[Comprehensive] How to kill a rabid dog gently

The weather was getting warmer, but Osamu Dazai was still wearing a slightly heavy windbreaker, which made Oda Sakunosuke recognize him from the crowd at a glance.

Almost at the same time, Dazai also spotted him, so Oda Sakunosuke stopped on the spot with the box in hand.

He watched the dark-haired young man approaching him, like a glossy ermine or some other beautiful, deceitful and cold creature. The crowd was so mediocre and dense, but he walked lightly between them. When I wore it, I didn't even touch the corner of my clothes.

But isn't that what Dazai is like?

Oda Sakunosuke thinks from a strange angle that belongs to a writer.

If Osamu Dazai were in a detective novel, he would be a good character to murder someone in a clever way. After all, he is very smart and often ruthless, but at the same time he is different in some ways. The persistence and enthusiasm of ordinary people, this complex and contradictory trait will make him a charming villain, not to mention his appearance is also quite handsome...

But there is a fatal problem here, that is, the person Dazai is most willing to murder may be himself.

When thinking of this, Oda Saku also remembered that he was not actually a detective novelist, so this short and absurd thought made him laugh—this was probably just a slight touch on him in the eyes of others The corner of his mouth, but Dazai, who was walking in front of him at this time, keenly noticed his smile.

"What's the matter, Odasaku, does seeing me make you so happy?"

"No." Oda Sakunosuke replied honestly, "Although it's true that I haven't seen you for a while."

"Ah~~"

Dazai made a pained expression on purpose.

"Think about it, Odasaku, after I received your letter, I rushed here from Yokohama non-stop, just to see you off before you went to Minamori. When you left, the huge vehicle galloped And go, you see my reluctant face from the car window, isn't this a very moving scene..."

"Sorry, Dazai." Oda Saku had to interrupt his desire to perform, "Please don't describe the plot wrongly on purpose, although it is indeed far away from Yokohama, it is actually here, and Minamori is the little girl next door. town, just a short tram ride away...and we can meet anytime, can't we?"

"No, I think at least not on weekdays."

Osamu Dazai laughed, speaking in a sincere tone that Kunikida would be furious when he heard it.

"It's like saying how much I care about work-but I still do the most basic attendance."

He paused briefly, then spoke slowly.

"By the way, there is one more thing... I have something to pass on to you."

Oda Sakunosuke showed a puzzled expression, but didn't ask a question.He watched Osamu Dazai take out a letter from his pocket with a very cherished attitude.

"...Give it to me?"

While Odasaku was speaking, he reached out his hand naturally to receive it. When he was holding the corner of the letter, he suddenly felt a little pulling force.

He raised his head and looked at Dazai, wondering if he was thinking of doing so against the intention of coming, or because Dazai simply didn't want the letter to be damaged, he quickly let go of his hand.

"Yes, this is for you."

Dazai said softly.

"Although it's a few years late."

Oda Sakunosuke didn't understand what he meant for a moment, but when he saw the sender's name, he suddenly understood everything.

At the same moment, he also understood why the young man in front of him reminded him of a murderer in a detective novel.

They are all in the same dark vortex, have been hit hard by the world, they have a pierced heart, pursuing a tragic and grand self-destruction.

Oda Sakunosuke lowered his head, stared at the name for a long time, and fell silent.

The person who left also meant a painful loss to him, she was an unforgettable existence, not to mention that his new life almost rose from her hands, let alone that he had... …

It's just that all of this is nothing compared to Dazai Osamu's mood... It's not because his sadness is too shallow.

It's just that Osamu Dazai's pain was too deep.

"... did she write to me?"

"Yes, the note she attached to the envelope asked me to forward it to you in time, but I don't want to do that at all, and I opened it and read it, and I will not apologize for it." Dazai Osamu said, "Just because For the time being, I only gave it to you as a close friend, after a period of intense ideological struggle."

Odasaku nodded seriously: "Thank you, Dazai, I will cherish it."

He raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

It's time to go.

"Then I should go too."

"Goodbye, Odasaku." Osamu Dazai regained his cheerful attitude, "However, maybe next weekend, I will come to see you again."

Oda Saku finally bowed his head and said goodbye to him. At this time, the flow of people was not too loose, and his figure was submerged in the crowd in an instant.

Dazai stood there for a while, he didn't really intend to create a funny and sad scene as he said, so he turned and left before the whistle sounded.

He walked out, his expression calm and a little indifferent, he still passed through the crowd like an untouchable thin shadow, but suddenly stopped in his tracks at a certain moment.

At that time, a figure hurriedly walked past him.

There was only one moment when they passed each other, but in that moment, Osamu Dazai felt a sense of familiarity, but it was fleeting, which made it too late for him to grasp this feeling, but Dazai still couldn't help but look back.

It was probably a hurried female passenger, and her figure did not give him a sense of deja vu.

Soon, she disappeared from Dazai's sight.

