Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Something was wrong. 

Something was really wrong. 

It had started off as a simple mission; find and catch some guy that’s been giving the mafia some trouble for the past few weeks. And because Mori wanted the mission taken care of as swiftly as possible, Chuuya and Dazai were sent out to take care of it.

Fast, clean, and simple. 

The pair of seventeen year olds had been planning to have a game tournament later that night, so they wanted to get this mission over with as soon as possible. Dazai complained that as executives, the two of them shouldn’t be sent out for small missions like this, but Mori seemed to disagree. Mori claimed it shouldn’t take longer than an hour or two, and the two of them would be done before the clock hit midnight. 

That’s what the mission was supposed to be, so why Chuuya was currently busting his ass to get this guy was beyond him. 

According to the file, his name was Philip Pullman, a man from a European organization the mafia knew next to nothing about. Mori wanted him taken in for questioning. The file had no information about an ability, just that he’d been sneaking around looking for information within the black market. Mori didn’t like that. 

Dazai had suggested operation “The Blue Flower” to lure the guy out, and at first it worked, except Pullman had since proven himself a worthy adversary. The two of them continued to exchange blow after blow and quite frankly, Chuuya was getting annoyed. 

“Fuck this.” Chuuya growled, activating his ability. He was gonna end this right now. No more games. 

Suddenly Pullman pulled back, drawing a small, silver, double-bladed knife. It was firm in his grip and he held it was a practiced ease. But to Chuuya, it was no match. 

“What’s a little knife gonna do against gravity huh?” Chuuya taunted, starting his advance.  

His legs looked shaky but Pullman didn’t give up, “You should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

“Huh?” Chuuya quizzed, Dazai was supposed to be keeping a lookout. 

But then there it was, “Chuuya!” Dazai yelled out. Chuuya turned back to look at his partner but a bright light consumed his vision. 

When his eyesight finally returned, he felt strange. A little lighter than he was a moment ago. He shrugged it off, focusing his attention back on Pullman. Dazai could deal with whatever that was. 

Chuuya simply continued his advance with a roar, picking up speed as he moved towards the man. As Chuuya ran towards Pullman, the man didn’t move, his face held a steadfast expression, he wasn’t going anywhere. He held his knife out like it was his last resort, slicing it through the air in an upwards motion. The space between himself and Chuuya split as the knife ran through it, creating a long, glittering cut in the very air itself. 

“Waving your knife around isn’t going to get you anywhere!” Chuuya yelled, too blinded by rage to even notice the strange cut he was running right into. 

“Chuuya!” Dazai’s voice yelled as he ran after his partner, “Use your brain, look!” He grabbed Chuuya’s wrist trying to pull him back while the cooling rush of No Longer Human flooded through Chuuya’s body, disabling Upon The Tainted Sorrow. 

It was too late.

Too late did Chuuya seem to notice the tear, his eyes widened as he tried to pull away, but his hand was already inside it and after one sudden yell of protest, Chuuya was pulled inside, Dazai being pulled right behind him. 

Chuuya hit the ground with a sudden thud, his head slamming against the concrete, and when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, Dazai slammed into his back. 

A distant voice could be heard. Pullman’s voice. The voice called out, taunting, “Inter-dimensional travel isn’t for the faint of heart, but maybe your boss will pay a pretty penny for your return.” 

It was the last thing Chuuya heard before the pounding of his head took over and he passed out. 

“Dazai?” Chuuya groaned, slowly opening his eyes. The last thing he remembered was landing hard on the ground before passing out. 

It was dark. 

That was the first thing Chuuya recognized. Actually it was the only thing Chuuya recognized. He was on the floor in some dark alleyway behind a trash bin. His head still hurt and he was fucking tired. 

And of course, Dazai was nowhere to be found. 

Chuuya just shook his head and closed his eyes again. If Dazai planned to abandon him in some random alleyway while he was unconscious, fine. Random alleyways were nothing new to Chuuya anyways. 

He’ll move and figure out what the hell happened in the morning. 

Chuuya’s rest didn’t last long. 

Well it felt like it hadn’t lasted long, though Chuuya could see the sunlight from behind his shut eyelids. It was morning. His headache was gone—though a new one seemed to be forming once Chuuya felt a poke at his cheek. 

“Chibi!” The voice—shitty Dazai, his brain supplied—whispered. 

“Chibikko!” 

Maybe if he ignored it, the headache would go away. 

“Chuuya!” Dazai whisper-shouted, slapping Chuuya on the face. 

Chuuya’s eyes snapped open, and he immediately went for the punch, decking Dazai right in the face. “Shut the fuck up, asshole!” 

“Oww! That hurt Chuuya!” Dazai wailed, cupping his cheek delicately. 

Chuuya rolled his eyes. “You’re fine, stop being so dramatic!” 

“Did you really have to punch my beautiful face?” 

“There’s nothing beautiful about it!” 

“You wound me Chuuya!” 

“You fucking slapped me first! I was sleeping asshole!” 

“Well how else was I supposed to wake Chuuya up?” 

“I don’t know! Did you consider not waking me up?” 

“Well then how else was I supposed to tell Chuuya about our current situation?” Dazai asked. 

That made Chuuya pause. Right. What the fuck happened?

Chuuya’s demeanor suddenly shifted. “What the hell happened? And where the fuck are we?” Chuuya demanded. 

“Well if you had let me explain instead of punching me, you would know by now.” Dazai retorted. 

Chuuya gave him a death stare. “What happened?” 

