At Lupin Bar
“Ahem, so is what I heard actually true?”
Intelligence agent Ango Sakaguchi asked, holding back his laughter, “Did Dazai get asked, ‘When are you publishing a book?'”
Sakunosuke Oda looked somewhat surprised. “Is Dazai writing a book?”
“No.” Osamu Dazai slumped over the bar counter. “Ango, your intelligence network is way too fast.”
“You didn’t tell them to keep their mouths shut, so of course news like this spreads fast. If I, as one of the Port Mafia’s most promising executive candidates, didn’t even know your news, I might as well quit being an intelligence agent.”
As Ango spoke, he pushed up his glasses. “Though I only heard a rough outline and don’t know the specifics, I just feel it’s all rather inexplicable…”
Sakunosuke Oda’s intelligence network was truly subpar; he asked with a blank expression, “Inexplicable?”
“Yeah, apparently that person who was mistakenly captured kept heaping praise on Dazai calling him a ‘good Samaritan,’ ‘kind,’ and all that…” Ango’s face was written all over with speechlessness. “How could anyone possibly say things like that in a situation-type setup?”
Osamu Dazai raised his head. “Ango, you’re not doing your job as an intelligence agent properly; he really did say those things.”
Ango: “……Huh???”
Since he had already been heading out the door when he received the news, Ango figured it wasn’t any state secret and that it would be more convenient to just ask Dazai directly later, so he genuinely had no idea what had happened.
Yet, based on the known information alone, even if someone was rescued by Dazai after being wrongfully detained, any normal person in that situation would try to minimize their presence and stay as far away from the mafia as possible. But according to this account, not only did this guy not stay away, he actually chattered on endlessly with Dazai for a long time?!
And Dazai actually just sat there and listened?! He must have way too much free time, unless that person was actually worth Dazai’s attention…
Ango suddenly figured it out: “Could it be that Nagito Komaeda you mentioned yesterday the one who used your phone to call the police?”
After all, that guy’s life experiences were simply too legendary. After listening to Dazai recount it the other day, Ango couldn’t help investigating Nagito Komaeda’s file himself. All he could say was that the guy’s record was breathtaking, leaving an impression so deep it was impossible to forget.
“Yep, it’s that Komaeda-kun.” Osamu Dazai readily admitted. “Quite a bond, right? Yokohama really feels small~”
Sakunosuke Oda remarked with emotion, “What a coincidence.”
“Indeed a coincidence, and a bit over the top at that,” Osamu Dazai said, resting his chin in his hand. “He’s lived in Yokohama for so long without us ever running into each other, yet these past two days we’ve suddenly bumped into each other back-to-back. Quite interesting, don’t you think?”
Ango thought a bit deeper. “You mean he has some motive for approaching you?”
“Hm? No, it really is just a coincidence.”
Osamu Dazai smiled, looking as pleased as if he had just discovered a new form of entertainment.
“But this probability… Could it be that I’m actually his misfortune? Otherwise, why would his luck keep making him run into me?”
Although Ango didn’t speak, judging by his expression, he seemed somewhat inclined to agree.
Having gotten to know Dazai and knowing how Dazai took an interest in someone no matter how one looked at it, that Nagito Komaeda’s future looked thoroughly grim…
Sakunosuke Oda maintained his usual carefree demeanor. “Why assume you’re his misfortune instead of his luck?”
Osamu Dazai widened his eyes and burst out laughing. “Pfft, hahahahaha!!! Oda-sakku, you’re so funny, hahaha…”
“—?” Sakunosuke Oda looked toward Ango. “Did I say something wrong? The probabilities of luck and misfortune are roughly the same to begin with, and if it’s not an Ability, it could very well just be a pure coincidence.”
Tears of laughter were practically welling up in Dazai’s eyes.
With a complicated expression, Ango said, “Oda-sakku, you didn’t say anything wrong; it’s just that Dazai’s sense of humor is far too bizarre.”
Truly worthy of being Oda-sakku.
Although Oda had been doing quite well since getting to know Dazai, just look at the fates of everyone else targeted by Dazai… He sincerely hoped that the next time he heard intelligence regarding that guy named Nagito Komaeda, it wouldn’t be an obituary.
“So, why did he think you were writing a book?” Sakunosuke Oda steered the conversation back on track.
Osamu Dazai fiddled with the bandages on his wrist. “Well, only he knows that. His mental state wasn’t very stable at the time; maybe he was hallucinating… or perhaps there really is an author out there with the exact same name as me?”
Ango retorted dryly, “If there were, there’s no way I wouldn’t know… and there’s no way you wouldn’t know either.”
The name of a Port Mafia executive-candidate! If someone with the exact same name appeared in another field, their intelligence division would definitely receive the news at the very first moment, alright!
Dazai just smiled without answering, and Ango didn’t dwell on it either. The conversation then drifted back into its usual rhythm fragmented chatter and complaints until Ango stood up to take his leave.
“I have work coming up, so I have to call it a day here,” the intelligence agent adjusted his glasses. “I originally thought I wouldn’t run into either of you today, but to think you’d both be here. It’s still quite early compared to usual; the two of you can stay a bit longer.”
Sakunosuke Oda glanced at the time. “No, I’m heading back too. I promised the kids I’d be home early today; I only came by because my mission happened to be in Tokyo.”
“—Ha!”
Osamu Dazai chuckled without warning. “I was summoned back by the boss due to an emergency mission today, so after finishing it, I gave myself early leave, knowing Boss Mori wouldn’t say anything and as a result, all three of us happened to gather here at an unusually early hour compared to normal days.”
“Yeah, what a coincidence.” The moment Ango finished speaking, he suddenly felt something was amiss.
