How did we get here?

by Soukoku_Personified

Summary:

On a mission Dazai and Chuuya were hit with an ability and now Soukoku is one person. See how they and their friends deal with the sudden change and learn some things about their friends/comrades along the way.

This is my first work so please go easy on me. :)
Constructive criticism is appreciative just don't be rude.

Notes:

Dazai's thoughts have a * at the end
Chuuya's thoughts have a ^ at the end

Chapter 1: How We Got Here.

Summary:

On a mission Dazai and Chuuya were hit with an ability and now Soukoku is one person. See how they and their friends deal with the sudden change and learn some things about their friends/comrades along the way.

This is my first work so please go easy on me. :)
Constructive criticism is appreciative just don't be rude.

-Edit 2/3/25: This is currently going through renovation, but there was only one chapter anyway so it shouldn't matter. :p

Notes:

Authors note: I know this is shorter than the original, but I remade the context. I'm not trying to speedrun this now. I've learned that writing is a marathon not a sprint.

We don't get to the good part in this chapter, but I need to figure out how I want to do that. The previous version of this was like a jumble of all my favorite concepts from fanfics I've read. So some things will be staying and other things will not. I like to think I've got better at writing since I wrote this but who really knows. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't know if ya'll can see the extra summary and old note, but if you can ignore that pookie it ain't relevant no more (˶ > ₃ < ˶)♡

The mission was simple in theory. A new threat in Yokohama, looking for the book. The same song and dance all over again. It was an in and out mission. Get in, grab any information you can, eliminate the threat, get out. Honestly, when he was handed the mission, Dazai couldn’t think of a single reason both him and Chuuya had to be there. This group wasn’t a huge threat, and Dazai thinks they are being shoved together to stabilize the alliance. 

 

And sure the information they were given seemed a bit ramshackled together, but it wouldn’t be the first time they completed a mission with very little information. Although , Dazai couldn’t help but think and he ducked behind a wall. It would have been nice to know they had multiple ability users in their ranks.  

 

He takes a blind shot around the corner where he calculated the enemy's leg should be. If the grunt and thud he just heard were any indicator, the bullet hit its target. Times like these make Dazai glad he never stopped using his gun as a weapon, even if it was hard to train himself to not shoot lethally at first. He hears a yell and then something through into a wall, which lets him know that Chuuya found him. 

 

A quick peek around the wall confirms this for him, as he sees a familiar redhead decimating a crowd of men. He can't help but feel a modicum of relief knowing that Chuuya is fine. Dazai is more than aware that Chuuya could take care of himself, but still. He darts to another wall, shooting the gun of some lackey’s hand as he runs.

 

Dazai knows that many of the ability users went down trying to take Chuuya down, but there was one or two that didn’t just immediately run into the fight. Most of those ability users are among the crowd Dazai and Chuuya are slowly(but steadily) thinning out. 

 

They thin the crowd down to one or two, when Dazai notices a person in the corner just watching. He doesn’t know how long they have been standing there, but it can’t have been long. He would have noticed they were stared at, as he noticed the feeling of being watched immediately once it appeared. They aren’t fighting, just observing like they are waiting for something. Dazai turns most of his attention towards the figure, knowing that Chuuya can easily take care of the stragglers. 

 

It’s only because of this that he catches the exact moment that they throw something at Chuuya. Just as Chuuya takes down the last guy. Chuuya who isn’t paying the slightest attention to the direction that figure is in. It feels like time slows as Dazai turns to push Chuuya out of the way. He sees Chuuya’s facial expression shift to confusion before turning to alarm as the unknown object hits him.

 

Oh. Is the only thought that passes through Dazai’s mind as he feels the object collide with his coat. He sees something hit Chuuya in the side just before their eyes meet. The objects snag on their clothing, and tug them together. Hard .

 

Oh no. Is all that runs through Dazai’s head, before with a rush of pain, everything goes black.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed, sorry its short I am just starting and am also a coward. Tell me what you think maybe? There will be posts at random times. Also sorry for the possibly random cut offs I'm just posting whatever I wrote when I stopped.

