Chapter 22 The former is a partner, the latter is the person I like
There is an oden stall under the bridge where Hayana Kotori, Osamu Dazai, and Chuuya Nakahara often go for midnight snacks.
At the front desk of the stall where they could move freely, the three of them were facing steaming oden arranged in grids. The stall owner was busy, and the smell of smoke mixed with warmth covered their faces. Behind them was the dark and wide water surface.
"Please give me a bowl of hot soup." Hayana Kotori swallowed the konjac in her mouth.
Dazai Osamu raised his hand: "...I want another bowl of soba noodles."
"My words..."
"No."
Nakahara Chuuya had just started to speak when he was ruthlessly interrupted by the store owner, and two other people were also rejected.
The three of them looked at each other with wide eyes: "...Why?"
Seeing the unconvinced expressions on the faces of the three young men in front of him, the uncle, who was over fifty years old, raised his spoon and said in a gruff voice, "You can't eat anything too hot after drinking ice beer, otherwise your stomach will protest loudly. Don't you even know this?"
"First it was red wine, then white wine, and now beer... I've told you so many times, you're not allowed to bring any alcohol here! Kids these days are really getting more and more clueless..."
"You're so nagging. It's not enough that I often listen to my mother's lecture at home. Now I have to listen to an old man's nagging when I go out." Having said that, the girl still took back the bowl that was handed to her.
"That's right." The bandaged boy propped up his face with one hand, his bony fingers gently tapping his fair cheek, and smiled mischievously, "We're regular customers of this store, contributing to your business year after year. So, if you ask for soba noodles, just serve them to us obediently. Be careful not to offend customers, or I'll suffer for it... Ugh!"
"Who are you preaching to, you little brat! Children should have their own consciences. Stop pretending to be a social person and threatening others! I am not a pushover!"
"You got hit on the head, you bastard Dazai. Uncle Kawasaki can hit you a few more times." Looking at the frustrated Dazai Osamu who was hit on the head with a spoon, Nakahara Chuuya laughed at him and took a sip of beer.
The next second, the uncle came right up to him in the face, and he was so scared that a mouthful of beer got stuck in his throat and almost spit it out.
"Didn't I just tell you not to drink any more ice beer?" Uncle Kawasaki said, his face shrouded in shadow. "You idiot boy, you're just doing the hard labor of carrying beer, stop it now!"
"Young people should study hard and be full of vigor. You...are ruining the future of our country!"
"Stop daydreaming, you old bastard." Kotori Hayato held his chin in his hand. "Except for the three of us, all your other customers are middle-aged men, right?"
If the future of a country lies in the mafia, then this country is truly finished.
Because of its remote location, this Kawasaki Oden restaurant has almost no students patronizing it throughout the day. Instead, it only has groups of low-level members of the port mafia.
This shop was discovered two years ago by Hayana Kotori on her way back from a mission. At that time, the uncle was being forcibly driven out by other underworld organizations in Yokohama who had occupied their territory.
Everything changed after Kawasaki Kito shouted, "I will work hard even for my daughter."
The girl who descended from the sky to resolve the crisis claimed to be a high school student.
In Kawasaki Kyuto's eyes, the two teenagers who often came here with the girl were naturally bad guys. They were two bastards who were hanging around the little girl and had dirty thoughts in their heads.
As for seeing them more often afterwards, he had a completely new evaluation of the three people in his heart.
"If I can't drink beer, the oden will have no taste at all." Hayana Takanashi lay on the table, complaining helplessly.
"That's because your tongue is not working properly. What's the use of Uncle Guan's delicious oden?" Yamazaki Bokuto placed the cut fruit plate in front of the three people: "Try it, these are the fresh fruits I bought today."
"Since you are old customers, this time it is free."
Staring at the fresh strawberries, diced apples, and cantaloupe in front of him, Nakahara Chuuya frowned, "If I have this kind of spare money, I might as well bring some to my daughter in the hospital."
Fruits are very expensive in Japan, and Uncle Kawasaki's daughter's medical expenses are already stretching him financially.
"Yes, I brought some for Lingzi," Yamazaki Bokuto said in a low voice while busying himself. "But the child said she can't eat much, and it would be a waste to keep it in the hospital. It would be better for me to share it with the customers who often take care of our business, to thank them for allowing her to continue living."
"After all, it's Lingzi's thoughtfulness, just enjoy your meal."
After saying that, Kawasaki Muren raised his head and said, "So, you three guys have to take good care of your bodies! It doesn't matter what happens, just don't get sick!"
He turned his gaze to the boy with the new scars on his face, "Especially you, Dazai-kun! If you keep going like this, the bandages will wrap around your entire face!"
"Hey hey - got it." Dazai Osamu responded indifferently, his eyes calm.
Hayana Takanashi seemed to have noticed something and glanced sideways at the boy's calm eyes, her relaxed brows slightly furrowed.
Is this an illusion? It feels like Dazai just moved... It must be an illusion.
While eating the fruit, Nakahara Chuuya asked the other two, "What should we do with the remaining beer?"
The uncle doesn't let me drink it, and if I take it back... there's no doubt that he will be the one doing the hard labor again. That bastard Mackerel always has all kinds of reasons and excuses not to work.
