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“The Boss of the Port Mafia wishes to meet Atsushi."
Those few simple words had Dazai's world slowing; the sounds of the office around him muffling, the words of his coworkers filtering through cotton. The noises of pens scratching against paper, the hum of flourescent lights humming, everything was dulled by the rushing of blood pounding against his eardrums.
"I have already informed Mori-sensei that a one-on-one meeting would not be permitted. Our organizations may have a truce, however, allowing him to meet with Atsushi without proper supervision goes against my better judgment." Fukuzawa continued, his tone low and authoritative. "In response to my condition, Mori-sensei has requested that Dazai be the appointed supervisor"
Dazai has always lived in a world dulled by his lack of understanding regarding his own emotions. He has never felt in the same way others do -- in the way humans do -- and yet, those dulled senses were suddenly heightened to the point of pain. Dazai hates pain, and the strobes of bright light and the words of his colleagues throbbed against his skull. The pain felt like floating away from his damaged body.
"I did attempt to negotiate for either myself or Kunikida's presence to be included or in place of Dazai, but he has made the condition that either Dazai accompanies Atsushi to a third party neutral ground, or he will come here personally."
Dazai has always worn bandages, he wears less now, but they're still there. A comforting presence, a familiar weight. Yet now they felt too snug around his limbs, suffocating around his throat. The texture rubbed against his skin in all the ways that made him itch. His carefully chosen work clothes were now too restrictive; tan overcoat now dyed with the blood that has stained his hands for close to a decade, the color an overbearing black draped over his shoulders. Too familiar. Too similar.
"That man cannot be allowed to set foot in this building!"
Yosano's rage, her hostility, her fear echoed through Dazai's own body. His hollow bones shook with the force of it. His jaw clenched to the point of popping. Every vein, every nerve ending, every fiber of his being ached with a parallel anger, a similar resistance, the very same distress.
"Um, sir, I- I don't understand. I know the Port Mafia's boss is dangerous, but he's not allowed to hurt me, right? Because of our truce?"
Atsushi's words felt like ice being injected straight into Dazai's veins. The painful chill conciliated the burning magma in his chest and sobered his clouded mind, no longer floating. However, his frozen limbs were still heavy, eyelids much the same as he could only blink slowly to clear the haze that had settled over his vision. And yet, he could feel as his fingers and toes froze, could practically see as the digits turned purple-black with frostbite. The sensation didn't differ all that much from one of the meetings with him when he had shoved a needle half the length of his forearm into the soft skin of his inner elbow and watched in sick fascination and glee as the veins turned an ice blue.
"I'm afraid it is not a matter of if he is allowed to hurt you or not. Mori-sensei is a dangerous man, even without the existence of the Port Mafia. He is not to be taken lightly, and can do more damage with the excuse of being helpful than he could outright wishing to harm. There is no telling what he wants out of this meeting. You will not be going alone, Atsushi."
"No," Dazai's words were rough and thick with something akin to the fear that was meant to be have been beaten out of him long ago. Although, if it had been, would he even be standing here today?
Fukuzawa sighed with a gentle understanding that made Dazai's throat burn with bile.
"Dazai, I know this is not ideal. I will not force you to meet with him alone, either Kunikida or myself will, of course, be joi-"
"No." Dazai cut him off, voice stronger this time, and yet the trembling in his body only worsened. He wanted to dig into muscle and fine sinew and pull out every bit that recoiled in fear at just the mention of meeting with him. Of allowing him to meet with Atsushi.
"Dazai-san..." Atsushi put a tentative hand on Dazai's shoulder. "If you don't want to go with me, I'm sure we can-"
"No, Atsushi, you're not going." Dazai could hardly breathe, mouth too dry and tongue too thick. "He won't be meeting you at all."
His words had Kunikida twitching in response, Dazai could feel it even as they stood on opposite sides of a desk. "Dazai, we can't very well just say 'no' to a simple reque-"
"Kunikida-kun," Dazai turned to face his partner. There must be a look in his eye reminiscent of the 'prodigy' he once was because Kunikida twitched again. "I have already ruined enough children because of his influence. I will not let him touch another." The harsh metallic tang of blood filled his mouth from where he'd bitten his lip raw. "I will meet with him alone, that's all he's ever wanted, but he will not touch Atsushi."
A hushed and delicate silence blanketed the office following his words, the raw emotion in them unknown to the people around him, but he could care less. It doesn't matter if they understand his reasoning. It doesn't even matter if they agree. They just have to listen to him.
"Osamu,"
Now it was Dazai's turn for his muscles to twitch as the molten pain in his body vibrated in response to the wretched similarities he shares with Yosano. She was stepping closer to him, a conflicted expression on her face.
"Osamu, we would never let him touch Atsushi."
Because she understands. She is the only one who knows what it means to be tainted by that man's vile hands. To recognize how much he takes away from you with the poisoned touch of a doctor meant to heal. She can appreciate what it feels like to follow in his footsteps and ruin innocents just as he has.
"You know I would never allow harm to befall any of you."
And that is something Dazai knows. Logically he knows that Fukuzawa would never allow that man to ruin one of his own. That he has already saved and protected more than one. But Dazai's logical brain forces him to also recognize that, if that man wanted to, Fukuzawa could never truly stop him. He chose to give up Yosano, he chose to push out Dazai. He is the one always in control.
'Allow'?
As if he seeks permission to defile.
