Extra 4 (Watching Boss Dazai's Life)

After yesterday's full day out, I took a car home and checked the time. 8:30 p.m. No problem, still early. I could nap a little. I set an alarm.

I woke up in the middle of the night, blearily opened my eyes, glanced at the sky outside, then checked my phone. 3:11 a.m.

Shock! Confusion! Screaming like a groundhog! Aaaaaah, why didn't the alarm go off?! I scrambled out of bed in a frantic rush, a mask of agony on my face, then fell apart.

I'm sorry! This lowly soul never thought I could sleep that long either. A thousand apologies.

There will still be two chapters today, one to make up for yesterday and one for today.

["Welcome to the Port Mafia, Mr. Nakahara."

Beside the desk on the top floor of the Port Mafia headquarters, Ōgai Mori sat with his hands folded, looking at Chūya Nakahara, who was restrained in a chair before him.

The room was extremely dim. The windows had been screened off to block the light, making it impossible to see outside.

"It's an honor to be your guest." Chūya Nakahara was forced to sit upright in the chair, his ability constrained by subspace. An ability user who was a prospective executive stood behind him.]

"He was so cocky just a moment ago."

Firmly believing that anyone's embarrassment was worth laughing at, Satoru Gojo tugged on Suguru Geto beside him and pointed at Chūya Nakahara's face with a laugh.

"Yeah. Just like you when you fought me."

Toji Zenin gave a soft snort, but his thoughts had long since drifted back to the days when Osamu Dazai was still around.

He had known his boss might die from the very beginning, from that black sludge spilling out of his entire being and the longing in his eyes to be freed from life.

From that moment on, Toji Zenin had known Osamu Dazai would die.

But none of them had ever imagined that a person's end could come so quickly.

"And then you scurried away when I attacked you? That's it? That's all you've got?"

Satoru Gojo didn't care about Toji Zenin's mockery at all. What did bother him was how slippery the man had been during their earlier fight.

He had shown absolutely no desire to keep fighting and had ultimately chosen to flee on the spot. One careless slip, and Gojo had let him escape.

"Yep."

Toji Zenin remained calm. Toji Zenin reclined. Toji Zenin made it clear that he had thrown away every scrap of his dignity the day he became an assassin.

Satoru "nowhere to vent his anger" Gojo: ...Don't leave when this is over. I'm going to beat you to death.

[Suddenly, the door slowly opened. Osamu Dazai stepped into the boss's office, and Chūya Nakahara, seated off to one side, immediately became agitated at the sight of him.

"Ah, Dazai. I've been waiting for you."

"You're that brat!" Chūya Nakahara had intended to point at him, but discovered that his entire body was restrained within subspace. He couldn't move at all.

"Hi, hi, shorty. You're full of energy today, too, while I'm suffering from the serious injuries you gave me."

Osamu Dazai strolled forward, showing no intention of paying Chūya Nakahara any attention.

"I'm still growing, damn it!"

Chūya Nakahara hated being called short more than anything, especially by the suicidal maniac in front of him.

"You're still a little shrimp, though. Only about this tall."

As Osamu Dazai spoke, he casually gestured beside his own ankle, then gave Chūya Nakahara a provocative look.

"Bastard!"

Chūya Nakahara roared in fury. Unfortunately, all he could do was rage helplessly.]

"Come to think of it, Dazai doesn't look much taller than this Mr. Nakahara, does he?"

Suguru Geto fell silent for a moment, then carefully compared their heights. Finding no particularly noticeable difference, he quietly turned his gaze back to Satoru Gojo.

"My Six Eyes aren't working, or I could measure it to two decimal places! But eyeballing it, there's less than three centimeters between them. So Dazai's a shorty, too!"

Satoru Gojo spoke indistinctly around the edamame-flavored daifuku stuffed into his mouth.

"But Dazai wasn't short, was he?"

As he spoke, Suguru Geto couldn't help recalling the older student who had once hanged himself from a southeast-facing branch outside Jujutsu High's entrance.

Back then, Suguru Geto had only been fourteen and had needed to look up at Osamu Dazai. Later, he had needed to crouch to meet his senior's eyes.

"Well, Dazai wasn't as tall as me."

As Satoru Gojo spoke, he noticed Suguru Geto's mood suddenly sink and patted his shoulder.

