Summary: Ougai Mori—Yokohama's most infamous underground doctor—is a formidable genius with a reputation on the same level as the Port Mafia's. His clientele and contacts range from the aforementioned Port Mafia to the Japanese government's Special Abilities Department. Ougai Mori's least known trait is his proclivity to somewhat accidentally adopt children with special abilities. Dad!Mori.
Never to Return
—Chuuya Nakahara
Yokohama, Japan
"I heard the Port Mafia Boss died, Mori-sensei," Fukuzawa said.
Mori looked up at the statement. He nodded, gravely replying, "Yes, it was unfortunate. He passed away the other night after naming his successor."
"Two days ago, the night of the sleepover, wasn't it?" Fukuzawa questioned.
Mori smiled.
And that was all the confirmation Fukuzawa needed as to what Mori had been doing that night.
XXX
A Few Weeks Later
"Act human."
Elise relaxed her shoulders. A smile formed on her face. "Yes, Mori-san," she chirped.
Mori frowned. "Stop."
Elise straightened up again. It's smile looked penciled on, instead of genuine.
Mori hesitated before leaning forward and asking, "Are you an it or a her?" A minute passed in silence. Irritation flashed in Mori's eyes. "Answer."
"I am. . .I am whatever you want me to be, Mori-san." Elise's voice lacked all emotion.
Mori snorted. "Not really," he muttered, remembering his attempts to change Elise's core appearance. Although he could change what age Elise looked like, the blond hair and blue eyes were there to stay. "Where did you come from?"
"You."
Mori didn't know what he had been hoping for, but that definitely wasn't it; but he shouldn't have been expecting anything else with Elise being his ability. He sighed and stood up. "Elise, you may keep acting however you like as long as you obey me."
There was no reaction from Elise.
To him, Elise looked wrong whether it was acting human or not. He still didn't know for sure which one was worse.
He would let this go on. And if it ever had ill effects, he would simply forbid Elise from acting human. . . . His mind tacked on, 'voluntarily', but he mercilessly crushed the thought.
XXX
"You've been set up solidly at this point." Mori smiled. "Getting the Colonel to back you was a hard and brilliant idea that you managed to pull off spectacularly."
"Thank you," Kouyou replied quietly. "Would you really not reconsider leaving?"
Mori stared at his cup of tea for a few minutes. His eyes were cloudy, full of responses and reasons for both staying and leaving. He put it down with a decisive clink. "The strength of my testimony laid partially in me being a neutral outsider." He chuckled. "Besides, I doubt you would want me as your doctor." His eyes danced with mirth.
XXX
Mori watched Dazai stand on the bridge's stone railing. He had his hands out of his pockets as a precaution. "If you jump, I'll fish you out again," he idly warned.
"I want to accomplish a cheerful and energetic suicide without bothering anyone," Dazai cheerfully proclaimed. "If there a way to do that?" He took one step forward. His foot was half on sturdy stone and half on thin air.
Mori sighed. He inched his way forward, quietly. "No. Even for some of the worst scum of the earth. . . someone cries. Someone misses them."
Dazai laughed. "Really?" He started walking along the edge. His steps looked reckless and oddly whimsical. They contained the total lack of fear present in some children.
Mori sat on the stone railing. He kept his fingers curled into a fist, as otherwise he would be yanking Dazai off the ledge. His worry did not show in his voice, but his weariness certainly did. "If you can't do it for yourself, and if you can't do it for the hope of tomorrow or the possibility of finding a reason, then live for us."
Dazai stopped again, his shoe half-way to the stone. He set his foot down. He looked at the water below the old bridge. What to do? The water still looked inviting, but he didn't jump. He still hated his reflection and his scars and everything else about himself that felt cheap and faked and empty. But he didn't jump. Instead, he turned and jumped down. His shoes hit the stone with a harsh 'rap'. "Fine. At least for now."
XXX
Two Years Later
Mori looked up from his book to see Dazai and several unknown boys standing in the hallway.
One of the boys had red hair and wore a green hoodie, instead of walking he was carried by another boy.
"What happened?" Yosano asked. She had already jumped up from the couch and over to the boys.
"Chuuya is injured." Dazai said, as if the simple sentence explained everything. His tone was cheerful despite the serious atmosphere around him.
