Chapter Text
"How is that even possible.." Chuuya muttered in disbelief while looking at the recent port mafia documents.
"Well, that's exactly what we're trying to figure out Chuuya-kun." Mori replied, he had called him earlier that day demanding to see him in order to talk about the missing cases.
The port's missing cases.
"You see, as a successful organisation, we cannot afford to lose important members" The mafia boss sighed as he looked at the shorter male with disapproving eyes.
Right.. A lot of citizents and many of the port's soliders have been reported missing this past month. No evidence of their disappearance, no past records, nothing. Normally they would contact the ADA regarding their pact, however, they couldnt do much when their precious detective had also gone missing.
The ginger reluctantly took the folder in his hands, his eyes trembling slightly as he glanced at the list of names written on it. He could smell the ink on the paper, it had been recently printed he acknowledged.
His eyes slowly darted to the names written below the general information. They were the names of the victims of the disappearance.
He could not recognise every single person from the file, but the horrified look on his pale face said everything about which ones he did recognise.
"RECENT MISSING CASES:"
-Kouyou Ozaki, Age: 26,
last seen before disappearance: Victim was supposingly heading back to the port mafia's headquarters after a mission, recorded through ******** Mall cameras, when the footage glitched and she disappeared without a trace.
Date of disappearance: 17 days ago.
-Ranpo Edogawa, Age: 26,
Last seen before disappearance: Was investigating Kouyou's case when he supposingly slipped and vanished in thin air. "How the fuck does that even happen." Chuuya thinks to himself before quickly moving on to the next person.
Date of disappearance: 15 days ago.
-Kyouka Izumi, Age: 14,
Last seen before disappearance: Fukuzawa declared her missing after she was left unattended for 45 minutes in her room.
Date of dissapearance: 11 days ago.
-Louisa May Alcott, Age: 18,
Last seen before disappearance: Fitzgerald had gone out to buy utensils when he got a call from Miss Alcott. There was faint mumnling covered up by static when the line cut off. After that phone call Lousa's phone was laying broken on the ground, without a trace of the girl.
Date of disappearance: 9 days ago.
-Kunikida Doppo, Age: 22,
Last seen before disappearance: After Izumi's dissapearance he had become incredibly paranoid, always checking corners and speaking in a hushed voice. One day, he was so determined to find the little girl that he forgot his notebook on his desk while heading to the agency. He retreated back to retrieve it and was never seen again since.
Date of disappearance: 7 days ago.
-Akutagawa Gin, Age 19,
Last seen before disappearance: Was supposingly in one of the port mafia's safehouses with Higuchi Ichioy, recorded by the mafia's cameras, when the lights flickered and Ichiyou screamed. When the lights flickered back on, the were already gone.
Date of disappearance: Yesterday.
-Higuchi Ichiyou, Age: 20,
Last seen before disappearance: Was supposingly in one of the port mafia's safehouses with Gin Akutagawa, recorded by the mafia's cameras, when the lights flickered and she could be heard screaming, and the sound was suddenly cut off. When the lights flickered back on, the were already gone.
Date of disappearance: Yesterday.
And..
-Paul Verlaine, Age: 31
The name stood bitter on his tongue, not daring to come out nor to even acknowledge that he could be in danger.
Last seen before disappearance: Unkown.
Date of disappearance: Unkown.
"Boss, if i may ask, why does it say "unkown" in Verlaine's general information.?" Nakahara asked in a low voice, his eyes reluctantly glancing up on Mori's dissapointed face.
The boss sighed as he continued talking. "The date and place of Verlaine's dissapearance is still a mystery to us unfortunately, I mean, after all the commotion regarding the vanishing of our people, Verlaine was.." He took a deep breath, meeting Chuuya's gaze, a worried expression plastered on his face.
Chuuya, sure, he had forgiven Paul for what he did during Chuuya's teenage years, but he his name still sent shivers down his spine whenever he heard it.
