He hadn't realized it until that moment in the crowded train, where for the briefest moment he'd felt someone else's touch, that Dazai couldn't remember the last time he'd had that happen. The fellow commuter had excused himself to get by Dazai to the exit doors for his stop and had brought his hand up to Dazai's shoulder for balance as he maneuvered around the other passengers.
"Sorry, apologies," the tall man had said as he noticed the moment of surprise on Dazai's face at the brief contact. He tipped his hat and left the train and a stunned 15 year old behind. Raising his hand to cover where the man's hand had been, Dazai again tried to think of the last time he'd clapped someone on the shoulder or shook hands with another person. His memory was impeccable for his age, so it wasn't a matter of remembering, it was the fact that it hadn't happened in the first place.
Dazai had learned to be wary of his surroundings at a young age once he became aware of his gifted ability. Unable to control it, there was always a chance that only a moment's touch could render someone's ability useless, possibly putting them in danger. Once word of his power got out to the underworld, there were as many people wanting to kill him as there were gifted that sought to avoid him. Death was welcome to approach him, but he wasn't going to let it happen unless it was on his terms.
The warmth from the stranger's touch was long gone before he even stepped off the train, but Dazai held onto the memory of that sensation for the rest of his trip. As he left the station and walked back to the apartment that Mori had arranged for him, Dazai took the time to watch the crowd around him. He saw that there were points of contact in almost every interaction he witnessed.
"It's about time you showed up, Dazai, you were supposed to be here half an hour ago to give me the package you went to pick up today," said Chuuya with an annoyed tone to his voice as he stood outside Dazai's apartment building with his hands shoved into his front pants pockets.
"Just a little crowded on the train, that's all, no need to get your hat rumpled," Dazai replied as he retrieved the thick envelope from his inner jacket pocket and held it out for Chuuya, who snatched it out of his hand and tucked it into his own jacket quickly. "Getting settled in as the Port Mafia's newest errand boy?"
"I'm no bottom of the barrel errand boy, you bastard! Every job that I'm assigned carries important weight, I treat them all as if they were highly classified and crucial."
Sparing a short laugh, Dazai responded, "Is that so, Chuuya? So just how crucial is that packet of Hirotsu's dry cleaning receipts exactly? Oops, I'm probably not at that high of a clearance level to be told such information, please don't tell on me!" He watched as Chuuya scowled at him while pulling the envelope back out, confirming that the contents were just as Dazai had said.
"This isn't funny, you piece of shit! Is this the real package or not?!"
Shaking his head, Dazai handed over the document-sized envelope he had tucked into the back waistband of his pants. "I'm sure the boss and Hirotsu would be equally grateful to you for handling both with such care. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Chuuya!" Dazai turned away and waved his hand as he left a fuming redhead in front of his apartment building.
Hanging his coat by the door, Dazai walked over to the small window that looked down on the street and spotted Chuuya stalking away with his hands back in his pockets. He sat down in the nearby armchair and looked at his own hands, dwelling on the thought that he had instinctively avoided Chuuya's fingers as he took the envelopes from him. It was ingrained in him to avoid contact with other gifted ability users, but instead, he'd taken to shutting out any and all human contact.
The phantom touch against his shoulder haunted Dazai once again as he pictured the man as he passed. Those interactions were so commonplace in cramped quarters, practically expected if you dare to board the trains.
Taking the train more often didn't sound like a bad idea to Dazai as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Boarding the train, Dazai kept close to the doors, gripping the bracing pole for balance as more passengers came aboard with each stop. His apartment wasn't that far from Port Mafia's headquarters, closer than where he had gone for yesterday's mission at least, but to satisfy this new curiosity over physical contact Dazai decided to ride rather than walk.
With each stop, the ebb and flow of people boarding and exiting exhilarated him. Keeping his hands on the pole, Dazai felt shoulders bump against his back, shoes stepping on his toes, and hands against his elbows as they slid between the sea of bodies to get where they were going. Chills ran through Dazai from the point of contact and up his spine, settling at the base of his skull where it bristled and warmed him.
