One Month Later…
Chuuya watched the streets roll by from the tinted window of the town car he was currently in, the chatter around him dulling to background noise. He was doing everything he could not to lose it again—he's done that enough for the past month, thank you very much. After multiple conversations with both his sister and Atsushi—which calmed him more than he thought it would—and copious amounts of alcohol during that first week, he has made his peace with what he's about to do… more or less. He made the decision and he knows it's the right one, but that doesn't mean he had to like it. He has accepted it, though.
And today is the day they will be meeting with the Tsushima Family to finalize the details of the alliance, as well as introduce him to his "fiancé" for the first time. Yeah, he still hasn't met the guy who was so intent on marrying him; not for lack of trying on their part, but Kansuke was firm on the fact that Chuuya would not go anywhere near the other heir until the details were hammered out. He didn't want the Tsushima's pulling any funny tricks, as they were bound to do.
Chuuya still didn't know if he agreed with his father's proclamation, but it did give him more time to ready himself for this.
Fidgeting against his left side pulled his attention over to the teen sitting next to him, the silver-haired weretiger doing his best to keep his cool—though, honestly, that had never really been his strong suit. His nervousness was a near palpable thing, nearly visible to anyone who looked at him. Chuuya couldn't really blame him, though.
One thing that the Tsushima's were very clear on was that once the alliance was cemented, Chuuya would be living with them, and gave them no choice but to accept those terms because they made logical sense. Even if they didn't like them. The Tsushima's argument was that they only have the one heir, so him leaving wasn't feasible, along with the fact that Kannushi was just targeting the Nakahara Family, so the heir would be in more danger with them. That, and the Nakahara's have the two heirs, Kouyou and Chuuya, so the Nakahara's wouldn't really be "losing" anything with Chuuya leaving. They still have an heir apparent for the Family. A win-win that even Ranpo couldn't find the fault in—not for lacking of trying, anyway.
Colette, though, wouldn't let it go so easily. She was insistent that if Chuuya was going to go live with the people who were their enemy up until a month ago, someone from the Nakahara Family would be sent with him. That was nonnegotiable. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, Colette could be rather intimidating when needed), the Tsushima's agreed to that. So, after much back and forth on who would be the right choice to send with Chuuya, they finally landed on Atsushi. Not only because the two already had a close bond and Atsushi was strong enough to be able to protect Chuuya if need-be, but also because, if things really did get bad enough that Kannushi finally got to the Nakahara's, the two that would have been their main focus wouldn't be there. It was Ranpo who came up with it in the end, actually. That was what finally convinced both Fukuzawa and Kansuke.
The younger girl sitting on the other side of Atsushi placed a hand on his arm, getting his attention. "Atsushi?"
The weretiger managed a small smile. "I'm fine, Kyouka. Just, a little nervous, is all."
Kyouka looked like she didn't believe him, but stayed silent while taking his hand in hers, holding it for support. Chuuya smiled at the sight.
Along with Chuuya and Atsushi, Fukuzawa, Colette and Kyouka were attending the meeting as well—Fukuzawa for obvious reasons, Colette to meet the people she was handing her son off to, and Kyouka for additional back up. Although she was only fourteen, Kyouka was one of the Nakahara's best assassins, her Ability, Demon Snow, making her a deadly foe; she was well-trained by Kouyou, in both utilizing her Ability to its fullest extent and sharpening her natural talent.
"You can still turn this down, Atsushi." Chuuya said quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean for you to get dragged into this as well."
"This is my choice too, Mr. Chuuya." Atsushi said, body still a little shaky but voice firm. "I will help you in anyway I can." He took in a deep breath. "Plus, Mr. Ranpo said this was the best way for you to stay safe."
"I can look after myself just fine, though." Chuuya said anyways, crossing his arms over chest.
"You are about to walk into a situation where basically everyone there will be an enemy, Chuuya," his mother cut in then, turning from the passenger seat to look at him. "Going in alone would be foolish, not to mention suicidal. You're strong, Chuuya, no doubt about that. You're my son, after all. But numbers can always overpower strength, so I would feel much better if you had someone there that I knew was 100% on your side." Her gaze softened then. "It might be selfish, but it's for my peace of mind."
"But doing anything to hurt me would break the alliance, wouldn't it?" Chuuya asked, though grabbed his mother's hand to give it a squeeze.
"It might not matter to certain people." Colette answered. "Some people might not be willing to let go of their grudges for the greater good." She shrugged. "People can be unpredictable."
Arahabaki laughed inside his head. If anyone wants to hurt us, they will have me to answer to. I cannot have my vessel dying on me, after all. If you die, so do I.
