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[Chuuya had felt groggy and unfocused since he woke up, a feeling not even coffee had been able to make a dent in. He'd gotten to work purely on muscle memory, and then he'd mostly stared at his desk until Kouyou dropped by for lunch and ordered him to go home and sleep it off.
He wasn't sure there was anything to sleep off, but he didn't argue with his Ane-san.
And then he'd gone home, and passed out, and woken up about an hour later as panic gripped his chest tight.
Dazai.
He had to find Dazai.
He hurried out of his apartment, grabbed his motorcycle for speed, and set off in the direction of Dazai's place. Would he even be at his place? Or with that Agency of his? He'd check both, if he had to, although he'd prefer not having to explain to any stray agency members that he wasn't there to kill them. So he'd check his apartment first, and maybe call him from there.
It was only when he parked his bike outside Dazai's building that he realized he wasn't sure what he was panicking about.
Dazai has nothing to do with him anymore, but there was something, a thought buried behind the fog of his brain that told him there was more. Something was supposed to have changed--
Shit.
His head hurt. He hadn't been drinking, and it didn't feel like a hangover, but it did feel similar to a blackout. Dazai and he had been--
Dancing?
No, that made no sense. Chuuya headed into the building, and climbed the stairs, five at a time because he didn't have time for gravity.
They'd been in the city and--
That city.
Chuuya stopped, hand raised to knock, as a few memories started to come back to him. It wasn't possible. Someone had planted that in his head somehow.
They had been dancing. ]
DAZAI!
[He shouted through the door and then knocked hard, making the door shake.]
OPEN UP, DAZAI.
He wasn't sure there was anything to sleep off, but he didn't argue with his Ane-san.
And then he'd gone home, and passed out, and woken up about an hour later as panic gripped his chest tight.
Dazai.
He had to find Dazai.
He hurried out of his apartment, grabbed his motorcycle for speed, and set off in the direction of Dazai's place. Would he even be at his place? Or with that Agency of his? He'd check both, if he had to, although he'd prefer not having to explain to any stray agency members that he wasn't there to kill them. So he'd check his apartment first, and maybe call him from there.
It was only when he parked his bike outside Dazai's building that he realized he wasn't sure what he was panicking about.
Dazai has nothing to do with him anymore, but there was something, a thought buried behind the fog of his brain that told him there was more. Something was supposed to have changed--
Shit.
His head hurt. He hadn't been drinking, and it didn't feel like a hangover, but it did feel similar to a blackout. Dazai and he had been--
Dancing?
No, that made no sense. Chuuya headed into the building, and climbed the stairs, five at a time because he didn't have time for gravity.
They'd been in the city and--
That city.
Chuuya stopped, hand raised to knock, as a few memories started to come back to him. It wasn't possible. Someone had planted that in his head somehow.
They had been dancing. ]
DAZAI!
[He shouted through the door and then knocked hard, making the door shake.]
OPEN UP, DAZAI.
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Fucking react, dammit.
Chuuya tipped back his glass, not caring that wine wasn't meant to be downed. He needed it, if he was going to deal with Dazai. He could feel his focus slipping a little, the alcohol hitting him fast, as it always did.
If he drank enough, Dazai wouldn't be able to get anything useful out of him. Maybe that was the way to get rid of him.]
Do you really want me to give you specifics?
[He didn't want Dazai to die.
Chuuya turned quickly to look at him at that theory, eyes slightly wide. That -- would make sense, if the idea was to fuck with him, fuck with his loyalty, make him question what he really wanted. Was the idea to shake his position? Make him less reliable for the boss?
He refilled his glass again.]
Your theories don't mean anything if you can't find the culprit.
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You forget that investigations are also reliant on information. My source refuses to talk, and it's useless to reveal all the dead ends I've reached.
[And hmm, that reaction. About as expected, when the loyal dog cared only for protecting what was important to him, so much so that his very fears were woven to that.
He reached for the bottle. More wine, Chuuya?]
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Then go with that theory. What the hell would be the point?
[He knows what the point is, he just can’t talk about it. Maybe he should grab the bottle back from Dazai and make a run for it.
Although Dazai knew where he lived. ] Ahhh
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It's difficult and costly to match Chuuya in terms of raw firepower. Hence, the opponent has to resort to trickery. The cage Ranpo-san prepared for you is one thing. The cage of the mind, however, is more potent, and no ability nullification is a match for it.
[Morale, he meant. Mind games. What was the use of a gun when its wielder was too shaken to use it?]
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[Chuuya took the glass, but held himself back from drinking it. It sounded like that might have been the plan. It made sense.]
They miscalculated, then. Now I want to destroy them even more.
