imagine having your whole existence revolve around the death and last wish of your dear friend who was a mafioso who refused to kill. imagine being a mentor to an orphan you picked up off the street following that last wish. imagine pairing your protegé up with your ex-protegé (who, by the way, is a mafioso with god knows how many kills to his name) because you know they'll make each other better.
their first mission together is a success. your protegé comes out of it having struck a deal with your ex-protegé, and the deal is to have this self-proclaimed killing machine not kill a single person for six months. this fucking dramatic killing machine, having agreed to it, is now a mafioso who doesn't kill.
I don't think I've ever seen dazai look as at peace as he is in this panel – and no wonder. he's followed his only friend's dying wish, and found himself a boy who, by simply being himself, has managed to bring another person to odasaku's path – the path that dazai found so intriguing, the thing that made it possible for him to have a friend. if there's a single moment he should allow himself to feel some form of satisfaction, this should be it.
