Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 Part 1

Chuuya’s and Dazai’s fists collided. “Tell me who’s behind this!” “No way!”
Chuuya swiftly closed in on Dazai without letting him finish his sentence, then unleashed a powerful downward kick. Dazai leaped into the air, evading the attack. He spun and used the momentum of his descent to swing his weapon down.
Chuuya raised his hands and blocked the black metal club, which was around the size of an adult male. The moment Dazai landed, Chuuya unleashed a flurry of punches.
“You really don’t know who did it, do you?!” “No, I do. Unlike a certain little schoolboy.”
All Dazai could do was block the onslaught. He stepped back, retreating until he found himself trapped in a corner.
“Take this, and this, and this! You’ll never win in a fight if all ya do is block!”
Chuuya chose a high kick for his finisher—a powerful move that would launch his opponent into the air. However, Dazai wasn’t going to let this brief opening slip by.
“Ooh, too bad!”
He quickly pressed a button, making his on-screen character glow with energy. His metal club emitted a destructive beam of light that struck Chuuya’s character.
“What the…?! Wait—!”
But Chuuya’s shouting was drowned out by loud electronic sounds. The metal club kept swinging until countless rays of light filled the screen: attack, attack, attack, attack. The barrage of blows still didn’t stop. All

Chuuya could do was watch in utter disbelief until his character eventually fell face-first on the ground, and the word VICTORY appeared over Dazai’s character’s head.
“I guess that’s that,” said Dazai. “Did you learn your lesson?”
“Damn it! One more match!”
Dazai and Chuuya were at an arcade downtown. The electronic sounds were vibrant; the customers, loud. The pair were seated at opposite arcade cabinets playing a fighting game against each other.
“I don’t mind playing another round, but you’re still not going to beat me. I’m good with my hands, after all,” Dazai boasted with a wave of his hand. “Anyway, it’s time for you to keep your end of the bargain. Loser has to obey one command like a dog, no matter how humiliating it may be. Now, what should I have you do?”
“Damn it… I was so confident I’d win…!”
After departing Randou’s estate, they found themselves with conflicting opinions. Chuuya insisted that they go straight to the enemy’s hideout while Dazai argued that they should thoroughly prepare to make the job easier. Their argument further escalated when Dazai wouldn’t say who was the mastermind behind the black flames. However, Mori had given them strict orders not to solve their problems through violence or threats.
Therefore, they picked what they deemed the fairest method of deciding things: arcade games. The loser would have to obey the winner no matter what.
They ended up playing close to a hundred matches, but that’s a story for another time.
“You must’ve bought that confidence of yours out of the bargain bin,” Dazai jeered, swinging from side to side in his chair. “You want to know why you lost? Because your skill is strong. It’s so strong that you never learn to be cunning and strategic. You’re stunted not only height-wise but mentally as well. That’s why you can’t win. Not in video games and not in a battle of wits, either.”
“‘A battle of wits’?” Chuuya glared at Dazai. “I don’t remember agreeing to something like that, and I sure as hell don’t remember losing any argument! You just claimed you know who did it. As if I’m gonna believe that!”

“Understandable. But you still haven’t figured out who’s behind all this, right?”
“…Huh?”
“Did you? Or did you not?”
“What do you think?” Chuuya averted his gaze, grimacing. “…Course, I…”
“Hmm? What was that?” “…know, but…like…” “What? I can’t hear you.”
“Of course I know who did it!” Chuuya snapped. “Stop actin’ like you’re so much smarter than me, ya twisted freak!”
“Ah, my apologies. Then let’s play a game. Whoever catches the perpetrator first wins. If you win, I’ll call off the bet we had. But if I win, you’re my dog for life.”
“Psh. You think you can scare me with a threat like that?” Chuuya eyed Dazai haughtily. “You’re only bluffin’ anyway. Whatever. Let’s do this. You think I can’t be crafty and strategic? Pfft. As if I’d show you what I’ve got up my sleeve.”
“That’s the spirit, little man. Quite a speech for someone who responded to cheap provocation. Here, let me give you some head pats.”
“Keep your filthy paws off me!”
Chuuya kicked Dazai’s hand away before he could touch his head. As always, he’d kept his own hands stuffed in his biker jacket the entire time.
“By the way,” Dazai suddenly added after observing Chuuya’s kick, “I still haven’t seen you fight with your hands yet. Even when you fought Hirotsu and the GSS, you only used kicks. Your hands are always in your pockets. Got a reason for that? Afraid of breaking a nail, perhaps?”
“Hell no. And who cares how I fight? It’s got nothing to do with you.” “Aha. I see. So you’re being sloppy on purpose.” A know-it-all look
appeared on Dazai’s face. “There seems to be some sort of internal contradiction here…or perhaps conflict. You never know what’s going to happen in a fight between two skill users. Just like how you had the advantage against Hirotsu, perhaps there’s a skill out there that rivals even yours. And you won’t know until you run into it. That’s why in our line of work, you never, ever let your guard down during random encounters. Of course, I’m the exception, since I can nullify skills… So what are you thinking when you fight? Why are you putting yourself at a disadvantage?”