The two ex-partners sat in the cafe for a little while longer.
Yet something was still bothering Dazai, even though he was well aware that it was nothing but a small joke, an action committed out of utter embarrassment. The comment about germs still bothered him ever so slightly.
"You know... I change my bandages when they get dirty." Dazai spoke with a pout, taking a sip of his hot chocolate, he didn't want to admit to this but if it meant Chuuya would feel a little bad, then he'd have to say it.
"Except for this morning... I didn't change them this morning" Dazai added, eyeing Chuuya from the top of his mug, Chuuya chewed a bit quicker then swallowed the doughnut he was eating, finally speaking.
"Why?" Dazai scratched the back of his neck, with a little 'ehe' coming from his lips, trying his best to suppress the embarrassment flowing within him
"Well you changed them for me, and you were really gentle so I felt reluctant to change them today." Chuuya now equipped with the knowledge that he had a crush on the suicidal man, flushed in embarrassment.
"Fine....then- then from now on....I'll... change them for you." He spoke not making eye contact with the other male. Dazai's eyes sparkled, leaning over the table his face inches away from the gingers
"Really!??! You will?!! You promise!?!??" Chuuya shoved his hand in the younger mans face, pushing him down in his seat using his other hand to cover his mouth as he choked in surprise.
Dazai opened his eyes glancing at the smaller through his fingers, his face was red and completely flushed. The thought that Dazai had such an effect on the ginger made his heart flutter, with joy.
"Y-yeah I promise, jeez" Chuuya whispered, lowering his hand from the latter's face, placing both his hands on his lap. Dazai tilted his head slightly, giving Chuuya a wide closed-eye smile.
Dazai now waited patiently for the mafioso to finish all of their food, occasionally taking some too. He wanted to finish quickly so he could drag Chuuya to their hotel, write up the reports on what had happened while they were out, as well as make phone calls to the agency. Once he did all that, he'd finally be able to have the older change his bandages. The thought made his knees weak.
After five more agonisingly slow minutes, Chuuya barely managed to swallow the last of the doughnuts and finish his last drop of hot chocolate before he was whisked away by Dazai who had already grabbed both their jackets and Chuuya's hat. He then pulled Chuuya of his chair, holding his wrist, sprinting out of the cafe.
"WA-WAIT DONT YOU NEED TO PAY MACKEREL?!!?"
"Already did slug!" Dazai called out as he ran with a laugh and a smile so bright it could melt all the snow around them Chuuya's eyes glimmered at the younger's laugh, the moment seemed to slow in his mind.
Dazai looked as if he sparkled, the snow that was falling peacefully around him seemed to add to his beauty, with the sky fading from blue to black. Chuuya smiled back, before breaking into laughter with the other. They ran together hand in hand, looking like little children, sprinting around the city in the snow, laughing and occasionally arguing (more on Chuuya's behalf, seeing as he couldn't keep up with Dazai and his long legs). It was one of the best moments of their lives.
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They walked into the hotel, out of breath but still somehow laughing, their lungs felt like they where about to freeze over any second. The duo took their coats off, placing them neatly onto the coat hanger near the door. Dazai took Chuuya's hat off of his head, placing it onto the countertop nearby, it almost felt like a routine. Chuuya by this time had already walked into the bedroom, his clothes were sweaty, wet and cold and he wanted to be dressed in something more comfortable than jeans.
He emerged from the room in baggy trousers, and a jumper, plopping onto the other side of the Kotatsu table, across from Dazai, who had already changed, having put spare clothes in the bathroom, Chuuya slid his cold feet comfortably under Dazai's thighs. He then placed his right cheek on the table making his face squish.
His eyes set on Dazai, watching him as he worked. As the detective did his thing Chuuya relaxed, however he couldn't help but notice Dazai's phone light up with messages, Chuuya, feeling nosy allowed himself to peek, noticing that it was -presumably- a group chat with the agency members. In contrast to the ginger, Dazai didn't even bat an eye towards it, just using his finger get rid of the messages, allowing Chuuya to see the younger's lock Screen, it was a picture of Odasaku and him.
