Chapter 21. The Double Black
The unfamiliar expression on Dazai's familiar face, and the words spoken in a hoarse voice, inexplicably reminded Chuuya of the strange shadow that Dazai had shown him before, and then of the urban legends circulating in the underworld about vengeful spirits possessing the bodies of the living.
A chill crept up his spine, and goosebumps nearly rose from his skin, but his sharply defined face remained calm and unchanged. He simply stared at the other person with his sharp cobalt blue eyes, while his brain worked at high speed, stirring up a silent storm.
Who exactly is this guy?
The turmoil entwined his heart like vines. In the end, Chuuya Nakahara chose to confront this absurd thought, his voice taut without him even realizing it: "Hey, Dazai... or rather, are you really 'Dazai Osamu'?" He paused, as if carefully choosing his words, his gaze sweeping over every inch of the other's face. "Or... are you that shadow? That shadow of Dazai Osamu with its own consciousness?"
"Whoa—! Did Nakahara Chuuya actually find out?" Dazai Osamu exclaimed dramatically. He cupped his face in his hands, his iris-colored eyes wide as if he had heard something unbelievable. "Has my acting deteriorated to this extent? How heartbreaking!"
It's more than just obvious; this guy practically has "I have a problem" etched onto his forehead in bold black font.
Chuuya Nakahara inwardly cursed, but his lips were pressed into a straight line, and he remained silent. His mind was a jumbled mess, a jumble of thoughts surfacing and then being dismissed. Ghost possession? Invasion from a parallel universe? Or a split consciousness caused by some unknown ability? ...Or perhaps, this was some kind of illusionary trap targeting only the two of them?
He didn't know what expression he should make when facing the person in front of him. To be fair, the other person could not only be Dazai Osamu's shadow, but also some wandering ghost that had possessed Dazai's shadow and then taken advantage of the situation to invade Dazai's body.
Chuuya Nakahara found it hard to describe his current feelings. On one hand, he got goosebumps because of the news that Dazai was possessed by a ghost, and the surrounding environment seemed to become much more eerie even in broad daylight. On the other hand, his rationality forced him to think about how to communicate with the guy in front of him—if the other person was really no longer the bastard he knew.
His brows furrowed involuntarily, and Chuuya Nakahara was racking his brains. This intense feeling that "the person in front of him is Dazai, yet may not be Dazai" made him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if he were hitting cotton.
Just as the complicated expression on his face was about to freeze, a burst of undisguised, extremely joyful laughter suddenly rang out.
"Pfft, hahahaha—!!!"
Chuuya looked up in astonishment, only to see Dazai Osamu, who had just been looking shocked, now laughing so hard he was doubled over, completely losing his composure, even exaggeratedly punching the wall. He had deliberately turned his face towards Chuuya, his crescent-shaped iris eyes filled with undisguised mockery. It was obvious to anyone that this was a joke directed at him, probably because he had once again unwittingly fallen into some trap set by Dazai.
Wait a minute. Chuuya suddenly realized that when Dazai exclaimed in surprise, his voice sounded perfectly normal, without any hoarseness. Only then did he belatedly realize that he had been tricked.
The anger of being fooled instantly surged to the top of Chuuya Nakahara's head, burning his ears. He couldn't understand what trap he had fallen into again, and could only growl angrily, "Dazai, what are you laughing at?!" Even knowing that the other person might not be Dazai, the name still slipped out subconsciously.
Dazai Osamu wiped away non-existent tears from the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. His shoulders were still trembling slightly, and his voice was full of smug satisfaction at having pulled off a prank: "Oh dear, Chuuya really is an incurable idiot, isn't he? Even my clumsy acting managed to fool you completely~"
He deliberately dragged out his words, with a condescending sarcasm, "Not even recognizing its own owner, that's not how a proper little dog should behave, is it?"
Nakahara Chuuya: ......
He recalled his earlier struggle and inner turmoil, all caused by this bastard's prank! Shame and anger instantly filled his mind. He gritted his teeth, almost roaring, "Shut up, you bastard mackerel!! There's a limit to playing pranks! And who's your dog?! Want to die?!"
