[Thoughts on Chuuya's morality]

Every time I remember that Chuuya actually works for the mafia, I ask myself if he also feels guilt or -grieve for his actions. Unlike Dazai, Chuuya fully committed his life to the Port Mafia under Mori, a life of death, torture and violence.

By the time we meet his younger self in FIFTEEN, we get to know a boy who is torn between protecting the only friends and family he had and his desperate wish for knowing the truth behind himself and Arahabaki. He sees himself as a mere vessel for Arahabaki and doesn’t have any

sense of identity. Fighting and making use of his ability for the Sheep is literally his purpose in life.

However – even though he can't remember his past he is much more emotional developed than Dazai and he actually has a sense

of morality as we saw in his reaction towards Dazai shooting a dead body.

By the time he joined the Port Mafia he was in the end just a lonely and insecure boy, without the feeling of being attached to his own body and being and without someone, who’s taken care of him.

He grew up fighting, defending, protecting in a group of young kids opposing even more violent organizations. What else can a child learn under those circumstances?

Rimbaud’s last words for him, that he doesn’t even need to know what he is, that it is enough /that/ he is, that he should stop searching for a reason, because he doesn’t need one, might have taken a huge weight off his shoulders, he still missed a place he belonged to.

Chuuya always needed people around him to form his own identity and that’s he grew into the mafia, with Kouyou as his mentor or Dazai as his partner.
We know that he is caring about the safety and the health of his subordinates as well as the younger ones in the organization and

we saw his emotional break down, when Shibusawa’s ability killed his comrades in DEAD APPLE.

The Port Mafia satisfies important needs he has, like being the protector of those he treasures, serving the, for him, ideal leader Mori, which he wasn’t able to be during his time with the Sheep.

I think Chuuya can distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, but in the moment he needs to protect what’s dear to him, he doesn’t care.
But he isn’t just senselessly following orders, he also acts after his own instincts and values (like he did in DEAD APPLE).

But Chuuya doesn’t kill unnecessarily, Chuuya treasures his own life as much as those of others. We can see it in his reaction, when Mori planned to extinguish the ADA after the first Guild attack and Kouyou being held hostage.

Chuuya just does as he is ordered, but he was also able to gain Mori’s trust or he wouldn’t have become an executive, being like the second-in-command after Mori was infected with the virus.

I don’t like calling people morally grey, because this term is old-fashioned from a

psychological POV – I would rather call him morally flexible.

The morality we end up with as adults is influenced by how we were cared for and socialized. This central morality forms through the experience of being treated with empathy and kindness.

Chuuya’s moral grew on insecurity and survival skills. But also on the strength and responsibility how ability brought with it, making him the one in charge of protecting his friends. Chibi is emotionally far more developed and more mature than Dazai at their first encounter.

Modern psychological research on human’s morality sees the reason we diverge on so many moral issues in how we rank our values differently.

Think about how Chuuya and Dazai were just a year older than Kyouka in the FIFTEEN Arc and how they would have grown up totally different,

if they had the same chance as Kyouka, who was saved from the dark by Atsushi.

Chuuya values values comradery and loyalty, he treasures life. And I think he had good mentors during his first years in the PM with Kouyou and Hirotsu.

(I mean - they both would be totally different if Mori had been the one taking Chuuya under his wing and Kouyou would have taken care of Dazai - just pondering sorry!)

Being morally flexible means that he his values are genuinely good, but he can justify his deeds as his job, his dedication to the Port Mafia and Mori; and moreover to protect the one’s he now calls family and who gave him a reason to live,

making him feel in line with his existence.
He values their lives more and he would kill to protect them if he there would be no other option, he would even sacrifice his own life.

I don’t think Chuuya is entirely a bad guy and on a scale he would rather tend to the brighter than to the darker side. If you would ask me – I think Chuuya /does/ feel guilty and he /does/ grieve when he has to kill.

In the end, Chibikko didn’t chose to be a criminal, he chose to be loyal. He chose to protect what's dear to him.
( Most important: when we see him around Dazai, their hearts is still those of children )