Chuuya was obviously the unconscious redhead, Mori quickly deduced. Mori stood up, unhurried so as to not startle his guests. "You came here to get him some medical attention, Dazai-kun?" He drawled the obvious as he walked over.
Dazai shrugged.
"Are you the doctor?" A boy asked. He was the one carrying Chuuya and the leader of the group.
"Yes, Ougai Mori. And you are?"
"Shirase." The boy didn't give any more information, obviously wary.
But that didn't matter to Mori, he was neutral when it came to gangs and Dazai would tell him everything later anyway. "What's the injury?"
Dazai quickly reported in the medical terminology that had been drilled into him.
Mori nodded. He telegraphed his movements, leaning forward to brush aside the hair on the side of Chuuya's head. The wound was a deep gash, the area around it swollen. "It'll need stitches. He will probably wake up within the next day. He might need another day or two to be safe," he informed.
"How much do we need to pay you?" Shirase asked.
"Nothing." Mori almost smirked at the boy's openly suspicious looks. He smoothly continued on, "In return, consider this my ward's payment for whatever mess he caused." He gestured towards Dazai.
"Fair enough," Shirase decided.
"Dazai-kun, help Shirase-kun carry the boy into the office. Put him on a bed. Yosano-chan, please make some tea for us." Mori shook his head at Yosano's questioning look-the girl shouldn't use her ability.
XXX
Mori sat in a chair in his office. Aside from Chuuya, he had no patients today, though he would likely get some walk-ins later tonight. The distinct lack of patients wasn't easy to tell however, with how Chuuya and Dazai made up for it with their own noise. He studied the two boys.
"But you're still short," Dazai triumphantly replied.
Chuuya gaped for a moment. He quickly beaned Dazai in the face with the pillow from his bed. He grabbed his pillow before Dazai could and wielded it threateningly—or as threateningly as he could while stuck in a bed.
Dazai retreated to the end of the bed, hands held up in front of his face and chest defensively. "It's true."
"Say that one more time, Dazai, I swear-"
Mori recognized the spirit in Chuuya's blue eyes, that will to live. The boy was rough around the edges, but if polished properly, would become a good, dependable leader. Right now, Chuuya lacked self awareness, some smarts (he wasn't dumb of course, just not the best with strategy), and level-headedness. But if Chuuya gained those and retained his good qualities such as loyalty empathy. . . . The potential of the boy was immense.
As for Dazai. . . what Dazai lacked was that fire, the will to live, regardless of difficulties and the general despair and pain of life. Dazai possessed the smarts and level-headed, but had a severe deficiency of loyalty and empathy.
'They make up for what each other lacked,' Mori couldn't help but think. And wasn't that an interesting idea. He would have to see what happened.
XXX
Mori did one final check on Chuuya.
The cut on the boy's head was healing nicely. And if Chuuya's hair was arranged right, it was completely hidden.
"Have you noticed any differences, Chuuya-kun? Are you feeling more irritable, sad, etc.?" Mori asked.
"No, Mori-san."
"Having trouble sleeping or sleeping more than usual? No headaches or nausea?"
"No to both," Chuuya said.
"Good. You're in the clear." Mori put a checkmark under 'N/A' for symptoms. "Now, you'll need to come back in a bit."
Chuuya's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"
Mori smiled cheerfully, the expression a mirror image of Dazai's as Dazai's was of his. He waved a hand towards Chuuya's head. "I'll need to take those stitches out." His tone remained perfectly straight-forward despite the obvious sarcasm intended by the words. "Unless, of course, you wish to have those stitches permanently?"
Chuuya blushed slightly and mumbled, "No, Mori-san."
XXX
"What do you think about moral relativism?" Dazai asked. "I mean there's the whole Is/Ought principle in philosophy. The world is morally neutral, we can not deduce values from nature. And even then, there's no universal standard we can see, right? Everyone disagrees."
Mori raised his eyebrows. "People disagree all the time. Does debate on a topic mean there is no real answer? By no means, both sides are engaged in a pursuit of the truth. If a person says x and another person says y, does that mean neither x nor y are true?" He snorted. "Besides, look at the effects. Subjective view of morality may sound nice, but only results in horrors. Especially on a government level."
