Chapter Text
For the past few days, things at the Armed Detective Agency had been so painfully, tragically, incredibly, uninteresting.
According to Dazai Osamu, that is.
There had been no dangerous ability users plotting world domination, no one attempting to bomb orphaned children, not even a petty robbery. How utterly unfortunate.
The only work at the Agency was— corresponding to the lack of events— paperwork.
Piles and piles of paperwork on things Dazai hadn't bothered to find out. He'd leave all that unnecessary labor for the other Agency members to deal with.
Which was precisely why Dazai had decided to abandon his work, and instead chose to venture the uneventful streets of Yokohama, wandering aimlessly until he found something worth his time. Maybe a pretty girl willing to join him in a double suicide. Or perhaps he’d stumble across a fight breaking out in broad daylight.
As Dazai roamed the streets, a tall, bulky man almost bumped into him if not for Dazai's amazing reflexes. He hastily dodged the impact, therefore causing the man to collide with another person in his stead. Dazai glanced back at the man who had fallen onto the ground along with the other individual who he had taken down with him. He watched as the man clumsily stumbled back up to his feet and proceeded to run to god knows where without even apologizing.
Dazai hummed, glancing downwards towards the person who the man had run into, and then turned around, not caring who it was or if they were okay.
Not his problem.
While Odasaku had wished for him to be on the good side, saying he thought it would 'just be more beautiful'. Helping every stranger he came across on his journey into the light had never been a part of Odasaku's wish. Dazai didn't need to throw away every part of his personality to become some selfless person instantly grabbing at the opportunity to make someone else's life better. He merely wanted for Dazai to leave the Mafia. Which had been an understandable desire for the circumstances. Dazai was eighteen years old at the time; Being only fifteen when he had first joined the Port Mafia. A kid.
Still, remembering Odasaku's dying wishes drastically shifted Dazai's mood. Remembering a person you looked up to, a person you cared for— and still do care for— dying in your very arms, would change anyone's mood. His expression morphed from that of a light, undisturbed expression, to that of a concerningly neutral expression.
All the conversations him, Odasaku, and Ango had at Lupin Bar back in the day were, to say the least, one of his favorite and most positively anticipated activities when he was in the Mafia. They reset him. They slowly brought the light back into his eyes. The light that had been drained out of him— and still actively was, during his time with the Mafia— since as long as he could remember.
Odasaku had been, if Dazai was being entirely honest, one of the few people he had actually ever been emotionally attached to. And back then, he was very cautious about doing that. Dazai wasn't oblivious. He knew that the only thing love would bring was, ultimately, more pain. Even so, if it hadn't been his choice; Dazai loved Odasaku whether he wanted to or not.
Loving was most certainly inconvenient. It was a given that love would not be love without pain walking beside it. People died. They betrayed you. They left without reasoning. Despite that, love also brought many good things into Dazai's life. In fact, his experience with Odasaku had only helped prove that love is not all that horrible.
If Dazai hadn't made the choice to love Odasaku, he wouldn't be with the ADA right now. He'd likely still be in the Port Mafia. And if not, he would be dead, having finally obtained his all-time wish of committing suicide. He would have never regained the spark in his eyes that he has now. The spark that came back because he learned to love.
And now, he had plenty of people he could choose to love on his own accord.
Since joining the Agency, Dazai had found himself caring about people far more often than he had in his Mafia days.
A realization brought Dazai out of his thoughts. It seemed he had spaced out and was now in one of the more secluded areas of Yokohama.
While this place may be quieter than the rest of the city, it was not at all uninhabited. It was strange to see no one around whatsoever. It had been unusually silent too. Much unlike any part of Yokohama.
Dazai walked into a space between a cluster of buildings— not an alleyway, per se. It had been a lot more spacious than that. The lighting was a bit off, too. Not quite dark, but not at all bright.
Everything surrounding this place felt ominously detached from the rest of the city. The air felt far too still.
The concrete for this area had been heavily cracked compared to the sidewalk of the rest of Yokohama, leaving spots for grass to push itself up and peek through the pavement. Most likely no one had bothered to repair this area because nobody ever came here.
The grass was a bit tall, usually tall enough to let the wind brush against it and set it swaying. Yet every blade remained impossibly stagnant.
Then, without warning, an enormous gust of wind caught Dazai’s coat— and the grass, too— leaving a shocked look on his face.
The air, lifeless only moments ago, had become exceedingly violent. And it only seemed to keep picking up speed, causing Dazai's wonderful hair to blow in all directions.
