Betrayed the organization…?
Nakahara’s words left Ringo utterly confused.
“What organization?” she asked uneasily. “It sounds really serious…”
“What?!” Nakahara’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Don’t tell me that bastard never even told you what he does for a living?”
“N-No, he did!” Ringo hurriedly waved her hands. “He said he was an Executive of the Port Mafia, but I didn’t believe him…” Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Wait… it was actually true?!”
Chuuya Nakahara fell silent.
…For once, Dazai had actually told the truth, and his own girlfriend hadn’t believed him.
Even Nakahara felt a little sorry for him.
“Why didn’t you believe him?” he asked.
“Because he didn’t look the part…” Ringo answered honestly.
Nakahara rubbed his chin.
“Yeah, that mackerel spends all day acting like a slacker. He really doesn’t look like a proper mafioso.”
“Wait a second.” A realization suddenly struck Ringo. She looked at Nakahara with a grave expression. “I remember you said you’re Osamu-kun’s coworker… so that means you’re also… in the Mafia?”
“I sure am.” Nakahara pointed at himself proudly. “A genuine mafioso.”
…There are proper and improper mafiosi?
After saying that, Nakahara changed the subject, folding his arms across his chest as he looked at Ringo.
“I was actually hoping you’d know where Dazai is. That guy disappeared without a word, and all of his work got dumped on me.”
Ringo bit her lip and unconsciously tugged at the corner of her clothes.
Lowering her head, she said quietly, “I don’t know. He hasn’t contacted me, and I can’t find him either. We were supposed to go on a date on Halloween, but he never came. I waited until the amusement park closed, and he didn’t even tell me anything.”
It really hurt.
Nakahara couldn’t help frowning.
The moment he’d seen Ringo, he’d noticed she didn’t look well. She’d seemed gloomy and dispirited, but he’d been too anxious to ask about Dazai first.
“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.
“Hm? Mm…” Ringo raised her head and forced a smile. “I’m okay.”
“How is that ‘okay’?!” Nakahara nearly exploded. “I told you not to be so nice to him! At times like this, you should be cursing him out!”
“K-Keep your voice down, Nakahara-san.” Ringo looked around nervously. “You’ll disturb the neighbors. Let’s talk somewhere else. I have class later anyway.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Ringo took Nakahara to the café beneath her apartment building.
They had only just sat down when Nakahara’s phone rang.
“Still haven’t found him? That guy’s been missing for a week. If he jumped into the ocean, he’s probably drifted into international waters by now. Did you check all the dumpsters too? You didn’t mess up the garbage sorting, did you? If you didn’t find him, forget it.” Nakahara ground his teeth together. “Stop looking. Get back here and get back to work!”
He hung up irritably, unable to stop himself from grumbling.
“Can’t find him alive or dead. What a pain in the ass.”
Ringo asked cautiously, “Are you talking about Osamu-kun?”
“Who else?” Nakahara opened the menu. “What do you want to drink? It’s my treat.”
“No, it’s okay.” Ringo shook her head before asking curiously, “But… why were you looking in the ocean and dumpsters?”
“Because Dazai loves committing suicide. Whenever we’re out on missions, he’ll suddenly run off and jump into the sea. And if trash like him isn’t in the ocean, then the garbage can is where he belongs.” Seeing the bewildered look on Ringo’s face, Nakahara hesitated before asking, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know he likes committing suicide.”
“I didn’t.” Ringo shook her head again. “He never told me.” She pursed her lips. “Now I feel like… even though he’s my boyfriend, I don’t know anything about him…”
Nakahara ordered two black teas before resting his chin on one hand and looking at Ringo.
“I told you not to be so good to him. Osamu Dazai is nothing but a pile of rotten black sludge. He’s beyond saving! I’ve always wondered how the two of you even ended up dating. All he ever said was something about it being ‘a fateful encounter.'”
When he’d first heard that explanation, Nakahara had almost lost his appetite.
“I guess it kind of was,” Ringo sighed. “At the time, I was playing a game with some people from my club at a café. I lost, so I had to tell the next customer who walked in, ‘Please go out with me.'”
Nakahara froze.
“…And that person was Dazai.”
“Mhm.” Ringo nodded. “I was going to explain, but he said he took it seriously. Then he insisted that I was the one who’d confessed first, so I had to take responsibility…”
Nakahara covered his face with one hand.
“Yeah… that really does sound like something Dazai would say. This might be harsh, but he only said it because he thought it sounded fun. The one who actually took it seriously was you, you idiot!”
The corners of Ringo’s mouth drooped as she looked at Nakahara with tearful eyes.
“So… I really did end up dating a jerk?”
Chuuya Nakahara slammed both hands onto the table as he shot to his feet.
“You absolutely ended up dating a jerk!!!”
His booming voice, combined with the loud bang of the table, instantly drew everyone’s attention in the café. Even the server bringing over their drinks jumped in fright.
A moment later, everyone’s gaze followed Nakahara’s to Ringo.
After a brief silence, whispers began drifting into her ears.
“So she’s the one who dated a jerk?”
“She looks so exhausted. Poor thing.”
