一。

It started off as a simple day. Then it all went downhill once the car blew up in his face.

He had heard of it, actually. The death of a mafia member- the errand boy. Something about Mimic. About a day or two or a month after that incident (Chuuya couldn't quite remember), Dazai went missing during a mission, untraceable.

He was delighted, actually. Finally, that annoying mackerel took himself out of the door, fantastic!

He opened a bottle of Petrus 1889, and then his car blew up.

Such a bad timing.

But that still didn't explain why Oda Sakunosuke was standing right in front of him, with no memory of his name and past like- what the hell.

Amnesia? He looked pretty unscathed, though. Wasn't he shot or something?

Chuuya wasn't sure what to do.

(He talked to Kouyou about it over the phone. Kouyou had hesitation in her voice, telling him to get some rest, or take a break for a week or two. Chuuya wasn't sure why.)

Now the not-so-dead-anymore errand boy was sitting at his couch, his ever present stoic expression leaving an awkward silence in the room.

Continuously tapping his foot on the ground, Chuuya crossed his arms around his chest.

Silence continued. He scowled.

He could totally just leave him alone, actually, but amnesia- what should he do?! This was Dazai's acquaintance, and Chuuya barely knew anything about this fella! Barely spoke to him, too, aside from occasional greetings or such during work. Maybe he should contact the boss, but...

He sighed, gloved hands gripped into fists.

What has he gotten himself in to?

But one thing, for sure-

For some reason, he didn't dare to remind Oda of his name or what little past he knew of him.

It was like a gut feeling. His sixth instinct. Oda continued to stare at him with hints of confusion.

(He knew it would be bad if he did.)

二。

Amnesia or not, Chuuya later found out that no one could see Oda. It was unnerving, actually, during his many attempts to get people to look at the taller man standing stupidly beside him. All of the mafiosi just stared at Chuuya as if he'd grown a second head.

"Bah! You guys should get your eyes checked!" The redhead ended up saying, spitting at them as he promptly stomped away. Oda stuck behind him, unsure of what to do.

"And you, why the heck are you still following me?"

Oda shrugged. "It doesn't seem like anyone else can see me..."

Chuuya snorted. "No shit. Now what?"

Everyone was treating Chuuya as if he was hallucinating. The redhead paused.

"Chuuya, you should get some rest, alright? Have a week or two off," Kouyou had said.

... Damn.

"You're... Not a hallucination, right?" That was a stupid question.

Oda shrugged again. That didn't help at all.

三。

He told Mori. Mori only stared at him, a rather amused and surprised expression on his face.

"So, you're saying that he is standing right beside you?"

Chuuya made a hmph, nodding.

Pausing for a moment, Mori turned to Elise. She was sitting at the ground, doodling on some paper with colorful crayons.

"Hey, Elise-chan. Can you see him?"

Elise hummed. "Nope!"

Chuuya's doubt started to grow, and to his displeasure-

Mori gave him vacation.

四。

Two weeks. He was given two weeks of vacation.

There were two theories floating around in Chuuya's head, and he was sure that both were equally insane. One, this Oda Sakunosuke beside him was actually hallucination. For some odd reason, Chuuya was hallucinating him of all people- even though they barely even know each other. Two, a ghost.

Chuuya could see ghosts.

Such bullshit. Ghosts don't exist.

(... Well, Arahabaki's existence would be another story, but either way... Ahem.)

"So, how would you like to be called?" Chuuya decided to ask, leaning on the railing on some bridge. The sun was setting. Oda pursed his lips.

"I don't know."

Chuuya sighed.

He hated to admit- Dazai was probably better at this than him. He would probably know what to do- oh, unless this was due to some attacker's special ability. He clicked his tongue. What mission did he do recently? Nothing significant... Did he missed something? He sighed again, shaking his head.

Screw this.

五。

And screw that.

Freaking eyeballs of all sizes and color were blinking owlishly at him. Chuuya stared dumbly ahead, wondering what the heck was that frog looking creature looking down at him. An ability...?

A few more disgusting looking monsters crept out of the shadows.

"Uh, don't you think we should run?" Oda said.

The sun was long gone, and it was nighttime. Mafia time.

They were shamelessly running for their lives.

