"Did Dazai start searching for the meaning of life this early?"
Masamichi Yaga gazed straight at the screen before him. For some reason, those were the words that slipped out.
"I remember Dazai saying he'd started searching for that very early on. At first, Satoru and I didn't believe him."
Suguru Geto pondered for a moment, then pulled a bottle full of candy from his pocket and examined it closely.
He went to see Tengen almost every month to pick up candy. It wasn't sweet, just the way he liked it.
Yet every time Suguru Geto touched that candy jar, it felt unbearably agonizing.
"Wait, so who exactly is this Dazai that Mr. Geto and Principal Yaga are talking about?"
Nobara Kugisaki had been wondering ever since the movie began. Still, from what she'd seen, that gloomy-looking boy really was incredibly handsome.
But from what the older viewers were saying, they seemed to have some history with him.
"..."
"An upperclassman who died."
Silence settled over the room for a moment. Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Masamichi Yaga, Toji Zenin, Kento Nanami, and all the others who had once met Osamu Dazai sank into their memories.
In the end, Suguru Geto spoke calmly, but he had no intention of saying any more.
Seeing that no one intended to discuss the past, the younger viewers who had never met Osamu Dazai had the good sense to shut their mouths and keep watching the screen.
[Following up on information about recent sightings, Osamu Dazai dragged a man named Hirotsu Ryūrō along from Mafia headquarters to the slums.
Osamu Dazai walked ahead alone, occasionally taking out his phone to tap at it, utterly unconcerned about exposing himself in a dangerous area like Suribachi Street.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Osamu Dazai glanced at it, then answered with obvious distaste.
"Oh, it's you, Mori. I've finished the investigation. He really has come back to life."
"From the depths of hell, wreathed in black flames."
Osamu Dazai said this without the slightest concern for the excitement of the man on the other end.
But just as Osamu Dazai continued summarizing his investigation with a faint smile, something seemed to slam straight into him, sending him flying sideways. He crashed into a wall, then tumbled down the steps.]
"That looks painful..."
No one knew who had said it, but watching Osamu Dazai look as though he might cough up blood, most of them agreed wholeheartedly.
"So even he has his moments."
Toji Zenin murmured with a hint of a smile. In the past, Osamu Dazai had screwed him over countless times, giving him no end of headaches.
Suddenly seeing Osamu Dazai get the worse end of things felt a little unfamiliar, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it.
"So Dazai was actually this bad at hand-to-hand combat?"
Suguru Geto fell silent, then asked his question, taking an "offhand" jab at Osamu Dazai in the process. He hadn't forgotten that period when Osamu Dazai had whispered in his ear every single day, "Geto, you're too weak." Those days had left Suguru Geto utterly miserable.
["It's the Sheep!"
Osamu Dazai climbed up from the ground, but at that very moment, something seemed to step down on him.
A closer look revealed that it was the person who had just sent him flying.
"Hahahaha! It's just a brat. Is the Port Mafia really that short on manpower?" The figure sneered. His build and age were almost no different from Osamu Dazai's.
"I'm very sensitive to pain," Osamu Dazai said, still lying on the ground, his words strangely bland.
"You have two choices. Die now, or spill what you know and then die." The boy kept both hands in his pockets, his cobalt-blue eyes fixed on Osamu Dazai beneath his foot.
"I choose to die now. If you can give me a quick death, I couldn't ask for more." As Osamu Dazai spoke, red liquid slowly seeped through his bandages. His one uncovered eye remained utterly calm.
"So you're a suicidal brat."
"Aren't you a brat too?"
"Unlike you, I'm no ordinary brat. Tell me everything you've found out about Arahabaki."
"Oh... so it's Arahabaki." Osamu Dazai smiled faintly, his voice rising a little, as though everything was already in his grasp.
"So you know about him?"
"No, this is the first I've heard of him," Dazai replied with a smile. The boy standing on him didn't bat an eye. He lifted his leg and delivered a sharp kick to Osamu Dazai's head, then stomped hard on his chest again.
The kick knocked Osamu Dazai's head to the side, leaving a bruise on his cheek. Yet a faint smile remained on his lips, and his eyes were eerily calm.
What followed were some less-than-effective methods of interrogation... at least, Osamu Dazai remained so calm that the wounds on his body might as well have belonged to someone else.]
"...He's hardcore."
Watching the expressionless person on the screen, Panda considered what would happen if he were put through the same thing.
The answer was that it probably wouldn't be much of a problem...
Panda fell silent. Panda stopped talking.
"That kind of interrogation won't work on the boss."
Toji Zenin gave a lazy yawn and casually propped his feet on the table in front of him as he spoke.
"What?"
Masamichi Yaga quietly turned to look behind him to one side, gazing at Toji Zenin in confusion.
At the same time, eyes from every direction began converging on Toji Zenin.
"You've never seen the boss's interrogation methods? Just thinking about them still gives me the creeps."
Toji Zenin gave an inscrutable smile, but seemed to have no intention of continuing. Completely ignoring the gazes fixed on him, he kept watching the screen.
His behavior also left Megumi Zenin, who was sitting beside his father, speechless.
Here was a joke: Toji Zenin wasn't like this at home. There, he was the very picture of a perfect husband.
Although he'd had a few suspicions before, having that image suddenly shattered still left Megumi Zenin a little stunned.
Then, noticing Megumi Zenin's stiffness, Toji Zenin called for the Book as though coaxing a child, tossed Megumi Zenin a serving of ginger milk pudding, and lay back down again.
Megumi Zenin: ...
Megumi Zenin: Fine.
["The King of the Sheep, gravity manipulation... Chūya Nakahara, was it?" Osamu Dazai casually wiped away the blood on his body and asked in a calm tone.
"I'm not a king. I just happen to have a good hand. I'm only shouldering that responsibility."
"Is that so? Just what I'd expect from someone at the very top of an organization-" As Osamu Dazai spoke, something unreadable flashed through his eyes before they cleared again, his original smile deepening.]
Before you continue