Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

———

Chuuya ‘Chibikko’ Nakahara was many things, depending on those you ask. And not one of them deserved him to suffer within his literature class for the foreseeable future with a wannabe emo boy.

He was a loyal friend to those he cared deeply about, often to the point of defending them in ways that probably went against many of the rules of the damned school he was forced to attend thanks to his stupid but surprisingly lovable foster family.

He was often declared as ‘troublesome’ by his various teachers thanks to his acts of rebelling against the, frankly, useless rules that more often than not specifically targeted him. And, when the name Chuuya Nakahara was heard, it was never long before it was followed by his various feats and victories in his football team

… alongside remarks about his lack of…

Ahem… vertical structure.

Regardless, It was safe to say that Chuuya was well-known throughout the school, whether for good or for bad.

And that blew up in his face as he stared at the back of the dingy, weirdly built, literature classroom that he was forced to spend his Thursday afternoon in, glaring at the boy in utter horror who had simply slumped over his desk in response to the teacher’s demands.

It seemed that he had, somewhat, annoyed his teacher, Hirotsu-san, enough for him to react with some sort of revenge upon his recent stunt of claiming that learning about Dostoevsky was a ‘waste of time’ and ‘a fucking travesty of an author.’

After all, the man had a hidden, but clearly still visible, smile on his face as he called out Chuuya’s name, paired with… well, whoever his partner was. Dazai… whatever!

He was clearly benevolent enough to let Shirase and Yuan pair up together! And they were caught making out in his classroom during lunch last week.

Chuuya learnt of this information the hard way.

So, ultimately, Chuuya knew it was his personal, sadistic choice of making him suffer. Perhaps, he thought to himself to prevent him from jumping his teacher, that it was some sort of weird attempt of getting his grade up. Then again… even the people worse off than him were paired with their friends, so this had to be personal.

He was the one forced to partner up with Dazai, the infamous boy that nobody knew anything about, for a pointless literature assignment that would most likely do nothing to save his already failing grade.
———

Dazai had zoned out the minute Hirotsu-san revealed it was group project. He was, after all, used to working alone despite attempts at getting him to work with others.

They would simply refuse to even sit near him. And if they would, the bullying got so bad it was just easier to allow the boy to work alone. He could work just as well, if not better, than two people.

Dazai spent half of his time anyway sitting at an empty desk, busy thinking and plotting rather than paying attention in class. Often, it was to the point where he would not even bother to bring in a pen or a piece of paper to write down notes. Yet he still somehow ended up dominating the rest of class with his test scores, accompanied only by comments by several of his teachers wishing for him to participate more.

It was clear to others that he lacked passion for most things, including himself and his appearance, as his uniform hung off his skinny frame, and what skin was shown was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, spanning across areas not even seen by others from fear that it might one day be revealed, to his right eye.

‘Perhaps he was just clumsy’ was the main reason teachers never questioned him. That, or they simply had no reason to care.

He was, after all, known to spend most of his time hidden away from the school, either seeking refuge in the career advisor’s office or the infirmary, rather than hanging out in the cafeteria with the others, even avoiding the other ‘geniuses’ within the school. Ones that could ‘relate to him.’

So, knowing that he had to waste energy getting to speak to yet another person who would insult him, he simply stared at his desk in silence.

———

With the Gods cursing his teacher’s very name, alongside the rest of the class’s whispers upon releasing that Dazai would be forced to interact with somebody for the first time, Chuuya scowled and stomped over to his desk, yanking a nearby chair to sit on, before slamming down next to the boy who had still not looked up at him since hearing that it was indeed a group project.

“Oi Dazai? That’s your shitty name, right?”

The boy didn’t answer, his mind lost elsewhere. Chuuya grumbled something in response to the latent act of ignorance to him, most likely a few curses, before kicking the back of his chair, causing Dazai to slowly glance up at him with a frown.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Don’t you ignore me, dammit! You may be smart but don’t you even think that you aren’t doing anything for this project.”

Dazai simply let out a small hum in response to the threat, clearly not intimidated by Chuuya’s rough personality, before raising a thin eyebrow at him.

