hollow || chuuya ✓

four

She was finally twenty years old, and Chuuya's presence in her life didn't lessen a single bit. In fact, he made it apparent that he was always around. And she made it apparent that she still had the lighter. It got to the point that he didn't bother to carry his own lighter or matches anymore. Even going as far as seeking her out so she could light his cigarette for him.

To the subordinates and lower positions of people within the mafia, the actions the two took seemed...odd.

But, no one dared to question them.

"You know, I think I finally figured out your ability. Though, it caused me to look into your files."

"I see."

She gave a blank stare, her eyes watching him, "what did you think?"

"Of your ability?"

"No, of my files."

He gave her a look, "says you had an unnamed half brother and father. No last name. And that your mother was tied in with your ability. All three of them are deceased, not by your doing."

"You're telling me what you read, but not what you think."

He took out a cigarette.

She took out the lighter.

Click. Light. Flicker. Close. Breathe. Puff out.

"The boss doesn't want to know your half brother's name despite him being in the Port Mafia just like you."

Y/n shrugged, "it doesn't matter. I forgotten who he was."

"Because the boss wanted you to forget."

"Yes, he said familial bonds make me weak. He doesn't need me weak. And you dodged the question again. I asked, what do you think?"

Chuuya puffed out a signature ring of grey smoke. Y/n watched it dissipate as she usually did. He was skilled with the art of smoking, she concluded.

"Well, knowing you, Hollow. Does what I think really matter? Its not like you have the capacity to care in the end."

She was taken aback which surprised her. Her heart started to tense and hurt a bit. An impending heart attack? She thought for a moment. No, my heart just aches. But why?

She nodded, "you're right. You're answer doesn't matter in the end. So, my ability. What do you think it is?"

He was hoping she would finally show something. An emotion or two. He was disappointed when he didn't get what he wanted. Should I apologize? No...like she said, it wouldn't matter. She wouldn't care.

"Your ability is called A Mother's Mercy. The name itself confused me for the pass four years that I've known you. Which was why I decided to look into your files. Your ability basically gives you invincibility. No one can hurt you no matter how much they try, except for your own mother. Your mother's ability was called A Child's Sacrifice, it enabled her to create a weapon to defeat your invincibility."

"Indeed. She was in the Port Mafia, and when I was born, I was forced to join her. We were like a team. I was a monster who would fight ceaselessly, endlessly since no one could hurt me due to my invincibility. I never bled, never got injured, and never felt pain. My mother would always be at my side though. A weapon at the ready if I ever got out of control. My mother was the boss' backup plan if I ever betrayed him. All she would have to do was use her ability to create a weapon to kill me."

She sighed. Her heart felt heavy now. The ache still there, but it was fading.

"But then my mother died to unforseen circumstances. She got in over her head and I was on another mission so I couldn't bail her out. The boss no longer had a leash to keep me in place and Dazai's ability was, of course, found out to not work on me, for better or for worse. Nonetheless,, that was until the boss found out about the gun my mother left behind."

Y/n unholstered the gun at her hip. It was the same bloodstained gun she always carried around.

"This is the only weapon on earth that can kill me now. If I want to die, or if the boss decides to kill me, then all he needs is this gun."

Chuuya held out his hand and she got the message.

She silently handed him the gun.

He let it slide perfectly into his hand. He aimed it at her. A finger on the trigger.

"Do you feel anything when I do this?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Disappointment."

"...why?"

"Because you didn't turn off the safety."

He hung his head, sighed a little, and lowered his aim while holding the gun back out to her to which she took it without saying anything else.

"Your humor is still terrible."

"I know."

He didn't have to look up to see that same ghost of smile. That same hollow smile.

He wanted a real smile from her, but he knew he would have to wait.