"Osa', you're his goal here. You always have been. He just wants to use Atsushi to get to you. Don't give him what he wants here."
Ranpo can never truly understand what it is that his siblings in everything but blood have gone through at the hands of a blight such as that man, but he knows. Knowledge is power, and Ranpo has more than most people. He has his own deductions as well as the supplemental information he's gathered from drunken, tearful confessions kept in the safety of apartments cloaked in darkness.
Knowledge is something that Dazai values highly, and he trusts and respects Ranpo; he trusts that he knows what he says and why he is saying it.
But that doesn't make it any easier to listen.
"I know it's me that he wants. I'd rather give him that than hand over Atsushi on a silver platter."
"Don't do that to yourself..."
Yosano again. Her agony resonates with a core hidden deep in Dazai's chest. A spark of guilt flares when he hears the pleading in her tone. The two have spent so many evenings trading stories with half vague truths to hide the true horror they've gone through, but they both know the other is hiding. Keeping details from each other hurts.
"Dazai-san... I don't want him near Atsushi either. But you shouldn't hurt yourself too."
A quiet voice, but not hesitant. Still so young, and yet forced to be wise well beyond her years. Another child ruined as a direct result of poisoned touch. It can be easy for Dazai to forget that Kyouka - small, little, 14 year old Kyouka - is another of many young casualties ravaged by tainted hands. It's a cycle he never started, but one that he continued to cultivate.
"Did he-?"
The fearful hesitance in Yosano's wavering tone was yet another similarity between them. The two hadn't given enough thought to seek out their newest addition, never thought to ask the youngest of them. Perhaps there's a part of them that never wanted to know, that wanted to live in a blissful ignorance they lost the luxury of having a long time ago. Kyouka's age is too idyllic, her personality too perfect. Did she suffer a fate similar to Yosano's? To Dazai's?
"No. Never directly."
The young girl's response made breathing a little easier for the two adults, but the tight coil of guilt lodged in their chests canceled it out. Apologies, ones never enough, wrapped around the guilt, snowballing until it was almost too much, choking them.
"Wait. Kyouka-chan. What're you saying?" Atsushi let go of Dazai to go to Kyouka's side, hands hovering over her as he fretted. "Did Mori-san hurt you?!"
"I'm okay." Kyouka told him with a sweet smile that Dazai has never been able to wear himself. The genuineness of it something always just out of his reach. His smiles are always rehearsed, they're something practiced and plastic. The smile of a doll, not a human.
Dazai and Yosano shared a look over the heads of the kids, a desperate glance that spoke volumes. They should have checked on her sooner...
"President," Dazai's voice carried more confidence than he was feeling. "I'm aware that you have known him for a long time, that he has helped the ADA, and that this truce between organizations is important for Yokohama, but I cannot stand by and let him think he can touch a single hair on my kid."
A wave of shock passed through the detectives that were present, all except Dazai's small family who knew how he felt about the young stray he took in.
Fukuzawa was silent as he met Dazai's cold stare head-on, never wavering as he held the piercing gaze for a few moments in silent conversation before he relented with a small nod of understanding. "This truce is not more important than the safety of my members. I gave you and Akiko my word that you would be protected from him and his influence. That promise extends to Izumi, of course, but also to anyone else he may target. If you believe he will be a threat to Atsushi, then I trust your judgment on this matter."
A breath Dazai hadn't realized he was holding was finally let out. It's terrifying to have Fukuzawa trust him so wholly. It's freeing to know that he does.
"Now, Mori-sensei is a determined man, and he will not take 'no' as an answer. He will most likely come calling personally when I do not allow this meeting to take place as he has requested it. Is there somewhere you know will be safe until he has moved on?"
Dazai was about to answer that of course he knows exactly where to go to keep Atsushi safe; but before he could, the gratitude he was going to express died on the tip of his tongue at a painfully familiar knock on the door of the office.
"Fukuzawa-dono, I must admit that I am a little offended you would deny me such a simple request."
In the blink of an eye Dazai had grabbed Atsushi, who had Kyouka in his grasp, and put them behind himself. His body acting as a barrier to keep the uninvited guest away from his kids, to keep the threat away, even as the numbness returned to his limbs and rooted him in place. A fear response? He doesn't often freeze in the face of danger. That's rather annoying...
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Yosano hissed, placing herself between Mori and Dazai. He would touch her brother over her stiff, cold dead body.
"Akiko." Fukuzawa's tone of voice stopped her from reaching for her hatchet, barely, and once he was sure she would not be outright attacking their intruder he meet Mori at the door to keep him from advancing any further inside. "Mori-sensei, I do believe we agreed that you would not come here like this."
Mori only sighed flippantly, as though he was put out by having to come all the way here himself. "We did, but you see I just knew my troublesome little prodigy would make this harder than it needed to be. I thought I should come convince him myself!" He smiled brightly and clapped his hands together.
The sound reverberated through Dazai's skull, bringing along with it a dizzying migraine. Mori's words were sticky-sweet, and yet they only tasted like the sour bile coating the back of Dazai's tongue. He kept Atsushi and Kyouka sequestered behind him, while one hand was gripping at Yosano's dress shirt. The fabric wrinkled under his white-knuckled grasp, the light trembles in his fingers could be felt.
Yosano's response was to reach behind her and lace their fingers together. Her grip was strong, but not desperate like Dazai's. She was more pissed than scared in the face of the predator. She was enraged that her family was being threatened like this.
