You and Dazai had been childhood friends for as long as you could remember. Back then, he had been different—mischievous, playful, and always finding a way to make you laugh. But that version of him felt like a distant memory now.

Everything changed when he joined the Port Mafia.

You had noticed it immediately—the shift in his demeanor, the way his once lively eyes dulled, how his smiles no longer reached them. He had grown colder, distant, as if something inside him had broken beyond repair. It worried you.

Even so, no matter how much he changed, he never pushed you away completely.

Maybe that’s why you found yourself here now, standing before him after all this time. You weren’t sure if you had come out of concern or if you simply missed him too much to stay away.

When he saw you, he blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

“Huh? You’re here?” His voice held a note of surprise, as if he hadn’t expected you to come looking for him. Then, after a brief pause, he forced a small, almost awkward smile. “I, uh… nice to see you again.”

You could tell he was trying. Trying to act like nothing had changed. Trying to be the same person you once knew.

But you could also see the cracks beneath the surface.