yall ever stay up at night thinking about how if dazai had asked, chuuya would have probably left the mafia with him?
one of his defining character traits (at least in my opinion) is his loyalty. while at 22 that loyalty is awarded to the mafia, at 18 i would argue that chuuya would have bad a significantly stronger sense of loyalty for dazai due to their close relationship as partners with all that entails and as chuuya's only remaining friend around his age.
on top of that, it's cannon that chuuya didn't want to be a bad guy; he wanted to be on the light, but at that point he'd been in the mafia too long to back out. one could reasonably argue that, considering the weaker attachments between his position at 18 and his position at 22, the push of being asked by dazai of all people would have been enough to send him over that edge.
because chuuya trusts dazai with his life; and quite literally too. many hours have been dedicated within this fandom to discussing how much trust chuuya had in dazai at 18 (and in the current series timeline) to place his life in his hands every time he used arahbaki. and it's well earned. if nothing else, dazai can be trusted to save his own skin; if he says he's leaving the mafia no one has survived leaving before, he's leaving the mafia. end of story. and he's famous in the port mafia for his intellect; his plans within plans, every variable seen, every scenario worked from every angle. regardless of loyalty, of friendship, dazai's offer for a way out of the mafia is the closest thing to certain anyone would ever get.
and it's not like chuuya isn't bringing anything to the table for this escape plan either. ignoring the fact that he's already lived pretty much on his own on the streets in his time with the sheep, chuuya has been repeatedly and explicitly referred to as the strongest ability user in yokohama, and possibly in the world. add corruption to that mix, and subtly be dammed, if need be he and dazai could physically fight their way out of anything the mafia muster.
but then, of course, escape plans are harder with two people. it's harder to disappear in pairs, it's harder to blend in. it's bad to loose an executive and a genius, it's worse to loose the most powerful duo in the city. the port mafia would be fools to do everything in their power to hunt down the two of them. the heat would inescapable; there would be no telling if the city would even be habitable after making it out. and you can always count on dazai to save his own skin.
...no? just me?














