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yellowcanna · 5 years

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Stray Dogs

Summary:

When Nakahara Chuuya opened his eyes, he had expected everything to be the same as it did for the past five years. The jingling sound of chains rang through the air as he slowly pushes himself from the cold ground. He brushed off some dirt from his cheeks—not that it will make him any cleaner. When he sat up and took a proper look at his surroundings, he realized it was not the same...

“Great, of all things it’s a fucking leech.” He groaned.

“As if I want to be roomed with an animal that looked like it hadn’t bathed for a decade,” said leech fired back.

This was the beginning of their long journey.

The story of how two stray dogs met.

Pairings: Soukoku (Dazai x Chuuya), Shin Soukoku (Akutagawa x Atsushi)

Rating: T

Author: Canna / Yellow Canna

Series: Part 2 of Those with Claws and Those with Fangs

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◅ PART 1 Main Page PART 3 ▻

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The same pitiful cries.

The same foul stench.

The same depressing atmosphere.

When Nakahara Chuuya opened his eyes, he had expected everything to be the same as it did for the past five years.

The jingling sound of chains rang through the air as he slowly pushes himself from the cold ground. He brushed off some dirt from his cheeks—not that it will make him any cleaner. When he sat up and took a proper look at his surroundings, he realized it was not the same.

Ocean blue eyes stared flatly at the other existence sharing his room.

“And here I was wondering when the kitty would wake,” said the raven-haired boy seemingly his age.

The boy had a metal collar on his neck and hands as well. Thick iron chains stretched from the cuffs with the other end nailed deeply into the stone wall. He was covered in grimy bandages with ragged clothes like everyone else in this cursed place.

Chuuya furrowed his brows as he tried to process what his new roommate had said. It's been like this ever since he was shipped to this foreign land. The lack of having someone to converse with also didn't help his language improvement. After all, humans didn't need him to speak their language to become their source of entertainment.

“Great, it’s a fucking leech.” Chuuya groaned. Why of all things did he get locked up with a vampire? Was this some sort of new torture method?

“As if I want to be roomed with an animal that looked like it hadn’t bathed for a decade.”

“What was that?! I’ll beat the shit out of you, brat!” Chuuya shouted out of reflex, only to freeze when he realized that he understood the other just now. The vampire was speaking Japanese.

Chuuya really looked at this vampire for this time. His eyes scanned over the vampire's delicate Asian features that he hadn’t bother noticing before.

“You’re a brat as well!” The vampire countered. Burnt umber eyes looking over Chuuya in a way that made the redhead wanted to slam his fist into that smug face. “Not to mention you’re just a shrimp! Should have drank more milk when you had the chance!”

“Mind your own business!”

The two glared at one another. They could already tell that they were not going to enjoy rooming together.

Their glaring contest was interrupted when the metallic door to their confinement slammed open. An old, shaggy gruff man stomped in. He was someone Chuuya seen regularly during mealtime. As usual, the man threw a chunk of raw meat at the redhead's feet before he turned to leave.

The heavy door slammed shut, leaving the two in silence.

"Is there discrimination against vampires here?" The vampire asked in a bored tone. "Why wasn't I given a meal?"

Chuuya ignored the vampire and grabbed the piece of meat that barely got any blood left despite being raw. The meat was covered in dirt and the flesh was an unhealthy dark brown hue. A sour stench was practically emitting from the thing. The meat was spoiled, that much was obvious even to the vampire who was scrunching his nose in disgust.

Chuuya didn’t even bat an eye as he bit into the old meat and tore it apart with his teeth.

“I’m amazed you can eat that.” The vampire commented after Chuuya had already devoured half of it. “No wonder you’re short.”

The sound of knuckles cracking echoed through the tiny room.

“Do you even know the situation you’re in?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The vampire responded blankly. “I got captured while testing out a new suicide method in a well. Now I’m stuck here with a werebeast.”

Said werebeast’s brows twitched. This was just perfect. Not only was he locked up with his race's sworn enemy, the said enemy was suicidal. Just great!

“Go hang yourself and die.” The redhead went back to eating what little food he had left. After that, he began to lick the sour blood off his dirt-covered hand.

The vampire appeared thoroughly grossed out by his action, but Chuuya couldn't care less of what his roommate felt. He had long thrown away the pride he once had. To survive in this hellhole, he had to lower his head to these humans that captured him. His body has been worn down over the years. Now, he was practically just a skeleton wrapped within a thin layer of skin.

That was what this place does to them. They were beaten and starved until submission, then used for those veil creatures’ entertainment.

Chuuya could still remember that night eight years ago when his village was raided by humans. Older werebeasts were killed off and the young ones were all captured. Chuuya didn’t know where the other kids got sent off to, but he was the only one they bothered shipping across the ocean due to his unique bloodline.

Apparently, humans found it entertaining to watch monsters like him kill one another.

“So? How did you get captured?” The vampire suddenly asked.

Chuuya glanced at the vampire from the corner of his eyes before turning away to ignore him. Sadly the raven didn’t get the message, or perhaps he chose to ignore the fact that the werebeast did not want to talk to him. “Did they wave some catnip at you and let you jump into a cage?”

“I ain’t a house cat!” Chuuya barked before being hit by a wave of dizziness. He collapsed against the cold floor as his ears started to ring and his vision spinning.

“Hey,” the vampire called, but Chuuya ignored him. He closed his eyes to fight off the wave of nausea. After lying still for a bit and having some blood flowed back into his head, Chuuya felt mildly better.

“You dead?”

“Are you an idiot?” Chuuya grumbled before sluggishly pushing himself up. The vampire frowned as he examined the werebeast’s movement.

“You’re starving.”

“No shit.”

Chuuya leaned back against the wall. He didn't have the energy to argue with the vampire.

“Do they only give you that much to eat every day?”

“Every day?” Chuuya huffed. “That was my meal per week. Now shut up unless you want a rotting corpse next to you. I heard you leeches hate the smell of dead things despite sleeping in coffins.”

“We sleep in actual beds. Those are just human superstitions.” The vampire deadpanned.

Chuuya didn’t bother with him as he closed his eyes. He needed to store up energy if he wants to survive to get next week’s proportion. It didn’t take long for him to submerge into the familiar, welcoming darkness.

Chuuya didn’t know how long he has slept for. Being low on energy like this, it wasn’t unusual if he slept for days or even a whole week. Time was something impossible to tell when trapped in a small room with no window. The only thing he could tell was the number of years he has been trapped here for from the passing seasons every time he was let out.

When Chuuya woke up, it was from a harsh kick to his side, knocking him into the cold stone ground.

An angry voice shouted something, but Chuuya couldn’t understand the language.

The werebeast slowly opened his eyes. He stared up at two men standing over him, clad in heavy-looking armours. A black cat was perched on one of the men's shoulders. Its tiny head tilted up haughtily as golden eyes looked down upon him as if looking at a piece of filth.

As usual, Chuuya wanted to know how that cat would react if he were to gouge out those disgusting eyes. His raven-haired roommate just sat there, watching silently as Chuuya was dragged out the door by the chains on his neck.

The humans sitting around the large stadium cheered when Chuuya was thrown up onto the stage. Torches were burning brightly, illuminating the field and the hideous faces of the humans. A barrier was soon cast over the stage, preventing both creatures from escaping.

Chuuya’s eyes were dilated as he tried to make out his opponent this time. He was starving and his head still hurts. He flipped around and got onto all four. He couldn't see his opponent properly due to the hunger that's making his vision blurry, but that didn't matter. It was pointless to see who or what he's going to kill off anyways.

With a roar, Chuuya began to transform.