“Oh? And who exactly are you supposed to be? I didn’t realise that I had to partner up with a toddler.”

———
And thus, instead of leaving with a new friend and a desire to pass his literatures exams, Chuuya left his classroom with a bloodied hand, the yells of his teacher behind him with the threat of yet another suspension, and the now broken nose of that broken boy sat at the back of the classroom.

Clearly it could not get worse than this.

Chapter Text

———
Yeah, Chuuya had admittedly gotten his hopes up about this project.

Despite the… poor introduction to each other, including a not so thorough scolding by Verlaine, the two had managed to somehow calm down and actually do the work required.

By which I mean, Dazai ran away and Chuuya just stared at his friends in jealousy.

…

Dazai simply didn’t show up to class on days when the two were forced to focus on the project, which wasn’t entirely new, he would often just walk into a lesson for his attendance mark before running elsewhere. Regardless, him not showing up left Chuuya to effectively do nothing for the new few hours as his writing was, utterly, atrocious and he had a feeling that Dazai wouldn’t be very happy if he received a harsh score.

Neither would Verlaine, but who cares about him? This is about Chuuya and his useless partner who doesn’t understand what teamwork is against the threat of yet another bad grade.

It was clearly personal. He would show up for most of the lesson, clearly wanting to do anything else, before leaving upon hearing the first mention of the assignment from Hirotsu-san, most likely seeking a way to avoid Chuuya and his temper. It would be annoying, especially as the ginger was forced to do good on this essay, if it wasn’t for Dazai being able to easily predict when they’d have time to do the work.

It was weirdly impressive watching him not show up on random days, only for Hirotsu-san to give the class a measly few minutes to work on it once done with the days tasks.

He really was smart, wasn’t he? Like some sort of child prodigy or whatever.

It definitely didn’t make Chuuya jealous.

Since Chuuya was unable to work, and Dazai had only made a single comment before Chuuya’s punch, it was clear that he had no way to even start the project, much less work on it. It got to the point where Chuuya begged his friends to help him, only for Albatross, one of the upperclassmen he had befriended, gave him the most ludicrous advice ever for his essay.

Even worse, he then unhelpfully claimed that Hirotsu-san would punish him if he found out that he so much as took inspiration from his bizarre previous assignment.

I mean it’s not like he would’ve done good either way considering how Albatross barely passed the class. His essay mentioning how Dosteovesky didn’t even exist and thus he should get extra credit for figuring out the truth was the dumbest thing Chuuya ever heard.

So Chuuya was fucked either way.

Though, to be fair, Dazai definitely started it with his smart-ass comments, so he deserved it. It was a bit of a surprise to hear such a quiet boy actually tease him, but ultimately Chuuya doesn’t feel bad about his reaction.

He doesn’t.

———

Dazai had been camping out at the Career Advisor’s office for the past few days, whining on and on to his beloved teacher about the ‘annoying dog’ he was forced to partner up with.

The advisor, a man who Dazai affectionately nicknamed ‘Odasaku,’ was one of the only people he could trust. He was a kind man, with eyes that sparkled in the light, compared to Dazai’s own black orbs. He was the gentle giant sort - tall and slightly intimidating at first sight but always willing to help, even the first years like Atsushi who burst into tears upon seeing the man for the first time.

Dazai wished he recorded it.

Regardless, it was always a surprise for Oda to hear Dazai actually act like a child for once, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Usually the boy sat in silence for the hour picking at his bandages. If he wasn’t doing that, he was staring up at Oda with big wet eyes, almost like a kitten seeking affection but too scared to actually ask. Sessions with Dazai often ended up being seen as ‘questionable’ about the dynamics between teacher and student, as if the school really wasn’t used to teachers caring about their students, but as long as it got Dazai in they were content enough to allow it.

Regardless, after the fifth time of seeing Dazai, as well as yet another complaint about the ginger boy who was ‘built like odasaku but dreadfully wrong’ he was forced to do the responsible thing.

Something that Dazai would absolutely hate.

