Interlude

I've said it so many times
I would change my ways no never mind
God knows I tried

Call me a Sinner, call me a Saint
Tell me its over, I'll still love you the same

Kaiju were incredible. Fascinating monsters.

That something was wrong with Dazai Osamu was nothing new. Even before he was Dazai Osamu, when he was someone else, he was fascinated with all things deadly and gruesome. One can say, death was his hobby and therefore, he liked killing.

Killing himself and the person he was, first and foremost was just the first step, he had to rid himself of his entire existence, a task he had yet to accomplish. Besides killing himself that left him the option to kill other beings. Things. The Kaiju were a welcome alternative and he would even get the praise for such horrendous actions; it was everything he could dream of.

So before killing the person that was nowadays known as Dazai Osamu, he decided to kill all Kaiju, earn glory and praise and then kill himself in a spectacular fashion that would leave the world shocked and mourning for him. The easiest way to reach this goal would be to become a Jaeger pilot, which was a one way ticket to fame and glory anyway, so it was basically two birds with one stone.

It was a good plan.

Still, Dazai couldn't resist the chance to try and kill himself. Just a little bit okay?

This was the explanation of why he ended up roaming the streets of the run down Yokohama harbor district.

Dazai frowned. Maybe the actual reason he stood in an unknown city, entirely lost and off track was his desire to test out if the concrete mixer he found left abandoned at the harbor was still working and by chance able to smush him – it wasn't – and he just had to lose track of his entourage. To his defense, it wasn't his fault that the entire city was still left in ruins and therefore unnavigable after a Kaiju attacked it four years ago!

Dazai's frown deepened. Surely someone must be looking for him by now, right?

A vivid memory of a scowl on Kouyou-san's face reminded him that no, if she had anything to say in this, and she had, leading the expedition and everything, then nobody would come looking for him at least until it was time to get back to their base. Just his luck.

Well then, if they did not want him around (and honestly, who wouldn't want someone as dashing and charming as his young self around?), he would make best of what he currently had and that was a free day in a now run-down city full of outlaws. His frown morphed into a grin, happy and unhinged by any kind of worries. It was a grin that would make people swoon within time he grew up.

Dazai chose a random direction and went on his way.

Yokohama was one of the first cities unfortunate enough to be visited by a Kaiju. They were still a rather new phenomenon and being a secluded island nation, Japan was entirely unprepared for an attack. Within the first wave of attacks, Yokohama got nearly annihilated.

People luckily enough to survive the initial attack of the beast nicknamed SharkFang fled into the mountains but a good proportion of the city was still destroyed in the few hours the Kaiju raged on before it was driven away by the Japanese army, a huge amount of missiles and an undisclosed number of soldiers that lost their life that day.

The number of casualties was immense. At least a third of the city's population died that day and another quarter perished in the months afterwards due to infections, contaminated water and the general atrocity that was Kaiju Blue. Dazai didn't even count the people still starving in the streets, even years after the attack.

The city was basically doomed. The people rich enough to afford moving away or the people with families living away from the city did so as soon as they could, leaving behind the poor and weak, that needless to say had a tough time to survive.

Of course, the situation of people literally dying like flies on the streets shouldn't happen nowadays, something like this belonged to medieval times and should be solved by the government, one might think. But Japan's government and cabinet crumbled shortly after, after the Kaiju attacks kept coming and destroyed more and more towns. The city of Yokohama and due to this Tokyo, were lost just some months ago, Dazai lost track of time in this matter.

Story short, the Japanese people were left to fend for themselves and all the higher ups got their asses to safety before the normal people were even able to forebode more attacks.

It pissed Dazai off to no end, cowards were the first ones who deserved to die and leaving behind their beautiful country was a crime that deserved dire punishment. Like a Kaiju in their faces.

The only people still fighting for Japan and its people even while having their headquarters in Hong Kong was the so-called ADA, short form of Armed Defenses Agency, that actually tried to fight off the Kaiju. That mere manpower wasn't enough for this was crystal clear and the ADA knew of course, thus it cooperated with an American organization that worked on a new kind of technology to fight of Kaiju, a project that later became known as the Jaeger Program. The giant mecha robots were the only chance the world and therefore Japan had, to fight off those monsters and it proved quite successful so far. Category 1 to 2 Kaiju were defeated and killed on a now regular basis and the first Asian Jaeger Pilots, Fukuzawa Yukichi and Mori Ougai became legends.