Dazai huffed a sigh before responding, “While you were fighting Pullman, he pulled some strange knife out of his pocket. He used it to cut some kind of tear in space itself. You didn’t notice, and as the amazing partner I am, I tried to stop you before you ran straight into it, but it was too late and it pulled the two of us through. You hit the ground hard and passed out.” Dazai explained, “You were basically unconscious all night, it’s currently 11:00 AM.” 

Chuuya nodded, trying to absorb all the new information. It checked out with what he barely remembered. The only thing left was where they were. “And where are we exactly?”

“Yokohama. I looked around a bit while you were asleep and determined where we are. But something is off about this place, it doesn’t feel right. I couldn’t recognize anything.” 

“If we’re in Yokohama what did the fucking knife even do?”

“Here’s the strange thing, I believe I heard our dear Phillip say something about inter-dimensional travel after we were pulled into the rift. That could easily explain why I couldn’t recognize anything even though all signs point to this being Yokohama.” 

Chuuya didn’t reply, trying to go over all the details in his head. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he had to admit, Dazai was right. Something felt wrong. When he finally looked at Dazai’s face, he couldn’t help but freeze when they made eye contact. 

“Uh Dazai? Did you get plastic surgery or somethin’ cause you look a few years too young.” 

“I could ask you the same thing, Slug.” 

“What?” Chuuya asked, stupidly bringing his hands up to his face as if he’d be able to feel a difference. 

“That brings me to my final point, you look fifteen, maybe even fourteen again Chuuya and I assume I do as well.”

“You do..” Chuuya said, trailing off. “Don’t tell me this is what I think it is…” Chuuya said, rising to his feet. At least he still had his hat. “That light..?”

Dazai stood as well, and was a bit shorter than usual. He gave Chuuya a look before responding, “If we are to believe what Pullman said, we’ve somehow found ourselves in a different dimension. That light though, was from someone else who snuck up on us. I assume they had a de-aging ability.”

“And they thought de-aging us was gonna stop us?” Chuuya asked, finishing Dazai’s train of thought. 

Dazai nodded, “It was probably one of their safety measures. Even if we still managed to get Pullman we would have another problem to deal with. They could have bargained with Mori by saying they’ll only age us back up if he gave them Pullman.” 

“Then why are we here?” Chuuya huffed. This was frustrating. 

“Perhaps Pullman decided since he had a shot at trapping us here he would try it. He also mentioned something about blackmailing Mori with our return in exchange for monetary compensation. Whoever they are must have been planning this and you fell right into it, Chibikko.” 

Chuuya groaned, throwing his hands up, “Great, just amazing! So this is my fault, is that what you’re gonna say? We’re stuck in a fucking alternate universe while looking like fucking kids again? That’s insane!” 

“I know Chuuya, it doesn’t make sense but it’s the best explanation I’ve got.” Dazai reasoned, “We have to figure out how to get back since we both know Mori isn’t paying anyone for our safe return.” 

“Fucking boss, expecting us to get back on our own! The bastard will probably call it a test, or better yet an unpaid fucking vacation!” Chuuya groaned, letting his head fall forward. 

Fuck

Chuuya needed to think. And he needed to think fast. What the hell? A different dimension? That sounds insane! How the fuck did they end up in an alternate universe of all places? Chuuya had so many questions that he knew Dazai couldn’t possibly answer to with the limited information they currently had. 

Dazai said they were in Yokohama, some strange version of Yokohama, but Yokohama nonetheless. The alleyway the two of them had spent the night in wasn’t one Chuuya recognized, and Chuuya knew pretty much every alleyway in Yokohama, so something was definitely up, but it just felt strange. It didn’t seem possible. But when has the impossible ever left Chuuya alone? 

He has to calm down. Arahabaki was getting a little too loud and not giving him any space to think. He’ll have to keep a level head or he may lose control. Dazai and him will figure everything out and get home sooner rather than later. In the meantime though, Chuuya wordlessly grabbed Dazai’s wrist and started dragging him along out of the alleyway and into the open street. 

Dazai didn’t say anything, simply letting himself be tugged along by Chuuya as they explored this alternate version of their home. 

After not even five minutes, did Chuuya and Dazai finally accept that they were far, far from home. 

This version of Yokohama was…strange to say the least. 

The first thing that really tipped them off was how the other people around them looked. Some people had a wide variety of strange skin tones and weird features that definitely didn’t exist in their world, or if they did, no one walked around openly displaying. 

The second thing was how at least every two people they passed seemed to be using some type of ability. Only, they were using it in public, which was strange. Ability users rarely ever used their gifts in front of people randomly, it was dangerous and frankly taboo. 

After walking for about ten minutes? trying to avoid any and all forms of eye contact with the strange people around them did they stop. Well, more specifically did Dazai stop, which caused Chuuya to stop as well. 

They were in front of a few TVs which were playing what seemed to be a news broadcast. It was coverage over how a thief had been stopped. The weird part was how the reporter seemed to be interviewing a man with a comically bright outfit—costume?—on. The strangest thing though, would have to be his face…it looked like it was made of…wood..?

“—Tell me Kamui Woods, what can we expect from you in the future? Any plans you can leak?” 

The wood man—“Kamui Woods”, apparently, responded to the question asked. 

“There are plans in the works, but unfortunately I am unable to shed any information on them as of right now.” 

The reporter turned from “Kamui Woods” back to the camera, facing it directly. 

“Well you heard it here folks, there are things to look forward to regarding one of our new but quickly climbing pro heroes, Kamui Woods!” 

“Interesting.” Dazai muttered from beside him. 

“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” Chuuya asked aloud, “And what the hell is this place? “Pro Hero” what the fuck even is that?” 

“Well I think the alternate universe theory has been proven true, wouldn’t you say Chuuya?” Dazai hummed. “Let’s look inside.” Without another word, Dazai entered the store which housed the TVs. 

