What We Need to Say |Soukoku-Oneshots|

No Longer Human

AU 

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人間失格-No Longer Human

Based off a scene in the second notebook in NLH by Osamu Dazai and the lives of the irl authors.

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A man of short stature arrived, out of breath in front of a small shop. He opened the door, one of those sliding ones with thin wooden beams, immediately he was hit by the smell of tobacco and alcohol. He stepped inside nodding to the bartender who was wiping a glass with closed eyes. A woman dressed in a kimono turns to him, pipe in hand "Went to see your son again?"

The short man nodded running past the woman "I'll go change." Even in his rush he didn't fail to hear the woman's soft words,

"No matter how many times you go, your son will never wake up."

The man opened the door to a small room in the back of the building, he slipped inside and closed the door behind him. Pulling on the sash at his waist so that the yukata falls to the ground around his feet. 

He is Chuuya Nakahara, the man that I killed.

While this man applied rouge to his lips, I was three blocks away on the second floor of a seemingly normal business building. I had been participating in anti-government rallies. They were scams of course, the speaker manipulated their listeners through pathos. They had enlisted my help deeming me "an incredible actor", which I suppose was not an entirely incorrect evaluation. We gained a sufficient amount of money from these rallies, "donations for those who were impoverished" we called it.

My role was a simple one, I stood up as the lead was giving a dramatic speech "My..my sister too!" I covered my mouth with a hand my shoulders shaking with fake sobs "She was sold, in order to help the family!" I raised my head to the face so the people around me would not see the lack of sorrow on my features "She was only twelve years old!"

Just as planned, the man standing on the crate slammed his fist onto the wall behind him "We need a revolution!" He shouted "Write your name there and participate in our rebellion!"

I was the first to walk towards the table, people stood following me like a school of fish as I wrote my name.

***

"You're amazing actor aren't you, Dazai?"

I turned to the man who had just entered the bathroom, he was the man who had just delivered the speech- Ango Sakaguchi, one of the few people I consider a close friend. I smiled turning the knob on the sink. It creaked in protest as water started to flow out, "If they found out how we got very rich by exploiting the poor I wonder what they would think?"

Ango gave a dry laugh "They'd probably lead a manhunt for us."

"Probably." I plunged my hands under the cold water scrubbing gently, "Though, if we don't get any money, we'll die."

"That's true too." 

Once again I twisted the knob, abruptly cutting off the stream of water. I turned to the bathroom door only to hear loud shouts from outside.

"Arrest everyone!"

"Nobody move!!"

"The police are here." Ango observed from behind me, the both of us were probably far too calm. Well we had been expecting this for awhile. Ango turned sliding the bathroom window open, "We should hurry."

I nodded running towards the window as he jumped out, a shadow stopped in front of the bathroom door. I was halfway through the window when the door slammed open,