“What? Like, a disabled protagonist? How would that even work? How could someone with a disability be the hero in an action show?” local anime trash boy wonders while sitting next to his box sets of Full Metal Alchemist, showing no hint of irony or self awareness.
-had to undergo very painful and lengthy surgery to get automail
-had to relearn how to write because of his prosthesis (there’s a post going around showing he had to switch hands etc) and his handwriting is likely a lot worse due to that. This means automail isn’t super good for delicate work, unsurprising, considering what it’s made of.
-experiences phantom limb pain and therefore other associated stuff (this was only really shown in the manga)
-cannot go anywhere too cold without changing his automail or he’ll get really bad frost bite and it will stop working
-cannot go anywhere too hot, period, because the metal attached and under his skin will overheat and he will be badly burned
-Reattachment is painful, but needs to be done frequently if he breaks or outgrows his automail
- it’s HEAVY so much so that the strain has the potential to cause stress on his body, enough that it’s even theorized as possibly stunting his growth.
-it requires really frequent maintenance or it will break down, as shown by how when he first moved out he forgot to do that and it…broke down.
-when it does need to be repaired, it takes time to do that, during which Ed uses regular prosthetics (that usually don’t quite fit him).
-costs a lot of money (not a problem for Ed due to high state alchemist salary/having mechanics as surrogate family, but explicitly noted to being the reason why most people in the fmaverse stick to regular prosthetics along with the painful surgery)
So Ed can’t actually do everything perfectly and experiences a lot of extra hassle, problems and pain people without automail don’t have to deal with! And any advantages he does have are more suited to fighting than day to day life (being able to incorporate weapons/fake out people who want to blow up his arm).
Arakawa did her research and thought it through. Automail is by no means a magic cure that solves all problems associated with losing a limb.
I'm scared, Sam. All the time.
I've seen it, too. What he really looks like, behind whatever vessel. It still keeps me up at night.
How do you deal with it?
I love this chapter so much I have no words T_T Dazai is so precious I would trade the world for him!!
Please note that I typed it out very quickly while being hyped with neither English nor Japanese as my native language, so I might make mistakes here and there. Please forgive me I can't think really straight right now ;v;
SPOILERS AHEAD
Sigma tells Dazai that he cannot believe that Dazai is a normal person because he just single-handedly took down Fyodor, and asks Dazai why he chose him in the beginning instead of all the other usable tools (;v;). Dazai tells him there are 2 reasons, first is Sigma can act as Kunikida's replacement, because it would be very boring if there is no one there to be in awe and admire what Dazai did there. Sigma gets mad at Dazai and assumes that Dazai thinks he is not worthy enough to share the truth. Dazai corrects him saying that is not true, and that Dazai doesn't share anything with him because it's hard for him to understand, especially after he has been used by Tenningosui and others this whole time.
Dazai then decides to share one thing with Sigma and asks him if his ability to switch information works on dead people. Sigma confirms he can, as long as they have not been dead for a very long time. Dazai explains that he wants Sigma to use that ability on Fyodor (who is assumed dead at that point) to read his plan after that and save the ADA at the airport. Sigma is surprised Dazai did everything that he did only to save the ADA, and the words from people who used him in the past starts echoing in his head.
Dazai and Sigma get on an elevator to get to the room where Fyodor is supposed to be drown. While they are waiting, Sigma asks Dazai what is the second reason for Dazai to choose him, to which Dazai nonchalantly answers that if he didnt choose Sigma, Sigma would be silenced by Fyodor or Gogol later. Sigma is shocked, trying to confirm Dazai's intention to save him but Dazai doesn't say no more. Sigma starts to wonder what kind of place is the ADA. He thought Dazai was the same as those guys who used him, but he feels something different now. He thinks about how he wants a home, where he is not used by anyone, and he realizes that, the ADA is not using Dazai, and Dazai is not using the ADA either.
