*"Who am I?"*
When Chuuya opens his eyes on a mountain of rubble, he has nothing but his own name. No past, no family, no memories—just a power to bend gravity itself and the comrades he'd die to protect. But the question he's too afraid to ask haunts every battle, every drink, every laugh he fakes: *What if I'm not even human?*
Eight years later, a strange ability is running wild through Yokohama, and anyone who touches it has their deepest secrets torn into the open. Assigned to investigate,
The Night the Twin Dark Hearts Leak - The Lighthouse of Silence—A Night Drowned in Sake and a Truth That Cannot Be Told
The twenty-eighth floor of the Black Whale. His private quarters, reserved for executives, lay sunk in the darkness of night.
Not even moonlight reached the room, its curtains drawn tight. Chuuya sat on the floor with his back against the wall. The bottle of fine wine gripped in his right hand was nearly empty.
"...Ha."
A dry laugh slipped from his throat.
(Who am I?)
Inside his head, a white room spun round and round. Pure white walls. Pure white floor. Sterile light. And that voice.
—My brother.
"Shut up..."
Chuuya rolled the empty bottle across the floor. The glass struck a cold, hard note.
(A brother? You're telling me I have an older brother? Or was that just a hallucination?)
The flashback repeated itself, over and over. Close his eyes and there was the white room. Cover his ears and that voice still clung to him.
—Who are you?
"How the hell should I know... any of that."
Chuuya drove his fist into the wall. Thud. A dull sound. The bones in his fingers throbbed.
(I'm Nakahara Chuuya. Port Mafia executive. An ability user who controls gravity. What else is there?)
The alcohol muddied his thoughts. His body was hot. But deep in his heart, it stayed frozen.
Chuuya's eyes drifted to the photo frame on his desk.
His comrades from the Sheep days. Back when Chuuya still knew nothing. There had been people who called him "Chuuya." People he'd thought were his comrades.
"...All of you."
Chuuya picked up the photo frame. Behind the glass, his younger self and his comrades were smiling.
(You all looked at me like you knew exactly who I was.)
His fingertips tightened.
(But none of you really knew, did you. What I am. Hell, I don't even know myself.)
Chuuya slammed the photo frame against the floor.
Crack!
The glass shattered. The shards glinted faintly on the moonless floor.
"...Who the hell am I?"
Chuuya pressed his forehead against the wall. His voice trembled.
"Nobody... knows, do they. Not a damn thing about me."
The broken shards of glass touched his bare feet. Pain. But that pain was the only proof he was still here.
Chuuya slowly closed his eyes.
(Dazai... that bastard knows. My past. And he's hiding it.)
Dazai's inner voice came back to him. *I suppose it's only natural you'd think that.* Those words squeezed at Chuuya's chest.
(He knew from the very start. What I am. And yet he kept his mouth shut the whole time.)
Chuuya bit his lip. The faint taste of blood spread across his tongue.
(Was I used? By him? Or was he trying to protect me? I don't know. I don't know any of it.)
Chuuya clenched a shard of the broken frame in his hand.
The glass bit into his palm. Blood dripped.
"...Hurts like hell."
Chuuya murmured softly.
(But this is fine. The pain's better than the alternative.)
With his bleeding hand, Chuuya grabbed the empty wine bottle. The last drop burned his throat.
(Who am I? What am I even living for?)
There was no answer anywhere.
Chuuya sank into a deep sleep, his back still against the wall.
—.
Around that same time.
Yamashita-cho. The rooftop of the Armed Detective Agency office, the Ranpo-do.
Dazai stood alone, gazing up at the night sky.
His sand-colored coat swayed in the night wind. The bandages wrapped around his body floated white in the moonlight. Leaning against the fence, Dazai looked out over the distant harbor district.
(I wonder how Chuuya's doing right now.)
Dazai pulled a candy from his pocket and tossed it into his mouth. Sweetness spread across his tongue.
"...Sorry, Chuuya."
Dazai murmured softly.
(I couldn't tell you anything. I didn't tell you. No—I couldn't tell you.)
Dazai looked up at the night sky. The stars were barely visible. The lights of Yokohama blurred the sky with a faint glow.
(The reason I left the Mafia. Odasaku's death. And what I feel for you. I couldn't tell you any of it.)
A scene from four years ago surfaced in Dazai's mind.
Oda Sakunosuke. The lowest-ranking member of the Port Mafia, and the only friend Dazai had ever truly opened his heart to. He lived in the world of the Mafia while holding fast to a creed: never kill.
And then he died.
The battle against Gide, leader of Mimic. To protect Dazai, Oda threw himself into danger. And he never came back.
(Back then, I didn't want to drag Chuuya into it.)
Dazai gripped the fence. His fingers met cold iron.
(Chuuya was a Mafia executive. If I left, it would cause him trouble. So I vanished without a word.)
Dazai laughed at himself.
"...But it's all backfired, hasn't it."
(I wanted to protect you. And yet you think I'm a traitor. Of course you do. I never said a thing.)
Dazai stayed silent for a long while, still gazing at the sky.
(Chuuya. You know nothing about yourself. You have no memories. You don't know what you are. And I know you. Your past. Your secrets.)
Dazai's chest ached.
(But telling you might destroy you. If you learned your own past, you'd surely suffer even more.)
Dazai closed his eyes.
