Chapter Text
A lone man sat quietly in the crowded train station. He wore a navy blue hoodie and black slacks. The hood was pulled up over his head and his hands rested in his pockets. He quietly watched as passengers walked by to and from their destinations. He was waiting patiently. His target should have been there any minute now. He removed his arm and slid his sleeve up slightly. Twelve noon on the dot. The man's eyes scanned the crowd, searching. Any moment now.
Bingo. The man rose from his seat and started to move within the crowd. He kept his steps quick and light. The mission was a challenging one and he only had a split second to do what he needed to do. It was a possible suicide mission, but that was okay. He would do anything for his boss. The man took a quiet breath and let it out as he hurried along. This was the only chance he had. If he botched this up… he didn't even want to think about that. His target was up ahead. Just a bit closer.
As he drew near, he moved his hands to the front pouch of his hoodie. With practiced accuracy, he removed the cap on a syringe that was hidden within. The man drew close, before he removed the item and bumped into his target. As he did, he stuck the syringe in their arm, pressing the plunger down quickly. The man had not reacted to the needle. Thankfully his boss had thought about this. The needle had been rubbed with a numbing agent. It would not have been felt and it had worked. Mission successful.
Today was absolute shit.
Chuuya made his way through the crowded train station, grumbling to himself. The boss had recently asked him to do a joint mission with the Armed Detective Agency. Since both sides were on 'tolerable' terms, missions like these would pop up more frequently. Chuuya hated them. Mainly because of the traitor Dazai. Of all the people, he had to work with him . It pissed him off. Was this a cruel joke?
Working with Dazai was always a nightmare. Well, not always but most of the time. The torment would never cease. He would say and do things that would drive him up the wall and down it. The man was the bane of his existence. Chuuya let out a breath. He could feel his blood pressure rising from the sheer thought of working with Dazai. The sooner he got this over with, the better.
Chuuya made his way from the platform and through the crowded terminal. Passengers wandered about, some in a rush, others dilly dallying. The place was a lot busier than he expected at this time of day. Chuuya would have driven if he wasn't coming back from another mission. It apparently was so urgent, he didn't have time to go home and change. More things to add to his misery.
A voice came over the intercom, talking about which trains were incoming and which were departing. Chuuya tuned it out as he weaved his way through the crowd. As he did, a person bumped into him. He stumbled, before he looked over at them, his eyes narrowed. A man in a hoodie stumbled as well and spoke quickly. "Ah I'm sorry!" Chuuya said nothing as he watched him scurry away. People sure were odd these days.
Chuuya walked through the terminal and passed through the gate. He exited the building and started down the sidewalk. The train station was thankfully close to the ADA. That meant he didn't have to call one of his subordinates for a ride. It would be an easy walk there. Or so he thought.
As he made his way down the sidewalk, his body began to feel heavy. It was as if gravity had doubled on his body. Which was extremely unlikely. Chuuya attempted to push the feeling away, but he stumbled over his own feet. His vision began to swim, his eyes going in and out of focus. This feeling… had he been drugged? Chuuya brought a hand to his head, groaning as he stumbled into a nearby alleyway. He managed to stay on his feet, but everything was starting to look so strange.
Chuuya could feel his heart beat faster and he could hear his pulse in his ears. Sweat began to bead his brow, his body temperature rising. Shit. How the hell did this happen? Chuuya tried to think but his mind was too fuzzy to concentrate. Help. He had to call for help. Chuuya stumbled into the wall, using it as support, before he dug in his pockets shakily. Grabbing his phone he pulled it out and instantly dropped it onto the ground. It clattered, sliding a few steps away from him. The sound was like an echo to his ears.
The executive stared at it like it had betrayed his trust, before he started for it. However, his body did not want to cooperate with the commands his mind was trying to give him. Instead, he stumbled like a drunkard, tripping over his own feet. Chuuya tried to catch his balance, but his coordination was completely off. He couldn't even concentrate and use his ability. Chuuya stumbled to the side and fell into a nearby trash can. He and the can fell to the ground, a loud bang echoing throughout the alley.
A groan left Chuuya's throat as he attempted to push himself up. His arms shook from the effort and he was only able to go up slightly, before his arms gave and he collapsed. He had to reach his phone. Chuuya reached an arm out toward it, but it was just out of reach. If he had fallen a little closer. Just his luck. Chuuya lay on his side, his body beginning to grow numb. Both his arms and his legs felt like they weren't even attached to his torso. Whatever this drug was, it was powerful. The person knew what they were doing. Damnit.