Chuuya rolled his eyes. "So glad you have your priorities straight." He let out a huff of breath. "But, again, in case you forgot… I can't use your full power. Doing so would end up killing me in the end anyway."
Colette chuckled. "Arahabaki can be quite… opinionated, can't he?"
"Says he won't let anyone hurt me." Chuuya murmured, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "He'll kill anyone who tries." Another sigh, this one annoyed. "He still doesn't understand that I can't use his power."
Colette patted his head, over his hat. "I know, dear. I am sorry, but until we know a concrete way to control that power, it's just too dangerous to use. For both you and everyone around you." She still didn't know how it was stopped the first time, and that annoyed her more than she would admit.
Chuuya nodded some at that, understanding, before looking up at her again, head tilted as something that's been a recurring thought for the past month popped up. "How sure are we that the Tsushima's don't know about," he pointed to his chest, "him? Or about Atsushi and Byakko?"
"As sure as Ranpo can get when dealing with that Family." Fukuzawa answered this time. "They are very adept at hiding what they do and do not know."
"Why the sudden question?" Colette asked her son, still facing him. He hadn't brought that up at all during the past month, though everyone else certainly had.
"I'm just trying to figure out what made this heir so dead-set on me, is all." Chuuya said softly, leaning his head against the window. "I've been trying to for the past month." He bit his lower-lip. "But the only thing I can think of that would make any sense would be that he somehow knows about Arahabaki and wants to possess or use that power."
"That's not the only thing you can offer, mon cher," tutted Colette disapprovingly.
Chuuya gave his mother a thankful smile at that, but said, "That may be true, Maman, but it's the only thing that might be of any interest to them." He waved his hand in the air. "At least, to go to such lengths to get me."
"If there is one thing we've been able to learn in the past month," Fukuzawa said as he slowed down for a stop light, "it's that trying to understand the motives of the Tsushima's heir, Osamu Dazai, is almost impossible. The way his brain works is leagues above what any of us could comprehend or hope to match… and Ranpo can only do so much with the information he has." The car starts moving again. "The Tsushima Family is amazing at getting information, but they're also very good at concealing or manipulating it, especially if it is about them."
Chuuya rubbed a hand over his face, hiding his frustration. He hates going into things completely blind, and he's going to be at an even greater disadvantage since he's about to be engaged to the Tsushima's genius heir, who probably knew a whole lot about him. It was annoying is what it was.
The next fifteen minutes were spent in silence, the occupants of the car each caught up in their own thoughts or musings. It was a comfortable silence, though, one they didn't feel the need to break.
Atsushi finally looked up when he felt the car slow down to a stop and out the window. "Well, it seems like we're here," he said, trying to inject an upbeat tone into his voice.
Chuuya looked out the window and up at the tall skyscraper that served as the headquarters for Tsushima Corporations and, like the Nakahara's, the living quarters for the higher-up members of the Family. It was located closer to the ports (while theirs was more in the city) and was actually pretty impressive—it looked to be about seventy floors tall, give or take, with a steel-frame, V-shaped perimeter columns, a lot of reflective windows, and a large "Tsushima Corporations" sign at the top; but the most interesting feature would have to be that it was clad in dark gray granite, being entirely sheathed in the stuff, with stainless steel straps securing it. Not bad at all.
Everyone started exiting the car then, but as Chuuya moved to do the same, he suddenly froze. The nerves that he thought he had pushed away came flooding back all at once, hitting him like a slap to the face, and it took all of his control to keep a lid on his Ability so he didn't crumple the car like a piece of paper.
Colette noticed that Chuuya didn't follow them and moved so she was standing in front of him while he was still sitting in the car. "Respirez, mon garçon. Respirez profondément et détendez-vous. " She said sternly but softly, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. "Écoute ma respiration et copie."
Chuuya did just that, matching his mother's deep and calm breaths, and felt himself settle back down. Goddamnit. He can't do that anymore. He can't show these guys one ounce of weakness. He'll never survive that way.
He glanced back at his mother and gave her a nod. "Je vais bien maintenant, Maman. Merci. Tout semblait juste me frapper maintenant, mais ça ira." He took another breath. "Je dois être."
Colette studied him quietly before framing his face in her hands, a proud smile on her face. "Tu es si fort, Chuuya. Vous avez la force de faire quelque chose que la plupart des gens fuiraient. Je suis si fier de toi." She leaned forward to place a light kiss on his forehead.
"Everything alright?" Fukuzawa asked then, stepping next to the redheaded woman.
"Chuuya?" Colette asked, eyebrow raised in question.
