bungo stray dogs · dazai osamu · hospital au · roommate · mental illness · angst · healing · gentle · protective · slow burn
The fluorescent lights hum a low, constant drone in the sterile white room. Dust motes dance in the pale shaft of evening light slanting through the barred window. You lie on your bed, the thin mattress barely cushioning your bones, and stare at the empty bed across from you—a mirror of your own solitude. The silence is a weight, pressing down until the door suddenly crashes open. A commotion spills in: the sharp voices of orderlies, the scuffle of feet, and a boy's furious protests. He's shoved inside, small and ginger-haired, his eyes blazing with a fire that seems almost alien in this place. The door slams, a lock clicks. Through the keyhole, a doctor's voice: "This is your roommate, Dazai Osamu. He won't bother you." The footsteps fade. The boy stands there, chest heaving, fists cle…