Hidden Truths

7

"Chuuyaaaa~...." Dazai whined as he slugged behind him.

The shorter grit his teeth, attempting to ignore his annoying presence. "What?"

"Can we please take a breaaaak?"

"No."

"We've walked around for two hours, he's obviously hiding..."

"The coward should show himself then and fight with his fists, not some fancy gas!"

'He's not going to."

"Fine!" Chuuya groaned as he made his way over to a bench, dropping himself down and folding his arms.

Dazai mozied over, slowly taking a seat on the opposite end of the small seat. "Why are you so feisty all the time, all that anger should really tire you out."

"It's because I'm spending time with you!"

"Do I really annoy you that bad?"

"No." Chuuya didn't realize how fast he had answered until he noticed how long it was taking Dazai to reply. He perked up in embarrassment, stuttering to correct himself. "I-I mean-... dammit!"

The raven-haired hummed, shaking his head. "You must be really out of your element. You can't stand saying even one nice thing to me."

"Because I h-" Again, Chuuya was experiencing the sensation of choking on his own words. It was difficult to finish his sentence no matter how hard he tried to force it out. "Ha-" 

Suddenly, a sharp pain grew in his chest, as if a dagger was launched into his heart. He gasped, clutching his chest and keeling over.

"Chuuya?" Dazai called, his eyes widening as the smaller male writhed in pain. "Chuuya!"

"Dammit, my chest..." He croaked out, gasping between groans as the pain remained constant.

Dazai frowned as he examined the latter, unable to find anything that was physically harming him. "What's wrong?"

"I can't say it... I can't say that I hate--" The thought was disrupted with Chuuya's yelling as the pain grew worse with every attempt to finish his sentence. He nearly collapsed to the ground if it weren't for Dazai keeping him on the bench.

"That you hate... me?" Dazai guessed, receiving a nod in response.

"It won't let me... whatever the hell this ability is, it's starting to hurt if I say anything negative to you..."

"Really...?" Dazai mumbled to himself, sitting back and humming as he sank back into his thoughts. "So now we can only say nice things, or else we'll experience pain..."

"That must be... what that stronger dose was about..." Chuuya began to shake, attempting to endure the suffering he was being put through.

"Chuuya, if it still hurts, try saying something nice."

"Never! I have nothing nice to say to y-" The smaller male yelped again, choking as the pain grew worse.

"Chuuya don't be stupid-!" Dazai scolded, not realizing his own mistake. Suddenly he was experiencing the same sensation too, his chest growing so tight that it felt like he'd been stabbed. "Damn, it really does hurt..."

"You idiot, why would you insult me if you know it would--" Chuuya yelled again, the insults that he casually let slip only making things worse.

"Chuuya, I'm always impressed by your strength; I had some of the best moments of my life fighting alongside you."

The redhead glanced over at Dazai who let out a breath as the tension in his body eased after saying those nice words. He was taken aback by the seemingly genuine compliment, unsure how to respond.

"Y-You..."

"Say something nice back, hurry. The pain disappeared when I did it." Dazai encouraged.

Chuuya grit his teeth, his gaze falling back to the ground. "I c-can't..."

"Chuuya."

The latter groaned; both in pain and embarrassment. He tried to endure, but it grew to be too much. His face began flushing red before he could even speak. "I-I admire you and the person y-you've become, e-even if I say mean things s-sometimes..."

Finally, Chuuya was able to take in a deep breath as the pain subsided, allowing his body to relax. He panted as he slumped back against the bench, sweat rolling down his skin.

"Jeez..." He muttered, quickly pulling himself together. He was suddenly filled with rage at the guy who was torturing them like this. "That hurt like hell! I'm gonna give that guy a pounding in return when we find him!"

"So that's it huh..."

Chuuya glanced over at Dazai who was still in thought, the latter having figured something out. "What's it?"

"We should only be nice to each other from now on. No more insults or else we'll experience that excruciating pain." The raven-head explained.

Chuuya scoffed, burying his face in his hands. "I'm sick of this! Why is this happening!?"

"It could be worse."

"How much worse could this possibly get!?"

"At least I'm not lying about my compliments. I'd rather be in this situation with you than anyone else, honestly."

"H-Huh?" Chuuya glanced up at the taller male who was now standing. He felt his face growing warmer, the onset of a blush coming along. "D-Dazai, just because we can't insult each other doesn't mean you have to force yourself to say nice things--"

"I'm not forcing myself. I told you I didn't lie." Dazai turned and headed down the sidewalk, hands tucked in his pockets. "Come on. I doubt we'll find him, but staying put won't do anything either."

Chuuya blinked, quietly standing and following after him.