[The only one this benefitted was Dazai, and he wasn't the one who did this to him.]
My loyalties haven't changed. [Much.] They should have made me see something else if they wanted that to change.
[He might be saying this to reassure himself more than anything else. He won't falter. He won't fail. ]
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[There were more potent ways to shake up Chuuya. Dazai could guess what they were - despair and Chuuya were two matters he knew well.
Well, that was neither here nor there. This, so far, was only speculation.]
By the way, are you sure you hadn't eaten anything funny before you had that vision?
[Probably not, but he still had to ask.
(There was a hint of desperation in CHuuya's tone that he didn't like. This kind of doubt was also troublesome for someone normally so confident.)]
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Plus, he didn’t know how.
More wine, then.]
Of course not. [He only eats quality food. ] Would that even give memories like this? Even if I was somehow drugged, it wouldn’t be like this, right?
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[He knows where to get shrooms. Just saying. Feel free to ask Atsushi for proof.]
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Definitely not. My head is enough of a mess right now.
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Then taking it shouldn't make much of a difference.
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[Says the guy well on his way to getting plastered.]
I’m just going to go home and pass out.
[Or go somewhere and pick a fight. Same thing. ]
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[An innocent shrug, and a casual drink. No one's forcing you to.
And here, have more wine.]
It's a waste if you go home now, by the way. [He held the bottle up to the light and squinted at it.] There's still half of this to go.
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I could bring it with me.
[Technicaly the bar isn’t allowed to sell wine for him to being home, but who’s going to say no to him? He’ll do what he wants.
Not that he’s moving.]
You’re not drinking.
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[He held up his glass in comparison to Chuuya's. See? See? Yours is more full than his!
Have a toast, while he's at it.]
I'm surprised you didn't bring your own bottle to this place. No offense to our gentleman over here [the bartender, he meant] , but you can be picky.
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[Dazai needs to do multiple shots if he wants to keep up with Chuuya, who is definetely feeling the wine at this point. He has no idea how much he’s drunk. ]
Sometimes I bring my own. I didn’t want to go home first.
[Because if he went home, he wasn’t sure if he’d want to go out again. It was entirely unlike him, and he didn’t like it. ]
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In any case, we are, indeed, not going home yet. To commemorate this rare evening, I shall oblige by catching up. That's not a problem for you, is it?
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It hasn’t been that long.
[He was drunk enough now that he was slipping up. He and Dazai went out together all the time, in that place. But back here in Yokohama, it had been years.
Because Dazai had left.]
If you actually want to.
[It was said a bit sulkily. ]
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(But really Chuuya, that was unnecessary use of force. Lucky you Dazai caught you starting to reach out, or he would've spilled wine on his shirt, and that won't do.)]
Did I not just drink? Here, you can pour my next glass if you'd like.
Tell me: do you watch your subordinates like hawks during company dinners to make sure they drank properly?
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[Unlike Dazai, who must do what Chuuya wants, and drink what Chuuya wants him to. Allowing him to pour probably isn’t a good idea at this point. He doesn’t spill any, but he does fill Dazai’s glass all the way to the brim.
Enjoy.]
You’re annoying when you’re sober.
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He still gives the glass a Look though. There's no flourish in drinking from a glass like that.]
Chuuya, indeed, likes to be the horn of plenty personified. Such overflowing generosity that demands acceptance.
So, to you, does that mean I'm more acceptable drunk?
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You're always annoying.
[What did you expect, Dazai? Although he doesn't sound as convincing as he normally would, and his hatred of Dazai was never very convincing to begin with. Now, he's gradually leaning a little closer.]
But maybe then your brain will stop working.
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Oh, I don't know. That's never happened before. Unlike Chuuya, whose remaining brain cell is in need of constant revival from stoppage.
It must me tough, having to function on such limited resources.
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Shut up!
[Hope you were prepared for that elbow to your side, Dazai. He's not holding back.]
Asshole. You need to drink something stronger.
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But ow.
The smile doesn't leave his face, but boy does his forearm hurt.]
I usually do. [He'll just point to the two glasses in front of him: whiskey and wine. It's not advisable to mix drinks like this, but with the situation as it was, he'll be forced to.] You just demanded I drink something less strong.
Can't make up your mind? Or do you just like ordering me around?
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Chuuya looks at the two glasses, then briefly considers tipping one into the other, but that would both ruin the wine and overflow the glass. Still, it would solve this "what should dazai drink" dilemma.]
Like you ever take orders.
[But yes, getting to order Dazai around would be fun. If he'd ever managed to outrank him while they were in the mafia, Chuuya would have been taking advantage of it constantly.
Sadly he'd never stood a chance at making that happen.]
Just drink both.
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