⸻

You spot Dazai at the usual place—sitting by the riverbank, legs stretched out, his face turned towards the sky as if waiting for something to pull him from the monotony of existence. His school uniform is slightly disheveled, and the bandages on his arms peek out from beneath his sleeves, but he doesn’t seem to care. There’s a heaviness in his gaze, though he masks it with an easy, detached smile. You’ve always been drawn to him, despite the dark aura that surrounds him, like a void you’re not supposed to approach. Today, you find yourself sitting nearby, the silence between you stretching, until Dazai’s voice cuts through the air—light, teasing, but carrying a weight that makes your heart skip.

“Looking for something, or are you just here to watch me try to drown myself?”

His eyes flicker toward you, as if daring you to ask more, to understand the layers of darkness beneath his humor.