“Dazai… don’t you think you’re being a bit unfair to Nakahara here?”

The boy let out a small hmph in response before burying his head in his arms. Oda sighed, clearly too tired to deal with another of Dazai’s fits, before attempting again

“You know, Nakahara is struggling right now. I think you’d be a good influence on him.”

A slight shift.

“How about you go back to class, and if you don’t like it, I’ll ask Hirotsu-san to allow you to work alone.”

———

This was a mistake.

Another huge fucking mistake to add onto the mistake known as Osamu Dazai until the day he dies.

But unfortunately he’s not dead yet, despite however much he tries, and so he’s forced to confront Chuuya.

You see, in order to make up for lost time, instead of working in the ‘safe’ classroom, the gods had decided to torture him today, and he was asked to work with Chuuya whenever the two were free.

Although that expectation was there when the project started, Dazai knew he could do it during the lessons dedicated to planning and writing, so he was at least spared from some sort of interaction with his partner, especially since he was no longer allowed to work on his own.

But meeting up with someone? In his own clothing, at his own home? It was too much to handle. Too much to prepare.

And it was almost too much to handle when slinking over to the table with the ginger boy that was overfilled with his friends, gaping and whispering upon witnessing the mess that was Dazai. Like he was some exotic animal at a zoo.

Like he wasn’t human.

Nevertheless, the brunette put on his mask once again, giving Chuuya and his table a small but slightly nervous smile, before thrusting out something towards him.

“Here, Chibikko!”

Dazai heard a few giggles around him, a couple of weird looks thrown his way like he was the weirdo knowing something he shouldn’t. But it wasn’t his fault for overhearing their stupid ‘friendship nicknames’ that everyone else seemed to grow out of years ago and it was quite rude to…

…

“What the actual fuck did you just call me?”

Chapter Text

———
Admittedly, that interaction with Chuuya was the worst thing Dazai had ever experienced. Even worse than when he was forced to go shopping with Yosano for some sort of outfit for a date she was going on.

Who knew how much energy it took just to simply say that an outfit was good?

Dazai was used to suffering. He was used to bouts of lethargy and horrific pains from his previous suicide attempts. But, as he often whined to others when questioned about his lack of interactions with others, at least they would fade away. Memories, on the other hand, often tended to stick around far longer than feelings.

Staring at Chuuya’s confused face surrounded by the others’ enjoyment would be etched into his memory forever, forcing him to be unable to sleep due to the sheer embarrassment of being unable to act like a proper human being.

Although… the ginger really does look an idiot. The more funny than annoying kind. Once again, Dazai wishes he could record it rather than the nightmare-inducing social interaction beforehand.

Though, if Chuuya saw him recording him, he would definitely punch him again. Maybe worse. It was rather mortifying to explain to Mori that the reason he was taken to the infirmary with an almost broken nose was due to him calling his partner a toddler, but the man seemed to laugh it off.

Regardless, his attempt to talk to the midget had failed, and Odasaku would definitely hear all about it.

God why is talking to people so hard?

———

Chuuya felt like an idiot.

When he first saw Dazai walk up to his table, he had, honestly, believed that he was going to tell him that he was working alone. That Chuuya was ultimately screwed and his teacher was jinxing his very name to hell and back.

… To be fair, Chuuya defended himself by saying that the only conversation him and Dazai ever had was him insulting him.

And then Chuuya almost broke his nose!

But again, as Chuuya continued defending himself, he knew what type of guy Dazai was the moment he opened his fucking mouth. He was one of the wealthy ones, despite looking like a drenched rat half the time, the ones who looked at others with that playboy smirk which infuriated him to no end.

But Dazai was… well, Dazai. Before he had partnered up with him, Chuuya had no idea he could be like that. He seemed more like the quiet, apathetic type.

Chuuya was wrong with that description, as always, when Dazai shoved a piece of paper containing a random string of numbers, most likely his phone number, into his hand with all the anxiousness in the world.

Hell, even Chuuya felt awkward at the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Which quickly transformed into some vile mixture of horror annd anger, upon hearing the brunette call him ‘Chibikko.’ Like he was his friend.

