Soukoku Oneshots

Birthday Part 1

CHAPTER 1: DARE

April 29. Chuuya lay on his bed, his arm over his head. Blanket tossed by his feet, his shirt rolling up ever so slightly that his skin was exposed. Even though Chuuya was 22, when it came to his birthday he acted like a child. He adored his birthday. The port Mafia did celebrate birthdays after all! It was exactly 12:00am, Chuuya’s eyes flashed open and he immediately sat up and scrambled to look for his phone. April 29. Boy did he love that date. Chuuya was excited, his face suddenly brightening. He couldn’t wait for it to be another 7 hours, when the Port Mafia woke up.

His face started to darken again. It was another year without Dazai by his side, he couldn’t bear to admit it but, he did miss him, a lot. The years with Dazai he had spent had left a burning impact on Chuuya. When Dazai was still in the Port Mafia and it was Chuuya’s birthday, he would always greet him with a startling prank at exactly 12:00am, they would muck around for a bit then get caught by Mori, get taught off for disturbing Elise’s beauty sleep, look at each other in silence for a hot 50 minutes, than finally, fall asleep. On his birthday, Chuuya would find himself sharing his bed with Dazai. Usually this would be a huge fight over who gets the bed, but on his birthday, he was simply too tired to argue with Dazai. He would never forget how it felt on those days. They both slept as far as possible from the other, so half of both their bodies were exposed to the night. The nights in the Port Mafia were always extremely cold, it was like somebody had turned on the air conditioner over night! And by the morning, they would both wake up, to see that they had somehow embraced each others presence overnight. He didn’t know why, but he always enjoyed Dazai’s bandaged arms over his body. So when he woke up, he pretended to be asleep so he could enjoy it more.

Now it had been nearly 4 years. Every single time it was his birthday over the 4 years, Chuuya had always woken up at 12am on impulse. Then he would miserably turn on the notifications of his phone and lie down, no blanket over his body. He wanted to remember the cold that he always felt on that day, maybe he would wake up in the warm presence of Dazai again, he didn’t know, but he hoped. While lying down in the sheer cold, Chuuya always listened for the notification alarm. It had never happened once, but he wished that Dazai would at least send him a text. He would spend the 7 hours wallowing in nostalgia, then putting on a new face as he exited his room.

“Happy birthday Chuuya.” “Happy birthday Chuuya!” “Yay! Happy birthday!” “Ah! Happy Birthday….” “Happy birthday~” The warm voices of the Port Mafia employees wishing Chuuya a happy birthday filled the room. “Aha, thank you everyone,” Chuuya said shyly. No matter how much of a narcissist he was, he was always a bit shy when it came to receiving kind words. They would all have a hearty breakfast together. It was always pancakes, Chuuya’s favourite breakfast. Then they would all resume their day normally, only the other members would sneak presents into Chuuya’s room when he didn’t know it. Birthday’s in the Port Mafia were truly wholesome.

And that’s how Chuuya’s birthday always went. A happy and great occasion. At the end of the day, Chuuya plopped on his bed and opened up his presents with great care. Peeling off the tape without damaging the paper, and making sure to neatly fold the paper after taking it off the box. He appreciated all of his presents, although, a few were a bit concerning, but it was alright. And right before he went to sleep, he would check his phone for any messages. Ding

Chuuya scrambled to his phone. A million thoughts raced into his head; was it a scam email? Was it a friend? Or could it be… He was found correct,it was a message from Dazai. “Chibi~ Are you enjoying your presents? Come up to the rooftop of the port mafia~ I have one for you too!” He couldn’t tell if it was a prank or not, but nevertheless, Chuuya ran up to the rooftop in his pyjamas. And surely, Dazai sat on the railing of the rooftop. “Oh, hey Chuuya!”

“Hello to you too.” Chuuya growled. He didn’t like the tone of Dazai’s voice. It was too, real. Dazai hopped off the railing and ran towards Chuuya. “My, my~ Is my dear dog upset with me?” Dazai taunted. Chuuya stood silent, his head looking at the ground. “Hey~ don’ t tell me you’re angry or something~” Dazai pouted. “No way I would be upset just over you coming here! Damn mackerel…” Actually Chuuya was on the verge of tears. How embarrassing, a 22 year old grown man about to cry like a baby. But of course, he has been longing this day for the past 4 years! How could he not be on the verge of tears? Dazai creeped up to him silently and clamped his hands on Chuuya’s cheeks, then forcing him to look up to Dazai. “Oh, my, the slug is actually sad.”Dazai smirked. He half scoffed, waiting for Chuuya to throw another insult back at him. But he didn’t. Chuuya simply didn’t reply at all. Dazai didn’t know what was going on. He had never actually seen Chuuya not immediately throw back an insult, and was a bit concerned.

“H-hey Chuuya-“ Dazai leaned down to face Chuuya only to be attacked by a kick on the ankle. “Chuuya~ did I do something wrong?” He said while wincing. Chuuya’s strength was not something to mess with, but Dazai really didn’t know why he had gotten kicked in the first place. It was a good awkward minute until Chuuya looked up to Dazai. “Why did you come here?” He asked.“Because, it was your birthday.” Dazai replied. It was so simple. “Why did you come, only on this birthday?” “I-“ “Why didn’t you come all those other years? Why? Why? Why?! Why?! Why?….” Chuuya screamed. To Dazai it looked as if a child was throwing a tantrum. There were two options, 1. To tell the truth, or 2. To tell a lie. He didn’t feel like telling Chuuya the truth. It would only make Dazai seem weak and ignorant. So he quickly thought of a lie. “I  forgot..."

Was this the best answer? No. Would this absolutely shatter their relationship? Surely. “Huh?” Chuuya started laughing. He couldn’t believe himself. He had thought that Dazai would at least think about his birthday. What a lie! His face suddenly snapped back to coldness, “Really?” he said. This was the true confirmation, everything could have been changed just by Dazai’s answer.“Yes.” Dazai’s face was disorganised, it could easily be told that he was telling a lie, even for Dazai himself. But Chuuya was too emotionally wrecked to look at these signs. Dazai, his best friend, one of his only friends, the one he had been working with for 3 whole years, hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that it could have been his birthday. He was utterly speechless. He was silly, he really had thought that Dazai really cared about him. It was a stupid, but bitter hope. Chuuya stood up and started to quickly rush back to his room. He didn’t care about Dazai anymore, why would he bother? His mind was in shambles, his heart torn. Dazai tried to chase after Chuuya, a small box in his hands. But the rooftop door was slammed shut. And Dazai and no choice but to return to his home. He sighed. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. It was supposed to go like this at all. There had been  a mistake

Chuuya lay on his bed again. His blanket over his entire body. It felt warm, but it still couldn’t heal the coldness he felt from his heart. What was this? 4 years of waiting, hoping, all down the drain. He hated this feeling and regretted letting himself go soft. What a idiot he was. He truly despised it. He shut his eyes in attempt to forget this day ever happened. A tear trickled out of Chuuya’s eyes. He fell asleep.