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that person is definitely gone
Title: that person is definitely gone
Fandom: Bungou to Alchemist
Character(s): Chuuya, Oda, Ango, Librarian, Mori
Pairing(s): Dazai/Chuuya
Genre: Angst
Word Count: 1,220
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: Character death
Summary: Anti-alchemy sentiment doesn't matter to Chuuya, until it does.
Notes: Title and the first two lines Chuuya quotes are from Chuuya's poem Whims of a Spring Day. It then continues:
"But even so, if your life is long,
And the consequences of your action run deep,"
which doesn't apply when you're dead. Oops.
The existence of alchemy is common knowledge now, but alchemists are rare; that’s what the librarian said when Chuuya inquired about it. Requiring anyone to state whether or not they’re an alchemist is illegal in Japan unless the job specifically requires those abilities. Even with protective laws like that, anti-alchemist sentiment is pretty widespread. It’s not something that you can tell by looks, which just makes some people even more angry when they find out they’ve been talking to an alchemist: they were “tricked” into thinking the alchemist was “a normal person”.
Chuuya thinks it’s stupid, but then again, he can’t say people would have a better reaction to someone developing supernatural powers in his time, either.
Anti-alchemy protests aren’t frequent in Tokyo, but they do happen now and then, since the government is known to employ alchemists. Chuuya can always tell when a big one is happening because the librarian responds to any offers of going out for something with “sorry, maybe another time,” while glancing out the window.
But for the most part, that doesn’t matter to Chuuya. Even people who think of alchemy as unnatural are at heart normal people who wouldn’t seriously hurt anyone else because of it. He avoids large crowds of protesters, but that’s just because it’s a pain to try to navigate through them.
He doesn’t even think about it most of the time, which is why when Dazai goes missing from the library after saying he was heading out to get breakfast, he doesn’t worry. First of all, Dazai goes missing pretty often, and Oda and Ango can usually find him within a few hours.
It’s evening when they come back. They haven’t found him yet, and both of them are much more tense than when they left.
“We’ve checked all his usual haunts, but there’s no sign of him,” Ango tells the librarian. “None of the restaurants we checked had anybody who’d seen him this morning either, or any records of him paying.”
“Like he didn’t even make it to breakfast,” Oda says, wringing his hands together. “But there’s no way he got lost that easy, he goes out a bunch!”
The librarian nods, and then stiffens. “...There’s an anti-alchemist convention being held this weekend. It’s the biggest one in the country.”
Chuuya doesn’t need to listen to any more of this conversation. “Where is it?”
Oda swallows. “H-hey, even if they’re like that, ya don’t really think they’d hold somebody hostage-”
“I don’t think they’d do that to another human being.” Chuuya leaves it unsaid: Dazai would not be considered a human being if they knew what he was, and thus all bets are off. “You can come with or stay where it’s safe, but I’m going.”
Oda and Ango instantly agree to come along. The librarian gives them directions and asks if she should send anyone after them if they don’t come back by a certain time. They say no.
The directions lead them to a standard-looking convention center. Of course it looks normal: the building probably hosts all kinds of events, most of them not run by assholes. Chuuya marches inside and finds the pamphlet for the Society for Pure Humanity Convention, which includes where in the building they’re located.
The convention covers a large space within the building. Schedules talk about panels on the religious reasons to oppose alchemy, what you can do to lower alchemy in your area, etc. There are also talks by people who Chuuya assumes he would know the names of if he gave a shit about their ‘cause’.
Oda and Ango open doors and peek in rooms, quietly enough not to draw much attention to themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary: people blabbering on, people sitting in chairs listening to other people blabber on, and no sign of Dazai.
Chuuya’s just about to ask what they’ll do if this is a dead end when he notices an unmarked room that’s suspiciously loud. He can’t hear exactly what anyone’s saying, but if it’s not something with a preplanned event, then…
Chuuya opens that door a smidgen, then throws it open all the way.
There’s absolutely no mistaking Dazai as the injured figure at the front of the room. No one who isn’t made of ink bleeds black, or has letters covering his skin. His hands are bound together with his own tie, while his legs look like they’ve been twisted too badly for him to have a hope of walking on them.
