Chapter 19
"Where is that person now?" Rokudo Mukuro asked curiously, wondering what kind of person Mori Ougai would take a liking to and bring back.
Mori Ōgai is not a simple and kind person. He is profit-driven and unscrupulous. Even if he did such a good deed, it must be because the person he brought back had considerable value.
Or, to use Dr. Mori's words, it's a diamond.
Would he really bring back a child because of Rokudo Mukuro? Of course not.
"That poor child must have fallen into the water because of hardship or accident. I brought him back, and he's still unconscious inside." Mori Ougai wiped away non-existent tears from the corner of his eye and said with a look of pity.
But what is the truth?
It's very simple. After Rokudo Mukuro left, Mori Ougai also wanted to go out and relax, so he casually bought Alice two new dresses.
Just as I was passing by the river beside Leibo Street, I saw a black figure floating towards me. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a person. Was Mori Ōgai a kind-hearted person who was always willing to help others? Of course not.
So, adhering to the principle of "better to avoid trouble than to get involved," he turned around and was about to leave, pretending not to have seen anything, after all, what did other people's lives or deaths have to do with him?
But the figure floated away from him as if it had been staged for an accident. Alice, out of curiosity, walked over to the figure and poked it, but then Alice vanished!
Mori Ougai was utterly shocked, his eyes fixed on the person. Alice was his superpower, always acting according to her own will, and now she had vanished before his very eyes. The instant he touched that person, he felt Alice's complete absence.
This was definitely not an accident; it must be the problem with the person soaking in the river. Mori Ougai carefully observed the figure in the river. It was a boy, about ten years old. Seeing the slight rise and fall of the boy's chest, Mori Ougai knew that he still had a breath left.
So, was Alice's disappearance due to this boy's superpower? Was the superpower nullified? Mori Ōgai's mind raced with these thoughts.
"Alice-chan~ Alice-chan~ Are you alright?" When Alice reappeared beside Mori Ōgai, he first showed her great concern, asking her what had happened. After receiving an affirmative answer, Mori Ōgai looked at the person in the river, his eyes already shining.
As people walk along the river, diamonds fall from the sky!
Heaven truly favors him!
"Alice-chan~ I'm sorry to trouble you this time. Please come back first, and I'll rescue this person and take him back." Mori Ougai spoke in a tone that left no room for refusal.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Alice glared fiercely at the two humans present, shaking her head in refusal. This person would make her disappear; she hated him. "It's either him or me here!"
…………
Alice's refusal was fruitless; things had already come to this point anyway. The person who was soaking in the river was now lying in a hospital bed. No wonder Alice was so angry.
"I'll go check on them later. I'll take Ryunosuke and Gin to their rooms first and let them tidy up beforehand." Rokudo Mukuro didn't seem to care much about the people Mori Ougai brought back; in his eyes, the Akutagawa siblings were the real treasures.
When Rokudo Mukuro arrived alone at the medical room where the person Mori Ougai had mentioned was unconscious, he saw that the person who should have been asleep had already woken up and was now sitting on the hospital bed looking around.
"Oh, you're awake." Rokudo Mukuro greeted the person on the hospital bed, his mood brightened by the good news.
"Cough cough..." The boy coughed weakly twice. "Did you save me?"
"Of course not, it was the doctor here who saved you. He's handsome and kind-hearted, and always willing to help others. He's the one who saved you from falling into the water." Rokudo Mukuro looked at the boy's empty, indifferent, and lifeless iris-colored eyes and knew that this boy was definitely a big problem, so he quickly brought out his real savior.
Upon hearing Rokudo Mukuro's words, the boy gave a cute smile: "Wow! He's such a troublesome good Samaritan. Does he even know that he interrupted my entry into the water and ruined my date with the Goddess of Death?" His tone was sincere yet exaggerated, but there was no change in his eyes.
Oh, so it wasn't out of necessity or a slip-up, but rather a deliberate act of entering the water to seek death.
“He definitely doesn’t know. He said he found you unconscious, so he brought you back.” Rokudo Mukuro looked at him hesitantly, seemingly frightened. “I’m Mukuro. What’s your name?”
Looking at Rokudo Mukuro, the boy lowered his head listlessly: "My name is Dazai, Dazai Osamu!"
Rokudo Mukuro thought to himself, "This is another name that sounds somewhat familiar."
"Are you injured?" Rokudo Mukuro asked with a hint of concern, noticing the bandages wrapped around Dazai Osamu's exposed skin.
Hearing Rokudo Mukuro's concern, Dazai Osamu was taken aback: "There's no wound, but don't you think this is cool?"
"Seems so?" Rokudo Mukuro nodded; he couldn't appreciate the young man's aesthetic sense.
What's so cool about being wrapped in bandages? Obsidian's school uniform is much more stylish.
Just then, Ryunosuke Akutagawa finished tidying up his room and came to the outside of the medical room: "Mukuro-kun, may I come in?"
"Come in, Ryunosuke-kun."
When Ryunosuke Akutagawa entered the medical room, Osamu Dazai looked over at the same time, and Akutagawa happened to look up as well, their eyes meeting for a fleeting moment. This caused both of them to pause in surprise.
It was only after Ryunosuke Akutagawa entered that Rokudo Mukuro noticed how similar the two men's eyes were; their lifeless, empty gazes seemed to overlap for a fleeting moment. Both loathed this rotten world, both had lost their way in this sinful realm.