The crowd went wild as crimson glow shrouded the werebeast’s body. In a burst of blinding light, the petite boy was gone. In his place was a tiger that was all skins and bones, yet the ferociousness it was displaying made anyone that saw at a close distance cowered.

The cheering from the crowds went up by ten notches at the sight.

“…So noisy,” A certain vampire mumbled as he sat in the small, confined space. The entire room was pretty much shaking from the intense cheers coming from above.

He continued to count the seconds in his head. Picking up a pebble next to him, he slowly drew another line to the tally chart next to him.

As of this moment, this marks the seventh day since he got been thrown in here.

The noise eventually died down after half an hour. Soon, he heard footsteps and the jingling sound of chain approaching the room. When the door was kicked open, a familiar redhead drenched in blood was thrown ruthlessly onto the ground like a ragdoll.

The human secured the werebeast’s chain to the wall and left without giving the broken youth another look.

Chuuya curled into a ball, shivering and panting as he cradled his right leg that has been ripped off at the knee. The redhead tore what little piece of clothing he had and tied it around the wound to slow the bleeding.

The vampire’s eyes gleamed the moment he sniffed the werebeast’s blood.

He reached out, pale hands extended towards the other boy only to be stopped by a sharp tug with metallic rattling sound resonating throughout the room. The raven looked down at the chains preventing him from going any further. His eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t even realized he had reached out like that.

Chestnut brown eyes observed the alluring blood pooling over the ground. Unable to resist, he stretched his hand out as far as he could. He was able to reach out just enough to brush the tip of his middle over the edge of the crimson puddle. He immediately withdrew his hand and licked the small red stain off his fingertip.

The blood was so rich and filled with vitality that just a small taste filled him with strength. Just a tiny morsel and it left the vampire desiring more. It was a feeling he had never felt in his entire life.

This was the feeling of being alive.

Unable to contain the thirst for blood, the brown in the vampire’s eyes were completely gone. His pupils were dilated and gleaming in the purest, uncontaminated red.

Chuuya sluggishly opened his eyes when his instincts flared up, warning him of danger. He squinted his eyes at the other occupant in the room and was met by a pair of predatory gaze.

For the very first time since their meeting, ocean blue eyes softened.

The werebeast slowly uncurled his body. He stretched the stump of his leg towards the vampire. A pool of blood began to form as it expanded towards the vampire.

The raven looked at the werebeast with a flicker of surprise in his glowing eyes before he hid it. Pale hand reached out once more. He was nowhere near touching the werebeast, but a good half of his hand was able to touch the blood. Hot red fluid bathed his hand as he ran his tongue over his palm, savoring the sweetness of the divine blood.

Chuuya observed the vampire for a while before finally closing his eyes. Completely worn out from the battle and injuries, he fell into a deep slumber…

When Chuuya woke up, it was to the smell of food.

Without even thinking, he reached for the source of the smell and grabbed onto a piece of old meat. He practically gulped it down without chewing. The fight and losing a leg took a huge toll on his body. If he doesn’t eat, he won’t be able to last much longer. Thankfully his captors knew that as well, so the meat he was given this time was a tad bit bigger than what he usually gets.

After the food rested in his stomach, Chuuya laid there with his eyes closed. He wasn't going to drift back to sleep, but the less movement he makes, the easier it'll be for his body to store up lost energy. He wiggled his toe a little, just to confirm that his leg has completely regenerated. He wondered how long he had passed out for this time…

“Why did you do that?”

Chuuya reluctantly looked to his roommate who just can’t seem to get the concept of leaving someone alone.

The vampire was still sitting against the wall like before. He didn’t even look like he had shifted from that spot at all. The easy-going look he wore on his face was gone. He stared at the redhead with those dark eyes that didn’t reflect a spark of the dim like hanging over their heads. His face was expressionless and impossible to read.

Chuuya wondered if this was what the vampire’s really like under all that façade.

“Did what?” Chuuya shut his eyes again and rolled into a more comfortable position with his back to the vampire.

“Your blood.” The vampire pointed out with a deep frown on his face—not that Chuuya could see. “You could just let me starve. It’s not like I can do anything to you.” To emphasize his word, the vampire held up his hands and shook them, causing the chains dangling off the metallic handcuffs to jingle.

"You were hungry," Chuuya muttered, more like telling that to himself than to the vampire. "Do I need more reasons than that?”

His response seemed to have caught the vampire off guard.

The silence dragged on as Chuuya waited for a response, but it didn't come. Just when he was pondering of going back to sleep, the vampire finally spoke.

“…You don’t make any sense. We’re technically enemies.”

“Hah?” Chuuya impatiently snapped open his eyes and glared at the vampire from over his shoulder. “I don’t care about whatever stupid grudge is between werebeast and vampires. It got nothing to do with me. Don’t group me with the rest of those idiots.”

That seemed to spark the vampire’s interest as he looked over the redhead.

“You’re an outcast of your clan.” The vampire said certainly as his sharp eyes relaxed by the slightest bit. “Werebeast has intense training right at birth to drill the hatred of vampires into the younglings. For a werebeast to say something like that means you've never gone through those training."

“For a leech, you sure like to blabber to your enemy," Chuuya said dryly. “I’ve never heard of a vampire drink a werebeast’s blood. You didn’t even hesitate. I thought leeches rather die than drink from animals.”

“Oh? Were you testing me?” The vampire’s eyes twinkled in amusement.

Chuuya clicked his tongue and looked away, refusing to answer to that. Truthfully, he had forgotten about that until the vampire started giving him a lecture about his own culture. All he saw was that the vampire was hungry and needed blood, so he gave it to him.

It was just as simple as that.

Unknown to Chuuya, the vampire was grinning as he looked over the werebeast.

“I’m an outcast as well.” He suddenly said.

Chuuya looked back in surprise.

He hadn’t expected to hear that. Then again, perhaps he should have expected it. Chuuya met a vampire once. It was right here on this very stage humans set for them. When the vampire laid eyes on him, the look of disgust and excitement to kill was something Chuuya was all too familiar with. It was the same look on the villagers’ faces back home whenever vampires were mentioned.

Chuuya never understood why.

Just like the raven-haired vampire had said, werebeasts educate their young ones the moment they’re born to hate vampires. Vampires do the same. When asked why, nobody can give out a proper, non-racist answer. All they knew was to hate one another. No one remembers the reason that started it all, nor do they care.

It had become a part of who they are to hate each other. It was stupid.

“The whole werebeast and vampire fuel got nothing to do with me. I just wanted to find a quiet place where I can painlessly die." The vampire sighed. "Of all places I ended here, where I'll be tortured for the rest of my life."

"After they starve you enough for about a month, you'll get your first match," Chuuya informed him curtly. “Just let your opponent tear you into shred and die.”

“No way.” The vampire chided as if Chuuya had suggested something outrageous—which he probably did, but the moron’s suicidal. “I hate pain! Why else would I say painless?”

“…I’m starting to see why you were kicked out of your coven.”

"Well, you're wrong about that!" The vampire announced proudly. “I wasn’t kicked out. I left on my own.”

“Yeah right.” Chuuya wasn’t buying it.

"So what did you do to get toss out?" The vampire seemed pretty interested in the werebeast’s backstory.

Chuuya leveled the vampire a look. He remained silent for a while before finally speaking.

“Ever heard of Arahabaki?”

“The God of Calamity.” The vampire’s expression turned serious as he looked over Chuuya. “You’re from the royal bloodline?”

“Yeah.” Chuuya snorted, his tone filled with sarcasm and mockery. “Only one out of a thousand to possess it. I drew that lucky card.”

Arahabaki was this ancient bloodline that brought immense power and fame to the werebeast.

