Got a Scare

The cool midnight breeze dispersed some of my melancholy. Not far from where I stood, the city's flickering lights shone on scenes of happy families.

Unfortunately, not a single light shone for me.

I stood a short distance outside the city, reading the messages arriving on my phone, once again at a loss for what to do.

20:31

[Contact: Sōsuke Mizukawa:

I'm sorry, Dazai. Teacher Yaga told us about you, and I never noticed what you were going through emotionally. I just thought... Anyway, if Nozomu hadn't explained it to me, I... I... I'm sorry.]

21:01

[Contact: Nozomu Sakai:

Dazai, we came across a really nice bar on our way to our mission today. It's called Lupin, over in Ginza. We'd like to invite you along, if you can make it.

Also, Dazai, I'm sorry, and thank you for everything you've done along the way. Whether you went there alone because of me or not, I'm truly grateful.

You know I'm completely useless at hand-to-hand combat, just like Sōsuke said. If I'd really run into someone like the Sorcerer Killer, I definitely wouldn't have escaped. Even if I had, I would've been hurt. Thank you.

Please come and let us thank you properly.]

23:18

[Contact: Teacher Yaga:

Did the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups keep you there? Your cursed technique is unusual, and they... Anyway, if anything happens, don't worry. I'll come.]

1:12

[Contact: Nozomu Sakai:

Dazai, are you all right?]

3:51

[Contact: Sōsuke Mizukawa:

Dazai, watch out for the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups. Don't let them fool you.]

"...Was this karma?"

I lowered my head and slowly replied to the messages one word at a time. Seriously, why were they so good at inventing things in their heads?

I didn't understand. I was lost. For the first time, I felt that even Osamu Dazai's brain wasn't quite up to the task.

Worrying Master: ???

But as I watched more worried messages arrive, I fell silent for a long while, then quietly deployed the group-message skill.

Still, I ought to get back to Jujutsu High sooner rather than later. Staying out here alone wasn't particularly safe, especially since the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups would probably discover those two dead Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers soon.

As for how I would explain things to the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups, who had just lost two Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers?

What? You sent people to follow me! That's illegal, you know!

What? They're dead! Hurry up and call the police! Aaaaaah!

What? You suspect I had something to do with their deaths? Hold on, all I can do is passively erase cursed energy. I can't attack anyone. How exactly was I supposed to kill two jujutsu sorcerers?

Couldn't they fight back?

When it came to things like this: I didn't know, didn't understand, and had no idea. Perfect.

Jujutsu High didn't seem particularly fond of leaving the lights on at night. Everything around it was pitch-black, with only faint light leaking from the windows of the student and faculty dormitories.

Seeing the faint lights still glowing in the windows of my two classmates and Teacher Yaga, I couldn't help letting out a soft sigh before quietly heading upstairs.

Then I took a piece of steel wire out of my hair, unlocked my dorm room with ease, and slipped inside.

The room was just as clean and tidy as it had been when I first arrived. The sheets and blanket lay perfectly flat, and the floor was spotless. If anything, the black suit and black overcoat casually left on the blanket were the only signs that someone actually lived here.

The curtains were tightly drawn, leaving the room so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. If I hadn't just come back from outside and already grown accustomed to the darkness, I probably would have bumped into something.

I had always loved the dead of night, in every sense.

Sleeping through it was an absolute waste. Of course, that only applied if I hadn't spent four or five hours walking outside against the wind, covering over ten kilometers in one stretch and practically ruining my legs.

So, however reluctant I was to sleep in the dead of night, I quietly changed out of my uniform, washed up, and threw myself onto the bed.

Most of the time, the slightest disturbance could wake me, leaving me unable to fall asleep again for a very, very long time.

Unless my body slipped into unconsciousness for some reason, all it took to wake me was footsteps dozens of meters away, birdsong outside, or the accidental clatter of something falling.

I was extremely particular about where I could rest. Of course, that wasn't a habit I had cultivated, though by now there wasn't much difference.

In a place like Yokohama, sleeping soundly through an entire night was almost impossible for me. Gunfights could break out anywhere, my house could be blown up at any moment, and there was all manner of irritating surveillance.

In the end, I would choose somewhere extremely secluded to stay. Hiding like that probably made me no different from certain rats.

As I thought about that, I drifted into a light sleep without noticing.

I knew I was dreaming. Darkness and ashes surrounded me as I stumbled along a road. There were no streetlights ahead, and behind me lay an endless abyss.

I couldn't find a way out, nor could I remember what I was supposed to do. Who was I?

Where on earth was this?

Suddenly, the sound of a lock turning startled me awake. Sunlight from outside had already spilled through a gap in the curtains onto the bedding.

I sat bolt upright, changed into the uniform I had casually left on the bed, and listened to the unlocking sounds coming from the neighboring room.