And this was where Dazai came into the picture and why he was currently roaming through the deserted streets of Yokohama.

As the adopted son of Mori Ougai – a constellation Dazai denied whenever he was asked, thank you very much – he grew up in Hong Kong with Jaegers and war against the Kaiju always around him. It was to nobody's surprise that he proved to be a prodigy at cadet school and was scheduled to become a Jaeger Pilot once he reached the age of 16. That was three years from now, although Dazai was sure he could already kick some Monster's asses.

He had a natural peculiarity of being able to form a neural bridge with about anybody, which made him a treasure among possible pilot candidates, as he would be able to find a partner to pilot a Jaeger with without any problem.

Dazai didn't like this quirk, in fact he hated it. He didn't want to form a neural bridge and have someone else rummaging through his head, seeing his innermost thoughts and memories. He would prevent this from happening, of that he was sure. Even if he had to shove his partner out of his head and do all the work alone. He was Sh-, no, Dazai Osamu, he could do this easily.

Currently he was helping out Hong Kong's head of domestic policies, a woman called Ozaki Kouyou. The beautiful woman, in normal time of peace scandalously young for her position but perfectly suited in this time of war, was sent on a mission to negotiate with an Australian ambassador who was currently residing in Yokohama to yada yada yada.

That was all Dazai bothered to remember. He for his part was sent along on the mission despite his also outraging young age because the ADA was terribly understaffed but still needed a representor and most of all, keen eyes and ears to observe the current situation.

And now he was lost.

Kouyou – who easily saw through his spiel and mission of course – long gone, meeting the ambassador in private. That meant Dazai had some time to spare and wander around, their entourage would surely find him in time to fly back to Hong Kong, no need to worry.

Passing yet another corner, Dazai raised an eyebrow, not expecting the surroundings around him. Huddled in the corners of alleyways and rubbles left by destruction where people, a quick glance identifying them as children, mostly. Their faces were haggard, showing clear signs of malnourishment, empty eyes staring ahead at nowhere in general. Dazai tore his gaze away, this was the reason he would be fighting as soon as possible, so this wouldn't happen in any other town regardless of where it was.

Crossing the street as fast as his still growing legs would carry him, the boy went into another intersection, despite better judgement hoping to find another scenario in front of him.

Well, Dazai's eyes widened as a woman approached him, this was not what he wanted.

This street functioned as an impromptu red light district apparently, scarcely clad women waiting for men desperate and wealthy enough to spent a dime on them in those time of needs. This was of course another thing destruction and poverty lead to and one couldn't tell Dazai that the government, or whatever was left before it got destroyed, entirely didn't knew about this.

"Hey sweety," the woman that approached him purred. "Are you lost? Or are you here for a good time?"

A quick once-over told Dazai that the good time was obviously a lie and that the only thing he would be getting out of this was a rather nasty infection or disease. In better times the woman in front of him might have been pretty but in better times she would've surely chosen another profession altogether. The malnourishment was clearly visible through her see-through clothes and sunken eyes and fallen in cheeks. Desperate times, huh?

"I'm sorry m'am, I'm sure you are very pleasant company but unfortunately I have somewhere to go." He kissed her hand, always the charmer. "Otherwise I would've asked you out on a date." Smooth.

The woman, despite clearly being his senior by at least a decade, blushed, red stark visible against her gray skin. "O-of course. Be careful, young one."

With a hum Dazai skipped away, waving at another few prostitutes who stared at him in bewilderment. They had surely seen nothing but ugly desperate men for ages and Dazai knew about his handsomeness and boyish charm. In better times he would've asked that woman out for a double suicide, but now was not the time.

What will wait for him around the next corner?

It felt like an amusing game by now, guessing what will happen next, experiencing the tragedy and wonders of a world so unlike his own but still so connected to it. His bets were on drug dealers or pimps, since those were always found near prostitutes, always ready to relieve wealthy patrons of their money.

Young Dazai Osamu, so unbeknownst unworldly and chaperoned by the ADA forces in the far away and secured Shatterdome that he had no idea how the real world survived after Japan's downfall, stared in horror at the scene that unfolded in front of him after he rounded another corner.

