Chapter Text
A flight of black crows braved this day’s breeze, wings flapping energetically as they zoomed above the fall leaves of Japanese trees.
The sun was only just beginning to rise, bathing Yokohama in a warm glow, the sky an almost perfect blue, apart from the small gray clouds in the far horizon.
A peaceful setting, if one ignored the loud bickering of two young teenage boys in the distance.
“We’re gonna be late because of you, Shitty Dazai!” Chuuya Nakahara screeched, fire colored hair flowing wildly in the wind as he ran towards the Port Mafia Headquarters.
“My fault?! How could I have known about that branch? I’m a genius, not a fortune teller, stupid slug!” Osamu Dazai retorted, chin held high even as he was being piggybacked by his partner, his sprained ankle throbbing painfully.
“You-” Chuuya panted, eyebrows drawing together so much Dazai wondered if they would one day join forces and become a unibrow, “-are a pain in the ass!” He declared, then proceeded to take a deep breath and sprint the rest of the way.
The brunet mafioso’s scrawny body rattled, shaked by the sudden speed, his head bobbing up and down violently. He could feel his brain bouncing on the walls of his skull like a ping-pong ball.
“Slow down! Bad dog! Heel! Hatrack! Tiny mafia! Slug!”
His tempest of insults stopped abruptly as he was dropped on the hard asphalt ground, sharp pain erupting in his lower back.
“Ow…”
The brunet pouted, rubbing the sore spot.
“That’s what you get for stupidly tripping on a branch and making us late!” Chuuya smirked, pointing his index finger towards the wounded boy as he playfully scolded him.
But Dazai wasn’t going to be the only one getting scolded if they didn’t make it on time. The Boss had called for them, after all, to supposedly deliver a high importance level mission.
“Now, get up! You can walk to the elevator, can’t you? I am not carrying you in front of my subordinates.” The redhead exclaimed.
“Gah! Chibi is so mean!”
And, so, the two boys made their way to the top floor, squabbling all the while.
They stopped before a large door, but before Chuuya could have the chance to politely knock, Dazai kicked it open -with some difficulty, seeing as his ankle was still hurt, but it was all worth it for the dramatic entrance- , leaving Chuuya attempting to stop himself from strangling the idiot in front of the Boss.
“Ah! Chuuya, Dazai, there you are!” Mori Ougai welcomed them, his characteristic slimy smile in place and an odd dark purple folder on his desk.
“Yeah, yeah. Give us our mission.”
Ougai’s eyebrow twitched at the lack of respect, but his composure remained steady as he mentally reminded himself of the monthly profits Dazai’s presence in the mafia brought to the organization.
The same couldn’t be said for Chuuya, who’s polite composure melted away when he slapped the back of the brunet’s head harshly for the blatant disrespect.
“Indeed! We should immediately get to business, I appreciate your direct attitude, Dazai-kun!” Mori smiled cheerfully as he stood from his chair and gave Chuuya the purple folder. “You’ll find the details of your mission in there. I’ll brief you on the most important parts.”
Mori’s expression turned somber, a one-eighty from his cheerful facade.
“As you might already be aware of, one of our field teams was completely wiped out a few weeks ago.”
Chuuya remembered clearly. One of his own subordinates had known a girl on that team. She’d been utterly devastated when she heard the news. Chuuya had taken her out to drink in her fallen friend’s memory that night.
“But that was the cover-up story, so as not to create panic within our ranks. The truth is they were in the middle of an arms deal with an allied organization, when they killed the representatives of said-organization and fled with the weapons. From camera recordings, we learned that some of them were hiding special abilities from us. Luckily, we had a tracker planted in the weapon box they stole.”
Elise walked in the room, scowling and pushing a whiteboard on wheels. She stopped next to Mori, kicked him in the shin and left to play with her dolls, most likely.
“Thank you, Elise dear!” Mori turned the whiteboard over, revealing a map of the world with two red dots drawn upon it. One of them was in Yokohama, the other, in Vermont, USA.
“The traitors were last located in the state of Vermont, around the outskirts of the town of Jericho. At that point, we deduce they must have somehow found the tracker and destroyed it. However, there is something very notable about this town, and that is…”
Mori trailed off, raising an eyebrow in Dazai’s direction, a challenge.
“Nevermore Academy, the School for Outcasts, Freaks and Monsters.” Dazai sighed, “It’s a good hiding spot, heavily guarded and heavily surveilled. Since it’s such a pinnacle of Outcast society, if the Mafia attacked directly, we’d be declaring war on all Outcasts. They must have had an in with the school, a teacher most likely, who helped them hide their stolen weapon stash.”
“Show-off”, Chuuya grumbled at Dazai’s display of general knowledge.
“Exactly.” Mori continued, “And if that wasn’t enough, Nevermore is a huge castle with many nooks and crannies. Hiding something would be incredibly easy and finding it would be nigh impossible. I believe the traitors are still at the Academy, hiding in some sort of secret room, waiting for the perfect time to escape. Remember, they not only hold weapons, but Port Mafia secrets as well. It would be incredibly dangerous for the organization if they managed to leave Nevermore, and that’s without mentioning how much they would damage our reputation. I’m still mending over the fiasco they caused when killing the representatives of our allies.”
Feeling the finality in his Boss’ words, Chuuya spoke up, arms crossed behind his back and gaze serious.
“What are your orders, sir?”
At that, Mori grinned.
“I want you two to infiltrate Nevermore as students and find the traitors and missing cargo!” He announced, clapping his hands together.
“WHAT?” They both screamed, mouths falling open.
The 16 year olds exchanged a glance, then looked back at the dark haired man.
“You mean I’ll have to spend an entire school year with only this doofus?” Chuuya asked, too stunned to remember the manners Kouyou ane-san had taught him.
“Noooooooooo!” Dazai whined, falling to his knees dramatically and proceeding to roll on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. “My great mind was not made to be wasted on such meager teachings! I’ll be bored to death!”
“I agree.” Chuuya declared.
“Exactly, he-” Dazai paused, eyes wide, processing Chuuya’s words. “Wait, wait, wait, did Chuuya acknowledge my immense intellect?”
“He should be sent to kindergarten instead! Get off the damn floor, mackerel!”
Chuuya kicked Dazai in the ribs, sending the latter into another fit of whimpering and whining.
“Chuuya-kun, if you could be so kind as to bring Dazai out of the office with you?” Mori asked, sitting down with a sweet smile.
The redhead nodded, leaned down, and grabbed Dazai’s legs, tugging the screeching brunet out of the room.
“Oh, and, don’t forget, school starts next week!”
The slamming of the door resonated in Mori’s head.
…
Dazai exhaled, a puff of cold air climbing into the night sky.
His back rested on the top of his metal container, stinging cold against his spine.
Autumn nights were cold in Yokohama, but not enough to kill him, sadly.
No, he wasn’t here for suicide.
He was here for another reason altogether.
The stars reflected in his eyes, the shine of the celestial beings contrasting with the empty and dull pools of brown.
The conversation with Mori kept twisting and turning in his mind.
A mission.
In America.
Far away from Yokohama, the furthest he’d ever been from Mori, from the Mafia.
A dark expanse of unknown stretched out before him, his future uncertain.
And for what?
A bunch of traitors?
Some stolen weapons?
No, there was something else.
Mori was planning something.
Dazai could taste it, dry and acid, like sake gone bad.
He’d seen it in Mori’s purple irises, that slimy gleam of greed.
Nothing good would come of this.
And there was nothing he could do.
Or was there?
He’d figure it out.
He could play Mori’s game.
After all, chess was Dazai’s favorite.