The Tiger and The God

Chapter 12

Chuuya’s POV

He was pushed into an empty conference room, he could hear the door being locked before he was slammed against the wall. He glared at the taller male as his back was now in pain. He and Dazai glared at each other. He wasn’t going to give Dazai the satisfaction of caving first. Fuck the Mackerel.

“Chuuya I will only ask once. What happened? Why is Atsushi on the brink of death? What did you do?” he watched as the Mackerel glared at him with an icy look that made most people freeze in their spots. He could feel a part of him shudder at the other’s expression. He knew Dazai could rip apart his mind if he really wanted to. It was one of the reasons Dazai always lead torture sessions in the Port Mafia. He could always break someone with just words. It made Chuuya wonder if that was why Mori feared Dazai.

“I was working on a mission when I ran into the weretiger. He was investigating the same culprit that I was. After he was released for the injury he got I saw him in a cafe. I wanted to see if he had any useful information that I could possibly use. Turns out that we both were stuck on the case so we went to follow a lead the boy found. After I put the pieces together that the culprit was after him I set up a trap for Tachibana. Except it didn’t go as planned. I was out getting food when Tachibana came after him. When I found out where Tachibana was keeping Atsushi I rushed to get him out. I….I found him on a surgical table connected to a bunch of machines that looked to monitor his vitals and inject him with something. He was cut open in the abdomen but his tiger couldn’t heal it as it was forced to stay open with a metal contraption. After I unhooked him I had to move quickly so I could get him to you guys. Though it was a bit difficult as that damn fucking Tachibana was still there and was very adamant to keep the weretiger there. I ended up killing him in the fight. Then rush the boy here. That is all shitty Dazai.” He growled out as he looked away from the younger male. He hated that he just spilled everything about his mission to the enemy. Thinking back about what happened to the younger white-haired male made it worth it. He knew Dazai would try to get to the bottom of why Tachibana wanted Atsushi and as to how he found Atsushi. He himself wanted to know as he was sure he covered their tracks enough to not be found in that safehouse.

During those days in that safe house he had come to like Atsushi. He viewed him as a friend. Someone he wanted to protect. To think Atsushi was tortured for days in that lab hurt him; knowing he was the one that caused it. Looking into the brunette’s eyes he could tell Dazai was pissed at him. He could definitely see the blame in the brown eyes. The thing is he actually agreed that it was his fault that Atsushi got hurt.

“Dazai I know right now you don’t even want to help me. But do know this, I care for the weretiger and I want to figure out how the fuck Tachibana was able to find him so quickly and why he was after Atsushi. I need you to do what you can to figure it out. I don’t have the fucking knowledge or connections that you do. I fucking hate to say this but I need you goddamn help.” He grimaced as he said those words. He absolutely hated having to rely on the bastard for information. There was always a catch when asking the demon prodigy a favor.

He watched Dazai’s eyes darken with a sinister look. He knew whatever came out of the bastard’s mouth was not going to be pleasant.

“Now Chuuya, that is quite the favor you are asking of me.” He watched a gleam enter the brunette’s eyes that told him he was going to be paying a price.

“I will do it but you are going to have to stay away from Atsushi. If you happen to be on a mission with him that means you don’t interact more than you have to. I will not be letting you put Atsushi through something like this again. Stay away from him Chuuya.” What Chuuya didn’t know was that Dazai already planned to investigate to see why Atsushi was targeted. He didn’t need anything to do it. As he promised Odasaku he would do better. Chuuya looked at the younger male with as blank a look he could manage. He stayed silent as he processed what Dazai had said. He had to stay away from Atsushi and he didn’t want to do that. He became friends with Atsushi in the small time they were together. The more he thought about it though he realized that Atsushi would blame him for what happened. Atsushi probably wouldn’t want to ever see him again. Damn it. He fucking hated this. He knew what he had to do and he didn’t like it. He looked into Dazai’s eyes and nodded.

“Oh no Chuuya I need to hear you say it.”

“Fuck! I will stay away from Atsushi damnit.” He looked away and pushed Dazai away. “But I am staying until I know your doctor lady has healed him and said he is fine.” He glared at the mackerel with a look that said it was non negotiable. He heard Dazai sigh and walked away. After the younger male shut the door Chuuya slid down the wall. His hands slid down his face as he processed everything that had happened. He was honestly upset and mad at himself. It was his fault his friend was laying on a table dying. Fuck! He stared at the wall with tears in the corner of his eyes. He wiped them quickly and stood up.  As he exited the room, Yosano exited the infirmary room. There was blood all over the front over her doctor’s coat. He stared at how much blood was on her. He looked up when he heard her clear her throat. He observed that Dazai was behind her leaning against the wall looking straightforward at the closed infirmary door.

“He lost a lot of blood. He didn’t even need me to bring him close to death to activate my ability. If you waited a minute later he would have died.” He flinched a bit at that. He didn’t realize that Atsushi was that close to death.

“He is alive. I was able to heal most of the damage done. The rest of his injuries will have to be healed by Byakko. But he will be fine.” She finished up with a glare in her eyes. She turned away and went toward the office so she could go report to the President. He watched her with relieved eyes. Thank god the Jinko would be okay. Thank god his friend will be okay. Though he probably wasn’t able to refer to Atsushi as his friend anymore. Honestly he wouldn’t even want to be his friend anymore either.

He knew it was now time for him to leave and he got what he needed to know. He walked past Dazai as he went to leave.

“Remember our deal Chuuya. If I do find information I will let you know but you stay away from Atsushi.”

“I know you damn fucking Mackerel.” He turned away from his ex-partner. He stopped right before the stairs and stared down them.

“Take care of him, Dazai. Promise me you will.” He allowed himself this moment of weakness as he needed to be sure Atsushi would be taken care of probably. Not just giving half assed advice or whatever the damn Mackerel did before. Because he was turned away he didn’t see Dazai’s expression soften slightly. He didn’t know that Dazai knew that he truly cared about Atsushi. He also didn't know that Dazai was only doing this for Atsushi and not to punish Chuuya. As Dazai knew he probably would have done the same thing as what the Port Mafia executive had done. Hell he had done it before during the guild incident.

“You have my word.”

Chuuya nodded, then left the ADA building only to stop a few steps away and look up where the ADA was located. He will stay away from Atsushi but he would occasionally check on him without anyone knowing.

A Week Later

Atsushi’s POV

He groaned as he started to wake up not remembering when he fell asleep. It was when he opened his eyes that the memories came back to him. His breathing picked up as he hurriedly looked around. He was terrified. He saw the ivs in him and ripped them out as he tried not to scream. Where was he? Did he escape? Where was Nakahara-san? Was he okay? Tears dripped down his face as he panicked. Suddenly there were arms on him and he fought. He fought as hard as he could in his state. Did he get captured again? Chuuya! Help!