A group of several men, filthy and rundown and clearly habitants of the late Yokohama city, stood in a circle, staring at a commotion in the middle, sneering at what was happening in front of them. Dazai could make out another man in the middle of the circle, either beating up or ravaging – or both? – another person. They were unfortunate enough to be at the mercy of people lacking firstly any pity nor sympathy and who secondly, didn't gave a damn about the law, if there was any law left in this city that only cared about survival.

"You fucking bitch! This is what you wanted, right? Well, you got it."

Dazai averted his eyes, unused to a cruelty provided by men, not beats for once. He wondered if there was any difference left?

The sobbing he could hear, even while he turned away from the scene and tried to walk away, confirming that no, there was no difference.

This world was made of monsters, they only hid in different forms and shapes. Rotten to the core. Was this rot even worth saving? Was it worthy of Dazai Osamu risking his life to safe it?

A sudden yell made him stop in his tracks, realizing only now that he rushed away from the scene. He turned around and witnessed a thing that would change his life, only did he not know this at this moment.

A small form forcibly pushed away the body of the sneering man who insulted the crumpled person earlier, the yell transforming into a scream as blood pooled around the man's thigh. Dazai assessed the knife that was struck into the man's body, deep enough to hurt an artery if poised at the right position. The screams got hoarser as the man stumbled to the floor, clutching his rapidly reddening leg – the knife was poised at exactly the right position.

What Dazai knew would be a useless struggle, the man would die within minutes, there was no working medical facility within miles and hours, was still unbeknownst to the men, who immediately rushed to their fallen comrade and dragged him away, ignoring his screams of pain and vengeance as well as the huddled figure that once again collapsed to the floor, all former fight gone from its body.

Dazai just stood there and watched the scene, contemplating if he should just walk away again and continue his exploration of the city, if he should follow the group of men and watch their useless tries to stop the mortal wound on their friend's leg or if he should assess the bundle in front of him.

A smile started to bloom on his face, deciding for the latter option. A person who took that crap and a beating while being able to defend themselves the whole time if they only wanted to? That was indeed interesting.

(Dazai also had a slight hope that the person might ambush him too and maybe kill him in the heat of the moment.)

With his hands in his pockets he leisurely strolled towards the bundle on the ground which slowly started to get up, unaware of the youth that was approaching. Being only a few steps away now, Dazai could make out that the bundle in front of him was indeed a person, huddled in a thin blanket that was uncaringly thrown over its slight form.

"D-damn…" he could hear a small hoarse voice mutter, not much more than a whisper, followed by a light sob only noticeable because of the eternally silent streets of the deserted city.

Dazai could only frown in disappointment, this didn't appear to be a tough and livid assailant anymore. He sighed softly. And there went his chances of having an interesting encounter and maybe a nice quick death.

Before he could decide to turn away and continue his stroll, the person in front of him slowly moved into a sitting position. Quirking an eyebrow, Dazai observed how the person stumbled back down after unsuccessfully trying to get up, tightening the blanket around their very naked body.

Another prostitute. Boooring.

"Fuck!"

Giving up the struggle of trying to stand, the small person started to assess their own condition. They stared in disgust at the filth that coated their body, the very telltale white stains in their hair and on their body, and in shock at the blood stains, both their own as well as their assailants blood.

Something about them made Dazai stop in his tracks.

For one, it was the red hair, incredibly rare in a country like Japan or Asia in general – a foreigner then? If they are a prostitute there is a high possibility that this unfortunate soul was a victim of human traffickers, stolen away from Europe or there such. The other possibility was sad as well as simple, they were like all the other people on the streets victims of the Kaiju and their attacks.

The red hair might've been intriguing, hadn't it been matted in a coat of dirt and sticky substances Dazai didn't want to think about any further, now it was just limp and lifelessly hanging in their face, hiding their eyes.

The person moved slightly, tumbling over and coughing out something- Dazai turned away with a frown because he definitely didn't want to see that. The blanket moved at that moment as well and finally Dazai realized that it was a young male that was kneeling in front of him.

Huh, the first male prostitute he had seen today. That androgynous face could've fooled him.