Everything was safe and sound. What Osamu Dazai had left them might not have been a perfect choice, but it had certainly been the most worthwhile decision.

It was just that this less-than-perfect ending didn't include him.

["All right, that's enough."

Having watched enough of the show, Ōgai Mori finally decided to speak, separating the two who were still bickering.

"Rimbaud, please step outside."

"But Boss, I would advise against releasing him."

As Rimbaud spoke, he was calculating how likely he would be to swiftly dispose of Chūya Nakahara if the boy escaped.

"Aren't you cold right now, Rimbaud?"

Ōgai Mori smiled faintly, but his eyes brooked no argument.

"No, in fact, I'm freezing to death... Yes, Boss."

Upon meeting Ōgai Mori's eyes, Rimbaud immediately backed off. He bowed, then left the boss's office, shivering.

"Cold?"

"Don't tell me he's scared?"]

"Cold?"

Shoko Ieiri's reaction was perfectly in sync with Chūya Nakahara's. Although she was a doctor, even her medical license was...

Still, that didn't change the fact that her medical skills were quite good. As far as unusual conditions went, at least, she had never encountered anything similar in any previous case.

Perhaps it was a peculiarity of his cursed technique, or what was it called again? His ability?

Shoko Ieiri pondered in silence.

["Rimbaud is a powerful ability user."

"Oh, what's that got to do with me?"

Chūya Nakahara leaned back in his chair, utterly unconcerned. Without the ability user restraining him, he was confident he could kill both people in front of him.

"Chūya, would you join our Port Mafia?"

Chūya Nakahara: ?!

Then, furious beyond measure, Chūya Nakahara began to glow with the red light of his ability.

An explosion erupted in an instant. Aside from the small patch beneath Chūya Nakahara's feet, the concrete floor within roughly five meters of him, along with the carpet and chairs, was blasted to pieces.]

"Why is he so angry?" Nanako glanced at Mimiko beside her, looking a little lost.

"If you were asked to work for the former Higher-Ups of Jujutsu Society-you know, the ones Dazai died taking down with him-would you want to?"

Suguru Geto countered with a faint smile, offering them an example.

Nanako, Mimiko: Okay, we're already angry. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll blow up the entire leadership of Jujutsu Society in the next second to make it up to Mr. Dazai!

"I would. I'd kill them for Mr. Dazai!"

As Nanako spoke, her eyes seemed ready to spit flames. Mimiko beside her was no less fired up, apparently sharing her sister's thoughts.

Suguru Geto: ...How am I supposed to explain this to Dazai? I didn't raise them to go astray on purpose.

"Dazai wouldn't want to see you killing people over something like this. Nanako, Mimiko, he was willing to leave you the best possible future. I'm sure he wanted you to live happy, fulfilling lives, too."

Suguru Geto sighed softly, but continued gently guiding the two lovely girls.

After all, he had raised them himself. He never minded indulging them a little more or showing them a little extra favoritism.

Even if, in these two children's hearts, Dazai was their truly unforgettable, irreplaceable figure. After all, he was the one who had reached out and pulled them from the mire.

He might feel envious, but if that person was Osamu Dazai, perhaps it wasn't so bad.

After all, more than half of Jujutsu High had unwittingly received help from that senior who was now dead.

["To a certain extent, our objectives align. Why not first establish what we can offer? You can give your answer afterward."

Ōgai Mori spoke with a faint smile, soothing the boy before him, utterly unconcerned by Chūya Nakahara's extreme fury.

"Your reputation isn't much better, is it? The previous boss didn't actually die of illness. You killed him, didn't you?"

"No matter how senile the Port Mafia's previous boss was, he wouldn't have handed his position to a mere personal physician."

Red light blazed around Chūya Nakahara as he challenged Ōgai Mori.

"That's right. I did kill the previous boss."

Ōgai Mori still wore a smile, but delivered the words in a flat, almost scripted voice.

Chūya Nakahara froze completely. He seemed never to have expected Ōgai Mori to be so candid.

"I slit that great former boss's throat with this scalpel."

As Ōgai Mori spoke, he took out the scalpel he carried as a weapon.

"Then I made it look as though he'd died of illness. Tell me, was there anything wrong with that?"