It was said that Arahabaki was once the god of werebeasts. Only those with royal bloodline—the ones that made contracts with Arahabaki—can use its power of destruction. It was this power that allowed the werebeasts to climb up the food chain and stand next to the vampires at the top of the pyramid as equals. In the past, werebeast with the royal bloodline were worshipped because in a sense they are god’s vessel.

Nowadays, everyone just viewed this bloodline—viewed him—as a curse.

Throughout the long history of werebeasts, the method to control Arahabaki had been lost. Any werebeasts that uses its power would just go on a rampage. Their powers will increase immensely and they will go on a rampage until the user dies. They will destroy everything in sight, regardless of allies or enemies. Nowadays, Arahabaki is simply known as Corruption.

Ever since the villagers discovered he got the cursed bloodline, they treated him like the plague. The only fortunate part was that although Corruption brought him scorn, it also brought him protection. As much as his entire village wanted to kill him, they feared that it may unleash Corruption. They fear him more than their hatred for him. Every day when Chuuya went outside, he was faced with loathing and frightful looks from everyone around him. When the adults weren't looking, he would even get rocks thrown at him by kids his age.

That was why when the village was raided by the humans, Chuuya didn’t particularly felt anything. He didn’t care about the villagers that were killed, nor did he care about the fate of other kids his age.

That was how detached he was from his race.

“That’s why I was sent here. Werebeasts with royal bloodlines are more durable and won’t die too easily.” Chuuya’s tone was filled with mockery as he said that. "There were witches among the humans that attacked my village. They were able to detect my bloodline with some sort of device. Put some sort of spell on the collar to seal away my ability and Arahabaki.”

Chuuya wondered why he was telling the vampire all these things. Perhaps it has been too long since he had a decent conversation, or perhaps he was lonelier than he thought…

“You saw that black cat, didn’t you?” Chuuya continued. "That's the witch responsible for keeping us under control here."

“Witch huh…” The vampire hummed before a smirk graced his lips. “I’ve heard some interesting things during my travels. Would you like to hear, chibi?”

“Who’re you calling chibi?!”

“The humans are plotting to start a Witch hunt.”

“…What!?” Chuuya blinked, unable to believe what he just heard. “That’s ridiculous! Witches are the only humans that can combat the other species!”

“Exactly.” The vampire nodded. “Once the human conquer all the other species, they will exterminate the witches.”

"You sound like the humans will win." Chuuya frowned.

"They will." The vampire nodded certainly. "They may lack power, but their numbers greatly surpass all other races. Of course, if all species unite, the annihilation of humans would be a breeze, but each species are too invested in their priorities and got too much pride to set aside old grudges. Even with humans raiding and capturing us, we're still fighting one another rather than ganging up against a common enemy. The human knows that, which is why they will win this war. Once they do, we'll all be under their control."

Chuuya wanted to argue. He wanted to say that’s impossible. After all, of all species on this planet, humans are the weakest. Sure they have witches, but every species got veteran fighters that know exactly how to deal with them.

However, he couldn’t deny what the vampire said was true. After all, his village was the perfect example. Had their village’s warriors not set off to the border war against the vampires, the humans wouldn’t be able to invade his village and massacred them. Even with the humans attacking them, they’re still fighting vampires at every chance they get.

Wait a minute…

Chuuya inhaled a sharp breath when he registered something Dazai said—specifically that last part.

Now that he thought about it…why did those humans choose night time to attack them? Werebeasts may come in many kinds, but they’re all nocturnal creatures. That was because they have higher advantages during the night with their superior senses, but most importantly, it was to defend against the vampires that are only active during nighttime.

Why attack them during the night when it's at their disadvantage? Chuuya could only come up with one answer. The humans masked their attack as an attack from vampires. They are using both species' hate for one another to their advantage.

Chuuya laughed.

He couldn’t believe how it took him this long to realize the truth.

Perhaps it wasn’t just the werebeasts. Perhaps the vampires will go home to find their coven slaughtered with evidence of werebeasts littered all over the place. The two idiotic races will continue to bite at each other’s throat while the real culprit walks free with a bunch of new slaves.

“What about the witches?” Chuuya asked curiously. “Why get rid of the only protection they have?”

“Once human wins this war, witches will be hailed as their specie's saviors." The vampire replied. "Despite being so weak, human are proud creatures—especially males. In their culture, males are the dominant creature. They will never accept or allow females to have more power than them."

“Just for that?” Chuuya gapped in disbelieve. Now that he thought about it, aside from the witch, all the humans he saw in this place are males. Even in the audience seats, there weren't any females around.

“Just for that.” The vampire smirked. “To oblivious citizens, they’ll just say that witches are no different from us, and the mass will agree that they should be eliminated.”

“Heh!” Chuuya cracked out a smile as he flipped onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. “If that’s the case, then I’m starting to feel sorry for that witch.”

He snickered for a while before sitting up.

“I take that back. Witches can all burn in hell for all I care.”

“Chibi—”

“Don’t call me that!”

“You never gave me your name, what did you expect me to call you?”

Chuuya paused a bit, remembering that they never did exchange names.

“…Nakahara Chuuya.”

“Dazai Osamu,” the vampire—Dazai responded, “So, Chuuya—”

“Who said you can call me by my given name?!”

“—what plans do you have after leaving this place?”

“Who knows?” Chuuya leaned back against the cold wall. “Well…for the time being, it’s to eat my fill. I’ll think after that.”

“How like an animal.” The vampire commented with a smirk. “You don’t seem weird out by my question.”

“Like hell I’ll stay here forever and play games with those humans.” Chuuya spat as he glared down at the chains around his wrists. “I’ll leave this damn place. And when I do I’ll rip them into shreds—exactly the way they wanted me to on that stage of theirs.”

“What a brat.”

“Hah?!”

“But that’s not a bad idea~”

The vampire held up his hands with one hand readied in a snapping motion.

The werebeast looked at him weirdly.

With a snap of his finger, the metal cuff around the vampire’s wrists and neck suddenly opened up and clattered onto the floor.

Chuuya’s jaw almost hit the ground as he stared at the vampire who was up on his feet, rolling his shoulders around with his joints making satisfying pop.

“It’s only been twelve days and I’m already getting sore muscle~”

“H-how did you—?!” Chuuya stammered as he looked at the open cuffs lying on the ground. From here, he could see the written incantation on the inside of the vampire’s metal collar. Chuuya is certain that's the spell used to suppress their abilities. He had even tried to pick the lock in the past only to find that there's some sort of protection spell preventing him from sticking anything into the keyhole. So how did this vampire get out?

“I’ll give you two options.” The vampire said as he stood over the chained werebeast. “One, you will come with me. Two, you stay here and wait for who knows how long until your next chance to escape.”

Chuuya frowned as he glared up at the vampire. “What are you plotting?”

"Whatever do you mean?" The vampire's tone was so sweet and innocent that it was just reeking with ulterior motives.

"You could leave any time you wanted," Chuuya pointed out. “What are you playing here?”

“You make me sound like the bad guy here.” The vampire heaved out a heavy breathe as if the redhead was some unreasonable kid. “I simply want a collaboration.”

Chuuya narrowed his eyes, not believing a single word the vampire is saying.

"There's a huge barrier cast over this place. To nullify the barrier, I need to find the witch. But as you can see, I don't have that kind of fighting power to survive until I can find her in this place."

“What do you mean nullify?” Chuuya demanded, sharply catching that keyword.

"My ability allows me to cancel other abilities with a touch." The vampire explained. “Abilities and spells are useless against me. You should know what that means don’t you, Arahabaki?”