However, they are fundamentally very different. Even though Ryunosuke Akutagawa believed the world was like hell, he still wanted to struggle desperately to live in that hell; while Osamu Dazai was a coward who, at a young age, became obsessed with suicide and tried to escape the world.
“He is…?” Dazai Osamu looked into Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s eyes and realized that he was one of his own kind.
"His name is Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Ryunosuke-kun. He is Osamu Dazai, the one Dr. Mori saved," Rokudo Mukuro introduced the two.
"This is Leibo Street, right? Do you all live here?" Even when he was about to fall into the water, Dazai Osamu would calculate where he might die.
"Yes, my sister and I are both orphans from Leibo Street, and like you, we only arrived here today."
"So the doctor here is such a good person! Not only did he take in an orphan living at the bottom of society, but he also pulled me back from the brink of drowning in the Sanzu River. Wow! He's shining with divine light!"
Dazai Osamu spoke in a sarcastic tone, but he actually knew who had saved him. The moment he was pulled ashore, he opened his eyes and saw a man, the little girl who had disappeared beside the man, and the man's eyes that were shining as he stared at him.
He knew that the man definitely knew about his supernatural abilities, and was not some saint bathed in holy light.
Rokudo Mukuro chuckled softly. Dazai Osamu's words should really be heard by Mori Ougai!
"I wasn't picked up by Dr. Mori; it was Mukuro-kun who picked up my sister and me," Ryunosuke Akutagawa said with a straight face.
"Oh, you're awake, little one. Be careful playing by the river!" Mori Ougai pushed open the door and walked in, looking at Dazai Osamu with concern.
"Hey~ Uncle, don't think I'll thank you. You know, I wasn't playing by the river. Suicide by drowning is a very important thing for me, and you ruined it. Ah... I failed to die, it's so painful!" Dazai Osamu looked at Mori Ougai, blinked his iris-colored eyes, and showed a look of utter despair.
Mori Ougai was stunned. He thought to himself, "I picked up a diamond, and now this diamond wants to set itself on fire! This won't do!"
Looking into Dazai Osamu's empty eyes, devoid of any human vitality, Mori Ougai, for the sake of the diamond, tried his best to transform into a psychologist: "Dazai-kun, may I call you that?"
Seeing Dazai Osamu nod indifferently, he continued, "How can you say that? How old are you? You're already thinking about suicide. That kind of mentality is wrong."
“Yes, Dr. Mori is right!” Rokudo Mukuro chimed in. “But Dr. Mori, it’s not right for a middle-aged man like you to like girls under twelve. You have psychological problems just like Dazai.”
“…cough cough cough…cough cough…” Mori Ougai choked on Rokudo Mukuro’s words and couldn’t help coughing.
"So Dr. Mori is not only a good person, but also a pervert!" Dazai Osamu shook his head, feigning disappointment. "So, there aren't that many good people in this world! Am I now a lamb to the slaughter?"
"Of course I'm a good person!" Mori Ougai retorted silently. Besides, I like lolis. It's not too late to worry about yourself after you change into women's clothes.
"Really? Dr. Namori, could you take me in for a while, like you took them in? I lied earlier, I was homeless, that's why I tried to commit suicide," Dazai Osamu said pitifully.
But no one present was easily fooled; they saw through his lie immediately. He had been telling the truth at first, but now he was completely deceiving them.
Seeing that none of the three believed him, Dazai Osamu wasn't annoyed. He continued his theatrical performance as if he were a master of acting: "I know you don't believe me, but I know I have nowhere to go. All alone, I won't even know where I'll die after I leave here."
Mori Ōgai had already taken a liking to Dazai Osamu's special ability, and before he could finish his performance, he took over the role: "Dazai-kun, you're so pitiful. You can stay here peacefully from now on! I'll take good care of you." The sheer volume of emotion in his voice made Dazai Osamu choke up.
Dazai got out of bed and went straight to Mori Ougai, calling out, "Dr. Mori, you're such a good person!" His hand brushed against Akutagawa Ryunosuke's on the way. Mori Ougai quickly avoided him; Alice's disappearance had already caused such a commotion, he couldn't let her disappear again—it was too unsafe.
A knowing glint flashed in Dazai Osamu's amber eyes.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke stared in shock at his hands: "...Rashomon, it just disappeared..." Rashomon had protected him since its birth, giving him something to rely on to survive in Raihachi. It often leaned against his shoulder. But the moment Dazai Osamu touched him, Rashomon lost contact with him...
The others were all sharp-witted and observant, and naturally noticed Akutagawa Ryunosuke's reaction. "Ryunosuke-kun, what's wrong?"
"My supernatural ability disappeared for a moment when Dazai-kun encountered me." Ryunosuke Akutagawa made no attempt to hide his supernatural ability. Having lived in Raihachi for so long using his supernatural ability, it was no secret that he possessed it.
"Oh, that's my special ability 'No Longer Human.' It nullifies the abilities of anyone I touch. Dr. Mori should know that, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought me back."
Mori Ougai looked completely innocent.
Rokudo Mukuro understood perfectly. He knew Mori Ougai wouldn't act without self-interest. Furthermore, he needed to stay away from Dazai Osamu from now on. He didn't know if the ability nullification would work on Dazai's Dying Will Flame and illusions. If it didn't work, the difference in their power systems might be noticed; if it did, things would be even worse.
A note from the author:
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