He swallowed down all his nerves and uncertainties before straightening his spine and nodding to them. "I'm ready." He grabbed his hat from beside him and plopped it on his head before adjusting his trench coat. "Let's get this done."
Situated in an unused conference room a few floors up, with a perfect view of the lobby and its doors from the tinted windows, stood Osamu Dazai. A glance over at the wall clock confirmed their guests should be arriving any minute now, purposely a few minutes late. And, just as he predicted, the lobby doors swooshed open and their five guests entered the building. Their presence commanded attention, he'd give them that, everyone in the area turning to look at them—probably wondering what five members of the Nakahara Family were doing at Tsushima Corporations in the first place. His lips ticked up into an amused smile.
The person walking in front of the group was someone Dazai had already met—Yukichi Fukuzawa, his Uncle's special… friend and the Nakahara's second , dressed as usual in a black, golden bordered mantle with wide sleeves that he had draped over his shoulders, a fern green yukata with white trimming and wide sleeves, kept closed by a hunter green obi-belt, white tabi socks, and straw zōri sandals; he also had his katana on him, kept sheathed at his left hip.
After noting that, his burgundy gaze then moved to the three following behind him, identifying their faces from the reports that had been done on the Family previously.
Walking behind Fukuzawa was a stunning orange-haired woman, dressed to impress in a black sateen, double-breasted trench coat left open over a white georgette blouse, printed with pretty amaranth red painterly blooms, in a wrap-effect style with a ruffled draped panel along the front and an elasticated waist that created a flattering silhouette, and had a matching camisole underneath, black cashmere-blend dress pants that flared at her feet, black leather, high-heeled, ankle boots with square toes accented by silver hardware and elasticated side tabs, and silver bubble hoop earrings in her ears; she also had at least three daggers on her person somewhere, never known to go anywhere without them. She was easily recognizable as Colette Sidonie Nakahara, Kansuke Nakahara's second wife. French by birth before moving to Japan for reasons they could not discover, she was also head of the Nakahara's defenses. Gorgeous, deadly and dangerous with a sharp tongue and even sharper temper—she was formidable, with her gravity manipulating Ability, Le Pur et L'Impur, paired with her prodigious skills in martial arts, she alone has taken down many foe, the Tsushima's own men included.
Next to the orange-haired woman was a young girl with bluish-black hair in twin-tails—Dazai recognized her as well, from reputation alone. Although only fourteen and looking so pure and almost childlike, Kyouka Izumi was one of the Nakahara's deadliest assassins. Looking at her, she didn't look like she could hurt a fly, dressed primly in a red silk kimono with a yellow sprout-like pattern along the bottom and kept closed by a neatly tied yellow datejime that turned orange near the ends, white tabi socks, red straw zōri sandals, dark red wrist-bands that hooked around her middle fingers, and yellow wrist- and ankle-pads secured by red ribbons. But that was what they wanted everyone to think. Being trained under Kouyou Ozaki in the art of assassination and with her Ability, Demon Snow—a sword-wielding phantom under her control—Kyouka has quite the impressive resume and over fifty confirmed kills, at least. With her seemingly innocent disposition and sweet looks, who would look twice at her? It was her greatest asset.
And lastly, walking behind Kyouka, was a young silver-haired man Dazai knew to be Atsushi Nakajima—wearing a white dress shirt with his sleeves cuffed at the elbows, a loose black tie, black capri slacks, a black suspenders/belt combo with a long stretch of the belt dangling loose from the silver buckle, black leather ankle boots with slits at the front, and black fingerless gloves. He was impressively skilled as well, in both combat and with his Ability, but, oddly enough, that was all he could find out about him through the usual channels. So, for this one, he got most of his information from Gin, since they were in the same grade at Yokohama Private Academy, even having some classes together. From what the young girl could tell him, Nakajima was quiet, a little flighty and could be rather unsure of himself. But when he put his mind to something, he turned into another person. His Ability was very impressive, though—Beast Beneath the Moonlight. It was a shifting Ability, allowing him to transform and manifest various tiger body parts at will, but it was unknown to them if he could fully transform into a white tiger; this Ability also gave him immense speed, durability, strength, stamina and endurance, as well as a high healing rate, from what Gin could see. He was also always known to be by the youngest Nakahara heir's side. Understandable why they would choose him to be the one to stay.
Which led him the final individual walking into the building, and Dazai's smirk seemed to grow when he finally spotted him, the petite orange-haired man—Chuuya Nakahara. His soon-to-be fiancé. The brunet's reddish-brown gaze seen to sharpen even more, turning more crimson in the low light of the room. It's been years since he's seen the other man in person, after all.