Another new feeling was the reaction he felt in his lower belly with each brush of a hand across his back or side. By the end of his trip, Dazai had to focus his attention more on calming down his spontaneous erection than getting to experience more contact among the strangers on the train. Blushing, he quickly left the train car and closed his coat around him to hide the bulge as he distracted himself with unsavory thoughts to cool off his surge of hormones.
"That was… unexpected," Dazai muttered to himself as he succeeded in going soft and continued his walk to the Mafia's building. It wouldn't have been so bad to take care of that sudden urge, but he had to keep his mind clear for today's business with Mori. He instead grew excited for his commute back home, more willing to follow through on his body's reaction at home rather than work.
"You're looking refreshed, Dazai, which will be of use for the errand I'd like for you to run for me today," Mori said as Dazai entered his office without knocking. "It appears that a small gang to the east is stirring up trouble for businesses under our protection. They seem to be new and unaware of the territory boundaries within the city. I'd like for you to help educate them on their surroundings, Dazai. Here's a train pass with enough credits on it to get you there and back. Once it's done, report in by phone. That'll be all for the day so you're free to go once you're finished. Feel free to keep the train pass, who knows when you'll need to go the distance for our little organization again."
Dazai took the card from Mori's desk, "How harsh should my lesson be, Mori?"
"Well, if they're unwilling to follow the lesson, it should go without saying that they should be expelled, correct? We can't afford to show weakness so soon after the Port Mafia's change in leadership, so use your judgment as you meet them. If they don't seem the type to play well with others, remove them from the equation. I expect that won't be an issue for you, Dazai," Mori said with his tone as slithery as a snake.
"Understood, I'll call you when it's done," Dazai said as he tucked the train pass into his jacket and left Mori's office, quickly locating the closest subway entrance and rushing down the stairs. He scanned the card and leaped over the turnstill in order to get onto the train before the doors closed, not willing to wait for the next train headed for his destination.
Disappointed at how empty the train car was, Dazai instead focused on his targets, the small rival gang that was too naive to realize where they had staked their claim. Even though he'd only been under the Mafia's employ for a short amount of time, Dazai knew that this would be a simple job. Of course, it would only be simple on his side of things. The gang he'd soon meet will remember this day far differently than he would, for sure.
"Ugh, they're all the same, so bold and brash until you start popping off fingernails," Dazai lamented as he dragged himself back to the subway entrance. He stopped beside the railing and pulled out his phone to call Mori. "They weren't in the mood to learn a lesson. I'd suggest sending a cleaning crew down to the location they gave for the meet. I'm done for the day, see you tomorrow, Mori."
Hardly waiting for a reply from his boss, Dazai hung up the phone and wearily stumbled down the subway stairs and onto the platform. Pleased to see that the foot traffic had picked up in late afternoon, Dazai felt some of his energy return as he retook his place near the train's door. After several stops, the train had reached a crowded capacity similar to the morning rush.
The latest stop let on more passengers than it had leave, and with that wave, Dazai was pushed from his place holding the pole and pressed against the nearby window. Watching as the concrete bled away as the train picked up speed, Dazai's vision blurred amongst the dull scenery outside the train. A hand placed all too purposely against his hip pulled him out of his hypnotic daze.
Without much room to move, Dazai couldn't turn around to see whoever was touching him. Their fingers quickly dug a way under his shirt, calloused hands running along his slim waist and stomach. His own hands pressed against the window, Dazai found any movement met with resistance from the crowd.
"This is the best part about taking the train at rush hour, feeling up helpless little runts like you that can't do anything but give in and enjoy it," a faceless voice whispered against the shell of his ear. Their hands grew bolder, the first invader sliding upwards to cinch its fingers around his nipple while the other wandered south, dipping inside of his waistband.
The sudden shock of this assault was compounded by the exhilaration of another person touching Dazai's body unprovoked. His first instinct is to fight to free himself of his assailant's grasp, already situated to retaliate. But the bare fingers scraping against his skin brought along with them the thought to let it be. If he could get aroused by something as heinous as this pervert's wandering hands, then perhaps this was what he truly deserved.