Dazai notices something is strange because the elevator is taking too long. Suddenly the evelator stop and they hear the voice of the time freezing skill user on the radio, begging for her life. Fyodor is seen alive with Chuuya, shooting her dead. Fyodor then tells Dazai over the radio that he is surprised, not by the flooding, but by the fact that Dazai and his 7-year partner's bond was so shallow that Dazai think Chuuya's ability cannot deal with that flood. He reveals that he has had Chuuya break and distort the track/rail of each partition wall when they entered. That way, it will prevent the doors to close properly, letting the water leak outside and allowing them to easily escape. He then says that if one cannot even think of that, they do not have enough qualification to use the gravity manipulation.
Sigma does not get why Fyodor could do that, Dazai then explains to him that Fyodor must have put one of his vampire among the guards, and when he couldn't contact with that vampire anymore, he was able to guess that the control room has been taken. It also means that Fyodor has already been in control of Mersault way before Dazai took his action.
Fyodor admits he was caught by surprirse with the attack though, and even though it is seemingly a suitable trial for a servant of God like him, he is weak and cannot stand it if he catches a cold, so he wants to return the favor by making Dazai and Sigma go through the same trial. After he says so, the elevator starts to be filled with water. The two of them try to get out as the door being locked and Fyodor praying for them to be held in the hands of God.
The chapter ends here. Next issue will be released on March 3 (Japan time). Thanks for reading till the end <3
So I did watch the early show on Dec 20, but I wanted to wait till the official release date to post this. Please make sure to read the followings before moving forward.
· This post contains spoilers, a lot of spoilers, and might be pretty detailed. Please don’t read it if you plan to watch the movie later and think that it will ruin your experience.
· There might be a few parts that I missed or didn’t remember clearly. I try to keep it as accurate as possible but I may come back after watching the movies more and fix things if necessary.
· The movie just came out today in Japan, so please be extra careful when discussing it on Twitter. Do not take too many screenshots. If you want to share it with someone, you can link them to this post. Don't repost this anywhere else out of Tumblr. I actually don't have any clear rules I just don’t want to be noticed because a lot of Japanese fans also use Twitter so please understand :(
· DON’T GO TO THE AUTHORS’ OR OFFICIAL TWITTERS TO COMMENT ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THE MOVIE, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. HAVE SOME RESPECTS.
If you are okay with all the above, feel free to move on to the spoilers. I just wrote down whatever I remember, mainly the parts where the movie is different from the novel.
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD
· The movie didn’t show much of Akutagawa background as a kid. It started with his friends being killed and Akutagawa running off to avenge them. In the movie, Gin took a bullet for her brother.
· We didn’t get to see the scene where Oda found Akutagawa at the river bank on screen, but we got a scene of them eating curry together.
· The whole thing about Akutagawa collecting ADA’s approval stamp did not happen in the movie. The movie kept the babysitting scene and it was really sweet. He looked like a big brother to them, carrying them and asking them to help with housework etc.
· The house where the children stay was also attacked and the uncle also got stabbed in the movie. They made it look like what happened in Dark Era, only that this time Aku and Kenji appeared in time to save the kids from the kidnappers. (Honestly my heart skipped a beat here cuz I didn’t know what was going to happen to the kids).
· There was no farming scene with Kenji, but we had a new scene where Aku and Kenji met an old lady on the street, who commented on how thin Aku is then gave him a lot of stuff, telling him to eat up. He was so happy his eyes were shining.
· Kyouka in BEAST still loves crepes but no dates for her and Atsushi here ☹
· Oda is still friends with Ango. Ango works for the government and is Oda’s informant. He was the one who gave Oda information about the “man in black” that Aku was looking for. In the novel, it is said that Oda spent 3 days to look for a video of a secret meeting between Dazai and the government, so that Aku can confirm his face. In the movie, Oda also did that, but we got to see him actually breaking into the place and fighting the guards etc. That was when he met Fyodor, who gave him the data, but also slightly poisoned him (almost by the same method Ango did in Dark Era) as a warning.
· The video Oda got was not of a secret meeting as in the novel, but a video of Dazai and Chuuya 6 years ago (?) when they were fighting Shibusawa. In order to stop Shibusawa, Dazai told Chuuya to use Arahabaki but Chuuya didn’t want to because he couldn’t trust Dazai. Dazai then stabbed himself in the leg (not sure why he did that? Maybe to prove he won’t run away? I will have to watch the movie again and come back later). He asked Chuuya to believe him and said something along the line of “To protect this world, I cannot lose either Chuuya or Port Mafia.”
