The room was quiet apart from the sounds of Dazai pushing buttons on his gaming console. He was playing Zelda Breath of the Wild and currently sneaking around in the Yiga hideout. Watching the mackerel play was fun because he didn't curse, especially not if he was playing alone. No, he was quietly talking to himself about the things that happened in the game and his face went through every possible expression it owned. He looked angry, pleased, sad, annoyed, and so on. It was as if he were checking if all of his expressions still worked. Chuuya could watch the other play video games forever. And his younger self would too if he wasn't still asleep from using corruption. Dazai was currently in Chuuya's infirmary room, sitting on the chair that faced the sleeping Chuuya. Well, 'sitting' wasn't quite fitting, because Dazai was more laying on it. His legs were thrown over one armrest and his back leaned against the other armrest. Wasn't that also a thing? Like isn't there a meme about bisexual people being unable to sit on a chair the way it was intended to? Because Dazai definitely checked that box. The younger boy sighed and leaned his head back while he stretched his arms out in front of his face as he continued playing upside-down. Sadly, he was good at avoiding the Yiga members because he constantly wore that pleased and smug expression. He wished the sly bastard would be noticed by his in-game enemies, but it seemed rather unlikely. A ringing interrupted his game. He swiftly took the phone out of his pocket. His eyebrows skeptically knitted together as he looked at the number on the screen.

"Yeah?" Dazai put his phone between his ear and shoulder and continued playing. "Aha," he replied very disinterestedly. But then his expression changed, and the game is suddenly forgotten as Dazai straightens his posture, sitting in the chair now. "You found it?" The answer on the other end of the call must have been affirmative because Dazai was getting up from the chair. "Great! So where are you?" He saved and closed his game as he placed the console on the nightstand. "You're on the ground level? Stay where you are, I'm on my way," he ended the call, as he already reached the door to exit the room. Real Chuuya followed him to the elevator. Dazai was walking fast as he moved past other mafiosos. His eyes scanned any person, clearly looking for someone.

"Dazai-kun," a timid voice called and the younger boy's attention immediately snapped to the person. It wasn't anyone Chuuya recognized so it was a low-ranked member from a squad he didn't interfere with. What did Dazai want from him?

"Hello," the brunet greeted him with a smile and a small nod. "Where did you find it?" He asked as the mafioso handed him a paper bag.

"On a mostly destroyed rooftop. It's in good condition, not a scratch," the lower-rank member reported and Dazai nodded looking into the paper bag.

"Okay," he reached into his pocket, pulled out an absurd amount of money, and handed it to the mafioso. "That should cover your troubles."

"Thank you!" He shouted and then seemed to realize that he was currently speaking to the demon prodigy because he corrected his exclamation: "Eh, I mean it wasn't any trouble at all," Dazai didn't listen anyway, he was already turning to get back to Chuuya's room, humming some tune as he stepped into the elevator. He opened the door and was surprised that Chuuya was awake and not alone.

"Ugh, I feel way too shitty to deal with a shitty bastard like you, Dazai," his younger self 'greeted' and the guest just hid a smile behind her Kimono sleeve.

"If you can curse already, you can't be feeling that bad, Chibi," Dazai responds with a grin. "Ane-san," he acknowledged her presence with a nod.

"The nurse was already here. Chuuya is going to need a few days to rest," Ane-san explained, while young Chuuya rolled his eyes. He was hating the fact that he had to spend even more days in this stupid room without anything to do. "Mori-dono was also here. He was looking for you."

"What does he want now," the bandaged boy immediately complained, while he carefully placed the paper bag on Chuuya's bed. Oh, it was his hat. Dazai just brought him his hat. So he organized a squad to look for the hat in the destruction Corruption had left behind. "I guess you have to survive without my wonderful presence for a bit longer, Chuuya," he said in a pitiful tone with joyful brightness in his visible eye. Chuuya's younger version made a gagging sound.

"Leave me alone already!"

"Where would be the fun in that?" Dazai laughed as he left the room again. "Be a good dog and wait patiently!" He closed the door before young Chuuya could curse him out. The joyful spark in his eye was gone as he frowned. Why is he looking for me? He asked himself as he moved toward Mori's office.

He knocked on the wooden door and entered the room. The boss was sitting in his chair as usual, hands folded as they rested on the big desk in front of him.

"You were looking for me?" Dazai asked, stepping closer so he was in front of the wooden desk.

"Yes, I wanted to hand you the information on your next target," he said as he retrieved a thin folder out of a drawer and handed it to Dazai. The younger one immediately opened it to scan over it. Real Chuuya looked over his shoulders to see if he knew anything about it. It was a mission that wasn't designed for one person, but it was strange because Chuuya couldn't remember the target.

"Well, Chuuya and I will handle this in a few—"

"Tomorrow."

"What?" Dazai looked up from the papers he scanned over, a confused look on his face. "Chuuya needs to rest."

"And I need the target dead tomorrow, not a day later," Mori said resting his head on his folded hands. "You could handle this on your own if you think that Chuuya isn't able to accompany you tomorrow." A sickly-sweet smile on Mori's face and real Chuuya was so angry. The mission is designed for two people and it's such a cheap trick to get Dazai to do it. It was even more than that: If Dazai did and succeeded in missions alone it would heighten his chance of becoming an executive. Shit, Chuuya even accused him of doing exactly that. Fuck, he was an idiot.

"The target will be dead," the demon prodigy said and was already turning to leave but Mori stopped him with a look. The former underground doctor reached into a different drawer to pull out a bunch of documents sorted into folders.

"Chuuya will probably be bored if you won't let him be on the mission so let him do some paperwork," he holds the folder in front of Dazai, waiting for the boy to take it. Chibi shouldn't do anything besides recover!

"That's something he can do," was Dazai's comment as he grabbed the folder with a smile. That was kinda weird. Chuuya didn't remember doing any paperwork at that time. "Is that all?"

"Yes, you can leave."

When Dazai opened the door to Chuuya's room, his younger self was fast asleep again. Ane-san was still sitting on the chair, but now she was getting up.

"What did he want?" She asked even though she seemed to guess what the conversation might have been about.

"A mission for me, nothing out of the ordinary," Dazai played it down, but the older woman didn't believe him as she arched one eyebrow, silently questioning the statement. It was definitely out of the ordinary that either of them got a mission alone. That only became more common when they were older.

"For you? Alone?" She wanted him to clarify after the teen ignored her silent question and Dazai sighed.

"It is, yes." The elegant woman was quiet for a few seconds, then she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll watch over him," she reassured with a smile. Thank you.

"Do what you want to do." God, Dazai was really insecure if he even had to hide his gratitude. Although he was probably scared that anyone else would figure him out as Mori did, wasn't he? It was bad to have feelings in the mafia, feelings were used against you. Mori certainly did exploit Dazai's feelings for Chuuya so who could blame the younger boy for at least trying to keep it a secret? No one. Chuuya would beat up anyone who did. Ane-san chuckled as she left the room. Dazai was stressed and angry at Mori, but as soon as his brown eyes took in the side of his younger self's sleeping form, a sincere smile formed on his lips. God, Chuuya loved that smile. It was so gentle and sweet and he still remembers every time he had seen the other smile like that. You're doing it for him. He deserves to rest, he fought a god! You can handle a little mission. Chuuya knew that the mission wasn't 'little', he just read what the younger one had to face. It was way too much for one person, even if said person was a fucking genius. He was incredibly worried, which was ridiculous because Dazai would end up surviving the mission. He knew he would and still, the feeling was there. Dazai moved to the nightstand. He put the folder there, took the console to switch it on, and then created a new profile. Right. Chuuya remembered playing on Dazai's switch while the other did paperwork. After he created the profile, he placed the console on the bed. While he sat on the floor, he cleaned the nightstand to use it as a small table. The young boy scanned the documents and sighed. He pulled out his cell phone. "Yeah, sorry to call you after you just left, but could you do me a favor?" Ane-san did probably immediately ask what he was up to. "Nothing, I just need a filled report done by Chuuya, but Mori can't know I asked for it," the voice on the other end of the call got almost loud enough for real Chuuya to hear it. "I know, I know it's a lot to ask and I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't for Chuuya's sake," Dazai admitted. There was a long pause, Ane-san most likely held a whole speech about his request being wrong, just to end up agreeing. Dazai's face lit up. "Great, see you!"

"Why do you even need it?" Was the first thing the elegant woman asked as she handed the mackerel the document he asked for.

"Mori wants Chuuya to do paperwork and I think he deserves to rest after he legitimately fought a singularity akin to a god," he explained while reading over Chuuya's report. "And since I made Chibi do a lot of my paperwork over the last year, I think it's my turn now." Ane-san looked at him skeptically and Dazai seemed to realize her stare because he answered the silent question. "I just need the report to figure out his style."

"You have to worry about your style too," she said with a sigh and the younger boy looked up from reading the document to muster her confusion. "Here," she handed him another folder, a big one. "Mori told me he wants you to finish this report because you've been slacking lately." He knows what I'm up to, great. Chuuya wished his younger self had known it too. He was going to be an enormous asshole about the reports and the mission. Dazai reluctantly accepted the papers handed to him.

"I will just do both, no problem. Chuuya did my work every time whilst doing his stuff," he claimed as he skipped through the ridiculous amount of documents.

"I'd never thought I have to say this to you, but don't overwork yourself," the older woman said with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Chuuya fought a god. I just watched it happen," the bandaged teen stated, which wasn't true at all. Chuuya saw what Dazai did during the fight. He occupied Guivre with mafiosi so Chuuya could prepare his next attack. It certainly would've ended differently if it wasn't for that break in the attack scheme. "So, he is the one who gets to do nothing for once."

"Just don't overdo it," she warned as she left the room. Dazai was definitely going to overdo it. Chuuya knows it and shamefully knows how he will react to all of this. Fuck. The moment Ane-san left, Dazai pulled empty papers and a pen out of nowhere. He wrote every character of the alphabet neatly with space between and underneath on the paper. He then looked at Chuuya's report and traced Chuuya's handwriting underneath the according character of the alphabet. He was creating a guide. Holy shit. Is he going to forge his handwriting? Is that what he meant with 'style'? The younger one started practicing Chuuya's style on an empty sheet. He did that a few times, at first, he had to look at the guide he created, but after a while, he didn't need it. Every character was repetitively written in a line written over and over and then he started to form words. Real Chuuya was shocked at how authentic the forged writing looked. And it only took the other maybe three hours to perfect it. God, the younger boy was far too intelligent. Now Dazai started to work on Chuuya's documents. As he had a quarter done, he made a break. Even though you couldn't call it that since he started working on his own documents. Sometimes he looked to Chuuya to check if he was still asleep and as he looked up this time, he seemed to see his foretells of waking up, then he immediately hid the paperwork that belonged to Chuuya in the drawer of the nightstand and continued to work on his paperwork.