六。

Actually, Chuuya saw those monsters before. In the past, before he met Dazai and joined Port Mafia, too. Even before joining Sheep. By the time he began existing, he saw those weird eyeball-ish creatures everywhere. It was weird, to be honest. But it didn't feel off, so to say. It was like... He doesn't know. The natural order? He didn't tell anyone about this, though. Not even to Sheep, not even to Mori or Kouyou. And definitely not to Dazai.

There would be those weird creatures hovering around Dazai, actually. They were tiny, and they didn't really do any harm- so Chuuya ignored them. None of the eyeball monsters actually felt like a threat, until now.

That being said, why were those creatures lingering around the mackerel? Thinking back now, it was honestly kind of disturbing.

But...

Oda was running, too, beside him. He was constantly looking back, his face still expressionless but tinged with a bit of panic.

Oda could see them, too. And Oda was dead.

七。

Chuuya knew what to do.

The words were at the tip of his tongue- and it was slowly clicking. The reason why he could see the dead Oda, and what those eyeball monsters really were. The truth was at the back of his mind- perhaps these were his missing memories as Arahabaki. Yet at the same time, Chuuya also understood that it wasn't the case. Whatever he was as Arahabaki- it wasn't this. Or was it?

... Rimbaud didn't mention anything about this. Well, Chuuya doubted if he ever knew of it, either way.

Special abilities wouldn't work on them. It was something else.

But what?

He gritted his teeth.

What was it?!

It would be dangerous if they get hit by those monsters, Chuuya knew that. Something- something like a blight was form, and it would spell danger. But he couldn't remember- he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Nakahara, careful!" Oda yelled, dodging a jab from one of the frog-eyeball-monster, snapping Chuuya out of his thoughts-

Oh.

Chuuya's eyes widened.

That was right.

Only a regalia could destroy a phantom.

And only a god could wield a regalia.

"... Hey, I know a way to get rid of them, but," Chuuya paused, frowning, "it's a bit... How to say, it's-"

"Just do it," Oda said bluntly. "If that's the only way."

... He didn't even ask what the plan was.

Making a laugh, Chuuya smirked. "That's the spirit."

Stopping on his tracks, Chuuya faced the charging phantoms. Activating For the Tainted Sorrow, he jumped, grabbing Oda's arm as they flew across the street, landing at the other side.

Taking a deep breath, he raised a gloved hand towards the taller man. Pausing for a moment, he frowned.

It was dangerous, so to say. If he gave a name to Oda, and Oda somehow remembered his old one... Then it would be over. Oda would be destroyed, and there would be nothing Chuuya could do. Everyone surrounding Chuuya, basically the entire Port Mafia, at least heard of Oda Sakunosuke- at least a little bit. To have Oda stuck by his side from now on- it would be dangerous. But Chuuya himself was strange, too. His circumstances must be different from most gods, at least how they should be. So he was betting on it. Betting that this wouldn't end up as a mistake-!

(Because even though he hated Dazai's guts, he still had morals when it comes to the mafia's people.)

He began writing, a light glow emitting from the tip of his fingers.

"My name is Chuuya, I will bestow you a name!"

八。

The words flowed from his lips. They were foreign yet familiar to his tongue, a strange feeling settling in his chest. He knew what to say, what words to use... What name to choose.

"Thy name is Hi, thy vessel is You! Come, Youki!"

A book.

To be a writer.

Gunpowder. Blood. Curry.

Explosions.

The orphans.

Lupin.

Dazai, Ango-

Good night, Kosuke.

Katsumi. Yu. Shinji. Sakura-

Hand reaching out.

A desperate voice.

Odasaku!

Mimic.

Flawless.

Gunshot.

Be on the side that saves people-

A coat was lightly draped over his shoulders. Ironically, it was a black coat.

Ironic, for a mafioso who doesn't kill.

But damn...

"Why the hell are you a freaking coat...?" Chuuya said weakly, still running the hell away from the bloodthirsty phantoms.

九。

He saw it.

Five seconds into the future.

Immediately jumping to the side, Chuuya missed an uppercut by a hair. Staring dumbly at the ravaging frog phantom, his stomach stirred uncomfortably. He felt like throwing up.

"What the hell, that was..."

