Chapter Text
Footsteps sounded on the tiled floor, a familiar rhythm of pitter patter of leather shoes softly landing on the expensive tiles of his apartment, steady and swift like the beating of his heart.
Not again.
The ginger cracked open an eye with effort, broken out of his train of thoughts. Lifting his hips as he sat up on the bed, the plush mattress shifting under his weight, he noticed a faint trail of red on the silk sheets, which awoke a spark of irritation within him. Brushing unruly, fiery locks out of his face, striking blue grey eyes- dark as storm clouds- focused on the door, which he expected to open at any moment.
Just when he had finished counting to three, the handle turned silently, a familiar click echoing in the room.
"Fucking bastard"
Was the first thing he uttered when he caught sight of the brunette's pale face, one visible eye staring back at him, dull as lead. It always disturbed and amazed him, how the latter's eye resembled a blackhole, ready to force all the light to bend and fall straight in its dark abyss.
The devil's eye
The only response he received was a thin smile, which further arose the flames within him.
Chuuya's whole body ached, sore from his head to the tips of his toe fingers.
Which was quite normal.
His job was entirely to blame for that.
Another tiresome night, the effects of corruption seeping through his bones. Another night of Arahabaki ravaging his body, snatching away all control, coming to its full power.
Another reminder of his inhumanity
If he could, he would have let his arms fall to his side and crashed into the pillows, something which he would regret later in the morning, and entered the realm of blankness. Instead, he found himself forcing his body to rise, tired limbs somehow still attached to his body, glaring back at the enigma sitting across him. His irritation was boiling over, forcing to spill, which was drawn back within himself. Screaming at the brunette would do him no good, only hurt his voice box even more.
"Chibi should stop glaring at me as if he wished me dead"
There it was. The usual annoying tone was back again, it was a wonder the latter had held back and broke the silence after so long. Chuuya had been almost growing impatient.
"Bastard, that's exactly what i want"
"How mean, Chuuya should be grateful to me, his master who has graciously taken care for him~! Is this how you repay me, doggy?"
Chuuya swore he could almost feel the anger bubbling in his head, the hot sparks of a raging fire trapped in a space too small for it to be held in. A scowl painted his face, grey eyes growing darker each passing second.
"By 'taking care' you mean chucking me on the bed, unwashed?"
A clear accusation, as he glanced at the ruined silk sheets, stench of iron filling his senses. It would be a pain to remove the stains.
Perhaps he could get the bastard to wash them for him, like a housewife.
The idea nearly made him smile.
"Oopsie daisy~! I never noticed the blood, for Chuuya's so tiny~"
A pathetic smile curled on the brunette's lips as he chirped in his fake, joyful tone, his lean fingers scratching on the bandages on his wrist.
Another pathetic attempt to rile him up.
An exasperated sigh left the ginger, as he forced himself to stand, sending a hard smack on the latter's leg on his way up, which earned him a dramatic yelp and a whine.
Rolling his eyes, he prepared for bed, feeling watchful eyes on his back.
"Stop being useless and change the covers"
The tone of his words were harsh, which the bastard deserved, as he tried to tame his messy locks, turning his back to the mirror. Letting up the relatively long locks of fiery hair, as a result he caught sight of the barcode imprinted on the back of his neck.
His heart dropped slightly, hatred filling his mind, as he let down his hair again.
He could only pretend to be a normal human, when deep down, he knew there was a slim chance of that being true.
A5158.
The existence of that number was like a sin in itself.
Only silence followed.
Dazai watched the silk sheets, crumpled in various areas, the yellow lighting making the smooth fabric glow warmly. Specks of red tainted the pure white, a sight way too familiar to his liking. Disdain showed on his pale face, a slip of emotions, visible eye narrowing.
It brought back memories, when he was young.
When he was still human.
But was he ever human? Even as a child, the brunette had always been the odd one out, always black among white.
He remembered a time, when the sky used to fade into a pale grey, when white used to cover the rooves of houses.
When it snowed back in his hometown, whose name he himself had forgotten.
When he could sit by the comfort of a fire and hear the scratching of his father's pen on the document papers.
When it grew dark and voices arose in his room, when wolves howled and smiling masks filled his vision, multiple work beaten hands reaching out to restrain him, to strip him of his purity.
When Shuuji Tsushima had still been alive.
But Shuuji was dead now.
The brunette couldn't help but feel a lot like the young vulnerable child again, seeking to bring an end to this monstrosity, until he realized he was the monster himself.
The disgust must have shown on his face, as he snapped back to the present, almost immediately his gaze falling on the ginger. Striking blue clashed with whiskey brown, as they stared at each other, both having been lost in their own thoughts.
A beat of silence passed.
"I know I am beautiful, but Chuuya should really stop ogling my handsome face"
He watched with satisfaction as the ginger was thrown off by the sudden tease, cheeks reddening with fury and shame.
It was both refreshing and horrifying- how easily the latter could portray his emotions.
How human he was.
"Bastard, you were the one staring at me like some creep-!"
"Yada yada, done barking yet?"
Awkward tension hung in the air, as the brunette pushed himself off of the mattress, rocking on the balls of his feet. With a tired sigh, he set to work begrudgingly, grumbling about 'how messy his dog' was.
Occasional glanced were thrown in each other's directions, when one thought the other wasn't looking.
They both couldn't deny the curiosity lingering in the air, the desire to know and to believe.
To know why everything was the way it was.
To believe that fate had better things in store, that humanity still persisted among the broken remnants of their souls.
That two broken halves, however imperfect, made a whole.