Dazai pointed out Mori was not exactly the person to be talking about morality. After all, doctor Mori may be, but the man was an underground doctor, Mori was a criminal.
"Does crime take away the ability to reason?" Mori scoffed. "And no government has ever been wrong?" He smirked. "Do you wish to start with four of the 1900s worst? Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Mao, or shall we go with examples of current governments?"
Dazai held up his hands in quiet defeat, sulking. He should have known better to challenge Mori with a half-baked idea.
XXX
It became a common occurrence to see Chuuya collapsed on the living room couch, after sometime in the early morning. His visits had started increasing as his trust grew.
Chuuya functioned as the household's natural clock on weekends. Dazai would wake him up, and then Chuuya's shouts would wake everyone else up. Eventually they settled on playing video games in the morning.
XXX
"The Boss might be back."
And wasn't that a terrifying rumor.
Mori only wished it wasn't true. That he wasn't having it confirmed by Kouyou. He gave a world-weary sigh. "I can have this investigated fully for us."
"By who?" For what, Kouyou also meant. Allies they may be, but things were not done freely by criminals. No, if not money or people, there were favors being owed or favors being repaid.
"Dazai-kun and the King of Sheep, as long as you release the Sheep members you have on my word."
Kouyou straightened up. "You're sure the King of Sheep won't betray us?"
Mori smiled. "The boy has the most integrity I have ever seen in a person," he assured.
XXX
A Few Days Later
Chuuya still was uncomfortable in office, which was why Mori settled for treating the boys on the couch.
"You're completely sure it was Rando?" Mori asked. He gently smeared antibiotic cream on Dazai's cheek and put a patch over the cut.
"You don't believe us?" Chuuya said. He looked offended at Mori's question, mouth curling down into a scowl.
"He openly admitted it to us," Dazai said. He was frowning slightly. His eyes had dulled to a dark brown.
Mori shook his head at the two. "I'm simply checking. Why? Because I'm the one who has to explain to the Port Mafia Boss about why of one her sub-executives was killed by the two of you."
The two boys expressions turned from miffed to sheepish.
Dazai laughed to calm the nervous flutter in his chest. That would be a bit difficult to explain without putting them all in danger from retaliation by the Port Mafia. His voice dropped as he muttered, "Right. . . ."
XXX
Ranpo immediately headed for the living room, leaving the two adults behind.
"It's been a while since you dropped by," Mori said. "Tea, Fukuzawa-dono?"
"It would be appreciated. I'm rather parched right now." Fukuzawa entered the kitchen after Mori and immediately sat down. He had been on his feet working most of the day.
Mori was unprepared from having to deal with other things. He started boiling water in an old kettle.
Curiosity was a dreadful thing. And it was often revived by rumors. In this case, ones about a mafia boss back from the dead.
"How did you get out of the Port Mafia?" Fukuzawa asked. He had already connected it to the death of the previous Port Mafia Boss, but. . . .
"Do you really want to know?" Mori replied.
"Is it better if I don't?"
"Probably? One less life threatening secret for you to carry around, anyway." Mori shrugged.
There was silence for a few minutes.
A whistling noise broke it.
Mori pulled the kettle off the stove.
Sympathy tugged at Fukuzawa's features, softening them. ". . .Do you want to tell me?"
Mori smiled in a wistful, bittersweet manner. "Perhaps, some day." Some day when the secret couldn't bring down his life like the flimsy house of cards it was.
XXX
A Few Days Later
Dazai shuffled his feet. "I. . . capitalized on the mistakes of others?" His arm was wrapped under Chuuya's shoulder, the only thing keeping the bloodied and battered boy upright.
Mori's gaze hardened. "Explain."
"He was betrayed by the Sheep."
"We will talk more about this later, Dazai-kun." Mori's voice was stern. He hauled Chuuya into his arms, careful to avoid the knife sticking out of the boy's side. "Get Yosano-chan, now."
XXX
Chuuya had left to go somewhere, presumably to the slums. He came back with a young woman in a kimono who allowed herself to reluctantly be pulled along.
Mori observed the slash in the red fabric of the woman's clothes, dots of red highlighting the knowledge that whatever weapon it was-something with a blade-had broken skin.
"Ane-san helped me. She got hurt," Chuuya quickly explained.
