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Chuuya sat in his office, he had just returned from a mission in France earlier that day, it was originally estimated to last 6 months. However, it had been cut quite short at the 2 month mark due to Mori requesting his assistance with some other assignment, which he would be sent on early the next morning.
He had been filling out paper work for the past 2 hours, sleep deprived and jet lagged. Handing the mission off to his subordinates was currently his top priority, therefor, details of the current progress needed to be recorded.
Surprisingly he hadn’t heard from Dazai. Usually after a long mission, like the one he was just on, Dazai would immediately corner him and harass him about the current going-ons of the port mafia. Whether that was how pathetic some of his subordinates had been or what missions he had been on while Chuuya was gone. The last few times it had also been what Dazai’s friends, Oda and Ango had been up to.
But surprisingly, his office was currently empty, rid of any talkative mackerels.
However, that turned out to not be accurate for long, because suddenly his doors flew open, and in walked a very panicked? Dazai. Chuuya raised an eyebrow at the sight “What’s up with you today?”.
Dazai slammed his hands onto the desk, Chuuya considered scolding the younger for doing so but ended up opting to just give him a judgemental look out of tiredness.
Dazai stared into Chuuya’s soul for a second before blinking.
He spoke quietly, loud enough so only Chuuya could hear, despite the room being empty “I’m leaving the mafia.”
Chuuya’s face froze in shock before giving Dazai an annoyed “you can’t just leave!”.
Dazai for once looked nervous, or scared, Chuuya couldn’t really tell. He glanced to the side before focusing his sight back on Chuuya “Odasaku and his orphans are dead because of Mori, and Ango betrayed the organisation. Please Chuuya, just leave with me.”
Chuuya’s face made Dazai pause, he looked adamant that Dazai shouldn’t leave. His eyebrows were furrowed to show unyielding determination to stop him.
Dazai took a breath to calm himself down and then spoke “I’ve already lost to much in the last month. Oda-“ his voice cracked, his resolve to stay strong already breaking “-Saku told me to leave the mafia and be someone who protects people, to step into the light” he paused leaning back from the table “that was his last wish. And I-“ “I can’t do that without you chuuya”.
Chuuya’s determination seemed to slowly fizzle out as Dazai spoke, leaving him in the position of now looking away from Dazai’s eyes. He was ashamed to do so but he hated seeing that look.
He reluctantly looked back up and met those grieving brown eyes.
He took a breath “alright, I’ll go with you.”
——-
They ended up leaving shortly after due to chuuya’s mission the next day.
A coat now lay in the dancing flames that faced them, burnt into pieces to disappear forever. It was now a representation of what once was.
Chuuya watched Dazai’s cold stare towards the pile. His determination from earlier slowly leaving him. Dazai didn’t have a plan for once, the next few years would be a complete mystery to the both of them. It seemed to frighten him.
As the flames and silence continued Chuuya grabbed the black hat with the brown ribbon off of his head and looked into it.
___
3 years prior
The room that he stood in was long and empty. The type of room that demanded constant presence from the person sitting in the center.
Mori Ogai, boss of the port mafia stared into the Yokohama sky line, it was a bright day. Bird chirping. Sun rays hitting every surface.
Chuuya was 15 again.
He held a hat in his hands.
Seconds passed and he decided to voice his confusion.
“What’s up with this hat?”
Mori didn’t move “it’s tradition in the port mafia, that the person who recruits a new member is responsible for their wellbeing.”
He looked to Chuuya and continued “to symbolise that, they hand down one of their belongings. In Dazai’s case I gave him my old coat, for you it’s that hat.”
Chuuya processed Mori’s explanation and then examined the hat more closely “it’s seen better days” he commented before listening to what Mori had to say again.
——
It had in fact seen much better days, the hat was old.
Chuuya recalled a detail, he turned it up to see the inside of it, written was ‘Rimbaud’ the name of an ex port mafia member. Chuuya looked to the other side of the inner ‘Nakahara’ was written, Chuuya had put it there after Mori had gifted it to him. He resembled Arthur Rimbaud in the fact that he was now also an ex port mafia member. No longer part of the fold.
The flames continued to dance, welcoming his thoughts in, Chuuya gave one last spin of the hat before throwing it into the raging fire.
The day he had received that hat was the day he had proffesed his undying devotion to the port mafia.
That devotion now died, along with the hat.
The fire welcomed it in.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Dazai turning to him in surprise, his normal energy seeming to come back for a moment “The slug is getting rid of his tacky hat?!” “I never thought I would see the day!”
Chuuya scowled in response, as he look to Dazai he hesitated noticing how tired he was. He wore a smug expression that didn’t even look real to him, after a pause Chuuya realised how long they had been standing there. He sighed and quipped back. “Shut up. Let’s go before anyone finds us. Mori would kill you if he found out you burnt your coat.”
“It was ugly anyways” Dazai commented in response.
The shorter sighed in annoyance, clearly already regretting his decisions “It’s a black coat! How can it be ugly? It’s plain Dazai. PLAIN.”
Dazai reached into his pocket and took out his lighter, he clicked it on and off watching the flames flicker, intrusive thoughts swirled around his head, he ended up voicing them “what if we burned down the mafia.”
Chuuya snapped back with a simple “shut up.”
Silence followed as Dazai listened to Chuuya’s instructions before he quickly went back on that decision and spoke again in a quieter tone
“Yknow’ if you didn’t accept my request I would have planted a bomb under your car.”
Chuuya turned to look at him in irritation and then proceeded to punch him square in the nose leaving Dazai whining in pain.