"Three hours, huh? That should be enough."

I picked up the phone beside my pillow, checked the time-it was already approaching eight-and quietly went into the bathroom to wash up.

Even without the noise next door, I would have woken up soon. It was as though Osamu Dazai's body had set its own internal alarm. Every time I slept for four hours, I would wake naturally, with a margin of error no greater than five minutes.

I thought I would have been absolutely delighted to have this ability in high school, especially during my final year.

While I was washing up, the unlocking sounds outside stopped, replaced by footsteps approaching my room.

The footsteps stopped abruptly outside my door. I could already picture two people standing there, unable to bring themselves to knock.

But obviously, I had no intention of suddenly opening the door to give them a scare.

They lingered outside my door for almost ten minutes, but never knocked. Instead, my phone vibrated.

7:38

[Contact: Nozomu Sakai:

Dazai, you already agreed yesterday. We have a mission today, so when we get back, I'll treat you to drinks at Lupin.]

As my phone vibrated, the footsteps outside grew more distant, until they went down the stairs.

Lupin?

I had heard that the real-life Buraiha writers had also drunk together at that bar. It was over in Ginza, so I might as well take a look. I wondered how their drinks tasted.

So I thought it over, waited almost half an hour, and leisurely replied to the message.

8:07

[Bandage Spirit: Okay.]

After replying, I was just about to head downstairs for breakfast when I received a call from the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups.

They were calling to demand why their two men had died? From the information I had found, the dead men apparently belonged to the caller's clan.

No wonder he was in such a hurry. It was far too difficult for a clan to cultivate someone. It required talent and a great deal of resources, especially when it came to Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers.

If Special Grade Sorcerers could be counted on one hand, then Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers were also exceptionally rare. Jujutsu Society was already short on people, too. Losing two Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers at once was a crippling blow to an ordinary mid-tier clan.

Their urgency wasn't without reason. Unfortunately, by now the corpses had probably swollen into grotesque, bloated shapes from soaking in the water.

I could only hope Toji Zenin had done a good job.

So after hearing what they had to say, I didn't feel anything in particular. If I was looking forward to something, I was much more excited about drinking together that evening.

It was Lupin, after all.

For some reason, neither the Jujutsu Society Higher-Ups nor the members of those clans seemed inclined to come bother me.

Still, if they wanted someone to comply, I would have chosen someone important to them and threatened them directly...

Someone important... Threats...

In the middle of eating breakfast, I suddenly fell silent, then immediately called Teacher Yaga.

"The number you have dialed is in a remote area with no cellular coverage. Your call cannot be connected."

Nozomu Sakai: "The number you have dialed is in a remote area..."

Sōsuke Mizukawa: "The number you have dialed..."

Me: ...

Surely nobody actually thought they were important to me. Surely not.

Please don't let anything happen to them.

I fell silent for a moment, then rushed out of the cafeteria. Teacher Yaga's door was locked, but that was no obstacle for Yokohama's king of lock-picking.

Which meant it was no obstacle for me, either. I smoothly took the steel wire out of my pocket and opened the lock. When I stepped inside, the first thing I saw was a stack of papers on the desk.

Mission paperwork?

I thought for a moment and picked up the files. They contained not only all the missions I had handled over the past few days, but also Sōsuke Mizukawa's and Nozomu Sakai's mission briefs.

According to the information, their assignment this time wasn't particularly difficult. Its location was out in the suburbs, somewhere very remote, so the lack of reception made sense.

I thought for a moment, then continued leafing through the stack. There were also some assignments for Teacher Yaga.

I had barely ever seen Teacher Yaga go on missions in the anime. So he actually did take them?

Just as I was restoring the files to their original order and preparing to call again, Teacher Yaga finally called me back.

Teacher Yaga was all right. That was truly wonderful news.

"Hello, Teacher Yaga. What can I do for you?"

I raised my voice at the end in feigned excitement, smiling "very happily" even though there was nobody around.

"This morning, Sōsuke and Nozomu said they were determined to give you a meal you'd never forget. Be careful."

"Huh-what, what? Do you know something, Teacher Yaga? Tell me, please!"

"I've warned you. They were notorious troublemakers when they first came here, too. Some things happened afterward, but it's good to see them lively again."

"Huh? So I'm just a tool to make them lively again? That's so mean, Teacher Yaga!"

I pretended to be angry, indignantly "pouting" at the person on the other end of the phone.

"No, Dazai. I hope you can become lively, too."

"Huh? Am I not lively enough?"

"I'd call that erratic."

"That's a terribly mean thing to say!"

"Dazai, I hope you can choose the path you want to take, and then live well in this world, even if it isn't all that wonderful."

"Teacher Yaga..."

Ah, ah. I really should get out of here first.

They were all right. Honestly, it really felt like surviving a disaster.