The boy couldn't have been older than 12 or 13, making him close to Dazai's age but one couldn't say this for certain, regarding his small height and malnourished frame.

The boy was still freaking out about the blood on his hands, rubbing them against the filthy blanket again and again, not realizing that a lot of the blood had already dried up and wouldn't come off without water, all the while muttering about never going with an entire group of men again.

Something on his face startled Dazai, something interesting, special, and it was what made him stop in his tracks completely, his intuition was never wrong after all. Making a step towards the figure, the other only now noticed the other boy in front of him, startling him and setting him off.

"Ouch!" Dazai yelped. Unable to move, my ass!

With a speed and intensity Dazai didn't expect and anticipate, the other jumped onto him, pinning him to the floor, knife at his pulse point. Not only at his pulse point, but even drawing blood if the sudden pain and warm liquid at his neck were any indication.

Even at the point of a sudden, unexpected end, Dazai's first reaction was to laugh. Maybe he'd find death after all!

Oh well, he had yet to kill a single Kaiju and a slit throat sounded like a much more painful and messy death than he had planned, but dead was dead, even if it was at the hands of a young male – and naked, he could feel that the other had lost his blanket during the attack – prostitute.

"Who are you?"

A raspy voice on top of him asked, sounding hoarse and struggling for breath. Ooooh, someone was territorial~ As if Dazai would steal one of those… customers away from him.

Smiling brightly, Dazai looked up at the boy on top of him, witty reply already on his tongue, intending to lash out, to hurt-

Only to be stopped dead in its tracks after seeing the boy's face. More specifically, his eyes.

They were blue.

Yes, blue was uncommon to rare in Japan but not unheard of and if this boy was a foreigner it shouldn't be shocking that he had blue eyes, since a lot of foreigners had and yeah. But no.

His eyes were blue.

A shockingly sky-blue color, deep and mesmerizing, like the first plunge into the shallow Pacific Ocean on an island in paradise. They shone like the summer sky on a day where the sun burned mercilessly down on your body and you couldn't help but yearn for exactly this paradise and a refreshing cooling-down.

They were mesmerizing like the eyes of the first giant beast that attacked Japan four years ago and whose face was burned into Dazai's mind ever since he saw it attack and destroy everything in its wake, on a small tv while clutching Mori's hand, seeking contact for once.

Like a Kaiju. He was staring into beast eyes.

"Who. Are. You?"

The voice on top of him repeated, clearly annoyed and unsettled by Dazai's unconsciously spacing out at the boy's eyes. An anew pressure on his neck which lead to his wound bleeding even more pulled Dazai out of his reverie, only noticing now the shaking of the small figure on top of him and his tired wheezing from the physically tolling assault.

Despite everything Dazai couldn't help but smile. His day just took a highly interesting turn for the better.

Gripping the knife with his bare hand, Dazai pulled it away from his neck, causing his hand to bleed instead. Ignoring the stinging pain and the sticky blood, as well as the boy's shocked face, Dazai sat up, all the while still having the other on top of him which led to the compromising position of the boy sitting in his lap – all still while being stark naked.

The other was too shocked to react to this shift of positions, not expecting the unexpected person that was Dazai; he was not even realizing that Dazai took the knife away from him and threw it out of reach, just to hook his arms behind the boy's back.

"Hi!" Dazai beamed.

"I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? I am Dazai, Dazai Osamu but nobody calls me Osamu anyway, the name is just so terribly unfitting. Where was I? Ah yes, hello~"

Those incredible blue eyes just blinked at him.

"Um…" The boy shifted, his discomfort obvious, before noticing the position he was in. Dazai had to considerably tighten his hold on the smaller body, that started to squirm wildly, trying to get as far away from the brunet boy as possible.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who has forgotten his manners, huuuh?" Dazai pulled the other closer to him, staring directly into those blue eyes. "What's your name, chibi?~"

The answer was a punch to his face.

Dazai didn't even had a chance to shout before a fist drove into his face, cleanly breaking his nose, if the crunching noise and spluttering blood – even more blood, really? – were anything to go by.

The moment he moved his hands away from the other's body to clutch his terribly hurting nose and stopping the blood, the other jumped away from him and once again coiled himself into the ratty blanket.

