High spirit | Dazai Osamu ff

Persona

"They call me Santa Claus !" She says with a idiotic grin on her face.

"Really ?" He grumbles in annoyance.

 For a moment he had thought that he would have offended her, not even bothering to ask for name since their encounter. Sadly, he had come to the realization just now that it took a lot more to offend this person.Her face is graced with a amused expression when she questions him,

"Why? Don't you believe me?" She seems to be enjoying the fact that he has a very panicked expression on his face right now. Unknown to her he had gone through a whole ordeal just to ensure that she could be trusted. But when she threw such ridiculous statements at him was he really supposed to believe her?

"Are you maybe, high right now?" He lets his eyes show fake concern. She too catches on with his dramatic act. Painting her face into a hurt expression, she embodies sorrow itself in her movements.

"Why would you think a lady of my status to steep so low that I would dare, oh so willingly at that, inject myself with impure chemicals?" She finishes her charade with a dramatic sigh. He lets out a genuine laugh at the masterful act. He had found similarity in their characters, they were both equally invested in theatrics.

"A little over the top maybe." He speculates, following behind her as they make their way into the mansion.

" You think so?" She fumbles inside after opening the doors." To your previous query though, I do go about distributing gifts. Though it's on new year's eve and I am going around blessing soon to be mothers."

"Every womb blessed by a spirit shall deliver a child with an ability." She says as if  mugged from memory. 

"So you get to decide who gets what and who doesn't get anything?" He asks with a scrunched face. 

"Now, now don't go all angry pouty on me. I don't decide what kind of ability the child is blessed with. I am but a mere deliverer." She starts climbing the stairs to the second floor. Dazai finds himself examining the various rooms and chambers as she he listens to her.

" Since the child is not even born yet, it is not like we spirits favor one over another. What they decide to do with their abilities and what kind of people they become, is solely in their hands." She speaks in casual tone, coming to a standstill in the middle of the hallway. " There are many empty chambers on this floor, you can choose wherever you want to stay." She informs, beggining to leave  when she feels her clothes being tugged behind.

She turns to see him scrutinizing every movement she's made, as if she had left something undone. His frown seeming deeper than before.

" Still don't know your name." He mutters in low voice. She moves closer, wondering why he was so interested in the matter of her name.     

" I really don't know to be honest." She answers in her soft voice. He looks at her confused.

" I have long forgotten my given name from when I was human. In the spirit realm, spirits are usually known by the name of the cities that they protect. I am known as Spirit Yokohama. Though often times we will just shorten the mouthful names and join a honorific as suffix. So all my acquaintances just call me Yoko-san." She shrugs.

He wonders in that moment what it would mean to leave his human life behind. To bid farewell so long that he'd forget his name. He wonders if this is one of the reasons that she wanted afterlife so badly. She watches his brooding figure with great amusement, his shiny topaz eyes deep in thought.She lets out a soft laugh that pulls him a little out of his reverie.

" Your eyes are very similar to my husband's from when I was human." He raises his eyebrows at the reminiscing look in her eyes, that is until pure malice enters them.

"I killed him in his sleep." She smiles.  

 •••

A new morning has made it's way to the walls of Chelster Hall. The sun rays that graced it's drying garden, the bright morning would not have meant much to the wildlife that surrounded the area for they were used to it. But since the mansion had inhabitants now, a man in loose night clothing makes his way through the french windows, out to the humongous balcony. He groggily rubs his eyes breathing in the cool morning air. The birds were chirping happily around the garden. The fresh air the forest provided felt nice unlike the constant suffocation one would feel in the middle of the city.

He rests his hands on the ledge leaning forward, enjoying the serene calm he had not felt for many years. Was death this calm and soothing too ? He couldn't help but wonder. Though he had decided to honor Odasaku's last wishes, the thought of death never ceased to leave his mind. It was simply too alluring to him. It would not go away only because he had decided to live, it needed persistent effort on his part to keep fighting with his inner desire.

To die is bliss, I know that very well.

Her words from when they were in the cove resonate in his ears. Did this deep desire to seek death  have something to do with spirits or was he just being the invalid human he was? He had many things to ask her, answers to which she may or may not have. He wanted to know why she wanted the afterlife so much. 

Why had she decided to live as a spirit longer then? Was it due to his selfish request? But then again, she did not strike him as selfless person.

He wanted to ask if she trusted him enough to answer truthfully. Did she trust him as he had started trusting her? And most of all he wanted to know, why she had killed her own husband. That fucking thought had been gnawing away at his mind since last night. She had left after that again, leaving him to his on devices.  

He makes his way downstairs to find the kitchen, wondering if he would even find anything there. If he remembered correctly, she had told him that she had been a human around the Edo period. Back then, patriarchy prevailed and women worshiped their husbands like gods. Had she been a social misfit in her life as human too? He ruffles his hair in bafflement, as too many thoughts jumbled in his head.

" Just give up already." Her soft voice echoes in the kitchen. Dazai jumps as he had not felt her presence in the room just until now. Maybe he was relying on the forearm tingling a  little too much.

"I don't think you can tame that hair." She points at the entangled tresses on his head.

"Oh..How come the kitchen's fully stocked?" He diverts the conversation as he pulls out a milk carton from the fridge.

"I had an acquaintance help me this morning." She shrugs. He's brows furrow at that.

''But you were gone since last night?" He enquires.

"Oh that ! I went to check how the port mafia were taking your exit. It was very entertaining, I must say." She says sipping on some sort of juice.

 Dazai knew that going to the mafia during the dark was a smart move. Night time was the Mafia's time after all. Most of their activities and private meetings were carried out as the city slept soundlessly. 

" What sort of entertaining things?" He asks curious.

" Well, Mori san had been expecting it so there wasn't much of a reaction from him I guess. Gravity kun was so happy to hear the news that he drank the night away. The rest of the executives were mostly shocked at first, then arrogantly branded you a traitor." He laughs a little at that. 

" The most surprising reaction came from one of your subordinates actually, Akkun has gone feral." Her voice takes a deeper undertone. " As of now, he is out killing every remaining mimic member in this city." Dazai shakes his head at that.

 "Reckless boy.." He mutters under his breath. 

" He is just upset. You tend to get sad when people abandon you." Her voice lowers by the end of the sentence.  The sadness in her voice surprises him.

 She has been abandoned before, he realizes. Slowly but slowly, he is trying to piece together the character of this person before him. He  makes silent observations. He derives assumptions from his observations and creates a persona in his mind.

He catches her mysterious green eyes scrutinize him from behind the glass of juice and wonders if she is creating his persona in her mind too. 

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A/n: As a standalone, this chapter was crap but since it is important to make way for the plot...