Walking In Your Fleeting World || Dazai Osamu

Chapter-43: Maybe

Celebrating the gift called 'Life'

-Riki's POV-

"Okay, so here's what I'm gonna do," I say in an urgent voice, gathering my hands in front of my mouth, and gazing down at the massive floor of dark nothingness, "I'm gonna collect as much information as possible on Mimic. This is a huge deal, and I only have 19-20-something months in my hand depending on whether Mimic will arrive in June or July. I can't jump in unprepared."

"I see." Kunikida (L) says, his greenish-gray eyes surveying me intently. "So, how do you plan on gathering the information?"

"That is where I run into a problem..." I admit with a sigh, tugging the tip of my left ear as I look at the two entities before me. "The SDUP does a great job hiding Mimic's information in Japan. Order of the Clock Tower and everyone else probably does too. So I can't just break into somewhere and get my info like I did with Midnight."

"Go on..." He says, a little skeptical.

I examine his face cautiously, hoping he doesn't freak out and yell at me. I'd be perfectly fine with it if this were any other time, but today is different. I don't have that kinda energy.

"I was thinking you could help with that?"

"Us?" Dazai (L) questions instead of the grumpy protector, surprising me slightly. He smiles confusedly when my gaze meets his, "Riki, what we know is what you know, correct?"

"Sure." I nod. "But I didn't quite pay attention to the details. I knew what I needed about Mimic to understand the Dark Era, and that was it. I'm not going to ask you guys anything out of the ordinary, I promise. I just want a little trip to memory lane and get as much as info I logically should have inside my brain."

The confused smile turns into a softer, gentler one; he looks at his partner, silently hinting at something.

"Alright..." Kunikida (L) mutters, slowly opening the book in his hand. "What details do you wish to know?"

"Thank you so much!" I almost shout, relieved. "The first thing I want to know is: How many members are in Mimic?"

"Hmm, that wasn't disclosed in the series." Kunikida (L) shakes his head, his eyes scanning whatever text is written in that book, "But it was mentioned he walled a city filled with 600 enemies with only 40 soldiers."

"Forty? That's way less than I thought!"

"Some probably have died since then, remember." Dazai (L) interjects in a low tone. "They didn't quite have the easiest life. Their enemies aren't to be taken lightly either."

"Yeah, I know." I huff, my heart getting a little heavy. Part of me wants to sympathize with them as they were just some innocent victims framed by war-hungry assholes, but most of me want to kill them as soon as possible. For the sake of Dazai, for the sake of Odasaku, for the sake of me, they have to die. What a shit situation I am in, huh? "I'm going to assume fifty members just to be safe. If it's less, spectacular."

"If that's what you want." Kunikida (L) shrugs, closing his eyes.

"Alright, next one. What war did they fight?"

"The great war, obviously." Dazai (L) scoffs. "Bungou Stray Dogs only has one war, and it still didn't get properly disclosed for the viewers to understand just by watching the anime. Now imagine two of these wars."