"Th-that was unfaiiir," Dazai wailed, still trying to stop the bleeding. "I just wanted your name…"

Instead Dazai got some way more important information instead in the split second the other jumped away from him, small details that he immediately saved in his mind for later.

Like the bruises adorning the lithe and indeed dangerously malnourished body. The earlier attack by his apparent customers wasn't the first attack as it seemed, the dark purple bruises around the redhead's wrists and neck were tell-tale signs of what had happened to him.

Another interesting detail were the other's scarred hands – Dazai couldn't tell exactly if those were 'just' normal scars or rather burn scars instead, he had to find that out on a later occasion. Anyway, they stood out against the normally pale and even skin, which made the numerous bruises even more colorful and conspicuous.

It was a sad sight indeed and Dazai could feel the tiniest spark of compassion for once, this boy had been through much. Too much for his young age.

Was he able to help in that matter? Dazai contemplated his options, how would Mori react to him bringing that strange beast boy home with him? The thought that the boy wouldn't come with him willingly didn't even occur to him.

"Rude…" Dazai mumbled but got up regardless. What to do with this strange thing? Those eyes alone were worth bringing him with him.

"You have money or what? Otherwise, fuck off!"

His opponent snarled at him, tightening the blanket around him even further; it would've been a comical sight, the small body nearly vanishing in the woolen material. His own wounds were still bleeding, ruining the material even further…

Dazai took a step closer to him. "Look, you misunderstand, your eyes…"

That single word stuck a nerve, Dazai couldn't help but notice the flinch the other couldn't hide in time or the way his eyes self-consciously looked down at the floor now.

He reached out for the other.

"Your eyes-"

He grabbed his wrist.

The moment they had skin contact, something suddenly flashed in front of Dazai. He was unable to break the contact, it was as if his hand was glued in place. A white flash made him lose his orientation.

- never wanted a monster like you anyway –

- you'll have to be nice and behave, baby doll –

- Monster -

- it's either do or die, Chuuya, and you don't want to die, right? –

The world slowly came back into colors. Dazai gasped. What was that? Those were images – memories? - he did not know. Dazai stared at his opponent who stared at him in shock just as well, not understanding what was going on either. So, the shocking feeling hadn't been one sided, huh.

The boy in front of him faltered, his hand in Dazai's grip going slack. He had given up.

"What's your problem?" Blue eyes still didn't dare to look up and meet Dazai's brown orbs.

"Your eyes," Dazai repeated, noticing the anew flinch, eyes were indeed a sensitive topic as it seemed. But Dazai wasn't finished.

"They're beautiful, Chuuya."

A sudden gasp showed him that the boy in front of him was shocked after hearing his name, of course he was, Dazai had to remind himself, he wasn't supposed to know his name. And if Dazai was correct- oh who was he kidding, Dazai was always correct.

That was the main reason Dazai was able to interrupt the flight motion the boy- Chuuya set into motion as soon after Dazai spoke these words.

This was pretty strange after all. Dazai couldn't help but wonder if the two of them had unconsciously and even more important, without any tool or equipment, formed a neural handshake. The connection of two minds, used to perform a drift between two Jaeger pilots. But without any equipment, training nor previous connection and trust this was simply impossible, right? Jaeger candidates trained for years to reach this level of bonding and still weren't able to form a steady healthy neural handshake most of the times.

There was no time to be concerned though.

The anew tight grip onto Chuuya's wrist visibly pissed the other boy off, former shock and fear forgotten, as he set into motion and knocked Dazai back onto the floor with a fluid motion and a surprising strength for that lithe small body.

Impressive. Dazai couldn't help but admire the other, even while having just gone through hell and back, still battered and bruised, still clad in nothing but a mere blanket, still all alone in this cruel disgusting world, and yet still so strong and proud.

Chuuya was a miracle.

"Chuuya," Dazai gasped, stubbornly still holding onto the other's wrist, even though the position was clearly uncomfortable for both. Chuuya winced after hearing his name spoken by a person who was still a stranger to him, still scared and confused of what was actually going on.

"Chuuya, you're misunderstanding! Please, just let me explain!"