Like he was actually someone important.

Then he immediately felt guilty.

It was such a stupid and dumb thing to get upset about, and Verlaine would be pissed again if he got in trouble. It didn’t help, however, that The Sheep were sat beside him, the ones who ever so graciously nicknamed him ‘Chibikko.’

They were extremely territorial about people they considered their friend, including Chuuya who had somehow managed to charm his way to the top of the friendship group as the friend that everyone looked up to. And they weren’t exactly willing to allow newcomers into their group.

He still didn’t know much about Dazai - only that he keeps to himself and isn’t that well-liked, so it wasn’t a shock when the sheep immediately retailed to his visit with their secret weapons. Whispers and stares.

Shirase was about to speak up, clearly creeped out by Dazai’s knowledge of Chuuya’s nickname, before he intervened, snatching the paper from him and quickly shoving it in his pocket.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I haven’t started yet so you better actually contribute to it, bastard.”

Dazai simply nodded in response, seemingly content with the smaller boy’s reaction, before heading elsewhere upon deeming that the conversation was done, most likely planning on hiding away again.

———

The rest of lunch was a blur of misunderstandings from the loud table.

Seriously, was it so hard to believe that Chuuya was FORCED to partner up with him? Especially since Yuan and Shirase were in his class and knew that he had no autonomy?

He loved The Sheep to death, but they can be massive idiots at times.

Especially since they were assuming that Dazai was now friends with Chuuya considering he used a nickname?

…

It’s not his fault the lanky bastard apparently listens into peoples conversations like a stalker.

Regardless, he now had to deal with the false accusations. Though, if there was one good thing about this situation, which Chuuya severely doubts, it would be that he finally got to hear more about his partner.

The only trouble with it, is that they were a bunch of rumours that were probably slandering the poor guys name. But rumours often had some sort of semblance to truth about them, and Chuuya was intrigued enough to learn more.

Utterly useless things that could in no way hold a conversation, but it was something nonetheless.

He learnt that Dazai was somehow related to the nurse in the infirmary, but denied it to other people. He apparently had a slew of different problems, both mentally and physically, that gave him special privileges, which explains why he was always allowed to work alone, but upon Mori-san’s insistence they were to be slowly stripped away until he was ‘normal again.’

…

Chuuya was just hoping that Mori-san knew what he was doing with Dazai, because it sounded awful to hear. Though, he was a nurse, and presumably had his best interests at heart, it still sounded… slightly off.

Though, the most important thing about Dazai learnt so far was the fact that apparently his favourite number was three, according to Albatross, who just so happened to stop by at their table for a few minutes before being chased out of their by Higuchi-san upon being caught skipping his history class, and coincidentally happened to sit next to him in maths.

…

Seriously, what weirdo has a favourite number?

All-in-all, nothing was found that was actually useful enough to help him ensure that Dazai would do his work.

Chuuya was already regretting this. And if he had already mentioned how he regretted this, then it had surely been multiplied by 1000 by this point.

———
???: meet at cafe near school tmr

???: im not havin u mess with my house
———

Ah, the pains of social interaction!

The curse of finding the acceptable response at an allowable time.

Truly, social media was a horror; a disease that made people feel entitled with a response. A burden on relationships that ultimately lead to their demise.

…

Is what Dazai whined to Mori upon being given a phone for Christmas.

The man simply laughed and forced him to use it. So what better waste than with a stupid project that needed doing?

Dazai simply responded to the message with a simple thumbs up, allowing his unheard words to not be messed with unintentional inferences, before switching off his phone and lamenting all of his past failures.

Chapter Text

———

It was a beautiful morning in Yokohama, the city well-known for its dazzling ports, its welcoming atmosphere and its love for all of the citizens who spend their days living here.

The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming. Even the air was lighter than usual; full of laughter and joy, a celebration from the people earlier beat down by the harsh constraints of work.

One who dabbled in poetry, a normal pastime for the average youth studying here, could almost say it was a perfect time to be alive, free from the cold and damp upon the first sight of the warming spring.

