Chapter 50: The Double Black
"Dazai, what are you doing here?" Chuuya Nakahara straightened up and casually brushed the dust off his coat. He looked at the figure that shouldn't be there, his tone a mixture of doubt and a barely perceptible sense of relief.
Dazai Osamu did not answer immediately. He stared intently at Nakahara Chuuya, his iris-colored eyes seeming to transform into his hands, meticulously tracing every smudge and wound on Chuuya's face, as well as the abnormal flush on his cheeks caused by strenuous exercise.
Without thinking, he blurted out, "Chuuya looks really pathetic right now, like a little slug that's rolled around in the mud, all filthy." A look of disgust crossed his face, yet his body subtly moved a small step closer to Chuuya.
"Huh?" Chuuya Nakahara uttered a short, threatening interjection. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in dust and scattered bloodstains, and then looked up at Dazai's attire, which, although he was usually wrapped in a black trench coat, now had unusually clean edges on the bandages on his hands. A wicked thought instantly formed in his mind.
Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and, with lightning speed, smeared the dust and grime from his palm onto Dazai Osamu's body, causing Dazai to let out a startled "Whoa!"
Dazai Osamu jumped back as if splashed with boiling water, frantically patting the soiled area while exclaiming in a startled tone, "That's too much, Chuuya! I don't want to become as dirty as Chuuya!"
Seeing Dazai's desperate attempt to avoid him, Chuuya Nakahara suddenly felt a surge of mischievous satisfaction. He was already in a sorry state, so getting a little dirtier didn't matter, but dragging that bastard Dazai down with him felt pretty good.
So, he smirked and started chasing after Dazai, trying to smear the dust off his body onto this guy whose bandages were still white, turning him gray.
"Hey, stop it, you filthy slug! Get away from me!"
"If you're so tough, then don't run away, you germaphobe!"
"You're repaying kindness with enmity! I came here out of kindness to see if some little dwarf who got beaten up was secretly crying because he lost, but Chuuya treated me like this. It's so heartbreaking!"
"Who needs your kindness, you bastard!"
The two chased each other like children across the rubble-strewn open space. Dazai Osamu protested loudly while seemingly dodging in panic. In the end, after a chaotic chase, Dazai Osamu was indeed covered in dirt, and even his pale cheek had a grayish-black mark on it.
In the end, it was Dazai Osamu who first raised his hands in surrender, his tone full of aggrieved accusation: "Chuuya is too childish! I was trying to help you out of kindness, and you still had to do something like this to persecute your poor partner. It's utterly immoral and outrageous!"
Seeing Dazai covered in dust and feigning pitifulness, Chuuya finally couldn't help but laugh. The emotions that had been building up in his chest because of Verlaine strangely dissipated during this pointless playful banter with Dazai. This guy always had this ability to infuriate you yet inexplicably relax you.
As the laughter subsided, Chuuya Nakahara looked up, his gaze falling once more on Dazai Osamu's face. The moonlight outlined the man's slender features and his iris-colored eyes, which were shimmering with a faint glow. He opened his mouth, about to say something—perhaps about Verlaine, perhaps about the Flag Society, or perhaps simply wanting to ask what this guy had been up to lately—but all the words he was about to utter were completely silenced by Dazai Osamu's next action.
Dazai Osamu suddenly reached out and gently stroked Nakahara Chuuya's cheek with his fingertips.
The touch came too suddenly, completely different from their usual playful banter and arguments; it crossed the boundaries of their current relationship. Chuuya Nakahara froze, his mind blank for a moment.
He could only stare blankly at Dazai, whose eyes seemed to hold a gentle light. The man's previously vivid expression of condemnation suddenly calmed down, and his gaze was fixed intently on Dazai's face, as if he were looking at something.
The bandaged hand, its fingertips still slightly cool, gently brushed against Chuuya's cheekbone, grazed by Verlaine's punch. Chuuya could even feel the subtle tickle from the calluses on the other's fingertips against his skin. He should have immediately swatted away the bastard's hand, or at least quickly retreated to create distance—this should have been his body's almost instinctive defensive reaction when facing Dazai Osamu. However, at this moment, his legs felt as if they were nailed to the spot by invisible nails, unable to move. A strange sensation spread along the touched skin, causing him to momentarily lose control of his body.