"Am I hallucinating? Are you actually doing paperwork?" Was the first thing his younger version asked the bandaged boy.

"Only because I couldn't annoy Chuuya while he was sleeping like a little puppy," Dazai countered with a grin and had to doge a hardly thrown pillow.

"I'm not a dog!" The older one screamed angrily and then after a few seconds he quietly mumbled: "And if I would be, I wouldn't be a puppy. I'd be something really cool."

"Oh? But you're far too small to be something cool, you'd be a tiny Chihuahua!" The bandage waster faked a gasp: "A Chuhuahua! It's right in your name!"

"Stop pretending to come up with that stupid joke every single time, it's getting so old," Chuuya complained and Dazai just snickered.

"I think it gets funnier every single time," the brunet said with a grin and Chuuya's younger version rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he dismissed, then fixed his eyes on Dazai again. "So, when's the next mission? I'm bored outta my mind already." The demon prodigy looked at him, taking in every small shiver, every faux pas in his body language like the way he shifts his bodyweight to his left side because he had a huge bruise on his right side. He's such a terrible liar. Dazai sees through him in the blink of an eye: It was a lie. God, he was so desperate to rest at that moment, but he didn't want to show it. Especially not in front of Dazai, which he ended up doing anyway because Dazai had stupid hawk eyes.

"There's none," the brunet responded. "You shouldn't be so eager, you fought a god, Chuuya. Rest."

"I don't need to rest! I'm perfe—" he interrupted himself with a pained hiss. His younger version had decided it would be best to show that he was 'perfectly fine' by raising fast into a sitting position. It hurt like hell. His left arm reached for the bruise as his body hunched in on itself. Dazai sighed as he stood up and picked up the pillow while he walked to the bed. He placed it behind Chuuya's sitting form and then carefully laid a hand on his chest to press him gently into a lying position again. Young Chuuya just let it happen, still in pain from his sudden movement and feeling relieved by having his head sink into the fluffy pillow again. "I don't really— I could—"

"I know. But just because you could, doesn't mean you should," the younger one said in the same tone of voice Mori had when lecturing him about his suicide attempts. His hand was still on Chuuya's chest, thus making him stand really close to the bed and the redhead. He remembered thinking that Dazai's hand was pleasantly warm and soothing. But the demon prodigy seemed to remember his reputation, because he immediately brought distance between them again, the hand leaving Chuuya's body. "Just enjoy your day off, Chuuya," he remarked while grabbing the switch to hand it to the other.

"You let me play with your switch?" Them playing competitive games on said console was nothing new, but this was the first time Dazai let him use the switch without participating in the activity himself. The bandaged teen was slowly moving to his makeshift table to pick up where he left writing his reports. The only answer his younger self got was a slight shrug of delicate shoulders. "That's oddly nice of— You asshole!" Ah, right. When Dazai created the new profile for the redhead, he used a dog from Animal Crossing as a profile picture while naming it 'My Dog', which explains the sudden mood swing of his younger version. The brunet just snickered. Obviously, the first thing young Chuuya did was to change the picture and the name for himself into something cool and something insulting for Dazai. This was the start of their 'username war' on the switch. It was almost a year till they stopped their little name-calling game to settle for slug and mackerel without ever changing it again. Chuuya wondered if Dazai still had the switch and if the names were still the same. Did he even have a profile on it anymore?

They spent the rest of the day like this: Chuuya playing Breath of the Wild and Dazai doing paperwork. Sometimes they bickered, mostly when Dazai somehow knew that Chuuya just died in the game and decided to mock him with it. His younger version fell asleep every now and then, the switch loosely in his hands slowly slipping out of his grip. Dazai would carefully remove the switch from his hands, save the game and recharge the console. He then used the time the older one was asleep to work on forging his reports. It was a peaceful atmosphere.

Real Dazai watched as Chuuya played a match of Smash Bros against Hirotsu. They both concentrated on the small screen as they pushed the buttons on the controllers to get their characters to move and beat the shit out of each other's characters. The gray-haired mafioso was also panickedly moving his controller in all sorts of directions as if that could help him play better, whereas Chuuya just pushed the buttons with ease. The redhead won, otherwise, he would've never let him live it down. Dazai's younger self was currently doing the mission so Ane-san and Hirotsu told him that they'd check on Chuuya.

"And Dazai is even better than you at this?" Hirotsu asked as he watched his character sadly applaud for Chuuya's. The small mafioso grinded his teeth a bit.

"He's just utterly annoying with stupid Princess Peach, that's all," he said, clearly remembering any time his character lost to the blonde princess. Chuuya's gaze falls on the clock. "Where's the bag of bandages anyways? He said he'd be shortly gone, but it's been a half day now." Is Chibi missing him? "I have to beat him in this game already."

"You've never won?" Hirotsu asked astounded and Chuuya suddenly got embarrassed.

"Just because the bastard cheats!" Was Chibi's adorable excuse. He didn't cheat, the other one was just pushing buttons without thinking about combinations beforehand. It's not his fault Chuuya was stupid.

"You need to shower," the elegant woman said whilst wrinkling her nose in disgust. Dazai looked like shit and he reeked of gunpowder and blood. What the hell was he doing on that mission?

"But I—"

"No buts." I will not let you enter this room without a shower," Ane-san said with a severe look in her eyes. The brunet turned away, mumbling how this was 'not fair' as he left to clean himself up. Real Chuuya just watched the conversation play out as his younger self was peacefully sleeping again. A little memory skip later and the door opened again and a clean Dazai with damp hair walked into the room.

"There," Dazai scoffed, slowly turning around to show off that he was clean. He even had fresh bandages. "Happy?"

"Mhm, good enough," Ane-san commented as she walked towards the door. It amazed real Chuuya that she even had time to watch over him. He knew her schedule was packed. "We already ate, leftovers are on the nightstand. Don't forget that you need to rest too," she remarked as she walked out of the door, silently closing it behind her and Dazai's mask slipped immediately. His shoulders slumped, his eyelids looked so heavy and his steps seemed so wobbly as he moved towards the chair. God. He lost a good amount of blood on that mission, didn't he? And as if that wouldn't be bad enough on its own, the brunet was sleep-deprived. The teen moved the leftovers from the nightstand and started to forge Chuuya's documents once again. Idiot. He should fucking sleep, but the other pushed through his tiredness. Whenever real Chuuya thought he would just fall asleep head first on the table, the younger one looked at Chuuya's sleeping form with a tired smile. I do this for him. was the only thought running through his head and he kept going. The stupid idiot was going to pass out any moment and still refused to lay down his pen. Real Chuuya looked over the documents and no one would think a sleep-deprived would've written this. It looked as neat as Chuuya's writing could look. The executive sighed. He was going to be mean to the younger one and he wished he could talk some sense into his younger version before he let it all out on the bandaged boy. The brunet finished the rest of the documents at a frightening speed, probably because he wanted to sleep, but as he put away the last paper, he just tackled his own workload again. Working through the document and the second he finished it, the younger Chuuya woke up. It was morning already.

"You look like shit," was the first thing his younger version said, sleep still in his voice, as he rubbed his left eye a bit while yawning.

"And you look like a well-rested dog," the other replied, mask already on his face to hide how shitty he felt.

"Stop it with the dog shit already!" Was the immediate response to the slight teasing as the redhead jumped out of the bed, not fully recovered. His body still felt sore, and he was hyper-aware of every movement his muscles did. It wasn't as bad as the other day, but it wasn't pleasant. But it was manageable, he wouldn't say 'no' to a relaxing day though. The ups of being the vessel for a god was definitely that he recovered way faster than a normal person would, but it still hurt.

"You said dog shit," Dazai snickered and real Chuuya rolled his eyes with a slight grin while his younger version started to throw a tantrum, throwing pillows at Dazai. His throws were reinforced with Tainted, but since Dazai was his target, the pillow lost all its momentum as soon as it hit his face and the typical blue glow of the other's ability appeared. One pillow missed his original target and sent Dazai's documents flying through the air. Confused by the rustling sound the papers created, young Chuuya looked at the flying documents, curiously catching one to read over them.

"You did all of those?" He questioned, disbelievingly picking up other papers, eyebrows slightly pulled together as he realized the enormous amount of documents laying on the ground. Dazai is silently collecting the reports he filled out, clearly trying to avoid the question because I can't just tell him why I did this. Contrary to his thoughts, he totally could've said it, but real Chuuya understood his fear. Hell, he had it himself, that's why he always chickened out when he wanted to confess to the idiot. But he won't do that again. As soon as he is out of this ability, he will have an actually healthy conversation with the former demon prodigy. He probably has to fucking hold Dazai down so he can't slip away from the serious talk like the slimy mackerel he is, but they are going to talk about all these repressed and constipated emotions. "Don't just ignore me, shithead," his younger version said, clearly annoyed and also very confused about Dazai's untypical behavior. He looked at him through squinted eyes, taking in his appearance, his brows immediately furrowed and then his eyes widened as he came to a realization: "You didn't sleep."

"I don't know what—" that has to do with my paperwork, Dazai wanted to say, but he was interrupted by the door opening.

"Wonderful, you're up again," Mori greeted as he walked into the room, gently closing the door behind him. "Feeling ready for a new mission?" His younger version straightened his posture, even if it hurt like hell, not realizing that Dazai's face darkened. "You don't have to, you can still rest if you want to," Mori said with a smile and young Chuuya relaxed his posture, a relieved expression on his face. "Dazai can just handle the next mission alone, right?" The older male asked the demon prodigy, who was glaring at the former underground doctor. Young Chuuya immediately protested, he didn't even realize that this wasn't about him. He was used as a bargaining chip and he fucking hated it. Shit, how didn't his younger self notice the obvious attempt at manipulation? Mori only said what he said to make sure Chuuya would go on a new mission, but it only was a show of power to keep Dazai under control. It didn't have anything to do with him at all and if Chuuya wasn't as prideful and competitive as he is, maybe this stupid tactic wouldn't have worked.

"I can handle a new mission!" The redhead exclaimed promptly, even if his body still screamed for a day spent doing nothing but playing Switch.

"Are you sure? You can rest for a few days longer. Dazai is so diligent at the moment he even wanted to finish all of his paperwork. I was so astounded," Mori declared with surprise and now Chuuya could acknowledge how impressively genuine it sounded, even though it was all faked. His stupid younger version couldn't and fell for it in an instant. He looked at Dazai in actual surprise.

"No," he said, sounding confused, his eyes still fixed on Dazai as he slowly turned his head to face Mori. "I can handle a mission," now his gaze focused on Mori, who smiled pleased at his statement.