Mori stood up. He put a hand on Chuuya's shoulder-the reassuring squeeze that followed from him made the boy swallow any further, frantic words. A touch of amusement entered his eyes. "Let's head into my office, Kouyou-kun. I can treat your grievous wounds there."
Kouyou nodded, wondering secretly about how the boy and the doctor were connected. She felt sheepish at the doctor's words. "Thank you, Mori-sensei."
XXX
Chuuya didn't talk about what happened. He just stayed at the house, nursing a bad mood.
He was far more tactile with people than the rest of them.
Yosano was okay with the occasional spontaneous hug from Chuuya, but she preferred being the one to initiate contact.
Dazai was the most fine with physical contact. He also reciprocated in the form of slinging his arm slung over Chuuya's shoulders—he would teasingly use Chuuya's shoulder as an elbow rest and let Chuuya fall asleep on him.
The three children would often sit together, scrunching up next to each other and/or Mori.
Mori kept most of his gestures of affection to patting the children's heads and ruffling their hair. Dazai reacted with fake annoyance, but leaned in all the same. The face Chuuya pulled at his hair being messed up was always funny. Yosano took it as an invite to hug his side, arms still too short too wrap around his middle. His hugs were given when crying and injuries occurred, awkwardness washed away by his concern. Piggy backs happened when they were out in public, Mori had three children to keep track of and only had two hands.
XXX
Yosano grinned. "Begin."
Dazai and Chuuya tore open the Snickers bars in their hands and stuffed them in their mouths. They continued to grab more small chocolates and unwrap them, viciously chewing and swallowing the chocolate already in their mouths. They finished the bag of candy shortly and Yosano counted the two piles of wrappers.
"Dazai wins," Yosano announced.
Dazai cheered.
Chuuya groaned, resting his head on the table. He was not looking forward to tomorrow.
XXX
Mori walked into the living room. "How are you doing Chuuya-kun?" He idly asked.
"I'm doing fine."
And that would have been a normal response, if Chuuya hadn't been singing it.
Mori stared. An odd expression settled on his face, his mouth opening slightly of its own accord.
Chuuya blushed, pale face growing a distinct red at the reaction. "Sorry," he sang.
Mori shook his head and continued on his way to the kitchen. Knowing wasn't worth it, especially this early in the morning.
XXX
It was the usual slow evening at the house. As Mori had no clients, he was on the living room couch, reading. And as always, Yosano, Chuuya, and Dazai took that as an invitation to squish themselves on the couch and chatter among themselves. Occasionally Mori would interject a question or answer as needed, but largely stuck to reading.
Rain started to patter on the tiled roof. It grew in intensity, the plink of droplets turning to the loud slapping sounds of a downpour.
Mori looked up. An unrestrained frown slipped onto his face, darkening as the storm went on. He closed his eyes momentarily then went back to reading.
His eyelids started to drop from his exhaustion. The sentence he was on blurred into an ineligible line of kanji.
Mori considered if it was time to actually go to bed and put Dazai and Yosano in their own rooms. He looked at Chuuya, Dazai, and Yosano. He came to the unfortunate conclusion that he would be unable to get up without waking the children. All three of them were attached to the man in various ways: Yosano had wrapped her arms around his right elbow; the top of his left shoulder had been claimed by Dazai as a pillow; his right wrist had Chuuya's hand wrapped around it.
Lightning cracked nearby, throwing a flash of light into the room through the window. Three seconds later, thunder followed, booming through the house-Mori could feel the sound vibrating harshly in his chest.
Mori looked up at the ceiling then down to the children around him-they were all still sleeping soundly. He sighed and closed his book.
A/N
Chuuya, my favorite, has arrived.
The Colonel was a Port Mafia Executive and an ability user. He was mentioned as having died in the Dragon Head Rush.
The symptoms Mori was asking Chuuya about are those linked to concussions. Since Chuuya had head trauma, checking for things like concussions is a good idea.
I'd like it to be noted that depression and grief can come and go. And that character development can be progression or regression. Mori is going to be dealing with both his own (and some of his wards's) problems throughout the story.
Timeline note: Mori is 30, Yosano is 15, and Dazai/Chuuya are 11.
Chapters:
1-Mori
2-Yosano
3-Fukuzawa
4-Dazai
5-Chuuya
Next: 6-?
-Silver