Truly, nothing could go wrong on such a perfect day.

…

Unless, of course, your name just so happened to be Osamu Dazai whose life was stuffed with as much troubles and tribulations as possible.

A boy you could describe as being cursed by whoever looked down from above.

It was hard to get up out of the comfort of his blankets, a normal occurrence for him, but especially burdened by the idea of him facing not only the expectation of work on a weekday, but also Chuuya as an attempt to get back on track with the project that they had both been putting off.

Ultimately, he knew that he had no autonomy in the matter, as Mori would force him to go regardless of his schemes, but the idea of messing with the man in order to entertain the idea of missing the ‘study session’, as well as Chuuya, did cross his mind. After all, they both made such silly faces that it was inevitable for Dazai to tease either the boy or the man.

The trouble was, whilst Mori was oftentimes tolerant of his antics, he really didn’t want to think of the times where his patience had indeed snapped. He was already annoyed by a confrontation at his work by a former friend, something Dazai didn’t really care enough to listen to the man’s whining about, so it was essentially a suicide mission to push his luck any further.

Not even mentioning Chuuya, who would most likely respond with violence, like his earlier attempt of breaking Dazai’s nose.

(His poor nose, by the way, never got the apology from Chuuya it was entitled to, but that was an issue he could easily bring up whilst working.)

Dazai, with as much reluctance he could show Mori without getting lectured to death, sulked down the staircase, nibbling a slice of toast with fury before storming out of the house upon hearing Elise run into the kitchen with the hopes of having cake for breakfast.

His step-sister was an idiot.

———

For a boy who was well-known to be plagued with relatively bad anger issues, Chuuya had had a surprisingly pleasant morning.

Maybe it was the joy that spring had finally arrived, a reminder of his upcoming birthday. Or maybe it was just pure luck. Either way, he didn’t wake up with an urge to punt the nearest person into the moon, again, so all was good.

He had only been living with his new foster family for a few months, but so far he had had more good days than bad and he had yet to start a fight with one of his new siblings.

Progress!

Although Chuuya still felt anger and definitely annoyance towards some members of his family (mostly Verlaine), he still loved them like they were his own family.

Especially his younger siblings - the sickly, rip-off Victorian Ryunosuke and the gothic, borderline mute Gin. The Akutagawa siblings.

They both had issues, of course. Everyone here had them. Issues that they would never discuss to the others, like Chuuya, but he loved them, almost like they were his real siblings.

And he swore he’d hurt whoever ended up hurting them.

Regardless, Chuuya devoured his scrambled eggs whilst watching with a barely hidden smirk as Kaiji, one of the older boys staying here, messed with Ryunosuke by repeatedly pulling on his hair before sighing upon releasing that he had to leave in order to make it in time to meet up with Dazai.

That fucking fish-eyed, mackerel looking weirdo always ruins everything.

And so off Chuuya went, forced to spend on of his rarely perfect days with a boy who’s knows nothing other than how to ruin them.

———

The cafe they ended up studying at wasn’t one Chuuya was that familiar with.

Sure, he was the one who suggested meeting up there, mostly because he didn’t want Dazai to end up at his house, but he had never actually stopped and went in, normally just walking past it on the way to school.

It was an old-fashioned building, ironically run by an elderly couple, one where every dish was made by hand and the coffee was operated by a real machine instead of those gross packets that you could buy in bulk at the supermarket. It had a sort of cottage-core vibe, which suited the homely feel you got when walking in perfectly.

And don’t even get Chuuya started with the smells!

The raw coffee mixed with the buttery pastry in a cloud of utter joy for those who smelt it in, forcing them to buy yet another cup to drink or a snack to nibble on.

Truly it was the perfect place to sit down and study.

…

Apart from the fact that Dazai had down utterly nothing the entire time he was here.

At first, Chuuya was annoyed. Here he was, offering to waste his precious time studying with the brunette only for him to waste it. He just wanted it to be over with, to be completely honest. Especially with how relentless everyone was whilst prodding him with questions.

Until he noticed something.