· There were quite of a few of flashbacks from Dark Era in Dazai’s mind. And those flashbacks always ended with him waking up in his office in BEAST.
· Dazai in the movie couldn’t keep his cool in the bar scene, as he did in the novel. He was already so emotional the moment he saw Oda. Oda was really indifferent to him in this scene. He pointed the gun at Dazai upon finding out that he was the Mafia boss, and later even put the gun on Dazai’s forehead when saying “Don’t call me Odasaku.” Dazai was on the verge of tear the whole time he delivered his last goodbye.
· Gin was really going to be executed in the movie, but the ADA came to rescue her and Aku. She also tried to kill herself with a gun (probably because she hast lost all hopes) but was stopped by Yosano. Ranpo appeared for the first time in this scene.
· In the scene where Dazai jumped, Oda was seen in the bar holding the lighter and looking up as if he could sense something.
· Atsu left PM with Kyouka as per Dazai’s order but he didn’t meet with Mori in the movie. Sometime later, he was called to a government prison (?) by Chuuya. Apparently after Dazai’s death, Chuuya became the boss. He went on a rampage (which Atsu wondered happened because of Dazai’s death) so he was captured and chained up by the government. Chuuya talked about how much of a trash Dazai was, how he looked down on people with his multiple personalities and how it was the worst of the worst to be teamed up with him etc. He waited 7 years to kill Dazai but Dazai went and died without a reason. Chuuya then told Atsushi to start a battle of revenge against the ADA, to erase ADA’s name from the phonebook and the map. Because the Mafia will have no face if they let the organization that caused the death of its previous boss to keep operating like nothing happened. Atsushi refused but Chuuya said Kyouka has accepted the offer. Atsushi then said maybe it is also Dazai’s plan for Chuuya to fight the ADA. Chuuya laughed and said something along the line of “So that mean if we keep fighting the ADA, it’s like Dazai is alive? (I’m really not sure what he means in this part. Maybe I misheard something so I will confirm later when I rewatch the movie). Or you don’t want to take revenge for Dazai?”. And Atsushi’s eyes looked fired up when he heard that. We didn’t get to know what happened after that.
· In the last scene, Fyodor was watching a footage of Dazai jumping off the building. It seems like he also knows the truth now. He told his subordinate that the next targets will be Atsushi and Akutagawa because having so many people know the truth will make the world unstable. He said he is okay with being the only one who knows the truth. And in the last scene of the movie, Fyodor said that what happens next will be the battle to save the world and told the viewers to look forward to it.
BSD Chapter 103 - “Jingaimakyou” Part 3 - The first half
Gonna be a very short summary today cuz I haven’t slept for 24 hours 🥲
PLEASE NOTE THAT I DONT SPEAK EITHER ENGLISH NOR JAPANESE AS MY NATIVE SO IM VERY SORRY IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES.
SPOILERS AHEAD
- Fukuchi remembers him holding a dying soldier who told him he didn’t want to die and beg Fukuchi to somehow take revenge for all of them who had to die a meaningless death like that.
- Fukuzawa and Ranpo arrives at the scene. Apparently Fukuchi has sent them a fake signal to come and meet with Atsushi.
- Fukuzawa told him that he couldnt contact the other ADA members and Fukuchi then showed him Kunikida and Tanizaki being tied to two beds. These are devices used to restrain dangerous criminals. It uses suppression to stop their heartbeats and uses external electrical stimuli to keep their hearts beating. It means if he turns off the device, they will die immediately.
- Ranpo listens to the whole thing and thinks to himself that the situation is still in control because he has expected it. He has a novel written by Poe in his pocket and the plan is to seal Fukuchi inside it, where he cannot use his swords anymore.
- But Fukuchi is already warned by his future self about that, so he uses the sword to stab through Ranpo’s hand and attacks him first then takes him as a hostage.