Chuuya had met Odasaku a few times, but had never gotten to know him, just from these few times Chuuya could tell he was a nice person, a complete juxtapose to Dazai.
The very few times he had gotten to talk to him was when he would storm into bar Lupin to look for Dazai, so he could hit him, and thankfully Odasaku always pointed in the direction where Dazai was hiding (to which Dazai would call Odasaku a traitor and act as if he was a small child). He remembered one specific time almost as if it was yesterday.
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Chuuya stomped down the alley way, smoke seemed to come out of his ears and nose, his anger boiling over.
'I'm gonna kill this man, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna rip his limbs off and crush him. I. swear. to. God.'
Chuuya thought to himself, people glanced and whispered about him but he really could care less, he was so unbelievably angry.
He and Dazai had a mission and unfortunately during that mission, whatever God existed decided to make it rain. Chuuya yet again was forced into a situation where he had to use corruption, Dazai had reached him in time. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that -true to Dazai's nature- he left him there, in the cold rain (their driver had been sick, making it their responsibility to get back) and now he had a cold, and a pretty terrible one at that; Chuuya hated colds almost as much as he hated Dazai.
He kicked open the door of the bar, prompting people to glance in his direction warily. Chuuya saw Odasaku sitting on his own, he glanced to his left were Dazai usually sat only to find a half full cup of whiskey. He was here.
Chuuya was about to ask Odasuaku where the insufferably annoying male had run off to hide. However thankfully Odasuku got the message and simply pointed towards the bathroom.
Chuuya mumbled a small "thank you", as he turned on his heel towards the bathroom.
"Nakahara, wait." Odasaku spoke, Chuuya halted, cringing at the usage of his last name, he wasn't used to it, it felt too professional and almost inhumane. Chuuya turned to look at the older man. Odasaku sighed turning his gaze towards Chuuya
"I know that kid doesn't act like it, but he does care about you, in his own way." Odasaku spoke his lips turning into an pathetic excuse for an apologetic smile. Chuuya's eyes widened for a moment as he froze, then averted his gaze downwards, fiddling with the insides of his pockets
"O-oh..." he stuttered, feeling bubbly out of nowhere. Chuuya walked over to the bathroom opening the door, quietly, there was one closed stall, the one Dazai was in. He pushed it open, eyes wondering to the younger, who was sitting on the toilet lid, with an expression of amusement and youthful guilt, however it quickly changed, when he saw Chuuya's flustered expression. Chuuya walked up to Dazai a huge sigh leaving his lips.
"Don't t you fucking dare ask me what I'm doing, got it?" Dazai was about to answer with a snarky remark but he didn't have a chance, as Chuuya grabbed him by the head brining him into a hug. Chuuya laced one of his hands through Dazai's hair gently, the other wrapping around his neck to pull him closer.
He felt Dazai's hands hesitantly wrap around his waist, sighing in contentment, involuntarily snuggling his head into Chuuya's stomach. Chuuya was sure his heart had never beaten so fast, he was unbelievably thankful that Dazai was sitting down and his ears were no where near his heart.
They stayed like that in silence, the older felt very comfortable holding Dazai although he didn't want to admit it and Dazai also seemed to forget that he was supposed to act as if he wasn't enjoying it. After a few more moments of rare silence, Chuuya pulled away covering his face with his sleeves, letting out a sneeze, he turned around and walked away, eyes watering, not saying a word.
He felt a hand grab his wrist, making him turn around and look at the perplexed brunet, he looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth moving pointlessly, struggling to form words, their eyes met, but they didn't stay in contact very long as Chuuya turned his head yanking his arm from his grip and then walked away.
Unlike the way he came in, his steps were quiet his head hung low, now blending in with the crowd.
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Chuuya had always wondered if it was possible that Dazai had loved Odasaku. They were the oddest of parings, the Mafia's "weakest" member and the strongest, they were best friends, opposites, Odasaku was the reason Dazai had drifted away from him and become colder to him, leading to him eventually leaving. The possibility that Dazai may have loved him was entirely possible and the thought admittedly kind of upset him.
Feeling insecure Chuuya decided it was best to leave and let his thoughts marinate in his head on own.
