Chapter Text
"God damn it." Chuuya muttered as he spun the piece around. It was supposedly to specs, but something was still off about it, something he couldn't put a finger on yet. He'd spent so much time on his Jaeger he knew the thing in and out, every screw, wire, and seam.
Sighing, he set it aside for now on the ground by the Jaeger's feet. He would have to inspect it further later and compare it to his notes. Maybe it was a density issue. Instead, for now he brought up another piece, inspecting it for a moment before nodding, finding it satisfactory for the moment. Reducing gravity, he lifted both himself and the piece into the air, bringing them up to hover by the catwalks. Personally he found his ability incredibly useful here; being able to lift incredibly heavy pieces of this or that and move them wherever he needed solo... No other Jaeger had this level of dedication.
Mark 1 Jaegers were scrapped together in 14 months. Chuuya was hoping he'd get his own done by then.
Tools in hand, the redhead began working. The work wasn’t exactly mind-numbing, but it was pleasantly uncomplicated. Not the sort of complicated he didn’t like, anyway. Hooking up the various tubes and components to wire it didn’t take long in his mind, but as he was bringing up another piece to inspect it, he found himself jumping as an unfamiliar voice spoke up behind him.
“Having some issues?” The intruder was a tall brunette with dark eyes and longish, messy hair. He stepped around the piece on the floor, heading for the table where Chuuya had laid out his blueprints and scanned them, a low whistle escaping from his lips. “Wow, this thing really is a mishmash, isn’t it? You’ve got Mark IV and V systems running off a Mark III core? How are you balancing the power requirements?”
“Very carefully.” It was a good thing Chuuya didn’t jump and release For the Tainted Sorrow cause of the idiot behind him. Most crew members knew by now to avoid startling him, but this guy must be new. Finishing up the last connection, he turned to face the speaker though he stayed by the jaeger, looking the newcomer up and down. Yup, definitely new. “I’m avoiding heavily powered weapons, so they don’t draw too much from the core systems, but some of the newer specs are too good to pass up. Who the fuck are you, anyway?”
“Dazai. Dazai Osamu. Just transferred in from the Hokkaido branch. You’re Nakahara Chuuya, correct? They said you’d be down here.” He walked back over to the piece Chuuya had discarded and poked it a few times, then picked up a nearby wrench and tapped the sides. Frowning at the sound, he looked up. “No wonder you rejected this piece. The alloy’s all wrong. It would’ve crumpled the second it got hit. Good eye catching that.”
Dazai looked up again, studying Chuuya appreciatively. “That is an incredibly useful Ability. Ever use it in combat?”
“Dazai? As in…” The redhead trailed off into silence. Dazai and Oda Sakunosuke’s jaeger, Flawless had been incredibly good on the field, until their final fight. It was speculated that Oda’s escape pod had malfunctioned, and Dazai had refused to give a public response to the matter. After that the pilot had gone off the radar. What was he doing here? Chuuya had thought that the other had given up piloting, never to return. “You’ve probably heard that a lot.”
He watched as the brunette tapped at the piece. It was good to know that he had been right, even if he hadn’t known why. If this was the Dazai who had been part of Flawless it made sense that he’d have an idea of the jaeger’s structure, but most pilots didn’t spend time learning about the materials and tech sides of things.
“Sometimes. It comes in handy in fights. Why?”
“Yes, I have. Thank you for not saying it again. And I ask because it appears we’re both in search of a partner. You seem to know your way around a Jaeger. How much do you know about Soukoku?”
Chuuya paused as he was about to turn back toward his work, looking back at Dazai. There was truth in his words, although the redhead wasn’t sure how much.
“No problem. I figure everybody bringing up a topic like that gets old quickly.” Chuuya leaned against part of the Jaeger’s structure as he continued. “If I can’t pilot, might as well make it, right?”
“ Soukoku ?” He questioned, thinking for a moment about what he knew of it. “I know it’s almost done. They don’t have pilots for it yet though, so I’m not sure when it’ll go live. Wait… What do you mean ‘we’re both in search of a partner’?” His eyes widened a bit. “Are you stepping back in?”