Blue eyes dilated as the werebeast stared at the vampire. Chuuya didn’t speak for a long time. He just stared at the vampire and the vampire stared back, waiting for his response.

"...How can I trust you to stop me?"

“You don’t.” The vampire replied tersely.

“Tch.” Chuuya clicked his teeth. He didn’t like not being in control, but this was the first chance he had gotten in years. Who knows when his next chance will be?

“I’ll kill you if you’re late. Even if I die I will drag you down.”

“I much rather want to die with a lovely maiden.” The vampire gagged as if the very thought of dying with the werebeast disgusted him.

“Take this off.” Chuuya tilted his head back, giving the vampire access to the collar around his neck.

Dazai’s hand reached down. When the tip of his fingers brushed by the collar, Chuuya felt whatever magic binding him disappeared, leaving just the cold body of the metal tightly gripping his neck. His keen ears picked up the sound of a lock being picked. Then, the weight around his neck vanished as the heavy collar fell off, hitting the stone ground and creating a rather impressive dent in the shattered rock.

The vampire whistled. He wasn’t showing the slightest bit surprised that the werebeast has been moving with such tremendous weight on him. It was as if he somehow already knew.

The redhead cranked his head, testing his new range of movement before looking up at a small pin the vampire was holding between his fingers.

“Need help?” Dazai drawled as he waved around his lock picking tool.

With a huff, crimson light outlined the metal cuffs on the werebeast’s hands. The thick metal began to deform, wrenching off the werebeast’s slender wrists and crashing into the stone ground with such force that a huge crater with a size that nearly took up the entire room was formed.

Chuuya sucked in a shuddering breath. A droplet of sweat rolled down his forehead. Using just this tiny bit of power was already taking a toll on his body. It was utterly pathetic.

“I won’t last very long.” He warned the vampire as he got onto his feet.

“Yeah, I know," Dazai responded with a smirk before he stepped back against the wall and melted into his own shadow.

Chuuya stared at the place where the vampire disappeared into. He could still feel the vampire's presence within the room. The other was hiding quietly in the shadows like those humans in the audience seats, watching the entertainment that's going to play out.

Crafty bastard.

The werebeast looked down at his wrists. The skins underneath the metal cuffs were red and wrinkled from years and years of abuse. Hearing the sound of roaring cheers coming from above, Chuuya looked up to the ceiling. A wide smile spread over his lips as he gazed at the ceiling.

He crouched down as crimson light outlined his silhouette. The werebeast crouched down as the ground under his feet was ripped out and suspended in midair—supporting the red-head.

“Better keep up, shitty Dazai.” The werebeast scoffed before he shot towards the ceiling. With a kick, he smashed a hole right through the ceiling.

The loud cheering was immediately stopped when a hole suddenly appeared at the edge of the stage. A boy with reddish hair flew out from the hole and into the sky, stopping just inches from the giant barrier covering the entire stadium.

Chuuya took a deep breath to calm his speeding heart as he stared at the full moon before his eyes. It was weird. He has always seen the sky whenever he was thrown up here on this stage, but for some reason, it felt like this was the first time in years that he was finally able to see the sky.

“Freedom, huh?” Chuuya mumbled as his eyes focused on the wall in front of him.

The barrier was made out of a layer of transparent membrane that is barely visible unless looked closer. It looked very thin and fragile, but a foul aura was practically radiating off the thing. There was even a weird attraction coming from this barrier as if it was alive and tempting him to touch it.

Chuuya felt his hair stood up as he realized what it was. He had seen it once, and it was when those humans invaded their village. A barrier like this was cast over the village to prevent anyone from escaping.

Just a simple touch and this barrier will suck out the souls of any creatures that aren't human. The barrier itself was made purely of these unfortunate souls. The moment it sucked out a soul, the soul will be merged with the barrier, becoming one with it and enforcing its power.

The one Chuuya has seen before was much weaker compared to this one. This barrier must have killed off a lot of creatures. Perhaps they were even fed to it for that sole purpose.

“Damn witches.” Chuuya cursed before another thought came to him.

If this is a barrier that sucks out souls of its victims, then what Dazai said about being unable to leave was a bunch of bullshits! Vampires were the only creatures that don’t have souls. They are creatures that dwell on the life force of other life forms to stay alive. Since they got no soul of their own, this blasted barrier wouldn’t have worked on that guy! The most it’ll do was probably make him feel even hungrier after walking through it!

“DAMN IT!” Chuuya snarled as he realized he’s been played.

That lying, scheming, son of a scoundrel!

If this barrier was an obstacle for the vampire, then they can call it even after he gets rid of it. However, if the barrier was never a problem to the vampire, then it won’t be a collaboration, but just the vampire one-sidedly helping him!

The first was freeing him; the second will be saving his life from Arahabaki.

These aren’t debts that he can easily brush off. The vampire must have done this knowing that he won’t be able to just walk away without returning some kind of favour to call it even. In other words, the vampire wanted something from him, but it wasn’t breaking out of this place.

With a frustrated scream, Chuuya shot down like a meteor and crashed into the stage, completely obliterating it.

The two creatures fighting on the stage and blown off by the force.

Chuuya reached out, easily grabbing onto the tail of a giant lizard thrice his size and held it over his head like it weighed nothing.

"This is perfect." Chuuya glowered at the hissing Basilisk desperately trying to break free. “I was just feeling hungry.”

In a blink of an eye, Chuuya transformed into a tiger. He slammed the Basilisk into the ground, breaking its neck before he used his sharp fangs and tore off its flesh.

The audiences cheered, believing this was part of their nightly show. The guards on the sideline were in a mixture of confusion and panic, not certain if this was a special event the higher-ups decided to host or not.

Chuuya knew he couldn’t stall. He swallowed the flesh of the Basilisk and drank its blood. Once he had enough, he transformed back into his human form. He wiped the blood staining his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed at the oblivious humans in the audience seats.

When his keen ears caught a string of gibberish, Chuuya used the power of gravity and leaped into the sky just as a yellow beam of light shot by where he stood, denigrating ground and the half-eaten Basilisk in a blink of an eye.

Chuuya landed next to the newly formed hole and glared at a woman dressed in all black with a pointed hat. Like all witches tend to be, she was a plain-looking woman—though probably beautiful by human standard—wearing a black dress that looked like a cheap rip-off from fairy creatures.

In Chuuya’s eyes, the woman was no less hideous than a blobfish.

Her lips that were painted in the colour of fresh blood were rapidly moving to cast her next spell. She twirled her twig and Chuuya took off into the sky as chains shot out from the ground in an attempt to capture him. Even now, she wore an arrogant look on her face, like she was dealing with a pest and not a werebeast that could potentially kill her and everyone else in the vicinity.

The witch was strong, but just from two attacks, Chuuya could tell she’s an amateur in battle. Perhaps this was the first time she even engaged in a fight. She was most likely put in charge of this place due to her high magic affinity. The witch was too full of her power and after years and years of governing these chained up creatures that lost their ability to fight back, she has forgotten just how strong they were. Even veteran witches don’t engage in combat without proper preparations and a bunch of human meat shields she could hide behind.

This dumb woman just charged in to show off how strong she is.

Chuuya had always thought that when this day came, he would tear the woman apart with his claws the second he gets the chance. Maybe he’ll also go up to those humans cheering from the audience seats and snap off their heads and rip out their hearts.

He expected a lot of anger and rage…but never did he expected calmness.

As he jumped around to dodge the chains, he felt nothing inside him. He looked at the faces of the humans, then to the guards that regularly abused them, and finally at the haughty witch.

He felt absolutely nothing when looking at them.