"Good," the older male handed him a folder, and his younger self opened and scanned it. While he did that Dazai's glare pierced through Mori. The former underground doctor just smiled at him, but it didn't reach his eyes. It never did. Mori met the demon prodigy's gaze with calculating coldness.

"Something on your mind, Dazai?" He asked innocently and Dazai narrowed his eyes. Chuuya's younger version looked up at the question, back then he didn't even notice how cold the room had gotten while both strategists stared each other down.

"No, nothing," the younger boy replied, suppressing his anger. Chuuya shouldn't do a mission right now, he should just play Switch all day. "I'm just not sure if Chuuya can keep up with my strategies at the moment." Ah, his phrasing was shitty, but at least Chuuya now knew he had good intentions. That didn't apply to his younger self though.

"Keep up with your shitty strategies? You have to keep up with me!" Younger Chuuya yelled, insulted, and pointed at the bandage wearer: "You look like shit, if anything, you should rest and I do this mission alone."

"Just destroy the evidence by the end of the day, that's all I care about," Mori pointed out with a sigh before the bickering could start; lying. His whole agenda seemed to be to make Chuuya suspicious about Dazai's motives. The former doctor turned to leave the room, but then faced Dazai again, a smile on his face. "I'm still surprised you asked me for paperwork. Seems like you suddenly want to become an executive and if you keep it up you will be sooner than later," a mischievous look in his eyes as his smile gained a gloating touch to it. He knew exactly what those words would trigger inside of Chuuya. Fucking asshole, were the thoughts of Dazai and Chuuya nodded in agreement, because it certainly was an asshole thing to do. His younger version stared disbelievingly in Dazai's direction, connecting the bits of information he gained from his short talk with Dazai, his appearance, and the things Mori just said, to come to the conclusion the mafia boss wanted him to reach. While Chuuya thought about it all, Mori left, silently closing the door.

"You asshole!" His younger version cursed. "You never work hard but as soon as I can't do shit you do? Are you fucking kidding me?" It's funny how his younger version basically screamed the real reason in Dazai's face. The younger boy wanted him to rest so he did what he had to do, even if he disliked it and his body craved sleep. "You better not fall asleep during the mission or I'll leave you in whatever hell of a place your stupid body collapses at!"

"Are you done barking now?" Dazai asked, faking indifference because he didn't know what to say and riling Chuuya up was easy. And it worked. His younger version glared at Dazai as he moved towards him, his hands balling into fists. He roughly pushed the folder into Dazai's chest with way more force than he had to use, making the brunet stumble a little.

"I'm waiting in the car, bastard," he grumbled while walking away. Maybe I should just tell him.

"Yeah, idiot, you should've told me. I'm going to be a huge asshole because you didn't," real Chuuya said with a sigh as the memory slowly blended into the next.

_____

They were sitting in the back of a black car with tinted windows. Chuuya changed into his work clothes, being really happy to have his gloves back on, while he focused his gaze on anything but Dazai. Real Chuuya was sitting between them, which he could only do because the bag of bandages was smart enough to give Chuuya some space after what happened in the infirmary room. That shitty idiot was drinking in his younger versions' body language, every little muscle movement, every long intake of air. He's still pissed. Yeah, no shit. The brunet should've come to that assumption way sooner without having to analyze his appearance because his younger version can feel his gaze.

"Don't stare at me, asshole," Chuuya said while looking at the scenery that flew past him through the window and Dazai just sighed. It's going to be a long mission. Yup. It's been over a year now and they didn't have the codenames for their different tactics yet, so it certainly took longer than their later mission. "As soon as we finish this, you leave my eyesight." Well, it's honestly funny how his words and actions are always this ambivalent because he was going to bring the mackerel to his place after the mission. Not because he wanted to but because he couldn't let him rot somewhere, despite his earlier words.

_____

Real Dazai watched how Chuuya sneaked through the garden of the target, avoiding every camera. Chibi hated stealth missions with a burning passion. Not because he sucked at them, oh no, he was absurdly good at them, especially with his ability, it was honestly ridiculous. He just thought it was stupid to sneak around when he could just kill the reason he had to sneak in in the first place. Such a brute, but this behavior was probably a leftover from his days in the sheep. And he didn't let it ruin a mission, he just lived his motto of 'I just kill'em all' in video games. The idiotic Chibi fought all the Yiga in their secret layer instead of sneaking around in Breath of the Wild and he didn't die once. It was insane and so Chuuya that Dazai couldn't suppress his smile. He looked over to his younger self and sighed. The idiot was leaning against a tree and Chuuya definitely was right: He looked like shit. Every time he blinked his eyes stayed closed longer. He yawned almost every other second and he was slumped against the tree. Dazai watched his fight against sleep for two minutes and then he closed his eyes, his head resting against the bark as his breath evened out. Then his lower body started to slide down, making his head fall to his chest which immediately jerked him awake.

"Shouldn' lean 'gainst it," he mumbled while moving away from the tree. Another yawn escaped his mouth as he waited for Chuuya to come back. His head constantly got heavier, just like his eyelids. He fell asleep again, quickly being woken up by his sudden head movement as soon as his head hit his chest. His younger version was just miserable. He was awake for way too long and his body desperately craved sleep. Only his mind was fighting against it, but it was a losing game.

"What are you doing?!" An angry voice hissed through his sleep-clouded brain, succeeding in waking him up. Chuuya was standing in front of him a second later, annoyed. "You're supposed to be in the car already!"

"Huh?" His younger version was so useless right now. Chuuya scoffed and grabbed his arm with so much force real Dazai could almost feel the pain it caused. He couldn't quite remember this interaction very well because of his lack of sleep, but the pain he felt during that moment was saved in his memory.

"You're fucking useless," the redhead let him know as he dragged him to the meeting point. The black car was standing there, the motor running just as planned. His younger self was supposed to wait there until Chuuya got back, but his tired mind just didn't remember the instructions from his own plan. Pathetic. Chibi opened the car door and threw his younger version into the backseat. Real Dazai sighed, quickly moving to get into the car as well. It was interesting how he could interact with the objects of the memories: He could use doors and he could pour himself a glass of water, but he was incapable of drinking it. Which made sense since what he was seeing here wasn't real. At least it wasn't real anymore. He lazily seated himself on the passenger seat, face turned towards their younger selves. Chuuya was closing the door with a bit too much force. The sound echoed through the streets and the car was set in motion, scenery passing them. Bad scenery. The tiny slug didn't have a great memory, it seemed. Everything in the distance was just a blur of colors and the car itself was not perfectly replicated. It only had important instruments, such as the speed display, the gear lever, and the steering wheel. It was okay looking, a few seams seemed off but it was still recognizable that -if Dazai would care about stupid car brands- he'd be able to tell which shitty company the car belonged to, maybe he even name the exact model. "I did everything like you said. I hope the virus you put on the USB drive works, you weak piece of crap," Chuuya said to his sleep-deprived younger version, throwing said object at him. It bounced against his arm and as it landed on the seat cushion, he made a catching motion, gripping the air and Chuuya laughed, but it wasn't a nice one. "You're so pathetic right now," he made a small pause and then, with a grin, added: "Well, you always are." A few moments passed, and his younger version just stared at Chuuya. He was really out of it back then, huh?

"What?" His younger self asked, owlishly blinking at the tiny redhead and sounding so confused. This was really pathetic. His brain reached its limit, refusing to function any longer.

"Your oh-so genius mind is pretty useless at the moment. Shame, that's like your only redeeming quality," Chibi said mockingly, even reaching his hand out to tap against his forehead, but as soon as the redhead's finger touched it, his younger self leaned against it. His brain seemed to declare the sudden 'support' Chuuya gave him as a signal to sleep. "Wha-? I'm not you're headrest, asshole!" He pulled his hand away, but as he saw how Dazai just slumped in, his hand immediately supported him again, preventing his sleeping self from crashing head-first on the seat between them. "This is fucking ridiculous." The slug cursed and tried to move his hand again, but it seemed like he couldn't bring himself to do it. Chuuya sighed and put his other hand on Dazai's chest and then started to push him into a sitting position again. He carefully removed his hands, and let them hover over the sleeping body for a few seconds, ready to catch him again. But his position seemed to be stable enough so the future executive withdrew his hands completely. Chuuya looked at Dazai's sleeping form, brows pulled together in annoyance. He cursed silently and then gave the driver a new destination: His apartment.

The ride wasn't long. The head of his sleeping form lolled from side to side, occasionally meeting his chest causing his head to jerk back up for a second, before falling asleep again. The car soon parked in front of the mafia-owned building complex in which Chuuya had his flat. Real Dazai swiftly moved out of the car, right in time to see the redhead open the door on the side of his fast-asleep younger self. The future executive lightly slapped the younger one's cheek, but it was to no avail. Chuuya cursed a little under his breath as he moved his hands under Dazais leg and his upper body to carry him to his apartment. It's ridiculous how strong Chuuya is even when he was younger because he carried Dazai's younger version around like he didn't weigh anything. Chibi made it look so effortless as he climbed the stairs. He only struggled with getting his keys out of his pockets, but he solved this problem by leaning against the wall, holding the sleeping body up with one leg as he opened the door, and rushing inside. He carefully laid the other down to take his shoes off in the genkan.

"Hah, maybe I should just let you sleep on the floor, maybe you'll stop the stupid dog jokes then," the tiny redhead said while he stood up, watching Dazai's sleeping form for a bit. He was laying on the floor with one hand on his stomach, the other next to his head while he slightly moved his head to his side. "Yeah, fucking sleep on the floor, you deserve it." Chuuya left Dazai's sleeping form behind as he walked into his bathroom. Real Dazai just smiled. He knew the other would change his mind because he remembered waking up on the couch with Chuuya's blanket on top of him. Chuuya was taking his sweet time as he left the bathroom, now in comfortable clothes, ready to go to sleep and moving to his bedroom. He already pushed down the door handle, but then he hesitated. Seconds passed, maybe even a few minutes. "Ah, fuck," the future executive mumbled, defeated presumably by his own thoughts, before he turned around and walked to the front door where his sleeping partner was still laying on the ground. His younger self was curled up now, limbs as close to him as possible to help against the cold making his sleeping form slightly shiver. Chuuya's annoyed expression morphed into a mix of slight guilt and pity as he slowly crouched down next to his younger self. He carefully lifted him up and Dazai's shivering body immediately clung to the radiated heat of another human. His head nuzzled into Chuuya's chest and his arms found their way around his torso to keep the warmth as close as possible. Chuuya gently sat him down on the couch, patiently removing the hands that gripped the fabric of his shirt. As soon as Dazai's limbs were off the redhead, he pushed the other down into the cushion of the couch. The shivers caused his younger version to curl up again. Chuuya looked at his shivering partner for a few moments and then he moved towards the heater to turn the knob to the highest setting. After that, he moved to his bedroom and real Dazai followed him. The tiny redhead was standing in front of his cupboard, pulling out a blanket. A very thin blanket. He pulled two more out but they were equally thin. Chuuya looked at the three blankets before glancing towards his own thick and fluffy blanket. A sigh left his mouth as he dumped the three blankets on his bed and took the thick one into the living room. "Just because your immune system is shitty," he told the sleeping Dazai while he gently placed the blanket on top of him. His younger version immediately nuzzled into it and the detective could see a small and soft smile form on Chuuya's lips. "'Night, asshole."

