Old intelligence photos and sheep
The spring sunshine made people feel lazy. It had been four days since Tsurumi Kawakami and Dazai Osamu went out and brought back a black box.
The black-haired, golden-eyed boy bustled about like a little bee, carrying plain-colored bedding and pillows back and forth from the room to the outside, filling the small balcony on the second floor to the brim.
"Dazai, I've taken your blanket out to air it too." Tsurumi Kawaru spread out the blanket, turned his head and called out to the inside.
Lying on the tatami mat with his legs crossed, Dazai Osamu lazily responded. He glanced at Nagare on the balcony out of the corner of his eye, and thinking of the decision Mori Ougai had made a few days ago, he couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle.
Dazai Osamu raised his voice and called out, "Ryu, are we going grocery shopping today?"
Tsurumi Kawakami ran in and said, "The last time I bought groceries was the day before yesterday. There shouldn't be any left in the refrigerator. I'm going to ask Dr. Mori for money. Let's go in a bit."
Dazai Osamu said lazily, "Okay, then hurry up and go. I'll wait for you downstairs."
Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, put on his shoes, and ran to the next room.
Ordering takeout might be too expensive, so Mori Ougai, thinking about his wallet, decided to cook at home.
Of the three, Dazai Osamu's cooking skills were too terrible, or rather, he only preferred culinary disasters that allowed one to die without pain.
Tsurumi Kawaru is only talented at handling meat; the yakiniku he makes is delicious enough to open a shop. However, eating yakiniku for every meal three times a day is not only a torment to his stomach but also to Mori Ougai's wallet.
Finally, Mori Ōgai, who had been suffering greatly, was backfired by his own decision. He voluntarily stepped forward to take on the task of cooking. His cooking skills were not particularly good, but compared to Dazai Osamu and Tsurumi Kawakami, Mori Ōgai's food, which had been honed by his experience as a military doctor, was quite delicious.
Dazai Osamu stood outside the clinic waiting for Tsurumi Kawaru to come out. The slightly glaring sunlight made him squint uncomfortably. He heard light footsteps behind him and turned around to see Tsurumi Kawaru running down from upstairs in a white shirt.
Tsurumi waved to Dazai Osamu and ran up to him with a shopping list in hand: "Dr. Mori said we can buy more meat today, and we can split the rest of the money."
Dazai Osamu: "I don't want the money, I want canned crab meat in return."
Tsurumi Kawakami thought about the money Mori Ōgai had given him and generously agreed to Dazai Osamu's request: "No problem, then add the canned crab meat that Dazai wanted."
After saying that, Dazai Osamu saw him take out a black pen from somewhere and add canned food to the end of the shopping list.
After adding the paper, Tsurumi Nagare folded it and put it in his pocket. Suddenly, he remembered something, looked up and stared straight at Dazai Osamu with curiosity in his eyes, and asked in a low voice what was in the black box he had brought back last time.
"...I just saw that box on Dr. Mori's desk, but it was empty."
Dazai Osamu paused, his casual gaze returning from the distance. He turned his head, back to the sunlight, his iris-colored eyes unfathomable as he looked at Tsurumi Kawaru. After a few seconds, he curled his lips into a dangerously wicked smile: "Ah, you idiot Kawaru, do you want to know Mori-san's secret?"
Upon hearing Dazai Osamu's words, Tsurumi Kawakami skillfully circled around to his right and raised his fist: "Dazai, Dr. Mori said if you tease me again, he'll let me hit you."
Dazai Osamu's smile froze, his expression vanished, and he said with a downturned mouth, "What is this? Mori-san is really something. And are you a puppy? Why do you listen to him so obediently?"
Tsurumi Kawaru angrily punched Dazai Osamu. Before doing so, he remembered Mori Ougai's advice to control his strength, so instead of punching Dazai's bent-over stomach, he punched him in a circular motion on the shoulder.
"hiss--"
Dazai Osamu pretended to be injured, clutching his shoulder. Sure enough, he saw that Ryu had been tricked, and his expression changed. He stepped forward with concern to help him up.
"Haha, just kidding." The black-haired boy with iris-like eyes smiled, his eyes crinkling.
Tsurumi Kawakami stared at him expressionlessly: "Dazai Osamu—!!!"
The two joked and played around all the way until they were almost out of Leibo Street, when Dazai Osamu unilaterally called a halt: "Wait! Didn't you want to know what's in Mr. Mori's box? If you stop, I'll tell you."
Tsurumi paused, then lowered his raised fist: "If you dare to lie to me again, I won't buy any more crab meat cans."
Dazai Osamu touched the tip of his nose and cleared his throat somewhat guiltily: "There's nothing special in the box, just some information about the port Mafia and a photograph."
Tsurugawa looked at him suspiciously: "Information and photos?"
Dazai Osamu nodded: "It's an old photo. It's a picture of Mr. Mori and a little girl in front of a flower shop."
In the photo, Mori Ougai looks younger, without any unkempt appearance or dark circles under his eyes. He's wearing a dark suit and his eyes are bright and composed as he looks directly at the camera. Standing next to him is a thin, black-haired girl of about ten years old, her hands nervously clutching her brown apron.
The photo was taken at a flower shop, with brightly blooming sunflowers and hydrangeas behind the two people.
However, Dazai Osamu did not tell Tsurumi Nagaru these details. After leaving the Rippachi Street, the two headed towards a nearby shopping mall.
