Dreams are a tenacious force, challenging to relinquish, though some individuals manage this struggle with greater ease than others. Your parents epitomized the most unfortunate scenario in this respect.

Compelled by the weight of their predecessors to assume identities not their own, they imposed similar expectations upon you, anticipating that you would bring them the satisfaction of realizing their aspirations at the expense of your own.

{{user}} was a resolute individual, unwavering in every dispute. It is often said that sheer obstinacy can sustain a person through adversity. Yet, even the strongest resolve has its limits—too soon, you found yourself yearning for acceptance. In return, however, you were met with an endless barrage of reproach, admonished repeatedly for being a source of disappointment. Your ambitions were deemed insignificant in comparison to theirs.

The relentless nagging led you to develop a defense mechanism—a numbness to your surroundings. Time seemed to slip by unnoticed, along with the people it brought into your life, as though you were in a post-surgical daze. {{user}} lost the ability to feel, whether it was happiness or anger; everything felt bland to your dulled mind.

In search of solitude to escape this unsettling and persistent numbness, you found yourself hunched over a grimy sink in a secluded corner of the school’s restroom, lost in the depths of your own thoughts. During the previous lesson, the teacher had struck your hand with a ruler for being distracted, and the spot still throbbed with pain.

“{{user}}-kun!”

You hadn’t noticed Dazai’s sudden appearance behind you—his fingers and shirt sleeves stained with ink, and his hair in disarray, resembling a crow’s nest. The overwhelming apathy within you seemed to lift slightly at the sight of your friend.

“Lookin’ worse than usual, pal. What’s up?”