The store looked normal, which honestly surprised Chuuya more than it should have. He half expected it to look like some strange, brightly colored death trap. But the bright overhead lights and shelves stocked with snacks revealed that they had stepped into a convenience store. 

Chuuya continued following after Dazai until they stood in front of a rack of magazines. Both of them grabbed a different one and started flipping through them. It was obvious Dazai wanted to gain more information over what type of society they had landed themselves in. If Chuuya had to guess it was over the strange abilities and so-called “Pro Heroes”. 

After flipping through a few pages Chuuya found something interesting. The headline read: The Rise of All Might. The accompanying photo was one of a very tall, blond, muscular man who Chuuya assumed was the man in question. The article talked about things Chuuya had previously thought as simple minded, such as “heroes” and “villains”. 

The article detailed the life of the—apparently—number one hero All Might, who’s saved countless lives with a smile on his face. It was strange to say the least. But this All Might guy seemed important, as well as the whole hero and villain thing. All the other articles had something about various heroes who’ve recently done some great feat of chivalry. To Chuuya it all seemed like a ploy for gaining popularity and becoming famous, but who was he to judge, he was fucking mafia executive. 

“Hey Dazai.” Chuuya called, looking up from the magazine, entitled Hero Weekly. Dazai turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. Chuuya passed the magazine over to him, Dazai taking it wordlessly, opening it up. 

“This place apparently has heroes and villains. Heroes fight the villains and are like celebrities. The only thing I don’t get are their abilities.” Chuuya explained. 

Dazai looked up from the magazine and back at Chuuya, “I see,” he said, “I can answer the ability question. They don’t have gifts like you and I. 80% of the population has something called a “quirk” which is like an ability but much more normalized and less supernatural. It’s passed down through genetics.” 

Chuuya nodded, that made sense. They have abilities, but obviously not the same kind as Chuuya and Dazai’s, if the weird features were anything to go off of. “That makes sense I guess.” 

Dazai continued, “It seems that quirks can range from something small like fingers that stretch to controlling things like fire. If I had to guess, our abilities are stronger since they aren’t affected by genetics itself.” 

“So to get this straight,” Chuuya recounted, “We got deaged by one of Pullman’s allies’, pulled through a weird rift made by Pullman himself, and are now in a strange universe where most people have an ability-like power called a quirk? Not to mention the fact that there’s no way to get back to our actual ages since that ability user doesn’t exist here.”  

Dazai nodded, “Yep! This really is fascinating, wouldn’t you say Chuuya?” 

“I think it’s almost stupid how we end up in situations like this.” 

Dazai laughed, not completely genuine but not his usual empty or intimidating laugh, “We do seem to find ourselves in strange situations, but I’d say this takes the cake.” 

“This is crazy, maybe it's just some strange dream,” Chuuya insisted. “What do people do to wake up from dreams again?” 

“Pinch themselves.” Dazai supplied. 

“Oh, that’s right, yeah.” Chuuya then pinched his arm, willing that some strange phenomenon occurred that caused him to suddenly dream and conjure up this strange situation. 

Nothing happened. 

Chuuya supposed it was a long shot, but nothing longer than being pushed through air cut by a knife and into a different universe! 

Chuuya tried again. 

Then, Dazai really did laugh, “Nice try Chibi but I don’t think that going to work. I already slapped you earlier and we’re still here.” 

“Shut up! And don’t call me that!” Chuuya swore he was going to kill this asshole.

They left the store not long after that, though not without strange looks from the cashier who witnessed them walk in, argue, and then buy absolutely nothing. They were sort of stuck, both figuratively and literally, though neither wanted to admit that. 

Chuuya really had no idea what to do and Dazai has stayed relatively silent since they got here. Chuuya felt way out of his depth, not once did Mori ever detail what to do when trapped in another universe. Mori said the mission was supposed to be easy for crying out loud!

All Chuuya does know is that they need to get back. He has both trainings and missions to oversee, plus there was a new shipment of gems arriving in a few days. His promotion to executive didn’t really change much besides his title, he still worked with smuggled gems, but Mori has started to offload the current influx of new members onto him. Dazai scares new recruits a little too much so to combat that, Chuuya takes care of getting them settled in before shipping them off to the guerilla squads—which Dazai oversees. 

All of that to say, they’re busy. They don’t have time to mess around in some strange new universe. Both of them—even if Dazai never takes it seriously—have responsibilities. 

“Oi, Dazai?” Chuuya asked, his steps slowing. 

They have to get out of here. 

At first, Dazai didn’t stop, only humming in question. 

“Asshole,” Chuuya muttered under his breath, picking his pace back up. “Dazai!” Chuuya hissed, grabbing his wrist. 

Dazai finally stopped, tilting his head. “Does Chuuya need something?” 

“Don’t be stupid, what the fuck are we doing? We need to get out of here.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” 

“So what are we doing? Where are we fucking going?” 

“Such an impatient dog.” 

“Shut the hell up! Stop messing around, this is serious!” 

“Is Chuuya scared?”

“Like hell I am!” 

Dazai’s lips upturned into a little smirk. “Don’t worry slug, I have an idea.” 

“Care to share?”

“Obviously we need to find someone with a multidimensional quirk, anyone with a brain would know that. Though I suppose I should cut Chibi some slack, seeing as he doesn’t have one.” 

“Fuck off!” Chuuya yelled, kicking Dazai in the back of the knee, making it buckle slightly. “I know that much asshole, I mean how are we going to find one!?” 

“We have to find a broker.” 

“And how are we supposed to do that? We’re not criminals here, we don’t exactly have access to those circles anymore.” 