"In that case, leave it to me, uncle." Kawasaki Kito patted his chest, righteously saying, "As an adult, I have more right to drink beer than you little brats."
Dazai Osamu opened his eyes wide as if he had discovered something: "You said all this just to keep all this beer for yourself, right?"
Kotori Hayato looked down upon him: "A cunning old man."
Kawasaki Bokuto was furious: "What nonsense are you talking about?! I'm doing this for your own good! And you ungrateful bastards! Are you planning to take advantage of this drunken opportunity to do something to this beautiful girl?!"
Nakahara Chuuya was furious: "Who has it?"
Dazai Osamu's eyes widened slightly: "I was actually seen through."
"! Do you want to get beaten, you bluefin bastard?!"
"I knew you two had ulterior motives! As an uncle, I will never allow that! I will definitely protect the Hayana girl! Even though she's a bad boy and a jerk."
Hayana Takanashi: "Thank you for the compliment."
"So, these cold beers should belong to me alone."
Three people: "..."
“…Hello.”×3.
In the end, it’s all about the ownership of the beer.
…
Late at night when she left [Kawasaki Delicious Oden], Hayana Kotori covered her mouth with her hand and yawned, preparing to go back to her residence for a good sleep.
Nakahara Chuuya said that he could give her a ride on the way.
"What about you?" the two asked the bandaged boy.
Dazai Osamu put his hands in his pockets and said lightly: "Go back and work overtime."
It was self-evident where to go back to, and the other two also knew what to do overtime.
The prisoners brought back today, the innermost interrogation room in the interrogation site that Dazai Osamu borrowed from Ozaki Koyo was prepared for them.
The approaching car lights illuminated the road in front of the three people, and their shadows lengthened until they disappeared. Ryunosuke Akutagawa got out of the car, greeted them politely, and then respectfully took Dazai Osamu away.
Seeing the girl staring at the direction the car was going away, Nakahara Chuuya asked her in confusion: "Haasana?"
"Nothing," Hayana Kotori came back to her senses, "I just felt..."
Halfway through her speech, she frowned and said, "Maybe I feel wrong."
Nakahara Chuuya was confused: "What?"
"...Just now, while eating oden, for a very brief moment, I seemed to feel Dazai's murderous intent, directed at Uncle Kawasaki."
It carried no malice or coldness, but was simply an aura of wanting to kill someone, which disappeared in an instant, like an illusion.
Hayana Takanashi expressed her inner doubts.
Hearing her say this, Nakahara Chuuya's expression became serious.
At Uncle Kawasaki's stall, Hayana was between him and Dazai, and he didn't pay much attention to Dazai, so his sensory acuity was not as good as Hayana who was next to Dazai.
"Could it be an illusion?" he said. "Even though Dazai is a bad guy, he wouldn't attack ordinary people without any reason. His bottom line is not so low."
Based on his understanding of Dazai, he would not attack an ordinary person who is of no use to him, has no assets, a clean identity, and whose daughter is in the hospital, let alone have the intention to kill him... But he also thinks that Hayana's feeling is not wrong.
Hayana has always been perceptive about things.
Hayana Takanashi simply said, "Maybe."
Then she added, "You're right, Dazai has no reason to attack Uncle Kawasaki."
Although he has committed many things that can be called unforgivable, and there are many vicious incidents that are enough to be executed a hundred times but it is not enough to offset his crimes, but Dazai has always been indifferent to ordinary citizens.
I won't pay special attention to you, nor will I hurt you intentionally.
...because it doesn't make sense.
Life has no meaning to him anymore, and he will not do meaningless things to add emptiness to his meaningless life.
"What if Dazai really wants to attack Uncle Kawasaki?" Nakahara Chuuya suddenly asked.
"Ah?" Hayana Takanashi walked forward and looked at the boy beside her strangely, not understanding why he suddenly asked such a question.
Nakahara Chuuya looked back at her, his voice low: "If you are not mistaken, what would you do if Dazai really attacked Uncle Kawasaki?"
Takanashi Hayana didn't even think about it: "No big deal."
Dazai always has his own reasons for doing things.
Until she loses trust in him, she will stand by him unconditionally.
Not expecting this answer, the boy's eyes widened slightly, then he continued walking beside the girl in silence.
Noticing something strange about the people around her, Hayana Kotori grabbed Nakahara Chuuya's coat in surprise. The moment she grabbed him, Nakahara Chuuya stopped in his tracks, looked at her with dark eyes, and pursed his lips.
"..." Hayana Kotori could tell his mood from the expression on his face: "Are you going to stand on the other side and stop him?"
Why? Was it lack of trust or... she didn't understand.
Nakahara Chuuya's lips relaxed slightly as he met the girl's puzzled gaze. Under the moonlight, his cobalt blue eyes seemed to be shining with stars. "Even though you're a member of the mafia, if you don't have a bottom line, you're no different from a wild beast that has lost its mind. I can't just stand by and watch."
He couldn't bear to see them fall, whether it was Dazai or Hayana.
The former is a partner.
The latter is the person he likes.
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