As the air became almost unbearable, he raised his forearms up to shield his face from most of the pressure, squinting his eyes to try and see what was happening.
The wind came to a point where it was nearly pushing Dazai off his feet. He braced himself for the worst.
Until it unexpectedly stopped.
His coat and hair slowly settled back into place.
Dazai blinked confusedly, lowering his arms. He fixed his hair so it wasn't entirely in his face, then stared down at the two familiar figures sitting on the ground.
The two boys looked up at him simultaneously.
Dazai's mouth opened, before closing again.
What...?
Both boys had their mouths agape, as if something unspeakable had happened to them.
Matted, greasy, brown hair. Empty, lifeless eyes. A bandage obscuring his right eye. And the recognizable deep-set expression of exhaustion.
The other boy had short, fiery orange hair, staggering blue eyes, and a layered green jacket which shot Dazai into a wave of nostalgia.
The red haired boy instantly whipped his head around towards the other.
"Why the hell would you touch it?!" His voice was faintly high pitched compared to current Chuuya's tone.
"Well, I didn't know this would happen! How would I?!"
"Yeah, well now we're sitting on the ground in front of some lanky ass bandaged stranger who's probably just as confused as us! Great job! You got some real brains."
Dazai's eyes bore into his younger self, being sucked back into his thoughts at the sight of him.
Why was Dazai's younger self on the ground right in front of him, bickering with Chuuya's younger self?
Was this some sort of divine punishment? To force him to look directly at the person he hated most. The one person he regrets ever knowing.
Himself.
Or... no. Divine punishment is pretty far fetched from reality. While possible, very unlikely. Perhaps it was an ability?
The sight of the two teenagers brought on a real leap into the past. Although, more fittingly, the past seems to have leapt into the future, Dazai supposed.
Both boys hair seemed to be noticeably tangled and wind-blown, indicating they must have gone through the same thing Dazai had just moments ago.
Younger Dazai turned his head to get a look around his surroundings. His eyes immediately landing on the tall stranger in front of him.
Bandages, brown wavy hair, tan coat...
He inspected the location they were at. Cracked pavement, still grass, and dim, heavy lighting.
First thing, he and Chuuya needed to know where they were. Younger Dazai stood up from his place on the ground, Chuuya following his actions, and looked up at the stranger with cold, calculating eyes.
"Is this Yokohama?"
Dazai's eyes remained steady and unblinking, before he opened his mouth to speak. "Yes." The pitch was unwavering and neutral, and noticeably deeper than the other boy's.
"Thank you. We should probably take our leave now." He said, taking a step around the taller man, before Chuuya grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back.
Chuuya whispered rather loudly in his ear. "Wait up, jackass. We may be in Yokohama but we don't know where in Yokohama. This city is huge. Let's ask for directions."
He sighed, before directing his vision back towards the stranger. "Do you know where Lupin Bar is?"
Dazai's eyes widened.
It was unsurprising that his younger self would ask where Lupin Bar was. If he had asked for their current location— which he knows nothing of, given his reaction— it wouldn't help them find their way back. However, Dazai frequented the Lupin Bar, and knew how to get from there to the Port Mafia's headquarters.
Dazai chuckled, his eyes fluttering closed amusedly. "Nope. I haven't heard of the place."
"See Chuuya, this dumbass isn't any help."
"You're not gonna wring any information out of me like that." Dazai commented, his eyes cracking open to reveal a challenging glint in them.
Younger Dazai pointedly glared holes into the stranger. How annoying.
"You should try being more polite. Maybe getting down on your knees and begging me to tell you where this so-called bar, that I may or may not know of, is." He broke out in a shit-eating grin.
Chuuya burst into rage at that, pushing away his partner's arm. "As if either of us would ever d—"
He was cut off by a confused voice.
"What the hell is this?!"
Now, Dazai was definitely not expecting this. He tilted his head a bit to see another head of flaming red hair.
Younger Dazai whipped his head at the sound of the new voice.
Ginger hair, blue eyes, short...
It was almost uncanny. The resemblance this man bore to Chuuya. Even his voice. It sounded almost exactly like Chuuya's but deeper.
Younger Chuuya's jaw went slack. "You look like me!" He sputtered out.
Chuuya ignored the obvious observation, slowly moving his head to lock eyes with Dazai, his glare seething. Then, in an unnaturally calm voice.
"What did you do?"