long explanation incoming
Realistically, I don’t think Kajii would have a new outfit in the BEAST universe. Minor mafia members like Tachihara and Hirotsu kept their original outfits, and I don’t think the trajectory of Kajii’s life was altered by any of the events in the BEAST universe enough to warrant a difference in appearance. However, this is my house so I make the rules >:) Through a combination of official sources and headcanons, I have come up with a vague outline for a BEAST Kajii backstory, complete with a new outfit ^^
While we have no real confirmation of when Kajii joined the mafia, based on the epilogue of Stormbringer I believe it happened when Kajii was around 22-24 years old. In the main universe, this means he barely got to know Dazai but became very familiar with Mori. In the BEAST universe, this wasn’t able to happen.
Kajii deeply respects Mori in the main story, referring to him as the “Grand Marshal of the Universe.” They’re frequently seen together alongside other high-ranking mafia members, meaning Kajii is trusted and respected by Mori despite not being particularly high up in the organisation. Kajii feels free to pursue his own research, and this independence is reflected through his bright, loose outfit.
Under Dazai’s leadership in the BEAST universe, things seem a lot more strict. The mafia’s territory has grown immensely, resulting in more responsibilities and stress. Dazai himself is also very withdrawn; Chuuya says Atsushi being allowed into his office is a “special case,” so the chances of Kajii being familiar with Dazai are low. I imagine Kajii still has some respect for Dazai as his boss, but nowhere near the amount he has for Mori in the main story.
I believe Kajii’s main drive behind joining the mafia was the promise of freedom. The mafia gave him the means to conduct his experiments in exchange for carrying out missions. In both stories, this agreement was made with Mori. While this deal is still going strong in the main universe, it eventually fell through in the BEAST universe after Dazai took over. Due to the more restrictive environment the mafia now fosters, Kajii feels less satisfied as he can no longer carry out his research the way he used to. I think this could be reflected visually through a difference in clothing.
Kajii’s main story outfit is described as “completely fashion irrelevant.” It's also noted that he “has no intention of wearing mafia colours [mostly black] at all.” Generally, the colours of the outfits in the BEAST universe are darker than the main universe. I wanted to keep with this theme; adhering to Kajii’s desire to go against the curve and not match with the rest of the mafia while still using a darker palette to express his discontentment.
Kajii in the main story tends to wear loose fitting clothing: the top of his shirt is unbuttoned, he doesn’t wear a tie, his shoes are open toed etc. For my BEAST design, I chose to give him tighter clothing to represent his diminished free will. His shirt is slightly darker, covered by a stiff waistcoat. He now has a black tie – this piece of cloth imbued with the mafia’s colours restricts his neck much like the mafia restricts his independence. I still wanted him to have a lab coat, so I changed it from white to navy blue. I also removed the pins from it to further rob him of his whimsy. I imagine his tinted goggles serve some kind of functional purpose so I kept those the same. Despite the strictness of Dazai’s leadership, I didn't think there would be any new rules about open-toed shoes in the lab, so I kept his shoes the same too.
I tried to stick to the “complete fashion irrelevance” but honestly the different colour combinations I was testing were painful to look at so I don’t think I went as bold as I should have lol.
theartofmadeline
yousharknotpass
amandla