- Fukuzawa says that now he is sure that Fukuchi’s goal is not to annihilate all countries. He must have other purposes, or else he doesnt need to take hostages.
- Fukuchi admits it and asks Fukuzawa to guess his real motive. If Fukuzawa cannot guess it within 5 minutes, he will kill all the hostages.
The chapter ends here. Next chapter will come out at 12am JST, September 2.
BSD Chapter 103 - “Jingaimakyou” Part 3 - The first half
Gonna be a very short summary today cuz I haven’t slept for 24 hours 🥲
PLEASE NOTE THAT I DONT SPEAK EITHER ENGLISH NOR JAPANESE AS MY NATIVE SO IM VERY SORRY IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES.
SPOILERS AHEAD
- Fukuchi remembers him holding a dying soldier who told him he didn’t want to die and beg Fukuchi to somehow take revenge for all of them who had to die a meaningless death like that.
- Fukuzawa and Ranpo arrives at the scene. Apparently Fukuchi has sent them a fake signal to come and meet with Atsushi.
- Fukuzawa told him that he couldnt contact the other ADA members and Fukuchi then showed him Kunikida and Tanizaki being tied to two beds. These are devices used to restrain dangerous criminals. It uses suppression to stop their heartbeats and uses external electrical stimuli to keep their hearts beating. It means if he turns off the device, they will die immediately.
- Ranpo listens to the whole thing and thinks to himself that the situation is still in control because he has expected it. He has a novel written by Poe in his pocket and the plan is to seal Fukuchi inside it, where he cannot use his swords anymore.
- But Fukuchi is already warned by his future self about that, so he uses the sword to stab through Ranpo’s hand and attacks him first then takes him as a hostage.
- Fukuzawa says that now he is sure that Fukuchi’s goal is not to annihilate all countries. He must have other purposes, or else he doesnt need to take hostages.
- Fukuchi admits it and asks Fukuzawa to guess his real motive. If Fukuzawa cannot guess it within 5 minutes, he will kill all the hostages.
The chapter ends here. Next chapter will come out at 12am JST, September 2.
BSD Chapter 103 - “Jingaimakyou” Part 3 - The first half
Gonna be a very short summary today cuz I haven’t slept for 24 hours 🥲
PLEASE NOTE THAT I DONT SPEAK EITHER ENGLISH NOR JAPANESE AS MY NATIVE SO IM VERY SORRY IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES.
SPOILERS AHEAD
- Fukuchi remembers him holding a dying soldier who told him he didn’t want to die and beg Fukuchi to somehow take revenge for all of them who had to die a meaningless death like that.
- Fukuzawa and Ranpo arrives at the scene. Apparently Fukuchi has sent them a fake signal to come and meet with Atsushi.
- Fukuzawa told him that he couldnt contact the other ADA members and Fukuchi then showed him Kunikida and Tanizaki being tied to two beds. These are devices used to restrain dangerous criminals. It uses suppression to stop their heartbeats and uses external electrical stimuli to keep their hearts beating. It means if he turns off the device, they will die immediately.
- Ranpo listens to the whole thing and thinks to himself that the situation is still in control because he has expected it. He has a novel written by Poe in his pocket and the plan is to seal Fukuchi inside it, where he cannot use his swords anymore.
- But Fukuchi is already warned by his future self about that, so he uses the sword to stab through Ranpo’s hand and attacks him first then takes him as a hostage.
- Fukuzawa says that now he is sure that Fukuchi’s goal is not to annihilate all countries. He must have other purposes, or else he doesnt need to take hostages.
- Fukuchi admits it and asks Fukuzawa to guess his real motive. If Fukuzawa cannot guess it within 5 minutes, he will kill all the hostages.
The chapter ends here. Next chapter will come out at 12am JST, September 2.
I might or might not have a favoured spot for the Port Mafia and Asagiri definitely has the habit of dropping lore and timeline all over the places, so I thought I'll compile an everything-we-know-about-the-PM (and some speculation maybe?) post in chronological order (mostly for my own reference). For easy timekeeping, time posts are converted to years-before-present aka Chapter 1 of the main manga, and characters' ages at the time will be in brackets, eg. Dazai (14). There will be spoilers for canon materials up until June '22 (to be updated if we get something new).
