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A/N - I highly recommend that you press play on the song above and let it run throughout this chapter! ;)
Dazai's eyes suddenly flung wide open, his chains making a light tinkling noise, accompanying the subtle movements of his restricted body. He suddenly jolted awake; every thought in high definition. He was careful not to accidentally bash his head against the solid brick wall behind him in the process. He had absolutely no idea how long he had even slept for, or how long he had actually been down here for, yawning tiredly. Though his eyes were wide open, he couldn't think of why; his heart was pounding, mind empty. It was as if a hypodermic of adrenaline had been emptied into his carotid. He strained into the utter darkness, breathing rate beginning to steady.
And then he heard the sudden, dismantling cacophony of leering footsteps coming down the stone staircase a second time. These footsteps were a little different in comparison to Akutagawa's, which meant that it just couldn't be him this time.
The compound should have been empty but echoing down the concrete walls were footsteps; ringing in Dazai's ears. Each footstep rung out like a church bell on a quiet Sunday morning, rudely awakening the Saturday night revellers. Each footfall was chaotically spaced from the last, no rhythm at all.
These footsteps could have only belonged to one person, and one person only—
"Plotting as usual, are we?" The familiar sound of this man's voice had caused Dazai to suddenly straighten his once slumped posture. His voice sliced cleanly through the grimy air; deep and husky, yet with an agreeable trace of youthful power and chaos; a man capable of mass destruction. If Dazai wasn't already quite familiar with this man, then he would have probably been trembling with fear right now, but luckily for Dazai, that wasn't going to happen.
Dazai clenched his teeth, eyes enlarged, wanting desperately to be anywhere but here right now, expecting the absolute worst. "Oh God. I know that voice..."
"Well...this sure is a wonderful sight," he said, smile tilting sideways as he adjusted his hat on his head, obviously amused. His fiery red hair was astoundingly bright in the darkness of this eerie room. That man had a sharp but strong jaw, shoulders broad and well-muscled under a shirt, and sleeves rolled up to his forearms. "Rivals a billion dollar masterpiece. Right...Dazai?"
"So...creepy..." Dazai mumbled under his breath; shivering internally; dark eyebrow twitching. He was definitely not in the mood to play any of Chuuya's stupid little games right now. "Just...frightening."
"I like your reaction," Chuuya mused as he swiftly jumped over the last few steps of the stone staircase, skipping them entirely, before he began walking at a stealthy pace towards Dazai. "It makes me want to strangle you with my bare hands."