"I'm going to go take a bath" He spoke, Dazai nodded absentmindedly as he typed away at his computer. When he finally looked up, it finally registered that Chuuya was upset about something, even if he was tempted to go and talk to him, in his flirtatiously annoying way, his concern at the moment didn't lie with the angry red head (well it did but not as much) but instead with the incident that happened and the cafe, mainly because he didn't understand what had happened. And anything that he didn't understand concerned him.
Dazai had sent his reprort to Kunikida which is why the dirty blonde haired man was calling him.
"Hi~! Kunikida-Kun, did you miss your devilishly handsome partner that much?"
"In your dreams, rock-for-brains." Kunikida retorted,
"Either way, I'm calling you about what happened...Do you have any ideas who it could be?"
"It may be a stretch, but I have a feeling it's one of Dostoevsky's pawns, after all me and Chuuya were obviously targeted, we were the only ones affected" Dazai spoke as he closed his eyes with a huge heave.
"But he's dead, he wouldn't be able to plan anything." Atsushi's voice popped up from nowhere
"While that may be true it's not a stretch to think it's someone who held a lot of respect for him, if his plans failed he probably asked them to continue or take some sort revenge on us."
"If it is someone related to him isn't it dangerous to have you still on this mission with Chuuya? Kunikida stated, as he pushed his glasses up his nose
"I don't think so, if I'm with Chuuya then even if I'm affected it'll get solved, if I was away from him and I was affected I wouldn't be able to do much" Kunikida yet again was surpised, he thought Dazai would take any opportunity to get away from Chuuya.
"I agree, it makes things easier for both the Mafia and us." Ranpo spoke up, peeking his head from behind where Atsushi was previously sitting.
"We'll go along with the plan just as we said, in fact I think it's better do it sooner rather than later." Dazai replied causing Kunikida to sigh
"If you think that's what's best, then I'll agree with it, but don't be an idiot, and don't annoy the mafioso either,"
The bandaged male let out a small laugh
"No promises~"
"Bye Dazai-san!!" Atsushi grinned
"Bye Atsushi-kun."
And with that the phone call ended, Dazai placed his phone down on the table, rubbing his temples with a sigh
"Do you really think it has something to do with Dostoevsky?" Dazai turned his head to look at Chuuya, he gulped as his eyes met some of Chuuya's figure standing in the door way.
Clearly, he had heard the conversation and hopped out the bath to eavesdrop. His long ginger hair was wet, the water collecting at the tips of his hair, only to then drop down his torso, although Dazai could only see a part of his body, he could see enough to fill in the blanks and it was like he was picturing the a perfect creation. The smaller's cheeks were flushed, from the heat of the bath; his skin looked satiny from the bubbly solution, his skin was relatively pale yet rosie.
Dazai cleared his throat, swallowing thickly, trying his best to keep his eyes from travelling anywhere else on the others lithe figure.
"Yeah I do."
"Why?"
"If I was him, I'd make sure I'd have someone to go and take down my enemy if I failed and me and Dostoevsky are alike." Chuuya's hands subconsciously gripped the door tightly, his eyebrows furrowing
"Don't say that...." he spoke up firmly
"You and Dostoevsky may have been alike in terms of how great your minds are, but now...the way you are, the things you fight for, even the way you think and behave, you're nothing alike...you're so much better." Chuuya whispered that part, his cheeks tinting with a pretty pink. Dazai looked at him owlishly, he smiled softly for a second, until it turned into a mischievous grin
"awww~ Chuuya are you falling for me?" Dazai asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows,
"Wha-? I-in your dreams you social misfit!" and with that he slammed the door shut crawled back into the bath again.
Chuuya huffed as he ran a hand through his hair, now fully seated in the hot water again, he remembered that small smile on Dazai's face; it comforted him, knowing his words made Dazai smile so genuinely. He brought his knees up to his chest, pressing his cheek on his knees, with a lopsided smile
"Idiot..."
Admittedly Dazai's drastic alteration in personality made Kunikida unsure about how to feel, it was pleasant, of course, but it was odd.
