The Dark Era

Ch.25 Sick

I'm currently laying in bed. I'm on the second floor of a small restaurant named Freedom. This place is where Oda houses the kids he takes care of. There are five of them. Four boys and one girl. I'm in the room next to theirs. Oda said I should just rest. So that's what I've been doing.

It's been a few days since I've last seen Dazai or done some training. I never gone this long without either of them. I don't feel anything...but it does not seem normal to me. Oda is taking very good care of me. That's probably because I'm a kid. Or maybe Dazai ordered him to.

A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts.

"Come in."

Oda opens the door and walks in with a fresh, steaming, plate of curry.

"How are you feeling?"

I tilt my head to the side.

"I feel nothing."

"I meant, do you feel the pain from your injures?"

"I understand. No. The pain I had has went away. It's still sore though."

"Good. I brought you some food."

I sit up and look at the food.

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat. You haven't eaten anything since you got here."

"Not true. The last time I ate was the day before the four of us met at the bar."

"You haven't eaten since then?"

"That's correct."

"That's not good. You need to eat."

"...But I'm not hungry."

Oda just stands in the doorway for a second. Then he enters the room. He places the plate on the nightstand, that was next to my bed, and sits next to me.

"Does Dazai know?"

I shake my head.

"So you didn't tell him."

"He never asked. I don't think he noticed."

"...Knowing him, he noticed. Okay then..."

Oda takes out his phone and dials someone. After a few rings, that someone answers.

"Hey. Shiori hasn't eaten for a week straight now. How do you make her eat?"

He called Dazai.

"...She keeps saying she's not hungry... She's only been drinking water ever since I brought her back here... Okay, I'll let her know."

Oda takes the phone from his ear and hangs up.

"Dazai orders you to eat."

I take the plate and start to eat. Oda just watches me.

"You really only listen to Dazai, huh?"

"He's my mentor and boss." I simply answer.

"You act like his loyally trained dog."

"If that what he sees me as, so be it."

"...You don't feel anything towards him?"

"I feel nothing."

"Why is that exactly?"

I stop eating.

"I don't know. I've been missing that part of me since I was born. I'm only half of a whole."

"Maybe you have a twin somewhere."

"...Maybe."

Do I have a twin out there? Do I have any siblings? That would explain why I'm only half of a whole person. But the evidence I found might be true...