_____

Real Chuuya hated this. It was torture to see Dazai so at ease and relaxed because he knew his younger version would shatter it. He was sitting on the small table in front of the couch to look at Dazai's seemingly asleep form like a total creep. But who could blame him when Dazai was already awake and nuzzled his head into the blanket with a giddy smile on his face while thinking that the blanket smelled like Chuuya? No one. No one could. It was just so addicting to see Dazai act like this, pretending to be asleep so he could continue to snuggle the blanket while thinking of Chuuya. It was such an endearing sight, seeing Dazai act so in love, doing something so silly and clichéd. This adorable and so achingly normal teen behavior will be the executive's death. And his stupid younger version was going to destroy it because he was so easily manipulated by Mori's words. Dazai was opening his eyes, deciding he had been 'weird enough' (real Chuuya begged to differ, not that it mattered), and sat up whilst stretching with a small yawn. His eyes scanned the room, immediately finding Chuuya standing in the kitchen with his back turned towards him. Then he looked at the heater. A smile found its way on Dazai's face as he realized that the other turned it up. So he isn't angry anymore. An angry person would've just left me to rot in the car. This conclusion probably said much about Dazai and his relationships because it was false. His younger self was still very angry at him and he was going to remind Dazai of it.

"What are you doing?" Dazai asked as he slowly got to his feet. His younger version didn't answer. Dazai furrowed his brows. Maybe he didn't hear me? "What are you doing?" He voiced his question again a bit louder this time as he moved towards the other. Still no response. How odd. "Chibi?" Nothing. His younger version didn't react at all, still doing whatever he was doing back then. "Chuuya?" That did get a reaction out of him.

"What?" He didn't turn around to face Dazai. His body language was as tense as his voice while he waited for the coffee machine to pour the liquid into his mug. Ignoring Dazai was hard, but he discovered it was a bit easier when he didn't face the bandaged teen.

"Are you deaf?" Dazai mocked, a bit confused why Chuuya didn't react but he didn't think much of it because he believed the other wasn't angry anymore. "I asked you what you were doing," he repeated again, and Chuuya didn't respond. "Chuuya?" God. How could his younger self do this? Dazai sounded so unsure, so confused. He tried to hide it with an aloof attitude, but he could see right through it now and his stupid younger self was just giving him the cold shoulder. The bandaged teen was standing beside the redhead now.

"Nothing. Just waiting for my coffee and for you to leave," his younger version said, while crossing his arms in front of his chest, eyes fixed on the small trail of coffee steadily filling his cup so he wouldn't look at the younger one.

"You want me to leave?" Dazai was so confused and real Chuuya could hear why because his thoughts were running wild. He assumed that he was welcome to stay based on their other interaction where they were sleeping at each other's places. They had only been at each other's places overnight twice, but still, the demon prodigy thought they had a good time back then.

"Yeah, wanted you out of my sight since yesterday," Chuuya said, reaching for his mug and switching off the coffee machine.

"You're still angry?" Dazai concluded with doubt in his voice because he thought it couldn't be. If he's still angry, why did he let me sleep here? That doesn't make any sense. Chuuya slammed his mug on the kitchen sideboard so hard it was a miracle that it didn't break. Though a good amount of coffee was now on the sideboard, forming a dark puddle. But his younger version didn't care as he turned around, fixing the other boy with a furious expression.

"Of course I'm still angry, you piece of shit! You used the first opportunity you had to gain some extra points while I was fucking unconscious!" His younger version voiced the betrayal he felt. It was stupid back then and with what real Chuuya knew now it was even more stupid. Dazai didn't sleep because he wanted Chuuya to rest. Which was so fucking unhealthy and he's going to scream at the bastard for it but it also made him feel all warm and happy. Dazai cared. Dazai cared so much and had also a huge crush on him and Chuuya desperately hoped that the twenty-two-year-old detective still had those feelings for him. He would be devastated if he's out of this ability just to hear the bandaged idiot say that those feelings died down when he left. Realistically, it had to be like that. Why else would he have left the way he did? Burning up his car without saying anything, just leaving everything they had and could've been behind.

"Extra points?" The demon prodigy repeated the words like he said them for the first time in his life, carefully pronouncing every syllable and Chuuya balls his hands into fists at that.

"Don't even dare to play dumb, asshole!" He shouted. "You did all this shit to be an executive before I can be one!"

"Wha— No! I did it because-" you needed to rest. "-Because you-" deserve to do nothing for once. "-Because I-" care about you, more than you'll ever know. "-Because..." Say it! It's not that hard, just say the stupid words! What if he is even angrier when I say them? What if he hates me? God. Listening to Dazai's thoughts made his heart clench. The younger boy was so insecure and all real Chuuya wanted was to hug it all out of him. But he couldn't since he was stuck in the memories of the other, reduced to a mere viewer. It made him feel so useless.

"You didn't even think of a fucking lie, hm? You think I'm stupid, don't you?" Dazai didn't think that at all, as his thoughts told the real Chuuya. So, the only person in this room who'd call his younger self a 'stupid fucking idiot' was himself.

"Chuuya, listen, I know Mori said I'd asked him to give me reports, but do you really think I would ask for more work?" The bandaged teen tried to reason but it was lost on his younger version.

"I also never thought that you'd work through a shit ton of paperwork instead of sleeping but here we fucking are!" His tone was harsh, although more than anything he sounded hurt as he clenched his fists. He was this fucking angry back then because it somehow damaged the trust between them. Dazai did work behind his back, while he was unconscious, and for what? Becoming an executive. Or at least that was what his younger version thought, for quite a long time until Ane-san talked with him. But she didn't tell him the real reason as to why she thought Dazai's motives were different from what he assumed. Chuuya started to suspect that she knew the reason from the start and just didn't tell him because it wasn't her place to say it. "Also, you were fucking useless in the mission we did yesterday! If you need to work up extra points, do it in your fucking free time instead of sacrificing your sleep."

"Chuuya, I—"

"No, I don't fucking care, leave already!" The older teen demanded and Dazai was shaking his head.

"I won't until you believe me," Dazai said, crossing his arms. Chuuya's younger version laughs at that, it sounds harsh and quite ugly.

"Adorable that you think you have a choice here. Leave. Last warning you get, blockhead," he advises with a dark tone. His eyes narrowed as he watched Dazai closely, not missing how the other pressed his arms a little closer, how his body language got tenser even if he tried to hide it.

"No, you need to listen to me. I—" He's interrupted by Chuuya roughly grabbing his arm in a way he is forced to uncross his arms to lessen the pain he's feeling as Chuuya drags him mercilessly to the apartment door. "You're hurting me," the bandage wearer brought out between clenched teeth trying to loosen the grip on his arm, but Chuuya's grip was like iron.

"Good," his younger version spit out, putting more force into his hold like an absolute asshole. Dazai bit his lip to not let a pained whimper slip through as Chuuya ripped the door open and threw Dazai out with way too much unnecessary force, and the bandaged teen stumbled, fighting to keep his balance as his back hit the wall of the apartment corridor hard. "I'll report to Mori alone. You were so useless during the mission it's only fair," is the last thing he heard from Chuuya as the door slammed shut. And the worst thing? Between all the thoughts Dazai had of Chuuya being mean and that it hurt so much and pain sucks and the general confusion, there's this one little thought rising to the surface of it all: Chuuya's eyes are so beautiful when he's angry. For fuck's sake, that definitely wasn't what the younger teen should focus on right now!

_____

Real Dazai was standing next to Chuuya in Mori's office. He did report the mission alone just like he said he would, but despite everything, he didn't tell Mori that Dazai fell asleep at the mission. Well, the reason behind that was probably because he knew that Mori would just give him sleeping pills again. Chuuya looked worried when he found him lying on the bank so numb from the pills he couldn't even talk. Maybe the other didn't want to experience that again, even though he still had to deal with other suicide-related things in the future- no, wait, it's in the past. This is all in the past. Chuuya isn't part of his daily life anymore and it's his own fault. He left the other behind so he should get a grip on these stupid useless feelings already.

"Why isn't he here?" Mori questioned the redhead skeptical. "He should be reporting if he was part of the mission."

"He was. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to erase the evidence," Chuuya explains reluctantly. "He is just getting rid of our traces." It wasn't a lie per se because Dazai did have to do that but he didn't think that Chibi would use it to cover up for him. It's still so weird for him to see someone so clearly angry at him who isn't throwing him in the lion's den the first chance he gets.

"Mhm, is that so?"

"Yes, am I allowed to leave now?"

"Sure, but one thing: You can tell me if you did the mission alone. Dazai did one on his own when you were unconscious." Mori looked at him with a seemingly gentle smile but it's just to lure him into a false sense of security. Chuuya balled his hands inside his jacket into fists, trying to school his face into a neutral expression and failing to do so. "So, I'll ask again: Did you do the mission alone?"

"No, Dazai and I did the mission together." His voice didn't quiver and his eyes dared the other to question it again. Mori just sighed, moving his hand in a way that allowed the other to leave and Chuuya did. The redhead closed the door behind him and quietly cursed under his breath.

_____

One second he was walking beside Dazai in the corridor and the next the memory overlapped with another one, filling the hallway with plants and trees until they were walking through a forest. Dazai's mind was so quiet and Chuuya didn't like that at all. He thinks he knows this small path they are walking and he knows Dazai isn't going to die here but still, he feels so nauseous that he might have triggered another attempt with his assholey behavior. Real Chuuya just hoped that he didn't have to witness an attempt. He could barely handle them when he could stop the idiot but having to see that while being stuck in memories and not able to do anything makes him want to vomit.

"Long time no see," Dazai suddenly broke the silence and the executive looked around, not seeing anyone at all until his gaze moved downwards, and oh, right: He knows this place. Dazai showed it to him after they defeated the 'White Giraffe'. "I wanted to bring Chuuya along but he's really angry right now and I don't know what to do about it," Dazai admits while he slumps down in front of a gravestone. It's Albatross's grave. Chuuya's heart can't handle this but he still sits down next to the teen, silently staring at the cold stone. They are buried close to the mountains but most importantly their graves were near the clearing in the woods where an old Mustang was the center of monthly parties. It was honestly sad that their parties died with them. "I just wanted to let him rest," the boy next to him mumbled. "You'd know what to do, 'Tross. You would probably do something really stupid but it would work and everything would be alright again." Silence. Then Dazai laughed bitterly and hid his head in his hands because he thought: "Talking to graves, that's a new low. I'm so pathetic. Chuuya is right."