In his eyes at this very moment eyes, they were all just dead objects.

That was all there is to it.

“Grantors of dark disgrace,” Chuuya chanted as crimson markings appeared over his sickly pale skin, “you need not to wake me again.”

━━━━━━━━ ✠ ━━━━━━━━

"Do you have four stomachs or something?" Dazai wondered as he watched the weretiger shoved food into his mouth. Well, he supposed he couldn't say shove, as the other was quite elegant in how he ate…astonishingly.

Still, the speed he was displaying was not normal.

Chuuya ignored the vampire as he cleaned every single plate without leaving a morsel of food behind. At first, the humans around them would stare at the redhead with their jaws slack, wondering just how much the petite boy could eat. Eventually, they got bored and went back to minding their own business.

The waitress ran back and forth, taking away the empty plates and bringing up new ones.

"Bring another basket of baguette—actually make that two basket, five shepherd's pie, some more roast lambs, chicken, pork, beef, whatever you got," Dazai told the waitress as his eyes roamed over the menu. "You know what, just bring everything that is filing, no need to bother with the taste. If you can stuff him to death, I'll pay triple the amount."

The waitress screamed when a knife flew right past her and towards the raven's head. The vampire didn't even look up as his hand shot up, grabbing the knife by the handle before hurling it back. The woman's knees were shaking as she watched the red-head catching the knife with ease and stabbing it into the chicken.

"You got that?" The vampire asked disinterestedly, eyes never once lifted from the menu.

Nodding hastily, the waitress scurried away to have the cook prepare the next round of feast.

The vampire let out a long sigh. "I'm helping you order food and you tried to skewer me."

"Don't think that just because I don't understand that you can talk shit about me," Chuuya growled with a vein throbbing in his forehead. There was just something he didn't like about the vampire's attitude just then, so he acted.

"Animal instincts huh?" Dazai mumbled as he looked at the way the werebeast was glowering at him. He could almost imagine a small orange cat, hissing and puffing itself up to look big and threatening. The vampire suddenly felt a strange urge to tease his companion more.

Unfortunately, a hushed whisper soon brought his attention elsewhere.

Chuuya took a bite of his chicken while Dazai ran his finger over the rim of a wine cup. While neither of them acted out of ordinary, both of them focused their attention to the back of the restaurant where a group of soldiers sat. Usually, these human soldiers were loud and noisy, but this group here was unusually quiet.

They chatted quietly among themselves, all of their faces serious and some even started to get anger the more they conversed. After listening to them for a while, Chuuya turned to Dazai who had picked up a cup and was playing with the dark fluid inside.

"They're talking about your masterpiece from three days ago," Dazai informed him with a sly grin. "Since the witch is missing, they're convinced that the destruction of the fighting ring was her doing."

Chuuya lightly bit on the tip of his fork as he looked over those soldiers. "This is why you got rid of that witch's body?"

"I told you, humans don't trust witches. All you need is to give them a reason and they'll push all the blames onto the witches."

"How stupid."

Dazai set the cup he was playing around with in front of Chuuya. Chuuya looked at the weird liquid inside for a moment before picking it up and taking a sip.

He quickly spat it back out.

"What the fuck is this?!" He coughed, feeling the sour and bitter aftertaste sensation in his throat.

"It's call wine," Dazai sniggered, "Human makes it with fermented grape juice."

"Fermented? It's rotten?!" Chuuya choked in disbelieve. After eating rotten food for so long, he wouldn't even care if it's crawling with bugs. But why would human willingly eat rotten food?

"That's why you're a kid." Dazai deadpanned.

"Who are you calling a kid?!"

A man came by just then, dropping a large barrel right next to their table, saying something to Dazai before leaving. Confused, Chuuya looked down to the barrel. He could hear water sound coming from inside it. When he smelled the familiar scent coming from it and that iconic cow mark drawn on the wooden surface, it didn't take a genius to find out what it was.

The damn leech had ordered an entire barrel of milk for him!

People screamed as a table flew across the restaurant—along with the body of a raven-haired man—right into the group of soldiers at the very back…

Half an hour later, Chuuya and Dazai walked out into the busy street.

The restaurant workers and the owner lined up at the doorway, wide smiles on every one of their faces as they waved goodbye to the two youngsters walking away from the restaurant.

"How much did you pay them?" Chuuya questioned skeptically. He didn't understand human currency, but he could tell it's not a small amount. After all, he did nearly take apart the restaurant. The bodies of those idiot soldiers that tried to hack him with their swords were still piled up in the middle of the dirt road with white foams gushing from their mouths.

Dazai was humming as he twirled a brown leather pouch around his index finger. It was the same pouch he had swiped off those human soldiers when the werebeast threw him (and the table) into them.

Chuuya's blood boiled at the thought of being used by this bastard…again.

"Enough to let them buy a new restaurant," Dazai replied. "For mere foot soldiers to have so much money, it seems the higher-ups of this town are quite corrupted."

Chuuya couldn't understand the concept of money. Werebeasts never needed those kinds of things. They live pretty much like wild animals. They hunt for their food and make their own home. Whenever anyone needed something, they just share what they have.

Well, at least that's what it seemed to him anyways.

"Now what?"

"What do you mean?" Dazai was feigning innocence.

"You tell me, you're the one that made me come with you!"

"I never said you had to." Dazai countered, causing the vein on Chuuya's head to throb.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just repaying the favour. The sooner we call it even, the sooner I can leave!" The werebeast grumbled. "You got something you want me to do, don't you?"

Dazai looked up to the starry sky, exposing his delicate pale neck wrapped up in bandages. His face was serious, lips slightly parted as he let out a long, thoughtful sound.

"Aaaaah…nope."

"What?" Chuuya blinked, wondering if he heard wrong.

"I don't have anything I want you to do."

"Then why the hell have me come along with you?!"

"Now, now, you're making a scene!" Dazai chortled, gesturing to the humans gawking at the odd Asian pair. "There's an inn just down the street! We should hurry before they run out of room!"

"Hey, bastard! Hold it!" Chuuya swore as he chased after the vampire.

In the end, there was only one room left—or that's what Dazai claimed anyways. That was fine with Chuuya since they still have unfinished business.

Once they've settled in their room, Chuuya was instantly on the lanky vampire.

"Explain yourself." He threatened dangerously.

Dazai sat on the soft bed, looking up at the werebeast standing over him with arms crossed over his chest. Sad that it's only at times like this that the werebeast would be taller.

Chuuya didn't know why, but the way the vampire's looking at him made his blood boil, so he slammed a foot into the side of the bed and loomed over the vampire.

"What games are you playing here? You can't expect me to believe you want me to follow you around without any reason."

"Of course not!" Dazai said in an offended tone. "You're going to be my dog after all!"

"…Hah?"

"If I tell you my leg is itchy, you scratch it! If I want to drink blood, you go kidnap a beautiful blond woman in her early twenties and bring her to me!"

CRASH

The entire bed was crushed into pieces as Dazai fell into the pieces of broken wooden frames and fiber fillings of the mattress. When he looked up, Chuuya has his foot hovering over the vampire's face.

"They say that vampires can live as long as their hearts are intact." The werebeast muttered, tilting his head to the side as murderous glint flickered within his eyes. "Want to test that out?"

"I hate pain, so I'll pass." Dazai sighed, putting both hands up in surrender. "You can't take a joke, can you? If you want a reason, you can say that it's to survive the war."

"What do you mean?"

"Since you were locked up pretty much all your life, you wouldn't know, but we're close to the final war."

"What final war?"

"The world war."