The room is full of people. Some have pen knives (all of legal size, of course, they aren’t criminals) and are at the front of the room - Dazai’s injuries suggest that the knives have been applied to him liberally. The rest are watching. Some are taking pictures or videos with their phones, or texting. Chuuya catches a glimpse of a smile emoji.
If he had blood, it would be boiling.
Ango feels the same way, judging from the growl that leaves his throat. “The hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Oda skips the words and just rushes up to Dazai, shoving a person out of his way so that he can kneel beside him and grip his shoulders. “Dazai! Dazai, can ya still hear me?!”
“We didn’t hurt an actual person,” someone with a knife says. It’s defensive. “It doesn’t hurt any humans if we mess with one of those things. He could’ve fought back more anyway.”
He didn’t, because he’s a good person who doesn’t want to hurt normal people, Chuuya thinks, but doesn’t get more than “He- wait-!” out before that person jams his knife into Dazai’s arm again.
Dazai’s already on the edge of breaking down, and he’s one of the most unstable writers in the library now. It doesn’t have to be a wound that would normally kill somebody to destroy an author: it just has to tip them over the edge.
Dazai becomes nothing more than a splatter of black, staining Odasaku and spilling onto the floor.
The room quiets down for a moment. Even those who had only been paying attention to their phones look up.
Chuuya hears himself speak.
“When a loved one dies, you have to commit suicide.”
He takes a step towards the person who had given Dazai the final blow.
“When a loved one dies, no other recourse remains.”
The book by his side that he’d been gripping tightly enough to hurt turns into a gun.
“But even so, if your life is already over, and there’s nothing left to stop you-”
Ango grabs his arm before Chuuya fires and the bullet impacts the wall instead of that person’s head. “Chuuya, get a hold of yourself!”
Chuuya struggles. He yanks, and kicks, and doesn’t let go of his gun. Everyone else is scrambling to run away, but even when it’s only him and Ango and Oda and the stain that used to be Dazai left, he still struggles. Ango’s face is too blurry for Chuuya to make out his expression-
Something impacts the back of Chuuya’s head.
Chuuya wakes up in the library’s infirmary. The only other person there is Mori, who looks over from his desk when he hears Chuuya start to stir.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Mori says.
Chuuya shuts his eyes again. He doesn’t have an answer.
Fandom: Bungou to Alchemist
Character(s): Chuuya, Oda, Ango, Librarian, Mori
Pairing(s): Dazai/Chuuya
Genre: Angst
Word Count: 1,220
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: Character death
Summary: Anti-alchemy sentiment doesn't matter to Chuuya, until it does.
Notes: Title and the first two lines Chuuya quotes are from Chuuya's poem Whims of a Spring Day. It then continues:
"But even so, if your life is long,
And the consequences of your action run deep,"
which doesn't apply when you're dead. Oops.
The existence of alchemy is common knowledge now, but alchemists are rare; that’s what the librarian said when Chuuya inquired about it. Requiring anyone to state whether or not they’re an alchemist is illegal in Japan unless the job specifically requires those abilities. Even with protective laws like that, anti-alchemist sentiment is pretty widespread. It’s not something that you can tell by looks, which just makes some people even more angry when they find out they’ve been talking to an alchemist: they were “tricked” into thinking the alchemist was “a normal person”.
Chuuya thinks it’s stupid, but then again, he can’t say people would have a better reaction to someone developing supernatural powers in his time, either.
Anti-alchemy protests aren’t frequent in Tokyo, but they do happen now and then, since the government is known to employ alchemists. Chuuya can always tell when a big one is happening because the librarian responds to any offers of going out for something with “sorry, maybe another time,” while glancing out the window.
But for the most part, that doesn’t matter to Chuuya. Even people who think of alchemy as unnatural are at heart normal people who wouldn’t seriously hurt anyone else because of it. He avoids large crowds of protesters, but that’s just because it’s a pain to try to navigate through them.
He doesn’t even think about it most of the time, which is why when Dazai goes missing from the library after saying he was heading out to get breakfast, he doesn’t worry. First of all, Dazai goes missing pretty often, and Oda and Ango can usually find him within a few hours.
It’s evening when they come back. They haven’t found him yet, and both of them are much more tense than when they left.
“We’ve checked all his usual haunts, but there’s no sign of him,” Ango tells the librarian. “None of the restaurants we checked had anybody who’d seen him this morning either, or any records of him paying.”
