Chapter 51 Countdown: One Day
"or."
Atsushi Nakajima always seemed unusually excited when I appeared.
Just like now, his eyes are shining, and he's happily calling my name.
I walked over and squatted outside the railing, and Atsushi Nakajima leaned in close to me.
I called him softly, "Dun".
He said happily, "You're here."
I took out a candy from my sleeve and handed it to him: "This was given to me by the gentleman who came to the orphanage today. I saved one for you."
Atsushi Nakajima accepted it, his eyes almost brimming with gratitude. "Thank you, or..."
He had been locked up by the dean for a long time and always longed to get out, so he also enjoyed listening to me talk about things outside.
"Anything fun happening lately?" Atsushi Nakajima asked me.
"If I had to say, it would probably be that Tsukasa tore up Yuuki's illustrated book. Yuuki cried and made a scene, and the dean gave Tsukasa a good talking-to for it."
Although this body is only about ten years old, I am actually sixteen or seventeen. As a result, I am now hanging out with ten-year-olds every day, watching them play and have to try to fit in.
His expression would turn forlorn when the dean was mentioned: "Or, why do you think the dean locked me up?"
Because you'll turn into a tiger, brother.
I didn't say it aloud; it was just my subconscious answer.
Atsushi Nakajima will turn into a tiger.
Everyone in the orphanage knew this, but he himself was the only one unaware of it.
On my second day here, I had the misfortune of witnessing such a thing, a scene that shocked even me, a seventeen-year-old at heart.
"I don't know," I said. "But the dean must have a reason, and you'll find out later."
"Really?" He looked blank, blinked, and then looked at me expectantly.
I nodded firmly.
Then Atsushi Nakajima unwrapped the candy, ate it, and said to me with a smile, "Delicious."
I:"……"
I couldn't help but sigh to myself.
I've worn many aliases and met all sorts of people from all walks of life in Yokohama, but I've never felt the same pity for anyone as I did for Atsushi Nakajima.
His situation was really bad, and unlike a cunning old man like Fyodor, he was just a simple kid.
But the most fatal thing is that he is completely out of control when he transforms into a tiger, and he has no memory of it.
He chewed up a lot of things in the orphanage in his tiger form.
To be honest, I seriously suspect that Atsushi Nakajima turned into a tiger because of his special abilities.
I've been observing him for quite some time now, and it has absolutely nothing to do with whether it's a magic spell or a curse.
What I suspect most is supernatural abilities.
In urban legends, there are three kinds of extraordinary abilities in Japan. The first is the curse I possess, the second is the supernatural ability I have never seen but have never had, and the third is the illusion I have only heard of but have never seen.
Tokyo is home to sorcerers, Yokohama is teeming with people with supernatural abilities, and given that I'm certain that Atsushi Nakajima's tiger form has nothing to do with sorcery, it's natural to suspect that it's a supernatural ability.
However, when it comes to superpowers, I am not a superpower user and do not know much about this. Moreover, in my limited experience with superpowers, I have never known of any superpower that can turn a person into an animal form, so I cannot be 100% certain that Atsushi Nakajima possesses superpowers.
The simplest verification method I can think of so far is through Dazai Osamu. After Nakajima Atsushi turns into a tiger, Dazai Osamu goes up and touches him. If he can turn back, then Nakajima Atsushi is definitely a superpowered person.
For a brief moment, I considered whether to switch back to my original form and drag Dazai Osamu along, but I ultimately rejected that idea.
Incidentally, I also had a moment of eccentric thinking and wondered if I was relying too much on Osamu Dazai.
The reason why my relationship with Dazai Osamu is so strange yet not awkward is that Dazai Osamu was the first person to uncover my secret.
But our connection seems to be limited to this; the connection is simple and clear, easy to form, and often easy to break.
"or."
Atsushi Nakajima called me again.
In the quiet atmosphere, his voice was especially clear; I could almost hear the doubt in every tone of his voice.
He asked me, "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about a friend," I said.
He blinked, his inhuman purple-gold eyes filled with doubt, and asked me very sincerely, "Do you have any other friends?"
I was immediately silenced by that pure sincerity: "..."
I made up a story on the spot: "I made friends with them before coming to the orphanage, it's been a long time."
****
When I took a break to switch accounts and go back, I went to see Dazai Osamu again.
We went to Lupin Bar again.
I used to be a long-time employee there, but now that I've quit, I feel like I'm becoming a regular customer.
"Does an ability exist that can turn the user into an animal?" Dazai Osamu blinked and repeated my question. "What a novel question, Aru-kun."
He stroked his chin, looking as if he was thinking: "To be honest, I've never seen such an ability before, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist—but I'm curious, Mr. Ori, what have you encountered this time?"