“Oh Chuuya, has the executive position taken all your delinquent senses? A pity from the former king.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“Well since you hit your head when we landed, I’ll help you out!”

“Spit it out!” 

“When you were looking into the Arahabaki case, what were you doing?” 

“Following rumors, but this is different!”  

“Where did those rumors begin?” 

“From eyewitness accounts. But we aren’t looking for rumors, we’re looking for a broker!”  

“Chuuya, we need to find shady people who either know a broker personally or of a broker based on rumor.”

 “So you want us to walk around and profile people.” 

“No Slug, I want you to go profile people! I’m going to buy a new phone that will work here!”

Dazai rustled through his pockets, grabbing his wallet and flipping it open. He pulled all of his Yen out and gestured for Chuuya to do the same. It amounted to about ¥220,900 total. 

“We can pawn one of our phones and then buy a new one that will work here,” Dazai suggested, tucking their combined money into his wallet. 

Chuuya crossed his arms. “Yeah, well that’ll be your phone then. I’m not losing all my shit.” 

“Fine,” Dazai agreed without a fight. Chuuya wasn’t exactly expecting compliance but he knows that Dazai barely has anything on his phone anyways so, it works out. 

“I’ll go get the new phone and take the docks, you walk around and track anyone who seems suspicious. We need to make contact with a broker, but don’t engage without me. Meet me at zero-hundred.” Dazai ordered, turning and walking off before Chuuya even had a chance to verbally agree. 

Chuuya walked around for about two hours, his eyes flitting around the various people going about their day. There hadn’t been anything particularly suspicious to follow up on so far and he was getting bored. 

He tailed some people, but they didn’t look particularly competent in the art of crime. They looked like amateurs and Chuuya didn’t want to get involved with amateurs. 

He decided to sit on a bench for a while, watching. Thinking. If he found nothing in another hour or so he would get back up and keep circling, maybe stalk through alleyways. Chuuya’s current thought though, was that they were going to have to wait until dark, when the criminals came out to play. 

They weren’t in a particularly impoverished area, maybe that’s where he was going to have to look instead. 

Chuuya saw some people he assumed were those “heroes” running around, but he didn’t care enough to follow them around to see what they were up to. 

By 5:00, Chuuya found himself tiredly walking down alleyways further out from the city center. He’s already stolen food and random people’s cash just for the thrill of it. He was bored and swore if he didn’t find anything soon, he was gonna go crazy. 

He understood why Dazai wanted them to wait until midnight to meet back up, but still. He didn’t know anything from this place, and walking around alone and aimlessly gets tiring. 

The alleyways he took on his way had some bums in them, but none of the ones he went through had anything on information brokers. It was frustrating. Going from the second highest rank in the city to a random teenager in less than 24 hours. 

Right back where he started, Chuuya supposed. 

He finally landed in the poorer part of town. It looked better than Suribachi City, but the apartments were worn down and there was already a car alarm going off. Oddly enough, Chuuya felt somewhat at ease. It’s been two full years since Chuuya lived in Suribachi, but contrary to what Dazai had earlier claimed, Chuuya’s “delinquent” instincts had not dulled, just been put in the backseat. 

Now Chuuya hasn’t been in this world for long, but wherever he had gone earlier, he’d seen at least one “hero” doing something or another. Most of them were talking with civilians or taking pictures. Now though, in this part of the city, Chuuya couldn’t spot a single one. 

How odd. 

Chuuya would assume an area like this would be swarming with crime and subsequent heroes to fight that crime. 

How come Chuuya only really saw heroes in what looked like the richer part of the city?

The idea of heroes only works if they protect everyone. Not just rich folks. 

Chuuya shook his head. It didn’t really matter to him, it’s not like he lived here.

Suddenly Chuuya felt a bump at his side as a  group of kids ran past him. Chuuya’s arm immediately shot out, snatching the kid’s wrist, pulling them back. 

“Hey! Let go of me!” The kid Chuuya was holding yelled out. His friends bolted, getting away with a final glance over their shoulders. 

Chuuya clicked his tongue and smirked. “Yeah, nice try. Give me the phone.” 

“What phone?”

Chuuya yanked the kid’s wrist so that they were facing each other. “The one in your hand,” Chuuya said, reaching his hand out, palm up. 

The kid pouted, but dropped the phone in Chuuya’s palm. “How did you even know?” The kid whined, he couldn’t have been older than 13 which made Chuuya’s cold expression melt ever so slightly. 

Chuuya supposed he could understand him. Kids like this, stealing from random people in the streets. He had been doing the exact same thing earlier in the day. Plus, Chuuya was a stranger in a suit walking around all alone. 

If Chuuya was in this kid’s position, he would have tried the same thing. 

“This isn’t my first rodeo kid,” Chuuya said and he meant it. He probably couldn’t even count the number of times he and Shirase pulled that exact stunt on unsuspecting adults who wandered into Suribachi City. 

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” The kid demanded with a pout. 

Chuuya bit back a laugh and shrugged. “It means bumping into me isn’t gonna work if you want my phone.” 

“Who even are you? I’ve never seen you before.” The kid asked. Chuuya will give it to him, this kid had guts. 

Chuuya let the kid’s wrist go and slipped his hands into his pockets, unconsciously rebuilding his posture to match that of when he was a Sheep member. 

“I’m lookin’ for something.” 

“Here?” 

Chuuya nodded. “An information broker. Know anything of interest?”

The kid stared at him. Silent. Contemplating. 

Sometimes kids know more than your average adult. 

And these kinds of kids—street rats—know even more. 

And this kid was weighing his options which means he knows something. 

“And if I do? What's in it for me?”

