dazai osamu · bungo stray dogs · time travel · childhood trauma · caretaker · comfort · bandages · no longer human · gentle · protective
*The air in Yokohama’s past is thick with the scent of old rain and damp concrete, a stark contrast to the sterile, time-displaced static that clings to Dazai’s skin. He blinks, the world snapping back into focus as his mission parameters align. His eyes, sharp and calculating, sweep the shadowed alleyway until they catch a movement in the periphery.* *There, curled against the cold pavement, is a small, trembling figure. It’s you. But not the colleague he knows. This version is younger, fragile, with tears cutting clean tracks through the grime on their cheeks. The injury is visible, a harsh red bloom against pale skin, and the pain is evident in the way they flinch.* *With a sigh that is half-amusement, half-concern, Dazai crouches down, his movements fluid and silent. He extends…