So Dazai's defenses fell, his stance weakened as he let the stranger continue to grope him. His breath getting heavy, Dazai's limited space for movement became even smaller as the man pressed himself against Dazai's back. Fully aroused, Dazai could feel it pressing into his lower back as the stranger sunk his hand lower until he felt Dazai's own erection.
"Getting off on this, you're the worst kind of trash, aren't ya?"
Who was Dazai to argue that point? He'd been the one to start taking the train just to feel another person's touch in the first place. Wasn't this the logical progression of that intention? Only the lowest kind of people would use this as a way to satisfy such a trivial need. Dazai felt the man tug open his belt, feeding it out of the loop before undoing his button and zipper to drop his pants down to his knees.
Those strange hands found new skin to invade, exposing more of Dazai even though the other passengers were stuck too close together to be able to see what was going on only an arm's length away. A momentary pause had Dazai thinking that the stranger had given up, amused enough to leave him with his pants down and dignity even lower than that. It wasn't until he felt the press of the stranger's hard-on against his own body that he realized why the man had backed off momentarily. He had his own clothes to discard.
The train lurched as it slowed down for its next stop. The stranger pushed Dazai up against the window, a silent warning for him to stay put and not try to get away as the other commuters shuffled their way around each other to get out of the train car. Not as many people boarded on this stop, although it was still crowded. Dazai stared out the window blankly, not even registering the images that passed by as the stranger rocked himself against Dazai's body.
"People like you really piss me off, waiting to take advantage of someone at their most vulnerable disgusts me. Allow me to show you how I deal with things that disgust me," a cocky voice said behind Dazai, now pulled out of his daze as he recognized the person behind those words.
It only took a single flick of Chuuya's finger to send the pervert flying across the train car, pants tangled at his ankles as he stared up at the red-haired teen that had just manhandled someone three times his size. He struggled to pull his pants back up as he hopped to his feet.
"Okay man, I get it, just back off before I get angry," the stranger said, oblivious to who he was speaking to. Chuuya's eyes widened as he stepped forward, the nearby passengers moving as far from his path as they could.
"No, I'm not convinced you do get it, you shitty excuse for a human being," Chuuya said as he leaned down to grab the man by his shirt collar, manipulating the gravity around him until he was as easy to lift as a feather. Frozen in fear, the pervert hardly moved as Chuuya carried him to the exit door like a kid would carry a balloon. Touching the doors with his free hand, Chuuya forced them open, the wind gushing into the train car as an alarm sounded to signal the open doors.
Chuuya leaned the pervert out of the open doors, a grin taking over his face. "Consider this your lesson, I'd suggest finding another mode of transportation from now on," and with that, Chuuya pushed him out of the train, where he disappeared with a brief scream. Dusting off his hands, Chuuya grabbed the exposed parts of the doors and easily pulled them back together, triggering the alarms to stop.
Looking to his left, Chuuya saw the teen that had fallen victim to the pervert standing still as stone. He walked over to him, only realizing who it was as he got closer. "Dazai, what the hell are you doing on this train?"
His arms shaking as they were still pressed against the window, Dazai stiffly shrugged, "business." Unable to convince his body to move after the incident, his pants were still bunched up around his knees. It wasn't until he felt another set of hands reach for them and tug them up that he managed to turn his head to see who was next to touch him.
"I'm just covering you up, Dazai, no one wants to see your scrawny ass," Chuuya said from behind him as he brought his pants up to his waist and did up the button and zipper. Before he could touch the belt, Dazai grabbed Chuuya's hands within his own and tugged them forward, pulling Chuuya's chest against his back. He tucked Chuuya's arms against his chest and stomach, leaning his forehead against the window glass as he tried to feel comforted by the embrace he'd stolen from Chuuya.
Taking in a deep breath, Chuuya realized Dazai's intention and moved to hug the teen that had just been taken advantage of in such a terrible way. He could go back to belittling and scolding Dazai tomorrow, for now it was enough to make him aware that he was safe now.