"No, I'm not. I'm just a stupid idiot," the executive sighs even though the other couldn't hear him. The bandaged teen moved his hands from his face and Chuuya could see the telltale glint in his eyes as he desperately tried not to let tears flow out of his eyes. It's all my fault. "A fucking idiot," he curses himself as he helplessly watches Dazai hug his knees.

_____

Dazai was watching a memory of a mission. It was so boring because their younger versions were still fighting and he saw so many mission memories already between the white nothingness. Chuuya was still very angry at him, he had been for weeks now and nothing Dazai tried back then seemed to lighten the mood. As soon as the mission was over and they were done with the report, Chuuya left him without a word. They were not on good terms and the only good thing about their situation was that Dazai befriended Odasaku. Apart from that everything sucked, especially considering that they were in the middle of the Dragon Head Conflict.

_____

Chuuya was sitting in a bar called 'Lupin', silently watching the trio order their drinks. He hates that the government asshole is here, that he used to be a friend to Dazai. Chuuya lost count of how many times he watched the unusual friends in this place between missions and he was sure he hadn't seen all of the younger teen's memories that are connected to this place. He's only seeing this memory right now because Dazai is venting over him; again.

"He's so angry," the teenager whined. "I tried what you told me, Odasaku, but he doesn't listen to anything I say." Chuuya was so confused when Dazai mentioned his friend for the first time because he was pretty sure the dude's name actually was Sakunosuke Oda. So, at first, he thought they were different people until Dazai introduced them to each other sometime along the line.

"So, he's still ignoring you, huh?" The government bastard pitched in. "Ask him how he does it. I'm sure he can publish a book 'How to ignore Osamu Dazai' and sell like a million copies of it." Chuuya hates how the asshole is right about it. That book would sell for millions at least, a few agency members would probably buy it in the blink of an eye.

"You are soooo mean, Ango," Dazai let his head fall onto the surface of the bar, while dramatically faking a sniff. "What did poor me ever do to you?"

"You made me taste your cooking. My stomach is still recovering from that," the government guy grumbled, his face suddenly all pale.

"Odasakuuuuu," Dazai sulkily cried the name of his friend while childishly pointing at the other: "Ango is mean."

"He pays for our drinks," Oda replied. And within a second Dazai was up again with a satisfied look on his face. "Also, I like your cooking, Dazai. Your curry is amazing." And now the bandaged teen was beaming with happiness. Absolutely adorable and Chuuya can't help but like Oda even more than he already did. Anyone that watches over Dazai with good intentions is good in Chuuya's book, even when this person is the reason why Dazai left him behind...

"You only say that because you have an iron stomach for everything that resembles curry," the government guy said with a so-done expression. "Let him cook you anything else and it's a miracle if you don't get food poisoning."

"Is it really that bad?" Dazai asked, his quiet voice barely covering that the words actually hurt him. Oda shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Ango's just jealous, 'cause he couldn't cook to save his life when he was your age," he said matter of fact, with a warning look in the direction of the bureaucrat. "Your cooking is the best I ever tasted from a sixteen-year-old," he reassured.

"I'm the only sixteen-year-old that cooked for you," the teen remarked.

"And therefore, you are automatically the best," the older replied with a shrug of his shoulders and Dazai smiled so big that it even reached his eyes. "But back to the topic: Your friend. What did you tell him?"

"First of all: He is very tiny. So, you should say 'tiny friend', that's important." That earned him an amused eye roll from Oda and a sigh from the government jackass. It also would've earned him a good kick if Chuuya wasn't reduced to a ghost by the ability.

"Maybe he's ignoring you because you tease him too much," the bureaucrat mumbled but the other two just ignored him.

"And I really tried to tell him that I only did it for him but it just won't leave my mouth. What's wrong with me? Why can't I just tell him that I care and be done with it?" At this moment the barkeeper handed them their drinks and Dazai immediately took a huge sip without waiting for his friends.

"Mhm, maybe you just aren't the type for verbal affection. How about you show him how important he is to you with gestures," the red-haired male thought aloud.

"Must I remind you why he is ignoring me in the first place? I did something considerate and he totally misinterpreted it," Dazai said frustrated while he laid his head on one of his arms to rest against the bar and watched the water droplets slide down his whiskey glass.

"Well, he probably doesn't listen because you're not telling him the truth," the government idiot contributed and Chuuya rolled his eyes.

"You didn't even listen at all, you piece of shit," Chuuya spat out, and right when he finished his statement, Dazai spoke up: "Did you even listen to me? I can't tell him, that's the core problem of my misery." God, why is this shitty government guy here in the first place? Couldn't even concentrate on a simple conversation and the bastard dared to call himself a friend of Dazai.

"Is there a topic where you can open up while telling the truth?" The bureaucrat asked, watching Dazai's facial expression. Tch, stupid shitty government asshole knew exactly which topic that would be, wouldn't he?

"I mean, yeah, there is but it's not- he doesn't- it's not an easy topic and he'd kill me if I just talk about it out of the blue," the teen stumbled a bit over his words. Careful not to spill anything about Chuuya's struggles.

"Then don't start the topic but pour all your thoughts and feelings into it if he ever asks you a question regarding it. Be as open as you can and use it to show him he's important to you." Chuuya is not sure if it's good or shit advice. Maybe he could tell that if Oda was the one to say that, but instead it was the government shithead and the bureaucrat talking about 'using' something rings all of Chuuya's alarms.

"But that's— I don't want to 'use' that topic to get closer to him. It's really troubling him and I don't want to make it worse," the bandaged boy voiced his doubts and Chuuya smiled at him.

"Maybe 'using' isn't the right term here," Oda jumped into the conversation again. "It's more like a little stepping stone for you. If you get more comfortable telling the truth to him through this important topic, you can learn to open up in general. Especially since you won't lie about anything while talking with him about it, right?" And how did the red-haired man make this shitty plan suddenly sound okay -dare he say it- even good?

"I'd never!" Dazai's younger version shouted as if the other's words hurt his pride and Oda just ruffled his hair with so much affection that Chuuya can almost feel it himself. The younger boy tried to make the other stop his 'assault' but he's sounding way too happy about it.

"Then there's nothing wrong with this plan," Oda reassured with a gentle smile just as he lifted his hand once more, slowly brushing the hair in place again.

"I just don't think he will actually talk about it with me, especially not when he's angry," he voiced his doubts and his happy feelings from Oda's gesture were gone just as quickly as they had appeared.

"What is that topic even about?" And of course, it's the government fucker that's asking this specific question. God, Chuuya wished he could kick that stupid bastard bureaucrat to another century.

"None of your business," was the immediate response he got from Dazai, and damn he wore the same facial expression he had when he's about to kill someone. The same cold look in his eyes daring the other to say more stupid things.

"Sorry, that was stupid of me."

"Yeah, it was."

"Okay, let's just forget it and drink, right, guys?" Oda successfully changed the topic and the memory fades.

_____

Real Dazai followed Chuuya through the halls of the Port Mafia. He was currently looking for him, walking fast and cursing under his breath as he looked in several rooms without finding him. Then he opened another room and his younger self was lying on a couch, his legs bent so they fit on it, his eyes being covered by a sleeping mask with cartoon eyes on it. He just yawned and then put his hand back behind his head.

»You're so loud~,« he teased without taking the mask off. He was facing the ceiling without a care in the world and well, Dazai understood why the other got so angry with him from his indifferent appearance, but that was the point. He only did it so Chuuya wouldn't dive head-first into danger and the easiest way to distract Chuuya was to make him angry. And Dazai knew exactly which buttons he had to push to make the other explode with rage.

»There you are, Dazai,« the Chibi greeted him, stepping into the room. »The Boss called us, and you're sleeping?«

»Oh, Chuuya. Good morning,« the bandaged teen acknowledged his presence. »Just as always, you're the optimal size. Perfect for a human like you. You need to talk?« His younger self asked, »wait a second,« he turned his upper body around so he could move his arm toward the ground, pretending to grab something from there. »I'm going to get my microscope.«

»I'm right here!« Chuuya screamed, pissed. »And I'm not that small!« Real Dazai chuckled a bit because Chibi just agreed on being short. He even said it himself: he's not that small but still small. Oh, what a blissful wording his younger self sadly didn't focus on. »You idiot! Don't you know what's going on outside?« His younger self was using Chibi's outburst to sit up on the sofa, legs still resting on the soft cushion as he silently stretched his back. »It's the worst event in the Port Mafia... no,« he corrected himself, yelling it in Dazai's direction: »The worst war in Yokohama history!«

»You don't have to yell,« his younger self said while moving the eye mask up on his forehead, »of course I know.« He didn't face Chuuya as he spoke. »From the four associations, the foreign Group, "Strain" was reduced to fifth.« He pulled the eye mask completely from his face, eyes focusing on it as he continued to talk. »The Boss of Takasekai was assassinated, and its management is demolished. Meanwhile, the other groups are on the march of death.« Chuuya was glaring at the demon prodigy with a serious expression as the other just dumped the information on him. »From the rise of retribution and suspicion, it's a rhapsody of blood.« Dazai's younger version was now spinning the eyemask in small circles as he talked. »Well, nothing to worry about,« he said and Chuuya stared at him, his interest in the info dumping suddenly peaked as if he expected Dazai to have a plan right now. He did have a plan: make Chuuya angry so he doesn't do dumb shit. This was easy but also came with a price because their relationship at the time wasn't good to begin with. The tiny redhead was still pissed at Dazai for doing paperwork and a mission alone. Really, he'll never understand why it angered the other so much. The only explanation he had was that Chuuya wanted -no, needed- to become executive so he could learn about his past but somehow Dazai couldn't help but doubt that that was the only reason for his wrath. »If everyone dies, it'll end automatically,« his younger version said with a dark smile on his lips when he carelessly let go of the eye mask and it flew across the room due to the momentum of the previous turning movement. Chuuya's expression morphed from serious and peaked interest to a scowl. His eyebrows pulled together in a way that showed exactly what he thought of Dazai's last sentence and that's why angry Chuuya was so amazing: He didn't need to say anything, his mimic is doing the job for him already, stormy blue seas looking in Dazai's direction and the younger didn't even appreciate the view as he still looked into the direction the eye mask flew in. What a waste. Also, when the detective thinks about it, it's probably a bit creepy to be so amazed by Chuuya because he is sixteen right now and he's just in his memories and all of this feels a bit wrong from a moral point of view but then again, he isn't really one for morals and without the agency, he wouldn't even have this thought about morals in the first place.

