𝐼𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓏𝒾𝑜𝓃𝑒 | dazai x reader

a handsome man and a pretty sunset.

This is purely based on my opinion, but it was a beautiful day outside. The bright cheeky sky was sparse with clouds, the only clouds being ones that looked like they were pulled from a cotton ball. The sun would have been unbearable if not for the perfect breeze that balanced out the heat.

Y/n was taking a walk in the forest. It was her favorite route, majestic trees towering over her, giving her a canopy of shade. Little specks of light filtered through the leaves and illuminated spots of the dirt path and her face. She saw a sort of rodent scurry into the bushes. She listened to the birds chirping and the cicadas kree-ing. She listened to the faint sound of a river rushing by.

This was her favorite way to alleviate stress. Recently, she had been feeling rather restless, so she decided to make it a habit to walk this secret path every day around noon. Since she started, she wasn't nearly as anxious anymore. She smelled the scents of the fresh dirt and the deer dung. She liked the smell of outside, but if they made it into a scent she could spray into her home, she wouldn't buy it.

As she took soft steps across the path, a loud cracking sound echoed through the forest, giving Y/n the scare of her life. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest, something we all know is a terrible feeling. She stopped and whipped her head around. What could have made that noise? An animal? A tree falling?

CLAP! The sound! It happened again! But this time Y/n realized that it wasn't just a cracking sound, it was someone clapping their hands together.

This was confusing. Was someone with her? Who's hands could have created such a noise with a mere collision of the palms?

She turned around to look behind her, feeling apprehensive. "Hello?" She called out.

"About time you found me!" A disembodied voice replied. "I saw you walking by just now and wanted to tell you how beautiful you are. Would you mind spending the rest of your life with me?"

Y/n wasn't paying attention to what the voice was saying; she was too busy trying to find it. She spun around frantically, looking up and down like a fool.

"Can you see me?" The voice asked.

"No,"

"Oh. I still have to get used to this then, huh?" And then out of nowhere, a man appeared, standing next to Y/n. She whirled around to face the stranger. He had fluffy brown hair that tickled his cheeks. His thin, smooth lips curled up in a slight smile, his bright brown eyes- the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen; the bright amber melting into a beautiful chocolate-met hers.

"Nice to meet you," He bowed down, bringing a bandaged hand to his chest, holding the bright green pendant that adorned him. He stood back up. "My name is Dazai Osamu. Sorry for spooking you out. But it was pretty funny."

"Nice to meet you," She bowed as well. "Y/n L/n, and thanks for apologizing." Then she looked at him with a quizzical expression. "Where did you come from?"

"Yokohama," He answered simply.

"No I mean, just now. You seemed invisible just a second ago."

A soft sigh escaped his lips. "I was."

"Your gift is invisibility?" She asked. She wondered if such an ability existed, and apparently, it does!

"No, it's not," Dazai said, instantly dashing her hopes. "My gift is 'No Longer Human' and I can disable other's gifts just by touching them."

Note to self, don't let this guy touch me.

"Then . . ." She said, waiting for Dazai to elaborate. "How about that invisibility?"

His eyes shone a mischievous glint as he said. "I'm a ghost. I'm dead."

The two of them stood still as Y/n stared at him. His feet were on the ground. She couldn't see through him at all. Was he joking?

"See?" He extended his hand and took hers before she could react, but his arm phased through her. She felt a chill where he touched and her spine tingled. The entire interaction seemed surreal. She witnessed his delicate fingers go through hers.

She looked at him again, feeling strange despair for a guy she never knew. "Oh," She looked away. What was she supposed to say to this dead stranger? "I-I'm sorry,"

He tilted his head and put his hands on his hips. "It's fine. My death didn't go as I had imagined it would, but what's done is done."

Y/n wondered if asking a ghost "When did you die?" would be too personal, but she asked anyway.

He looked past her, far away. "Last night." Despite his seductive smile, he kind of seemed regretful. "Anyway," He looked back at her. "Where are you going?"

"Last night?" She asked, the words leaving her as a mournful whisper. She felt strangely disconnected.

"That's what I said." Dazai nodded.

She still couldn't shake this feeling of solemn finality, but she decided to move past it since Dazai seemed to be getting annoyed. "Well, normally, I walk this path, get to the big boulder that's a few meters away, and then turn back. But my friend wanted to watch the sunset with me, so he said to meet him at some cliff he found."

His eyebrows raised. "What time is it?"

"It's 8:00 pm," She looked at her watch.

He stared up at the sky and said, "I guess as a ghost you lose all concept of time. Anyway, this may seem like I'm being nosy, but do you expect to stay long enough to see the moon with him?"

She gave him a puzzled look. That's an ultra-specific question. "I'm not sure what he has in mind exactly,"

Dazai put a finger on his chin. "If he hasn't told you of any night picnic or anything like that . . . but even so . . ." He made a cute humming noise. Then he locked eyes with her. "Don't go."

"What?"

"You might be thinking that I want to keep you to myself and spend the night with you, but I am a ghost, so I can't."

No, she wasn't thinking that.

He continued. "But there's a rumor that has been proven true about the moon on summer nights." Then he leaned forward and got close to her face. He waggled his fingers, implying something spooky. "But when you look at the moon with somebody, your soul melts away and the two of you will roam the earth for all eternity . . .! Ooooooh~"

He said it with the ghostly inflections of the voice, and his eyes somehow had a playful aspect to them, so Y/n wasn't sure if he was telling the truth.

She gave him an amused smile and said, "And who's the genius that proved that rumor?"

He stood back up and extended his arms. "Me, of course."