“Wanna place a bet?” Osamu Dazai asked excitedly. “I bet I’ll definitely run into Komaeda-kun again today.”
Ango struggled for a moment. “Not every single coincidence has to do with that teenager…”
“Then is Ango betting that I won’t run into him?”
“……No.” Ango fell silent for a beat before saying, “I bet you will run into him.”
“What’s this? So Ango thinks this isn’t just a pure coincidence either,” Dazai said with a disappointed look. “Why not stick to your guns a bit longer?”
Ango said calmly, “Because I suddenly remembered that according to the files, that teenager usually returns to Tokyo around this exact day of the week.”
Though the Lupin bar where they often gathered was the Port Mafia trio’s regular hangout, it wasn’t actually located in Yokohama, but rather in Tokyo. However, Japan being relatively small, running back and forth wasn’t considered much of a hassle.
With so many coincidences already bringing them to Tokyo at an unusual time, adding one more coincidence didn’t feel entirely out of the question…
No, wait, it definitely is still completely out of the question, okay?!
As an undercover spy sent by the Special Division for Anomalous Powers into the Port Mafia, Ango sincerely hoped Dazai wouldn’t cross paths with Nagito Komaeda today. If he did, Ango would genuinely have to report the boy to the Special Division. Glancing at a file full of “coincidences” that completely defied probability was enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat; what if it turned out to be a terrifyingly dangerous Ability?!
Hoping to get Oda-sakku to throw out a counter-blessing, Ango asked, “Oda-sakku, do you want to place a bet?”
However, Sakunosuke Oda let Ango down by saying, “I also bet that Dazai will run into that person. Since all three of us share the exact same thought, this bet can’t really happen, can it?”
“Why are you betting on that too?” Ango asked in bewilderment.
“—Well, because Dazai is very interested in him, right? And they’re around the same age; I feel like they might become kindred spirits,” Sakunosuke Oda replied evenly. “So I hope they get to meet. If I’m going to place a bet, of course I’ll bet on the outcome I’m hoping for.”
Ango: “…………”
He really, really wanted to beg Oda-sakku to stop with the prophecies… For some reason, hearing this gave him a terrible premonition…
Osamu Dazai laughed until he went wild. “Hahahaha! Alright, I’ll give it a try… pfft!”
“Forget it! I really have to get going! Farewell!”
Ango had no interest in continuing the topic, though he firmly etched the name “Nagito Komaeda” into his mind, resolving to keep a close eye on him just in case.
After Ango hurried off, Sakunosuke Oda finished his drink, said his goodbyes, and left as well, leaving Osamu Dazai behind in the bar alone.
The bar owner calmly cleaned up the tables, only to notice after a long moment of bustling that Osamu Dazai was lazily playing with the ice cubes in his glass, looking in no hurry whatsoever.
Dazai suddenly spoke up, “Heh heh, Boss, you must be wondering why I’m in no hurry at all when I’m supposedly going to meet someone, right?”
The owner calmly replied, “I wasn’t thinking that.”
The wisdom that kept him alive to this day was simply minding his own business especially when it came to understanding what should and shouldn’t be heard.
“It’s fine, you can think it.” Dazai said willfully.
The owner didn’t take the bait this time. Based on experience, sometimes this youth didn’t need a response; he just spoke simply because he wanted to.
Sure enough, paying no mind to the owner’s reaction, Dazai muttered to himself in a voice close to a whisper: “If I linger here a bit longer, will I miss him, or will it actually prompt us to meet? I’m quite curious.”
Though this wasn’t a prophecy, to Osamu Dazai, the difference was negligible was everything he did because he knew the prophecy actually what drove the prophecy to come true, or would that ending still be reached even if he knew the prophecy and did nothing?
Osamu Dazai was currently testing the mechanics of Nagito Komaeda’s power.
At least up until this moment, Osamu Dazai still believed Nagito Komaeda was an Ability user.
Hardly hiding it, Osamu Dazai spent a whole hour in the bar killing time playing on his phone before finally getting up to leave. Staying any longer would lose its point; after all, whether they would run into each other was merely a guess, not enough to warrant further action on his part to test it out.
Upon heading outside, Osamu Dazai didn’t take his usual route, but instead wandered around Tokyo on a whim. After all, he disliked having others tail him all the way to Lupin and preferred traveling back and forth alone, and the probability of running into Nagito Komaeda at a train station was higher than anywhere else.
Having read the file, Osamu Dazai also knew where Nagito Komaeda’s residence in Tokyo was, and purposely avoided walking in that direction, heading almost exclusively toward areas with the lowest statistical probability.
Since it was still early and he hadn’t strolled around shopping leisurely in a long time, taking this opportunity to wander wasn’t a waste of time either. Even if he ultimately failed to run into Nagito Komaeda, it wouldn’t count as wasted time.
Osamu Dazai was treating the question of whether he would cross paths with Nagito Komaeda today as an interesting game. Given today’s developments combined with Nagito Komaeda’s file, he felt that if he hadn’t deliberately orchestrated all these maneuvers, the probability of meeting him would have been quite high.
Failing to meet him would actually be normal, but if, after all this, they still managed to cross paths…
Out of the corner of his eye, Osamu Dazai caught sight of a figure stepping out of a certain building, and instinctively turned his head to look, freezing in speechlessness for a moment.
They actually ran into each other.
Seriously, why would he show up here?! Wasn’t this the complete opposite direction from his home?!
He stood in place, staring fixedly at the figure gradually drawing closer.
After a few seconds, Osamu Dazai lowered his voice and muttered with a soft chuckle:
“—I really am this guy’s predestined misfortune, aren’t I?”