Walking In Your Fleeting World || Dazai Osamu

Chapter-48: What would you do?

Dazai, M, and 100 other worries

-Riki POV-

"A good answer."

Dazai's smile is striking, and in the swaying yellow light, my whole world begins and ends in it. It's a smile worth waging war for. A smile to kill and die for. Inside this stuffy container, standing before two restrained hostages awaiting their brutal doom, I can't help but marvel at his existence.

I turn to the two men nervously.

They're tied up, heads covered in heavy dark clothes. They can't see me, can't move, can't fight back. Theoretically, it's the perfect setup. But to be honest, I'm dubious.

I can ignore the 'wrongness' of the current situation, really. What I'm worried about is my sanity. These men are scared... no, terrified. If I turn on Karma, I'll take in that fear twice the amount. I can't bet on the idea that I won't become a bloody mess.

I exhale through my mouth, trying to appear calm. These men aren't my only problems. Hirotsu and his subordinates are waiting outside. They're frontliners who engage in violence daily. It's impossible for them not to feel negative. Once I activate Karma, all of their emotions will flood in too.

All at once.

I still prepare to turn it on. I already ruined Dazai's spontaneous attempt at 'tutoring' last night, if I ruin it today too, he'll hate it. I take in a deep breath, my fists clenching as I—

"Idiot," Comes a light scolding from my side, together with the gentle touch of Dazai's hand settling on my head. "You're nervous. I need to see some confidence before I can allow you to switch it on."

"Confidence?" I glance at him confusedly, "How can you expect me to be confident here?"

"You have done this before, haven't you?"

"That I did- but... this is different! I've only ever amplified my own feelings- or just tried it on weak, drunken men. These men are frightened-"

"And so?" He interrupts, unbothered by my series of excuses. "I'm here with you. If anything goes wrong, I can nullify it. You won't end up killing your test subjects just yet."

I try to argue, skeptical as fuck, but the younger hostage decides to speak on behalf of me.

"Wh-what is going on?"

Dazai's attention shifts to the man, his gaze sharpening. "Interrupt us again, and I'll nail your tongue to the wall."

The man convulses visibly at the cold threat... no, warning, as if he got struck by a whip or something. Silence occupies the surroundings again, but Dazai's eyes don't shift from the man's covered face.

I feel my tongue inside my mouth, wondering what it would be like to get it nailed to the wall. How is he gonna nail it anyway? He'll have to pull it out with one hand, and hold the nail with the other... then how will he hammer it?

"Uh, ano- Dazai-san," I softly call out, catching his attention again. "I can try but... is this the correct time and place? I mean, it feels quite high stakes here. Aren't I gonna waste a bunch of time-?"

"You don't have to worry about that." His tone softens as he talks to me. "Just do what you came here to do. Leave all other concerns to me."

I nod, drawing in a quick breath to exhale loudly. "Okay. I'm ready."

His hand retreats from my hair. I survey his face one last time before switching it on; if he thinks I can do it, I can.

Probably.