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[humandispel]

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OH BOY.

[humandispel]

Atsushi-kun. I expected this.

Alright, go ahead - go ask your question.

[beastundermoonlight]

[ He's relieved he chose to ask this over text, otherwise he would be too anxious to ask this directly. ]
Are you really the Boss? Or are you actually Osamu Dazai of the Armed Detective Agency?

[humandispel]

[There's a loud sigh on his side of the phone.]

It was Chuuya, wasn't it? Stupid, meddling hat rack.

[beastundermoonlight]

Yes, it was partially because of him, but I came to my own conclusions from a lot of factors. You might be Dazai-san, but you're also not him.

... Dazai-san is my savior, but... kindness can't survive in the Port Mafia.

[humandispel]

[He wants to counter that. Kindness can exist in the Port Mafia - it's just something that is rarely found. It's just something that doesn't belong to the Demon Prodigy.]

Well, if you mostly figured it out yourself, then it's not a big issue. Well done, Atsushi-kun. I used to be in the Port Mafia, but I defected. The Atsushi-kun I knew I only met when I was already in the Armed Detective Agency.

Is there anything else you wish to know?

[beastundermoonlight]

[ Defected... he wondered what was the reason that compelled Dazai to leave the mafia. But there exists another Atsushi unknown to him. He wonders if that version of himself wasn't a coward. ]

Then Akutagawa is part of the Port Mafia there...? Did he still want to kill you?

[humandispel]

[His Akutagawa, killing him? He feels like that Akutagawa would kill Atsushi at the thought of it. Then again, Akutagawa doesn't need many reasons for him to want to kill Atsushi.]

You could say our relationship is far more complicated than you think. I was his mentor, after all.

[beastundermoonlight]

[ Complicated... So this wasn't a 1:1 reversal. Strange. ]
So you mentored Akutagawa before you left the Port Mafia. Was there a reason why you left?

[humandispel]

There is.

[Of course there is. That reason burns within him like a lit candle in the middle of a blizzard.

'Be on the side that saves people.']

Someone told me to. So I did.

[beastundermoonlight]

[ Why couldn't someone tell him that? ]

Is that why you've been trying to steer me by acting as the Dazai-san I know?

[humandispel]

More or less. I figured telling you the truth would be too much of a shock, especially if you don't find it out by yourself. You didn't seem to know what to do, so I gave you something familiar to grasp.

As for where I wanted to steer you - I simply gave you the opportunity to be someone different than who you are. Truth be told, I don't agree that the Port Mafia is the best place for you.

[The other Dazai must have had his reasons. But those reasons do not exist in Aldrip.]

[beastundermoonlight]

I'm truly grateful for that. I really am. But I don't know where my place can be other than the Port Mafia.

I've come to understand now I can't always escape death, that my sins will always haunt me wherever I go. I can't become the other me that you know, Dazai-san.

[humandispel]

I won't force you to choose a path, Atsushi-kun. If you so wish, you may remain in the Port Mafia, and I will continue to give you the comfort of having orders given to you as a stand-in for your 'boss'.

But I want to ask - is this what you truly wish for? Or is it because you think this is the only path available for you? The Kyouka-chan from my world - she also used to be in the Port Mafia. But she managed to find her place in the Armed Detective Agency out of her free will.

Do not let your sins constrain you.

[beastundermoonlight]

I'm not sure what I wish for anymore. But I know regardless... if I ever come back to the place I come from, I will always follow Dazai-san... my boss's orders.

Whatever intentions he has for me, I don't care. He was the one who saved me and gave me, a stray, a place to belong. Leaving the Port Mafia is out of the question for me.

But for the time being that I'm here... there is no such division as 'Port Mafia' or 'Armed Detective Agency'.

I will look for my own path, Dazai-san.

[humandispel]

[So that's it, then.]

I won't stop you. That's the kind of determination I wanted to see from you in the first place.

Still, if you find yourself astray, or in need of guidance, I will fulfill my role as your senpai - or your boss, in his place. Being a different Atsushi from the one that I know of doesn't mean I would leave you alone, you know.

[beastundermoonlight]

[ Was this validation he was seeking? Or some sort of solace? Either way, Atsushi can feel his heart lighten a bit. The future is uncertain for him, but he is for sure certain that the Dazai-san he knows and this Dazai-san wants him to be able to move on his own two feet. ]

...Thank you, Dazai-san.