Chūya Nakahara: Currently stunned. Do not disturb.

"All right, let's set aside the matter of joining the Port Mafia for now."

"Chūya, in any case, I hope you'll investigate this matter with us. Arahabaki and the Former Boss are clearly part of the same incident. Sharing information would produce the most favorable outcome for both sides."

"And if I refuse?"

"Apart from you, the members of the Sheep are nothing more than a bunch of children carrying guns."

"What are you getting at?"

Ōgai Mori: Smile.

Chūya Nakahara stared fixedly at Ōgai Mori, as if trying to bore a hole through him. After a stretch of silence, he finally relented.

"We can exchange information, for my own benefit. But you go first. I'll hear what you have to say before making a decision."

"Of course." As Ōgai Mori spoke, he unlocked a desk drawer, took out a palm-sized projection terminal, set it on the desk, and switched it on.

The footage showed an indoor location, with bundles of banknotes making up most of what the camera captured.

"This is the vault inside the Port Mafia headquarters. It holds the bulk of our hidden assets. Like this office, it is difficult to break into."

So he explained.

The image slowly shifted, revealing an old man dressed in black, floating in midair and looking toward the surveillance camera.

"I have returned to life. I have risen from the hellfire. Do you know why, Doctor?"

"Because of rage. Rage at my own carelessness. Here, I shall exact my revenge and unleash even greater fury. You who killed me, tremble. Sleep forever."

The video continued playing, but in that instant, the entire office had fallen utterly silent.

"That is everything the surveillance footage captured," Ōgai Mori said.]

"So wasn't Dazai assigned to investigate this?" Satoru Gojo thought for a moment, then gave up. It was too much trouble; he had only wanted to make an offhand remark.

"Probably because they were afraid Dazai wouldn't have enough fighting power on his own."

Suguru Geto answered casually, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

"Only you two would think of completing a mission single-handedly."

Masamichi Yaga gave his two students an exasperated look, then returned his attention to the screen.

"But we're the strongest. Send either of the strongest out, and he can take care of everything."

Satoru Gojo answered without a second thought.

"Wait, so is he alive or dead?"

Nobara Kugisaki stared at the old man on the screen in confusion. Their conversation had made it clear that the current boss had killed the previous boss to take his position. So, given the need to eliminate every loose end, why was this man still alive and talking?

"No idea, but the movie should give us an ending."

Satoru Gojo answered without a care, then turned his burning gaze back to the daifuku on the table.

A place where he could eat unlimited limited-edition daifuku was simply fantastic!

["So, at this point, only one executive, one guard, and I know about this footage. I gave them all strict warnings not to reveal it to anyone."

"But that may be futile. After all, who knows whether he'll continue making declarations like this? You can imagine what would happen if the previous boss's faction learned of this. Whether I win or lose, the Port Mafia would be destroyed."

As Ōgai Mori spoke, the atmosphere froze for an instant.

"Chūya, I recall that when you first met Dazai, you asked about Arahabaki. I did a little investigating. A divine servant, or perhaps a god-he dates back so far that his true nature is unclear. Even the way his name is written is uncertain."

"You believe in gods?" Chūya Nakahara scoffed, looking at Ōgai Mori with some disdain.

"No, but I believe in what I see with my own eyes. The footage you just watched, for instance."

"Speaking of which, do you know how Suribachi Street came to be? They say Arahabaki caused that explosion."]

"A god?"

Satoru Gojo looked thoughtful. Their world had no such thing as gods.

But what about the world inside this movie?

He had never believed that this thing called the Book had summoned them merely to watch a movie.

Then why had something so powerful brought them here? They still had no clues, but from beginning to end, aside from those relatively innocent students, not one of them believed this was merely a movie.

Although Satoru Gojo could be considered someone who operated entirely on instinct, he had an inexplicable feeling that there was some connection between these two matters.

It was simply that, no matter how they investigated, they could not uncover its true purpose.

As he drifted into a daze, the flow of time grew slower and slower. Only when Satoru Gojo suddenly snapped out of it and saw Suguru Geto looking worried beside him did he realize he seemed to have slipped into some alarming state.

"Mm..."

Suguru Geto could naturally sense that something was wrong, too. He simply hadn't said anything about it.