»Are you fucking serious,« Chuuya's voice was just so deep and he tried to suppress most of his anger so he didn't shout, but that voice did pierce through Dazai's heart in all the right ways. It's so ridiculous that no one but him seemed to see the beauty that is an angry Chuuya. Everyone else was just so blind. And as the redhead realized that Dazai's younger version won't answer his more or less rhetorical question, he started to shout: »Unlike you, nobody in this city wants to die! If you have the time to be sleeping, stop the war,« and real Dazai just chuckles a bit, because the pissed Chuuya didn't stop believing in his ability to stop the Dragon Head Conflict as if it's just a rubix cube wanting to be solved. It makes him feel so happy, which is stupid because it's definitely not the reaction the redhead wanted to achieve.

»Hahaha,« he faked a laugh and it sounded very arrogant now that Dazai could hear it from Chuuya's perspective, »and that's exactly how they fuel this fire.« He swung his legs on the ground, sitting on the couch now. »The plan for the conflict itself, we can leave to Mori,« his younger version explains, while he reached into the pocket of his lounge coat. »We should be turning our attention elsewhere,« he said while pulling a picture out of his pocket. »Look at this,« he stretched his arm in Chuuya's direction and the older teen came closer, leaning forward to better inspect the picture.

»A corpse,« the older teen said after a few seconds. »Who?«

»Current Port Mafia executive,« his younger version said, »alias 'Colonel'.« And the look on Chuuya's face was incredible. He was shocked, so utterly affected. That's what made the older tick the most: The death of others, especially if he knew them. He didn'teven have to like them; the moment they were dead, he was sad. Probably because he thought that he could've prevented this outcome. Stupid Chibi and his savior complex.

»Wh...! That old gramps died!? No fucking way!« The teen yelled, looking at the picture, and Dazai's younger self remained silent. Chuuya now stared at the other, realizing that Dazai probably knew who killed the older member of the Port Mafia. »Who did it?« The teen asked the question with a serious expression and a calm voice. But it wasn't really calm, oh no, that was Chuuya's voice if he wanted to crush the person who did this with a simple touch of gravity. Dazai's younger version was silent and he did seem a bit gloomy. Did he really look this serious back then or was it what Chuuya wanted to see?

»'White Giraffe',« he starts, »an ability user that suddenly appeared in Yokohama a few days ago. He's killing all the attacking associations indiscriminately, and trying to take over the conflict itself.« His younger self didn't look at Chuuya while he shared his information with the older teen. His gaze was focused on the wall, right next to Chuuya. He knew how to make the other angry at him. And in all honesty: Chuuya was still pissed because of the mission and all that shit, so his younger self thought that it should be really easy to make Chuuya explode. »His ability is still unknown, but it's assumed that he gets stronger the more he kills.«

»What? Then this conflict is just a hunting feeding ground for this 'White Giraffe',« the tiny redhead concluded correctly. »What do we do with this guy?« He asked and that caught the attention of Dazais's younger version. His gaze was focused on Chuuya now. He remembered thinking that that sentence was the perfect template for his plan.

»Chuuya, that's not what you should be saying,« he said with the attitude of a mother exhorting her child, he even pointed his index finger in a ridiculing way, knowing that the next sentence that left his mouth was going to destroy all of his plans to make up with Chuuya for the time being. But he rather had the Chibi be angry at him than have him lying in a ditch somewhere. Not that Chuuya couldn't hold his ground in a fight, hell no. The stupid idiot was an amazing fighter with or without his ability but in this situation, it's better if Dazai planned it out. For a second, he thought that, maybe, he should tell Chuuya about his plan to get captured so they knew the location of the asshole but he didn't. Chibi wouldn't like that, he always hated putting people in dangerous situations where he couldn't protect them and even if they weren't on good terms right now, the older teen wouldn't allow it. He would get the hint and find him once he'd been captured. It's funny how people always underestimate Chuuya's intelligence. »For us executive candidates it's: "Another executive seat has opened",« he mocked with closed eyes and an arrogant expression on his face. He opened his eye. »Right?« Dazai's younger self taunted seeing the fist coming closer. He could've dodged it but he felt like he deserved it for playing the other like that. Also, angry Chuuya is hot. Angry sixteen-year-old Chuuya was hot for his younger self and angry twenty-two-year-old Chuuya was hot for his current self. He just had to clarify that for himself, so he didn't get as weird as Mori. Real Dazai shivered at the thought of that. Nope. He wasn't a creep. He was able to distinguish between their younger selves and their current selves: Only the younger versions could think of each other as 'hot' or whatever. Chuuya probably didn't think about him that way anyways, which made Dazai's situation even weirder. He wanted to get out of this stupid ability. Maybe he shouldn't watch this scene because Chibi was really angry and his younger version found it very, very hot between all the pain, which worried him back then. But now he just accepted that. Nothing to be ashamed about his little angry Chuuya kink, nope. In fact, it's perfectly normal. All the other people were weird for not seeing the mesmerizing grace Chuuya radiates whenever someone or something pissed him off. And Dazai wasn't talking about their usual banter, no, the older one was pretty loud, absolutely adorable, and moving with less grace when the detective teased him. It's all fun and games when Chuuya was loud. His wrath was different. It's the opposite of his normal behavior: It's cold and quiet, seemingly calm like the eye of the storm that gets swallowed in a second by his raging sea-blue eyes. »How terrible of you to hit me suddenly,« his younger version remarks, even though he provoked it intentionally. »I'm human too, you know?« He doesn't remember why he said it. Maybe because he talked with Odasaku about this important topic where he wouldn't lie and just felt the need to remind the other of his humanity again. For all he knew, Chuuya still struggled to believe that he's as human as can be. The detective will never understand how the redhead could doubt it in the first place. Chuuya is so painfully human in all the right ways. But if he had known how the older teen would respond to his last sentence, maybe he wouldn't have said it.

Real Chuuya watched their conversation, knowing in which direction it was heading. Only Dazai's thoughts were new. It's funny that the oh-so-feared demon prodigy was worried about Chuuya while thinking things like It's better if he hates me than watching him dive head-first into danger as if he couldn't hold his own ground. Although he knew that Dazai didn't think he was weak, it was just the kind of worry you have when a person you liked does something insanely reckless, and well, Chuuya is exactly that. Especially if he is filled with rage but why couldn't the other just tell him that? Like 'I have this plan: I'm going to let myself be captured so we know where the bastard hides, then you come in and kill him.' But then...his younger version wouldn't have liked that plan. He was so angry back then but he wouldn't have let the other play bait. Okay, maybe the shithead did the right thing. But now that he knew why the idiot said those things, he felt horrible for punching him. It was a hard punch, not their usual banter-fights where he holds back most of his force. And it was stupid but real Chuuya jumped between them, trying to shield young Dazai even if he knew it wouldn't be of any use. It was just an instinct. The fist moved through him and collided with Dazai's face. It's difficult to put himself between Dazai and danger when his younger version was the danger. He hates it. He couldn't prevent his younger self from punching Dazai and he couldn't protect the younger teen from his own self-destructive mind. Dazai's thoughts were weirdly focused on the pain in his cheek, probably for self-harm reasons. It sucks to be someone who hurts Dazai. The brunet said something about being human too and real Chuuya turned to face him to see his expression.

»Nobody would believe that shit,« his younger version spat out like an asshole. »Be grateful I didn't kill you.« He wanted to hurt Dazai and the punch wasn't enough, so he used the worst words he had: The ones who'd hurt himself the most; someone denying his humanity. And honestly: Back then? Dazai didn't seem to be fazed at all and his expression didn't give anything away, but his thoughts were running wild. »I'll do something about this 'White Giraffe' bastard,« his younger version turned around, making his way to the door, but before he vanished through it, he looked at the younger over his shoulder: »You sleep there till you die,« he said before slamming the door shut. Damn, he could be such a piece of shit.

»Hahaha,« the younger boy laughed uncharitably. »How terrible,« he merely said as his thoughts were loudly raging in his head and Chuuya realized that he did hurt him. The executive felt horrible, even his younger self, who wanted to hurt the other, knew it wasn't the right thing to say. His younger self was going to apologize for saying it but it'd take a while till they got there and it's killing Chuuya right now.

-----

Real Dazai was standing in Mori's office, which sucked. It always sucked to be here and he just tuned out as the former underground doctor was going on and on about the war and their losses and whatever. The detective watched Chuuya's younger version, who was standing next to Hirotsu, ready to take orders, listening to every single word. It's been a few days since their last encounter where the older teen punched him. 'White Giraffe' has declared war on all the involved groups and the conflicts between the different groups turned into one big war. Mori was talking about the missing members that ranked from executives to associate executives.

»Including Dazai-kun,« he said, sounding exhausted because the kid he forced to read all the stupid books about war strategies was missing in a raging war. Irony, huh?

»Forget shitty Dazai, we must help our other members,« and damn if Chuuya said something like that he was still pissed from their earlier 'fight'. It couldn't be called a fight if only one person got beat up, right?

»If they are...alive,« Mori mused, probably thinking about all the chess pieces he lost during this. »Hirotsu-san, any new info on our enemy?« Hirotsu tells Mori the rumors he heard about the ability and how everyone who fought him ended up killing themselves. »When Dazai went missing after the building collapse, was there any information he left?« The former underground doctor asked instead of reacting to the others' words. As if Dazai would ever leave information for Mori behind, hell no, he only trusts -or trusted- Chuuya.

»I inspected thrice and found nothing,« Hirotsu stated, »perhaps he had found some sort of clue, but he had bought a new microscope.« Dazai watched as Chuuyas eyes widened.

»What?« The older teen asked as the memory of Dazai's tease to get a microscope to see Chuuya replayed in front of his inner eye. »A microscope?« Realizing what this meant, he turned to Hirotsu just to scream at him: »Where is that?!«

»It's in his room...« the older member said, clearly confused why such a banal thing was suddenly important.

