Because you're not strong enough

"Boss, your prediction was spot-on."

Toji Zenin's call came right on time. Before I could speak, a sigh came from the other end.

"You're still alive, Toji."

I teased him with a faint smile in my voice, the corners of my lips curling upward.

"Well, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't even get away."

"Didn't spare a thought for your pride?"

"...Boss, has anyone ever told you you're scary?"

"I wasn't the one who dug up that information. I'm just an ordinary teacher at Jujutsu High."

I shook my head gently, though the scenes from the manga were running through my mind. I had simply known in advance.

"Does anyone believe that?"

"It's the truth, Toji."

"...Whatever you say. Where should I take Riko Amanai?"

Toji Zenin fell silent for a moment, then seemed to concede with considerable resignation and changed the subject.

"Leave her at Tengen's."

"Boss, are you serious?"

"Yes. Walk a little farther, and you'll find me."

I looked up with a faint smile, then waved toward Toji Zenin and Riko Amanai, beckoning him over.

Looking at me standing before him, Toji Zenin silently lowered his phone, then set down Riko Amanai, whom he had been carrying the whole time.

"Boss, so I really was a whetstone after all."

"Ah, well, some things can't be left to chance. If something happens to our lovely Star Plasma Vessel, that puts me in quite a bind, too."

"So you never intended to save her in the first place?"

Toji Zenin glanced down at Riko Amanai, then back at me, asking in bewilderment.

"Heh. Toji, do I look like a good person to you?"

My smile slowly widened. My brown eyes held nothing but indifference, though my lips remained faintly curved.

"No. I just don't understand. You keep saying you're not using me as a whetstone, so why did you send me to stop them?"

"Because of their personalities. Gojo and Geto would definitely let Riko Amanai make her own choice. If Riko Amanai decided against assimilation, that would be very troublesome for me."

"That's cold, boss. Aren't you afraid I'll tell them all this?"

Toji Zenin looked at me in confusion, while I continued to wear a faint smile.

"That recording device was well made. Unfortunately, it's already been destroyed, Toji."

"...Well, since you put it that way, I'll be leaving."

I nodded silently, looking at Riko Amanai, who had been carelessly dumped on the ground, with a growing headache. How was I supposed to carry her out without Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto noticing?

And so, of the two people harboring ulterior motives, Toji Zenin turned to leave and took out another recording device, on which he had made a backup in advance.

As for me, a faint smile still lingered on my lips as I carried Riko Amanai away on my back.

"Hmm... Planning to threaten me, Toji?"

By the time I had settled the girl who had spent so long on my shoulders somewhere safe, dusk was approaching.

With the last rays of the setting sun falling on me, I headed leisurely toward Jujutsu High.

The fighting had nearly torn the entire school apart. All sorts of wooden objects lay scattered along the road as I climbed the hill.

"They really don't care about pedestrians at all."

Muttering under my breath, I carefully avoided the patches of ground that looked particularly treacherous and continued deeper into Jujutsu High.

As time ticked by, the twilight sky slowly faded into a sky full of stars. By the faint light, I made my way down the corridor, step by step.

At last, near my dorm room, beside the window where I had last spoken with Suguru Geto, I saw someone standing there. He stared blankly at the scenery outside, utterly oblivious to anyone approaching.

"So, has the diamond been ground to pieces now, Geto?"

I spoke with a soft laugh and leisurely stepped in front of Suguru Geto. What greeted me was a thoroughly exhausted boy.

"Dazai..."

"It looks like the diamond has picked up a few cracks."

"I'm fine, Dazai."

"Are you?"

"Are you upset because you failed to protect the Star Plasma Vessel?"

"Riko Amanai, Dazai!"

"Ah-does it make any difference, Geto?"

"She didn't choose to be the Star Plasma Vessel. Before anything else, she was an individual in her own right."

Suguru Geto seemed eager to explain it to me. His dejected mood suddenly gave way to agitation, but once he finished, he bowed his head deeply.

"Is that so? All right, we'll call her Riko Amanai."

A faint smile colored my voice. As though indulging a disobedient child, I nodded perfunctorily and watched Suguru Geto's brows draw together slightly, but he gave no further reply.

"Geto, you need to understand that people won't know how much a knife hurts unless it's sticking into their own flesh."

"No matter how much you explain these things to other people, no matter how much you tell them about your pain, no one will feel it the way you do. They haven't experienced those things, so naturally, no one will truly understand."

"...So?"

"So, Geto, no matter how much you don't want to write this mission report, you still have to write it. No matter how much you don't want to relive any of it, you still have to remember.

And when you get right down to it, that's all because you're not strong enough."

I spoke calmly, my voice full of amusement, while my eyes held nothing but indifference.

"Dazai, why are you telling me all this?"

Suguru Geto fell silent, considering what my words meant. After a pause, he turned his head back toward me.

"Hmm... Why indeed? Because as a diamond, Geto, you're not hard enough."

"People like you are the easiest to shatter, Geto. The more firmly someone once held to their convictions, yearned for the right path and absolute justice, the more easily a devastating blow can leave them utterly submerged in darkness, unable to escape."

"You're following a textbook villain's script, you know, Geto."

I yawned and tossed out the remark as though making idle conversation. When I looked back at Suguru Geto's reaction, the faint hint of a change that had appeared in his expression quietly returned to normal.

"Still, Geto, I don't agree that the Star Plasma Vessel is an individual first. To me, the Star Plasma Vessel is the Star Plasma Vessel. Nothing more."

I shrugged and continued speaking to Suguru Geto. Watching him try once again to say something, despite having been perfectly calm a moment before, I interrupted him again.

"Dazai!"

"Stop, stop, Geto. I'm not particularly interested in hearing about what you went through, and I'm not particularly interested in your argument.

To me, Geto, you're my junior. Even if you tell me, I'll still insist, arbitrarily and overbearingly, that you're just a child.

You haven't grown enough for me to treat you as an equal yet. Which means I won't put much stock in what you say."

"You're not strong enough yet, Geto."