Let's categorise the PM history into three main phases: (1) Before Mori, (2) Mori's entrance and MPMGA (Make the PM Great Again), (3) Dark Era and the Present PM.
1. Before Mori (?? – 12 years ago)
Known members: previous boss, Hirotsu Ryuurou, Kouyou Ozaki (join times: all unknown), Randou (real name: Arthur Rimbaud, join time: 15 years ago)
Not much is known about the mafia during this period. What little is known, though, paints a pretty terrible picture. The Port Mafia was the biggest and most powerful underground organisation in Yokohama, but the previous boss was described to be violent, sadistic, and grew progressively even more insane and unpredictable towards the end of his illness, and his rule was described as a "bloody tyranny."
One [..] day, the residents of an entire housing complex died when their water tank was poisoned on the off chance that a rival organization's executive was hiding there. And on yet another day, the previous boss issued a citywide notice that anyone who spoke ill of the Port Mafia would be put to death and anyone who reported such talk would be rewarded. The entire city spent the next several years engaged in a witch hunt with everyone suspicious of one another. Yokohama became a city of traitors; over a thousand people were executed, many of whom were apparently known at the time to be innocent. (Dazai, Chuuya, age Fifteen LN)
While he maintained the power of the PM, the previous boss also caused the reign of terror over the city and directly led to its instability, as shown by smaller gangs taking advantage of the PM's reputation to sow more chaos without repercussions (Ch. 50, Fukuzawa and Mori's flashback), as well as the rise of groups like The Sheep, originally formed to protect orphans against the Yokohama underworld. We know he treated his subordinates terribly, through the story of Kouyou (14?) and her mysterious man (Ch. 37), how most men had deserted the mafia by the time of his death, or how Hirotsu, probably the most 'traditional' loyal mafia man, barely blinked when he heard proof Mori cut the previous boss's throat (Ch. 33). It was also implied he didn't know how to use his subordinates efficiently, as Randou, with his OP subspace ability and presumably above-average intelligence even after losing his memories, was only relegated to a low-level grunt during his reign. This serves as contrast to Mori, who promoted Randou to sub-executive immediately after his ascension to PM boss.
What other main players were doing at the time:
During the Great War (?? – 14 years ago), Mori (?? – 26) served as the JPN army doctor, while Fukuzawa (?? – 31) served as a government assassin alongside Fukuchi, until the former quit. For unknown reasons, Mori left the military after the war to work as an underground doctor and informant, where he (28) met Natsume-sensei sometime 12 years ago.
Fukuzawa, after quitting assassin work because he was enjoying killing too much, worked as a bodyguard until he encountered Ranpo 13 years ago (the events of Untold Origins of the Detective Agency). 1 year later, to protect Ranpo, he (33) approached Natsume sensei for a Skilled Business Permit and was introduced to Mori (Ch 50, flashback). Both men undertook their first mission together at the manor and were then inducted into the Tripartite Plan. We also know both of them shared hatred for how the previous boss ruled the PM.
Dazai's whereabouts at this point are unknown. Fifteen LN suggests he and the previous boss were familiar (antagonistically) with each other, but whether it's due to them having known each other before Mori or purely due to Dazai's association with the doctor after he was 14 is hard to say definitively.
