Snippets and ideas that didn't make the cut.

1) Unspoken

"Best friends have conversations impossible to understand by other people." -Anonymous

A silent conversation seemed to go on when Dazai and Chuuya were in the same room. It was the weird telepathic communication possible between best friends and parents. However, for them, their communication-transferred through glares-consisted of death threats, suicide jokes, and the occasional strategy.

2) Anger

"The one that angers you, controls you."

-Anonymous

"Anger is a short madness."

-Horace

Age 23

Chuuya held his knife to man's throat. As to why he was holding the man hostage, the Armed Detective Agency needed the man alive as the only lead to a smuggling ring.

Atsushi, Kunikida and Dazai stood around around the two, ready to fight. The detectives hadn't been expecting the Port Mafia to be involved, and an executive at that.

"I've been ordered to bring this man to the Boss," Chuuya stated calmly.

Dazai smirked, he found Chuuya's current state of iron clad emotional control amusing; he considered what what he was going to do next. His smirk deepened as the simple solution came to him.

"You don't know, do you?" Dazai asked, his tone smug.

"Know what? Don't play mind games with me, Dazai. I'll know if you are lying," Chuuya exasperatedly retorted.

Dazai smiled, a smile full of smugness, bitterness, and the slightest bit of sympathy. The rest of the ADA looked uneasily at Dazai. He then said the three words in Chuuya's presence that could doom anyone in Yokohama.

"He, sells, kids," Dazai enunciated each word, his eyes locked with his former partner's. The gaze dared Chuuya to accuse Dazai of lying, dared Chuuya to think that maybe Mori hadn't told him something.

Everyone there could feel it. That something was not physically perceivable, yet everyone could feel it. Something snapped within the executive.

Chuuya looked down at the ground and closed his eyes. Then a bright smile crossed the red head's face. It looked cheerful, but it wasn't, one could tell it was blank. As if the smile was not perfect teeth pulled into a perfectly shaped grin, but an unfeeling chasm that one might fall into unaware.

"Is that true?" Chuuya asked the man, the abyss-like smile still poised on his face. The man swallowed hard, but refused to answer.

"Is it true?" Chuuya questioned his hostage again. At the silence, the knife slide across the man's skin for a few inches. A small droplet of blood collected from the cut. The man swallowed as result from his nerves, steeled himself, and nodded. The smile on Chuuya's face grew unnerving larger, like a black hole that had just eaten a galaxy and had only gotten more hungry.

"Dazai, do you need him alive?" Chuuya asked his the ex-partner, the executive's eyes were still on the unnerved man at the tip of his knife. Atsushi bite his lip and looked hopefully at Dazai.

"Alive...But I don't think any of us could do anything if you were to harm him. After all...you're holding him hostage." Dazai innocently replied, the undertone of 'go ahead' was clear to those present. Kunikida shot his partner a glare for what Dazai implied.

"Of course. I suggest that the weretiger look away, this is going to get a bit messy," Chuuya half cooed. He cast a meaningful gaze at Atsushi.

Atsushi shivered. Chuuya"s eyes were usually a raging sea. Now, they were dark expect for the slightest flicker of...something. Like many others before him, Atsushi couldn't find the words to describe it.

Dazai placed a hand over Atsushi's eyes. Atsushi flinched at the screams and shivered at the whimpers. Dazai stood stock still, watching with attitude of someone who's used to torture of the most gruesome type. Kunikida's fingers twitched and fiddled with his glasses, his face far more pale then usual.

After what seemed like an eternity to Atsushi, Chuuya dropped the bloodied mess of a man to the ground. "The scum's business files should be in the third door on the left on the second floor. If you let one member of his group go free, I will hunt them down myself. And then I will kill you, Dazai, in the most painful way I can think of," Chuuya cheerfully declared. The smile was still present, every glance towards his direction made Atsushi's skin crawl.

"How are you going to deal with Mori?" Dazai asked, a mocking playful look on his face.

Chuuya clicked his tongue dismissively. "Worry about your new apprentice, he looks like he's going to throw up," he snarked.

Dazai frowned, his eyes in that moment were as empty as Chuuya's. The Mafia executive walked out of the room, leaving the Armed Detective members to their shock and their job.

XXX

The door to the Boss's office was only three feet from Chuuya's polished shoes.

The Executive held his hat to his chest, willed his left hand to stop twitching towards his knife, and moved his previously blank face into a carefully polite expression. "Chuuya," he announced his name to the guards. They opened the doors and he stepped in.

The Boss put down his pen and folded his hands. "This is the first time you've returned empty handed," he mused, "what happened?"

Chuuya frowned, "three members of the armed detective agency arrived before me."

Mori raised an eyebrow, "was one of them Dazai?"

"Yes," Chuuya admitted. His left hand twitched slightly.

"What kept you from completing your mission?" Mori asked. His face had gone from cheerful to blank.

"As I said, three members of the ADA. Dazai, Kunikida, and Atsushi," Chuuya stated.