"Atsushi, how come Dazai didn't want to leave?"
"Hmm? Oh, isn't it obvious? Dazai-San's likes Chuuya-san." Yosano choked on her water and Naomi and Tanizaki both turned their heads in Atsushi's direction.
"What!?!?"
"What makes you say that? Hasn't that idiot been going on and on about double suicide with a beautiful woman, ever since we met him?"
"Well yeah, I just know he does and anyway, I already know Chuuya-san likes him." Atsushi replied indifferently, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I was pretty skeptical at first as well, so I asked Akutagawa to do so research for me, in the Mafia's data base." the weretiger continued, Kunikida was about to protest, but Akutagawa appeared and opened the door suddenly.
"Oi, Jinko. I got them." Akutagawa's deep raspy voice came from the door
"Speak of the rabid dog." Kunikida mumbled turning around, along with everyone else, all utterly starstruck by his attire.
The Mafioso wore blue slightly tight jeans and a plain white jumper, with red shoes, a comfortable beige jacket hugging his body accompanied by a red scarf to keep out as much of the cold as possible. He looked completely different from his usually monotone, black, edgy style. In fact when they looked closely, the recognised that the white jumper was the same one Atsushi liked to wear. Just what exactly did Atsushi do to him?
Atsushi ran up to Akutagawa with a bright closed-eye smile
"Akutagawa!! Thank you!!"
Akutagawa blinked a few times then turned beet-red looking away with a cough,
"I-it's fine."
'Ohhhhhh, So it's like that.' The agency thought, immediately understanding what was going on, both Ranpo and Kunikida now understanding why Atsuhsi's attention was grabbed when they had mentioned the Mafia before.
They glanced over to their precious Atsushi, he seemed pretty oblivious to Akutagawa's reaction, but it wasn't a stretch to say his heart was probably doing miles as well, judging by his rosie cheeks.
The weretiger began to flick through the papers, his eyes skimming through them, as he sat down at Dazai's desk, Akutagawa cautiously sat at Atsushi's desk, looking around, fiddling with some of his stuff.
"What exactly are they?" Kenji asked as he peered over Atsushi's arms.
"They're reports on Dazai-san's and Chuuya-san's relationship in all of their missions"
"Why would they need to do that?" Yosano asked, crossing her arms
"Well apparently, from what Akutagawa said, they had met under less than friendly circumstances and their relationship was unstable, so if anything were to happen, they'd have proof on what happened."
"In other words in case they killed each other at some point, they'd have evidence of who did it. That and the boss is a weirdo, who has a thing for pairing the two of them."
Akutagawa butted in, his dark eyes meeting Atsushi's bright multicoloured ones.
Atsushi nodded in agreement letting out a small hum of approval to his dark haired friend, as he handed out the various papers to the different agency members.
Everyone read in silence, it was hard to believe someone as moronic as Dazai was able to commit so many crimes, especially to the extent that was written on the very papers they were holding, it brung up questions about what had happened to cause such a drastic change in him, it was also just quite surprising to finally understand parts of Dazai's past, it felt wrong to some extents. He obviously had a valid reason to keep it secret. But it was inevitable, still however no one trusted him any less. Despite some of the horrific stuff written in the papers.
Amongst all the cold blooded murder, there were explicit and detailed accounts of the interactions between them and although there were a lot of arguments present there were certainly a lot of funny moments too, it was clear the two had an immeasurable amount of trust between the two of them as well as impeccable teamwork. When the agency members looked back at Atsushi, he had pulled out a dark blue box from Dazai's drawers, he wore an and expression that seemed incredibly proud of himself.
"What's that Sushi?" Akutagawa questioned causally, only to realise what he had called Atsushi, causing his pale face to redden in embarrassment.
"Well Aku," Atsushi began putting emphasis on the nickname
"It took a while, but I found out that Dazai-san kept a small box from when he was in the Mafia, when I asked around, apparently he didn't let anyone look what's inside, so it must be important" Atsushi opened the box, an expression of surprise visible on his face.