It wasn’t something that noticeable at first. Dazai was merely bouncing his leg up and down at a questionable speed, almost like he was trying to annoy Chuuya.

———

“What are you doing that for?”

A pause, followed by a quiet hum from the brunette.

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“Your leg! How are we expected to work here with you bouncing it up and down constantly!?”

“… Sorry.”

Everything was wrong.

His clothes were itchy. The smells constantly assaulted his nose. And there were way too many people here, chatting loud enough to remind him of an engine.

Normally, it would be fine. He could simply run off elsewhere and wait for it to pass. Or, even better for his self-destructive tendencies, he could simply force his way through it, accompanied only by a few leg bounces and the occasional itch, and the occasional brain fog, and the-

“Hey!”

But Chuuya was here. Not anyone who knew him or at least pretended to care about his condition. But Chuuya. The guy who he was sure was talking bad about everything he had ever done in front of him to his friends.

Sweet, oblivious Chuuya.

Angry, violent Chuuya who would no doubt be rough with him if he knew.

So with another one of those plastered smiles on his face, he glanced up at Chuuya, trying not to rip his ears off his head and cry his eyes out until they fall out and wither.

“You don’t… look so good. Are you… alright?”

Dazai quickly shook his head at the sound of his concern, voiceless as a means to annoy Chuuya enough to get him to leave, rather than having talking being a horrendous effort for the already struggling boy.

In response, the red-head frowned, clearly not convinced with his act before taking the last swig of his black coffee, stretching his muscles at having been sat down for a while.

Upon being confronted by Dazai’s confused look, he snorted in amusement, picking up the empty sheet of paper in one hand and the bandaged boy’s disgustingly sweet drink in the other.

“You look like you’re about to keel over, dude. Besides… maybe you’d actually start writing something down if you weren’t constantly glancing around.”

…

Dude. He just called Dazai dude.

Realising he was caught quietly staring at Chuuya, he quickly nodded, scrambling out his seat and following Chuuya out of the chaotic mess of the cafe.

———

“Chuuya is so mean to me, forcing me to work like a dog! You’re the only one here qualified to be one, you know?”

“How about you shut the fuck up before I force you to do the sheep’s work too, you lazy shit?

“Wah!? More work!? Anything but that!”

“That’s it… I’m forcing you to do my homework as well!”

“Chuuya!!!”

———

Actually…

Maybe this project won’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

———

It had now been a few weeks since Chuuya had first come into contact with the creature known as Osamu Dazai. And truthfully?

Despite what everyone else told him when they found out that he would be partnered up with the brunette, it really wasn’t as bad as he expected.

…

Unfortunately.

Well, apart from his teasing, but he had long since accepted that it would be borderline impossible to get him to stop upon their third time hanging out.

Regardless, he could now say with complete certainty that instead of the brooding and dark boy he had expected (which he still was, but not nearly to the extent that Chuuya had first thought of when coming into contact with him), he was instead nothing more than an annoyance to him, a term that he frequently described his other friends as being, much to their amusement.

Chuuya was good at describing his friends with abstract ideas, but that was about where his expertise with the Japanese language would end.

However, whilst he eventually got tired of their antics, especially from Albatross, Dazai was… different.

Not in a good way.

Yes, he still felt like punching him upon being the main focus of his teasing, and yes, he still found some sort of amusement when watching Dazai react to one his remarks towards his actions, but…

Chuuya could very well see Dazai as capable of being one of his closest friends in the future, and perhaps even more.

Well, to be truthful, it wasn’t really a surprise to him. Ever since he had first lay eyes on Dazai, he knew that he was highly entertaining, even if he did get annoyed at his teasing at first. His attempts at being offered a chance for human connection initially came across as more annoying than not. But then… he met the taller boy outside of school, and everything changed.

Gone was the silence of a boy struggling to not only fit in with his fellow peers, but to even survive. And instead, the hidden truth of Osamu Dazai came to life and thrived under Chuuya’s attention whenever he messed with him. Oftentimes, it was hard not to laugh at him whenever he found himself in yet another catastrophe that he himself had created.