"I would not think a simple conversation would require the presence of two of your top executives, Mori-sensei."
Fukuzawa's words had Dazai's breath freezing in his chest and he looked over Yosano's shoulder to get a look. Who did Mori bring? Did he bring him? But he was only met with the sight of Ranpo's hand holding a bottle of ramune blocking his view.
"Ranpo-" Oh god, is that grating noise his voice..?
"Go sit, Osa'. Kyouka-chan, go find some candy from my secret stash for Osamu, 'kay?" Ranpo leaned to the side to meet Kyouka's eye, a smile playing on his lips and a wink. Ranpo waited there, hiding Dazai's view of Mori and his accompaniments, until Kyouka had managed to get Dazai to move towards the back where the couch sits. And with Dazai goes Atsushi, so Ranpo knew those three were safe. At the very least Kyouka would die to protect Atsushi and Dazai. It's a little silly to rely on the young girl to watch over two adults, but oh well!
When he finally turned back around to face Mori, he grabbed Yosano's hand in place of Dazai. There was now a grimace that had replaced the grin he'd dropped. Mori wasn't alone, and he wanted to protect Dazai from that for as long as possible.
"Mori-sensei," Fukuzawa spoke up once again when he got the signal from Ranpo that the trio had been ushered to the back of the office. Not somewhere as safe as anyone wanted, but away from Mori. "Bringing them was not necessary."
Mori grinned, a wolfish smile that would put any reasonable person on edge. "Oh, but you see, Dazai-kun just does not like to listen to reason anymore. I'm afraid this was the best plan I had."
A lie. A very clear lie even despite the faux innocent frustration on Mori's face. He wants to hurt Dazai. He wants him to feel weak enough to come crawling back to the Port Mafia. It's a desperate play on his part, but it's not a last ditch effort.
"Boss, what the fuck is going on exactly?" One of the two executives flanking Mori's sides spoke up.
His vulgarity was easily ignored by Mori, who simply put a hand on the shoulder of the boy by Chuuya's side. "Aww, Chuuya-kun, don't you agree that Dazai should have to hear Akutagawa-kun here out?"
Chuuya bristled at the words and discreetly nudged the frozen Akutagawa further away from Mori. He may not know exactly what Mori is doing or planning by barging into the Armed Detective Agency like this, but he didn't like Akutagawa being in the spotlight like this.
"And the other one?"
"Hm?" Mori looked down at the small child hiding behind his other executive, Kouyou's, kimono. "Ah, that child is simply insurance. Don't worry about them~" He waved it off with a laugh, turning back to Fukuzawa. "We should allow them to see their... brother, though, shouldn't we?"
Behind Fukuzawa, Yosano and Ranpo had tensed even more, their bodies coiled tight like a spring ready to snap.
"Mori-sensei, I do not know what you're playing at, but I won't allow any harm to come to my employees."
Mori laughed and pat Fukuzawa's shoulder in a show of good nature that was completely out of place in the tense moment. "Harm? No, you need not worry about that! Ask your little genius detective."
Fukuzawa turned to look at Ranpo only to find that he'd already put his glasses on and he was studying Mori with a discerning eye. A few moments pass before he looks at Fukuzawa and reluctantly shakes his head. "He's not lying, he's not here to hurt any of us. Not even Osamu. Not physically, at least." Even despite his own deductions, Ranpo continued to glare at Mori.
"There you have it! I mean no harm, Fukuzawa-dono. I just wish to meet the new child under my prodigy's black wing."
Beside Chuuya, Akutagawa twitched in place and his expression was hard to read at the mention of Atsushi.
"We'll do a simple trade off for a little while! You see, one of my own will be in the care of yours and vice versa. I'll leave my executives to keep an eye on things, and I'll assume you'll be keeping an eye on me, yes?"
"Fukuzawa-"
Yosano's warning tone did not go unnoticed. To let Mori inside of their office would be welcoming a wolf into the sheep's heard. Fukuzawa could not accept, but nor could he deny Mori's request. It came across as reasonable enough, and the stipulations he made would help the deal to work even smoother. But this is Mori, and without Dazai's input, he wouldn't make a decision.
"Ranpo, go get-"
"'Samu!"
The child that had been peeking around Kouyou's long kimono suddenly sped off towards the slightly hunched over form that had reappeared at some point in the conversation.
"Kyuu? Who let you out?" Dazai tsked and crouched down to catch the speeding armful of tween.
The last anyone had seen of the child now lounging happily in Dazai's arms, they had brainwashed Atsushi and almost successfully taken out Yokohama. Even Dazai had seemed scared of Q then and Q had wanted to hurt him. But now here he is holding the child like an older brother would.
"Osa-"
"It's not very nice to bribe others with candy, Ranpo-san." Dazai pouted as he walked back to stand with Ranpo and Yosano. He seemed back to himself now, his playful and cocky attitude back, but the two flanking his sides knew better. They know it's a mask, a well worn one that feels like a second skin, but a mask nonetheless. Dazai isn't okay, he's acting simply because revealing weakness to Mori is like signing a death warrant.
Yosano leaned her body into Dazai's side, a comforting weight that managed to not jostle or displace the child clinging to Dazai's neck. They'll talk about the little manic child later. "Where's the kitty?" She asked in a soft whisper.