Like any accidental, bubble-like meeting and parting between strangers and strangers.

****

Odasaku sat down on the seat and took out the letter from his pocket.

He hesitated to open it here.

It stands to reason that he has missed this letter for several years, and it would not be too late to open it after waiting for a while and settling down in his new residence.

But somehow, Odasaku chose to open it anyway.

According to the usual habit of writing letters, he first saw his name, followed by a warm greeting...

His reading came to an abrupt end here.

Someone came up to him and sat down.

Oda Tsukuru paused, put away the letter paper, and the other party noticed his action, so she said to him with apology: "I'm sorry, did I disturb you?"

Odasaku looked up at her, and the one who spoke to him was a woman with a gentle temperament.

a stranger.

"No, no." Oda Saku said, "Please don't mind."

From the gaze of the other party, he guessed that the other party still felt guilty and uneasy.

So he thought about it and changed the subject.

"Do you live in this area?"

I said this because the other party was dressed casually and comfortably, not as if she was going on a long trip, and the paper bag she held in her hand looked like fresh hot desserts, which cannot be used as souvenirs.

But Oda Saku soon regretted it. It might be offensive to say this question from the mouth of the people who met by chance.

"Yes."

However, the other party answered him.

"I live in Bingsheng now."

"Binsheng?" Odasaku couldn't help being a little surprised by the coincidence, "Where am I going to move?"

"Really, what a coincidence." She smiled, "Bingsheng is a nice place, I hope you like it... Are you a writer?"

This time it really surprised him. Although he is already a well-known writer, he has never appeared in public, so there should be no possibility of being easily recognized.

"Yes."

Oda Sakunosuke said.

"How did you guess that?"

"It's just a feeling," she replied. "Maybe I've read your work in the past, so I recognize you by feeling."

"My name is Oda Sakunosuke, my pseudonym is the same as my real name." He coughed lightly, "I don't quite understand if I'm really known to many people, even if you haven't heard of me, then..."

"No, I've heard of you."

The strange woman laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Oda-san, my name is—"

The tram stopped at this moment, and the sound of the wheels rubbing against the track almost drowned her voice.

But Oda Sakunosuke's keen senses still caught that syllable.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes, just like that.

"……Excuse me."

After a long time, he asked.

"What should the name be written?"

The other party pulled his wrist and drew a few strokes on his palm with his fingertips.

"... Cheng."

Oda Sakunosuke forgot how long he hadn't said the name, but when it rolled gently from his throat, he immediately regained the familiar, warm feeling.

He confirmed to the other party again.

"Your name is Cheng, right?"

# # #

Oda Sakunosuke closed the letter paper.

He stood in the house that had not been tidied up. This house in Bingsheng was a bit too spacious for him who lived alone most of the time, especially at the beginning of his stay.

At this time, Oda Sakunosuke only had a box full of manuscripts in a quarter of the space. Before cleaning, he couldn't even find a place to sit down in the room, but even so, he still chose to leave the box first. When you finish reading that letter, just stand there and read it.

"Is that so, Miss Cheng..."

he muttered to himself.

When you decided to go to such a future, what you wrote down... the expectation in your heart related to me, it really is this matter.

Cheng mentioned in the letter that both of them loved the book that lost the second volume.She said she hoped Mr. Oda would finish it.

Now Sakunosuke Oda has indeed finished it.

Of course, it was not published, after all, he was not the real author of the original...but Oda still wrote a preface for it.

At the beginning, he didn't clearly understand why he wanted to do this - could it be for himself?

No, Oda Sakunosuke is not such a person who easily falls into self-impression.

So, was it for the mysterious original author who changed his life?

Probably not. It would be too ignorant to regard the elder as a reader without authorization.

Then there is only one answer.

He was writing to the man who told him himself that he wanted to be his first reader.

Although he felt sad again, Oda Sakunosuke looked at the letter paper and smiled slightly.

He found that the letter paper was suddenly half an inch short, and the instigator seemed to have no intention of concealing it... He cut the edge of the letter paper very carefully and evenly, but let Cheng's words be cut off somewhere, as if it was a vague gesture to Oda Sakunosuke provocative.

According to common sense, Oda Sakunosuke should teach him a good lesson for Osamu Dazai who deliberately intercepted and destroyed his letters.

but.

Odasaku carefully folded the letter paper.

Forgive him this time.

# # #

Because Cheng specially wrapped it with several layers of thick oiled paper, when she returned home, the dim sum was still slightly warm.

It may not be accurate to say "home". In fact, in her current situation, it may be more appropriate to say that she lives under a fence.

But neither she nor the owner of the place where she lived had any deep feelings about this point.

"I am back."

She opened the door, because she was not sure whether the other party was resting, and even her voice was carefully lowered.

The black-haired boy who was quietly watching the courtyard was not taking a nap, he turned his head and glanced at her.

"too late."