Chuuya lay there quietly beside the garbage can. No matter how much he wanted to, he could no longer move. His body had become too weak to move. The alley ahead of him twisted and turned, a faint echo reaching his ears. He stared at the entrance, his eyes half lidded as he began to grow tired. It was a sheer struggle to even try to stay awake. His body just wanted to give up and pass out. A pair of beat up sneakers approached and stopped a few feet from his face. Chuuya blinked slowly, before he turned his head slightly to look up.
A man stood before him, his image wavering like a funhouse mirror. He was wearing a hoodie. Was he the person at the train station? He wanted to talk but nothing came out. "Go to sleep." He heard a voice echo around him, before he felt a kick to the head. Combined with the drug he had been given, the kick was enough to make him teeter off the ledge of consciousness. The world around him quickly became black.
Dazai rested his chin on his hand as he drummed his fingers on his desk. He looked out the window quietly, a bored expression on his face. Today was not going to be fun at all. Dazai knew it from the very depths of his heart. The moment he walked in, he had been informed of a mission. One that would involve working with the Port Mafia.
It was a bad idea in general. Mori was crafty at times and who knew what his ultimate motive was going to be. The worst part, however, was the strong possibility of who they would send. Especially since he had been asked to take on the job. That only meant that he would be paired up with his old partner. Chuuya Nakahara.
Just because they were old partners did not mean they had to be paired up. The damn shrimp was a nuisance. Even if he enjoyed annoying the living shit out of him, he hated the idea. Dazai turned his attention to the window, looking out of it. The sky was beginning to turn grey as dark storm clouds approached. As if to mock his impending doom of working with someone he hated.
Well he didn't exactly hate him. He was fun to mess with and they got along on occasion. Very rare occasions. A breath left him in the form of a dramatic sigh. His life sucked so much right now. Dazai watched the clouds a bit longer, before he looked across his desk at Kunikida. The blond was pacing about the floor, looking at his watch. Interesting. "Kunikida-kun is going to get wrinkles frowning like that~." Dazai gave him a wide grin. He loved to mess with his new partner. It was something that would never change about him.
Kunikida shot him a glare, before he stopped and looked at him. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "This Nakahara person is fifteen minutes late." Dazai's smile instantly vanished as he looked at Kunikida. Chuuya was never late. Ever. He was always punctual, even if he was on a mission. He always returned when he was supposed to. Especially when it came to meetings. Chuuya would show up early in fact. It was another item on the long list of things he hated about him. Though this made him feel a slight twinge in his gut. If Chuuya was late, something must have gone on. "Is he always this late? Is this a Port Mafia thing? I'm not surprised if-"
"No." Dazai interrupted, looking at him seriously. "Chuuya is never late." Something must have happened to him. If he was going to be tardy due to something that came up, he would have called. As much as he didn't want to, Dazai dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed Chuuya's number, unfortunately knowing it by heart. It never changed since their Double Black days. Plus, occasionally, he would be the victim of Chuuya's drunk dialing. Of course he would either hang up or not answer. Even though they had been apart for four years now. It was odd to say the least.
Dazai held the phone to his ear and listened to it ring. The phone then went to voice-mail. He frowned. Maybe he was in the bathroom or something? He waited a couple of minutes before he dialed his number again. No answer. A small seed of worry somehow made its way into his gut. He wasn't sure why due to the fact he hated him. Though this was odd behavior. Did he in fact die? No. That was highly unlikely. Chuuya was not one to be easily killed or hurt even. He was too strong an ability user for that.
He waited another handful of minutes before he called a third time. Still no answer. Dazai looked at his phone as he hung up. He then tapped away on it. "What are you doing?" Kunikida asked as he watched him curiously.
"Tracking Chuuya's phone." Dazai said simply, trying to keep the weird feeling at bay in his stomach. Despite Chuuya using burner phones at times, he knew that he kept his personal phone on him. Just in case of emergencies. Dazai input Chuuya's phone number, before he hit the search button. A small map came up on the screen, a red blip near their location. It wasn't moving. This was very weird. Dazai watched the screen, before he frowned.
Dazai kept the map up, as he rose from his chair and started for the door. "Where are you going?" Kunikida called after him and he paused to look over his shoulder.