After the Arahabaki incident 15 years ago, Chuuya (7) joined the Sheep and acted as their 'leader', while Verlaine (age?) defected from his previous job as a French spy to become a rogue assassin
Oda had gained infamy working as an assassin in Yokohama since time unknown until he (14) read Natsume Souseki's novel, was approached by the man himself about writing the ending, and then quit assassin work 14 years ago. He continued doing odd jobs before the events of The Day I Picked Up Dazai (Side A) bonus story
2. Mori's entrance and Making the PM Great Again (12 years ago – 5 years ago)
Members initiated, by chronological order: Mori Ougai (personal physician, boss), Dazai Osamu (member, executive candidate), Nakahara Chuuya (member, executive candidate), Sakaguchi Ango (accountant, Special Division for Unusual Powers spy), Paul Verlaine (member, trainer), Oda Sakunosuke (low-level grunt)
Members lost: previous boss (assassinated by Mori), Randou/Rimbaud (betrayal, killed by SKK), the Flags and others (killed by Verlaine/Guirve), 84++ members and executive member 'Colonel' (killed in Dragon's Head Conflict)
12 years ago: Sometime after Fukuzawa's and Mori's first mission together, Mori managed to gain employment as the PM boss's personal physician and Fukuzawa's somewhat established the ADA with Ranpo as its only member (Ch. 66, their info boxes)
11 years ago: However, at the time, the previous boss was presumably still lucid and had the full backing of the PM members, which must have led Mori to believe the "most optimal" option to take him down was through force. Having no manpower of his own, Mori remembered his botched Undead Army plan during wartime and searched out Yosano ("3 years after the war" Ch. 66), which led to the breakdown of his and Fukuzawa's partnership. Upon Ranpo's invitation, Yosano (14) officially joined the ADA.
8 years ago: Without Yosano, Mori continued to bide for time while the PM's brutality continued. However, during this time the previous boss's illness grew worse (naturally? or did Mori poison him with something slow-acting as his plan B??) making his actions more volatile. Regardless, the previous boss started losing the trust of the PM members, as well as the PM's standing in the underworld due to increasing casualties. The time was ripe for a takeover.
It was then that Dazai (14) came into Mori’s care after a suicide attempt. Recognizing Dazai’s intelligence as an asset (and missing the fact that he can’t be trusted), Mori enlisted Dazai’s help to plan the assassination of the previous boss. Their plan carried on without a hitch, and Mori (32) succeeded as the Port Mafia boss (this might just be a hint towards Dazai’s real past; after all, people don’t send just any suicidal kid to the care of the mafia’s private doctor)
7 years ago aka the events of Fifteen LN: Mori had successfully removed the previous boss from power, but the succession was not smooth; he lacked trust from the factions still loyal to the previous boss, the mafia still lacked resources and talents due to the previous boss's action, and they were losing territories to rivals (Takasekai, GSS, Sheep). However, after the "Fake Predecessor" case, Dazai (15) and Chuuya (15) officially joined the PM and worked under Mori and Kouyou, respectively. With their help, Mori would go on to regain control and expand the PM.
Sometime during this period, Ango (19) joined the Port Mafia as a spy for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.
Two years ago, Ango went to Europe for business after he had been in the mafia for a year and gained their trust. (Dark Era LN pg 68-69, suggesting Ango joined the PM 3 years before its events.)
6 years ago, part 1 (Assassination King's Incident aka events of Stormbringer LN): Verlaine came into town looking for his 'brother' Chuuya (16). The resulting conflict resulted in heavy casualties for the PM, with 5 executive candidates (the Flags) and many ability users dead, and forced them to withdraw their influence significantly in the Yokohama underworld to protect them from the government's scrutiny. However, it was not a total loss: laying low would later help them through the DHC, they gained yet another government-level secret weapon in Verlaine (though his ability was significantly weakened), and Chuuya now knew how to activate Corruption (this can also be considered a turning point that secured Chuuya's loyalty to the PM as well as continued to build momentum for Soukoku's later infamous partnership)
6 years ago, interlude: Dazai (16) went undercover to investigate the rumours of a powerful figure in the city and ended up establishing a friendship with Oda. Upon Dazai's invitation while they were drinking in Lupin, 'Odasaku' (21) joined the Port Mafia (The Day I Picked Up Dazai, Side A short story.)
6 years ago, part 2 (Dragon's Head Conflict): An 88-day war occurred in Yokohama's underworld over a 500 billion yen inheritance. Due to laying low since the Assassin King Incident, the PM got away with the least damage in the beginning of the conflict. During this time, Dazai and Oda befriended Ango, thus began the trio's friendship until Dark Era. The Special Division brought in Shibuwasa (23?) intending to end the war, but he turned on them, started his own organisation, and made the casualties worse in his quest to acquire ability gems. He was eventually confronted by Dazai and Chuuya (16) and believed to have died when Chuuya used Corruption (Dead Apple multiple adaptations). This was implied to be the first time 'Soukoku'/Double Black term was coined ("[Chuuya and Dazai] destroyed an entire organization in one night" - Ch. 30) and marked the end of the DHC.