He pulled out some photos and stared happily down at them
"Atsushi?" Tanizaki questioned, looking slightly concerned,
"Don't worry it's nothing bad, here, look." Atsushi handed out the two photo's, one to Yosano the other to Tanizaki, Noami and Kenji and Kyouka's who were peeking next to them. They where surprised to say the least.
The first photos seemed to be taken by a high quality security camera (of course you'd expect no less form Port Mafia), it depicted Chuuya, presumably waking up from a small nap, running his gloved hand through his hair, with a lazy yawn. His brunet executive partner was sprawled comfortably on top of him, somewhere on the verge of being asleep and awake. Dazai was gripping the smaller by the waist. It was a peaceful and quiet photo, one that really showed the rare slightly more intimate moments that two sometimes shared and it also allowed the agency, for the first time to see a slightly softer side to the cold hearted mafioso of that time.
The other one was taken by a third party person. They where on a really beautiful beach during sunset hours, quite romantic if you asked anybody else but double black. Of course the agency didn't know the context however it was clear the two were very much enjoying themselves, Chuuya was surrounded in the red hue generated by his ability, levitating not too far away from the edge of the cliff, where -quite recognisably- stood Dazai. He wore a fond, rare, smile as he looked at the other, basking in the sunset light, finally feeling like he could relax. The two smiled at each other as if they were in their own world, like they were completely focused on one another.
The picture looked to be taken after a long and gruelling mission, the two teenagers looked bloodied and beaten up, even looking at the picture you could tell that they where both exhausted. Dazai seemed to drop his ever lasting facade of not being phased by absolutely anyone or anything. Dazai couldn't float there with Chuuya, he'd have to be standing on something and he'd have to make sure not to touch Chuuya's skin directly, there were just too many complications, and if Dazai had to be brutally honest seeing Chuuya look so free lifted his spirits just enough to make him want to keep going.
"Honestly, it's hard to believe this is him..." Yosano mumbled as Ranpo placed his chin on her shoulder, peering curiously at the photos with his head slightly tilted. A small 'hmm' sound coming from his lips
"Hard to believe Dazai likes Chuuya back at all." Naomi mumbled, earning little nods of approval from the members of the agency. The photo's where passed around until, somehow, Kunikida ended up getting both of them, he looked down at them intently, then looked back at Atsushi
"So our big idiot likes Chuuya?" Atsushi smiled shrugging turning his palms upwards
"It's a logical conclusion right?"
Kunkida sighed, rubbing his temples
"This could make the mission a lot harder"
"I don't think it will, it means Dazai-kun will do whatever he can not to fail, to protect fancy hat." Ranpo affirmed, sitting down, opening a packet of crisps.
"That, however can also means it could fail. If Dazai decides he's more important than the mission."
Kunikida sternly reinforced, Atsushi shook his head.
"Do you know Dazai-san at al-"
a loud ring interrupted what Atsushi was going to say, granted it was a good thing, he might have gotten a smack from the blonde man, if it wasn't for his phone. Akutagawa picked it up handing it over to Atsushi. The silver haired male took the phone clumsily, placing it on speaker rather reluctantly only to be met with sobs and shaky breathes,
"A-atsushi- t-the door- it's been blocked, I-I-I c-can't get to Dazai and that-that a-ability hit us again-" The Mafioso could barely say, his sentence littered with sobs and sniffles
"W-what? The doors blocked? Can't you kick it down?" The weretiger asked a sinking feeling growing abruptly in his chest
"N-no it's bec-become a wall, the win-windows too. That suicidal ba-bastard is stuck in there"
"How did you get separated?"
Tanizaki asked curiously, Chuuya's face flushed, his trembling fingers fumbling awkwardly with each other, not really sure if he was able to tell them, but he decided that they were some of the closest people Dazai had; that meant he could trust them too, even if they tried to kill each other a year ago.
"I- I promised him, I-I'd change hi-his.... b-bandage-es" There was silence, as everyone realised that Atsushi was right, Dazai must really really like Chuuya if he was allowing him to take even one bandage off. Yosano had tried helping him a few times, only for Dazai to playfully push it off and say he was fine.
Akutagawa and Atsushi gave a knowing look toward each other, as Chuuya continued.