Ougai continued his speech. "Left alone in the basement unguarded for a long period of time. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint the exact date of his dissapearance. As for the place, he was most likely in the basement when the incident happened, but we need concrete proof in order to document it on the file."
Unguarded.?
Since when did the port mafia leave captives, especially executives unguarded?
Something doesn't add up.
"Your duty will be to investigate the case and bring the victims back, Chuuya. We can't afford to lose any more of our men." Mori exclaimed with a vicious look on his face.
"Boss, not even the best detective in Yokahoma was able to solve the case, how am i supposed to figure it out?" The ginger asked slowly.
"Are you defying my authority, Chuuya-kun?" The boss's eyes widened in maliciousness as he looked directly into the other man's eyes.
"O-Of course not, boss." Nakaha quickly added as he bent on one knee in front of the taller man. "Im just.. Surprised that you chose me to execute this job alone."
"You won't be alone."
But who will he go with? Akutagawa will most probably be too depressed to even get out of bed and-
"Dazai-kun will assist you for this mission." With that, a smile was plastered all over his face, waiting for Chuuya's reaction.
You've got to be shitting me.
Normally we would protest, however he's alreaddy pissed the boss off so he had no choice but to comply.
"Yes boss.." Chuuya replied through gritted teeth, his mind already spiraling with ways on how to kill the bandaged bastard.
"Very well then, you will find him in this location, he already knows what is happening so you needn't spend time explaining anything to him." Mori waved him off, already walking away to the little girl drawing on the floor.
Of course Dazai is already informed.
Just my luck.
Chuuya arrived to his destination, ready to lose his shit with his former partner's bullshit when he froze mid step.
Oh hell no.
Sitting on the café's booth was Dazai and..
That weretiger.
Talking with a ginger waitress. She looked around Nakajima's age, maybe a little younger, her hair was a dark shade of bordeaux tied in two large twin braids. A dark green hair clip with a small bow on it was gently placed on the side of her head. She was hovering over Atsushi's shouldn'ter, mumbing something inaudible.
The boy was wearing just a white t-shirt with slightly ripped black jeans. He had (thankfully) gotten rid of his ugly ass tie and on the table were laying his fingerless gloves.
At least he learnt how to dress his age.
Dazai on the other hand was dressed more casually.
Chuuya felt like all the air from his lungs had been sucked out from the mere sight of Osamu, who looked like he was spacing out, probably creating a plan on how to get the missing people back.
He was wearing a black turtleneck matched with equally black pants, they looked slightly tight on him, highlighting the beautifully shaped outlines of his slim body. Even for someone as thin as Dazai, having an attractive build had never been hard for him.
Maybe if Chuuya were a girl-
Nakahara quickly pushed those toughts away, a disgusting expression forming on his face
The lack of sleep was finally catching up to him.
Yeah.. that was what it was..
He also noticed that the tall jan was wearing.. glasses? Since when did Dazai wear glasses?
The ginger could not afford being breathless again, he walked to their table in a fast rhythm when Dazai looked up and locked eyes with him, an unreadable look in his eyes as they glazed over Chuuya's irises, accidentally locking eyes.
He had always been like this. Always keeping that mysterious facade on him, never letting anyone get too close for his liking. Crushing his victims emotionally with a simple sentence. Akways oved too much, but never loving enough.
"Hmm, I think I can my sence a slimy dog over here somewhere Atsushi~" The brunette casually said as he nudged the boy beside him.
"Huh, but Im a tige-"
"There it is!" He exclaimed with fake excitement, gesturing to the angry ginger.
"Shut your damn mouth Dazai. Im not your fucking dog." Chuuya said through his teeth, taking a seat on the opposite side of the booth, directly in front of Dazai.
"W-what is Chuuya-san doing here?" Atsushi asked in a strartled tone, stopping whatever he had been doing to look at Chuuya, then to Dazai, then to Chuuya again.