Chuuya felt the corners of his lips upturn ever so slightly. He knows he should move on, Dazai will have definitely found something by the time they meet up and Chuuya’s just wasting time, but something kept him rooted firmly in place. If anything, there was no way the kid knew nothing. “Is there anything you particularly want?”

The kid was silent again. An idea shining under his eyes. “What’s your name?” 

“Chuuya,” he nodded. “What’s yours?” 

“I’m asking the questions here!” 

Chuuya bit back another laugh. “Right, of course.” 

“Are you rich?” 

“Depends who you ask.” 

“I’m asking you.” 

“Not currently.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” The kid went silent for a second before blurting out. “Wait, were you rich and then disowned?!” 

Chuuya huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. “Not quite.”

“If you’re not rich then why are you wearing a suit like that?”

Chuuya shrugged, not sure how to exactly respond to that without giving himself away to some random kid. “It’s just what I’m wearing.”

“Why do you need an information broker?”

“It’s complicated.” 

The kid was about to respond, but his words died short when a loud bang went off and a fast flying object shot past the two of them, just grazing the kid’s arm. 

The kid yelped out in pain while the wielder of the weapon yelled, “Kaitou! You and your stupid gang are dead!!” 

Chuuya’s body moved before he could think, pulling the kid—Kaitou?—behind him and activating his ability. 

“Ooohhh look at that! Got yourself a protector huh?”

“Kid, who is that?” Chuuya asked, scanning the area for a place they could run to. “What’s he talking about?” 

“That’s Kojima. He’s an asshole that we stole from yesterday. His brother fucking stabbed Hiroshi!” 

This Kojima person looked like he was probably around eighteen years old and somehow he had a gun. But regardless of how old he was or the weapon in his hand, he looked like he deserved the robbing. 

Kojima kept making his way towards them, shooting off another bullet in their direction. “Well he has shit aim,” Chuuya commented, grabbing Kaitou’s arm, dragging him along towards an alleyway. 

“There’s no way out of this alley!” 

Chuuya cursed, realizing the kid was right, but he didn’t slow. Instead Chuuya extended his ability to Kaitou, getting ready to change their gravitational pull and allow them to run up the wall. “Run and don’t think about it. Just run, questions later.” 

They ran. 

Another bullet was shot right at Chuuya’s back, but didn’t touch him. It deflected off of his ability and dropped back down on the ground, momentarily puzzling their aggressor. 

Once they were on the roof, Chuuya told the kid, “Find me a rock or something.”

The kid nodded, doing as he was told, though still dazed from all the action. He found a rock and gave it to Chuuya. 

“Why do you need a—” Chuuya took the rock and activated his ability on it, throwing it right at their unwanted friend. It shot all the way through Kojima’s stomach, but Chuuya knew it wouldn’t kill him if he managed to find help in time. 

“Whoa,” Kaitou awed, dazed. “Is he dead?” 

Chuuya shook his head. “Nah, if he finds help he’ll be fine.” 

Kaitou looked up at Chuuya in awe, smiling wide. You wouldn’t even know he had a bleeding arm from where the bullet had grazed him. “That was so cool! We ran up a wall! You threw a rock through him! What’s your quirk?”

Chuuya’s expression betrayed him, a small amused smile overtaking his face as Kaitou rambled on. But once his eyes raked over the kid and landed on his bleeding arm, he snapped out of it. 

“Kid, give me your arm,” Chuuya said, holding his hand out. 

“Huh?” he asked, confused before realizing what Chuuya was referring to. “Oh. Here.” 

Chuuya inspected the arm, noting that the wound wasn’t all too deep. It should be fine as long as it doesn’t get an infection. 

Chuuya grabbed the white handkerchief he always kept in his pocket and wrapped it around the wound. Kouyou had been the one to insist Chuuya keeps one in his pocket, and it’s paid off every time. 

“Keep that on until we can find bandages and disinfect it,” Chuuya ordered, as serious as could be. 

“I’ll be fine,” Kaitou insisted. “It’s not that bad.”

Chuuya ignored him, instead moving on to his next topic. “So, Kajima? What’s his deal? Why’s he shooting at a kid?” 

“It’s KOjima! And I already told you! We stole some stuff from him yesterday and now he’s mad.” 

“And what did you steal?” 

Kaitou shrugged. “It was mostly food and some valuables. We took one of their guns too!” 

“How many of you guys are there?” Chuuya asked, his heart tugging at the idea of children in a similar position to the kids from the Sheep. Isn’t this world supposed to be better, with the structure of heroes who protect the people who cannot protect themselves. 

This is why Chuuya doesn’t believe in the existence of heroes, even if he came face to face with one in this universe. There’s no such thing as a hero. 

“Oh uh,” Kaitou started, seemingly surprised by the question and sincerity in Chuuya’s eyes. “Me included, we have eight members.”

Chuuya bit the inside of his cheek. “How old are you?”

“Thirteen. How old are you?”

Chuuya sighed, assuming it was only fair that the kid would ask him questions too. He hesitated before he answered, realizing that stupid ability de-aged him. “…I’m fifteen.”

“That’s a year older than Akane!”

“And Akane is..?” Chuuya prompted, though he assumed that Akane was one of his friends. 

“Oh!” Kaitou perked up even further, “Akane’s our oldest member so she’s basically the self-appointed leader. She’s pretty cool, but she can be sooo naggy.” 

Chuuya nodded in understanding, though he didn’t like where the information was taking his brain, so instead he turned his attention back to the man who attacked a kid in retaliation. 

“Does Kojima bother you guys a lot?” Chuuya asked

Kaitou shrugged, “Kinda, but we always bother him back so…”

A never-ending chain of events. 