Tsurumi Nagaru pushed the cart with one hand while checking the shopping list to make sure nothing was missing. As an adult who was much more reliable than Dazai Osamu, Tsurumi Nagaru began looking for the "naughty kid" Dazai Osamu, who had disappeared as soon as he entered the supermarket, after selecting the last item on the paper and preparing to go to the checkout counter.
"Dazai, you want to buy this? But the one you're holding looks like a woman's wig, doesn't it?" The black-haired, golden-eyed boy asked Dazai Osamu, who was holding a chestnut-colored, long, curly woman's wig, with a puzzled look on his face.
Dazai Osamu held up the wig to his own head a few times: "Eh? Ryu doesn't think it looks good? How about the ochre one next to it?"
Following the direction Dazai Osamu was pointing, there was a men's wig, standing out among the ordinary black and chestnut colors. Tsurumi Kawaru examined it carefully, then turned back to look at Dazai Osamu. After comparing them, he said seriously, "That one looks better than the one you have, but the color doesn't suit you."
Dazai Osamu put his chestnut-colored long wig back down, and upon hearing Tsurumi Kawaru's assessment, his hand almost slipped: "Ah ha, idiot Kawaru actually thought about it. Fine, for the sake of the second half of your sentence, I won't make things difficult for you."
Tsurumi Kawakami has now become able to ignore Dazai Osamu's occasional inexplicable way of addressing him; his focus is now entirely on the last sentence: "Aren't you going to buy it?"
Dazai Osamu snatched the trolley full of things from his subordinate, fearing that the stubborn and earnest Tsurumi Kawakami Ryu would actually buy the wig. He pushed the trolley and ran away as fast as he could: "I'm not buying it! Idiot Ryu, come and pay the bill!"
After paying the bill, Tsurumi Kawakami and Dazai Osamu each carried a large bag of things and walked out.
The further they went towards Lei Bo Street, the fewer pedestrians there were. Once they entered the Lei Bo Street area, it was like an invisible dividing line: outwards was the bustling port city, and inwards was a dilapidated slum, a decade or so earlier.
This clear distinction always left Tsurumi Kawaru feeling a silent shock, no matter how many times he saw it.
Dazai Osamu walked for a while, then suddenly stopped. He looked down at his hands, which were marked with red welts from the weight of the plastic bags, and turned to Tsurumi Kawaru to complain, "Every time I go shopping, I have to buy so much. It's exhausting to carry it all back."
Tsurumi Kawakami felt the weight in his hand and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Is it alright?"
Dazai Osamu: "Tch, that clerk must have packed all the heavy stuff into my bag."
Tsurumi Kawakami walked up to him, glanced at Dazai Osamu's palm, and held out his hand, saying, "Let me carry it."
Dazai Osamu cheered and eagerly handed him the bag.
Carrying plastic bags full of things in both hands, Tsurumi Kagawa followed Dazai Osamu toward the clinic.
As soon as they stepped out of a low alley, a group of boys around the same age as Tsurumi Kawakami and Dazai Osamu surrounded them.
"Hey! You're the new superpowered person?" A boy with short white hair and wearing a military green jacket stepped out. He looked arrogant and his eyes were full of disdain as he looked at Tsurumi Kawakami and Dazai Osamu.
The tall, thin man standing nearby noticed the bags they were carrying and his eyes lit up: "Shirase, they bought something!"
The white-haired boy named Shirase looked down and saw the bag that Tsurumi Kawa was carrying. He then turned and winked at the tall, thin man who had just spoken.
The tall, thin man, along with two boys wearing baseball caps, walked towards Tsurumi River. "Hey, if you know what's good for you, give us the stuff. You don't want to offend [the sheep], do you?"
When the boy named Shirase spoke his first words, Tsurumi Kawakami's not-so-intelligent mind hadn't yet grasped their intentions. But when the tall, thin man and his men surrounded him, trying to snatch what was in his hands, Tsurumi Kawakami suddenly realized what was happening. He quickly hid the item behind his back, avoiding their outstretched hands.
Standing two meters away, Dazai Osamu, like an observer, chuckled and fanned the flames, saying, "Hey, they're going to rob us. They might even take the phone Mori-san bought you and the rest of your allowance, Ryu."
Tsurumi Kawa immediately frowned and glared angrily at the sheep members.
The tall, thin man dodged Tsurumi Kawa's movement, and a nameless fire suddenly rose in his heart. When he heard Dazai Osamu say that they still had money and cell phones on them, his greedy eyes blatantly swept over Tsurumi Kawa's pockets.
He glanced at the people next to him, and the boy in the baseball cap nodded slightly, then lunged at Tsurumi Kawakami with outstretched arms. Another boy in overalls blocked his way, his eyes fixed on the two large bags he was carrying.
Bang bang bang—
The three boys were thrown back and slammed hard onto the ground, rolling in dust. Tsurumi Kawaru, however, stood motionless, not a single hair on his head missing.
Shirase's pupils contracted, unwilling to believe they had met their match, and he waved his hand, signaling the rest of the group to join the attack.
A minute later, none of the sheep members who had arrived were still standing; they had all fallen to the ground and were rolling around.
Standing among these people, Tsurumi Kawakuri stood out conspicuously, attracting much hatred.
Shirase clutched his dislocated hand, glaring fiercely at the unharmed Tsurumi Ryuu. He led the others, who had gotten up, back away, uttering a harsh threat before leaving: "You wait! We sheep aren't easy to bully!"
As for Dazai Osamu, who stood by the wall as an observer from beginning to end, he was naturally ignored by them.
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