"We...we w-ere walking to t-the bathroom s-so I could chan-change them... and as I was about to walk right a-after him... the door- it- it turned into a wall...."
Everyone blinked in confusion, the door? Turned into a wall? There where many questions filling everyone's minds, did that mean whoever is targeting them knew where their location was? Was there another person involved? Where the more people involved?
Atsushi was in a panic, he realised that Chuuya must be feeling even worse that he had to call the Agency of all places about his dilemma. Atsushi calmed his nerves, looking at Akutagawa momentarily.
"Chuuya-san, try getting things you like....uh...what exactly do you like?"
Atsushi asked, as he started to pace around the room
"Well...I like w-wine..."
Chuuya responded pathetically, his shaking and crying getting progressively worse and worse,
"Try pouring yourself some wine and get somewhere comfortable"
Atsushi suggested, the ginger obeyed without a complaint feeling desperate to get rid of this feeling, even though he had a feeling it wouldn't work.
Chuuya shuffled around getting the wine out, whilst the members sat and thought to themselves, that's when Kunikida suddenly realised something and interrupted the silence
"So is Dazai stuck inside the bathroom on his own experiencing similar symptoms to you?"
He asked, much to Atsushi's dismay
"Y-yeah.." Chuuya replied, realising the fact that he had the short end of the stick (much like his height). When he thought about the fact that Dazai was sitting, trembling and sweating all on his own, probably craving Chuuya's touch just as much as Chuuya was craving his, it made his heart sink, it made his own symptoms worsen, to the point that standing up was a challenge, he definitely didn't want to accidentally break the glass cups or the wine that Dazai had bought, either, (he secretly swore to himself that he would keep them forever) so he gave up pouring the wine and instead just snatched the bottle, plopping himself in his usual spot near the radiator.
He sat a while hoping that it would make a difference but it didn't, in fact he felt like he suddenly couldn't breathe, he started to cough, and splutter vigorously, it confused him, this hadn't happened last time, so why was it happening now? Was it the ability or was it him just being paranoid?
Ranpo sighed shaking his head at his friends utterly embarrassing stupidity, setting down his crisps, reluctantly getting up, he waddled over to Atsushi taking the phone from his gloved hand without even asking him,
"Hello, fancy hat." He greeted completely unconcerned. It sounded like a normal hello to everyone else but to Chuuya it came out sounding more like a command, which irritated him even more than seeing him in person did. Chuuya was unable to answer due to his aggressive coughing and choking, the annoyance from Ranpo's voice making it worse, he wanted to say that he was most definitely not going to listen to him, but Chuuya was well aware of how intelligent he was, ultimately deciding it was better not to say anything rude and instead answer him.
"h-hi" He croaked out in between coughs,
"You're stuck in the main hotel room,
so Dazai's stuff should be there, get his most recently worn clothes, and keep them close to you, it'll feel like he's at least somewhat next to you."
Chuuya's coughing eased for a moment, his face reddening suddenly
"What!! No fu-ucking w-way!!"
He spluttered in disbelief, that was the most embarrassing thing Chuuya would ever have to do, sure he wanted to be close to Dazai but doing that made it sound like he was a lovesick boyfriend that couldn't be away from his partner for even an hour. Also what about his ego? He had quite a big one and succumbing to Dazai was the worst thing possible, even just thinking about Dazai walking in on Chuuya jumbled up in his clothes, that ever-irritating smirk plastered on his face made the smaller male want to crawl into a hole and never come out again.
The smaller heard Ranpo sigh
"Suit yourself, you're the one suffering." The detective shrugged, Chuuya's body began to tremble both due to the ability that was inflicted on him and his anger thanks to Ranpo.
As a result out of nothing but the desperate need for pain relief, he shot up, stumbled stupidly over to the coat hangers, grabbed Dazai's sand coloured coat, throwing it onto his head, clutching each of the sides with his opposite hand, he then walked over to the bedroom where he took the brunet's blue tinted dress shirt, sliding it onto his shoulders. Chuuya then slid himself weakly against the wall with the coat covering his head, eyes watery with his ginger locks peeking through the sides of the coat, framing his heated face. He used whatever energy he had left to weakly squeeze Dazai's coat, bringing his legs up to his chest, burying his face into his knees, allowing the smell of the detective's cologne and body odour to surround him.