Just like the gangs of Suribachi City and the Sheep. 

Chuuya grimaced, that cycle sounds good in theory but Chuuya knows it gets tiring and burns you out real fast. Kaitou seemed like a good kid, regardless of the fact that he tried to rob Chuuya. Any kid in his position would do the same. 

“Hey! I have an idea! And a question!” Kaitou blurted out, he had so much energy. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Are you an orphan?” 

Chuuya blinked, not expecting the question to be so blunt. 

Was he an orphan?

Technically? No.

But it’s not like he has parents either. 

And he definitely doesn’t have any parents here. 

So, Chuuya answered as honestly as he could, “Yeah, I am.” 

Kaitou nodded like he expected that to be Chuuya’s answer before moving on to whatever idea he had. “You should come with me and meet my friends! If you’re an orphan then you’ll fit right in and your quirk is so powerful so you could protect us!” 

Chuuya paused, blinking. That last part sounded a little bit too much like a certain time of his life he doesn’t like to think about, but Kaitou’s face looked so excited. 

Chuuya found he didn’t really want to crush this kid's dreams, but It’s not like he could actually go and live with them even if he wanted to. He’s not from here and he and Dazai are going to get home as soon as possible. 

“Thanks Kaitou, but I’m living with a friend right now.” 

At his words Kaitou’s face fell ever so slightly and Chuuya couldn't help but feel a little bad, but the sun was starting to set which meant that Chuuya would have to meet back up with Dazai soon. He really should leave now before he gets the kid’s hopes up. And yet with one look at Kaitou’s face, Chuuya spoke before he could stop himself. “You can still take me to meet them though. You said your friend got stabbed right? I can at least take a look.” 

That made Kaitou’s face light back up, and he looked excited once more and Chuuya couldn’t help but smile to match his enthusiasm. “Okay! That’s fine too! We’re staying over there!” 

Chuuya’s gaze followed Kaitou’s arm as he pointed towards a rundown apartment building not too far from where they stood. 

Chuuya nodded before activating his ability and grabbing Kaitou’s hand. He slowly lowered the two of them down onto the ground, taking extra care to make sure Kaitou didn’t fall too quickly. 

Once they reached the ground Kaitou started leading them in the direction of their base. Chuuya didn’t say much, but Kaitou seemed happy to fill that silence as they made their way. 

“So what is your quirk exactly?” 

“Gravity manipulation.” 

Kaitou’s eyes shined. “That’s so cool!” 

“It’s not all that,” Chuuya said, a little uncomfortable with the awed look in this kid’s eyes. 

“No, it definitely is all that! What’s it called?” 

Chuuya shrugged, not knowing how to respond. His ability was called Upon The Tainted Sorrow, but something told Chuuya quirks aren’t called names as such. 

“It doesn’t have a name.” 

Kaitou paused his in step, looking at Chuuya like he’d grown an extra head. 

“What?” Chuuya asked, unsure what the big deal was. 

“Every quirk has a name!” Kaitou insisted. “Even if you didn’t get it officially named, naming your own quirk is part of the fun!” 

“Oh, well I guess I never thought about it,” Chuuya said, trying to play it off. 

“You have such a cool quirk, you have to name it!” 

Chuuya really had no idea of what to call his ability in this “quirk” version of itself. 

“Well what’s your quirk?” Chuuya asked. For inspiration purposes, but also because he was mainly curious. 

“Oh it’s kinda lame. It lets me see in the dark. Hiroshi named it Night Vision,” Kaitou said, seemingly embarrassed by his quirk’s function, but Chuuya didn’t agree with Kaitou’s assessment one bit. 

Night Vision could be extremely helpful, so whoever made this kid think that had something else coming for them. 

“That’s not lame, kid. It sounds really useful.” 

“You don’t have to say that, but thanks,” Kaitou answered, sheepishly. 

Chuuya shook his head. “I’m serious, people I know would kill for an ability like that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So I don’t wanna hear that from you, got it?” 

Kaitou nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Got it.” 

“Now c’mon, how far are we?” Chuuya asked, prompting the boy to continue their venture to his friends. 

“Oh yeah, over there.”

Kaitou opened the door with ease and yelled out, “I’m back! And I have a guest!” 

Suddenly two other kids, a girl and a boy, appeared around the corner. Their base was a rundown apartment on the first floor of the complex. The first thing Chuuya truly noticed was that it was dirty. Not somewhere kids should be living, but they were clearly doing the best they could. 

“Kai, who’s that?” One of the kids asked, as an older girl also walked in, giving Chuuya a look before settling her gaze on Kaitou. 

“This is Chuuya. He threw a rock through Kojima.” 

The older girl must be Akane and if she really was the self-appointed leader then the look she was giving Chuuya was completely warranted. 

“And why is he here?” Akane asked, crossing her arms. She had light purple hair and dark purple eyes, it was an interesting look that Chuuya assumed was all natural. 

“He saved my life and he’s an orphan too!” Kaitou said a little too cheerily for admitting something as depressing as that. 

“You don’t have parents either?” the young girl asked, she had to be at least five. 

Chuuya nodded his head. “Yep, but that’s not important.” 

“Are you going to stay with us?” This time it was the young boy who asked. 

“No, Chuuya’s staying with a friend, but I wanted you guys to meet him and he’s gonna help Hiro.” 

Chuuya nodded, confirming what Kaitou said. 

“Kaitou, you can’t bring random people here,” Akane scolded. 

“He’s not a random person, he saved my life and he’s been really nice to me!” 

Chuuya’s heart made an unwelcome feeling that Chuuya promptly decided to ignore. Just check the kid’s wound and then leave, don’t get attached to some random children—the rational part of his brain supplied.  

