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Kyuusaku wakes in ruins of dirt and wood, what was probably the shack they’d been in the basement of. Above the woods and bodies, towers a monsters. Writhing and twisting and bubbling. The same indescribable monster Kyuusaku had faced when told to find that Guild man. It’s attacking something. It’s not focused on Kyuusaku. That’s the only thing that stops the screams bubbling up at seeing that monster again.
And then Chuuya appears above it. Looming and blazing with light. Chuuya’s familiar, comforting form. Chuuya’s here. Everything will be alright now Chuuya’s here.
A god of destruction and chaos bathed in the moonlight, bloody light reflecting around him, his own Ability’s aura giving him a terrifying glow.
It’s not Chuuya.
It’s Corruption.
It’s Arahabaki.
Soaked in his own blood as his body gives out, the god laughs like a scream. Like screams that echo through time. Through everything. Like every scream there ever was and ever will be. Arahabaki channeling every disaster - past, present and future - through it’s broken voice and cackling wildly as it unleashes more. The monster starts to bubble and explode and booms rip through the still air. Arahabaki gathers up a black hole in its palm. Kyuusaku grabs the closest tree, hanging on for dear life as the gravity start to tug everything towards the god.
And then, for the first time, Kyuusaku notices Dazai standing a way off, at the opposite treeline, abandoning the nasty Guild man with the creepy vines. Arahabaki’s laughing wildly as he staggers on the empty clearing, tossing gravity around to rain destruction as if he sees victims that aren’t there. As if destruction for destruction’s sake is its own reward. But that’s Chuuya the god is eating up. It’s Chuuya’s blood flowing down its face and drenching the already torn clothes.
“Chuuya!”
Kyuusaku tries to scream but the words catch. No sound comes out. But, the great god’s gaze turns nonetheless. Kyuusaku stumbles back as the ground shakes beneath his approaching footsteps.
“Chuuya, wake up,” Kyuusaku sobs. “Wake up. Please, wake up.”
God is real, he just doesn’t love you.
That’s wrong. Chuuya has never hated Kyuusaku. He’s never hated Kyuusaku for a moment. There are moments of dislike, of anger, of pain and maybe even the need to kill. But Kyuusaku wholeheartedly believes kind, compassionate and gentle Chuuya would never hold any hatred in his heart. Not when it comes to Kyuusaku. It’s hard to believe Chuuya could ever truly hate anyone sometimes.
“Chuuya!”
This time the scream comes out as Chuuya raises a hand, gravity bending light around the destruction forming at his fingertips.
And then blazing pale light cleanses everything. The bloody markings moving across Chuuya’s skin vanish and his eyes clear. Chuuya’s back. Dazai’s hand is wrapped around his wrist and Chuuya’s entire body slumps under his own weight, collapsing to his knees when Dazai releases him.
“I used Corruption because I trusted you,” Chuuya hisses.
He falls away and Dazai watches him for a few moments longer, talking to his unconscious former partner with a smile Kyuusaku doesn’t trust. Dazai’s smiles are always trouble. They always bring pain and suffering to everyone around him. Dazai is worse than Chuuya and Kyuusaku combined! He’s the one who should be locked up alone! He’s the one who destroys everything he touches!
Kyuusaku staggers up, legs wobbly and shaking but determined. They shove Dazai away from Chuuya, taking him enough by surprise he actually loses his balance and ends up falling back, sitting on the ruined ground and glaring up at him with Chuuya’s knife in his hand.
“Stay away from him,” Kyuusaku hisses.
“You should have stayed out of my way, Q,” Dazai replies, getting to his feet. He towers above Kyuusaku but that’s nothing new. This is how they've always been. Kyuusaku glares back furiously, staying between Dazai and the sleeping Chuuya. “Didn’t I warn you last time?”
I won’t capture you. I’ll rip your heart out.
Kyuusaku’s fists clench but they don’t back down. “I won’t let you hurt him anymore. We’re not your playthings anymore!”
“You’ve got no idea how the world really works, do you?” he sighs. Kyuusaku barely seeing the blade move it’s so fast, pressing against their throat enough to draw a trickle of blood. Kyuusaku feels their Ability activate and just as quickly is flushed with cold as it refuses. “Fine.”