(Even so, you deserve to know. What you are. What you've been living for.)
Dazai slowly opened his eyes.
"...I'll be by your side. Even if you hate me for it."
With that murmur, Dazai left the rooftop.
—.
The next morning.
Chuuya sat in the Black Whale's office, clutching his head.
"...My head's about to split open."
Chuuya slumped over the desk. Last night's alcohol still coursed through his whole body. His stomach churned, and nausea rose in his throat.
(How much did I drink after that? Can't remember.)
Chuuya looked at his palm. It was wrapped in bandages. Last night, he'd dressed the cut from the glass shards himself.
(The photo frame... I smashed it, didn't I.)
Chuuya looked at the desk. The frame had been cleaned up. Who'd done it? One of his subordinates, probably.
(Made everyone worry, didn't I.)
Chuuya heaved a deep sigh.
Just then, the office phone rang.
Chuuya picked up the receiver, sluggish.
"...Hello."
"Hey there, Chuuya-kun. You sound lifeless this morning."
Ranpo's supremely confident voice came through the receiver.
"It's you. What the hell do you want this early?"
"A hangover? Your voice is lower than usual."
"Shut up. Get to the point."
"Don't be so angry. I've made progress on your origins."
Chuuya's heart jumped.
"...What?"
"There's a high probability the mastermind is connected to someone who was involved in your origins in the past. Someone tied to the Arahabaki Project."
Chuuya gripped the receiver.
"...Evidence?"
"I don't have decisive proof yet. It's all circumstantial. But my deductions can't be wrong."
"Then it's worthless, you bastard!"
"Now, now, don't say that. The key to your memories—the Lighthouse of Silence. There might be something there."
Chuuya caught his breath.
The Lighthouse of Silence. An old lighthouse at the northern edge of the harbor district. A place rumored to be connected to Chuuya's childhood.
"...The Lighthouse of Silence."
"Yes. If you want to know, you should go. Though it may be dangerous. That area's off-limits."
Chuuya was silent for a while.
(The Lighthouse of Silence. The key to my memories. If I go there, will I learn what I am?)
Chuuya's heart pounded like a drum.
(I'm scared. But staying ignorant like this is even scarier.)
Chuuya made his decision.
"Then I'll go to the Lighthouse of Silence myself."
"Oh? I like that decisiveness. But be careful. That's a place where anything could happen."
"I know. Thanks for the intel."
Chuuya hung up.
(The Lighthouse of Silence. I'll face my own past. No running. Not anymore.)
Chuuya pulled his hat down low.
—.
When Chuuya stepped out the Black Whale's front entrance, a man in a sand-colored coat was standing there.
"Yo, Chuuya. Lovely morning, isn't it."
Chuuya's face twisted.
"You... what the hell are you doing here?"
"You said you were going to the lighthouse alone, so I came all this way for you."
Dazai smiled brightly. That smile grated on Chuuya's nerves.
"Who the hell asked you! What about your Agency work!"
"You take priority."
Dazai said it casually.
In that instant.
(Like I'd let you go alone.)
Dazai's inner voice flowed into Chuuya's head.
Chuuya froze.
(This bastard... he really does care about me.)
Chuuya stared hard at Dazai's face. Dazai was still smiling. But behind that smile, Chuuya could see something earnest.
An awkward silence fell between them.
Chuuya gripped the brim of his hat tight.
"...Do whatever you want."
Chuuya turned his back on Dazai and started walking.
"Thank you."
Dazai gave a small laugh and followed after Chuuya.
(That's the thing about you I've always hated.)
Chuuya's inner voice reached Dazai.
"What a coincidence. I've always hated that about you too."
Dazai fell into step beside Chuuya.
"That wasn't me. That was my inner voice."
"Same thing, isn't it?"
"It is not! Don't listen without permission!"
"It's not like I want to hear it. It's this ability's fault."
The two of them set off toward the harbor district.
Just then, Chuuya's phone buzzed.
Chuuya stopped and opened it.
"Chuuya-san. It's Akutagawa."
A message from Akutagawa appeared on the screen.
*Chuuya-san. I've received information that there's something resembling the mastermind's catalyst deep in the warehouse district of the Ash Crown Trading Company.*
Chuuya's expression tensed.
(A catalyst deep in the warehouse district...?)
Chuuya gripped his phone.
(The lighthouse and the warehouse district. Two danger zones. Which do I prioritize?)
Doubt crept into Chuuya's heart.
"What's wrong, Chuuya? You've got a difficult look on your face."
Dazai tried to peer at Chuuya's phone.
"Don't look!"
Chuuya shoved the phone into his pocket.
(The lighthouse first. My past comes first. The catalyst can wait.)
Chuuya started walking.
"...Let's go, Dazai. The Lighthouse of Silence."
"Understood. Wherever you go, I'll follow."
Dazai walked beside Chuuya, smiling faintly.
(Chuuya. When you face your past, I'll be right there beside you. Even if you push me away.)
Dazai's inner voice flowed into Chuuya's head.
Chuuya pulled his hat down even lower.
"...Shut up."
Chuuya murmured softly.
Together, the two of them walked through the morning harbor district.
Toward the Lighthouse of Silence.
Toward the place where Chuuya's past and the truth of the case lay sleeping.
Only their footsteps echoed through the quiet harbor.
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