“Well if you saved Kai’s life then I like you!” the young girl declared, stepping towards Chuuya. 

“Miki, stop,” Akane said, pulling the girl—Miki—back. She looked at Chuuya, debating something in her head. 

“Look, I can leave if you want me too. I really don’t mind, but Kaitou insisted, so here I am.” 

This time the little boy timidly spoke up. “Um… sorry, but Kai mentioned Hiri’s injury..? ‘Cause uh—”

“Wait—did it get worse?” Kaitou suddenly asked, looking the little boy right in the eyes. There was an intensity there and his demeanor had shifted. Kaitou must be close with Hiroshi. He cares—a lot. 

“He says he’s fine, but Hiri is a liar. It was all red.”

Kaitou suddenly whipped his head over towards Chuuya, his eyes pleading. “You said you can help him?” 

“I can take a look.” Chuuya placated. He didn’t want to promise something he couldn’t live up to in the chance that something really was wrong with the kid. 

The little boy looked at Akane. “Can he at least help Hiri before you try to make him leave?” 

Akane thought it over for a moment, clearly judging Chuuya immensely, but the pros seemed to outweigh the cons and Kaitou was staring at her with dark eyes, so she relented. “Fine. You can help Hiroshi, and if you don’t mess that up then you can stay.” 

Chuuya and Kaitou both nodded. Chuuya just met the kid yet it was weird to see him so serious. He grabbed Chuuya’s arm and pulled him to a different room. It was too quickly for Chuuya to clearly tell, but they passed by a couple other kids on their way who looked at Chuuya curiously. 

“Hiro, I brought someone to help you!” 

This Hiroshi person was sitting on a bed with a rundown book in his hand. He looked to be the same age as Kaitou which explained why the two seem to be so close. 

“Kai, who’s that?” 

“This is Chuuya. He saved my life and now he’s going to help yours.”  

Hiroshi paused at Kaitou’s words. “Saved your life..? What happened?” he demanded. 

He didn’t look to be in too bad of a shape, but neither does Dazai, so Chuuya knows better than to judge at first glance. 

“Oh, it was just Kojima, don’t worry. Chuuya shot a rock through his stomach so he’ll be out of the game for a while.” 

Hiroshi seemed confused at that statement, though at which part Chuuya didn’t know. So instead Chuuya stepped in, deciding to break whatever…tension was starting to arise. “Kaitou and some other kid said you were stabbed?”

The boy nodded and Chuuya nodded back. 

“Kei said it’s worse than it was this morning,” Kaitou interjected, giving Hiroshi a look. 

The boy shrugged. “It’s not that bad, he’s exaggerating again,”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m serious Kai.”

“Nope, Chuuya will be the judge of that!”  

Chuuya cleared his throat, trying to get their attention. God, is that how he and Dazai sound? “I’ve been stabbed a couple hundred times so I have some experience. Mind if I take a look?” 

“Oh,” Hiroshi said somewhat awkwardly, like he forgot Chuuya was there, “Uh…sure, yeah.” 

Chuuya spent some time inspecting the wound and deduced that it was definitely infected but Chuuya didn’t have anything to treat it with on him. 

Kaitou hovered the whole time while Hiroshi continued to insist that he was fine. 

It was a sight Chuuya was no longer used to seeing this closely. 

Kaitou had gone around to gather their current supplies and well; there was a lot to be desired. 

He ended up using water to clean the wound and bandaged the poor boy up the best he could with promises of going out to get better supplies. 

He bandaged up Kaitou’s wound as well. Luckily it didn’t seem too bad, the bullet really did just graze the kid. 

Chuuya turned to Kaitou who was whispering something softly to Hiroshi. “Hey, is anyone else injured?”

The boys snapped their heads at Chuuya as if they forgot he was standing right there, again. Chuuya held back the urge to laugh, they seemed so close it was almost cute. 

Hiroshi regained his composure the quickest, answering Chuuya’s question, “A couple of them have more shallow cuts and then of course the usual scrapes and stuff.” 

Chuuya nodded, thinking over all the products he’d need to steal. 

Getting stuck in another dimension and then becoming the nurse for a bunch of kids had not been in his plans, but he’s decided it was better than walking around, finding nothing. 

Chuuya checked his slowly dying phone, his data was offline but it still told the time accurately and revealed that the sun had definitely gone down and his time away from his counterpart was up. 

He had to go meet Dazai about the broker. 

Shit, Chuuya still had nothing to show for it and Dazai will definitely shit on him because of that. 

Whatever, at least he wasn’t bored anymore.  

Chuuya refocused his attention on the two. “Okay, well I have to go meet up with that…friend of mine. I’ll be back with better supplies soon though.” 

“You really don’t have to go through all this trouble,” Hiroshi said, quietly. “You don’t have to spend your money on us.”

“Oh that’s not—” Chuuya started before getting painfully cut off. 

“—Hiro, don't be stupid he’s obviously going to steal it all!” Kaitou proclaimed like it was common knowledge. 

Hiroshi’s mouth made a small ‘o’ shape in sudden understanding. “Oh. That makes more sense I guess. I just assumed since you’re wearing a suit and all that.” 

Chuuya blinked before stupidly looking down at what he was wearing, which was obviously what he’d arrived in. He’d gotten the outfit recently after Kouyou told him he needed to start looking more professional after his promotion. 

It was an open black suit jacket and pants, a “cream” vest, red button up, and a black tie that was pulled pretty loose. 

It did make him look rich, Chuuya supposes, which was the whole point. Only now, he has no money. 