“Like he didn’t even make it to breakfast,” Oda says, wringing his hands together. “But there’s no way he got lost that easy, he goes out a bunch!”
The librarian nods, and then stiffens. “...There’s an anti-alchemist convention being held this weekend. It’s the biggest one in the country.”
Chuuya doesn’t need to listen to any more of this conversation. “Where is it?”
Oda swallows. “H-hey, even if they’re like that, ya don’t really think they’d hold somebody hostage-”
“I don’t think they’d do that to another human being.” Chuuya leaves it unsaid: Dazai would not be considered a human being if they knew what he was, and thus all bets are off. “You can come with or stay where it’s safe, but I’m going.”
Oda and Ango instantly agree to come along. The librarian gives them directions and asks if she should send anyone after them if they don’t come back by a certain time. They say no.
The directions lead them to a standard-looking convention center. Of course it looks normal: the building probably hosts all kinds of events, most of them not run by assholes. Chuuya marches inside and finds the pamphlet for the Society for Pure Humanity Convention, which includes where in the building they’re located.
The convention covers a large space within the building. Schedules talk about panels on the religious reasons to oppose alchemy, what you can do to lower alchemy in your area, etc. There are also talks by people who Chuuya assumes he would know the names of if he gave a shit about their ‘cause’.
Oda and Ango open doors and peek in rooms, quietly enough not to draw much attention to themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary: people blabbering on, people sitting in chairs listening to other people blabber on, and no sign of Dazai.
Chuuya’s just about to ask what they’ll do if this is a dead end when he notices an unmarked room that’s suspiciously loud. He can’t hear exactly what anyone’s saying, but if it’s not something with a preplanned event, then…
Chuuya opens that door a smidgen, then throws it open all the way.
There’s absolutely no mistaking Dazai as the injured figure at the front of the room. No one who isn’t made of ink bleeds black, or has letters covering his skin. His hands are bound together with his own tie, while his legs look like they’ve been twisted too badly for him to have a hope of walking on them.
The room is full of people. Some have pen knives (all of legal size, of course, they aren’t criminals) and are at the front of the room - Dazai’s injuries suggest that the knives have been applied to him liberally. The rest are watching. Some are taking pictures or videos with their phones, or texting. Chuuya catches a glimpse of a smile emoji.
If he had blood, it would be boiling.
Ango feels the same way, judging from the growl that leaves his throat. “The hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Oda skips the words and just rushes up to Dazai, shoving a person out of his way so that he can kneel beside him and grip his shoulders. “Dazai! Dazai, can ya still hear me?!”
“We didn’t hurt an actual person,” someone with a knife says. It’s defensive. “It doesn’t hurt any humans if we mess with one of those things. He could’ve fought back more anyway.”
He didn’t, because he’s a good person who doesn’t want to hurt normal people, Chuuya thinks, but doesn’t get more than “He- wait-!” out before that person jams his knife into Dazai’s arm again.
Dazai’s already on the edge of breaking down, and he’s one of the most unstable writers in the library now. It doesn’t have to be a wound that would normally kill somebody to destroy an author: it just has to tip them over the edge.
Dazai becomes nothing more than a splatter of black, staining Odasaku and spilling onto the floor.
The room quiets down for a moment. Even those who had only been paying attention to their phones look up.
Chuuya hears himself speak.
“When a loved one dies, you have to commit suicide.”
He takes a step towards the person who had given Dazai the final blow.
“When a loved one dies, no other recourse remains.”
The book by his side that he’d been gripping tightly enough to hurt turns into a gun.
“But even so, if your life is already over, and there’s nothing left to stop you-”
Ango grabs his arm before Chuuya fires and the bullet impacts the wall instead of that person’s head. “Chuuya, get a hold of yourself!”
Chuuya struggles. He yanks, and kicks, and doesn’t let go of his gun. Everyone else is scrambling to run away, but even when it’s only him and Ango and Oda and the stain that used to be Dazai left, he still struggles. Ango’s face is too blurry for Chuuya to make out his expression-
Something impacts the back of Chuuya’s head.
Chuuya wakes up in the library’s infirmary. The only other person there is Mori, who looks over from his desk when he hears Chuuya start to stir.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Mori says.
Chuuya shuts his eyes again. He doesn’t have an answer.