"A formidable force," Mori acknowledged. He smiled, "You are dismissed; Although Elise told me to tell you to take her shopping later...Do you mind?"

"Not at all Boss," Chuuya replied with a sincere smile.

XXX

Dazai had found a lead. Now that was great, aside from the fact they were sneaking into someone's house. Atsushi didn't know how, but somehow, Dazai had convinced Kunikida that breaking into a abandoned house in the outskirts of Yokohama was the right course of action.

Dazai strolled, Atsushi tiptoed, and Kunikida strode through the first and second floors. There was little out of the ordinary.

Then Dazai found and quickly opened the door to the basement.

They split up in the gigantic underground floor. Part of the place was full of cars with a large garage door, which made sense as the house was on a hill. There was a side full of long lasting food: jerky, cans of vegetables and tuna, and containers of different grains such as flour and whole oats.

Atsushi was the one who discovered the room full of empty cages. There was something in one of them. Or...someone...?

The white haired young man hesitantly edged closer so that he could make sure as to what was inside. His horrified gaze was stuck on the body and its bloodied clothes.

"Atsushi?" Kunikida asked, the man stepped into the room. He walked over to his young colleague and then saw the cage and its occupant. The blond's lips turned down into a frown.

Their annoying companion skipped into the room.

"Oh? What are you two so sad about?" Dazai cheerily asked and skipped over. His smile fell as he saw inside the cage.

"We need to help him, but we don't have the key, and we don't know when the owner is going to be back, and-" Atsushi rambled.

Dazai sighed, "Atsushi, calm down."

Kunikida withdrew his notebook and quickly scribbled on it. A key formed in his hand and he inserted it into the lock.

Kunikida opened the cage door and Dazai lackadaisicaly wandered in.
The long red hair had been visible from outside as had the hat in one of the corners. Dazai rolled over the body. His eyes went dark as he confirmed the identity of the unconscious figure: Chuuya Nakahara.

Dazai picked up his ex-partner and walked out of the cell. In a detached voice he asked, "Atsushi, would you grab his hat?"

"Okay," the weretiger shakily replied.

XXX

Chuuya lay on the infirmary's bed. He had been healed by Yosano and been changed out of his dirtied bloody clothes.

"He's still asleep," Yosano said as the infirmary door opened. Dazai walked in.

She turned one of Chuuya's arms over and pointed at a slightly red spot that surrounded a hole. "My guess is that he was injected with a sleeping agent of some kind. He may be asleep for several hours. Anyways, I'm going to go shopping."

"Have fun," Dazai called after their resident doctor. He sighed and perched a recently cleaned hat behind his ex-partner's head.

XXX

The slumbering redhead was still sprawled out on the infirmary table. A small smile was on his face.

"He doesn't look scary or threatening or a mafia executive or a murderer..." Atsushi rambled on to himself.

Kunikida and Dazai walked into the room, in the middle of an argument as usual.

"Kunikida, are you suggesting we should have left a victim there to die?" Dazai cheerfully asked.

The blond almost growled, "No, but-"

"Then there's nothing to be done except wait so that we can interrogate him."

"You think he will have information about Blue Clay we don't know?" Kunikida asked, a speculative look in his face.

Dazai grinned and plopped down next to the unconscious redhead. "Yes, I predict that Chibi knows more then we do and that he will give me this information."

"Because he hates child traffickers, right?" Atsushi asked.

"Correct! Looks like you were paying attention. These days, the Port Mafia doesn't buy and sell kids as a business. That was the first policy Chuuya suggested and it passed seven years ago."

"But...they were fine with...getting the bounty on me?" Atsushi asked.

Dazai smirked. "The Port Mafia isn't a charity. You're eighteen, you're not a child."

Naomi walked into the infirmary. "The President wants to see you Dazai."

"Atsushi, you have a very important job. Keep an eye on the hat rack for the rest of the evening," Dazai cheerfully said.

"Umm, okay?" Atsushi replied.

XXX

Kyouka fidgeted with the bunny charm on her phone. She had never told anyone who gave it to her. After her first major job, Chuuya had patted her head, had smiled warmly at her, and had dangled the small white bunny in front of her face. He was nice to Kyouka, like Kouyou was.

Beside her, Atsushi was nervously planning what he should if the executive was hostile. Like if Chuuya woke up and suddenly started killing everyone.

Chuuya woke up feeling oddly refreshed, well rested, and craving nicotine. He sat up and glanced around the clean white room. Chuuya sighed, it seems he had been rescued by the Armed Detective Agency. Subsequently, the Mafioso would owe the detectives a favor, he would not enjoy whenever they called it in.

"Uhhmmmm...Hi," the weretiger, Nakajima Atsushi, nervously greeted.

A red eyebrow rose, unimpressed, "hi."

"Kyouka, go get Dazai," Atsushi ordered. The girl nodded and darted out of the room.

"Oh? That scared of me, Atsushi?" The executive teased. He picked his hat up and put it snugly on his head.

Atsushi's voice quivered as he said, "No?"

"Sounds more like a question then a statement," Dazai joked.