A vivid image of Dazai smiling softly at him, with his slender hands in his Sandy brown coat, the morning sun making his brown fluffy hair glow seeped calmly into Chuuya's mind. The thought made the smaller feel giddy, and safe. The effects of this were almost immediate as he realised that his body realxed ever so slighlty, causing him to subconsciously squeeze the brunettes coat tighter, digging his face deeper into the soft fabric, taking a shaky deep breath.
"Are you better now Chuuy-san?"
Kyouka questioned although she had a feeling she knew the answer, thanks to the silence and lack of coughing and choking.
"Yeah...thank...you." He mumbled shyly and quietly, the agency members looked towards Ranpo who was sitting cross legged on the table, eating again, he peered up at them and shrugged, although Yosano could tell he was happy to help internally.
"I-I think you guys can go now...I don't want to keep you..." Chuuya spoke, wrapping the coat around his body even more, feeling comforted by the idea that Dazai wore it all the time. The action made him realise that over time, that sandy brown long coat had become a staple Dazai item to Chuuya. Similarly to those maddening bandages he grew so unimaginably sick of. Even after Dazai had left the mafia any type of bandage or suicide device he had the unfortunate luck to lay eyes on reminded him, quite bitterly, of the taller. Now, along with bandages, anytime he walked past a clothing store and he saw a sand coloured item, his mind immediately went to a Dazai, much to his distaste, yet the thoughts that filled his head now, admittedly weren't that bad, not bad at all...
Atsushi felt at peace that Chuuya seemed to be slightly better, however his worries still lied with Dazai. The call ended shortly after Chuuya, Atsushi and Akutagawa had said their goodbyes, causing Atsushi to now face Kunikida.
"Someone should go to them. Given their current state, it would be hard to protect themselves." Kunkida sighed, standing up firmly
"Atsushi you'd need to go, considering your connection too the both of them." the blond man looked around the room thoughtfully with his hand on his chin, he scanned the room a few times, eyes finally landing on Tanizaki,
"Tanizaki it's a good idea if you go as well, your ability can trick anyone if it really comes to that." Kunikida nodded at himself in approval. Atsushi and Tanizaki smiled at each other, Atsushi then turned his attention to Kunikida nodding seriously.
"If Jinko is going, then I'm going too." Akutagawa affirmed getting up from his chair, to walk out, shoving his hands aggressively in his jean pockets. Atsushi perked up, his posture stiffening slightly for a split second, pleasant goosebumps forming on his arms, surprised by what Akutagawa said. Kunikida began to give excuses as to why he was definitely not going, but just as Atsushi was about to try and convince Kunikida to lay off the dark haired male, he remembered something much more important
"Wait Akutagawa! Wouldn't it be dangerous if you came as well??"
Atsushi spoke running up him and grabbing his wrists in the heat of the moment. The darker haired male turned around looking down at Atsushi, not shrugging off his touch
"And why is that?" He asked looking at him, his head tilted slightly to the left.
"Well...I- well.... if- if you come... and the ability hits me.... then I-I might re-react...you and...yeah..." Atsushi's voice trailed into nothing but a whisper towards the end, looking away from the mafioso and at the floor, still gripping onto his wrists, embarrassment bubbling inside of him as he thought about what he was implying and the god-awful sentence that just came out his mouth.
It took Akutagawa a few seconds to process what the weretiger was implying. His pale complexion reddened again, using the back of his hand to cover his face, looking away.
"A-alright, I'll just get off a bit away from the hotel, so they won't have anyone to associate you with."
Akutagawa mumbled, looking towards Atsushi again, the younger's bright eyes met Akutagawa's dark ones, smiling towards him
"Okay!"