"Sorry, I met a new resident who just moved to Bingsheng today, so I showed him the way by the way."

Since the place where she lives now—the Hibari house that once belonged to a friend of Jiudaimu, and now belongs to his grandson, Hibari Kyouya, is a very traditional Japanese-style building, Cheng also adopts a lifestyle that suits the situation.

She knelt down beside him and looked at the artificial stones and pine branches in the courtyard, but she didn't see the birds that matched them as usual.

Soon, Cheng discovered the reason.

There is an unexpected guest in the courtyard.

Cheng couldn't help asking, "Where did that child come from?"

"A stupid cat that accidentally fell into the courtyard."

Skylark replied.

His gaze followed the clumsy little animal with great interest.

When it fell in, it probably accidentally knocked over the potted plant, because Cheng saw the fragments of the flower pot in the corner of the courtyard, and Hibari Kyouya, who had an astonishingly strong sense of domain, was magnanimous and didn't care about its intrusion... Although, maybe It was out of bad intentions, and he didn't help the cat trapped in the yard, but just observed its actions from anxiety, vigilance to confusion.

Cheng smiled, then lifted the teapot, slightly hanging his wrist, letting the clear liquid of tea hang out.

Cheng first handed him the teacup, and then the small plate with beautiful pastries.

The young man was quite used to the other party's existence, and he took it lazily. Then, perhaps the cat who dared to land in Lark's garden did have some kind of courage to explore, and perhaps it had finally begun to notice Cheng With Skylark, the feral cat jumped down from the false rock and moved a few steps closer to the two of them.

A few steps closer.

It eyed Skylark curiously with its amber eyes.

"...Bite and kill."

Even so, Cheng found that Hibari's expression was very gentle.

So she took out a piece of snack, twisted off a small corner, and spread her hands, the cat was attracted by her action, and it cautiously and slowly approached Cheng, sniffing tentatively.

Cheng originally thought that cats who like dried fish would not be interested in sweet snacks, but what he didn't expect was that the cat in front of him was probably the best among its kind in terms of curiosity. He licked the crumbs from Cheng's palm.

Cheng hooked the cat's chin with his fingers, and then gently stroked the fur from the chin to the neck. The wild cat narrowed its eyes and purred comfortably.

"Want to pet, Skylark?"

she asked quietly.

The teenager didn't respond to her immediately.

But after a while, another person's hand gently stroked the cat's back.

"It didn't run away." Cheng smiled, "Skylark, it likes you."

The other party moved slightly, and Chengruo raised his head feelingly, and found that the young man was looking at him with dark eyes.

After a long time, he asked.

"Have you met anyone?"

"..."

Cheng was taken aback, but then returned to his usual calm.

"Yes, I met an old friend." She said, turning her head slightly distressed, "However, I am not sure if the other party is the old friend I am familiar with... You may not understand it, Skylark, but yes For me, not everyone with a familiar face is an old friend who really spent the same time as me."

"And there is."

she went on.

"I don't know either. If he is indeed the person I know, should I recognize him?"

"Did he not recognize you?"

Hibari Kyouya asked her.

"I guess...it's a bit difficult because I look so different from then..."

"So, he didn't recognize you." Yunque interrupted her, "Even so, do you still miss you?"

"...Yes, I still miss the old days." Cheng said, "However, you reminded me, Skylark."

She lowered her gentle eyes.

"Since the other party has come out of that past, there is really no need to force him to go back there."

Cheng laughed.

"That person seems to be much freer now than in the past. If the dream has been realized, then..."

that would be great.

Cheng remembered the letter she wrote to Sakunosuke Oda, and for no reason, when she thought of the concept of "letter", some strange feelings flowed quietly from her heart.

At that time, I also wrote a letter to Akutagawa... Besides, is there anything else?

Cheng thought a little confused.

She always felt that she had written many, many letters... But she recalled repeatedly, and only a few of them could be remembered.

So she began to recall the content of the letter she wrote to Oda Sakunosuke. She clearly remembered the first sentence when she wrote it, but when it was about to end, some words disappeared in her mind as soon as they emerged.

Cheng no longer remembers how he finished writing that letter.

# # #

……

"Although I don't want to speculate on Dazai in a malicious way, unfortunately, he is often a malicious person, so I guess, he probably opened the letter,

You are such a good person, but you have become friends with Dazai. Even as an outsider, I can't help feeling sorry for you, but at the same time, I may be even more happy for Dazai.

In the years to come, please continue to take care of that person, Mr. Oda. "

Osamu Dazai pocketed the part he had stolen from the complete letter, which could barely be called a scrap of paper.

But so what, this was originally his stuff.

By the way, this letter does not end here.

Osamu Dazai thought.

The last sentence is...

"Okay, please return the letter to Oda-san."

He closed his eyes, and could almost hear her voice... He heard her calling his name in a helpless and gentle tone.

——"Dazai."