He wasn’t perfect outside of those judgment filled eyes, no, not by any means. He was still, after all, Dazai, whose very blood craved for chaos, but it fitted him in a way that wouldn’t fit others.

The best way to describe Dazai, Chuuya had noticed upon watching the boy whine about being banned from the nearby library on one of their frequent trips outside the school building, was that he was like a car crash that you couldn’t quite look away from.

…

Such a hypnotising yet sorrowful individual. One tha most people would never see.

If it was a side that only Chuuya saw, then he would gladly savour the sight of the boy smiling down at him.

At first, it had felt like he was tasked with looking after a terrible beast that he had no knowledge over, but as he started to hang out with Dazai more and more, learn more about the mysterious boy that most people would overlook, it felt like…

Almost like they were meant for the other.

They were opposites in every way imaginable and it was a wonder why they were paired together to begin with; Chuuya, an unstoppable force, partnered with Dazai, an unmovable object. But, when Chuuya saw Hirotsu-san’s face upon noticing him and Dazai working together in the back of the class, separate from the rest of the class, he could some sort of emotion on his face at their partnership.

Was it pride? For Chuuya finally putting together their differences? Or was it for Dazai, who had finally connected to someone within their literature class?

One thing they couldn’t deny is how well they worked together. Dazai poured his heart into his analysis of language, managing to not only make even Chuuya understand the deepest of the author’s intentions, but he also phrased it in a way to make it sound eloquent, like it wasn’t a student who had written it. On the other hand, Chuuya spent his time designing the slides to the best of his abilities, etching both his and Dazai’s talents to ensure that both of them would receive the best marks possible for their assignment.

Together, they matched in ways inconceivable, and it was clear to the others in the class just how well the two got along, despite their differences, and despite the clear hierarchy of the school.

After all, Chuuya was well-known and loved people whilst Dazai was forgotten and used to speaking with the few people who truly got along with him.

But, if he was the only one deemed worthy to hangout with the one boy who society had decided to be forever cast away from humanity, then no one would ever know how truly far their bond reached.

It was their little secret.

———

Yua🌸: Chibiko!!! Wanna go to the hideout like old times? We miss you!!!

… Left on Read

Yua🌸: Shitase has been extra panicky lately cuz you havent been hanging with us :(

Yua🌸: Says your out with Dazai again???

… Left on Read

Yua🌸: Where r u? Pls message me back when your free xx

———

“Hello??? Earth to Chuuya? Are you just going to stare at your phone all day? How rude!”

Chuuya glanced up from his phone, making eye contact with an annoyed, albeit exaggerated, look from Dazai before quickly turning off the device as a way to distract himself from the messages that had been collecting from the past few days by Yuan.

It was true, he was currently spending more time with Dazai than the rest of his friends (beside Albatross who always worked his way into his life) but they didn’t have long left until the project was over!

“… What? Don’t tell me you’re jealous that I’m paying attention to something that isn’t you for once?”

“Well… yeah! How else am I supposed to show Chuuya that I’m better than him at all of his favourite games if he’s too busy staring daggers into his phone? It’s not my fault that you invited me here, y’know!”

Right… he was, somewhat, in the middle of hanging out with Dazai because he, somewhat naively, felt bad for the poor guy when he mentioned having never gone to an arcade before. But only because they had finished all of their work early and Dazai would’ve simply pestered him if he was bored, that’s all!

And it would’ve been fun too.

At least, that’s what Chuuya thought until they got there and Dazai immediately started winning prizes upon prizes and was ultimately dominating the ginger. He knew that he was some sort of prodigy but it still freaked him out.

Hell, he even scored better in the games that required more strength than smarts! Chuuya didn’t even know how that was possible, considering how scrawny the boy was, until he snickered something about physics that he had drowned out.

“Yeah… well, it’s not my fault you keep on winning everything either! You’re fucking cheating, I know you are!”

“Nuh uh~”

“Yuh uh.”

“:P”

“Put your damn tongue away.”

“Slug is just jealous that I’m keeping all the prizes. Besides! Yuh uh isn’t even a real word, so I win~!!!”