After the end of conflict, [the Port Mafia's] influence expanded rapidly in the burn-out underworld. Like a young tree after a forest fire that was remarkedly growing without the sunlight being obstructed. (Stormbringer LN, translated by @/Chibikko_Chuuya)
5 years ago: unknown (please ask twitter user @/kafkaasagiri)
3. Dark Era and Present PM (4 years ago – Present)
Members update: Sakaguchi Ango (intelligence agent, defected), Dazai Osamu (executive, defected), Nakahara Chuuya (executive), Paul Verlaine (executive)
Members initiated, by chronological order: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Gin (Dazai's subordinate, Black Lizard), Kajii Motojirou ('Sneering Lemon Incident'??uncertain), Tachihara Michizou (Black Lizard, Hunting Dog spy), Higuchi Ichiyou (Akutagawa's assistant), Izumi Kyouka (assassin)
Members lost: Sakaguchi Ango (defected), Oda Sakunosuke (killed by Gide), Dazai Osamu (defected), Izumi Kyouka (defected), Ace (executive, suicide by Fyodor), everyone? (vampires???)
4.5 years ago: Dazai (18) was made executive, the youngest in mafia's history. On the same day (The Heartless Cur short story), he professed to come across the news that a PM sub-organisation killed all of Akutagawa's friends and after baiting them to kill each other, successfully invited Akutagawa (16) and his sister, Gin, to join the PM.
(Note: the "4.5 years" was taken from Beast manga, where the same event happened except Beast!Dazai rejected Akutagawa to take Atsushi as his protégé instead. Since it is assumed Beast!Oda picked up Akutagawa the same time as canon!Dazai picked up Atsushi by the river, the length of time should apply as well?)
(to be confirmed) According to the order of events listed chronologically at the end of Stormbringer LN, a 'Sneering Lemon Incident' was supposed to take place between Dazai's promotion to executive and Mimic Incident. This might be when Kajii was recruited to the PM.
4 years ago aka events of Dark Era LN: Mimic came to Yokohama after getting Ango (22)'s information, which was actually manipulated by Mori (36). Everything went according to Mori's plan: the spy Ango was removed from the PM after exhausting his usefulness as a Special Division liaison, Mimic was removed with minimal casualty as Oda (23) would not have contributed much to the PM when he refused to kill, and the PM obtained the Skilled Business Permit, which would free them from most government interference and basically solidified their uncontested position as ruler of Yokohama's underworld. It is heavily implied Dazai (18)'s defection was planned as well, though Mori's reason was never stated definitely.
The organization had received an item of great value, something that more than made up for the total pecuniary damage and loss of talented subordinates. That included Dazai's disappearance as well. Logically, the results couldn't have been better. Everything was going according to plan. (Dark Era LN, Mori's PoV)
(The surface meaning of the above quote suggested Dazai was another calculated loss like Oda, while Dazai said Mori was afraid he would be usurped by Dazai. However, the words "logically", the fact the position is left open for Dazai, and how Beast manga implied Mori wanted to 'save' for Dazai, could also suggest Mori saw Dazai was getting worse the longer he stayed in the PM and wanted to kick him out for his own good?? Debatable.)
Interlude: Sometime after Dark Era, Tachihara joined as a spy for the Hunting Dog to replace Ango's position as the designated government spy, and Higuchi joined as well (reason unknown). Sometime after that, Chuuya (age?) was promoted to executive position, as Akutagawa and Higuchi were seen already working together when he received his gift from Mori for the promotion. At some point before present, Verlaine (age?) was also promoted to executive.
