Fragments of Us - Soukoku Oneshots

28. Bitter Allies, Silent Guardians 🖤

Under the glow of a blood-red moon, the ground trembled as Dazai and Chuuya stood in the midst of a crumbling city. What had started as an ambush against the Port Mafia had escalated into full-scale war, and Dazai, unsurprisingly, was in the thick of it. The enemy syndicate had underestimated him; believing the right-hand of Mori would be a simple target now that he had gone underground with his plans.

He had led them here, weaving the strings of this battlefield like a puppeteer, all for one purpose: destruction. But not for himself. No, Dazai had brought Chuuya along, knowing that once they hit a wall, there would be no holding back.

Chuuya, of course, hated that.

"You really had to drag me into this, didn't you?" Chuuya snapped, kicking a chunk of concrete out of his path. His eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim light, his short hair tousled from the fight that had been raging for hours.

Dazai tilted his head, his expression innocent, as if he hadn't just led them both into a battlefield swarming with bloodthirsty thugs. "Oh, come now, Chuuya. I thought you could use some fresh air. You've been cooped up for far too long."

Chuuya's fist clenched, veins pulsing with the ever-present urge to punch Dazai straight in the face. "Fresh air? This is a war zone, you suicidal bastard! What part of this screams fresh to you?"

Dazai hummed, tapping his chin as if in thought. "Hmm... maybe the breeze from all the collapsing buildings?"

Before Chuuya could throw another retort, a group of syndicate thugs came charging at them from behind, thinking they could take the duo by surprise. Chuuya didn't even spare them a glance, his gravity ability already sending them flying through the air like ragdolls.

"You're infuriating," Chuuya growled, dusting his hands off.

"And you love me for it," Dazai quipped, his smirk widening as Chuuya sputtered, his cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

"You wish!" Chuuya spat, raising a hand to hurl another insult his way. But the words died in his throat when he caught sight of a glint of metal slicing through the air, heading straight for Dazai.

It was a second too late. Dazai barely flinched as the blade grazed his side, tearing through his coat and into his skin. Blood seeped through the fabric, staining it dark, but Dazai only grimaced slightly, his smirk faltering for just a moment. The thug who had thrown the knife stood smugly a few paces away, clearly thinking he had won some grand prize.

Chuuya froze, his sharp intake of breath audible over the crackling energy in the air. His gaze shifted from Dazai's bleeding side to the bastard who had dared to hurt him. A murderous gleam sparked in Chuuya's eyes.

"You. Fucking. Dare?" Chuuya's voice was low, dangerous, a promise of violence. His whole body trembled with the fury coursing through him, gravity swirling in thick waves around him, distorting the very air.

Dazai's eyes widened just slightly as he realized what was about to happen. "It's really not that bad, Chuuya-"

But Chuuya wasn't listening anymore. The ground trembled beneath them as Chuuya unleashed his ability without restraint. His blood-red aura crackled with raw power, veins glowing ominously as his connection to Arahabaki deepened. The familiar transformation took hold, his humanity slipping away in the wake of Corruption.

"Oh no," Dazai muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand through his hair with an exaggerated sigh. "Here we go again."

Chuuya's hair whipped wildly around him as a devastating aura exploded from his body, the sheer force of it sending waves of enemies crashing to the ground. His once-blue eyes had turned a bloodthirsty red, and the veins of his skin pulsed with the energy of the god he had become. His lips curled back into a feral grin, almost a snarl, and his gravity ability surged beyond reason.