Time seemed to stretch out, or perhaps only a few seconds had passed. When Chuuya finally regained control of his legs, he abruptly stepped back, creating a safe distance between himself and Dazai. His ears burned uncontrollably, and he growled at Dazai Osamu with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, "Hey, Dazai! What's wrong with you all of a sudden?!"
Dazai Osamu's hand was still suspended in mid-air. He didn't seem surprised by Chuuya's intense reaction. Instead of answering Chuuya's question, he raised his hand and gently brushed aside the slightly curled black hair beside his ear, revealing what was hidden underneath. A simple black headset was hanging on his earlobe.
He curled his fingers and gently tapped the device on his ear, his face once again displaying that sly smile that Chuuya Nakahara knew so well, as if the gentle touch he had just given Chuuya had never existed.
“Because I thought you silly puppy wouldn’t be able to wear this kind of device properly, I put it on for you myself. You should thank me properly, this is a special service.” He said in a light tone, his gaze meaningfully drifting to the ear that he had touched.
Chuuya Nakahara subconsciously raised his hand to touch his earlobe, which was being watched, and sure enough, he touched a small, cold metal object.
Dazai Osamu's gaze remained fixed on Chuuya. He toned down his playful expression, his tone becoming slightly more serious. "This headset is specially made, you know. Even in extreme environments with no signal coverage, it ensures our connection won't be interrupted. We might need it later." He added meaningfully, "So, Chuuya, don't lose it or damage it intentionally."
These words successfully stopped Chuuya Nakahara from immediately taking off the headset and throwing it back. He stroked the smooth casing of the headset, snorted, and turned his face away, tacitly accepting it.
Dazai Osamu's appearance this time seemed to be primarily for the purpose of delivering the headset, at least in Nakahara Chuuya's view. After giving the aforementioned instructions, he turned around decisively, put his hands back in his trench coat pockets, and walked away from Chuuya with seemingly leisurely but actually quick steps.
"Hey, Dazai." Chuuya Nakahara called out subconsciously, but he didn't know why he called out, and after calling out, he couldn't think of anything to say.
Dazai Osamu paused for a moment, but didn't turn around. He simply waved casually as a farewell. Then, his figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the surrounding ruins, arriving suddenly and vanishing just as swiftly.
Chuuya Nakahara stood still, not uttering another word to stop him, but silently gazing in the direction Dazai had disappeared. He touched the earpiece on his ear again; the cool touch cleared his chaotic thoughts slightly.
Just then, the sound of rubble hitting the ground came from behind. Adam had finally managed to break free from the wall that Verlaine had embedded himself in, thanks to the strength of his mechanical body. His bionic skin had several tears, and his movements were somewhat sluggish, but for a robot, as long as the central system and energy system were intact, bodily damage could always be repaired.
"Mr. Nakahara Chuuya, are you alright?" Adam moved his slightly stiff joints, his eyes scanning Chuuya, automatically performing a basic vital sign scan.
Chuuya Nakahara turned his gaze from the distance to Adam and said, "I'm fine. But you look like you need a major overhaul." Adam denied this, saying that he had no problems and there was nothing to worry about.
According to intelligence, Verlaine will most likely go to the police station to deal with Detective Murase. However, Nakahara cannot directly display his precognitive abilities in front of Adam. Even though he knows Adam is on his side, Adam is backed by Europol, whose primary mission is to capture Verlaine, not anything else. Prematurely revealing information could introduce unnecessary variables and even disrupt Dazai's plans.
So, as Dazai had instructed, when the little robot was searching for Verlaine's activities in Japan, it found a clue about the blue phone and guided the robot to continue along that line.