»That bastard!« Chuuya complained as he stomped away, barking at Hirotsu. »Take me there!« So the older man led him to Dazai's office, pointing at the microscope sitting on the table. Chuuya moved fast, grabbed the microscope, and smashed it against the wall. His poor little microscope didn't stand a chance, shattering to pieces as Hirotsu panicked, telling him that he didn't have to break it but Chuuya stopped his little speech. »Look at this. He hid it here,« Chuuya said as he squatted down to inspect the broken plastic parts, finding something that shouldn't be there. Hirotsu was astounded as he too realized what it was. »A communicator with a built-in transmitter. Track the same frequency as this transmitter,« Chuuya commanded, picking up said communicator. »The bastard didn't go missing. He read ahead and got caught on purpose.« That's exactly what he did. It is so strange for Dazai that no one except him seems to realize how smart the brute actually is. Who could keep up with his strategies? Only Chuuya. He didn't even have to explain himself, no, the other just knew his mind games, knew what he had to expect, and did his part without a doubt in his mind. So how come people only call him a genius? Chuuya's one too. »Where this transmitter indicates Dazai and 'White Giraffe' are there.« Chuuya balled his fist in anger, pissed at the enemy and probably at Dazai, then he ran off, leaving Hirotsu to track the location. A few minutes later they had the frequency and the teen was standing in the garage in front of his motorcycle, waiting for the signal to drive off into the night. Wait for me, shitty Dazai! Dazai can't help but smile at the other's thoughts. Chuuya was playing his knight in shining armor like he always does and Dazai loves it. Seeing Chibi care about him gives him a rush of mushy happy feelings. So beautiful. Also, on a different note, his younger version would've definitely liked the picture Chuuya made riding his motorcycle. He hates the thing but Chuuya looks so cool on it, 'badass', as Chuuya would say, and he really does, not that Dazai will ever admit it out loud.

-----

Chuuya was on top of a building, standing next to the handcuffed Dazai. Why is he always late? The bastard dared to think as if he didn't make a fucking riddle out of everything. He hates riddles. Why beat around the bush when you can just say what you mean? Chuuya's thoughts got interrupted by the sound of shooting in the distance as the enemies launched their pathetic electro-attacks at his younger version. Oh, he's on his way. A smile forms on Dazai's face, despite the barrel of a half-automatic rifle pressed against the back of his head as he sat on the ground, calmly waiting for his rescue. It didn't take long until the younger Chuuya landed on top of the roof, pushing away the smoke from the past attacks with his ability. Damn, it looked so badass. Shitty Dazai should be happy to witness this. So cool, the teen thought and Chuuya grinned.

»I was hoping you'd get hit by lightning and die,« the demon prodigy said with a disappointed sigh, even though his thoughts told a different story.

»Shut up, shitty Dazai,« his younger version said, fed up with the other's mind games, »you set this up so I'd have to get you.« At that, a smile formed on the mackerel's face. ­And you're really here. Real Chuuya mirrored the soft smile.

"Of course, I'm here, idiot," the executive mumbled right as Dazai started to balance his weight on his hands.

»You're five minutes late,« and Dazai pushed himself off the ground with his hands, kicking the person holding him hostage as if it was nothing. Sometimes he forgets how agile the younger teen is. He could move astoundingly fast if he wanted to. The opponent didn't stand a chance and Dazai just walked towards his younger version with the attitude of someone who didn't have a care in the world, still, the teen started to complain: »I was punched three extra times because of you,« he sulked as he freed himself of the handcuffs, rubbing his wrist to relax them again.

»Aw poor baby, want me to pick up where he left off?« His younger version mocked and Dazai, well, his thoughts were coming to a full stop just to run through his brain at full speed. Baby? Did he just call me baby? And his voice— Ahhhhhhh, what in the woooorld?! Why did he— Wait, wait, focus: He's mocking me. It's an insult. Just an insult, stop malfunctioning and just say something, you stupid idiot. God, who would've thought Dazai could be so tooth-achingly sweet? All this panic because he mockingly used a pet name. Absolutely adorable. Chuuya couldn't get enough.

»Save that energy for our approaching guests,« he replied without missing a beat even though his brain was out of it for a few moments. Maybe his younger version would've realized Dazai's crush if the bandage waster wasn't such a genius whose thoughts were always way too fast, easily covering the chaos in his brain.

»Hah?« His younger version was annoyed at the stupid henchmen circling them in, barrels pointing at their heads. Ha, as if they could hurt him. Pathetic. »Oh yeah, I forgot, « his younger version declared, »I had a score to settle.« They started shooting, Chuuya did his thing and the enemies died through the power of their own weird electrified weapons in a huge yellow explosion. Dazai and Chuuya then just walked past the dead bodies on their way to 'White Giraffe'.

»He's up ahead,« Dazai said, »alias 'White Giraffe'... his name is-«

»I don't give a fuck about his name,« his younger version harshly interrupted the younger teen. »I've just come to take back my group.« He also showed up to save Dazai. ­Right, he's still pissed at me. Even more than before. Real Chuuya sighed. Maybe his younger version should've also said that he's mostly here for the suicidal maniac that is his partner. But taking in the utter confusion Dazai had the last time he was being decent to him despite being angry, maybe it's for the best he didn't say anything about saving him. Their younger versions just walked silently next to each other till they reached the weird mosaic glass gazebo 'White Giraffe'-Bastard was in. His posture was way too relaxed as he threw the gemstones into the small fire that was in front of him in a trash bin, his bored gaze just watching the flames dance around while talking to himself. Real Chuuya didn't listen to all the bullshit he had to say because he knew it all and he didn't really listen to that pathetic shit in the first place. Dazai was safe and the only other thing he cared for at that moment were his friends. So why should he listen to some weird-ass speech?

»Give me back my friends,« his younger self demanded, interrupting the monologue and it seemed like 'White Giraffe' only realized their presence now.

»Welcome, boring guest. Though I know you can't gift me my desires,« he said, sounding disappointed, »I implore you to die quickly. Just as they did...« 'White Giraffe' said and Chuuya's younger self could see the corpses of his friends lying behind the bastard. »Your friends all killed themselves. I had nothing to obtain from them. Meaningless and worthless,« it definitely bumped real Chuuya out that the asshole sounded so melancholic while stating his bullshit. »Boring humans are boring even in death...«

»You bastard,« his younger self growled as red swirls started to grow on his skin, sneaking up his arms and covering him. It's weird to see it from an outsider's perspective. »Don't fucking stop me!« He warned Dazai, who had just taken a few steps back, seemingly unimpressed by the scene. He didn't say his phrase and the bandaged boy was right. His younger self was just so overwhelmed by his anger that the god took the reins. Chuuya didn't want to stop it.

»Hm, Corruption,« the demon prodigy said as Chuuya was fully overtaken by the higher power, demolishing everything and everyone in his way and the real Chuuya didn't understand how Dazai avoided being hit by gravity. There was so much chaos around them both as their enemies became as flat as the ground, blood spilling everywhere as his corrupted form just laughed at all the destruction it caused. Then the laughter stopped and all he did was scream in pain, in grief. A cold hand touched his cheek, letting Chuuya take control over his body again, just to immediately collapse. Dazai caught him, carefully moving him until he was resting on his leg, while the other just stared at him, hand combing through his hair again. "Rest now. The enemy is gone, Chuuya," he mumbled to the already unconscious boy, then he pulled out his phone, dialing a number. "Chuuya needs medical attention. We're at the— No, leaving you a message would've been—," oh, so he was talking to Mori, wasn't he? Dazai's expression got darker and darker with every second, and the hand he let running through Chuuya's hair stopped. "Cut it, it was the only way." ­I should've called Ane-san, the brunet thought bitterly as he listened to the boss. "No, it— I don't want to— Alright. I'll do it, but send someone here," Dazai sounded defeated when he gave Mori the address. What did Dazai agree to do in exchange? And why the fuck didn't Chuuya know anything about it? He would talk to the former executive about this. The bandaged teen ended the phone call, just to let out a long sigh. "The things I do for you," he said, softly smiling at the teen resting on his thigh and real Chuuya is just frustrated. What things did the other do for his sake?!

_____

Real Dazai sighed as he watched his surroundings blur into black again as red sparks and flames started to fly around him. Why did the god have to be this dramatic?

You're still here, mortal.

"Yup, I certainly am and I still don't understand how you are talking to me. If you can't kick me out of Chibi's memories already, then leave me alone," Dazai told the biggest-looking flame that was flying a few feet away from him. Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to provoke the god of destruction, Dazai thought as he remembered the loud voice ringing in his ears the last time this happened.

I am going to get rid of you, you pest.

Pest. Huh, that was a new one. Lovely. Dazai stared at the dark red, almost black fire silently. He should try to learn more about his situation so he could tell Chibi he talked to his god. If Chuuya still wanted to talk with him after discovering Dazai's gigantic crush on him. Which was very unlikely, but just in case some miracle happens and Chuuya still wanted to talk to him, he'd need any information the god could give.

"Would my god explain why I have the honor to talk to him?" Sweet talking might get an answer out of the higher being, the god did call him a 'devoted worshipper' already so he'll just play a little into that. He needs information, needs to know everything about this to tell Chuuya and to maybe figure out a way out of the ability.

I know what you are doing, mortal.

And his plan failed, great.

But your god allows it.

It failed successfully. A full success in Dazai's book and if the warm and comfy heat radiating from the sphere in front of him was anything to indicate the emotions of the higher being, it seemed pleased by Dazai's words.

It just doesn't help you.

"Why not?" Didn't the god know how the ability worked? It was a higher being, it should understand this.

I can only say that I tried to stop it and that your stay here is going to be cut short by your god.

Arahabaki tried to stop this? Interesting. But the god didn't answer his question and the detective needs to acquire the information the god holds about this, so he voices his question again: "Why am I able to talk to my god?"

Your god would like to tell you but the full concept of the ability would be beyond your comprehension, mortal. You would die.

"Try me," he challenged the god with a scoff. He turned into a dragon singularity once so his mind could handle a lot. Also, death? Ha, been there, done that. It was only till Chuuya saved him with a punch to his gorgeous face, but technically speaking he was dead, so the god couldn't really shock him.

No. I could show you the truth behind the universe, but it would destroy your mind. It's simply not made for mortals; you couldn't handle all the colors, all the sounds, and all the sensory impressions the creation left behind.

"The god of destruction talking about creation?" He teased the god, definitely not the smartest thing Dazai did, but who cares? If the higher being decides to end him he's at least out of the misery the ability puts him in.

Destruction is creating space for something new.

"How poetic," his voice is laced with sarcasm, "did Chuuya rub off on you?" Maybe he should just keep his mouth shut. He did have a death wish but Chuuya needed him to nullify this stupid ability.

Our time is over, mortal.

The darkness fades away leaving Dazai in the white abyss again with just as many questions as before. At least the god didn't scream this time.

-----

"You should rest too, you know?" Ane-san advises while she observes Dazai writing a report for the defeat of the 'White Giraffe'. The brunet looked like shit. His bandages were dirty and old, blood tainting them a pinkish red and Chuuya hoped it wasn't his blood. The bags under his eyes were dark and way too big already. He probably didn't sleep for the last two days. Chuuya's younger version was still fast asleep, resting in the bed of his room in the infirmary station, where Kouyou and Dazai were also sitting. The red-haired woman was sitting in a chair next to Chuuya's bed and the bandaged teen has repurposed the little nightstand again to do his paperwork on it.

