• Restless interlude •

Dazai

---

Dazai woke up to an unbearable breeze brushing against his face.

"Right, I forgot to close the window."

Last night, he had been gazing at the stars. He was mesmerized. It was like something had changed.

Maybe... just maybe, Odasaku could see him and how much he had changed. But deep down, he knew that only his appearance had changed—never his mind. And only he knew how to truly transform himself.

Dazai's POV———————-

Kunikida is going to give me an earful if I don't hurry up. Wait, what time even is it?

*20 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦*

Well, never mind trying to be on time.

No one's pov———-

He knew that, in the ADA, it was either hectic or boring no in between. Based on the past few days, his intuition told him today was going to be a lot more interesting...

———

He stepped out into the biting wind, his coat flaring out behind him as it caught the chill. Heading toward the main streets, he knew driving was out of the question—definitely not his brightest idea in these conditions.

It wasn't that he couldn't drive. He 𝘩𝘢𝘥 a license.

Even if it was forged.

He was a decent driver, but only when he felt like putting in the effort.

A lot of the time in winter his vision was messed up due to cold. But it wasn't usually that bad. He already had it checked out by a *doctor*. It wasn't serious.

"Ah, there it is."

With a light skip in his step, Dazai approached a small,building.

He ducked inside, feeling his phone buzz almost immediately. It could only be one person, right on schedule—his ever-reliable, perfectly punctual work partner.

"Yesss, Kunikida, what nowww?"

"DAZAI, GET TO THE ADA *NOW!*"

"Whyyy?" he groaned, already feeling the weight of his partner's exasperation.

"BECAUSE YOU ARE 30 MINUTES LATE"

"Ohh, yeah" he clearly forgot that going to a cafe impacts his precious money and... time

"WELL GET TO THE ADA NO-" before he could finish dazai had already cut off the phone.

Sighing, he pocketed his phone, feeling a pang of regret for missing out on his coffee. With a reluctant shrug, he dragged his feet towards the ADA, doing his best to ignore the countless distractions that tugged at his attention.

'Huh? Is that Kenji ... wearing that tacky, disgusting hat?'

"Was Chuuya's influence really that strong, even after the PM and ADA joined forces?" he muttered, watching as Kenji turned and disappeared into... a wig store?

Who cares. He's probably picking something out for his cows to wear.

After another five minutes wasted on idle distractions, Dazai finally arrived at the ADA—only to see Kenji already standing there.

Dazai tiptoed over to where Kenji, Kyouka, and Atsushi were chatting. Judging by Atsushi's usual habit of finishing paperwork first, he figured there wasn't much left to do.

"Kenji, didn't I just see you heading into a wig shop? How are you here already?"

"Huh? No, I didn't go anywhere like that."