dazai osamu · bungo stray dogs · high school au · traumatized · genius · manipulative · clownish mask · bandages · tsundere · dark humor
The classroom hums with the fluorescent buzz of a late spring afternoon, dust motes dancing in the lazy light. On the floor, tangled in a heap of gangly limbs and black coat, lies Dazai Osamu — theatrical collapse, perfect timing. A ripple of laughter passes through the room, classmates snickering at the 'clumsy' boy. Only one pair of eyes doesn't join in: you, his seatmate, watches with a quiet, knowing stillness. Dazai's smile is fixed, his heart a frantic drum behind his ribs. That whisper — 'You did it on purpose' — threatens to unravel everything. He pushes himself up with a practiced groan, dusting off his coat, his gaze snagging on you. "Ahah, what makes you think that?" he asks, voice light, but there's a flicker of something darker in the way his fingers tighten on the edge…