"World war?!" Chuuya gapped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"A worldwide war involving every single species. The entire planet will become a warzone" Dazai spoke in such light-hearted tone it sounded like he was discussing the weather rather than an incoming apocalypse. "This is what will happen when you keep slaughtering and enslaving other species. Once they finally realize the peril they're in, every single species will see everyone and everything else as enemies that need to be eliminated, then a full out war will emerge."

"And human will come out victorious." Chuuya narrowed his eyes, still remembering what Dazai had told him. He slowly pulled back his foot, allowing the vampire to sit up. "You're saying this war will come soon?"

"In two years, to be precise." Dazai hummed. "When the war comes, nowhere will be safe. Money will mean nothing and survival will only be for the fittest. If you want to live, then we need to collaborate."

"I thought you wanted to die." Chuuya kindly reminded him.

"I rather die at the hands of a beautiful lady than some barbaric, racist animals."

"You want me to kill you off right now?" Chuuya gritted his teeth before pushing his anger back down. If what this vampire said is true, then he'll need this bastard alive. Being the only one that speaks his native language and the ability to keep Corruption under control, he needed Dazai.

And with only the ability to nullify other powers, the vampire needed protection.

It was a fair deal…given that everything he said was the truth that is.

"So, what will it be, Chuuya?" Dazai wore that knowing smirk on his face as he held out his hand.

The bastard was so certain the werebeast will take his deal. As much as Chuuya wanted to prove him wrong, he can't. He got no other choice but to accept this deal. He slapped his hand against the vampire's and held it in a brutal grip.

"If I catch you doing anything funny behind my back, I will put a stake through your stomach and roast you in the sunlight."

"Such a brat." The vampire grunted, causing a huge vein to throb as Chuuya applied all his strength into the handshake. The cracking sounds of breaking bones resonated throughout the room.

"GAAAH! You're such a brat!"

"You're a brat too!"

"Tell me that when you grow taller!"

"I'm only fifteen, I'm still growing! You're like what, fifty?!"

"I'm fifteen as well!"

(ﾉꐦ ⊙曲ఠ)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

"Wow…so that's how you and Dazai-san met?" Atsushi said in fascination after listening to his mentor's story.

Chuuya sat on the barstool, sipping on a glass of wine as he regarded the young tiger's excitement. "You're more invested in this plain old story than I am."

"I just think it's amazing." Atsushi smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I know what happened during the Dark Age, but hearing Chuuya-san's story made it feel more real."

"Well, it was hundreds of years ago." Blue eyes drifted down to the wine in his hand. "To you brats, it might as well be a fairy tale."

"But Chuuya-san and Dazai-san lived through it, right? In that case, it's not a fairy tale."

Chuuya looked at his disciple with a small hint of surprise before a smile lifted his lips.

"But why was Dazai-san in Switzerland?"

"To escape from his coven," Chuuya answered. "That shitty mackerel came from a strong coven of pureblood vampires. At the time, they ruled over Yokohama and got connections all over Japan. After deserting his coven, he had to leave the country."

"Yokohama?" Atsushi's eyes widened. "You don't mean…?!"

"Yes. The same place where Akutagawa came from. That coven has merged with other species over time and turned into one big organization. That is the Port Mafia."

"Then is it safe for us to be here?" Atsushi asked with worries lacing his voice. "What if the Port Mafia—"

"Calm down, kid." Chuuya chuckled at the frantic look on his face. "We struck a peace treaty long ago. They won't bother us as long as we don't bother them."

Atsushi let out a sigh of relieve, glad to hear everything was alright. "So then…was Dazai-san captured by the humans the moment he left Japan?"

"Capture?" Chuuya snorted as he remembered the ridiculous reason that landed the vampire in the cell as him. "That moron didn't get captured. He let those humans take him."

"Eh?!" Atsushi was dumbfounded. That was certainly not what he had expected, but then again this was Dazai they're talking about...

"He heard rumours about a werebeast with royal bloodline in the dueling ring, so he came to find me." Chuuya rested his chin against his palm. "The bastard planned everything out from the beginning, just so I would team up with him for the Dark Age."

There was more to that though.

What Dazai had planned wasn't only for the survival during the Dark Age. Even back then, the vampire was looking even further to the future. Dazai had sought Chuuya out for the creation of Double Black. With their combined powers, they were quickly made known to the world. It didn't matter what species they were. Whenever people caught wind that Double Black might be nearby, they will flee the vicinity, fearing to get caught up in their battle.

It was due to this that they were able to live peacefully right now.

After human came out victorious during the Dark Age, life became harsher for all other species. It was only in recent years that they were getting fairer treatment, but many were still slaves made to serve the humans. A good example would be that creep Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. How many different species suffered at his hands? How many were tortured, wishing for death that just wouldn't come?

These kinds of humans exist all around the world.

Dazai being Dazai, had another reason to form Double Black. Perhaps that’s his ultimate goal from the beginning. Everything he did was simply to pull free from his old coven—the current Port Mafia. With Chuuya by his side, Dazai has a chip to bargain for his freedom. It was thanked to this that they were able to form a contract

Everything went exactly as that arrogant vampire had planned.

The only thing Dazai hadn't accounted for was the change in their relationship…as well as raising two kids. These two things were probably the greatest surprises that scheming mind wasn't able to predict.

"Honey~ we're back!" An irritating voice sang as the front door flung open, revealing the tall and lanky vampire carrying multiple bags of groceries with his disciple in toll.

"Oh, you're back," Chuuya said disinterestedly as he continued to swirl the wine around his glass.

"Welcome back, Dazai-san, Ryuu!" Atsushi greeted as he hurried over to take the load off the vagabond vampire.

"Did you miss me, darling?" Dazai pounced towards Chuuya, only for the redhead to shove a palm into his face to stop his advance.

"Don't touch me!" Chuuya snarled with veins popping up from beneath his forehead. "I told you not to come near me for a month!"

"Chuuya! Don't be so cruel!" Dazai whined. "If I keep sleeping on the couch like this my back won't be able to take it!"

"And my back can?!" Chuuya snapped, now using both hands in an attempt to push the vampire away. "You kept going even when I told you to stop!"

"That was Chuuya's fault!" Dazai held his hands to his cheeks and swooned at the beautiful memories of last night. "What kind of man would stop when their mate is looking at them with those teary sapphire blue eyes, cheeks blushing in cherry blossom pink and hiccupping when—"

BAM

With a simple push of his hand (and the power of gravity), Chuuya slammed the vampire face-first into the floor. Thankfully, he still remembered that they're at home, so he held back on his strength. Otherwise, they'll need to replace the finely polished floor. This was one good thing about moving to a new home. If this was back in their dusty old manor, Chuuya wouldn't have cared.

When Chuuya's sharp eyes snapped up, he saw Atsushi and Akutagawa sorting out the groceries bags and putting the food into the fridge. Akutagawa looked like he couldn't care less (or rather, too used to the scene), while Atsushi was desperately pretending not to have heard anything and failing miserably. The kid's entire face was burning up and his movements were very robotic.

"So Atushi-kun, what did you two do while we're gone?" Dazai appeared right beside the younger weretiger, surprising the poor boy and causing him to drop the carton of milk he was putting away.

Dazai stood there with his hands in his pockets, smiling brightly as if he hadn't kissed the floor just seconds ago.

"O-oh, Chuuya-san was just telling me how you guys met!" Atsushi spluttered, eyes darting every now and then at Akutagawa, signaling for help. The young vampire spared Atsushi half a second of his precious time before he returned to whatever he was doing, completely brushing him aside.

This caused a vein to pop over the white weretiger. He'll remember this.

"Ah, brings back memories." Dazai sighed blissfully. "Chuuya was so adorable back then~"

"AH?" Chuuya glared daggers at his mate.