"Kyouka-chan has him busied with learning to braid her hair." A softer smile graced his features when he said that. He'd definitely taken a few pictures of long hair tangled in Atsushi's claws that had popped out in reaction to his stress before he'd come back out here.
"If I knew my demon prodigy and my angel of death would get along so well, I would have made sure to keep Akiko-kun longer!" Mori's grating voice set everyone on edge. Ranpo moved closer to stand a little in front of his siblings. He may not be combat oriented, but Fukuzawa made sure he has basic training. In other words, he will not hesitate to throw hands.
The smile on Dazai's face quickly dropped and he turned to face Mori head-on. His expression was blank, cold, calculating; Everything the ADA never knew him as, and yet everything he has always been.
"Why are you here, Mori-san? The real reason." He tried very hard to ignore the confused and concerned looks he was getting from the two executives by Mori's side. He tried even harder to not look at Akutagawa who was frozen in place, not knowing the situation and unsure what to do without an order from any of his seniors present.
Mori put his hands up in a mock form of surrender. The amusement in his features contradicted it, however.
"I am only here to properly meet the new stray you took under your wing. I mean no harm to you or yours, Dazai-kun. It truly hurts that you all think so poorly of me!"
"Mori-san, I know better than that." Dazai deadpanned, holding Q a little closer to him. "Kyuu, do you know why he brought you here?" He questioned the child instead, knowing they aren't good at keeping secrets, not from him. But all he got was a little headshake from Q. "And I can tell Akutagawa-kun doesn't know either, and I can assume the chibi there isn't sure. Ane-san might, but I doubt it." He looked at each person he mentioned before his gaze landed back on Mori. "So, I'll ask one last time: what do you really want? Why do you want to meet Atsushi-kun?"
He could ask Ranpo, or probably even figure it out himself, but Dazai's mentality is frazzled and he just wants to hear one truth from Mori. Just one. In all eight years of knowing Mori; from growing wary to hesitantly trusting to downright hating the man, he has never known a genuine bone in Mori's body. It's always grated him, to always have to play word games in every conversation they have. Is it so wrong to just want something simple from the man who raised him?
"Is it so wrong for me to simply want to meet the child acknowledged by you, as well as able to be on par with Akutagawa-kun despite his lacking experience? Is it so odd? He's a curious creature, Dazai-kun, and you know how I feel about fascinating little pets.~"
Dazai's muscles tensed up again and he clenched his jaw until he could hear the grinding of his own teeth reverberating in his head.
'The man who raised him'. How laughable. The word 'father' he once felt true when there was still young naivety clinging to his being rots on his tongue.
Dazai met evil when he was only a child, he was touched and destroyed by this malevolence, and now that despicable presence stands in front of him. He stands before Dazai as nothing more than a man when he is the demon that haunts his sleeping and waking moments alike.
"You remember what it is to be interesting to me, don't you?" Mori stepped closer to his prodigy. A demon of his own creation. "Those times we spent together and I learned so much about you? How you think... what makes you tick...
"You know, Dazai-kun," He was close enough to speak near Dazai's ear, his low cadence echoing through a mind too smart for his own good, through the hollow bones of a broken child. "Your blood still runs Mafia black, no matter how drenched in your beloved light you force yourself to be. Taking in a stray like he did won't change that."
A light brush of cold fingertips feel like deep bruises being seared into skin. The touch digging into his flesh and gouging out all of the 'good' Dazai has made for himself in the last four years. All of that effort, his desire to keep to the words of a man who meant so much more to him than the devil in front of him ever could, all of it wasted away into nothing at one singular touch.
He placed Q down so he wouldn't squeeze the child as a sudden burst of something he thought might be anger surged ice cold through his veins. He always thought anger would be something hot, something all consuming like Chuuya's is, but Dazai has never felt like a normal person in the first place. His anger is cold and it coils in his chest, tight like a snake ready to strike at the threat but calculating so he doesn't lash out at the wrong person. Only one man in this room deserves his ire.
"You have no right to talk about him when you're the one who killed him. You took him from me."
Dazai clenched his teeth, his jaw popping from the strain. He wants to yell, he wants to scream and curse in Mori's face for even daring to use Oda against him in this moment. But he can't. He can't because displaying such emotion would only give the devil in front of him an opening to sink his claws into. And when Mori has you in his clutches, he will tear through flesh and muscle before he gives you up, leaving behind only the flayed aftermath of who you once were or could have been. So no, even when his chest burns and his fingers itch with the desperate need to force Mori to feel even an ounce of the sort of emptiness Dazai does, he cannot reveal the deck he holds close to his heart, the bonds and affections he holds. He's had more than enough time to be uncharacteristically emotional, now it's time for business.
"If you are here to discuss this in an official capacity, you won't be doing so without me present."
Not allowing his gaze, eyes blood red, to stray even a millimeter from Mori, Dazai called for Atsushi. He didn't miss the way Akutagawa took an aborted half step forward, something not aggressive, per say, but rather confused and concerned. How interesting these two are. They'll make something good out of their forced partnership, yet.
"Dazai-san..." Atsushi spoke up nervously when he stepped back into the main office area, already on edge with the way everyone's eyes immediately pierce him in place. With everything he's learned about the Port Mafia's boss in the last hour, he can't lie and say he's not ready to bolt at even the slightest move the man would make towards him. But Dazai is here, the president is here, Yosano and Ranpo are here, even Akutagawa is here and Atsushi knows he wouldn't allow anyone to harm him. It's not something they've ever discussed, and Atsushi isn't quite sure why he's so confident in it, but he knows. And he feels safe. He feels even safer when Dazai was standing close to him, almost in front of him, like he's protecting his child.
