𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗞𝗢𝗞𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗦

Tears Over Beers

"Dazai-san?" A soft voice calls out Dazai's name. He takes off his headphones and makes an 'o' with his mouth. "Ah, Atsushi-kun~ you need anything from your dear superior?" He can see the nervousness in Atsushi as he scratches the back of his head.
"Well, um... I just wanted to ask you where you knew Chuuya-san from?"

He freezes.

"Ah! You don't need to answer, of course! I was just curious, since the both of you sounded really close... I know you knew him since you were from the mafia but I wonder if you actually ever met him or just knew him because he was an executve?" Dazai blinks at him, "I... Of course I can tell you, Atsushi-kun." He happily chirps, sitting up to pat the spot next to him, signaling for Atsushi to sit on it.

"It all started when I was fifteen, even before I joined the Mafia... I was sent on a mission by Mori, under the impression that after I would complete it, he would finally give me a concoction that would kill me peacefully and painlessly." Atsushi frowns, "Ah-ah, don't fret, Atsushi-kun! I don't plan on dying, anytime soon."

"...Somehow, it's always a game to you."

"Haha. I get that a lot. Now, let me continue. I was with Hirotsu, the old guy who smokes cigarettes like he's sucking the last— Never mind, we went to Suribachi City to... research some stuff regarding the case. I was on the phone with Mori, standing there like any good, innocent citizen of Yokohoma; Then... A horrifyingly ugly shortcake-monster assaulted me! Shoved me to the wall, broke my back real good~"

"A shortcake-monster? What?"

Dazai frowns, looking at Atsushi like he just had the joke of the century just fly over his head.

"Chuuya. Short. Shortcake. Strong and horrifying. Like a monster."

"Oh."

"Hmph, You people don't know how to appreciate my golden humor."

"Dust in the air, a morbid pain on my back; I had opened my eyes and had seen a face, that I knew I would hate my whole entire life. He had looked at me with such viciousness, it was revolting! He had this ugly smirk on his face that my body had grown it's own heart just so it could dissipate! His clothes were so ugly, it made my skin crawl. He was just so unbearably ugly that it made me wanna vomit."

"...Could we move on from Nakahara-san's appearance?"

"...Okay."

Atsushi gets comfortable on the couch, he could already tell that he was in for a long ride: A ride full of Dazai ranting on and on about Chuuya.

"He said that he hated condescending brats like me, more than anything and anyone in the world. And I said, I hated overconfident, cocky children like him. Still do! You know, he kicked me in the face?"

"Wow, really? I can hardly believe it."

"I know right! Then, Hirotsu-san had come to my rescue~ They fought,he thought Hirotsu-san was gonna be completely decimated, but I was touching Chuuya, therefore nullifying his ability. The annoying part was, when Hirotsu activated his ability, Chuuya had kicked me in the stomach and jumped back before he could even attack."

Dazai curled up on the couch like a cat, yawning.

"We had managed to bring back the slug to the Mafia—"