"I don't mean anything bad!" Dazai hurriedly explained. With his mate mad at him like this, anything he says would be equivalent to stepping on a landmine.

He only wanted to tease his mate a bit last night, but he went overboard and pissed him off instead. This was all Chuuya's fault for being so cute though. Not his.

"Atsushi-kun!" Dazai spun around dramatically to white-haired boy cradling the milk. "Next year will be your eighteenth birthday! You'll finally be legal to bond with Ryuunosuke!"

The carton of milk fell back onto the ground. Atsushi's face was burning up to the point where steams could be seen rolling off his skin. Behind him, Akutagawa had frozen up. In fact, it wasn't just him. Rashoumon seemed to have frozen as well with how stiff the fabric became.

This spiked Chuuya's interest as he set down the wine glass he had been playing around with.

"That's right!" The redhead agreed as he leaned over the table. "Have you two talked over yet? Vampire's thirst for blood will increase during sex so you should—"

"CHUUYA-SAN!" Atsushi screamed, mortified that the older weretiger was going to give him the talk.

"What, don't tell me you're getting shy over something like this?" Chuuya teased.

"W-we um…" Atsushi fidgeted, embarrass and uncertain of how to tell their mentors.

"We decided to take more time," Akutagawa said as he came to stand beside his lover. Atsushi looked up at Akutagawa. There was a small look of surprise on his face before that surprise melted into warmth. With his lover beside him, he regained his confidence and nodded firmly to Chuuya.

Chuuya looked back and forth between the two. He smiled at how uptight they were being.

"Take all the time you need." He waved at the pair. "Once you perform the bond, it'll be for life. It's normal to need time to think about it. Took me fifty years to finally decide to bond with this mackerel." He said, jabbing a thumb at his lanky companion.

"Chuuya, you wound me!" Dazai cried with a hand over his heart, yet his expression didn't have a hint of sadness for someone being hurt. If anything, his burnt umber eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"You two are worried whether or not you can stay together for the rest of your life, correct?" Dazai walked over to join own mate's side. He gently placed a hand onto Chuuya's shoulder. To his delight, the weretiger didn't throw him over his shoulder and allowed the contact. "The fact that you're worried about this means you won't have any problems. After all, werebeasts and vampires are destined to become mates."

"What do you mean?" Atushi exchanged looks with Akutagawa. This was the first time they were ever told of this. Since when did the two sworn enemies become destined mate materials?

"Oh, that's easy to figure out if you think about it," Dazai told them. "The difference in our body temperature is one. Vampires are creatures born in coldness. Unable to come into contact with sunlight or fire, it’s impossible for us to feel physical heat. Werebeasts, on the other hand, have unusually high body temperature due to their regenerative cells constantly being produced in their body.”

Dazai didn’t need to say the rest as the two already knew this. The huge difference in their body temperature was what made them want to be near each other in the beginning. It was this difference that made it so comfortable when they hold one another because it’s only with each other that they can feel the warmth of another living being.

"Werebeast's blood cells carry high regenerative properties. A single cell holds twenty times more nutrient than a normal blood cell. That's why their blood will taste sweeter and richer than other species. When we drink from them, werebeast's blood will help heal our body. And due to the werebeast's regeneration power, their body will instantly restore any blood that was lost."

"Meaning as long as we have food, we're an all you can eat buffet for them." Chuuya chipped in from the sideline. "There are many more examples…"

"But werebeasts and vampires can't see that." Atsushi finished for Chuuya.

"When you're trained to hate and kill from a young age, you will lose the ability to think rationally. When Ryuunosuke first met Chuuya, the first thing he did was to attack him~" Dazai chuckled, causing Akutagawa to flinch as if something invisible had slapped him across the face.

"Really?!" Atsushi gawked at his lover. He then turned to Chuuya who seemed so fond of the memory that he started cackling.

"I beat him up pretty bad." Chuuya snickered. "I even offered some blood to let him recover, but he said he rather die than to drink from me. So, I broke all four of his limbs, dislocated his jaw and just poured my blood down his throat.

"E-eeeeh…?" Atsushi looked back to Akutagawa whose face was scrunched up in what looked like shame. He suddenly felt very sorry for his lover…

"That is the hate drilled into young werebeasts and vampires." Dazai explained. "Chuuya and I were stray dogs in our clan. No one bothered to educate us. Ironically it's thanks to this that we're able to find out the truth."

At the mention of stray dogs, Atsushi looked over to Dazai. He knew why his mentor was an outcast, but he knew nothing about Dazai.

"But why?" Atsushi asked, unable to understand how these two strongest species fell so easily. "How did werebeast and vampires ended up like this?"

"…It's not hard to guess." Dazai shrugged. "If werebeast and vampires are allies, then this world will long be under their rule. Someone decided to break them up and turn them against one another, and they did for centuries to come. That's all there is to it."

"But—"

"While we're on this topic, allow me to tell you something more interesting!" Dazai cut off the young weretiger. "Atsushi-kun, what do you think is the most important quality between mates?"

"Uh…love?"

"Atsushi-kun sure has a pure teenage girl's heart."

"No! That's not—"

"The most important quality is rivalry!"

"…Rivalry?" Atsushi was dumbfounded. He did not expect that kind of answer.

"Your answer may be true for human, but for us it's different. Love alone won't maintain a relationship past a century. Humans wouldn’t know that, as their lives are too short. Atsushi-kun, has any of the other species you've encountered performed a mating bond?"

"No…" Atsushi replied after some thought.

During his travels with Chuuya and Dazai, he has met quite a bit of other species. He met agents working for the government, and then those that hid within the underground world. When he thought over all of them he had met, none of those species had bonded with anyone else. His and his lover's mentors were the only one he knew that bonded.

"For now you may love someone, but that love will eventually turn into boredom with time. Because of this, there are rarely any species that perform mating bond. After all, once you've mated, it'll be for life. Depending on how long they live, it could be for centuries or millennia. Even back when vampires and werebeasts were still thriving, they only mate to reproduce. Pure, sappy love doesn't exist in a fantasy world like ours. Those only exist within human's imagination. For us, a hundred years could pass in a blink of an eye and before you know it, the love you once felt got reduced to nothing.

That's another reason why werebeasts and vampires are suitable to become mates. Because not only are they lovers, they are also rivals. No matter how compatible their bodies may be, their personalities will never match. There's always one thing or another that will make them butt head, but that's what helps them understand each other beyond what pure lovers are capable of. That's the important quality you'll need if you want to be together."

"That's what you meant by destined?" Atsushi sweatdropped.

While his and Akutagawa's relationships were way better than when they first met, they still argue over a lot of things. Sometimes over small things, sometimes over bigger things…oftentimes their arguments ended up with them going at each other's throat.

There were many times where Atsushi couldn't put up with Akutagawa, and he's certain the vampire felt the same way. Yet strangely, never once did Atsushi ever stop loving Akutagawa despite all the issues going between them.

He supposed it's the arguments and fight that made them closer and able to understand one another so well.

Without it…

Atsushi's face turned green as he shuddered at the thought of a kind, patient and cheerful Akutagawa.

"What is it?" Akutagawa asked when he noticed his lover bending over the sink.

"I think I threw up a little…Ouch!" Atsushi cried when Akutagawa kicked him in the back of his knees, causing him to knock his chin against the hard counter. "What was that for?!"

"I just felt irritated." The vampire replied as if the answer is obvious.

"You!" Atsushi pounced towards his mate in an attempt to get him back, but the vampire easily side-stepped him. Atsushi already knew that's what the vampire would do. He knew him too well after all. He kicked his leg out, to trip the vampire, but Akutagawa had predicted his moment and already summoned Rashoumon.

