his disorientation. His eye was drooping from exhaustion. He wouldn’t make it to his shipping container. The space didn’t sound very appealing, anyways. But neither did the street.
Dazai groaned as he thought of his chibi.
“This better not fucking happen again, asshole.”
Well, Dazai pondered, sliding into an alleyway so that he could collapse away from prying eyes, he had offered. Maybe it was time Dazai found out if chibi actually meant it.
He fumbled in his pockets for his phone, then clicked on the slug contact photo.
Chuuya picked up immediately. “Mackerel?”
“My,” Dazai hummed, trying to keep the strain from his voice, “were you waiting by the phone just for dear ol’ me?”
Dazai could practically hear Chuuya roll his eyes. There were sounds of movement from the other side of the phone. “I’ll come pick you up,” Chuuya said, keys jingling shrilly through the speaker.
“Not at…” Dazai trailed off, blinking rapidly.
“Oi, you piece of shit, don’t you dare pass out!” Chuuya shouted through the phone.
Dazai chuckled. Such a short tempered chibi. “You're as short… short temper,” he mumbled. “Slug temper…”
“The fuck does that mean?” Chuuya said. Dazai could hear his bike starting up.
Dazai laughed weakly. “Slug temper, short brain.”
“Piss off,” Chuuya snapped. “Do you want me to come pick you up or not?”
“Chibi, he said…” Dazai's world was spinning.
“Just tell me where you are, shitty Dazai.”
Dazai winced at the order, the words exiting his mouth in a strangled mess. “In an alleyway near headquarters.”
“Okay, good. Now stay awake – fucking – try and stay awake!” Chuuya cursed.
Dazai huffed. Chuuya hadn't even noticed he had already given him an order. “You're really… slug brain.”
“Fuck off. I’ll be there in five.”
“My brave chibi…” Dazai whispered, shifting in his spot, trying to take the weight off his legs.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Stupid, though…”
Chuuya screamed a string of curses at Dazai. Dazai dutifully ignored him.