“Slug??? The hell does that mean!?!? We’re not even friends!”

———

It was safe to say that, for the first time in a long while, Dazai was actually having fun whilst being out in public.

Although, maybe it had something to do with the miniature ginger that took him out, rather than Mori accompanying him places to ‘ensure that he wouldn’t manage to actually kill himself.’

…

Dazai was, admittedly, enjoying Chuuya’s presence. He was a clear breath of fresh air compared to Yosano and her weirdo friend that sometimes joined them.

Of course, he still enjoyed their company and would never refuse their invitation no matter how annoying Ranpo could be sometimes. But, Chuuya was much easier to hangout with than the nosy pair. He didn’t ask about his bandages or his relation to Mori. If anything, the scene of Chuuya helping him in the cafe without him even realising it, cemented Chuuya as one of the only people in this world who he could trust.

He had managed to win a bunch of prizes, most of which he refused to get (simply out of principle for poor Chuuya who had yet to win anything) before feeling the tiniest twinge of guilt, resorting to him shoving one of the plushies into his arms to kill it.

Osamu Dazai doesn’t feel, after all.

But… it was so worth seeing Chuuya’s face at the sudden gift, before holding it tight to his chest. It just so happened that it was a black cat, who Chuuya quickly called Adam, that he had won during one of the claw games that cluttered the outside of the place, one that he noted as looking similar to him.

…

Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t any dog teddies for him to joyfully give Chuuya but then they would’ve gotten kicked out if he retorted by hitting Dazai, and he really did like this place.

On second thought, perhaps the shorter boy purposely picked this place for that reason.

…

And he call him a slimy mackerel!

Regardless, things were going surprisingly well for the bandaged boy and his new companion. Previous trips out like this, whether Chuuya was there or not, had often ended up in some sort of disaster, to the point where Dazai never looked forward to the end of his rare days out.

Even with Chuuya inviting him out every so often, it had still ended up in some horrific catastrophes, like the aforementioned library incident that Dazai swore he would never speak of again.

All he would say about the topic is to never walk into a library screaming about how you’re pregnant with Dostoevsky’s child, ironically at the same time as a boy with the same name as him was reading one of his books.

Fyodor and the Librarian both took it in turns to beat his ass.

But today was a good day for once, with around a 0.01% chance of an ass beating, so Dazai didn’t even mind that the fact that the arcade was stuffed full of people.

Truly, with Chuuya by his side, it felt like nothing could go wrong!

———

“Chuuya picked a good place to hangout at! I’m definitely gonna give one of those plushies for Odasaku for his birthday!”

“You enjoyed it that much? Speaking of, what the hell’s the deal with you and him? I doubt it’s because you’re that interested in your future.

“I mean… for someone like me who doesn’t really plan on living long, there’s no point in me figuring out my future! Besides, Odasaku is a best guy in the world and I won’t accept any slander towards him!!! He looks after orphans, and lets me skip class!”

“Don’t say stuff like that, man. He’s just a teacher anyway.”

Dazai paused briefly at his words, sending a small frown to the boy, truly horrified by his incompetence towards the masterpiece that was Odasaku, quickly shaking his head at him before speaking up.

“See, I knew Slug wouldn’t get it! Odasaku is my bestest friend, not like you would know. I bet the only people that come up to you talking about friends are parents who mistake you for their toddler’s friends~”

A slight pause.

And then…

“The hell??? I have friends, jackass, and I’m not even that short!?”

“Oh, really~? Name one!”

“Yuan, Shirase , Albatross… hell, even my older sister. Well, we’re not really related, y’know, but we get along pretty well. Not like you and your ‘beloved Odasaku.’ Besides, you can’t be friends with a teacher, that shits weird.”

“Says the one whose best friend is their sister.”

“… I’m going to shove you into the claw machine and leave you there for a week.”

“Noooo!!!! You’re just jealous that Odasaku’s my best friend and you aren’t!”

…

“Oh? What’s that? You want to stay there for three weeks?”

“Chuuya!!!”

———

Maybe they really were friends.