"You two! Take this outside!" Chuuya bellowed when Atsushi bumped into the cupboard, causing the glass and ceramic tablewares inside to rattle.

"With this, life won't ever get boring, don't you agree?" Dazai said softly as he watched the two youngsters going at one another. Atsushi's arms have transformed into his tiger parts now.

"Not ready huh?" Akutagawa's word flowed back into Chuuya's head as he looked at the two's interactions. Chuuya wanted to laugh. He knew exactly what these brats were thinking.

Bonding was a sacred mating ritual that binds two people's lives together.

With the bond in place, the mated couples can feel one another at a higher level of intimacy.

The feeling of bond isn't easy to explain. If Chuuya had to describe it, it's like seeing a spark of light for the first time within a world of darkness.

The light wasn't blindingly bright or overly hot. It was a soft mellow light that carried only a tiny bit of warmth. Despite how tiny it is, its presence was impossible to ignore. That speck of light was so fragile and precious that it just makes him want to carefully cradle it within his hands and protect it.

Once a bond was formed, there was no way to undo it.

A bond was a blessing for two people in love. However, if that couple had fallen out of love, then the bond will become a curse. Despite no longer loving each other, they were forced to always be aware of the other's presence. No matter where they go, they won't be able to shake off the yearning in their heart to be reunited with the ones they never wanted to see.

Loving someone else will become impossible, as no matter how hard they try, they won't be able to shake off the longing to seek out their bonded mate.

The only way to break the bonding was through death. However, if one was to die, then the other will always follow shortly after. After all, to suddenly lose that speck of light and return to the world of darkness is a frightening process. It was enough to drive the one left behind insane.

Chuuya has seen failed examples of bond couples before. All those examples led to only one result.

Death.

When Chuuya looked at Atsushi and Akutagawa, all he saw was two dumb brats desperately trying to protect one another.

They love each other, so they were afraid of tying each other down. They were afraid that somewhere in the future, their partner would get tired of their relationship and wanted to leave, but can't because of the bond.

They were afraid that one day the other will hate them for it.

Hell knew how many times Chuuya wondered over that question. Even someone as smart as Dazai dragged it on for years.

In the end, the answer was always simple.

Neither of them was able to imagine a life without one another. Until they decide to bond, they will always yearn for something more, something that will connect them closer. It was just a matter of who will take that first step.

These two brats were more than ready, but that was something for them to figure out.

Chuuya grinned as he thought back to that night when Dazai extended his hand to him. It was the moment he decided to take that hand that both of their fate intertwined.

"…I suppose you can sleep in the bedroom again. I'm feeling quite generous right now, you better be grateful."

Dazai looked down at Chuuya in surprise before stars shone within in his eyes.

"CHUUYA!"

"Just this once!" Chuuya warned as Dazai nodded frantically with the face of a puppy that finally got the treat he deserved.

Chuuya couldn't stop the smile blossoming on his face despite knowing that this may very well be a part of his manipulative mate's plan. No, Chuuya is certain this is part of Dazai's plan to climb back into his bed. Why else would he be talking these bullshit lover qualities for no reason?

He wasn't going to believe his mate was genuinely doing it to educate their students. If anything, watching the two fretted over a problem that was never a problem had always been an enjoyment to this bandage wasting mackerel.

The worst part was, Dazai must have expected that he would figure it out. If Dazai wanted to keep something a secret, it stays a secret. No matter how long Chuuya had known him for, he would never be able to figure it out. The bastard didn't bother hiding his intention because he knew, either way, Chuuya would give in.

Sometimes, Chuuya hated how he could understand his mate so well. Many times he wondered just how he got bonded to such a bastard, yet he couldn't find himself to regret this decision. If anything, it was the best decision he had ever made—setting aside how he wanted to strangle the leech three times a month.

Well…he supposed he can follow through with his manipulation once in a while. He'll just have to properly beat up the damn mackerel the next time he tries pulling something like this.

"What did you guys get?" Chuuya asked as he crossed the kitchen to open the fridge. He let out a small, delighted hum when he saw how it was stacked full of food.

"It's been a while since we had some traditional food," Dazai said as he leaned over the weretiger and started picking out some ingredients out of the fridge. Chuuya's mouth watered when he saw three large packs of sashimi.

"Chuuya."

"Wha—hmph?!" The last half of the redhead's words became muffled when a Dorayaki was shoved into his open mouth.

"Eat that for now. I'll have food ready soon." Dazai purred into the redhead's ear, causing colours to crawl up the weretiger's neck as he nibbled on the overly sweet treat.

In that distant, he heard the sound of crashing coming from upstairs, but Chuuya couldn't bother to care. He sat back down on the barstool, slowly nibbling on his treat as he watched his mate grabbed a knife. Dazai was in an extremely good mood as he flipped the dangerous weapon around his fingers before getting to work…all while singing that dumb suicide song he came up with decades ago.

"Hey, shitty Dazai."

Dazai turned to see a Cabernet Sauvignon glass flying towards him. The vampire caught the glass by the stem, elegantly twirling it around the air to prevent the beautiful crimson fluid inside from spilling out.

"Drink that for now." Chuuya threw the vampire's word back as he took another bite into the Dorayaki.

Dazai swirled the thick blood around in the glass before bringing it up to inhale the sweet aroma of his mate.

Smiling, Dazai set down the knife and walked over to the weretiger.

"Chuuya." He called the name of his mate tenderly.

Chuuya looked up, meeting the vampire's soft brown eyes before he picked up his glass of wine. Smiles graced both of their lips as they tapped the rim of their glass against the other, creating a crisp ringing sound.

"To stray dogs."

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Extra – "Osamu"

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"Chuuya-san."

"Hm?"

"I've been wondering for a while now…why don't you call Dazai-san by his given name?"

"Pfft!" Chuuya spat out the wine he was in the middle of swallowing. He coughed heavily, trying to get rid of the fluid that entered his lungs before looking over to his disciple.

"W-what's with that all the sudden?!" He spluttered.

Atsushi thought his mentor's face looked oddly red, but it was probably from the choking. He swiftly handed over some napkins which the older weretiger took.

"I was just curious…you and Dazai-san are together for so long but I've never heard you call Dazai-san by his given name."

"Who the hell would call that bastard's name?!" Chuuya snapped, bringing the wine glass back to his lips. Instead of slowly savoring the taste of the wine which was what he had been doing, he was gulping it down like water. "His name is Osamu! It's just lame! I'm surprised he even kept such a plain name for three hundred years!"

"Oh? I had no idea you felt that way, love." A dark voice suddenly whispered right next to his ear, breathing icy breath down the soft curve of his neck.

"PFFFFT!"

"Dazai-san!" Atsushi shouted in surprise at the appearance of the vampire standing behind the choking redhead. "Y-you were here?!"

"Yo, Atsushi-kun~" The vampire greeted merrily, but for some reason that smiling face brought chills down the young weretiger's spine. "If you’ll excuse us, Chuuya and I will have some adult talk.”

“Hey! Put me down, shitty Dazai!” Chuuya shouted as he was thrown over his mate’s shoulder. He trashed around, but the vampire didn’t loosen his hold as he went up the stairs and disappeared into their shared bedroom.

A long silence followed.

Atsushi stared at that closed door for a long, long time before only one thought came across his mind.

Tomorrow’s training with Chuuya will be hell.

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◅ PART 1 Main Page PART 3 ▻

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#soukoku #shin soukoku #dazai x chuuya #akutagawa x atsushi #bungou stray dogs #bungou stray dogs fanfiction

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