"I'm looking for a lost dog!" Dazai grinned at him, before he opened the door and shut it. The smile faded as he walked down the steps. Did something happen? Had he dropped his phone by accident? The first seemed a lot more likely than the second. Chuuya was not clumsy and he certainly wasn't careless like that. No, he was starting to believe something had befallen his former partner.
Dazai snapped from his thoughts as he reached the ground level. He walked to the entrance and pushed a door open, heading outside. Warm air greeted him, along with the scent of impending rain. Stupid chibi. He was going to get soaked because of him! Chuuya was going to owe him some new clothes. Not that these wouldn't dry if he did, it was still making him go out of his way. It was a big inconvenience to him. A sigh left him as he headed down the block in the direction of the blip.
Chuuya's phone had only been a few blocks from the train station. He must have taken a train to get here rather than drive. Of course, with his ability, he could have easily flown. Dazai came to a stop at the entrance of an alleyway. He looked at his phone. In here? Dazai slipped his phone in his pocket and started down the alley cautiously. Nearby, there was a trash can that had been knocked over. The lid was an arm's length away, some trash strewn from the mouth to it. Dazai took another step, before he felt something crunch under the weight of his foot.
Dazai lifted his foot up and took a slight step back. His eyes widened slightly. It was a cell phone. Chuuya's by the look of it. He picked it up, before he hit the screen. It was passcode locked, but it was definitely his. Dazai frowned as he looked from the phone to the trash can. Something had gone on here. Something not good. If there had been an ambush, Chuuya would have been on time and the persons responsible would be passed out in the alley.
No, something bad happened. This was a bit concerning. Chuuya was impossible to beat in a fight if he was serious enough. Even without his ability, he was the number one martial artist in the Port Mafia. He never lost fights. Unless… something else was going on. Despite how strong he was, Chuuya was still human. He had weaknesses. Drugs and poison being number one. Had he somehow been drugged and taken? It was a very difficult task but it was not impossible. If the culprit knew what they were doing and how to catch him with his guard down, it would have been easy.
But why? Sure he made his fair share of enemies. Anyone, Port Mafia or Detective Agency, did. However, having the balls to attack a Port Mafia executive and take him? That was very bold. This person knew what they were doing. Dazai was about to move, when his own phone began to ring. Was it Kunikida? He pulled out his phone and looked at the display. He frowned. The number was encrypted. Dazai hit the talk button and raised the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Osamu Dazai. How are you doing today?"
"Who is this?" Dazai asked, listening to the phone carefully. The person was using a device to disguise his voice.
"My name isn't very important right now. What is, is your actions. You see, I don't like you very much. You took something important from me. So I decided to take something in return." Dazai's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you remember your partner, Chuuya Nakahara."
"Where is he?"
"Not telling. What I will tell you, is that I'm giving you twenty four hours to find him. That's very generous, by the way. If you find him in the alloted time, you can have him back. If you don't, he dies. Pretty simple." Dazai tightened his grip on the phone as he felt his heart do some strange things in his chest. "In order to find him, I'll give you a small hint. He's somewhere in Yokohama. You are not to get help from the Detective Agency to find his location. If you do, I will kill him. Understand?"
"How will you know if I do?"
"Simple. I'm having you watched at all times. If you happen to find the people watching you, and try to get information from them, I will break one bone on his body for every question you ask. Even if you approach them. If you think I'm joking, I'm not. As a reward for cheating, I'll be sure to have you listen in. It's always fun to hear the satisfying crunch of bones shattering and cries of pain. Don't you think so?"
Dazai felt something strange take over his body. He felt angry. For some odd reason, the thought of hearing this person torture his former partner, made him livid. Sure he hated Chuuya but he didn't want him to suffer that much. That seemed a bit excessive. "I'll play your game if you prove that he's really been captured by you."
"That's fair. I'll send you a heartwarming photo. You have twenty four hours, Osamu Dazai. Have fun! "
The call ended and Dazai moved the phone from his ear and looked at it. A brief moment passed, before he got a notification. It was a single attachment. He opened the message and clicked on the photo. The photo was indeed of Chuuya. He was bound to a chair, seemingly unconscious, his head hanging and body slumped. Dazai frowned, before he looked around him. The person was clever. He had taken the photo a bit close so the background gave nothing away. The only thing he could make out was that the floor was concrete. Not a big hint in the slightest. Dazai looked at Chuuya once more before he slipped his phone back in his pocket. This person wanted to play a game? Dazai's expression went dark. Then he would play and this person was not going to like it when he found him.