I rested my chin on my hand, and the face of Atsushi Nakajima flashed through my mind. I sighed and said, "I've met a kid who seems to have superpowers."
Where is it? Leibo Street?
“No, it’s an orphanage.” I shook my head. “Why did you think of Leibo Street?”
He shrugged: "Because compared to any other place in Yokohama, it's the place where you're most likely to encounter young people with superpowers."
“I remember, it was said that your Port Mafia got Nakahara Chuuya out from there.” I recalled some things I had heard about the Port Mafia before. “But speaking of Raibo Street, I’ve seen a few kids there before, but none of them were superpowered.”
Dazai Osamu then asked me, but his attitude was rather nonchalant, clearly not very interested in the question: "And then?"
But since it wasn't a difficult question to answer, I just said, "Later, they were fortunate enough to meet people who could adopt them, and they haven't seen them for a long time now."
"Huh? Surprisingly, it's actually a pretty good ending," he said.
I suddenly remembered the time I met Sakura and Kosuke, when they told me that the person who adopted them was Oda Sakunosuke.
Looking at Dazai Osamu, I thought I might as well say it all at once, so I continued, "There's something even more surprising for you, Mr. Dazai. Would you like to guess who adopted them?"
Dazai Osamu glanced at me sideways, seemingly puzzled by my question, a rare look of doubt appearing in his iris-colored eyes: "Just guess like that?"
I smiled and nodded in a good mood: "Yes."
He blinked, but in a moment when he wasn't paying attention, the faint doubt in his eyes quietly dissipated like the clouds obscuring the sky when it clears up.
Dazai Osamu suddenly realized: "—Odasaku?"
I snapped my fingers: "You guessed right, Mr. Dazai."
He only exposed one eye, which widened slightly for a moment, then lowered his head and smiled wryly, "What an amazing coincidence and fate."
"Yes," I said.
Looking at it this way, it seems that I do indeed have a connection with Oda Sakunosuke.
I was his editor, and I even ran into him when I was working at Lupin Bar. He was the one who adopted Sakura and the others.
Unfortunately, this connection is not widely known.
I glanced around unconsciously. The bar was sparsely populated at this hour. As I looked away, I noticed the wall clock.
On that circular dial, the ticking of the second hand was barely audible, but the short, thick hour hand pointing to the number 4 was unmistakable.
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
I immediately felt my DNA move.
Dazai Osamu asked me, "What's wrong?"
I pointed to the wall clock, then tapped my wrist: "Time to change shifts."
Almost as soon as I finished speaking, someone lifted the curtain and came out from the back room to hand over the work to the bartender at the counter.
I raised an eyebrow at Dazai Osamu, indicating that I should look, and said yes.
Then I turned my head, intending to ask the new bartender to refill my orange juice, but then I saw—
Ah, Akutagawa, it's you again.
Akutagawa walked over and stopped. He first nodded to Dazai Osamu in greeting: "Dazai-san, you've come again."
Then he looked at me, his eyes lowered, his calm gaze falling on my nearly empty glass, and asked coolly, "Would you like a refill?"
"Yes." I pushed the blanket over with my index and middle fingers together. "Thanks for the orange juice."
He nodded and began working.
While Akutagawa turned away, I leaned closer to Dazai Osamu, shielding my voice with one hand so it could better reach his ears, and whispered, "Do you know this guy?"
“I know you,” Dazai Osamu said. “I’d say I’m a regular customer, or so you say.”
I said, "Mr. Dazai, you seem to have a strange ability to get along well with the bartenders at Lupin Bar."
"No, not at all." He waved his hand casually, denying it. "For example, the guy who works shifts with Huo Jun, I didn't have much interaction with him, and I don't really remember the bartender before Huo Jun."
"Hmm." Dazai Osamu pondered for a moment, then put on a serious expression, his eyes narrowing slightly, the light from the overhead lamp casting an ambiguous glow. "If I had to put it this way, it would probably be that everything started with you, Ori-kun?"
I was taken aback, remembering the posts I had seen on the Yokohama forum earlier, where netizens lamented their inability to meet him.
Dazai Osamu's extraordinary popularity with women was due to both his handsome face and his exceptional communication skills.
Akutagawa handed me a glass filled with orange juice. I looked at him and smiled faintly, "Thank you."
He looked at me intently for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "You're too kind."
It must be said that Akutagawa's appearance revealed a slightly strange sense of incongruity.
That strange feeling made me smile again.
I took a sip of orange juice, turned to look at Dazai Osamu, and mimicked his expression by slightly narrowing my eyes. I smiled and said, "That would be my honor, Mr. Dazai."
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