During this time, Chuuya Nakahara discovered that he had completely lost contact with Osamu Dazai. He tried to contact Dazai. The phone was always busy, the encrypted walkie-talkie didn't respond, and even the special headset that was supposed to allow contact at any time never produced that familiar, annoying voice when he tried to call out to him in a low voice several times.
He also tried to subtly inquire with the Port Mafia's internal intelligence personnel, but all he received were replies like "Dazai-san's whereabouts are unknown." In fact, it could be said that he was the last person confirmed to have seen Dazai before his disappearance. This guy seemed to have vanished into thin air.
However, he wasn't worried that the guy would actually die quietly in some obscure corner. At least not for now, because that bastard had promised him not to do such a thing secretly.
Therefore, despite still uncontrollably thinking about the other person, Chuuya Nakahara didn't show any unusual expression on the surface. He continued to maintain his temporary partnership with Adam, following the clues from the blue phone to track down the traces Verlaine left in Yokohama. He knew of N's existence and that the other person might monitor or even control Adam in some way. Therefore, he didn't mention a word about Dazai's true plan until the other person gradually uncovered the truth by following the clues left behind.
It was several days later when Adam followed the trail from the blue cell phone Verlaine had bought to Detective Murase. During this time, Nakahara Chuuya was anxious, after all, he already knew the beginning and the end of the matter, but he knew that nothing could be rushed, so he could only be patient and wait for things to develop naturally according to Dazai's plan.
When they arrived at Detective Murase's location, they were met with utter devastation. The second floor of the apartment building where the suspect was located had collapsed, with bricks and rubble scattered everywhere, as if torn in two by some powerful force. A faint smell of blood filled the air.
In a room on the first floor that was barely intact, they found Detective Murase's body. The upright officer lay quietly in a pool of blood, already lifeless.
Adam crouched down and used the instrument to check the time of death of the body, which showed that it was no more than 24 hours ago. In other words, if they had come a day earlier, perhaps this tragedy could have been prevented, but there are no ifs.
Standing amidst the ruins, Chuuya Nakahara stared at the familiar yet jarring scene, his expression momentarily dazed. He recalled the past when this detective had locked him in solitary confinement, recounting his past and thoughts to him incessantly; at the time, he had only found the other man noisy and naive.
He thought that if he avoided contact with the other person for the rest of his life, he might be able to avoid the other person's death—of course, he knew the probability was extremely small. As long as this police officer was still N's relative, and as long as Verlaine was still in Japan because of him, such a thing was hard to avoid.
Faced with this recurring ending, though it was expected, an indescribable sense of unease still welled up in my chest.
He suddenly remembered what Dazai Osamu had once said, his voice calm and cold, as if stating a perfectly natural truth: "Chuuya, in some things, partial sacrifice is unavoidable. All we can do is try to minimize the overall damage." He knew this might also be part of the plan, so he simply lowered his head in silence, mourning for the detective for a moment.
Adam noticed something was wrong, so he reached out and patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him, "Mr. Chuuya," he said, "according to human beliefs, Mr. Murase has simply gone to heaven first. Perhaps one day in the future, you will meet again in another world."
This dry, rational consolation left Chuuya Nakahara somewhat helpless. He twitched the corner of his mouth, and said with a hint of self-deprecation, "What you're saying sounds like you're cursing me to die right now."
"From a probabilistic perspective, humans are inherently fragile and have finite lifespans; death is a random event that can happen at any time," Adam replied earnestly, even expanding on the topic, "In contrast, robots, if properly maintained, can theoretically operate almost indefinitely. This further strengthens my belief that I will build a robot nation in the future..."
Chuuya Nakahara couldn't help but facepalm, interrupting Adam's impending long-winded rant about robot utopia: "Alright, alright, stop! Save your grand dreams for later."
After exchanging a few words, Chuuya Nakahara's initially heavy mood eased considerably. Having witnessed many life-and-death situations, he quickly composed himself and refocused his attention on the matter at hand.
