Lovers in Denial (a Chuuya x Akutagawa fanfic)

Chapter 9: Tragedy Strikes

Upon seeing the masked man with a gun, the three Mafia peeps instantly went into survival mode.

"Get behind me, guys," Chuuya whispered.

Akutagawa and Q did as they were told and moved behind Chuuya.

After making sure Akutagawa and Q were safely behind him, Chuuya glared at the man. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your business," the man replied.

"Yes, it is, actually. You look like you've come out here to kill someone, and we're the only ones around. So if I didn't know better, I'd say that you came here to harm us, and that will NOT be happening if I can help it," Chuuya argued.

The man neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

"Leave," Chuuya commanded.

"No," the man replied.

Akutagawa and Q were beginning to get even more worried, so they clung to Chuuya.

Chuuya glanced back at them. "Don't worry, I'll do whatever I can to protect you guys."

"Same goes for you," Akutagawa replied.

Q nodded in agreement.

Chuuya smiled at them for a moment before turning his gaze back to the masked man. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you want with us, but you'd better leave while you still can."

"Nope, I don't think I'll be doing that," the masked man argued calmly.

"You wanna die?!" Chuuya demanded, stomping over to the masked man. As he did so, he motioned for Akutagawa and Q to stay where they were.

"No, but you will be," the man declared, pointing his gun straight at Chuuya.

Chuuya was beginning to get a little scared, not that he'd ever admit it. He tried to swallow his fear. "Do whatever you want with me, but don't you DARE lay a finger on my friends, or else..."

"Chuuya, don't say that! He'll probably try to injure you or something now," Q whispered.

Chuuya gazed at Q. "Maybe so, but if you guys are safe, that's all that matters."

"You matter to us just as much as we matter to you!" Akutagawa protested.

There it was again. That confusing feeling. Why did Chuuya feel the way he did whenever Akutagawa said stuff like that to him? When would all this confusion come to an end? Scratch that, would it ever even come to an end?

"The traitor is playing the hero, how adorable," the man said mockingly, derailing Chuuya's train of thought.

Now Chuuya was just plain confused. "Traitor? What traitor? I don't see one around here."

"Obviously I'm talking about you," the masked man announced.

"Well then, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a traitor," Chuuya replied.

"Liar," the masked man remarked.

"I'm not a liar, either! I literally have no idea what you're talking about!" Chuuya protested.

"Mhm," the man said.

Chuuya sighed. Clearly, he was getting nowhere. "I said I'm not a liar or traitor."

Fed up with trying to explain things, the man in the mask just shot Chuuya right in the chest.

"Gah!" Chuuya groaned, nearly doubling over.

"CHUUYA!" Akutagawa and Q exclaimed, shaken to their very core. They ran over to Chuuya.

Using what felt like the remainder of what little energy he has left, Chuuya managed to gaze up at Akutagawa and Q. "Don't worry...about me. Just run..."