Chapter Text
Rain had a way of making the Yokohama High School feel smaller than it actually was. Students hurried through the front gates beneath umbrellas of every color imaginable, thier shoes splashing through puddles before disappearing into the warmth of the building.
Inside, everything sounded alive. Lockers would slam shut one after another like falling dominoes and someone would laugh loud enough for it to echo down the corridor. You could hear volleyballs bouncing somewhere in the gymnasium. Down the hall. Teachers called for students to stop running despite the fact that nobody ever listened.
It was Monday. Which meant the entire school collectively looked like it would rather be literary anywhere else than where they were now.
"Move."
"No."
"I'm serious Dazai."
"So am I."
Chuuya Nakahara pinched the bridge of his nose.
The hallway wasn't particularly crowded anymore. Most students had already made it to class before the second bell had rung, leaving only a handful of students wandering toward their classroom. And one of those students was currently lying across the hallway floor. School bag layed as a pillow, laying completley still and unbothered.
"You're blocking the corridor."
"I have accepted my fate."
"You have accepted being late."
"Those are surprisingly similar concepts."
Chuuya nudged Dazai's shoulder with the toe of his shoe. "Dazai."
A dramatic sigh. "I was having a beautiful dream."
"You were snoring."
"I was dreaming about snoring."
"That's not how dreams work."
"They do if you're talented."
"You're insufferable."
"yes so I've heard." Without opening his eyes, Dazai held one hand into the air expectantly.
Chuuya stared at it."What?"
"I require assistance."
"You require therapy."
"I require both then."
Then the second bell rang. Students passing by gave them the kind of amused smiles reserved for people who had long since become part of the school's daily scenery. Someone would whisper, "they're at it again." And someone else would reply, "Again?"
Apparently, Soukoku causing problems before first period had become as reliable as the morning announcements.
"Dazai."
"Hm?"
"If Kunikida-sensei catches us, he's going to make us clean the classrooms again."
"I think building character is important."
"You didn't help last time."
"I supervised."
"You watched me mop."
"How dare you! I offered emotional support."
"You criticized my mopping technique!"
"It was inefficient."
"It was a floor!"
Dazai finally opened one eye, his expression was painfully serious. "There are many ways to mop a floor."
Chuuya stared at him for exactly three seconds before grabbing him by the sleeve. "Get. Up."
"Oh?"
"You've got five seconds."
"And if I don't?"
"I'm dragging you."
"I'd like to see” He couldnt even finish the sentence. Chuuya hauled him upright with surprising ease, ignoring the indignant squawk that escaped him. "Violence!"
"Consequences."
"I'll report you."
"To who?"
"uh... You!...That's a flaw in my plan. Im working on it"
Chuuya laughed. It came out as one short breath through his nose, Dazai noticed immediately. "There it is."
"What."
"You laughed."
"I absolutely did not."
"You smiled."
"I definitely didn't."
"You love me."
"I have learned to tolerate you."
"How lovley."
"I should push you down the stairs."
"But you won't."
"No."
Dazai just stared at him
"Probably."
Dazai beamed as though that had somehow been a declaration of lifelong devotion. "There he is."
"There is who?"
"My Chuuya."
"I am going to throw you into traffic."
"You say the sweetest things before nine in the morning." By the time they reached Classroom 2-B, the lesson had already started. Kunikida looked up from attendance the instant the door slid open and Silence settled over the room.
Slowly...Very slowly...Kunikida removed his glasses. That was never a good sign. "You are," he began carefully, "ten minutes late."
Dazai smiled with the confidence of someone who had absolutely no right to be confident. "Actually, sir, we're exactly nine minutes and fourteen seconds late."
"..."
"what? I thought accuracy mattered."
"It does."
"So technically"
"It technically means you have both earned detention."
"Ah." Another pause. "it was worth asking."
A few students laughed quietly into their sleeves. Even Atsushi had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. Kunikida pointed toward the back of the classroom where their desks were. "Sit."
Neither of them argued. Mostly because they'd both learned that arguing with Kunikida only increased the amount of homework. as Chuuya dropped into his seat, Dazai leaned over just enough to whisper, "I think he's getting soft."
"He gave us detention."
"But he didn't throw anything."
"is That your standard?"
"He once threw a textbook."
"You deserved it."
"I was asking philosophical questions."
"You asked if homework was a social construct."
"It is."
"No."
"It could be."
Chuuya rolled his eyes and opened his notebook. Outside the rain continued to slide down the windows in quiet rivers. Inside, pens scratched against paper and The room settled into the comfortable rhythm of any other ordinary school day.
If someone had looked closely...maybe they might have noticed Dazai rubbing absently at his wrist beneath the sleeve of his sweater. Or how, when the class monitor passed around the sign up sheet for cafeteria duty, Dazai's smile faded for only a heartbeat before returning, bright as ever. But nobody ever looked that closely. People rarely notice something is wrong before it gets serious.