Atsushi and Chuuya immediately looked at the new arrival. The former was relieved his mentor was here.

"Mackerel," Chuuya greeted, resignation and annoyance quite clear in his tone.

"Slug," Dazai replied.

"Suicidal maniac."

"Hat rack."

"Waste of bandages."

"Chibi."

Chuuya shot Dazai a glare of utter hatred. With a bright smile, Dazai took a step back to increase his chances of survival. Death by midget would not be fun.

XXX

Kunikida and Atsushi had been told to wait outside the infirmary by Dazai. They almost ran inside at the thuds and yells.

But Dazai had poked his head out door and reassured them, "don't mind us. Just disregard anything you hear." He quickly closed the door, something hit it soon after.

"I don't trust him, he's a Port Mafia Executive. What if he lies to Dazai?" Atsushi questioned.

Kunikida frowned. "I agree with your concern, but Dazai is the best person to handle this...considering his ties."

Kyouka smiled at the ground. She timidly said, "He isn't a bad person. He gave me my first crepe."

XXX

Chuuya glanced over as the door opened. He had been bored, laying on the infirmary bed for several hours. Just as it had after Kouyou's capture, the infirmary had become the largely insecure holding cell for the ADA's prisoner.

"They're all caught and awaiting trial," Dazai announced.

"Good," Chuuya tartly replied. "Can I leave now?"

Dazai smirked. "Of course."

Chuuya swung his legs over onto the floor. "If you're ever wanting to trade stories like before...I'd be up for it. Neither of us really know what's been going on recently."

"Actually wanting to talk to me? Who are you and what have you done with Mr. Fancy Hat?" Dazai teased.

Chuuya pulled a face, "Ugh, did Ranpo share that nickname with the whole office or something?"

"He refers to you as that, so yes, all of us know it. There was one time Kunikida said 'we know Mr. Fancy-", he sat down and didn't say anything for the rest of the meeting," Dazai recounted. Chuuya snorted.

They walked out of the infirmary.
For now, the eyes of the two ex-partners were bright, with mischief and amusement.

Chuuya strolled out of the Armed Detective Agency's office to waves and goodbyes.

3) A much loved (and hated) song

Age 18

Dazai quietly sang along to the suicide song. Beside him, in the driver's seat, Chuuya was soundly sleeping.

Honestly, Dazai figured Chuuya would have learned to not trust him to watch while on stakeouts.

Dazai took out his earbuds and cautiously inserted them in his partner's ears. He then hit replay and turned the volume on his phone all the way up.

"Dazai!" Came the furious yell as Chuuya woke up. Dazai was already out of the car and quickly walking away.

XXX

Age 23

Chuuya was usually untouchable in a fight. But this time he was sleep deprived and mad that someone had managed to steal his hat. Chuuya stood still and cursed a blue streak. An invisible ability user took the chance to knock the redhead out while he was distracted.

Killing a Port Mafia executive would put the group in a worse position then a police office in Port Mafia Headquarters. The solution to their predicament was to buy themselves some time and not kill Chuuya. So an unconscious Chuuya ended up in a crate that had been used to smuggle precious metals.

Dazai hummed to himself as he strode around the warehouse. The detective's mind should have been on his investigation, but he preferred to try to remember an old song he hear when he was younger.

The loud humming grated subconsciously on Chuuya's ears, as the song was Dazai's favorite song. Chuuya woke up when Dazai started singing the lyrics out loud.

The Mafioso immediately searched around the crate for his hat. Luckily, one of the men had the decency to give him the much beloved item back.

Chuuya slammed his feet against the inside of the crate to get his former partner's attention. "Hey! Idiot! Open the box!"

Dazai turned and somewhat skipped to the crate, a surprised smile stretching across his face. Dazai inspected the crate and nodded sagely. After a nifty bit of lock picking, the detective managed to open the crate.

"Good afternoon, Mackerel." Chuuya snarked, his hand on his hat as if to tip it.

Dazai smirked and tried to put the lid back on. Chuuya glared at Dazai and used his superior strength to wrench the lid from Dazai's hands.

"Gimme that!" Chuuya muttered, squirming to get out of the box. His back popped as he stretched in an attempt to get rid of the soreness in his muscles.

"So...hat rack, do you often lock yourself in boxes?" Dazai teased. He stepped back.

"As often as you not thinking about suicide every five minutes." Chuuya shot back and stepped out of the box with a scowl.

"So, mind telling me who stuck you in there?" Dazai prompted with a grin.

"None of your business, Dazai," Chuuya growled.

"Ah, but it is. I'm here for a case, and you're the only witness I have. Or should I say 'victim'?" Dazai smirked. He put his hands in his trench coat pockets.

"I'm not a victim!" Chuuya yelled and shook his fist at his ex-partner.

Dazai held his palms up defensively. "Okay, okay. You just lost a fight, that's fine."

"I'm going to kill you," Chuuya snapped.

A/N

Omake 3 was partly cowritten with my beta TKDGirl17 (on ).

-Silver