The next day, Dazai and Akutagawa were sitting on the roof of a fruit stall. Dazai nodded to his companion, who shapeshifted into a mouse and ran into the booth below. The owner of the stall screamed as he saw the mouse, and using that moment of confusion, Dazai swiped a watermelon and sat with a victorious smile. Akutagawa came back up and shifted back into his human form. Dazai broke the watermelon in half and gave one piece to Akutagawa.
"Breakfast is served," Dazai said as he dug into the watermelon.
A few stalls away, the newly escaped Chuuya struggled to find his way through the numerous shops. He looked around, astonished at all the amazing things around him. The shopkeepers sensed that Chuuya was a newcomer to the place and started persuading him to buy all sorts of things. Chuuya walked around, sometimes stopping to examine something that caught his eye.
From his place on the stall roof, Dazai's eyes settled on the hooded figure of Chuuya. The prince in disguise accidentally bumped into a street performer, which led to his hood falling from his head. Dazai's eyes widened, and he gasped out an incredulous "Wow!" at the sight of Chuuya. He had never seen such beauty anywhere before, not even at the brothels he usually visits to steal some food. His focus was fixated on Chuuya, who elegantly pulled on the hood over his head again and started walking. Dazai's eyes followed him with a lovestruck look.
Chuuya saw a boy trying to take an orange from the stall. He picked one and gave it to the boy, who flashed him a smile and ran off. Chuuya tried to leave as well, but heard a booming voice behind him say,
"I hope you would be able to pay for that."
Chuuya opened his mouth to reply, but the stall owner grabbed his hand and forced it onto the wooden booth. Chuuya wriggled his hand to free it from the bruising grasp of the other man.
"Do you know the price of stealing from my shop?!" The man yelled, bringing out a sword. Chuuya's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, sharp and unforgiving.
"P-Please let me go. I-I don't have any money with me now, but if you free me, I can get some money from the king!" Chuuya stuttered.
The shopkeeper looked at him with disbelief and raised his arm to deliver the blow. Chuuya struggled against his hold, pleading to let him go. The man brought down his sword, and Chuuya closed his eyes, fearing the oncoming blow.
But it never came.
Chuuya opened his eyes and saw a brunette holding the man's wrist, defending him.
"Ah! Thank you for finding him!" The brunette said in a singsong voice.
"You know him?" The shopkeeper asked gruffly.
"Sadly yes. You see, he is my distant cousin. He is a bit messed up in the head, due to being so small in size." Chuuya's saviour replied with fake sympathy. The prince glared at him. Dazai slowly pushed him away from the shop.
"What are you doing?!" Chuuya hissed.
"Play along if you want to live," Dazai whispered back. The shopkeeper pulled him back by the collar of his coat.
"He said he knows the King!" He roared.
"He thinks that this dog here is the king!" Dazai said and nudged Chuuya. The prince got the hint and bowed to his knees in front of the dog, which was Akutagawa. He had shapeshifted into a dog just before Dazai leapt down to save Chuuya.
"Oh, how may I serve you, Your Highness!" Chuuya played along. Akutagaw looked at Dazai, and then patted Chuuya's head with his paw, perfectly acting like an elegant noble. Dazai lifted Chuuya and said,
"Come on now, dear cousin. We have to visit the doctor."
Just as they were about to slip away, a piece of jewellery slipped out from Dazai's coat pocket. It clanged loudly on the ground, and Dazai took that as the cue to run off, his hand firmly holding Chuuya's. They heard muffled shouts and threats behind them and ran even faster. Once a safe distance away from the market square, they slowed down, and Dazai led Chuuya up a winding set of stairs. They reached the top of a tall building.
