Where Loyalty Lies // Mori Ougai x Reader

Chapter 16: Eye of the Storm

"So," Y/n said, biting the inside of her lip, "what ever happened to Dazai? I heard he was being held captive."

Chuuya looked at her before clicking his tongue. "That bastard and his tricks is what happened. He broke out on his own," he said, lying about the scuffle the two of them had that led Chuuya to setting him free.

"Did he say anything?" Y/n said.

She felt guilty over leaving Dazai on bad terms. Although her heart was with Mori now, it's not like she wanted to be his enemy. She wondered if one day she may ever be able to talk to him in the way she does with Chuuya—not as her keeper, but as her companion.

"Nothing worth repeating," he replied. Chuuya recalled the conversation he had with Dazai after the latter's capture. After Dazai made him do a little girl pose before leaving, he also asked Chuuya about Y/n.

—

Dazai's face was grim. "By the way, Chuuya, does Y/n know I'm here?" He said, after watching the other man's amusing display.

Chuuya scoffed at his inquiry. "And why in the hell would I tell you?"

"The card still stands. If you don't tell me, I can still expose the Port Mafia's secrets whenever I please."

Chuuya heaved a sigh, scratching his head. "It's possible, but I doubt she'd care, so why bother asking?"

Dazai had a bad feeling about Y/n's predicament, even before she decided to go back to the Port Mafia. Based on the briefing that Atsushi gave him about the way he found Y/n lying in the alleyway, he knew that something was off. He wanted to look into why she was still alive when the other three men present were clearly dead for some time. It reminded him of how her parents died, so he wanted to look into it just to be safe.

And although Dazai hated to admit it, he couldn't be the one to keep an eye on her anymore, so he asked Chuuya for a favor. "Look after her, will you?"

Chuuya raised an eyebrow, pondering about what the man was scheming now. It was an odd request, since Dazai should've already known that the Port Mafia looks after their own. Then, he suddenly thought about why Dazai would go through all this effort of letting himself get captured in the first place.

"Is she in danger or something?" Chuuya asked with a narrowed gaze.

"Just don't let her out of your sight if you can help it. There's a foul stench in the air lately."

Chuuya turned around, but Dazai's words resonated. "You don't have to tell me that." He walked out, leaving the man to escape on his own.

—

As Y/n and Chuuya made their way through the village, they decided to walk through a dirt trail full of dense trees that led to a nearby school that the villagers had pointed them to.

"It would be easy to go missing here. That's for sure. These trees obstruct any view from the outside unless you're right in front of someone," Y/n said, pushing branches out of her face.

"Yeah, and the culprit waited until school hours were over, so as not to alert the teachers of the students' absence. It gives them more leeway before their parents start to notice."

They continued down the path, and Y/n said, "I thought we'd be there by now. The townsfolk said it wouldn't take too long."

"I guess one's perception of time is different out here. Should we head back to the station? The school day is almost over and the sun is waning down. We don't want to miss our chance to catch them."

Y/n clicked her tongue and sighed. What a waste, she thought. "Fine. I don't want to walk all the way back in the dark anyway."

To Y/n, it felt like hours were passing as she walked through the woods with Chuuya. The wind was picking up and the chilly air was smothering her skin. Her fingers were going numb, so she buried them in her arms which were crossed over her chest.

"We didn't really think this through, did we?" She said, chuckling.

"You mean you didn't. I had no intention of coming here in the first place," he said, shaking like a baby in heels. "And wipe that smirk off your face. This isn't funny."

"I hope there's enough time."

"I can always fly us out of here with my ability."

"Do you want me to pass out? I prefer solid ground, thank you," Y/n said.

As they continued to bicker amongst themselves, the sky grew dimmer as the haziness of the sunset was upon them. It became harder to see ten steps in front of them, and they both lost the energy to argue with each other anymore. As Chuuya led the way, he could see the lights of the village's homes in the distance. "Finally," Chuuya said. "We're almost there. We should—" He looked back, and his eyes widened. She wasn't there.

"Hey! Y/n!" Chuuya said, panicking. "What the hell?" He ran back down the trail as far as he could, but stopped before realizing that she was nowhere to be found. He didn't even hear a single sound of reply from her in any direction. Only the rustling of the trees from the wind.

He harshly pressed his hat against his head and gritted his teeth. Dammit, he thought. They got her.

He called Mori.

Thank you for reading!   ///   To be continued... 🧡