Apparently, the position of standing bend over Dazai pained Chuuya as well, having his arm pulled on and dragged down with the force of Dazai's body. He gave up his resistance, allowing Dazai to stand up, while still keeping his entire body tense and ready for flight.

"What's going on?" Chuuya rasped, voice still not healed from the ordeal he had to undergo earlier. Dazai inwardly cursed, he should've killed those bastards himself.

"What was that… earlier?"

Dazai let go of the redhead's wrist and started to dust himself off, trusting the other not to run away at the first chance and Chuuya verified this trust by staying right where he was.

"Honestly? I don't know." Chuuya's face fell and he turned away again. "Wait! Wait. I have a hunch. You… felt something, correct?"

Chuuya snorted and looked at Dazai in disgust.

"Yes. I know now that you're a liar and definitely not to be trusted. Leave me alone!"

Ah, he was losing that small seed of trust that he had hoped he ignited inside Chuuya…

"Liar? Me? What-"

"Dazai!"

Said boy's question was interrupted by the stern voice of a woman that now approached the pair at a fast pace, still keeping her elegant and ladylike composure while at it.

The women's intriguing salmon hair was styled in a Geisha like bun, the ornate a single hair pin, fringe cut asymmetrically over her left eye. Even with her long and fast strides, her rosé dress still clung perfectly to her tall body, flowing slightly behind her.

She was a beautiful woman.

Only blemish was the deep frown on her carefully painted face, red lips drawn into a snarl, furious with the brown-haired boy she was searching for and just found in one of the most rundown alleyways she ever set foot into.

Ozaki Kouyou was a woman of class, born into highest society, hailing from a noble and old family. A woman of her class never would've even found dead in such an alleyway, regardless of the destruction brought upon Japan by the attack of the Kaiju. Yet here she was, uncaring of the filth she just stepped into, emanating an aura of authority and unaccepting of any backtalk.

She stopped in front of Dazai, gazing at him grudgingly. Dazai knew that he should feel intimidated and since the young woman was his direct higher up, he should at least show some subordination, but he just didn't care.

He had more important matters at hand, like Chuuya, who stared at Kouyou in bewilderment, unabashed by the fact that he openly gaped and was still as filthy as they come.

"Dazai. Where have you been?" Kouyou's tone was sharp, allowing no talking back and no smartass comments. With a big grin on his face, Dazai naturally decided to be a smartass.

"Well, you see, Kouyou-san, I already knew that the talks with the Australian ambassador would end poorly for us, that guy would never help us out in our matter, coward that he is. Sooo I decided to forego the needless and endleeeess talks and just explore the city, see if I can find something interesting."

Kouyou's lips curled up into a snarl (seriously, which woman could still look gorgeous while snarling like this?), not believing Dazai's, allowedly made-up, story one bit.

"Oh? Is that so?" The painted lips moved into a smirk. "And I suppose that you found something 'interesting' Dazai?"

Hah, this was his cue. Expecting this question, Dazai turned lavishly towards Chuuya, bowing slightly as he presented him to Kouyou, not unlike showcasing a wild animal tamed by a circus director.

"Kouyou-san, this here is Chuuya."

In the meantime, Chuuya had stopped his gawking at Kouyou, apparently remembering his tattered and filthy state, now he seemed unable to look at the lady in front of him, who was honestly speaking the exact opposite of himself.

The woman's face scrunched in confusion and what seemed to be slight disgust as she took in the battered stature of the boy in front of her, although nobody but Dazai would notice these fast-paced changes on her face, before it rested on a neutral wary expression.

"I just met him in exactly this place, he managed to hold his own against an entire group of bandits!"

This was obviously a lie and Kouyou would never buy this, she clearly realized that the boy was a prostitute after the first glance. The bewildered expression on Chuuya's face that quickly turned into a scowl towards Dazai was entirely worth it though.

"And?" Kouyou inquired. "That might be nice and all, but I don't see the importance of this? As sad as it is, even children have to hold their own in this new world."

For a woman this bright, Kouyou could be pretty unobservant at times.

Dazai excessively sighed.

"Kouyou-san, Chuuya here is special."

A raised eyebrow on Kouyou's side and a confused noise coming from Chuuya was enough inquire to let him go on.

"Look at his eyes~"

The unwillingness was clear on Kouyou's face, regardless she stepped forward and leaned slightly down towards Chuuya, studying his face. Her expression stayed carefully neutral.

