007

Four years had passed. A lot had changed. But not enough.

You were sixteen now. Taller. Sharper. More composed. At least on the surface.

The streets no longer felt like a maze of unknowns, they were predictable, full of weak spots and softer minds you could twist and tug at like strings.

People were toys, fragile little experiments, barely a step above the insects you used to pull the wings off of when you were younger.

And Mori? He was still Mori.

That annoyingly composed smile. That almost patronizing warmth. The one person who still made you feel like a child, even when you tried to prove otherwise.

The leash was thinner now, barely a thread, but it hadn't snapped. Not yet.

You didn't cling to him like you used to. But you still gravitated toward him.

Not out of affection. Not exactly.

More like habit. Obsession.

That strange ache in your chest you hadn't been able to diagnose, no matter how many test subjects you'd bled dry in the search.

You'd grown curious in new ways.

Less about "what happens if I stab here," and more about "how much will they give me before they realize I don't care?"

Manipulation became your art. And if someone cried? Even better.

Mori noticed. Of course he did. He always noticed.

He never scolded you. Not unless you tried it on him.

But sometimes, when you danced too close to the edge, too eagerly, he'd interrupt with a hand on your head, or an arm around your shoulder, or a quiet sentence full of false comfort.

That was usually enough.

Not always. But usually.

So when you woke up that morning and drifted through the clinic in your usual haze of boredom and listless chaos, you didn't expect anything interesting.

The clinic had been quiet lately. Too quiet. No fun patients. No new test subjects.

Just old people whining and bleeding in predictable ways.

You walked barefoot down the corridor, yawning into your sleeve.

You were thinking of maybe sneaking out again. Maybe picking a fight in the red light district or seeing if that lonely old lady next door finally died so you could steal her cat.

And then you saw him.

A boy, sitting on one of the clinic beds.

Thin. Pale. Hair like ink spilled across a page. Dark eyes that weren't glassy with fear or awe or pain, but empty.

And that emptiness stared right at you.

You blinked, paused in the doorway.

"...Mori-san." Your voice was lazy, but curious. "Who is it this time?"

The boy didn't flinch. His eyes followed your every step as you entered, arms crossed.

He looked... dead. But not in the way corpses were dead. Something else. Something quiet.

Like something that never wanted to be alive in the first place.

"He's thinner than that one beggar kid I found last month. You remember? The one who died of starvation near the park."

You looked at Mori. "This one's skinnier."

Your words weren't meant to hurt. Just an observation. You didn't believe in sugarcoating things unless you needed something in return.

The boy didn't react. Didn't even blink.

You tilted your head, intrigued. Then your eyes narrowed, locking on his.

And you saw it.

That darkness.

It didn't belong to a human.

Your lips curled up into a slow grin.

"I like you," you said, and meant it.

"What's your name?"

The boy blinked once, then spoke, his voice softer than you expected.

"...Dazai Osamu."

You repeated it mentally. Dazai Osamu.

A good name. Rolls off the tongue. You liked the way he said it too. Flat, uninterested, as if even his name bored him.

You smiled wider. "Hm. Nice. You even got a pleasant voice."

Still watching him, you turned casually toward Mori, who stood by the cabinet, scribbling something into a patient chart like this was just another Thursday.

"How'd he end up here?" you asked, stuffing your hands in your pockets.

Mori glanced up, his smile already in place.

"Ah, a little stray I picked up off the street. He tried to kill himself. How tragic, don't you think?"

You gave a hum. "Failed, huh?"

Mori's smile deepened. "I suppose he just hasn't found the right method yet."

You raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Dazai.

He wasn't even reacting to the conversation. No embarrassment. No discomfort. He just stared, blank and passive.

A new kind of toy.

You took a step closer, then crouched near the bed, studying him like he was a puzzle. "Did it hurt?"

"Not really," he said softly.

You nodded, satisfied.

Mori closed his chart with a snap. "He'll be staying for a while. Just until he's useful. If he proves to be."

Dazai didn't ask what "useful" meant. Neither did you. You both knew.

You stood again and gave him a parting grin.

"I hope you don't cry much. Every once in a while will be amusing but it'll get annoying in the long run."

Dazai looked up at you. "If I cry, it'll only be because dying hurts more than living."

Your smile twitched into something sharper.

You liked him.

The next few days passed quickly.

You didn't cling to him. Not like a normal teenager might. You weren't interested in friends. You just liked being near him, watching him.

Dazai wasn't like other people. He didn't flinch when you spoke casually about blood, didn't recoil when you described your latest manipulation experiment.

He listened. Quietly. Absorbing everything like a black hole.

Sometimes, you wondered if you were staring at a younger version of yourself.

But no. Not quite. You'd never been this empty. Not even at your worst.

And that made him even more interesting.

Mori didn't interfere. He never did. He just watched you both. Always watching.

You could feel it, sometimes. His wariness. It wasn't fear. Not quite. But he knew.

He knew that your leash was disappearing.