Edit 2/3/25: All of the above is somehow still true lol. I haven't changed at all. (╥﹏╥)

Also,
Me: *posting this after saying that I'll probably start writing this week, and then redoing the entire first chapter in like 2-3 hours*
Me:...whoops

Chapter 2: The Realization

Summary:

Our favorite rivals find out what happened to them

Notes:

Author's note: Hey, So you can all thank my uncle that you get the next chapter so soon. As he got me out of my writers back, because he occasionally writes too(not on here lol). I've decided to just progressively add more words to the chapters as to not overwhelm myself, so this chapter is a bit long than the last one. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

When Dazai comes to it feels like his head is pounding. He hasn’t had a headache this bad since his mafia days. He feels woozy and disoriented. It’s like his body is made of lead. Something feels different though, like his body isn’t quite right. Dazai feels his mind start racing, trying to figure out what’s different. Even with his thoughts bouncing around his head like a ping pong ball, it feels like his head is far too crowded to be normal, even for him.

What the fuck? Dazai hears in a very familiar voice. This makes him freeze, as he becomes forcibly aware that he is less alone in his head than usual. He doesn’t make a single move as he processes this information, but Dazai tries to fall on logical conclusions until logic fails to be applicable. So obviously he tries talking to “himself”.

 

Chuuya? He tries gently, the word ringing in his head. The silence feels deafening as he waits, it drags for too long. Dazai genuinely starts to think that he misheard when he hears it. Dazai?

 

Chuuya lifts his head, which makes Dazai's vision shift. This makes him gasp, this confuses Chuuya because he didn’t gasp why did that just happen. His eyes scan quickly left to right, quickly becoming aware that he’s alone which isn’t right. Dazai should be here. Sure they crashed into each other, but that’s no reason for him to have disappeared. Especially when Chuuya can still hear him.

 

Except Chuuya isn’t hearing him in his ears. It’s not an external source as his ears appear to be ringing, it’s an internal one. Like when he can hear Arahabaki raging in the back of his skull. Thinking about that makes Chuuya realize that everything is quiet, too quiet. Arahabaki is basically never silent, only ever disappearing under the glow of No Longer Human.

 

Chuuya feels the panic and dread slowly building in the back of his mind, but he can also tell that those feelings aren’t his. Suddenly his body sits up, the change in position is disorienting, nauseating even. Chuuya tries to breathe through the nausea, the panic from before seeming to come back stronger with the movement. The combination is horrendous and it’s a struggle not to gag under the feeling.

 

Dazai, what the hell is that? Chuuya thinks, having come to the same conclusion, that they are mentally connected. The feeling of not being in control of his body admittedly makes him want to panic. It reminds him of corruption, that brutal feeling of disconnect. The only thing keeping him from doing is the lack of burn that he has come to associate with corruption.

He feels himself put a hand on the ground, and push up to kneel before grabbing a crate nearby as he attempts to stand. His legs feel unsteady as he stands, and his perspective shifts rapidly to a height that he is not used to. His body continues to move out of his control, walking slowly on shaking limbs. Chuuya forces himself through the breathing exercises that Dazai taught him when they were younger. Feeling his body go through the motion despite its continued movement.

 

His body only makes it a short distance before stumbling, almost falling back down when it suddenly just stops. Chuuya gasps as he stares down until a large shard of mirror on the floor. Chuuya vaguely remembers crashing through a mirror when he kicked that lackey through the wall, but he can’t focus on that right now. Because the face staring back at him is not his own. 

 

He can definitely see himself in it. Its right eye is his specific shade of blue, and that nose is his, as is the jawline, but also everything else is unrecognizable. Well, not completely unrecognizable. That shade of brown in its left eye is definitely Dazai’s, those lips are Dazai’s (he can already picture the annoying smirk they pull into), even the cheekbones are Dazai’s. 

 

If Chuuya really thinks about it, he can see where his and Dazai’s features mix. The hair, the skin, the eye shape. It’s almost like someone just took him and Dazai, and mixed them like clay. He feels a bolt of realization goes through him, as he raises a hand to his…no, their face.