"Atsushi-kun," Dazai started before Mori could even open his mouth. "It is up to you if you want to meet Mori. You don't have to, but if you do, I'll be there."
Before Atsushi could think of a response to that, Mori hummed. It sounded almost disappointed. "Dazai-kun, you know a meeting room is no place for emotions. I've taught you better than to go into a situation you can't think logically."
The disapproval hurt, it hurt much more than it should have for who it was coming from. It allowed for an irrational waver in his otherwise impenetrable defense, just enough of an opening for Mori to latch onto.
"Honestly, I never thought you'd ever even need to be reminded of that lesson. It was only once, after all, and we never had the same issue again."
His defense crumbled around his feet, eyes widening ever so slightly at that cruel, cruel reminder. He tried to fix his mask in place, but it kept slipping through his fingers. He couldn't help but send an almost helpless glance to his partner, a glimpse of when they were 16, almost 17, and Dazai had been leading a meeting in Mori's place as a test for his heir. Someone brought up Chuuya, someone knew about Chuuya. They dared to utter a word against his humanity and before they could finish their sentence there was a bullet between their eyes. It lost Mori the deal and he was not pleased.
Chuuya took a step closer, drawn in by the anxious magnetic air surrounding his ex partner. He'd only seen that expression once before he had lost consciousness after using corruption and Dazai had almost been too late to get to him. To save him. It was jarring to see him look like this in front of others, let alone in front of Mori. Throughout this entire ordeal, Chuuya had been keeping silent. He'd tried to stay out of it. None of this is his business, and truthfully, if he can stay out of the weird back and forth power play between his boss and his ex partner he will. But not now. Not when Dazai looks like that.
Yosano already had her scalpel in hand; Not her weapon of choice, but one she knew far too well how to use because of the man who took a kind little girl and forced her to learn how to be strong. How to be deadly.
"He's not your little pet project anymore!" She growled, aiming the scalpel at the Devil's throat, trained on the jugular vein thumping with a blood supply she is more than prepared to cut off with a flick of her wrist.
Kouyou, as the only executive of the two present to not have a strong attachment in any of this mess, stepped to Mori's side and drew her own blade to counter Yosano, but was stopped by a finger pushing the tip back down. She looked to Mori with a frown, but found that his gaze was trained only on the woman in front of him, not beside him, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Oh, my dear Akiko-kun, don't you remember my first lesson? The first words of wisdom I passed down to you?"
Yosano flinched but did not waver, holding her blade steady. She swore to herself a long time ago that she would never cower from this devil ever again.
"Too much emotion makes you careless, and careless gets you killed."
She swore to herself to never cower again, she swore it, but those same words from that same voice had her feeling as though she were eleven again and bringing back lives only meant to die over and over and over and overandoverandoverandoverand-
"That's enough."
A sharp voice cut through the tension like a magma blade to butter. One filled with authority. One dripping in the protectiveness only held by a father. Fukuzawa had not drawn his katana when he stepped between Mori and his children, but the glare in his eyes was much sharper.
"Mori-sensei, if you wish to keep this meeting peaceful, I would suggest you stop threatening my employees in our own office."
After a few moments of tense silence between the two leaders of their respective organizations, Chuuya finally had enough. "For fucks sake..." He grumbled and stalked over to Dazai's side, shooting a glare at Ranpo and Yosano, just daring them to try and stop him. They don't, which is good because Chuuya doesn't want to hurt them today, and he has a clear shot to an unnaturally still Dazai still hiding Atsushi behind him.
"Oi, mackerel. I don't know what's going on in that fucked up head of yours, but you need to snap out of it."
His words were harsh, but hushed and infinitely soft, shared as a secret between just the two of them. He didn't care if the Agency detectives were watching him, he couldn't even care that Mori was watching him, Chuuya just needs to get Dazai grounded.
"Your little tiger is fine. The Agency is fine. You're fine. I'm fine. Okay?"
The familiar voice drew a shuddered breath from Dazai, whose fingers spasmed in a childish, desperate need to grasp onto something tangible. Luckily, the two halves of one dark whole know each other inside and out, and Chuuya doesn't even think or need to glance at Dazai's hand before he's taking it in his own. His hand is bigger, something he's always relished in knowing when Dazai started to grow taller, and he is able to easily envelop that pale hand with his.
"Osamu, go eat something, I can tell you haven't eaten today. And take that little devil spawn of yours with you, and do not move until I come back to get you."
It's not so much an order as it is a compromise. A promise. Of all people, Chuuya knows you can't just give Dazai Osamu an order and assume he'll follow it, but Chuuya also knows that even in his lowest lows, Dazai won't stop thinking logically. Despite how much he wants to be present, he can't be. His rapidly fraying mentally won't allow him to be present and remain in control.
The response he gets is another deep inhale and his hand being squeezed in response. Good. Good, that means he's at least back for now from wherever his mind was floating.
"Go. And I'm entrusting Ryuu to you too, so don't fuck him up anymore, got it?"
Dazai blinked once, twice, his eyes focusing in on the man holding his hand. The only person to know him so completely and not turn away. To witness his darkness and decide to learn how to traverse it instead of run. The first to be a part of Dazai's small chosen family.