One afternoon, Mori was checking your pulse while you lay sprawled across a couch, shirt open and eyes bored.

He never treated you like a child. Only like a weapon that needed maintenance.

His fingers were cold as ever.

"Say, L/N-kun. Aren't you going out too much these days?" he said idly.

That caught your attention, your eyes glimming in a way he knows you have something interesting to say.

"I'm testing human morality." You smiled, leaning your head back as you stared at the ceiling.

"Oh? Do tell me more."

Your grin widened.

"I tried to seduce older women. I tested what it would take for them to jump at me while knowing I'm a minor," you said casually like it's just another day for you.

Mori hummed in interest.

"How did it go?" he asked, mildly amused.

You stretched, arms behind your head. Then, you spoke-

"I'm sure all of them fell for me."

Mori removed the stethoscope, putting it aside.

He smiled like he expected nothing less from you.

You stood up, stretching out the kinks in your body as you adjusted your shirt.

The afternoon sun filtered through the clinic windows, casting long shadows on the floor.

You smirked, letting your fingers brush your neck, recalling the previous day's experiment.

"Well," you began, your voice cool as you stepped toward the door.

"It was easy, really. The women... most of them couldn't resist me. I just had to show a little vulnerability, pretend like I wanted affection, and boom, it was all over for them. They'd feel powerful, in control, until I turned it around."

You took a few steps toward Mori, who was sitting at his desk, looking at you with mild curiosity.

"They'd try to make me feel weak, make me squirm, but the truth is, I loved watching them lose themselves. One even kissed me. It was amusing to see how desperate they became, their self control crumbling. They couldn't help themselves. It's fascinating how easy it is to shatter someone's sense of morality, their sense of self, just by playing with their emotions."

You paused, looking down at your shoes, before meeting Mori's gaze.

You knew you were pushing the limits of what was considered acceptable conversation, but it was always so... amusing with him.

"I might try seducing men next," you added with a smirk, a glint of mischief in your eyes.

"Though, I'm curious how hard it'll be to break a straight man. Society would hate it, and that only makes me look forward to it more."

You chuckled to yourself, intrigued by the idea of testing societal boundaries even more.

"I'm sure it would be fun. I wonder just how far I could push one before they crack."

You made it halfway to the door before you turned back to Mori, cocking your head to the side.

"What do you think, Mori-san?" you asked, half joking, half serious, your grin widening.

"Should I try seducing you next?"

Mori's eyes remained steady, but there was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in front of him, and gave you a measured look.

"It wouldn't work," he said simply, voice smooth as ever, though his gaze was knowing.

"No matter what methods you try, L/N-kun. My type is little girls, below the age of twelve."

You blinked, a chuckle escaping your lips, your amusement dancing in your eyes.

"I know," you said, voice light and teasing.

"Elise was proof enough." You paused, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction in the way you could joke about his past with her, the bond they shared.

You leaned against the doorframe, regarding Mori thoughtfully.

"But, you know... You're different from them. You're like me, in a way. Morally grey. That's why I like you most."

Your voice was casual, but there was a hint of something more serious behind it, something you didn't often show to anyone. Not even Mori.

Mori's expression shifted, just barely. Then, he corrected you.

"I'm not morally grey. I'm morally black," he said, his tone casual, a smile plastered on his face.

"That's why, you're similar to me, L/N-kun."

A small silence passed between you two as you processed his words.

You tilted your head, the corners of your lips curling into a smile, before pushing off the doorframe and stepping outside.

"Whatever you say, Mori-san," you replied, your voice laced with amusement and something darker, a flicker of challenge behind your smile.

"I'm still learning from you, after all."

As you walked away, you could almost feel the tension in the air shift, the weight of Mori's gaze lingering on your back.

You didn't need to look back to know he was watching you, still wary of the chaos you were capable of creating.

But that was the beauty of it, wasn't it?

No matter how much he tried to control you, there was always something unpredictable. Something dangerous, that made you... you.

And maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what made you more like him than you cared to admit.

That night, you wandered through the clinic halls again and found Dazai sitting alone in the common room, staring at the floor.

You sat beside him without a word, legs dangling off the edge of the couch.

"Still want to die?" you asked after a long silence.

"...Yes."

You tilted your head. "Then why haven't you?"

"I'm waiting," he said.

"For what?"

He looked at you. "For the right way."

You smirked. "What if it never comes?"

"Then I guess I'll just keep waiting."

You leaned closer, eyeing him. "I think Mori likes you."

"I know."

You blinked. "And that doesn't scare you?"

He shook his head slowly. "He promised me a painless way to die. In return, I just have to watch him kill someone."

You went still.

"...What?"

"Nothing," Dazai said.

But it wasn't nothing.

You narrowed your eyes.

Something was happening.

Something Mori hadn't told you.

And that irritated you.

Still, you smiled.

Because you'd figure it out eventually.

And when you did...

Well.

You weren't sure whose side you'd be on.

But it'd be fun to find out.