“Yeah, I don’t have that kind of cash. Considering I met Kaitou because he tried to rob me, I’d assume you don’t have any serious qualms about me stealing shit either?” 

Both of the boys shook their heads and Chuuya nodded. 

“Great, well I’ll be going then.”

“You’ll be back though?” Kaitou asked, hope gleaming through his eyes. 

Chuuya took a breath before nodding. He’ll have to ditch them eventually, but he said he’d get their supplies and damn him if he doesn’t. 

“I said I’d be back, didn’t I?” 

Kaitou’s eyes shined as he nodded. 

Before he was able to slip away though, the same young boy from before approached him.  

“Mr. Chuuya?” he asked, timid, but brave for approaching on his own. 

“Just Chuuya’s fine.” 

“Sorry. Are you leaving?”

Chuuya took a deep breath, steadying himself. He really wants to pretend he doesn’t understand why these kids keep double checking if he’s coming back. 

Chuuya bent down to the kid’s level, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. “I was going to head out and get some medical supplies for you all.” 

“So you’re going to come back?” 

Chuuya had no idea what he was thinking, he had come over to this area on a totally different mission, and now multiple kids look like they’d cry if he said he wasn’t coming back.  

He might be in a little over his head. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” Chuuya asked instead. 

“Keitaro, but everyone calls me Kei.” 

“Do you want me to call you Kei?”

Kei nodded. 

“Okay, well, I’ll be back soon Kei.”

For the first time since his arrival in this world, Chuuya felt somewhat at home. 

No—that’s not right, it wasn’t home, because obviously he wasn’t at home, but walking the streets of Yokohama at night brought the sense of familiarity that he needed. 

There were sirens going off and finally some sketchy people lurking around. And even though there were also “heroes” all around, it felt the closest to home so far. 

Dazai hadn’t actually said where to meet, because of course he didn’t, but regardless it only took Chuuya a few tries to find him. 

He was sitting at the same park Chuuya had been earlier, eyes glued to his new phone. 

“Oi! Asshole!” Chuuya called, approaching. 

“About time, slug,” Dazai drawled, not bothering to look up from his device. 

Chuuua plopped down next to him, elbowing Dazai in the side which finally made the boy look up. He gave Chuuya a blank expression before swiftly changing topics. “So, what has Chuuya found?” 

Chuuya hesitated, unsure how to go about the topic with an asshole like Dazai. He definitely wouldn’t understand why Chuuya would make such a promise with children he hadn’t even known for a full 24 hours. 

Dazai raised an eyebrow at Chuuya’s hesitation, prompting him to go on. 

Chuuya sighed. “I may have gotten a little distracted.” 

“Chuuya always gets distracted,” Dazai said as if he’d expected it. Knowing Dazai, he probably had. 

“This kid tried to steal my phone—”

“—Chibi, don’t tell me you beat up a random kid!” Dazai teased, earning another jab to the side. 

“I did not! Anyways, some guy started shooting at the kid so obviously I got him away, but then the kid wanted me to meet his friends but, Dazai,” Chuuya said, looking him right in the eye. “There’s a whole group of orphans living in an area without a single hero. I mean what’s the point of heroes if they’re not even going to help the kids who need it?”

Dazai didn’t react because of course he didn’t, and instead opted for, “When did Chuuya get so soft?” 

“Shut up, this isn’t about that. How many hero posters did you pass by today? We’ve only been here for a day and I’ve seen enough propaganda to last me a lifetime, and yet they can’t station those heroes in the poor part of town? It’s bullshit.” 

Dazai sighed like everything Chuuya just said wasn’t a serious topic, like children getting shot at and stabbed was completely normal. Like dealing with Chuuya was just another problem in their way. 

And Chuuya knows that for the two of them, getting shot at and stabbed is completely normal and has been since they both were younger. But this hero business means that it shouldn't be normalized. They’re not in fucking Suribachi City. 

“Chuuya.” Dazai said, snapping Chuuya out of his mind. Chuuya didn’t say anything and Dazai sighed once again. “Chuuya, there is nothing we can do about that. Stop being so soft and start thinking about what’s actually important.” 

“Asshole,” Chuuya mumbled, but dropped it. Of course he will be returning with the supplies but Dazai’s right, getting home takes priority. 

“Now! Looks like I’ve done all the work once again!” Dazai exaggerated, making Chuuya roll his eyes. 

“You found a broker?”  

“I used my supreme eavesdropping to hear that there’s a man called Giran who at least deals in smuggling. Finding him will probably be our best shot at atleast finding a broker if he knows nothing himself.” 

“How are we supposed to find this Giran?” 

“His people are picking up a shipment later tonight and tomorrow morning, we’ll catch them either of those times.” 

This was probably a good time to mention he has a commitment with the aforementioned children. “Okay, well that’s good, but I may have promised the kids I’d be back with medical supplies tonight.” 

Dazai stared at Chuuya blankly. 

“Look, one of them has a horribly infected stab wound and the others have cuts and scrapes.” 

“Don’t tell me Chuuya cares?

“Asshole,” Chuuya muttered. “It’s not about that.”

“Then, what, pray tell, is it about, Chuuya?” 

“Forget it. I’m gonna go steal shit now. We’ll crash that shipment tomorrow morning,” Chuuya decided, standing up. He faced his partner and looked him straight in the eye. “Now, you coming or no?” 

Dazai sighed, loud and dramatic, but stood up beside Chuuya. “Fine, but don’t blame me if we miss the shipment because you’re too busy playing house.” 

Chuuya didn't respond to him, only starting on his way to the pharmacy he’d scooped out on his way over to Dazai. 

He’s helping these damn kids, whether Dazai approves or not.