"..Got it..." He murmured in a quiet, raspy voice that he didn't bother clearing.
A part of Chuuya breathed a sigh of relief, the knot in his chest loosening. "Good. You're always expecting me to trust your crazy ass plans, so trust me for once, will ya."
"I always trust Chuuya..." Dazai squeezed the hand still holding his, the last ounce of his vulnerability before he stuffed it all back behind another intact mask. It hurt Chuuya to watch him do so, but he knew he couldn't change that.
"Stay with Chuuya. Always be in eye sight. Let him and the president do most of the talking." He told a very concerned Atsushi who could only nod so he wouldn't cry at the still distant look in his mentors otherwise perfect mask.
With Atsushi's easy agreement, Dazai turned a slightly hesitant gaze to his other mentee. He didn't say anything to Akutagawa, just motioned for him to follow knowing the boy wouldn't refuse. One last squeeze of entwined hands and then Dazai was letting go of Chuuya to pick Q back up.
"If he tries anything, I'll be the one to finish it." Was his passing comment to his siblings before he headed back towards where Kyouka still was. Seeing her sitting on the couch vigilantly, ready to summon Demon Snow at a moments notice, has him softening ever so slightly.
"Thank you for looking after him." He pat the girl's head affectionately, trying to convince himself he hadn't heard the choked sound coming from behind him.
Kyouka looked up at him, her eyes wise well beyond her years, and just nodded. "I'm looking after you, too, Dazai-san."
The words shocked him to his core. No one, besides Chuuya, had ever expressed wanting to look out for him. Sure, Ranpo and Yosano show it all the time with their nagging and their endless support, but they've never said it in so many words. Is this what Odasaku must have felt like when he'd first gained the trust of one of his orphans? His hands stained with blood that'll never wash off, but there were people who just didn't care.
"Thank you."
---
With Dazai out of the room, everyone remaining had almost subconsciously surrounded Atsushi. Ranpo and Yosano behind him, Fukuzawa to his side, and Chuuya still in front of him. It was almost scary to suddenly be facing someone so dangerous without his mentor by his side, but Atsushi still felt safe like this.
Mori seemingly only found the situation amusing when even one of his executives took a protective stance in front of the boy. He chuckled, a deep noise that could find its way into your chest, forming a deep pit for itself and settling there until it was hard to breathe around him.
"Well, after that little spectacle, I am even more intrigued by you, Atsushi Nakajima." Mori approached the boy, but kept his distance with another chuckle when everyone moved even closer to guard him. "You have managed to make my little demon prodigy care about you. He never used to care much about his subordinates, let alone the child previously in his care. It's impressive. Truly."
There was that look in his eye, the one he wore when faced with a new project. A new experiment. Something to take apart to better understand. Fukuzawa was about to say something again, but Mori waved him off with a grin.
"You are a very important child, Nakajima-kun. The Guild had been willing to spend a lot of money to get you in their grasp, and I'm sure Dostoevsky would be much harder to avoid should he deem you important enough for his plans." He sat down at a nearby desk, resting his chin over steepled fingers; looking every bit the commanding Mafia boss he is, even outside of his own office. "And while Fukuzawa-dono's ability keeps your tiger under control, can you honestly say that you would be able to protect yourself should someone like Dostoevsky try to sink his claws into you? Would you be able to protect those you care about?"
Atsushi flinched at those words. It's always been a lingering, ever-present fear of his; that he will eventually become more trouble than he's worth. His fighting is instinctual at best, but he doesn't often train further than that. He reacts, but he's not proactive.
"My reason for wishing to meet you is simple: I am here to extend my resources to you."
"What?"
It wasn't Atsushi that spoke. It wasn't even Ranpo or Yosano or Fukuzawa. It was Chuuya, his brows furrowed as he stared at his boss. It was moments like these he almost wished he had the same freakish intelligence as his partner. Mori trying to recruit kids into the Mafia isn't anything new, hell, he got Chuuya and Dazai both when they were only 15; but Mori isn't asking Atsushi to join, he's giving him... resources..?
"I'm... not joining the Port Mafia?" Atsushi was also frowning, Chuuya's reaction confusing him more than anything.
"Oh, I am well aware. And I am not here to ask you to do as such," Mori smiled, something disarmingly sincere. "You lack the experience needed to survive in this world, and I am simply offering my support to help you gain said experience."
"Why the hell would you do that?! It's not out of the kindness of your cold, dead heart." Yosano had tried to grab Atsushi and pull him back behind her, but Chuuya had taken hold of him.
"It's not a kindness, it's a strategic offer, Yosano-kun. We have a truce, which implies that should someone target Nakajima-kun, then my mafia will be at your beck and call to provide support. However, should he receive proper training, then it would ensure minimal casualties for his sake."
"We are perfectly capable of training our own detectives, Mori-sensei." Fukuzawa's brows were also knit together, trying to read his old partner and drawing a blank. There is no real reason Mori should be pushing for something like this.
"All, save for one, of your detectives cannot even properly use a gun, Fukuzawa-dono. We have already clearly seen how lacking in any basic training your agency is during that stint with Shibusawa and Dostoevsky. If it were not for luck, and Soukoku, how many would have died? No," Mori stood up and approached Atsushi once more. His eyes were dark yet glinting with amusement as he looked between Atsushi and Chuuya. "Nakajima-kun would benefit most from training under the top martial artist in the Port, wouldn't he?"