What followed almost perfectly mirrored what Chuuya Nakahara remembered. Adam found the blue cell phone that Verlaine had replaced among Detective Murase's belongings. Although the crucial communication records had been deleted, Adam's powerful data recovery abilities allowed him to reconstruct the deliberately erased call recordings. The recordings contained a conversation between Detective Murase and someone he referred to as "brother," and the core of the conversation revolved around Chuuya Nakahara.
By tracing the historical records of the call base stations and analyzing the signal sources, Adam finally confirmed that the other number used to communicate with Murase belonged to a person who had been officially recorded as dead for many years—Detective Murase's biological older brother, a guy whose name was recorded as "N" in some secret files.
Chuuya Nakahara guided Adam to connect N's identity with the "Arahabaki researcher," while also mentioning that Verlaine's next target might be N. These words successfully drew N out from the shadows. N took control of Adam's body, claiming that he was the real person, and under the pretext of "to avoid being killed by Verlaine, he decided to tell Chuuya the truth about Arahabaki," he revealed his location to Chuuya and the others.
Everything was proceeding according to plan. But just a few kilometers from their destination, something unexpected happened.
A massive black sphere appeared out of nowhere in the sky not far ahead. The sphere seemed to devour all the surrounding light, radiating a chilling energy. It appeared silently for a moment, then expanded rapidly at a visible speed before dissipating into the air, the aftershocks of its dissipating energy causing a strong wind.
"That's...!" Chuuya Nakahara raised an eyebrow in surprise. Even from this distance, he could feel that familiar yet terrifying gravitational pressure. Adam, after detecting the information of the distant energy body through the system, quickly concluded that it was a gravity energy sphere created by Verlaine.
What exactly happened there? Why was Verlaine near N's hideout and why did she use such a large-scale gravity ability? Even Chuuya Nakahara was confused because Osamu Dazai only told him the parts that required his cooperation, and he knew very little about the overall plan, especially the parts involving direct action against Verlaine.
He suddenly had a bad feeling, so he asked Adam to speed up.
When they finally arrived at the location indicated by the coordinates, the scene before them was horrifying. What should have been a desolate forest had vanished from the surface, leaving only a massive hole over ten meters in diameter, its edges jagged, as if forcibly torn apart from the earth by some force. Below the hole, the ruins of a man-made structure were faintly visible—N's hidden underground research institute.
They rushed to the edge of the cave entrance and looked down. The interior of the research institute was in chaos, with several corpses dressed in white lab coats scattered on the ground. But what was most striking was the blue liquid splattered everywhere.
Upon seeing the familiar blue liquid, Chuuya Nakahara's heart sank. He remembered the experimental subject boy he had once met who bore a striking resemblance to him. Without hesitation, he leaped down the opening and landed inside the damaged research institute.
He searched frantically, but found no trace of the boy's existence. There were no footprints, no skeletons, only broken large glass containers and various signs of battle in the surrounding environment, along with the familiar pipes lying on the ground.
Everything made him clearly realize that in this world, the boy who looked exactly like him had died once again, and had once again completely disappeared from this world.
Overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, Chuuya Nakahara couldn't help but punch the experimental pod lying on the ground in frustration. He suddenly thought of Osamu Dazai again. Was all of this within that guy's expectations? Just how far did that guy intend to go? Why did he feel increasingly excluded from the core as they got closer to the end?
What exactly is that guy trying to do?
Chuuya Nakahara stood rooted to the spot, surveying the ruins. The only sounds he could hear were his own breathing and the noise of Adam examining the scene. He tried calling Dazai again through his earpiece, but still, there was no response. Reflecting on the events of the day, a strange premonition crept over him:
That guy might be deliberately avoiding him.
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The author says: The image of using one's gaze as an invisible hand to caress a person is one I saw online before, and I really like the feeling, but I'm not quite able to accurately describe that feeling yet.
One more chapter to go! The rest will be released as side stories. The main story will be finished today [hugs]. It will be about over when Chuuya turns 16, which will fulfill a long-held wish: to let Chuuya go back to 16 and change some regrets.
I finished writing the author's note a few days ago, and I'm finally able to post it today. Writing a novel is really not easy! [Good luck!]
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