Chuuya looked at Dazai in confusion and the brown-haired boy could feel the uneasiness rising in his body. Dazai smiled warmly, hoping that Chuuya would trust him this time and simply nodded.

Taking in deep breath, Chuuya turned towards Kouyou and stared into her pink orbs with his even more stunning blue eyes.

The formerly neutral kept face changed into a shocked expression immediately, Koyou had to hold a hand in front of her face to hide her surprise. The slight gasp that escaped her was audible for every person present though.

Chuuya's gaze faltered, his hands balled into fists and Dazai just knew that the other would either lash out or run away in the next moment.

Kouyou prevented that before Chuuya even had a chance to react, by grasping his face in both of her hands. Chuuya had no way of escaping her grip now, panic rising prominently on his features at being touched against his will.

The woman stared at him for another few seconds that must've felt like eternity for the redhead, before taking a step back, face full of wonder now.

"You're right, Dazai," she mumbled, still not taking her eyes off the strange boy in front of her. "This is interesting indeed." Dazai just hummed in return.

Snapping back to attention, Chuuya took a warily step back, becoming defensive once more.

"W-who are you? What do you want?"

A single harsh glance towards Dazai stopped him from making another smart-ass comment that was surely to come.

"I am Ozaki Kouyou, head of domestic policies concerning the city of Hong Kong and here on orders by Mori Ougai of the Shatterdome. You're called Chuuya?"

Dazai was watching Chuuya while Kouyou talked to him, taking in his emotions, from confusion of the woman's title to a spark of recognition at hearing Mori's name to a certain glint in those mesmerizing eyes at the mention of the Shatterdome.

So, he at least knew about the Jaeger's. Well of course he would, who didn't know about the fighting heroes of the Shatterdome who singlehandedly prevented the whole of Asia from collapsing? Even some slum kid in Japan which didn't get saved by those Jaegers knew of them. Most likely hoped for them to come when the Kaiju attacked. Despaired when no help came.

The boy nodded. "That's my name." His voice was still horse and clearly hurt him while speaking, yet he soldiered through, trying to sound polite and open enough for the woman in front of him.

Kouyou nodded. "You see, Chuuya, Dazai was correct, you are indeed interesting. Or shall I say, of interest of us? Especially your eyes."

The flinch Dazai expected of course came. Chuuya stared at the ground again, exactly like the last time Dazai mentioned his eyes – they were a sore spot without doubt.

"No, Chuuya, look at me."

Kouyou sounded softer now, taking on a motherly tone. "You misunderstand. Your eyes are a wonder. I'll say it bluntly: You shouldn't be still alive. And yet you are. You are a wonder. And so, so undeserving of this place, this situation, everything."

"And yet I am here," Chuuya muttered. Dazai couldn't suppress the laugh bubbling from his throat after hearing that muttered comeback.

"Yes, here you are. But you don't have to be."

Kouyou smiled, for the first time, Dazai saw her truly smile, it made her even more beautiful, nearly radiant. Chuuya seemed to notice that too, he had finally lifted his eyes off the ground and stared at the young woman in wonder.

"I know this seems sudden, but I'd like you to come with me, Chuuya. To Hong Kong. To the Shatterdome. I can't say what exactly will happen, but we – I – will take care of you. In return you will help us. I know you can do this."

It is a wondrous and curious thing, how some simple words, a few sentences, can change so much.

The look on Chuuya's face after hearing this, after been given a way-out, a chance for life, was an image Dazai would never forget his whole life. Those blue eyes, wide and shining with unshed tears, that mouth that tried so hard not to tremble and the whole picture of hope that Chuuya fought to keep off his face, but failed, it was beautiful.

Dazai couldn't help but smile, too, in return. He just knew that this was the beginning of something. A warm feeling in his heart, origin unknown to him, was spreading rapidly thorough his whole body. He would be part of this something, he would make sure of this.

"You really want me…?" Chuuya mumbled, voice now small, not daring to speak louder in case he was just imagining things.

Kouyou smiled. "I want you with me, yes."

She held out her hand.

"And I won't give you up. Never."