"I-"
"What the hell?" Chuuya cut Atsushi off, his frown deeper. Not for the first time he's trying to decipher his boss's mind and getting stuck before actually getting anywhere. His boss is offering him to train someone from a rival organization? Chuuya's attachments aside, truce or no, there is just no reason why Mori should be doing this.
"Hm. Is this your answer being no? I suppose we always have someone else who fights similarly to you, Chuuya-kun, but he was not my first choice for Nakajima-kun."
Those words shook him out of his confused stupor. As much as Chuuya wishes he could curse out his boss until he got straight answers, he knew much better than that. So all he did was straighten his spine, like the soldier he is meant to be, and shook his head. "I didn't say no."
"Wonderful! Although, I will admit to being rather curious to see how he would react to having a new student. He hasn't trained many subordinates since Kyouka-chan left. But, oh well! Your style suits Nakajima-kun far better than that of an assassin, don't you agree?"
"Assassin?!"
Atsushi's horrified exclamation was ignored by Mori who was still staring into Chuuya's eyes, inviting, daring, him to disagree if he wanted to. But Chuuya's mouth was firmly shut, the thought of Verlaine training someone good like Atsushi, someone keeping Dazai in the light, it had his heart thumping against his chest.
"I don't mind training him for a while in that case, boss." He finally got out, as devoid of emotion as he could get his words to be so there would be nothing for Mori to twist to his advantage. Not that this entire situation isn't completely in his control. Mori is the chess master with Dazai out of commission, watching gleefully as his pieces glide and fall into place on his chessboard. Nobody smart ever plays fair, and Chuuya has witnessed that countless times.
"Ah, how perfectly this conversation has gone! With Chuuya-kun agreeing, I don't see any reason for anyone else to raise objections. Keep in mind, this arrangement will only benefit all of us involved with Nakajima-kun."
Even manipulation tasted sweet when dripping from the devil's tongue. No one could claim this offer was out of anything except mutual benefit and good will without starting a war between the two organisations. Not even Ranpo could tell that what Mori was saying wasn't the truth. A truth. Someone's truth that sounds pretty on paper.
"If I know my prodigy, he will want us to draw up a contract to outline specific terms, which we will draft between us, as the respective heads of our organisations. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to put our truce in writing as well!"
"Mori-sensei," Fukuzawa started with no small amount of wariness. "Am I to believe that this is all you wanted to meet Atsushi-kun for? A simple collaboration effort?"
"Simple? You thought getting to this point was simple? Oh please, Fukuzawa-dono, spare me. Dazai-kun has been screening my calls for weeks! And then with everything that has happened recently, I could only just get in contact with you, old friend. This collaboration effort was anything but simple to set up."
There was a genuine sense of annoyance that came with Mori's words, the first glimpse at anything real about this man since he set foot in the office, but he had quickly replaced it with a grin. The ease at which he covered up anything genuine so reminiscent of how Dazai is able to switch masks at the drop of a hat that it sends a cold shiver up everyone's spines. They're starting to realize Mori had more of an impact on the Dazai of today where they thought he only molded the Dazai of four years ago. How much of Dazai is Mori...
"Now then, shall we save some time and start drafting that contract now? To minimize our meetings, of course. I do believe your employees are rather hostile towards me, Fukuzawa-dono."
Fukuzawa could only grimace and nod shortly, leading Mori out of the main area and back towards his office. Kouyou, Yosano, Ranpo, and Kunikida hot on his heels.
"We will meet again soon, Nakajima-kun! Do try to keep my interest."
Those final parting words had Atsushi even more confused and distressed than before. Why is this happening? Is this really all because of him? Everyone is trying to protect him, but it's only hurting them all more. He should have stayed gone when he left that first week with the Agency. He wasn't wrong then that this is all because of-
"Kid, stop. I can practically hear your overthinking."
Chuuya's voice drew Atsushi out of his head long enough to recognize the weight and warmth against his back, slow circles being rubbed between his shoulder blades. It was calming and grounding in a way Atsushi hasn't known when he starts to spiral.
"Chuuya-san... why- why me? Why is it always me..."
And isn't that a sentiment Chuuya can relate to. But he could only sigh, never having an answer for himself, let alone Atsushi.
"I don't know, kid, but trust me when I say Dazai wouldn't have taken you in and kept you if he thought you were a threat to this place. The Boss is... he's really fucking good at making you think he's your only option, but he's not." The hand Chuuya had on Atsushi's back gently pushed him forward, leading the boy back to where Dazai and the other kids were. "I'll still train you if you wanna learn from me, but I'm not offering for the Mafia. I'm offering for you. It's always good to know how to defend yourself and those you wanna keep safe. Sometimes, you can only rely on yourself."
Atsushi was still confused by the turn his seemingly normal day had taken, but he nodded before looking back at Chuuya. "But don't you have Dazai-san to rely on?"
Where Chuuya could easily deny that very notion of ever finding Dazai reliable, he simply chuckled. "Just like you've got Ryuunosuke now. I used to question that mackerel's sanity at pairing you and him together as the new generation double black, but you work surprisingly well together. Ryuu may be prickly, but rely on him a little, and he won't let you down, kid."
Before Atsushi could respond he was suddenly being squeezed tightly around his middle by Kyouka. The girl wasn't crying or even speaking, but the way she held him spoke a thousand words.