 

Dazai, what happened?

Notes:

Author's note: Just warning you to not expect consistent content. I write when I get the motivation, and motivation is slipping through my fingers like sand. (╥ᆺ╥；)

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! It was fighting with me (¬⤙¬ )

Leave comments if you want! I got two comments but they were enough to make me feel bad for not updating.

 

I'm not sorry for leaving you on another cliffhanger (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Anyway until next chapter!(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ

Chapter 3: And then two became one

Summary:

Chuuya and Dazai talk a bit and go somewhere safe

Notes:

Hey! I know it's been three months but I finally got this done. It's mostly an information and transition chapter, but at least it's something! (˘ŏ_ŏ)

Sorry this took so long, I honestly couldn't bring myself to touch this (Writer's block can suck my non-existent dick (╥﹏╥)). However, I graduate in two weeks, and have a surprising amount of free time on my hands. The schedule is still going to be inconsistent as I find my place in this crappy world, but at least the prologue is finally over lmao

Chuuya takes a deep breath in, refusing to panic. He has been through far too much to panic over a simple ability accident. As long as he doesn’t think about it for too long he can stay calm. Although the slowly building panic in the back of his (their?) head isn’t making that task any easier. It’s a bit weird to be the one who is calm in a situation like this.

 

Dazai? Chuuya tentatively thinks over to Dazai. He knows from the few times that he had helped Dazai through a panic attack what to do, but most of that information won’t work. Considering that they aren’t currently two people. But….Chuuya takes deep steadying breaths. The same breaths he would have Dazai take in this scenario. He can’t make Dazai take those breaths now, but he can take them for him.

 

He hopes that this is helping. At the least, the rhythmic motion helps him stay calm, so the feeling of panic isn’t multiplied by two. He starts counting the pattern in french as well, and slowly he can feel the panic go away. He gets why a situation like this would make Dazai panic. He doesn’t like this either, despite how close the two are.

 

There is a massive difference between feeling like someone else is just an extension of yourself, and literally being fused together after all. Maybe not as much of a difference, at least to him, as he thought there would be. There is genuine concern about the fact that he feels like he is slowly merging with Dazai in more than just body.

 

I know this ability. Comes from Dazai’s side(?) of this whole operation. (Chuuya has never been so grateful to hear that annoying voice) The tone gives Chuuya pause however, he hasn’t heard Dazai sound like that since their mafia days. Yeah?

 

Yeah, I think so, and if i’m right we won’t be able to talk like this for long. Dazai continues, tone of voice shifting to something a little more alive. It’s weird to be able to feel the coldness he always associated with that voice. It was like a snow storm or a desolate valley. How in the world does Dazai deal with that?

 

Rebecca Sugar’s “Something Entirely New”. It’s an ability that fuses two or more people together. Victims claimed to have been able to talk to each other, just like this, until they couldn’t. As a short period after activation, they stopped being two people and started being one.

 

That gets Chuuya to freeze. He wasn’t just imagining that it felt like the edges between who he is and who Dazai is were blurring? Not the time to think about that, it’s time to focus on what’s important. He probes at Dazai. Anything I should be aware of before that happens?

 

I can’t give you an estimate on how long we will be stuck like that. No one has been able to get that information out of her. There hasn’t been a case, at least yet, where the people didn’t unfused at some point.  We don’t know what makes the fusion fall apart. Dazai clarifies quickly.

 

Well, that’s not good but okay. Chuuya silently laments, Him and Dazai had plans after this mission. Luckily, plans can be rescheduled even if neither of them are quite sure when they will be rescheduled. 

 

We need to get somewhere safe. I can type without looking at a screen, can you focus if your hands are moving? Dazai asks quickly, their body already looking around for their phones, which he finds on the ground not too far away.

 

I can multitask, and we can go to my apartment. Can we even use our abilities? Chuuya asks belatedly. This causes Dazai to pause where he was opening his phone to his notes app. Rapidly typing their index finger against the side of his phone. 

