It was the first time Chuya was genuinely worried about Dazai (well, he always worried about Dazai, but it was the first time he had a real reason to worry). Because it was also the first time that Dazai was kidnapped. And Dazai never got jumped. Never.

It was always him jumping other people, or other people attempting to jump him, only to be outsmarted by that stupid head of his. He tried desperately to search through his memory, for anything that might signal Dazai knew what he was doing. Maybe a wink, some hand gesture, a note hidden under the bed? But there was nothing. Dazai truly was kidnapped, and for once, he hadn't predicted every possible scenario that could possibly come to be.


He didn't know what to do. Dazai would always be there to tell him what their next move was, what the best way to approach a problem would be. He didn't know if he should tell Mori about Dazai's kidnapping. He didn't know if he should take the bait, because after all, if they could get rid of Dazai so easily, he wouldn't stand much of a chance, either. However, he wasn't completely lost without his stupid partner.

He did some research (scarring some men until they peed their pants and told him everything) and found out that the Whaling Gulf was an old hotel that got closed down after a young girl was murdered in her bed. Some people believed that her ghost was still there, killing anyone that dared venture inside. It would be the perfect place for someone to disappear: deserted, far from civilization, and covered with a superstitious rumour. If he were overpowered and kidnapped, there might be nothing the Port mafia could do about it.

But it was late. It was almost 5pm, and however much power he had, he couldn't think of a better solution in such a short amount of time. He could only trust in the force of nature, and his own power.

Chuya wasn't religious, but he still sent a silent prayer to any deities that might be listening.


It was late in winter, and so the sky was starting to turn pink at that time in the evening. Chuya's shadow was stretched out many times larger than himself, forming a black carpet inviting him into the deserted building. Chuya walked through the locked front door, the padlock giving way easily after rusting down to barely more than an empty husk. There was a tiny antechamber that was empty of all furniture except a low wooden stool, a pair fuzzy of slippers carefully placed beneath the wooden frame. A long corridor, much longer than the actual building, lead deeper into the hotel, the corridor curving ever so slightly, unnoticeably, but so that you couldn't see an end.

"Follow me Nakahara-san" said a wheezing voice coming from another door to the antechamber, one that wasn't previously there.

Strangely, Chuya complied, and followed the old steward(?) through the endless corridor, counting the number on the doors as they went. 1018, 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1062, 1084, 1042... He was glad the steward was there to guide him, because even though there weren't any forks in the corridor, he felt like if there wasn't this old man to guide him, he could be lost in the building for eternity.

He didn't know how long they walked, but at some point they came to a door that marked the end of the endless corridor.

1004

...

Chuya's hand slid to the doorknob.

Just as he was about to turn it, the door swung inwards by itself, and there, standing in the same suit he wore the night before, was Dazai.

...

His friend smiled.

"Chuya".

A woman, no, the woman from last night was sitting opposite him. There was a low wooden table between the two of them, on which was three cups of warm tea, a pot of sugar in the middle.

Chuya was seriously confused.

Dazai put down his tea and patted the empty space next to him.

"Why don't you take a seat?" said the lady.

Chuya stays standing

"Not until you tell me what's going on" he turns to face Dazai

Dazai continues with his drink, whilst the lady sighs "Sit down and I'll explain everything."

Chuya glares at her, then looks back to Dazai. He seemed completely relaxed, so Chuya sat down.

"As you both know, my own organisation and yours has had a rival relationship for three decades, causing more than enough bloodshed for ourselves, as well as innocents caught up in the events."

She stopped to blow at her tea.

"Your friend here has suggested an alliance. And I was willing to listen."

Chuya looked at Dazai, shocked. But since he didn't seem to be bothered, the lady kept on going.

"Have you ever heard of the ancient god, Arahabaki? He made an appearance eight years ago, and we have been trying to find him ever since. If we had his power, it could make our two organisations the most powerful and feared in possibly all of the world."

Even though Chuya himself was a person who liked conversations to be to the point, this lady was very straightforward.

"Of course, neither of our organisations alone could control him, but together we may stand a chance."

Then something hit Chuya. "If you want an alliance, why tell all this to me? Why not talk to Mori?"

The lady grinned. Maniacally.

"Because you, my pretty boy, are the incarnation of this powerful god."

Chuya was stunned. But he didn't have time to recover form the shock, because not a second after the lady told him the information that would affect the rest of his life, the lady's face started to melt and morph. Her face turned from a mafia cruel to a maniac wild, her neat hair rising into a nest of writhing black tangles. That was a face Chuya would never forget. And his memory served him well in later years, but not that it was of much importance at the moment. The Dazai sitting next to him also disappeared, instead he stood behind the lady, his hand touching her bare neck, cancelling out whatever illusion ability she had been using. The room around them suddenly looked much older and less well kept than it had moments before.

"Chuya! Help out!"

He was momentarily brought back out of the shock by Dazai struggling to fight the woman, her superior age and height making it hard for Dazai to wrestle her. She seemed to be pretty experienced, as it was not everyday an opponent gave Dazai trouble in a fight.

Chuya used his ability to fling the woman to the side. The impact should have killed her, but she got right up and started fighting with them again, as if nothing had happened. Her attention was now focused on Chuya. As she engaged in a fist fight with Chuya, Dazai took out a knife from his coat (he probably had a whole barracks in there) and aimed it at her throat. She seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, for before it was able to burry in the tender flesh of her neck, she ducked, swinging her leg to unbalance Dazai as she went down.

Chuya's ability seemed to have no affect on her, she was more experienced in hand-in-hand fighting than Dazai, and she never seemed to tire. Chuya realised that if it went on for much longer, they would have the worse hand. But they were already doing everything they could to fight her. What more could they do?

You worry, mortal?

.

I can give you the power, but I need something in return.

.

Nothing in this world is free, boy. Give me your body, and I will help you.

.

Don't worry, I will not hurt your friend.


That was the first time Chuya had used Corruption.

The woman disappeared once his power was activated.

Chuya didn't remember anything, only the touch of a dead man'd hand.

That dead man had saved him from Corruption.

He had saved the dead man from destruction.

The dead man had saved himself from turning hollow.

But he could not refill the dead man's husk.


SORRY! I know it's an awful chapter, I know it's an awful ending, and I know everything is awful about this chapter. The conversation is crap, the fight is crap, but... I'm really to lazy to make it any better ;)