"I need to speak with the bastard. 'S for a mission." Nakajara replied. Sliding the folder in front of Dazai, who took it and inspected it carefully before opening it while maming a show of sliding up his glasses and kicking his lips before reading the printed information.
He looks kind of cute with glasses..
..
..
..
..Just as he said, lack of sleep can really mess with your brain..
"Since when do you wear glasses?" The gravity manipulator accidentally blurred out, immediately regretting his words right after.
Upon hearing that, the detective raised his gaze to meet the other's eyes. He grinned as he replied with a snark.
"Does Chuuya think i look good in them?"
"Hell no!"
"Dont lie to me Chuu-ya.."
"Shut the fuck up you idiotic bastard!" With that, every nearby table had turned to look at them (At Chuuya more specifically since he was the one yelling).
"Eh, what can I say, i know im very charming.."
"Charming my ass.."
"But- since you asked so nicely, slug, Ill tell you!" He practically jumped up from his seat to glance at Nakahara.
"They're not real glasses if I may add, Kunikida though had told me that most women have been statistically proven to be more attracted to guys with glasses!"
Ah right. Four eyes.. Wait isnt he missing? How can he talk so freely about his colleague like that..
He could visibly see Atsushi tense up in his seat when he heard what Dazai said.
Dazai made a gesture to the ginger girl, before continuing.
"Aren't I right, Lucy~" Poor attempt to flirt, he knows, but Chuuya still felt a sidden ache in his chest when Dazai said her name that casually.
"What.? Oh.. uhm yeah, i guess.." Montgomery looked puzzled, her eyes widened as she carefully examined the folder in front of the taller man.
"Is this about the dissapearances?" She asked, averting her gaze to look at Chuuya.
"Yeah, boss wanted his 'double black' to get back in action again." He scoffed as he caught a glimpse of Lucy's expression, a curious look on her face.
"May I.. Open it?" She questioned, already picking up the documents. Just as Chuuya was about to interfere, Osamu glared at him.
Let her.
Atsushi perked up next to Montgomery, his eyes darting from one name to another.
It had become kind of akward being silent for so long, until Lucy broke the silence with a concerned tone.
"I know Louisa, we used to work for the guild together, I know where she usually goes, spend her time, everything. Maybe I can help you find her.
Even the weretiger looked perplexed by her suggestion.
"Lucy, I-you can't get in the mafia's business. Its dangerous!" He tried to reason with her, unfortunately to no avail.
"I want to." She argued. "Im not a member of the armed detective agency, and Im not a member of the guild anymore either, I dont have an organisation chasing after my mistakes anymore.I can make my own choices." Lucy trailed off before continuing.
"Also, if I find Louisa, Fitzgerald might get off my dick and convince his people not to spy on me anymore.." She said as she look of her headpiece.
"We can't have outsiders take place in our investigation" Chuuya mumbled as he layed his eyes on the redhead.
"Im sure you can ask..I mean, you're already working with Dazai.Your investigation will not get ruined if we tag along" Atsushi chimed in, nervously glancing on Chuuya, waiting for his reply.
Wasn't he just talking about how dangerous it was to interact with the mafia.?
"Aww.. You see Atsushi, we'd love to..However, we must ask for Mori's permission first.. We'll go talk to him and maybe he'll let you come with us tomorrow" Dazai said in his typical unapologetic tone, his gaze lingering on the younger boy.
"O-oh.. Okay Dazai-san, got it.." Nakajima replied in dissapointment. Looking at Lucy as she scowled and mubled something through her teeth.
"Well, I think its time ke and my dog get going, we have a lot of mysteries to unravel.. Right Chuu-ya~?"
"Shut your mouth." Chuuya muttered as ue got up as well, following Dazai to the exit.
..
..
The night sky was beautiful tonight, stars shining down on them as the two started walking in a comfortable silence.
The wind whistled around them, as if admiring the two men's thoughts and feelings. Memories that have been buried deep down for them to even remember.
They were walking side by side, shoulders almost touching. Dazai's hair looked majestic under the moonlight, sending a shiver down Chuuya's spine.