“They’ve asked me to. I’m not exactly the easiest person to partner with, or so I’ve been told, so they’re giving me more or less free rein on choosing who rides with me. So, I requested the files of everyone in the program who isn’t currently partnered. There was one who stood out, and it’s ultimately why I said yes.” Dazai grinned cheekily up at the floating redhead. “You… intrigue me, Nakahara. Top scores in combat sims, a near-genius when it comes to Jaeger design, and one of the youngest trained pilots out there, but you can’t find someone drift-compatible? You remind me entirely too much of myself to not pique my curiosity.”
The brunette leaned up against a worktable as he talked. “ Soukoku’s mine, Nakahara. I didn’t build her, I don’t have that kind of skill, but I designed her from the ground up. And she’s built to channel a combat Ability. Preferably yours, if we can work together. I think you’d like her. Mark V, built for melee, lithe, lean, and quick on her feet. Kind of like you, if the videos I’ve seen of your training regimen are any indication.”
“You can talk all you like, but unless we’re actually compatible it doesn’t mean much.” Shrugging, he straightened up, blushing a bit. Usually, people who came to talk to him didn’t believe that he was capable of such things. He had a feeling this guy was going to be a huge pain to work with, but the lure of being able to finally pilot was strong, especially given the mech they’d have. Having a Jaeger that complemented his fighting style would be incredibly useful - he’d have to relearn less since he could put to work what he knew. Not only would it complement his style, but getting to be able to use For The Tainted Sorrow in it? It wasn’t even a toss-up if the situation was worth it. The need to pilot had been roaring in his veins for years; any opportunity to finally get a worthwhile drift was worth the possibility of another failure. If Dazai-knew what he was getting into, and the brunette had read his files so he probably did, and had come to find him so early, bringing this up first thing, there would only be one response.
“It’s like 4am, so you’re going to have to wait if you want to test. Ane-san won’t run any this early.”
“I don’t think we’ll have any problems with compatibility,” Dazai said cryptically. “But we do both have the same issue with drifts, if for entirely opposite reasons. Most people can’t handle getting in our heads.” Oda could, his traitorous brain reminded him, but he wasn’t ready to voice that just yet, and he probably wouldn’t have to. If he was right (and he was fairly certain he was), Chuuya would be seeing those memories soon enough. What the redhead didn’t know- what no one knew anymore, except for Fukuzawa and Yosano- was that he was a rare breed in more than one way. Not only was his Ability unique, but he was one of only two pilots ever found who could drift with literally anyone. The other… well. He was a legend in his own right.
“I’ve already spoken with Ozaki-san. If you agree, we have a test set up for noon. Will I be seeing you there?”
“Like I’d give up a chance to pilot, even if it’s with you.” The redhead scoffed, turning back toward his work before he threw something at him. He couldn’t deny that a thrill ran through him at the thought of the test though, and he wasn’t surprised that Ane-san had been certain he would agree. She knew him the best out of anyone.
“Now get the hell out of here before I throw something at you. I want to get some sleep at some point tonight.”
“Oh, you’re going to be fun,” Dazai said gleefully. “See you at noon, Naka~hara~!” The brunette clapped his hands together, his eyes going wide like a child at Christmas, and all but skipped out of the bay.
Scowling at the name (nobody called him Nakahara anymore) Chuuya tightened the next bolt, resisting the urge to throw the wrench after the fool skipping out of the workshop. And he was going to drift with this idiot?
Ane-san owed him some files if the two of them made it through this. Dazai did not get to be the only one who knew anything about the other. The drift revealed a lot but sometimes it took a while to truly get to know someone, apparently. Well, maybe this time he’d get to see for himself...
*********************
Yawning, Chuuya finished snapping in the pieces of the pilot suit. He’d gotten a bit distracted last night, so he’d gotten less sleep than originally intended, but he’d woken up on time to get ready. Briefly, he wondered if Dazai really was as annoying as he had seemed last night, but something told him that was only the tip of the iceberg.
Drifting, no, piloting would be worth it if they got through this.
Dazai would be getting his own suit on right now if the two of them were going to be on time, and Chuuya found himself wondering what it would look like on the other. The suits were form-fitting, designed to act as armor without impeding the pilot at all. What use was a suit that kept the pilot from fighting? It would be a change from the casual clothes the brunette had been in yesterday.