"Chuuya is clearly my puppy! Although he's grumpy and not obedient at all..." [Dazai Osamu] nimbly dodged Chuuya's fist, which was whistling through the air, while adding fuel to the fire in a cheerful tone, "But as his master, I'm very tolerant, you know? Chuuya should be grateful and serve me even more diligently!"
"Serve you my foot! Die!!" Enraged, Chuuya Nakahara unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, each accompanied by a sharp gust of wind, relentlessly attacking the slippery fellow who was trying to escape like an eel. The office floor instantly transformed into a battlefield, with documents and papers flying like snowflakes, and desks and chairs being knocked over and knocked about.
Dazai Osamu was intimately familiar with Nakahara Chuuya's attack patterns. Every dodge was precise, as if rehearsed. He nimbly dodged in the narrow space, like a fish swimming with ease, always managing to narrowly avoid fatal attacks, while exclaiming in a cheeky "Oops, that was close!"
However, the disparity in their physical strength and Dazai Osamu's recent serious injury were undeniable realities. After a period of intense fighting, Dazai's movements inevitably slowed down. Seizing an opening, Chuuya Nakahara unleashed a furious punch that slammed into Dazai Osamu's abdomen.
"Hmm!"
[Dazai Osamu] let out a suppressed groan as he was struck, but the force was not great, merely the pain one would feel if a small stone hit their forehead. He slid down the wall behind him, then looked up and gave Nakahara Chuuya a smile.
After venting his anger, Chuuya Nakahara took a deep breath, then exhaled, trying to calm himself down. He stopped, not glancing at Dazai Osamu again, and walked a few steps away, sliding down against another wall. An aisle separated them, the only sound in the air the rhythm of their breathing.
"What a... utterly boring guy!" Nakahara Chuuya felt ashamed and annoyed at the thought that he had actually been fooled by Dazai's childish behavior, and could only curse in a harsh voice to cover it up.
"There's no way around it, Chuuya is just too easy to fool~" Dazai Osamu, who was leaning against the wall, quietly moved next to Nakahara Chuuya, shortening the distance between them to the point where they could touch each other with just a reach of their hands.
Chuuya Nakahara was too lazy to continue this childish banter. He scratched his head in frustration, pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. He just leaned back against the cold wall, his cobalt blue eyes staring at the ceiling, and his tone unusually serious: "Hey, seriously. How are you and that shadow... now? Have you found a way to get him out of here?"
Dazai Osamu's smile faded slightly, and he didn't answer immediately. A few seconds of silence lingered between them. Just as Nakahara Chuuya thought he was about to make another joke, Dazai Osamu produced a small, dark blue lighter from seemingly nowhere. He leaned forward slightly, his arm naturally extending, and with a soft "snap," the flickering flame brought close to the unlit cigarette between Nakahara Chuuya's lips.
The distance closed silently. Chuuya instinctively lowered his head, bringing it closer to the fire, their arms briefly intertwining in the confined space. The tobacco was lit, emitting a soft hissing sound, a tiny orange glow illuminating the tip. Wisps of white smoke rose, blurring Dazai Osamu's face, which was now inches away. Through the swirling smoke, his slightly upturned lips became more pronounced, but his eyes held a somewhat unpredictable expression.
"What are you laughing at, Dazai?" Chuuya took a deep breath, the pungent tobacco aroma filling his lungs before he slowly exhaled. The white smoke drifted towards Dazai Osamu's eyes, but he didn't flinch. He casually waved away the smoke without answering Chuuya's question, simply saying, "Chuuya really is an idiot."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Chuuya's face twisted for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. He decided to ignore this strange guy for the time being, so as not to ruin the relaxed mood he had finally achieved.
“Chuuya,” [Dazai Osamu] seemed unconcerned by Chuuya's silence. He leaned against the wall, tilted his head slightly, and spoke in a deliberately relaxed tone, as if telling a bedtime story, “Would you like to hear a heartwarming and cute little story?”
His fingers, hanging by his side, curled almost imperceptibly, a slight tingling sensation spreading through his fingertips, as if some part of his body was quietly disintegrating. But he chose to ignore the discomfort, not wanting this rare conversation to end too soon.
