Baby executive

Chapter 5

Chuuya aged only a few nights after that. Dazai hadn't seen it himself, but when he fell asleep and woke up and there wasn't a cursed crying noise, he himself could cry with joy.

He stepped into the living room to see Chuuya looking a few years older, perhaps he was about four or five. He was currently having a conversation with Mackerel, nodding along intently as if the cat was talking back.

Dazai inconspicuously snapped a picture before going on with his day. Strange enough, Dazai noted that the ability worked weird. It was as if instead of regressing in age, that Chuuya's younger versions were simply brought to this universe. They had no recollection of the future, yet remembered their present memories.

And what they had been wearing when they appeared also worked as proof. Dazai had never seen that little blue schoolboy uniform in Kouyou's bag before, so he was assuming that this Chuuya was in school.

He must have had a normal life before it went to shit, a report card, and everything.

Dazai chuckled bitterly, it sounded like the rustle of dead leaves in autumn. Little Chuuya shot his head at Dazai, halting in his movement of hugging the cat as if he had been committing a heinous crime.

Dazai put his hands up in a surrendering gesture "it's fine, I'm your babysitter, your parents had to make an emergency trip."

Dazai wasn't all sure how much little Chuuya understood, but he nodded anyway "w-when do they get back?"

"Hmm, we don't know yet."

Chuuya accepted his fate, turning back to the cat, and Dazai's eyebrows furrowed. A normal kid would be asking more questions, maybe even tear up at their family being gone.

Dazai sat on the couch, pointedly ignoring the cat near his feet. "Are your parents gone a lot?"

Chuuya nodded "uh-huh."

"Oh, I see. And why is that?"

Chuuya looked back up at him, one eyebrow raised "shouldn't you know that?"

Sassy much?

Ah, Dazai guessed that he would know where his parents were if he was his 'babysitter.' They probably worked a lot of long hours or had to travel.

"Right, sorry."

Dazai sluggishly made his way to the kitchen, ignoring Chuuya's gaze when he accidentally bumped his hip into the counter. He needed coffee and he needed it soon.

"What happened to Isamu?" Chuuya suddenly asked, resting his head on top of the cats.

Dazai almost spilled his coffee "Isa-who?"

Chuuya blinked up at him "Isamu. My normal babysitter."

Oh.

"His name is Isamu?"

Chuuya nodded slowly "...yeah."

Dazai leaned forward against the counter, resting his head on a fist. "What's he like?"

"He's better than you," Chuuya stated blandly as if he hadn't just broken Dazai's heart in two million tiny pieces.

"Isamu isn't here anymore."

Chuuya looked alarmed, his hand stopped petting the cat. Dazai slightly regretted it when he looked up with watery eyes "he's dead?"

"No no  no" Dazai scrambled "he's... he's out on vacation."

"...oh." Chuuya resumed his movement in petting Mackerel. "He's still better than you."

Dazai hummed "you can't say that when you haven't even been watched by me before."