“I think she’s that college girl who lives on the third floor of our apartment building.”
“She’s pretty, quiet, and so soft-spoken. Exactly the kind of girl a jerk would target.”
“Eh? Ehhh—”
Ringo looked left and right in panic.
When she noticed the sympathetic looks everyone was giving her, she immediately lowered her head, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow her.
This planet is impossible to live on anymore.
Someone please destroy it.
Why did Nakahara-san have to shout so loudly?!
By then, Nakahara had also realized he’d been way too loud.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Or… should I yell that I got dumped by that scumbag too?”
After all, he and Dazai had been partners. Dazai disappearing without a word wasn’t much different from abandoning him.
The server’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he set their drinks down.
Is this really something I get to hear for free?
This is wild.
“No!” Ringo shook her head frantically. “That’ll just make things even weirder!”
She sighed before looking up at Nakahara with complete sincerity.
“Thank you, Nakahara-san.”
Nakahara took a sip of his tea.
“What are you thanking me for? Exposing what that jerk is really like?”
“No.” Ringo smiled faintly. “Even though that was incredibly embarrassing… I was finally able to think about something else and distract myself. I feel a little better now, so… thank you.”
Nakahara couldn’t help feeling moved.
“Ringo, you…”
She really was a good kid raised by a good family.
After everything that had just happened, she wasn’t even angry. She was thanking him instead.
She was just too nice.
Osamu Dazai, you really ought to come back and commit seppuku to apologize!
The two of them sat together drinking tea for a while before it was time for Ringo to head to class.
Nakahara stood up.
“I’ll take you to school.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Come on.”
Knowing he meant well, Ringo didn’t refuse again.
“Then thank you, Nakahara-san.”
“No need to thank me.”
Nakahara had come on his motorcycle that day.
When they reached the school gates, he pulled off a stylish stop, removed his helmet, and looked at Ringo.
“Seriously, there’s no need to be sad over someone like Dazai. If you break up, then you break up. The next one will be better. Honestly, any man in this world is better than Dazai.”
Ringo pressed her lips together in a small smile.
“Okay. I understand.”
“Oh, right.” Nakahara held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
Although she didn’t know why, Ringo obediently handed it over.
Using her phone, Nakahara called his own number. After it connected, he hung up and handed it back.
“I saved my number in there. I’m not trying to scare you, but Dazai has a lot of enemies. Now that he’s disappeared, a lot of people are looking for him. They might come looking for you too. If you run into any trouble, call me. I’ll handle it.”
He really must have owed Dazai something in a past life!
Ringo blinked, holding her phone with both hands as she smiled at him.
“Okay, I understand. I have class now. Goodbye, Nakahara-san.”
Nakahara waved.
“Bye.”
Ringo watched his motorcycle disappear into the distance before turning and walking into the school.
Looking down at her phone, she saved Nakahara’s number properly.
Another kind person who could help her solve her problems.
Her finger slid across the screen.
When she reached Dazai’s contact and saw the name “Osamu-kun,” her finger paused.
She suddenly remembered that she’d planned to ask Ranpo to help her find Dazai.
With that thought, she sent Ranpo a message.
Ringo: Ranpo-san, do you have time today? ╥﹏╥
Ranpo: Maybe. What’s up?
Ringo: I have class now. Can I come to the Armed Detective Agency after it’s over? There’s something I’d like to ask you for help with. (》﹏《)
Ranpo: Sure.
Ringo: Yay! See you later! (￣▽￣)丿
Putting her phone away, Ringo let out a sigh of relief and hurried into the classroom building.
After class, she went back to her apartment first before heading to the Armed Detective Agency.
She knocked and entered, only to find that the office was occupied by just Ranpo and a short-haired woman.
When the woman saw her come in, she smiled warmly.
“Ranpo-san has been waiting for you for quite a while, Ringo.”
“Huh?” Ringo’s eyes widened. “You know my name, miss?”
“I’ve heard Ranpo-san mention you,” Yosano said with a smile. “My name is Akiko Yosano.” She beckoned to Ringo. “Come and have a seat.”
“Okay.”
Ringo obediently walked over.
Resting one cheek on his hand, Ranpo looked at her.
“Just so we’re clear, I did promise to help you solve one problem, but that doesn’t mean I’ll agree to anything.”
“This isn’t troublesome,” Ringo said hurriedly. “It’s just… I don’t know who else I could ask besides you, Ranpo-san…”
Ranpo folded his arms and huffed stubbornly.
“Even if you say that, I’m still not helping.”
“I see…”
Ringo’s expression dimmed.
She turned to Yosano instead.
“Then… could I ask Miss Yosano to help me?”
“I actually preferred it when you called me ‘big sister’ just now,” Yosano said helplessly. “But if it’s something Ranpo-san can help with, then I probably can’t. Still, you can tell us what it is first.”
“Actually…”
Looking a little embarrassed, Ringo took a bag of candy and pastries out of her backpack.
“I wanted to trouble Ranpo-san with helping me eat these. If he doesn’t want to—”
Ranpo immediately held out his hand.
“I do—!”