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"Partners forever?”
"As if anyone else could deal with your suicidal ass" The underlying promise evident.
That same promise was like a mantra through Chuuya’s head as he rushed down the halls of the port mafia to Mori’s office. Word of the demon prodigy’s defection had spread through the building overnight. Whispers from the members didn’t go unnoticed by Chuuya as he marched past them.
“The other half of double black disappeared”
“How could Dazai-san just leave his partner behind”
“What’s Chuuya-san going to do now?”
Well unfortunately for them they were all wrong. They don’t know Dazai Osamu. Sure they know him as the merciless demon prodigy, Mori’s right hand man. But they don’t know him as Osamu. His Osamu. The one he cradled in his arms when his thoughts got too dark. The one who almost set their 3 million yen apartment on fire while trying out a new cooking recipe just because Chuuya expressed his interest in it once (they had to throw it out and get takeout instead. Still nonetheless, effort was seen and appreciated) The one and only guy who saw him as Chuuya Nakahara the human instead of the vessel of Arahabaki and a few lines of code. The only one who believed in Chuuya’s humanity. The one whom he trusted would be by his side till the end. Dazai wouldn’t just up and disappear for no reason, he wouldn’t just abandon his spot in the mafia like this. He wouldn’t just abandon Chuuya like this.
Right?
Right…?
What a fool he was, Chuuya realized as he watched the clips of his precious motorbike blown to smithereens by the bomb attached to the underside of it. “Dazai-kuns sudden disappearance, Sakunosuke’s death and your motorbike. Chuuya-kun surely you’re able to put the pieces together. You’re smarter than this” Mori claimed, waving a hand carelessly as if he was talking about something as casual as the weather and not his beloved protégé vanishing into thin air.
“He has Akutagawa to mentor, troops to lead. He knows the consequences of betraying the mafia. Hell, he’s the one that inflicts it. Dazai wouldn’t leave like this.” He wouldn’t leave me. The unspoken words hung in the air. Mori sighed, seemingly gathering every last bit of his patience. He put down the document he was reading and regarded Chuuya with a pointed look.
“Yes Dazai-kun knows very well what would happen should he get caught. But he’s also the only one who is able to vanish like this without getting caught. Such a skilled boy, I didn’t specifically choose him to be my protégé for nothing.” Mori hummed. After seeing the unbudging glare from Chuuya, Mori sighed heavily.
“Look Chuuya-kun I know you and Dazai-kun were close. But with the recent happenings with Sakunosuke and Mimic, frankly I’d say I’m not surprised” He brought two fingers up to his temple and massaged. “Now, unless you have any other matters not concerning Dazai-kun and his defection, please leave”
Oda Sakunosuke, Dazai’s drinking buddy. Well that’s what he knew him as. Whether or not their relationship ran any deeper than that was unknown to him. Dazai didn't exactly talk about him in detail, Chuuya only knew that he was one of the lower ranking members of the mafia and that him, Dazai and this other guy called Ango would frequent Lupin Bar whenever they had the opportunity to. “Why would he leave just because Sakunosuke died? What has that got to do with that bastard?” Mori looked up from his mountain of paperwork and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Oh? You didn’t know? They were close. Rivals that of you and Dazai-kun’s relationship. Not surprised if he said something to try and convert Dazai to the bright side before taking his last breath. Dazai-kun holds Sakunosuke in very high regard. After all, he was Dazai-kun’s first friend.”
The cogs in Chuuya’s head were slowly turning. Oda was important to Dazai. Important enough that he was able to convince that mackerel to betray the mafia, to leave him. Up and dissapeared without a single word to him, the only farewell present being his bike blown to pieces. Slowly after that realization, the pieces began falling into place. Dazai’s weird behavior when he got back from that one mission 2 weeks ago, how he came back to their apartment with empty eyes completely devoid of light and locked himself in the bathroom for half the day. Chuuya had to break down the hinges of the door to get him out, only to find him curled in the bathtub with unfocused eyes and an uncapped bottle of pills. Thankfully Chuuya had gotten there in time before he could attempt to chug half the bottle down. At the time he thought it was just one of Dazai’s depressive episodes and that it’ll get better in a few weeks or so. Apparently he thought wrong.
Later that night, Chuuya sat down with a bottle of Petrus wine. The apartment felt too empty, too cold. Which was funny because he didn’t recall ever getting so used to the warmth of Dazai’s presence. He swirled the wine in the glass watching it slosh from side to side before gulping it down in hopes it’ll quell the bitter taste of betrayal left behind by his former partner and ex lover.
“Partners forever huh” he chuckled humorlessly “what bullshit.”