𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭 [AU] (Being rewritten!!)

𝟏𝟔-𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬

After a few minutes of walking, Atsushi and Dazai ended up on the very outskirts of Yokohama, not insanely far from the city and within a reasonable distance. The town in question the two men lurked about was kindly worn down but not overbearingly shady. Of course, Chuuya chose the life of retirement here, as he did not relate to people with higher wealth, despite his good fortune. He was not the type of man to let success and power reign over his conscious or subconscious mind, and though he worked for a criminal organization, he tried his best to atone by helping the less affluent.

As Atsushi snooped his curious eyes around the grim scenery, he began to take mental note of what this might mean Chuuya was like. Was Chuuya Nakahara just like these other hapless souls? Of course, he was the type to fight for his life, but was he still scraping the bottom of the barrel to survive?

                                                                                                                                                                                                "We're here! Yep! The residence of none other than Chuuya Nakaraha himself! My one true love!~" Dazai messed around teasingly.

Atsushi stared at the small cottage. Quaint and simple, it was. Due to Chuuya's old age, his body was much frailer and tired than in his youth, so he was not fond of cleaning often, ensuring an unkempt home.                                                                                                                                                              

 "Well, what are you waiting for?" Dazai pushed.

"Wait, you're not going in with me?" Atsushi interjected, not expecting the sudden confession like surprise.         

"Visiting Chuuya Nakahara? Of course not. For one, he's no fool. He will be fully aware that I sent you! Secondly, even if I am an appirition, that man will find a way to murder me! I dare say this, but he can be a little scary sometimes. Hell if I wanna be part of his little rampage once he figures out my little scandal." Dazai went on.

"A-ah...I see. He seems...Well..." Atsushi took a deep breath in, "He can't be that bad."

Dazai paused, then grinned that bone-chilling grin, the same grim he dresses his face in when he is about to say something terrifyingly theoretical. "And lastly, Chuuya will meet me in the afterlife whenever he should feel like it. He knows where I am. I trust him in that. He will always know where I am. So long as I am conscious, he will find me, and I will find him. Just the same as you and Ryonoske, my dear Atsushi."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Atsushi stood silently for mere seconds, enveloped in what words Dazai had just spoken. "He and I are nothing like you and Chuuya. Akutgawa is more than just some partner in crime to me. He's my fucking friend. I'll treat him as such. And unlike the scum you are, I won't be abandoning him so easily. I say you owe an apology to Chuuya. You're way overdue for one." And with that, he whipped right back around and confidently strutted up to the door Chuuya's living abode. Dazai's eerie smile was now paired with deranged, widened, and shaky eyes that proved Dazai's sinful perspective.

Atsushi stood face to face with a wall, a barrier, a stopping point. At any point he could turn around, go home, and face the facts. The fact that it really was none of his business. He had zero connection to the Port Mafias past, and in fact put his life in irresponsible danger just to gain the knowledge of these dangerous men. 

"No...I can't get cold feet now. I've come so far. I've stood up to Dazai countless times. I'm standing at the door of someone who possesses the utmost knowledge of that vulture Dazai and Ryunoske. Shit! Why did I even come here? This history is his past, not mine. Is it even okay that I'm this interested in his life?" Atsushi pondered, his head playing ping pong with thoughts he had no interest in.

He closed his eyes and let his mind go silent. A blank void filled his mind. His chest began to rise and fall. Over and over and over again. "Breathe." He thought to himself. "I am strong. I can face anyone, even an ex-mafioso." The oxygen in his body boiled down, now controlled as ever. He felt his fingers in control once again, like tiny sparks of reviving flames they sparked. One finger twitched, and the next he knew, he had complete control of its ability and movement. Soon his entire arm was back in his command. He lifted his fist, albeit very slowly. Finally, when his hand lined up with the upper portion of the door, his eyes flashed open with a fierce determination, and he banged on the wooden barricade, there beginning the cycle we know as knocking.

                                                                                                                                                                                            "SCAT! I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE JUST LEAVE BEFORE I HAVE TO COME OUT THERE AND KICK YOUR ASS!" An energetic voice echoed.

"Chuuya Nakahara? Hello? My name is Atsushi! Atsushi Nakajima! I only want to know about Dazai and Akutgawa!" Atsushi bravely shouted back.

"GO AWAY, ATSUSHI! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT DEADBEAT!"

"Please? If not a few minutes of your time, Sir! I promise I won't take long! Just a few questions?"

"DAZAI IS DEAD TO ME! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Atsushi took a moment to think. Momentarily an idea popped into his head, offering itself up like a divine and gourmet meal ready to be devoured and absorbed.

"I understand what it feels like. You want to forget about that bastard, but no matter how hard you try, he stays trapped in your mind twenty-four-seven. Look, even if Dazai is the scum of the world, it's not like you can run away from him altogether. You loved him, didn't you?"

A brief period had passed, and there was no screaming reply back. Suddenly, the door in front of Atsushi swung open, and an abnormally calm Chuuya answered the door, his arms crossed and his stance asserting dominance. "Don't tell me what I already know, boy. I'll hear you out just this once, but don't even think of coming to bother me with questions of that bastard ever again. Got that?"