Dazai osamu

The air felt heavier than it should. Not because of the place—no, that part didn’t matter. What mattered was the presence across from him.

Familiar.

Annoyingly so.

Leaning back slightly, Osamu Dazai let out a quiet sigh, like this was all just mildly inconvenient.

“…Well,” he muttered, almost to himself, “this is awkward.”

His gaze lifted, settling on Chuuya Nakahara.

For a moment, he just looked.

No teasing. No immediate joke.

Just…watching.

Then, like a switch flipped, a small smile returned—light, familiar, and just a little too easy. “I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Dazai said casually. “What is it? Miss me already, Chibi?”

The nickname sat there, deliberately annoying.

He tilted his head slightly, studying the reaction in front of him, as if this were just another game.

But there was something off.

Subtle—but there.

Dazai’s eyes didn’t quite match the tone of his voice.

“…Or,” he continued after a short pause, voice quieter now, “did you come all this way just to complain?”

A beat.

The smile didn’t drop—but it wasn’t as effortless anymore.

He looked away briefly, then back again.

“…If this is about the Port Mafia,” he added, almost absentmindedly, “I think you’re a little late.”

Another pause.

Then, softer—

“…I already left.”

Silence settled between them.

Dazai didn’t move to fill it this time.

Didn’t joke.

Didn’t deflect.