// chaos incarnate // osamu dazai //

Chapter Five

Dazai's eyes held a tint of sadness as he picked up Chuuya's hat, which had gotten lost along the way, and they all just watched him, silent. He put the hat on Chuuya's head, took the lighter out of his pocket, and lit it, placing the flame next to Chuuya's hat. "You burn my hat and you'll be six feet under after I break every bone in your damn body, you stupid, lanky bastard."

Dazai frowned, putting the lighter away. "That's not nice, Chuuya. You're supposed to be my partner in crime, and this is how you treat me. Unbelievable. You wound me."

"Shut the fuck up and get me Yosano, you suicidal asshole." Chuuya scowled at Dazai, who only gave him a small smile. He knew this would happen. He always did. He was the prepared type.

"Well, that's no way to entice a girl. I'm tempted to go back home." Yosano said, her eyes looking over the fatigued ginger. He only glared at her, and she smiled sweetly. "Put him down, Dazai. I can treat him with you holding him."

"But he looks so cute in my arms~" Dazai whined, and Chuuya just rolled his eyes, attempting to get out of Dazai's arms by himself. Dazai held him tighter, just for the hell of it, and watched the ginger struggle for about a minute before dropping him.

Chuuya let out a small grunt of pain before glaring at the bandaged man, his eyes holding unbridled rage. But he couldn't do anything in this state, so Dazai wasn't worried. "You're an asshole, you know?"

"So I've been told, but I don't see it." Dazai gave him a sinister smile, his eyes lighting up with the same child-like glee as always. And there are moments like these that remind people that he is not your average man. He was inhuman on so many levels. And yet he was the one to keep half of them sane. "I thought I was a good man."

"Good man my ass," Chuuya complained, attempting to make his way over to Yosano but stopped and waited for her to approach. His body wasn't capable of continuing, as much as he hated it.

"You have no physical injuries, nor anything I can heal with my ability. You just need to rest a bit. You'll be fine if you don't overdo it." Yosano instructed, "That's a bummer. I got pulled out here for no reason."

"You're a lifesaver, Yosano." Dazai grinned, and she only felt worse for coming out. She had never trusted that damn smile of his.

"Define 'overdoing it'," Chuuya said, clearly irritated by the restrictions put on him. He was a man of action and hated when he got taken off the field, even if it was for his own health.

"The most you can do is attack Dazai and annoy Akutagawa for the next 24 hours." She told him, and he suddenly seemed less annoyed by these restrictions.

"That's not so bad. Not much different to the usual then." He looked almost relieved that the instructions weren't worse. He thought he might be bedridden or something. He felt like he should be. His body was exhausted and it hurt. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

"Why exactly was I brought into this?" Akutagawa complained, a scowl planted on his face as Dazai let out a small chuckle, his eyes brimming with that same child-like glee as before. It was horrible.

"I like to annoy you. It's a good pass time." Chuuya replied with a shrug, not wanting either Dazai or Yosano to answer for him. They'd traumatise the bloke within seconds of opening their mouths.

"You sound like Dazai," Akutagawa complained as they all started walking, his eyes glancing at the pair as Dazai once again picked Chuuya up, who was grumbling something under his breath.

"You make it sound like a bad thing~!" Dazai exclaimed, and Akutagawa sighed. "I'm not that bad. You actually love my presence."

"Keep telling yourself that." The entire group said in unison, and Dazai let out a dramatic gasp, almost dropping Chuuya in the theatrics.

"Watch it, asshole." Chuuya hissed

"You guys wound me. I can't believe you would say such hurtful things! Unbelievable! And after everything I do for you all! I cannot fathom-" Long story short, he whined for the entirety of the journey back, and they just let him because no one could be bothered to tell him otherwise. He'd put them through enough and it was only the beginning of the day.

Dazai waltzed into the Port Mafia, greeting everyone he saw. You wouldn't think that he was high on their wanted list by the way they all acted. It was almost like he was an old friend who had come to visit. How he continued to get away with stuff like this, nobody knew. The regular man could never do the things he could and walk free like he does. He was too powerful for his own good. They all knew that. But nobody could stop him. He was always one step ahead.

"Oh, Mori~!" Dazai exclaimed, slamming the door open. Chuuya glared at him, and Mori glanced at him, unfazed by the sudden intrusion. It wasn't anything new. "I believe these belong to you."

He threw Chuuya on the one chair in the middle of the room, receiving a groan in response, and pushed Akutagawa into the room. "Thank you, Dazai. Now, about the woman."

"You mean Kouyou? I don't understand. Don't you want her anymore? Has she already reached her prime?" Dazai chuckled. No one else seemed to find him funny, though.

"I'm gonna kill you." Chuuya threatened, and this seemed to tickle Dazai even more, letting out a louder laugh.

"And I'm gonna be president." Dazai said sarcastically, glancing at his mother. The playful mood was now gone, and he was deadly serious. "State your name and business, woman."

"Who do you think you are, speaking to your mother like that?" She scowled at him, which he gladly returned. "You are nothing but a scared little boy, too feeble to be able to do anything worthwhile."

"I'm the Port Mafia's greatest interrogator, and I know that you are going to cave eventually, despite me being your son. That title means nothing to me, mother dearest. If anything, I say it just to irritate you. Like you said before, you killed that boy a long time ago" Dazai gave her a wild grin, and you could see the uncertainty in her eyes. This wasn't the same child as before. He was no longer that scared little boy. She really did kill him.

"Dazai, that's enough." Mori commanded, and Dazai glanced at him, clearly annoyed. He was having fun with that. And it was just getting to the good part. "So you're the woman who raised Yokohama's greatest mind to date? Interesting. How do you feel knowing your child's a monster?"

"HEY!" Dazai complained, and Mori raised his hand to silence him. Dazai sat on the arm of the chair, agitated. He played with the bandages around his neck, what was bothering him was a mystery to everyone. Chuuya took his hands to stop him from messing up his bandages, knowing how much he was going to stress about it later on.

"What? Am I supposed to be impressed? Disgusted? He's just a kid with a bit of spunk. He was never worth the hype. There is nothing exceptional about him. And if you think there is then that says something about you." She clearly had nothing important to say at the moment, but Mori was intrigued by this view she held of his child. How much did he have to endure just to seem special in her eyes? He must have died a thousand times, and yet he was still standing to die a thousand more.

"You know he's twenty-two. He's no longer a child. And yet you feel inclined to treat him like one. Why is that?" Mori narrowed his eyes at her, and Dazai watched him, curious. This approach was never going to work. They both knew that. So what was the point of trying? It had never made sense to Dazai when people did this. If the plan was futile in the end, why try to execute it?

"Because I know he lives in constant fear like the child he is." She looked at Dazai, her eyes devoid of any emotion, and he shivered. "My name is Shimizu Shikin. My ability is called Broken Ring."