Chuuya's face teared up at hearing this, the tears now freely falling from his eyes. He accepted the outstretched hand and his small and dirtied fingers were encased by well-manicured fingers tightly, Kouyou didn't even glance at the dirt on his hand, staring into Chuuya's face, smiles warming both of their faces.

Dazai couldn't help but feel like an outsider who was undesired during this heartwarming scene. A pang in his heart made him wonder why he felt these emotions, emotions that even he couldn't identify. Didn't come Kouyou's change of heart rather sudden? Or was it just Chuuya's intoxicating self? It hurt him that somebody else was able to connect with Chuuya like this, but why? He did not know.

Kouyou kept Chuuya's hand in hers the whole way to the helicopter the group came with, never letting go, reassuring Chuuya through gestures and constant contact, that she didn't care about his appearance nor the stares that everyone unabashedly gave them.

She only addressed Dazai to inform him, that his face looked quite bloody and that he should please attend to it. She must felt immense joy whenever she looked at his broken nose.

"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are beautiful, Chuuya?" Kouyou smiled.

For the first time since Chuuya bonded with Kouyou – too fast, definitely too fast for Dazai – he looked at Dazai. Even Dazai was unable to read the other's gaze, the newfound emotions that twirled in those blue orbs.

"Yes," Chuuya said, Dazai wasn't sure who the other was addressing now, the other never left his eyes off Dazai. "Yes, once before."

These were the only words Chuuya 'exchanged' with Dazai during the whole trip to Hong Kong. To Dazai's defense, Chuuya was out of it as soon as he got comfortable in the helicopter, snuggling tightly against Kouyou, who kept stroking his matted hair, regarding the sleeping boy with a sad and mournful expression. The words were more than enough, today had been a special day, a day that would change their lives forever. Dazai knew that. It was perfect. It was scary.

Dazai's eyes never left Chuuya either.

The redhead was too confused and bleary to admire the Shatterdome in all its glory as soon as they arrived at their destination, simply walking next to Koyuou, trying to be as small as possible, which wasn't all that hard if they asked Dazai.

But nobody asked Dazai. In fact, nobody talked to Dazai and that pissed him off. He was the one who found Chuuya after all and he was the one the other 'bonded' with or whatever this crazy memory images were that they saw after their first touch. Before Kouyou arrived, Chuuya did talk to him, didn't he?! So what was wrong now? Dazai wouldn't stand on the sideline in this, oh no.

He huffed and ran after Chuuya and Kouyou who were already inside the Shatterdome while he was busy throwing a tantrum after being neglected. Well, he could just ask Chuuya.

Dazai gripped the other's sleeve, pulling Chuuya back while Kouyou went on, informing young chief Kunikida of what happened, not even noticing that her new charge was not by her side anymore.

As expected, Chuuya flinched at being touched but after realizing that it was only Dazai, he grumbled, adjusting his new blanket that the group provided him with; they hadn't had any clothes in Chuuya's size with them, so he had to stick to a fluffy, big blanket, although he didn't look too uncomfortable while walking around with it.

"What?" Chuuya hissed. Dazai raised an eyebrow, so much hostility!

Regardless, Dazai put on his best smile.

"Chuuuuya~ why aren't you talking to me anymore? What has the awesome Dazai Osamu done to deserve such treatment?"

His tone was overly-happy, inquiring, no threat at all.

The look of pure animosity Chuuya gave him in return quickly made his smile vanish.

"This! Exactly this!" Chuuya growled, violently tearing his arm away from Dazai.

"You're lying. Again. Everything you say is a fucking lie, Shuuji."

His entire body went cold. He couldn't move, couldn't stop Chuuya from turning away and leaving him alone in the cold and lonely corridor.

Shuuji…. How? But…

His body felt like ice.

No.

Shuuji was dead.

I'm so sorry for this...
It's angsty and Chuuya is OOC... I can't apologize enough. Though it is so much fun to finally write skk!

I just hoped that I didn't scare you off with this (the next Interlude WILL get worse) and that you'll be back for the next chapter, it will be shin soukoku again~

Also many many thanks for your sweet and kind reviews! I'm so happy that you took the time to write them! I love you all!

Seems like I get finally around to navigate this page... I know how to add a link now! So please, come and talk to me~ Tumblr, Insta