Bungou Stray Dogs ~ One-shots

[Chuuya xR] A choice without regrets (1/3)

Of all the things that this first-class jerk (Dazai, of course) had done in his useless life, this was undoubtedly the only thing for which Chuuya was grateful.

It had not been long since he had joined the Mafia, so he had not had time to meet all its 'main' members, that is, those who were higher up in the hierarchy. In other words, his superiors, at the time when he was just a newcomer.

The Mafia included so many people that it was almost impossible to meet all the members, especially in a few weeks. So, he had to limit himself to his closest future 'colleagues', at least for the moment.

Although.

The person to whom he had been introduced that day was a smiling young woman, something rare in this kind of environment, but also polite and well behaved. It was Dazai who had initiated this meeting, apparently against his will (like all the times when they were obliged to work together in a way), with this girl he had introduced under the name of Kiyoko.

Chuuya, intimidated by the presence and the sweetness that this young stranger gave off, had not been able to hide his blush entirely, but he was grateful to the setting sun that poured its crimson light on the surroundings, which would certainly allow him to go unnoticed by Kiyoko. At least he hoped so.

The hand of this young woman, however, was extremely damaged, witness of the violent life she led and the numerous fights she had fought. She had no ability, but had learned to wield many weapons with impressive dexterity, which had allowed her to get promoted.

After this quick presentation, during which he had certainly made a fool of himself, the image of this girl had remained in his mind for many days. He tried as best he could to leave her aside, in order to concentrate on his integration into the Mafia, but it was a waste of time.

She was always there, in a corner of his mind.

During their following meetings, he had multiplied the embarrassing actions in his eyes. He often stuttered when he found himself in front of her, stumbled on invisible obstacles, and especially could not get rid of this damn heat which reddened his cheeks, nor of these butterflies which fluttered in the hollow of his stomach, which only multiplied infinitely as time passed.

In the end, he had to face the facts. He had a crush on Kiyoko. And even more, to his great misfortune; he was in love. But, in the Mafia, was there really a place for what was called 'love'?

The fact that the young woman was in some way his superior did not help matters. Firstly, because he was not sure if it was right to feel that way about his 'elders' (although she was only a year older than him, it was more from a hierarchical point of view that he was saying that), but also delicate because, in addition, they spent a lot of time together.

He was happy about that, and at the same time not. He could see her often, but at the same time it only reinforced his feelings about Kiyoko (and the unfortunate actions). At some point, exhausted, he decided that all this had to end.

He could not take it anymore. However, he knew that, at the moment, there was nothing he could do about it. He had planned to declare his love to the young woman, no matter what, but he had waited to become an executive himself to do so, in order to put all the chances on his side, and especially to escape the 'I don't date my subordinates' answer that terrified him so much.

He already had enough to do with the 'I don't date boys younger than me', or even the 'I don't date people who are barely my size', so he wanted to get a head start.

Finally, on the very day of his promotion to executive, he decided to act. Honestly, he had been prepared to be far more embarrassed than he had actually been, or even to run away under the pressure and fear of rejection.