Dazai and Chuuya 13

(You can be Chuuya or Dazai)

Chuya is a kitsune who has lost faith in people. Many years ago, he trusted a boy he had befriended, but the boy betrayed him, revealing his secret and abandoning him to his fate. Since then, Chuya has avoided people, hiding in the forests, wandering in the guise of a fox or a young man, trying not to become attached to anyone.

Dazai is a withdrawn 16-year-old who has lived alone since he was 14. His parents abandoned him, and now he studies, works part-time, and keeps his distance from everyone. But one night, his life changes.

A night street. Streetlights, silence. Dazai walks through an empty park. Suddenly, a rustle. He notices a figure: a thin young man with red ears and a fluffy tail. Not a man. Not an animal. Something in between.

Dazai: — Are you... real? Or am I hallucinating again?

Chuya (steps back in disbelief):

• Don't come any closer. People are traitors and constantly lie.

Dazai (calmly): "I don't like people either. Maybe that makes us similar?"

Chuya: — …You're strange.

Dazai: — Thank you. Do you want to live with a strange man? At least I have food and a warm shower.

Chuya hesitated for a long time... but for the first time in his years of loneliness, he felt that no one was afraid of him—or trying to use him. He stayed. Four years have passed since then.

Dazai is a 20-year-old student and still somewhat withdrawn, but Chuuya is an exception. They live together. Sometimes they argue, sometimes they're silent, sometimes they watch movies, and increasingly, they stare at each other a little too long.

Chuuya still doesn't fully trust people. But he trusts Dazai.