The petite redhead was dress impeccably in perfectly tailored and definitely designer clothing, but he was wearing a lot of layers, even more so then Dazai usually did. Both the black trench coat, with rose pink trimming, and black 3/4-sleeved bolero jacket, with rose pink thick cuffs, were left open over a charcoal gray waistcoat and a white dress shirt, both hugging his lean body perfectly, and the black fitted slacks, outlining his lithe legs nicely, were held up by a brown belt with a silver rectangular buckle and worn over black leather, low-arch, mid-heeled, ankle boots. As for the accessories he was wearing, well… the black leather gloves fitted to his hands and black leather chest harness he had under his waistcoat were normal enough, but then there was the black leather choker he had snug around his neck—reminded Dazai of a collar on a dog, almost—and that hat. A fedora, the brunet thinks it was called, with a rose pink hatband was probably the tackiest thing Dazai had ever seen. He just might have to burn it.
Regardless of his fashion choices, Chuuya Nakahara garnered a lot of attention as he walked through the lobby with the easy confidence of someone who knew they were both strong and attractive, something that couldn't really be taught, but could be enhanced upon with careful direction. He definitely inherited his mother's foreign looks, too—porcelain skin, azure blue eyes and curly copper orange hair… as well as her height, it seemed. Dazai's lips ticked up in amusement—oh he would have a lot of fun with that fact. But, from what he was able to learn, that wasn't the only thing he inherited from his mother, he also inherited his Ability—gravity manipulation as well, For the Tainted Sorrow—and his combat prowess. He seemed to excel in almost as many martial arts as Colette did, making him just as fearsome, and was the head of the Nakahara's guerrilla force, the Silver Wolf Squad, a counterpart to the Tsushima's Black Lizard Squad. Explosive, passionate, reckless, emotional, powerful and immense all in a cute little package. This was the man he wanted as his fiancé.
Dazai laughed to himself as his eyes continued to track the petite man as he now talked with Nakajima, thinking back on how almost everyone in his family were wondering why he was so insistent on having Chuuya Nakahara as his fiancé, even at the cost of ruining a beneficial alliance. Contrary to popular belief, he did have reasons, and most of them were good ones!
With the mental capabilities he possesses, he got bored rather easily, as nothing kept his attention for too long and almost everything being easy to predict. The petite redhead, though, was fascinating to Dazai. He's captured his interest in ways nothing has for a long while. Honestly, Dazai wanted to figure out why that was. Also, the brunet liked beautiful things—beautiful people, and Chuuya was one of the prettiest little things he's seen in a good while. Definitely beautiful enough to commit a double suicide with… Another thing, Chuuya was strong, powerful in ways Dazai wasn't, and thought about things in a different way. That could be beneficial in the long run. And from what he'd been able to learn, the redhead was fierce in his loyalties—once you earned it, you had a powerful ally on your side. Again, beneficial. Those were some of the reasons he had in his head when he made his choice, but not the main one. The most important one, actually. That was—
Dazai was knocked out of his thoughts when a hand landed on his shoulder, as well as a familiar voice calling his name. After Chuuya and the rest of that group made it further in the lobby, and he lost visual of the redhead as a result, did he turn his head some to see the face, eyebrow raised as he hummed in question.
"I have been calling your name for the last five minutes," the redheaded man sighed quietly. "What has you so distracted?"
Dazai turned around fully before giving Oda a bright, faux-innocent smile in response. "Whatever do you mean, OdaSaku?"
He rolled his sapphire eyes at the, typical, response. "What are you doing out here? You know you're supposed to be in your room, Dazai."
The brunet hummed out, glancing over his shoulder in fake thought. "Oh, nothing." He turned back to face Oda, smile still in place. "Do you think a fall from this height would kill me quickly, OdaSaku?"
Oda had the patience of a saint, there was no doubt about that. Having to put up with Dazai for as long as he has does that to you—either that or you go insane. "Seeing as you've already tried when you were fourteen, I think you know the answer to that."
"Ah, you're right!" Dazai exclaimed. "My leg was in a cast for a month after that." He then pouted. "Nothing painless about that."
"Now that you've rediscovered that answer," Oda started, grabbing Dazai by his bicep and dragging him to the door, "you need to get back to your room before Mr. Mori figures out you left it."
"Bleh." Dazai stuck his tongue out. "You're no fun, OdaSaku."
"Seeing as I was called away from finishing my paperwork for that merger, my plan was not to be fun," he deadpanned, still dragging Dazai behind him.