"Then it's settled. Once you arrive there, Atsushi you go to the main hotel, check on Chuuya immediately, try and see if you can get to Dazai, if you can't don't just break the wall, call me. Tanizaki make sure you keep on the look out and protect those two adult idiots if it comes to it. I'll have to speak to president about moving them somewhere they wouldn't be found in." The blonde man spoke pushing his squared glasses up his nose thoughtfully
"I'll do that" Ranpo spoke getting up abruptly, stretching his arms back before strolling away, not allowing Kunikida to protest his claims, plus he wanted to see Fukuzawa anyway.
Atsushi got in the front of the car with Tanizaki as the driver, whilst Akutagawa sat in the back silently. The mafioso glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting Tanizaki's, the ginger flashed him a smile, to which, quite embarrassingly, the dark-haired male returned.
"Right, let's go" Atsushi spoke with a bated breathe, turning towards Akutagawa, determination written all over his face. Akutagawa nodded in acknowledgement and they began their hour and a half journey towards Chuuya and Dazai.
Although Chuuya was doing much better now than he had done previously, with Dazai's coat wrapped around him, the brunet couldn't say the same, he was sitting down in the corner of the bathroom, hugging his body as he shook, he wasn't crying but he felt like he could any second. His head was searing with pain, especially the back of his head directly opposite to his forehead, there was a pressure building up at that same spot, he felt like curling into himself and falling into a deep sleep, but that wasn't possible either, his head hurt too much.
He had never wanted to be as close to Chuuya as he did at this moment, he wanted to be held by the smaller as close as possible and never let go or have him let go, he wanted to be so close to him that they'd end up merging into one. He groaned in pain, as he gripped his hair tightly, he hated pain and unfortunately for him if he had to rate the pain he was experiencing out of ten it would easily exceed and go up to a thirty.
His head hurt so bad that breathing sent sharp pains, starting from his head down to the rest of his body, he couldn't move, let alone stand, it was the most awful experience, and he had no clue how long he'd have to endure it. Dazai got up nearly fainting as he clutched onto the edge of the sink, using his shaky right hand he turned the head of the cold tap on, he lowered his excruciatingly painful head low down until the cold water ran directly over the area where his head hurt, it didn't make it better but the skin felt numb, reducing the feeling of the pain ever so slightly. The brunet stayed like that for a minute or two but he still felt horrible, and now his head was cold as well.
When he looked in the mirror, he looked like an incredibly sick hospital patient with his usually slightly tanned skin, being as pale as paper, and his lively brown eyes were now overshadowed by small bags that were beginning to form.
Dazai was now at exactly where it all began, in front of what used to be the door, he glanced up noticing the white towel with a slight bit of eyeliner tainted onto it and had the sudden realisation that that was Chuuya's towel, silently thanking the ginger for forgetting his towel, Dazai lifted his arm despite the pain he felt, unhooking the white towel allowing it to fall onto his head silently.
Dazai could smell the citrus shampoo Chuuya was using; just like he had predicted, the agonizing pain in his head had reduced ever so slightly, and his shaking had decreased in intensity, he shifted his body to the corner again, leaning his head back gently, the towel now covering his face, the smell of Chuuya's shampoo overpowering any other smell that was present in the bathroom (which was mostly Dazai and his copious amount of sweating, ultimately causing the room to utterly stink of sweat).
The effects weren't as good as he had hoped, his breathing still sent a horrible piercing feeling throughout his body and he was still shaking, of course, the sweat hadn't seized either. But it was a little better and that counted for something, the pain went from thirty to at least a twenty-four.
For the most part, he was wondering about how Chuuya was doing, the latter wasn't incredibly intelligent, so Dazai wasn't sure if he would figure out that he would probably need items that belonged to him, if he did, the taller couldn't help but think how cute he'd look jumbled in his clothing, causing him to smile ever so slightly. However, he couldn't help but worry about what other symptoms Chuuya was experiencing, he prayed to whatever god (if any) that Chuuya had this a lot easier; that he wouldn't need to suffer and be in as much pain as he was going through, he hoped from the bottom of his heart that Chuuya was dealing with it okay.
He was also hoping that he would be able to attach himself to Chuuya and not let go until late tomorrow evening, even if it meant he'd get told off by Kunikida for not doing anything or have Fukuzawa shake his head at him, it didn't matter, he just wanted to be close to Chuuya.