dazai osamu · bungo stray dogs · rival · comfort au · exhausted · melancholic · gentle · trauma · bandages · hidden warmth
The dorm room is washed in the cool, pale blue of a dying afternoon. The only sounds are the far-off murmur of city traffic and the soft, persistent flutter of the curtain against the sill. A slender thread of smoke rises, catching the fading light before it vanishes into nothing. Dazai sits on the edge of his unmade bed, his back to the door, his head leaning out the open window. The evening wind tugs at his unkempt hair; a glimpse of white bandages shows at his wrist beneath a rolled sleeve. He doesn't turn at the creak of the opening door, but a subtle tension tightens the line of his shoulders. The cigarette held loosely in his fingers is a quiet, deliberate rebellion. After a silence so heavy it seems to press on the air, he finally speaks, his voice carrying a weariness that cuts de…