Continuation for bandagedheart.

[thesettingsun]

[Very few people get this dressed up for a bar crawl. It looks like it'd be hell to wash, and the only reason you'd wear it out to the bar is an obsession with fashion.

So that's one clue about who this patron sitting at a table is, since he forgot to tell other-Dazai how to identify himself. As for him, when he sees Dazai come in with bandages visible on his arms, he makes an (incorrect) assumption that this is the injury that caused that text and thus this is Dazai.

Well, he's half right, at least.]

Dazai!

Comments

[thesettingsun]

[Even for someone as brilliant as Dazai, things go wrong.

He isn't supposed to be working. He's on a date with Shuji, and they're walking in the park when they hear the first bomb go off, followed by more. It's impossible for Shuji to safely return to their home like this, so Dazai instructs him to stay close.

Dazai catches sight of the gunman in the window, but Shuji is the one who reacts to the sound of the trigger being pulled.

Because Dazai can't be healed by Yosano's ability, because Shuji can heal from any wound that isn't a mortal one - because Dazai's life is more important than Shuji's, Shuji forcefully pushes Dazai out of the way of the bullet.

It strikes him in the chest, near to where a heart should be. If a normal human had been in its path, they surely wouldn't have lasted long. Shuji isn't a normal human, and while the blue ink marks that spread over his skin signal that he can't take another shot like that-]

Dazai-sama?

[-as long as Dazai's okay, he's okay.]

[bandagedheart]

[One thing that Dazai has learned the hard way is that anything in his life worth having will be lost the moment he obtains it. That especially holds true for the people Dazai cares about, and really, he should know better than to let himself get close to anyone. Yet Dazai is only human, and he’s let himself actually fall in love with another human being, and of course things went terribly wrong.

He hears the shot before he sees Shuji go down, and for a moment the world stands still. All he can hear is the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he catches Shuji before he falls.]

Shuji!!

[Dazai holds Shuji in his arms, eyes wide and voice trembling. Shuji is alive, but he can’t take another hit. They’re not safe here...]

Hold onto me.

[Dazai scoops Shuji up in his arms and sprints to cover, his mind racing to try and come up with a plan.]

Do you have any ink on you??

who is this alice dazai's seeing >|

[thesettingsun]

[In better circumstances, Shuji could enjoy Dazai carrying him around like this. These aren't better circumstances, and Shuji's mind is in a fog.]

Pockets - there's a pocket, which...

[Shuji's outfit has several pockets. One of them has an ink bottle in it, he's sure, but it's hard to think through the haze.]

I'm sorry, I can't... I'm sorry...

[His master asked him a simple question and he can't even answer it.]

Shhh no one

[bandagedheart]

A pocket? Which one?

[It’s no use, Shuji is too out of it to answer, so Dazai will just have to frantically dig through every pocket until he finally finds the bottle and pops it open with shaky hands.]

Here. Hurry.

[He can’t lose Shuji for real.]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji drinks. The ink marks clear up first, and while the hole in his chest attempts to heal-]

Ow, fuck, ow-

[-there's still a bullet in there, so his body healing over that bullet isn't exactly pleasant. At some point he's probably going to want to get that out of him.

That's not important, though. Shuji's no longer on death's door, and Dazai is...]

Are you alright, Dazai-sama?

[bandagedheart]

We’ll get the bullet out of you as soon as we’re safe.

[But for now they need to escape. Good thing Dazai knows these streets like the back of his hand.]

I’m fine. Can you stand? I have no idea if the gunman is still there, so we can’t afford to be seen.

[thesettingsun]

I can stand.

[Even shifting around hurts, but he won't put Dazai in danger. He'll just have to keep quiet through the pain.]

How do we get out of here?

[bandagedheart]

This way.

[Dazai will lead Shuji through some back alleys and out into a steet clear across town before calling in a favor with Kunikida to get them a ride, no questions asked.

Once the car arrives he’ll usher Shuji inside before his expression turns grim.]

You shouldn’t make a habit of saving me, Shuji-kun.

I told you I would bring this to the top of your inbox and I mean it

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji hates to go against his master's wishes, especially when they're both so distressed, but...]

I'm easier to heal up than you are.

[That's the logic he would have used if he was thinking about anything other than needing to keep his master safe. He's not wrong, either.]

[bandagedheart]

[He really can’t argue with that, but Dazai has never valued his own life more than anyone else’s. Why start now?]

I know.

[Yosano should be able to retrieve the bullet, if not someone at the library. But for now he’ll simply reach up and ruffle Shuji’s hair.]

If you died I’d have no reason to keep on living.

[thesettingsun]

[If Shuji can't even enjoy Dazai ruffling his hair, something has clearly gone horribly wrong.]

It's the same for me. If you died before me, I'd snap.

[Woe to whoever caused that sudden death.]