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The witching hour.
The time of the night, where magic thrummed in the air at it’s strongest. The time when supernatural beings came out and play, hidden from the eyes of unaware humans. The time when humans’ ignorance and disbelief tightened the veil around their heads, or time to sleep for the lucky bunch that actually had normal and regular sleeping schedule.
For Dazai though, it’s time to work… he should be working, yet here he was, sitting without care on the top of one of Yokohama’s tallest skyscraper. There were furious battle brewing just a few buildings away from him, barely able to be contained within barrier to not alert the civilians underneath them. His black coat fluttered from the wind yet strangely not blown away despite just being haphazardly thrown on his shoulder. White bandages covered one of his eyes and head. Black suits complete with a tie, while formal, looked just as strange as seeing a teenager hanging out on the roof of a skyscraper at three in the morning.
“Stop running away, fuckers!” the loud voice of another person unfortunate enough to have the same job as him could be heard even from where Dazai was watching and he looked in boredom as Chuuya took too long to chase after the weaklings. They were weak, but they were fast and many. Black cloth spiked through the floor of the roof and skewered a few of them, but not quite enough to annihilate them all.
“Hey, bastard! Stop lounging around and move your ass!” Chuuya growled at him, a struggling black blob in his hand crushed from his sheer frustration. He wore almost a similar clothes with Dazai, although he had fedora hat and just a vest in place of Dazai’s black coat and suits.
“Eh… it’s such a drag.” Dazai had the nerve to yawn, which only intensify the killing intent from the shorter man. “This job suited a slug like you, Chuuya.”
“Oh?” the red haired man smirked widely, his glare would send lesser man to their knees sobbing. “Hey Akutagawa, you said that you make this barrier big enough, right?”
Black cloth gathered beside Chuuya, morphing into a black dog shaped shadow. “…yes.”
“Does that mackerel sucked inside the barrier too?” Chuuya started cracking his knuckles, magic gathering eagerly on his fists like a smitten lover.
“…yes.” The black dog sighed softly, it’s form scattered again into ascending platform, already knowing what his partner wanted.
Chuuya leaped along the platform until he was floating high in the sky, supported only by black cloth underneath his feet. The crackling energy on his fists expanded like a balloon until the red and black energy grew even bigger than his own body. Despite the threatening gesture, Dazai’s smile never left his lips. Chuuya’s irritation exploded along with his magic, which he sent hurling towards the building ridden by the black balloon like monsters. The moment the magic impacted the building, the force of the explosion sent stones and glass flying everywhere. Even the buildings nearby were all decimated, smoke rising from the ruins that were once a luxurious skyscraper.
Chuuya shrugged seeing the destruction. It’s not as if Dazai would die so easily like that and more importantly, he felt relief as his frustration bled away. His fingers shook a little, so he curled his fingers into fists to hide it. A black cloth slithered from the platform he was standing on, leaving just enough for Chuuya to keep hovering on night sky while the rest of it accumulated on his shoulder. The black cloth morphed into a small puppy like being, black eyes stared impassively at the damage. It coughed quietly, the smoke irritated it’s fragile lungs. The shadow like apparition sat on Chuuya’s shoulder and they waited.
Because like hell it was over already. Their job would be too easy if it did.
The ruins started to shake and a gigantic being crawled out from beneath the destruction. It’s long and elegant neck unfurled, a pair of black wings flapped once and the force of the wind it caused almost threw Chuuya off from it’s platform if not for the black cloth keeping him in place. Red gigantic eyes glared at him and it’s beak let out a shrill shriek. The bird like creature flapped it’s wings, removing any remaining debris from it’s body and preparing to take flight.
“Oh no you won’t! I don’t spend all that energy and time fighting your minions just so you can escape now!” Chuuya gathered more magic in his hands. “Akutagawa, assist me!”
The puppy like creature on his shoulder froze. “Wait, Nakahara-san!”
“Heed my words.”
Below the rubble underneath the bird’s talons, black magic circle glowed ominously. The bird shrieked in panic, it’s wings spread as wide as possible to get away but black chains captured and held the bird down to the ground. Akutagawa had to pull Chuuya back farther to the sky so they wouldn’t be dragged down too. So that was why Dazai’s partner was missing all night, he had been preparing the trap.
“I shall chain thee to the sea of my soul. Vow to me, and I shall break thy servitude to madness.”
The chains wrapped around the bird so tightly that it choked the bird, it let out a weak shrill as it’s body melted back into shadows. The shadow shrunk into a small ball, flying towards the source of the spell. Chuuya barely able to see Dazai on the ruins far below them, seated on a white tiger.
“I am thou, and thou art I. Thou shall become my new mask. Arise, Feng Huang.”
The bandages on Dazai’s face burned away in blue fire, but the teenager didn’t panic or seemed to be in pain. In fact, there was an almost excited smile on his face as he watched the white tiger beneath him suddenly sprouting red wings on it’s back. The wings flapped once, twice, before the white tiger took flight. Dazai laughed in delight, the wings of fire leaving behind red colored light trailing behind them as it took off to the sky with Dazai on it’s back. Chuuya watched the two of them gone, whistled quietly to himself for another job well done.
Wait a fucking minute.
“God fucking damn it, Dazai!” Chuuya screamed on top of his lungs and he swore he could hear Dazai laughing at him. “That’s my prey, you bastard!”