Ack. Chuuya found himself shaking his head as his thoughts continued on a line about Dazai - he was about to drift with the guy! What if he saw it? Scowling again, he started out from the room he had gotten changed in, planning on going straight to the Jaeger to begin connecting. The redhead hadn’t even been told yet which mech they were using. Soukoku was out of the picture - the connections wouldn’t be finished until they knew what ability was going into the Jaeger. That was one thing that made it so difficult to build - you could put other abilities to pilot, but they wouldn’t be as compatible, or perhaps completely unusable. Luckily that wasn’t on test today, so it didn’t matter which Jaeger they used so long as it was complete.
Dazai was indeed suited up and waiting by an older Jaeger. Paragon Tyrant had seen better days, and as a Mark II, it wasn’t deemed worth fixing up for combat. Now it was used mostly for testing pilots and training new mechanics.
He found himself pacing, a combination of nerves, excitement, and resentment making him restless. Dazai loved drifting- the feeling of sharing someone else’s consciousness was amazing, and the influx of emotion and memories was almost addictive for someone who had little of either. It was one of the reasons he’d been so taken with the idea of drifting with Nakahara- the redhead was said to be a positive wellspring of emotion, to the point of being unable to control them fully in a drift. It was rumored that was why he’d never been able to find a partner- no one could handle the ride. With him, though…
Ah, so they were using Paragon Tyrant. It made sense. The Jaeger had been completely busted up years ago, and at the time it wasn’t worth trying to repair it. It still wasn’t. The main bits were still intact though, and the skeleton functioned enough the basics of a drift could still be tested without the possibility of setting off weapons systems.
Seeing Dazai pacing by the cockpit settled some of his own nerves. Either the other was nervous or he was excited, or both like Chuya was. He hadn’t had a chance to go through the other’s files; he’d have to do that after the drift if it worked out, but Ane-san had handed them over when she had stopped by earlier to make sure he was aware of the test.
“Oi, beanpole, you ready?” He called out as he approached, propping his helmet on one hip as he came to a stop nearby.
“Wouldn’t be here if I weren’t, chibi,” the brunette retorted. He led the way into the cockpit, where a team was waiting to hook them into the rigging. “By the way, did you get the chance to read my file?”
“Some people have things to do besides annoy people, if you would believe it.” Following the other into the cockpit, he waited for the other to choose a side. The redhead had no preference, and Dazai was the one who had piloted one previously. “So no, I didn’t. I figured I’d read it afterward if there’s even a point.”
Dazai only grinned, and headed for the right hemisphere. He preferred to lead, and that had always been his and Oda’s dynamic, despite the other having been more experienced. Not that he’d had to do much leading- the two of them had clicked instantly, and drifting had been as natural as breathing. He hoped it would be the same here- Nakahara was far too talented a pilot to leave on the sidelines, and he had already started refining his design of Soukoku to incorporate his Ability. “In that case, Nakahara,” he said as his assistant moved in to start connecting him to the rig, “you’re in for a pleasant surprise, I think.”
Once Dazai had indicated his choice of side, Chuuya headed for the left. He knew enough about drifting to be aware that the right side generally became the dominant side, and that Dazai had been on the same side in Flawless, so it had been somewhat predictable.
“A pleasant surprise, in your head? How do you manage to fit that big head of yours into the helmet?” Chuuya scoffed as his own assistant began connecting the spinal clamps and other pieces. He wasn’t sure what the other was referring to (Oda was definitely not pleasant, nor a surprise) but the banter helped him keep his focus, kept him from getting too into the hope that this would work out and he’d be an official pilot.
A low chuckle, equally amused and rueful, escaped Dazai’s lips as they donned their helmets and the intercoms connected. “If you’d read my file, you’d know, Chibi,” he said. “There are two bits of information that might have made this a bit easier. One is the virtually unknown fact that I can drift with anyone, so compatibility won’t be an issue.”
“Okay?” He’d never looked into that, had never even heard of that. Whether or not the brunette was telling the truth they’d find out in a minute though, so he continued on. “What’s the other bit, o secretive one?”
“My Ability,” Dazai said simply. “No Longer Human. I can nullify any other Ability, Nakahara, no exceptions. It can come in handy in a pinch. But, in this case, it’s the side effect that makes it especially useful. It’s also why most people can’t handle drifting with me, despite being compatible.”
The drift countdown started, and Dazai smiled coldly, his eyes like solid amber as he gazed at Chuuya’s confused expression through the mask. “It has a tendency to dampen my emotions, you see. Most of the time, I don’t feel much of anything at all. And in a drift, it works on my partner too.”
“Zero. Neural handshake initiated.”