Flawless, Oda Sakunosuke's ability?

"Oi, Hiru, do you have some sort of offensive ability?!"

"Uh, I'm not sure... Use the coat to whack it at the, uh... Phantom?"

Chuuya sputtered, "whack-you know what, never mind. Anyway, gotta do something about this phantom..." Narrowing his eyes, suddenly, he was five seconds into the future again.

A spear-like object pierced through his chest from behind.

He dodged.

"... Whoa," the redhead breathed, cold sweat gathering. "Your ability... It's actually kinda handy, if used correctly."

But how to get rid of this phantom? Should I just run for it?

He was glad, though, that he was in a secluded part of Yokohama. The city did not need invisible problems looming over it-

"Ah! That's right!" Chuuya suddenly said, "Hiru! Turn back!"

Regaining his human form, Oda raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, what is it again..." The redhead snapped his fingers, "Right! Put your index finger and middle finger together. Yeah, like that. And then uh, draw a line! A barrier! Borderline!"

Oda stared at him blankly.

"Just do it!"

Just as the frog phantom crashed landed in front of them, Oda quickly drew a line in the space between the phantom and the mafioso- a bright line bursting into life. As if there was an invisible wall blocking the monster, the phantom made an ear piercing screech.

Oda's eyes widened. "Whoa."

"Perfect! Looks like you can learn, after all!" Chuuya screamed, flailing his arms around, "Youki!"

Oda turning back into a coat, they ran for it.

十。

"I might start hating frogs, now," Chuuya grumbled underneath his breath as he reached mafia territory. Sighing, he dragged his legs forward.

"Hm. It was an interesting encounter."

"Are you crazy, Hiru?"

He could practically feel Oda shrugging.

Reaching his apartment, Chuuya made another sigh, unlocking the door and entering the room. Closing the door behind him, he turned on the lights.

Him as a god. He wasn't sure what to make out of it. Arahabaki was a god of destruction, a god of calamity. It has no concept of anything other than its own existence- so why did Chuuya had memories of... He doesn't know. Regalia? How to defeat a phantom? What a phantom is?

Perhaps, it might be because he had gained a human form. But that still didn't make sense.

(Because Chuuya is human now.)

Taking out a bottle of wine, he poured himself a nice cup of exotic liquid.

"Hiru, you can turn back, now." Oda formed at the couch in front of him.

Raising his glass, Chuuya glanced at the taller man. "Well, looks like you'll be stuck with me for now."

Oda hummed, his expression still unchanging.

"People won't be able to see you- uh, well, might be able to see you if they focus enough. But I guess when I'm working, you can, I guess, stick with me as a coat."

It would be too dangerous if Oda wanders around by himself in Yokohama.

Oda shrugged again, examining the label on the wine bottle. "Sure."

Chuuya sighed.

"Alright then."

Whatever answers he needed, he would get them eventually. Gods exist, perhaps he could ask one of them- if he ever bumped into them. At the same time, Chuuya wasn't exactly sure if he should let those godly whatsoever beings know if his existence. These kinds of things, well, they were always corrupted. He didn't want to get himself involved in those "heavenly" businesses. (Why complicate his life with it? Once involved, it would be a lot harder to avoid it compared to anything else. It was common sense.)

That was right. His hands were already full with Port Mafia. It wasn't like he was an actual god, anymore.

He gazed at the name etched in his hat.

... Yeah.

Eventually, two weeks passed. His vacation time was over, and he went back to work.

"Youki," the black coat draped over his shoulders as he grabbed for his hat.

He never mentioned anything about the errand boy again.

Not to Kouyou, not to Mori.

And definitely not to Dazai, who got himself caught as prisoner four to five years later.

extra.

Chuuya stared blankly at the girl with the tail. What the heck. She, and this other kid, was screaming at this dude with a sweaty jumpsuit. But that tail- what the heck. A special ability? They suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Teleportation?

... He slowly walked away.

And finally Chuuya knows something that Dazai doesn't know, and Oda has no idea who Dazai is and the possible angst that follows.

Thank you for reading!

ko.

陽= sun; kun (Japanese) reading is ひ hi, on (Chinese) reading is ヨウ you. I ended up studying more Japanese to get the naming right, haha.