"Oh?" Chuuya Nakahara raised an eyebrow. Although he knew this guy was probably changing the subject or plotting something, his curiosity was still piqued. After all, he knew Dazai Osamu too well; if this guy didn't want to talk about something, you couldn't pry it out even if you held a gun to his temple. Rather than wasting his energy, he might as well see what kind of story he could come up with. "Tell me about it," he mumbled, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
[Dazai Osamu]'s gaze drifted into the distance, his voice softening: "There was a fish that did nothing all day, whose daily entertainment was blowing bubbles in the pond, thinking that its place was its whole world." He paused, "Until one day, a child scooped it up, put it in a glass tank that the child had brought with him, took it away from the pond it depended on for survival, and also showed it the scenery beyond the pond."
"The little fish saw the shimmering sunlight for the first time, and many other things it had never seen before. It is said that fish only have a seven-second memory, but if the same scenery is repeated day after day..." Dazai's voice lowered, carrying an indescribable meaning, "Even a little fish will remember. So it finally understood that there is a wider world beyond the pond."
"And then?" Chuuya Nakahara couldn't help but ask. Although he found the story a bit boring, he was still willing to give it a try.
"Then the fish's habitat was reduced to a small glass tank. It quickly adapted to its new life, but the child soon grew tired of the little fish and forgot about it in a corner. The fish soon died due to improper feeding."
"..." Chuuya Nakahara was silent for a few seconds at this abrupt ending, forgetting to even smoke the cigarette he was holding. He slowly turned his head, staring at the guy next to him who was grinning innocently with the look of someone looking at a lunatic. "Huh? You call this a heartwarming and cute little story?!"
"Isn't it heartwarming and adorable?" [Dazai Osamu] immediately put on a hurt expression and retorted exaggeratedly, "The cute little fish was caught by a child, and then they lived happily together. Even if it died in the end, at least it brought a lot of different colors to its barren fish life. It's obviously heartwarming!"
Chuuya Nakahara was too lazy to argue with him about this anymore. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and then blew it into Osamu Dazai's face.
"Pfft—cough cough cough!!!" Caught off guard, Dazai Osamu's face was covered in smoke and he immediately started coughing.
"Hahahaha!!" Seeing the other party's disheveled appearance, Nakahara Chuuya finally couldn't help but burst into a hearty laugh.
"Cough cough cough... That's too much, Chuuya! How could you bully your poor partner who was just seriously injured like this?" [Dazai Osamu] stared at Nakahara Chuuya with accusing eyes, while waving away the smoke in the air. "As my little dog, shouldn't you be grateful and take good care of me?!"
The word "seriously injured" instantly snapped Chuuya Nakahara out of the brief pleasure he had felt from his successful prank. His laughter abruptly stopped.
Damn! I almost forgot!
He whirled around, his sharp gaze scrutinizing the pale-faced Dazai Osamu leaning against the wall. He'd been blinded by rage during their earlier playful fight, and the fact that this guy was still alive and kicking him had made him forget that just moments before, he'd kicked Dazai with all his might, shattering a whole high-strength bulletproof glass wall and leaving a spiderweb-like crack in the load-bearing wall of the office building.
Now, looking at him more closely after calming down, it's clear that something is wrong with him. His lips are bloodless, his body seems to be trembling slightly from pain, his forehead is covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and his breathing is much faster and shallower than usual. His earlier energetic movements were probably just a forced effort. The fact that he hasn't fainted yet is, in a sense, a testament to his strong will to live.
"Shut up!" Chuuya Nakahara stubbed out his cigarette in frustration, his tone firm and unyielding. "If you're not feeling well, go to the hospital right away."
He completely ignored Dazai Osamu's token resistance and inaudible mutterings, and directly pulled out his phone to call the medical team. After giving the concise order, he forcefully dragged his troublesome partner into the hospital to recuperate.
A note from the author:
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I've done a major overhaul. I was in a rush to update a few days ago and didn't get to make any changes.
These chapters are written from Chuuya's perspective; in his eyes, it's always the Dazai he knows, namely [Dazai Osamu]. However, sometimes Dazai would take over [Dazai Osamu]'s body and communicate with him, but he didn't realize it. Therefore, these chapters consistently focus on [Dazai Osamu].
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