He whips the knife at Chuuya and Kyuusaku jerks around to find it dug into the ground beside Chuuya’s head, snagging a few strands of hair.
“I’ll be taking this, by the way.” Kyuusaku turns. Dazai is walking away with Kyuusaku’s doll. “You’re lucky, you know. As long as you’re alive, the Mafia can’t afford to kill me. And Chuuya is still useful to me. I can’t afford to have the Mafia kill him for failing to retrieve you.”
“You’re lucky my Ability doesn’t work on you, Dazai-san,” Kyuusaku yells after him. “You’d definitely never be able to recover from seeing what a monster you really are!”
“Like I don’t already know that,” Dazai murmurs before vanishing into the trees.
Kyuusaku glares after him before turning to Chuuya. He’s covered in blood. Kyuusaku sighs and reaches into their bag, pulling out a handkerchief. Chuuya has said a long time ago it was annoying Kyuusaku insisted on using the razors and wire, but they should at least keep a hanky with them so they’re not dripping blood all over the Mafia carpets. And so Kyuusaku sits at his side, gently wiping the blood from his face and patching up his scrapes and grazes.
How many people died this time? How many of Chuuya’s precious men died when they’d used Kyuusaku’s Ability across the city? Chuuya will be mad. Kyuusaku will have to make it up to him somehow. Or just stay out of his way until he works through the grief. Kyuusaku’s never really understood grief, but Chuuya feels it so strongly, it hurts him so much, Kyuusaku feels awful for causing him pain. Kyuusaku picks up Chuuya’s clothes, searching them out from across the clearing. It doesn’t take long to have all his things folded up in a nice pile by his side so he can rest peacefully.
And then all Kyuusaku can do is sit at Chuuya’s side and wait for him to wake up so they can go home. There’s no sign of Chuuya’s phone to call for help and Kyuusaku’s had been tossed by the Guild so they couldn’t be tracked easily. It’s going to be a long, boring night waiting but it’s worth it to guard Chuuya. Kyuusaku holds Chuuya’s knife cautiously on their lap. Without their doll, they might have to do things the normal way if Chuuya’s life is at risk.
It’s days later that Kyuusaku is allowed to see Chuuya again. Without the doll, they’re allowed to wander the Mafia headquarters, not that they want to. There are too many stares and glares and whispers.
All they want is to see Chuuya again. He’s in the infirmary, slumped and washed out in the white bedding. But, he smiles seeing Kyuusaku coming in. He doesn’t shoo Kyuusaku away like a monster when they sit in the chair next to his bed. And what really gets Kyuusaku’s attention is Chuuya’s trembling hands working with a needle and red thread in his lap.
“Maybe making it straight after Corruption isn’t such a good idea,” Chuuya mutters. Kyuusaku hands him a yellow button and Chuuya sews it to the doll’s face carefully. “But, it gives me something to do while sitting around here. It’s boring, you know.”
Kyuusaku nods, watching Chuuya’s hands rather than his face. “Your dolls are always nice.”
“That’s because I care,” he says, tying off the thread. Kyuusaku hands him another button, this time a yellow star. “Even if the quality is kinda shitty, it’s made with care.”
“I like Chuuya’s dolls best.” Chuuya holds out his hand and Kyuusaku frowns. What else needs to go on? It looks done. They glance down at the side table. There’s a tiny hat next to the glass of water so Kyuusaku hands that over for Chuuya to sew onto the doll. “I always feel bad for ruining the dolls you make me.”
The dolls Chuuya makes never look like monsters. Chuuya doesn’t see Kyuusaku as a monster, so the dolls never are. Chuuya hands over the doll and Kyuusaku picks up the stuffing, starting to fill it carefully. Chuuya lies back in the pillows and lets Kyuusaku work on the stuffing and sewing up the doll. This bit Kyuusaku can do. They can do it all really, but the love Chuuya puts into making dolls makes them so much better. And once done, Kyuusaku lets their Ability flow into it. It glows and giggles before settling. The new trigger for Kyuusaku’s power.
“You shouldn’t trust Dazai-san anymore,” Kyuusaku murmurs, touching their bandaged throat. “He’s a traitor. He doesn’t care what happens to you.”
Chuuya just laughs and pats Kyuusaku’s head. “You’ll understand one day, kid.”
If understanding means trusting Dazai, Kyuusaku doesn’t want it.