 

Try to use For The Tainted Sorrow? Dazai suggests logically, (read: like an asshole) causing Chuuya to look for that place he usually finds his ability. He metaphorically grips at it and- Their hand and the phone light up with a red glow. Gently tossing the phone in the air causes it to float, and Chuuya can’t help the relief that goes through their body at that moment. 

 

Alright then! Dazai thinks (says?) cheerfully, Time to text and fly! Chuuya can’t help but deadpan at that but whatever. He finds his hat and grabs it. Putting it on as he lets the phone drift back into his hand absentmindedly. He hears Dazai hum in the back of their mind, as their hand starts typing on the screen. 

 

Walking outside and orienting himself, he launches into the air. He can feel where the edges are blurring, as he can now tell what words Dazai is typing. With that in mind, he speeds up wanting to get somewhere familiar and safe before he can’t anymore. At this speed it doesn’t even take them five minutes before Chuuya lands them on the roof of his building. Using his key to unlock the roof access, he quickly makes his way down the stairs. It’s not much longer before they are safely in the entrance of his apartment. Removing their shoes and coat takes some careful maneuvering and a few creative insults, but it gets done.

 

Dazai finally stops typing, causing their head to tilt towards the phone. Chuuya relinquishes control of their body to Dazai as he carefully copies what he typed. Creating a new group chat with everyone relevant, to which Chuuya reminds him to add Hirotsu and Kouyou, before pasting what he wrote and sending it. He then throws the phone on the couch, as he sits them down in a nearby chair.

 

It won’t be much longer now, they can both tell. It’s getting far too difficult to tell where one of them ends and the other begins. The feeling is familiar and almost comforting if it weren’t for the context.

 

It doesn’t quite feel like disappearing. Is the last thought they feel as their eyes close as they pass out.

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed the chapter more than I enjoyed writing it. Writing this was like pulling teeth, and it's only going to get worst when I have to include other characters. At least I won't have to keep track of whose thoughts I'm writing about anymore.

My favorite soul has finally found it's way back into one body, and now I have to figure out how the hell that works out! So I'll see you all in 7 months lmao (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

Ps. I had a creative writing class this semester, be honest has my written improved in the slightest? Also if you see grammar mistake, No you don't

Chapter 4: Where did we go?

Summary:

Soukoku wakes up.

This is basically a filler chapter to establish somethings and get used to writing this perspective.

Notes:

Hey! I finally got this written. Since the last chapter I have graduated High School on the honor roll! Wooo! And also realized that I am not at all prepared mental or emotionally to be an adult. I didn't think I would make it this far honestly. So writing a couple hundred words every few days has become an escape. Does this mean more consistent updates? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe? I don't know ^_^; probably not but I can dream.

Also if you can tell that I was more inspired to write the first three hundred words of this...no you can't. You're seeing things (¬_¬")

The world comes into focus in pieces. Light shining through fluttering eyelashes, fuzzy shapes coming into focus. The colors looked brighter, sharper, as if seeing them through new eyes. Their head moved slowly, sluggishly observing their environment. They were…home, except home wasn’t these four walls. It was the body they inhabited. 

 

It was loud bickering over inconsequential decisions. It was never worrying over your blind spot because it was covered for you. It was flaming red hair and golden brown eyes. It was bandages wrapped around thin yet strong arms, a leather choker around their neck. A hat that held more weight than that of a piece of clothing.

 

It was them…and yet it wasn’t. It felt like their skin was crawling, an itch just below the surface that couldn’t be scratched with these hands of theirs. Overcome with the feeling they stumble off the couch. Walking into furniture, unused to their center of gravity. Reaching the bathroom, they scramble through the cabinet for the bandages they just know are there.

 

They hurry out of the vest and button up they were wearing. Wrapping the bandages around their arms with surgical precision until not an inch of skin is showing on their arms. Tugging softly on the edges of their gloves and taking deep breathes as the itching starts to abate with the pressure. They sit there, on the floor of the bathroom processing their situation.