"Okay, okay!" Dazai said, throwing his hands in the air and dislodging the hand Oda had on him. "I was heading back to my room anyway. Father has some things he wanted me to go over, and give my thoughts on." He tilted his head to give Oda a smile. "I was just stretching my legs some."
A raised eyebrow was all he got back, but then Oda nodded. "Alright, I'm heading back to my office then." The redhead then looked sternly at Dazai. "Stay in your room and behave yourself, Dazai."
The young heir gave a saucy salute before entering the elevator, placing his palm on the handprint scanner followed by the retinal scan, before pushing the button marked "66"—the whole floor was dedicated to him, actually, located two floors under his parents and one under his uncle's, but he found he didn't need that much space, so he had half of it redesigned into another living quarters and gave it to the Akutagawa siblings. Once the elevator dropped him at his private entrance, he headed to one of the two doors located in the small hallway—the left one, as the right one led to the Akutagawa's quarters—and pushed it open (he never locked it, never had a reason to) and walked inside.
The flooring of the entrance was flint oak hardwood, the walls painted a chelsea gray color with white trim, and hanging from the ceiling was a small metal chandelier. The entrance then forked off into two hallways, one having several doors that led to a few bedrooms and office area, while the other led straight into a surprisingly spacious living room. The flooring continued into this room with a misty blue area rug set in the middle, the walls painted an iceberg gray color, and hanging from the ceiling, in the center of the room, was a crystal light fixture; against one wall was an ebony wooden chest with a black flat-screen TV set on top of it, across from that was a L-shaped charcoal gray sectional with a light wooden coffee table framed in black iron set in front of it and on another side was a pair of chocolate brown leather armchairs. To the left of the sitting area was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked some of the port, but mostly gave a fantastic view of the water.
Set right behind the armchairs was a dining area with a white wooden, rectangular table with six metal-framed chairs adorned with white cushions pushed underneath it, and hanging above it was another crystal light fixture. Branching off the living room was the kitchen, which was moderately sized. The floors continued on in there as well, the countertops lining the walls as well as on the medium-sized island both had pale gray granite, the walls painted the same as the living room with a white stoneware tile backsplash, and the cabinets an ivory wood with chrome hardware; there's also a silver integrated sink and top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances.
A very classy, yet sophisticated place that he had no hand in designing. His mother could take the credit for that.
He swung by his office room first to grab his laptop before walking into the living room, taking off his trench coat and tossing it on the couch and then plopping down on it himself, setting the laptop on the coffee table. He had told OdaSaku he would be working on the special project his father assigned him to, but he'd already finished that the same day it was given. He would feel bad about tricking OdaSaku if the man wasn't so easy to trick, taking what was said to him at face-value… and, well, he just didn't feel bad about it anyway.
Opening his laptop and logging in, he tapped a few keys to give himself access to the building's security network, including all the security cameras the place has, before tapping a few more to find which conference room the meeting with the Nakahara's was occurring in. His uncle said he couldn't be a part of the meeting until all was finalized, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to watch what was happening.
Plugging in a pair of headphones and settling back in his couch, he focused in on what was happening in the room, turning up the volume. This should be interesting…
We're finally getting somewhere! It will be a few more chapters before things start really happening, these next chapters being more "meeting/greeting" and introducing more of Dazai's family. Also, Dazai's POV comes in, and yes, there is an actual major reason why Chuuya was the one chosen. But you don't get to find out about that just yet. Also, I know I added more detailed descriptions of the building and Dazai's living quarters, but that was because those will be the main setting for the story from now on, so y'all needed to know what they looked like. Also, I'm just gonna state this now: Dazai is already attracted to Chuuya, both because he finds him interesting and because Chuuya is freakin' beautiful (obviously) but is not in love (yet - but tbh, that is the "odd" feeling Dazai feels, actual interest), and Chuuya, well, he finds Dazai attractive, but it'll take a bit for him to warm up to Dazai. ;)
I'm going to try to update every week or every other week. Just depends what my work and school schedule allow me to do.
French Translations (again, from Google Translate)
- Respirez, mon garçon. Respirez profondément et détendez-vous.: Breathe, my boy. Deep breaths and relax.
- Écoute ma respiration et copie.: Listen to my breathing and copy.
- Je vais bien maintenant, Maman. Merci. Tout semblait juste me frapper maintenant, mais ça ira.: I'm good now, mother. Thanks. Everything seemed to just hit me now, but I will be fine.
- Je dois être.: I have to be.
- Tu es si fort, Chuuya. Vous avez la force de faire quelque chose que la plupart des gens fuiraient. Je suis si fier de toi.: You are so strong, Chuuya. You have the strength to do something most people would run from. I am so proud of you.