Flying on the sky with his partner on his back, Atsushi grumbled. “Chuuya-san is going to be so mad at us the next time we meet again…”
“When is Chuuya not mad at me, Atsushi-kun?” Dazai waved that matter off, instead rubbing his palm on one of the wings on Atsushi’s back. “I knew it. You look so beautiful with these wings.”
Their flight wobbled a little as the white tiger shrieked. “Dazai-san, that tickles!”
After ensuring that they wouldn’t fall to their death, Atsushi sighed. “Dazai-san, you shouldn’t go around gathering demons that you think will make me pretty…”
“Hey, I gathered some useful ones too.” Dazai leaned down and wrapped his arms around Atsushi’s fluffy neck. “I got us a Phoenix so you get a regeneration ability. A Makara so you won’t accidentally drop me when I was on your back. A Satori so I gained mind reading ability. I even don’t create a contract with goddess Ixtab because you begged me not to!”
“Because she will pleasantly let you hang yourself.” Atsushi growled. “Making a contract with deities are more dangerous than just normal demons, Dazai-san.”
“Aww, is Atsushi-kun worried about me?” Dazai snuggled to the warm fur, hiding his smile.
“Of course.” Atsushi answered with hesitation, invoking a warmth in Dazai’s chest. “I already vowed to you that day, that I will always be by your side.”
“I am thou, and thou art I.” Dazai whispered the spell, not weaving magic into it but still making them both shivered. “We have created a new vow. This bond shall become our wings and bound our souls. I pulled thee from the sea of souls and grant thee a new name.”
The two of them went silent after that, the only sound echoing in their ears were their shared heartbeats. The thrumming of their resonating souls.
They tried. They tried really hard. Dazai even suggested to use magic to hide them, but Atsushi immediately turned it down in case they got caught.
And caught they were.
A man wearing a pink apron shouldn’t have any right to be this menacing, but somehow Ango managed to look so scary looming after the two boys wearing school uniforms kneeling on the floor in seiza position.
“I won’t even pretend Dazai-kun will ever listen to me.” Dazai whined in protest, which was promptly shut up as Ango pointed a spatula threateningly to him. “But I expected better from you, Atsushi-kun. You are supposed to be a good example for Dazai-kun here and don’t follow his bad example to go home at five in the morning.”
Atsushi, now had transformed into his human form, fiddled with the longer part of his bangs anxiously. “I-I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Come on, Ango.” Dazai wrapped his arm around Atsushi’s shoulder. “I know you are worried, but you know I won’t put Atsushi-kun in danger.”
“The two of you are still teenagers, Dazai-kun.” Ango fixed his glasses to better hide his eyes. “As an adult I’m obligated to worry about you two.”
Dazai pouted. “You are only four years older than me, Ango.”
The door to one of the bedroom opened and a man with dark red hair came out from it with a yawn. He took a look at Dazai and Atsushi kneeling on the floor with angry Ango looming over them. It took only a moment before it clicked in his brain. “They are going out at night again?”
Ango sighed, his suffering clear as his shoulders sagged. “Odasaku-san, this is why I said you should be stricter with them.”
Oda nodded easily. “Okay.” Then he scratched his chin where stubble had already grown again. “Is breakfast ready?”
Ango smacked his palm to his face, while Dazai whooped in joy. “I’m hungry too! Mama Ango, feed us!” Dazai elbowed Atsushi, who squeaked in panic and blurted out.
“I-I’m hungry too…” he winced when Dazai whispered the words on his ear. “…mama Ango…”
Oda looked at the two of them and followed along with a perfectly straight face. “Ma—“
“Odasaku-san, for the love of all that is good, don’t finish that.” Ango smacked the snickering Dazai with the blunt side of his spatula. “Dazai-kun, shut up.”
Even though they had promised to not sneak out to the night again, their job forced them to break said promise. Well, Atsushi was probably the only one who felt any sort of guilt, Dazai just cheerfully opened his bedroom window while humming another suicide song.
Sometimes Atsushi wondered how he could get a partner like Dazai. Magic may flow underneath his skin, but Dazai’s magic was cold and felt empty without any life in it. A void, a black hole capable of sucking down numerous demons into contract with him. Atsushi didn’t really remember his past life, but he remembered floating inside the sea of human’s souls, waiting for the one who would summon him. Byakko was only a reflection of human’s myth and legend, empowered by human’s wish just like any other demon. He was just supposed to be an unfeeling and loyal familiar, but Dazai had extracted him from the sea of souls and named him.
Thus, a single Byakko was granted a will. A soul. A life.
Nakajima Atsushi was born the day Dazai bound a contract with him. This life, that had been so graciously gifted to him, was Atsushi’s to spend however he wished. Yet, he had chosen.
Dazai sat on the window, legs hanging out of the window dangerously. But Dazai wasn’t afraid of the possibility of falling. He turned his body around and held his hand out to Atsushi. “Come, Atsushi-kun.”
Atsushi almost lunged into Dazai’s embrace, Dazai laughed at his eagerness despite the fact that they both were falling out of the window. A bright light enveloped the two of them, the orb of light gently landed on the ground and dissipated. From inside the cocoon of light, two new figures appeared. A regal white tiger and the teenager clad in bandages around his head and black suits and coat riding the tiger’s back.
Dazai leaned down and laying down easily on the tiger’s back, looking towards the full moon above them. “What shall we hunt today, my dear?”
“Whatever you wish for, Dazai-san.”
“Then, goddess Ixtab!”
“No.”
This life, he wanted to burn together with his love.