"Mhm, just this report, the paperwork, and another small mission," the teen responded without stopping his work, pen moving over the page scarily fast. Another small mission? Had he already completed another one? Mori was working him to the bone. Seriously, the other only looked this shitty when Chuuya was knocked out with post-Corruption sleepiness. And the teen looked like shit when he was trying to end it all. Taking care of everything and covering for Chuuya wasn't really doing his mental health any favors. It's so stupid and self-destructive and the idiot should stop it already before he collapses under all the pressure both he and Mori put on him.

"I won't let you in again if you don't shower beforehand," the elegant woman stated, eyes closed as she took a sip of her tea. Dazai's head snapped in her direction. Chuuya was surprised she even let him in in the first place but maybe she knew what he was going through right now.

"You know I don't have time for a stupid shower," his eyebrows pulled together, staring at the older woman annoyed in a way Ane-san usually doesn't tolerate. This time she just looked at the boy who was sitting on the floor, doing his paperwork like a maniac, with an expression in her eyes Chuuya can't really pinpoint.

"You need to rest, Dazai," she emphasized again, "I will tell you when he's up and then you— "

"No," he interrupted her, which would have anyone else begging for their life. But the woman held a soft spot for both teens. At least Chuuya thinks she does, otherwise, he couldn't explain all the times Kouyou kept calm when they brought chaotic mayhem with them. She did get angry though. The woman didn't just want to be called sister for her youth but because she really did behave as an older sibling would: she was protective and strict but she also let them off the hook too easily sometimes. She was so fucking scary if she was truly pissed and so cruel with "educational measures". She once emptied Chuuya's wine cabinet just because he was a bit tipsy at work once. He never showed up tipsy ever again. She just knows when she has to push and when she has to be soft with them. Right now, she's soft with Dazai because she knew what Chuuya didn't know back then: Dazai was overworking himself so his younger version could rest. "Don't force me to go."

"I'm not forcing you to go, Dazai," she reassured. "Listen, if you shower now," Dazai was already opening his mouth in protest, but Ane-san silenced him with a pointed look, "I'll arrange it so you can sleep in here." Dazai closed his mouth, looked at the older woman, and shook his head.

"I'm not sleeping anyways," he said and as if his body wanted to remind him that it was needing sleep he yawned.

"You must sleep, it's not debatable," Ane-san let him know what the other already knew but ignored. Stupid insomniac idiot.

"I can't sleep now."

"But you have to sleep!"

"And I want to sleep, for fuck's sake. Why are you so goddamn loud?" A third very annoyed voice said and stopped their little discussion. Chuuya's younger version got up, slowly raising so he was more sitting on the bed than laying even if every single muscle in his body hurt.

"Sorry, lad," Ane-san apologized with a smile, "glad you're up again."

"Yeah, how long was I out?" He asked the elegant woman and before she could answer, Dazai did.

"Two days," he said and his younger version immediately fixed him with a glare. In all his wrath he failed to see how wrecked Dazai looked, how the bags under his eyes were way too dark, and how he only barely stood upright. God, the stupid idiot suffered so much and all he had to do was tell Chuuya why he did. All of his younger self's anger would've been gone. But they both suck at open communication and it's something Chuuya is keen on changing as soon as he gets out of this ability.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you piece of shit?" Chuuya growled in his direction. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Chuuya," Ane-san sounded taken aback, quite in shock. Understandable, because she knew what Dazai did for him, that he sacrificed his sleep and his everything to assure he can rest longer. "Don't you know that—"

"No need to tell him now," Dazai interrupted her with a grin. It's so fake it hurts. "An angry dog just keeps barking," he teased because the younger one doesn't know how else to talk to Chuuya sometimes. Hurting always seemed easier for the prodigy.

"You bastard. Why the fuck are you even here, huh? This shitty war didn't even concern you in the slightest, bet you wished I didn't show up to save your sorry ass, so you'd be embracing your sweet death right now!" Maybe Chuuya also doesn't know how else to talk to the younger one. At least not when he's still hurt from misunderstanding Dazai's motives. God, they both suck at talking, especially when one of them is hurt or afraid to be hurt. They so easily slip into insults as defense mechanisms because that's safe, that's a known terrain. It's so dumb.

"Oh my, you're all riled up over this. Missed me that much when I was captured? Such a good puppy," Dazai got a bit closer to Chuuya, arrogantly propped his hands on the bed, leaning over at the foot of Chuuyas bed, just to grin at him. His mind was at loss though. Will he just hate me forever? Is this how it's going to be from now on? I don't want that.

"Then you should've just told me the truth," real Chuuya commented on the thoughts that haunted Dazai's mind.

"You fucker! As if I've ever missed some- argh," his younger version was moving around a bit, because he suddenly had so much energy and wanted to punch that stupid idiot, but his body just didn't agree with him at the moment. Suddenly, Dazai was by his side. A hand on his chest again, carefully putting pressure on it to lower Chuuya down like the first time but his younger version just slapped his hand away, hissing in pain while doing so. "Don't fucking touch me, you bag of bandages! Leave already, or I'll force you to go," he screamed and Dazai took a step back, shocked by his outburst. Shocked that Chuuya slapped his hand away. Their eyes met and after a moment Dazai sighed, shoulders slumped. If I don't go, he'll hurt himself in the process of getting out of here, he concluded and walked towards the door somewhat defeated.

"Stop barking so much, little dogs like you need to rest," he said before slipping through the door, just barely missing the pillow Chuuya threw at him despite his pain. With a dull sound, the pillow first hit the now-closed door and then the floor.

_____

"What happened?" A voice said and real Dazai and young Chuuya turned their heads to stare at Ane-san, both had completely forgotten her presence over the little argument.

"What do you mean? He was an ass like always, that happened," Chuuya answered her, but saw the way her eyes narrowed.

"No. That wasn't your usual banter. You're really angry this time so I'll ask again: What happened?" Kouyou's voice didn't leave room for arguments. She knew something was up and Dazai would bet that she already concluded what happened. She probably also knew that his younger self forged Chuuya's handwriting. There was no doubt in that, since she is the one who reads over Chibi's reports most of the time. She most likely also figured out that Dazai had a huge crush on Chuuya. Not that that's hard. Honestly, everyone except Chuuya probably figured him out.

"He used my weakness," the tiny redhead mumbled, turning his head away from the older woman.

"Would you be a darling and elaborate what you mean by that, lad?" Ane-san watched the young boy expectantly. Hopefully she wouldn't tell Chuuya all of the things he did to cover for his dog. If she did then he'd die out of cheer embarrassment because even someone as dense as the redhead might figure everything out and— wait. It didn't matter. Chuuya is seeing his memories right now. He'll know everything by the time they're out of the ability's clutch. And he'll either never want to talk to him ever again or he wants to talk with him. Both options included crushing his heart, there is no way in hell Chuuya reciprocates his feelings. He saw enough memories to know the Chibi deeply hates him. The detective concludes it's best if he jumps off the nearest bridge as soon as the ability wears off. Yeah, that's a great plan.

"What's there to elaborate? I was knocked out and he did a mission and all that shit to gain extra points," the tiny future executive explained, his head still turned away so he doesn't have to face the piercing gaze of the elegant woman.

"Extra points?" Ane-san repeats, almost with the same pronunciation his younger self had when Chuuya hauled him out of this apartment: Questioning and confused. At that the redhead wiped his head in her direction, meeting her eyes with a glare.

"Yes, extra points! He just wants to become an executive faster and it's so shitty of that bastard to do it while I can't even compete!" Chuuya exclaimed. Ane-san sighed and suddenly she looked very tired.

"Is that really what you think he's doing?" She questioned exaggeratedly, and it did throw Chuuya off, at least his anger seemed to fade a bit.

"Isn't that what he's doing?" He asked and then he saw the conflicted face Ane-san made and suddenly he leaned in her direction, almost excited as he started to bombard her with questions. "Do you know what he's doing? Is it one of his schemes? Does he-"

"I don't know," Kouyou cut him off with a lie. There is no way she didn't know his real motives. Chuuya looked so disappointed with Ane-san's answer. "I can only guess why he'd do something like this," she stated, once again catching Chuuya's attention. "If he really wanted to gain 'extra points' then what stopped him from doing that before? He could've always asked Mori for paperwork or to do missions on his own. Do you really think he'd need to wait for something knocking you out to do all of that?" Chuuya opened his mouth just to close it immediately, eyebrows being pulled together in concentration as he started to think about the words the older woman said.

"You do have a point," he mumbled, lost in thoughts. "Why didn't he do that sooner?" He looked at Ane-san, who just smiled.

"You should ask him that." Chuuya eyed her for a while, nodding at her suggestion. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just won't voice whatever was on his mind and Ane-san seemed to realize it too. "What is on your mind, lad?" Chuuya looked caught off guard by that and avoided looking the elegant woman in the eyes as he muttered something. "Oh my, I'd never thought I'd have to say this to you but you have to speak a bit louder," she chuckled and a red flush appeared on Chuuya's cheeks. It looked so adorable and was sadly gone way too fast.

"Out of your perspective," the tiny redhead started, "who is the asshole in our argument?" Now he let his gaze meet her eyes again, searching for a sign that would answer his question.

"It's not as easy as to—"

"Out of your perspective," he repeated with emphasis, not breaking eye contact, "who's the bigger asshole?" Kouyou stayed silent and Chuuya sighs. "It's me, isn't it?"

"I didn't say anything but if you feel like that, then maybe you should apologize," she hinted and Chuuya let himself fall back in his pillows, lost in thoughts Dazai didn't get to hear. Stupid Arahabaki. The detective would've really liked to know how Chibi came up with his beautiful idea.

"How do I do that?" Chuuya wondered while staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." And the tiny redhead really did think of something. Dazai smiled as he remembered the way Chuuya apologized, even if the word sorry didn't leave his mouth at first. Seems like they both are more at ease when they can show what or how they feel and don't have to actually say it. Though Chuuya will show and tell because of course he has to up Dazai on that.

The memory fades into nothingness and the detective starts to wonder if he gets to see any of the memories that were ahead. He sure wanted to witness them again, the two years in the mafia were the best he's ever had. Just because of Chuuya and the way they got so comfortable around each other. Would Arahabaki skip those happy memories? Or would he come to realize that those happy times might have been hell for Chuuya? He hates either option, but it's not like he has much of a choice.

_____

Author's note

Damn, I totally forgot to update on Wattpad, I'm so sorry! 

I will update everything right away <3

Anything in »...« is as always not my wording this time it's out of the dead apple Manga where Chuuya retells the Dragon Head Conflict when talking to Ango...if any of you where wondering 🐲