Chuuya separated from the two, watching fondly as Akutagawa lingered close by them. "I gotta admit, I think you did okay with them." He muttered, sitting down beside I still silent Dazai.
Dazai hasn't moved much since he was sent away from Mori, only reacting when Q or Kyouka were putting food close to his lips. But with Chuuya back by his side, with Atsushi back in his line of sight, he finally let out a shuddering breath.
"He's okay?"
"He's a little distressed and confused, like all of us, but he'll be good. You gave him a partner, remember?"
"Right... Right, partners are a good thing..."
"They are. They're also curious." Chuuya lightly angled Dazai's face towards his own, one finger under his chin and a concerned look in his eyes. "Are you gonna tell me what the fuck happened out there? I don't mean all that bullshit with the Boss, we don't have time for that, but I mean what he was implying about you having learned a lesson before? What lesson? Why did you look at me?"
Dazai, despite looking at Chuuya, was more so looking through him. A haunted look in his gaze. It's not rare for Dazai to wear such a look, there's always been a shine of something deeply disturbed hidden in those depths that Chuuya was able to see even at 15. But he's gotten better since leaving the Port Mafia, since joining the side of light and working with the detective agency. Chuuya didn't think he'd have to see that look on his partner again.
"It was nothing for a little chibi to worry about. Aren't you too busy chasing your tail to worry about your master?"
Instead of getting angry and lashing out like Dazai had been expecting, had been wanting, Chuuya only frowned and the concern in his eyes grew more pronounced.
"Don't fucking pull that shit with me, Osamu. Not right now." He got closer, not wanting to disturb the kids as they were finally starting to relax; Atsushi was back to braiding Kyouka's hair, Akutagawa giving tips since he used to beaid Gin's hair all the time. And Q was napping in the sun like a cat, not getting to feel the warmth of sun from their cell. They deserve this repose. But Chuuya can't let this go, not when he saw Mori actually get to Dazai for the first time.
"You shut down. You had been so determined to stand up against him when it came to your weretiger, but then he said something related to me and you fucking went somewhere else. I can't watch your back if your mind is a million miles away, Osamu."
It's hard to describe the way Dazai's expression changed, crumbling into something uncharacteristically vulnerable and guilty. His throat closed up around the excuses he wanted to give so his loyal and caring guard dog would just let this go for once, but he knows better. When Chuuya gets genuinely worried like this, then he won't let it go until he's gotten a satisfying answer. But Dazai doesn't have one to give him. What is he supposed to say? That he was punished for defending his partner's humanity? No, no way in hell is Dazai going to pile onto the guilt Chuuya already feels about life.
"Don't, Chuuya... Not now. I did something when we were teenagers, and I paid the price for it. Just let it go at that..."
He wasn't begging, because Dazai doesn't beg, but he was pleading. Pleading to not force this while he's still around his kids. They don't need to know. No one needs to know that at 17 Dazai Osamu had to learn how to go without food without passing out while still going on field missions. Only Odasaku ever knew because he had to force him to eat at Lupin one night, but he's long since been gone...
Chuuya didn't want to let it go. He didn't want to forget that haunted look in Dazai's sweet wine red eyes, but he didn't want to bring it back either. And with Mori still in the building, he especially cannot risk possibly taking the bloodied crown of thorns of the Port Mafia by force after finding out how deeply his boss has hurt his partner.
"Fine. Fucking fine. I'll let it go, for now." He waved off the relief that flooded Dazai's eyes, instead drawing him in even closer. Nose to nose. "But promise me that you're safe here..." Promise me the past is the past. Promise me you're not doing anything stupid. Promise me they care for you.
That actually brought a small smile to Dazai's lips, the genuineness he was showing a stark contrast to Mori's. The two are so painfully similar, they always will be, but they are also different in all of the ways that matter.
He glanced over to where Ranpo and Yosano had come back, hovering over Atsushi and Kyouka while they let Dazai and Chuuya have their moment. They had joined in the little braiding train, Yosano teaching the two boys how to French braid, and Ranpo taking the pictures he knows Dazai will want to have for later. Their family is little, but they're strong. And fiercely loyal. Chuuya was the first Dazai ever chose for himself, Odasaku following soon after, and even Ango, and then he chose this group. They're all messed up in some way, but they will never let one of their own be messed up alone.
"I trust them with my life..." Is his response as he turns back to Chuuya, a little more life shining in his eyes, lifting the curtain of haunted blood-red in favor of those honey brown that shone with a semblance of hope that settled Chuuya's heart.
"Good... I'm glad you have them, Osamu... Don't you dare push them away, got it? You all protect each other, and I'll protect you."
"Mhm... got it..."
Mori will never leave him alone, he will always pick at the rare weak spots in Dazai's otherwise impenetrable defense, always try to drag him back down to hell with him; Dazai will never truly be free of the monster who raised him, who passed down the rotting, poisoned touch that ruins innocents, but he doesn't have to suffer alone. He has a partner and friends and family who will always be there to pull him out of the darkness he destroyed his body and mind escaping from. And as he finally settles against Chuuya's side once Mori leaves the building, deft fingers scratching at his scalp, Atsushi and Akutagawa messing with Kyouka and Yosano's hair, Ranpo sharing his snacks with Q, and Fukuzawa joining the group, watching over his children like a real father would, Dazai can finally breathe a little easier.