 

Something isn’t right, and yet everything is exactly as it should be. Like this is how it always should have been but it wasn’t like this before. They feel freer than ever, and yet trapped in a birdcage. They are confused, they don’t even really know who they are-

 

Soukoku.

 

And something settles. The word- no. Their name feels strong, tried and tested, something solid. A name that has survived hardships most couldn’t comprehend. And it’s theirs . It’s theirs in a way that the clothes on their back aren’t. Something that is uniquely theirs, not borrowed. They feel steady now, like the buzzing in their soul has stopped.

 

They pick themself off the ground, absentmindedly putting away the mess they had made in their mad scramble to get the bandages on. Closing the door behind them, as they make their way back to the room they started in, actually paying attention to their surroundings this time. Categorizing the placement of everything they can see with vague familiarity. A glint catches their eye, and they see a phone laying on the coffee table. With curiosity they walk over and pick up the phone, turning it on like muscle memory. 

 

Dozens of notifications from a group chat flooded the screen. They unlock the phone, opening the chat and back reading. The chat is filled with proclamations of concern and exasperation over them . Or rather how they came to be. They read through the names, sorting them into categories based on the feeling they invoke. 

 

Their memories are currently shrouded in a blur, for now at least. With their memories missing, they only have their instincts to go on. They know they can trust those instincts, that they have gotten them out of some terrible situations. Even if they don’t know what those situations are at the moment. 

 

They turn the phone off, and shove it in some pocket. They search the apartment for a wallet. They know there is at least one around here and either will suffice. They need to get themselves some clothing that feels right. They find a wallet on the kitchen counter. Checking the contents, they shove it in a spare pocket. Pausing as they remember to go back to the bathroom to pick up and put on the shirt they were previously wearing. 

 

Slipping their feet into some spare shoes at the door that fit good enough for now, they grab the keyring at the door and walk out. Locking the door behind them, they let their feet lead them. Keeping note of the path as they go. They end up in front of a familiar shop, a bell chimes softly as they walk in.

 

The shopkeep calls a brief greeting as they traverse the aisles. Carefully pulling off one glove to feel the texture of the clothing. They end up grabbing a soft, deep red, jewel toned button down. Matching it with some black slacks and dress shoes. They find an appropriate belt, and luck out on a sturdy pair of black leather gloves that aren’t tight like their current pair. 

 

They try on the whole outfit in a dressing room. The clothes fit perfectly, but they add a few accessories. A well made vest and some cuff links help bring the outfit together, even if it still doesn’t feel complete. On their way to the counter to pay for the clothes they see it. It’s a trench coat, black and long in a way that feels familiar.

 

Walking closer they feel the sleeve, a durable yet soft material. They don’t think twice, grabbing the coat and purchasing it with the rest. They don the coat as they leave the store, the clothes they were wearing in a bag. They end up back at the apartment, dropping the other clothes in the bedroom. Searching the pockets of the coat hanging up by the door they find the choker.

 

Slipping it on with careful fingers, they trace the leather. They are aware that they will have to buy more clothes (who knows how long they will exist?), but this will do for now. Tying their hair at the base of their neck, they head back out. This time they notice the extra keys on the keyring they grabbed. It leads them to standing in front of a motorcycle in the car garage.

 

Shrugging they hop on, allowing muscle memory to take over as the head out the garage. Straight towards the buildings that have been singing like a siren's call to them. To the tall looming buildings in the distance.

Notes:

Sorry for the filler. I can semi-promise there will be more action in the next chapter. I took a single day to write down what I want to see in this fic, it's a short list for now but I hope to expand it. This also means that I am up to hear out any Ideas ya'll would like to see. Hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless :D

Ps - It felt like I used the word "they" far to much in this but I couldn't say Soukoku because that didn't feel right at all (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

Also it is literally 3am as I finished writing this, and I've only been writing this at night to stave off the curse and it has worked so far, but if you see any mistakes need I remind you that this isn't proofread more than maybe once lmao

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed, sorry its short I am just starting and am also a coward. Tell what you think maybe? There will be posts at random times

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Soukoku is a person not a duo