A Lunar New Year Special

Chūya Nakahara, the Boss of the Port Mafia, received a bloodstained red scarf. Though he had long since learned to remain unruffled even if a mountain collapsed before him, this red scarf still made him laugh in anger.

Chūya Nakahara studied the red scarf for a long while. After a series of checks confirmed that the blood on it belonged to Osamu Dazai and that it posed no other threat, he left it in the Boss's office.

The Lunar New Year had arrived, but Chūya Nakahara, now the Boss, had no intention of taking a break. Ever since a certain utterly hopeless Boss had departed, Chūya Nakahara had all but lost the luxury of normal holidays.

Those two years of hard work had produced clear results. At least the Port Mafia had more or less stabilized under Chūya Nakahara's leadership.

After dealing with aggressive expansion, the Boss's death, and a whole string of other troubles, and successfully turning the Port Mafia's reputation around somewhat, he still had no time to relax.

In theory, Chūya Nakahara was supposed to work overtime today too, staying up all night to review documents.

But for some reason, Chūya Nakahara felt especially sleepy today. He gazed blearily at the documents growing increasingly blurred before him, then slumped headfirst beside the bloodstained red scarf.

The instant Chūya Nakahara woke up, he saw his bastard of a Boss, who had been dead for two years, standing before him alive and well.

Dazai was reaching out to touch him. Too stunned to react, Chūya Nakahara watched in bewilderment as Osamu Dazai plucked a hair from his head.

Then Osamu Dazai looked utterly puzzled and, unwilling to give up, plucked another hair from Chūya Nakahara's head.

Boss Nakahara: ...

"You bastard, Dazai!"

Chūya Nakahara finally lost his patience. Who besides that bastard of a Boss of his would do something so deserving of a beating?

Though he had stopped behaving like this a full six years ago...

Chūya Nakahara kicked at Osamu Dazai, already knowing that Dazai would dodge it effortlessly.

"Oh, it's the slug. Why did you come here? Did you follow in my footsteps too?"

Osamu Dazai's confusion seemed genuine, though his expression remained fixed in its almost perpetual smile.

"Huh? How should I know why I ended up in a place like this with a dead, hopeless bastard like you?"

Even though Chūya Nakahara had grown mature and dependable, earning the trust and respect of everyone in the Port Mafia, those words still slipped out at his former Boss's teasing.

"..."

"All right, a random little shorty shouldn't suddenly turn up in another world! Go back already."

"...Bastard."

Chūya Nakahara silently watched Osamu Dazai deliberately dodge the subject, then aimed a punch straight at his forehead.

And so, before they had exchanged more than a few words, the encounter ended with Chūya Nakahara chasing Osamu Dazai all over the building again.

"Dazai!"

Whether their fight had been too loud or the people downstairs were simply too alert, the three below discovered them almost immediately.

Chūya Nakahara looked at the three kids, who were clearly still high-school age and wearing school uniforms, then glanced at the plainly twenty-something Osamu Dazai beside him and sank into thought.

"Hey, you random little slug. Is the Port Mafia not busy anymore? Are you planning to stay here forever?"

Osamu Dazai seemed to have finally tired of running away. He leisurely circled back from behind Chūya Nakahara and stopped in front of him.

"You're coming the hell back."

As Chūya Nakahara spoke, he tore the red scarf from his neck and flung it at Osamu Dazai.

"Ah, ah, why won't you let me rest in peace~?"

Osamu Dazai waved a hand, then glanced at the other red scarf he was wearing. After a moment of silence, he handed the red scarf back to Chūya Nakahara.

The two stared at each other without a word, neither paying any attention to the bewildered trio standing nearby.

At last, a voice broke into their silent standoff.

"Wait, he's not human!"

Osamu Dazai and Chūya Nakahara both froze, then silently turned toward Satoru Gojo. Two other pairs of eyes turned toward Satoru Gojo at the same time.

After a moment's thought, Suguru Geto finally reached over and swiftly covered Satoru Gojo's mouth without a word.

"He really isn't human."

"Satoru!"

"Hey, wake up, wake up! Time to get out of bed! You promised yesterday that we'd cosplay together when we went home for New Year's visits today. I'm not suffering that public humiliation alone!"

Holding a cosplay outfit and wig in one arm, Qichao shook Ning Che's arm with the other hand and kept talking.

"Qichao?"

Ning Che blinked away the lingering visions of the dream, then took Qichao's hand with a faint smile.

"When have I ever broken a promise?"

"I was always the one who slept in before. You never did! Speaking of which! Today I want to..."

"Absolutely not!"

"I took the driving test again! I have a license. Trust me!!"

With a hint of resentment, Qichao rolled around on the unmade bed.

"Still no."

Ning Che quietly withdrew that hand and firmly rejected the suggestion while getting changed.

"Why? Waaaah, you don't love me anymore! You're not my best friend anymore! You're so mean!"

Qichao kept rolling around and making a fuss, trying to sway a best friend's heart in bizarre ways.

"Someone who had their license revoked on their first day on the road doesn't get to drive."

As Ning Che spoke, Ning Che grabbed Qichao, who had become a complete mess, intending to get him cleaned up and take him home.

"No, no! I want to drive! I want to drive!"

"Ding."

The sound of his phone woke Chūya Nakahara, who had been slumped over his desk.

Chūya Nakahara looked at the stacks of documents beside him, puzzled as to why he had suddenly fallen asleep.

Seeing that the sky outside was gradually brightening, Chūya Nakahara rubbed his aching forehead, picked up his pen, and went back to signing documents.

I feel like I've forgotten something...

What was it?

What was that dream I just had? Have I already forgotten it? I feel like there was something very important to me in it.

What... was it?

Come to think of it, who's Qichao? Ning Che... sounds a little familiar.

Never mind. I won't think about it for now. There's still so much work left to do. I'll get back to work first.

Happy New Year, everyone! May the Year of the Dragon bring you great fortune, and may all your wishes come true.

I'll still be writing the reaction fic, but I'm back in my hometown right now without Wi-Fi, and I really don't have enough mobile data to watch this anime. So it may have to wait until I get back, around the third or fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Finally, Happy New Year!!!