Chuuya couldnt stand the silence between them anymore.
"You know, You dont need to wear glasses around me, Im not a chick." He exclaimed with uncertainty.
Suddenly being able to feel every part of his body, and Dazai's surprised gaze on him.
"Is this another attempt on complimenting me, chibi?" The detective chuckled as he turned away from Chuuya. A pink flush rising on his cheeks.
"Fuck off, asshole! I was just trying to say-" He was cut off by the sound of a girl yelling something at both of them.
Lucy.?
Lucy was running towards them at full speed while grabbing Atsushi from his arm, the boy looked like he had given up trying to resist a long time ago.
"Wait-I remember something! I-I have important informatio-" Unfortunately all of them had miscalculated exactly how fast the girl had been running, leading her to stumble on a pebble and falling.
Atsushi also fell because he was not able to escape the ginger's grasp in time.
Unfortunately, both of them were too close to the double black while stumbling, taking Dazai and Chuuya down with them as well.
The last thing Nakahara saw before falling down was the dark sky above them and the sparkling stars laughing at them.
Dont get him wrong, it would've been fine if they had fallen normally, maybe he'd yell at the kids for 'Being too careless' and cussing them out.
However, the universe was a cruel thing, it sucked on people's misery and mocked other's pain. It fed itself off euphoria and always had a trick up it's sleeve.
Everything went black as the four people fell through the ground, into an unkown abyss, into pure hell.
Chuuya was the last person to wake up,the first thing he saw when he opemed his blue eyes were the blinding lights of the room. He quickly closed his eyes again, feeling little energised for whatever was going on.
Fake, its all fake.
Don't believe the lies it feeds you.
Don't be deveived by the fake normality of it's artificial nature.
Don't-
Something was talking to him. It was a voice, a voice he knew too well. A voice that fends off corruption amd despair.
A voice he had long forgotten since the experiments.
Arahabaki's voice.
Why was Arahabaki trying to communicate with him all of a sudden!?
"-A-san"
It had supposingly stopped after his first six experimentations.
Why was it back?
"Nakahara-san?!"
What did it want?
The voice talked to him again, more urgently, more terrifying.
Its coming for you.
It won't stop until it has your flesh betwen it's teeth.
"Chuuya!"
Chuuya abruptly opened his eyes to Dazai standing over him, blocking the hard light from blinding his eyelids.
He looks like an angel, instead of the devil he is supposed to be.
"The fuck.." Nakahara scratched his head, examining his surroundings.
He spotted Lucy and Atsushi also looking down at him, a worried expression on their faces.
The next thing he noticed were the yellow walls.
So many yellow walls, a weird patter printed on them with huge lights on the ceilings, nothing else in sight. An endless maze filled with darkness.
How can there be darkness if there are so many lights around.?
No other people in sight, no hustle and bustle of the city, just the sounds of the rapid breathing of the troubled victims.
"Where the hell are we?!" He shouted at Dazai, quickly getting up and trying to steady himself with his legs.
"What makes you think I know?"
The shorter male scoffed once again.
"If this another one of your little detective's boyfriend's doing, I swear to god-"
"No, this couldn't possibly be Poe's doing.. This isn't his typical writing style. Montgomery replied for him, her voice gaining her usual confidence as she started pacing around.
"A-and even if it was.. He wouldn't be able to trap Dazai in here either, because of his nullification ability.." Atsushi interjected once again, his eyes locking with Dazai's.
"It seems like it's the doing of an odd, paranomal entity.." Osamu spoke up again, averting his gaze to take a proper look on the yellow walls.
"You dont think.." Chuuya spoke in disbelief, this was all too much. What exactly is this place!?
"Oh I certainly do, parther." Dazai's lips fell into a thin line, his distinctive smirk forming on the corners of his mouth. He perked up once again, delivering the punching line of the situation.
"This is the place where all of the previous people have been taken to."
..
..
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