parasite [YANDERE!O.DAZAI/READER]

TWENTY THREE: THE CONFESSION.

You drum your fingers on your little table, staring into empty space, waiting for something to come knocking. And something does, but it's not who you expect it is. You look through the shattered window to your right and see that it's Atsushi, the white-haired young man who was Dazai's apprentice. Your eyebrows furrow, but with a flick of your fingers the doors slam open and he enters.

The chateau consists of spider's webs that all connect to you. Every twang and quiver was felt, vibrating up your spine as you sleepily turned your head to the door. The noise of faint footsteps could be heard, tentative but urgent, growing louder and louder as they approached your little den.

"(last name)? Are you in there?" Atsushi opens the door and it creaks.

"Yes I am," You say. "Is there something you need?"

"Dazai got shot," He says. You blink, suppressing the growing pang of panic in your chest. But it ebbs away when he adds, "He's alive, thankfully."

"Have you come all the way here to tell me that? How sweet of you," You ask, before pointing to the chair before you. He burns a bright red at your praise. "Sit down right there."

"Yes. I thought you might want to know, considering Dazai is...Is he your lover?" Atsushi takes a seat, gingerly and curiously, his eyes wide and curious at his own question. You shrug, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know. You tell me. Do we seem like lovers?" You reach over the kettle from the fireplace and pour yourself and him a cup of oolong tea, this time. The tea had just been brewed, with the liquid scorching hot on your tongue. It is enough to burn, just barely going over the line. Atsushi puts a finger on his chin, contemplating at the conversation he had been overhearing just outside Sakata's home before the cry of a pistol echoed out.

"Dazai and Sakata were talking and I was standing outside. They were talking about you."

"Were they now?"

"Yes. Dazai said that you changed his life; it's only fair that he changed yours," Atsushi looks at you with wide eyes, as if this was his love story, as if this was his life. Curiosity overwhelms him so much that he leans over the table. "Is this true?"

You put the cup down and avert your eyes down to the table. Your hands itch to reach for the tarot cards, but you know they will only tell the same fate, the same constellation destined for you. So instead you interlace your fingers together and hum in deep thought.

"I suppose it is. He let me see him, and I let him see me. He and I blur into one," You say, your voice thick with realisation. "It is reminiscent of a crime scene–how much he has changed me makes me feel like I have developed another personality, like he was unlocking it all this time, like some story...perhaps Jekyll and Hyde?"

"The same person, but with two differing personalities?" Atsushi asks. You nod.

"How I am with you is different from how I am with Dazai," You say. "No offence."

"None taken!" Atsushi quickly says, shaking his head. "Should...should we go visit him now?"

"Is he out of surgery?"

Atsushi nods. "He's been asking for you. That's why I'm here."

You stand up from your chair. "Well, I suppose we should get going, then."

–

You walk under the horrible glare of the hospital fluorescent lights, passing hospital security and several Agency members, some worried, some placid, as you round the corner to stop at a room door. You raise your hand to knock, and once you hear that familiar, 'who is it?', do you open the door but not enter.