Present: Yay, we finally reached present timeline! Taking the final count of members before the Decay of Angels arc, by rank:
The PM boss: Mori Ougai (40). Role: everything
The Five Executives:
Dazai Osamu (22) (defected). Known roles: former Mori's right-hand man, former leader of Guerrilla Corps (The Heartless Cur short story), in charge of mafia's merger and acquisition of new businesses (Stormbringer LN)
Kouyou Ozaki (26). Known roles: Managing mafia's business ties and front organisations (Fifteen LN), in charge of the mafia's interrogation units (Ch. 19), combat when the situation calls for it (Stormbringer LN, Cannibalism arc)
Nakahara Chuuya (22). Known roles: Mori's current right-hand man(?)/next-in-command (Cannibalism arc), combat when the situation calls for it (suppressing uprisings in the west - Ch. 11, Soukoku - Ch. 31, Dead Apple, Cannibalism arc), formerly in charge of the mafia's jewellery trade (under Kouyou - Stormbringer LN)
Paul Verlaine. Known roles: ?? (side job: basement dweller assassin trainer)
Ace (deceased). Known roles: managing the mafia's casinos and finance
The Guerrilla Corps: previously led by Dazai, currently led by Akutagawa (20). Higuchi is a member and acts as Akutagawa's right-hand man. Follows orders directly from the boss.
The Combat Unit (Black Lizards): Led by Hirotsu (50) ('Commander of Hundred') with subunits led by Tachihara (19) and Gin ('Commander of Ten'). Acts as the offensive arm of the PM, follows orders from the Guerrilla Corps members and boss & executives.
Unknown rank: Kajii (28), Q/Yumeno Kyuusaku (13)
Other known roles/units:
Mafia's personal informant: previously held by Ango. Liaise with/spy on other crime syndicates. Answer directly to the boss, unaffiliated with the executives.
Accounting firm: in charge of money laundering, bookkeeping and the PM's banks. A senior accountant may be very well-respected among high-ranking members.
"The accountant you killed at the bank - he was a senior in the profession who had devoted himself to our organization for many years. He was highly trusted among the executives. The boss will probably attend his funeral as well. I, too, was personally acquainted with the man." (Akutagawa, 55 minutes LN)
Medical team: former member, Doc. "Extraordinarily valued and favoured" unit in the PM, due to Mori's past.
Public Relations Officer: previously held by Lippmann. In charge of negotiating with front companies, government officials, and the media.
Vehicle support: previously held by Albatross. Supplies and manages transport for all PM members.
(now it's time to keep up with manga updates and hope they're not all dead by vampirism 💀)
since i caught up on the canon content ive been catching up on skk fics as well and i kept getting distracted by how mori is ALWAYS so ooc in them its so?????
i do understand despite dark era & fifteen & stormbringer we still have a sizeable knowledge gap about what happened between mori, chuuya (15-22), and dazai (14-18) but theres no way you can convince me he beat dazai up or experimented(???????) on him. or that chuuya is somehow unaware of mori's "dark" mafia business (news flash: all mafia business is "dark") or mori actively harming him for no reason like theres just no way.
first of all theres literally no reason why he would touch dazai physically. mori's logic isnt always perfect because utilitarianism itself isnt perfect but he does things for a reason and what purpose would hurting dazai even serve?? mori wants dazai as his right-hand man (and arguably, eventual successor) so the thing about his manipulation was always to make dazai think theyre partners-in-crime. and dazai did, because up until mimic thats exactly what they were: they scheme and plot and reign over other people's lives, together. tbh i dont think current dazai even thinks mori "led him down a dark path" or its child abuse or whatever moral reasons, he's still mad and bitter as hell about mori simply because he feels betrayed by the man. they were supposed to be in this together, y'know?
and then theres chuuya. morally upright, kind and just and caring, chuuya. lol. dont get me wrong mori definitely doesn't tell him every single morbid details about his scheme of the day (chuuya's morals are not quite dazai's), but theres just no way chuuya gets to executive position without having his hands/knowledge in every pie of the mafia business. plus, chuuya's a very important asset to the mafia, too important for mori to discard/hamper/harm unless theres an extremely good tradeoff. i think a lot of fanon underestimated chuuya's contribution to the mafia tbh, hes not merely valued for his combat power (though he has a significant amount of it) thats akutagawa's position as head of the combat forces. chuuya was recruited at 15 and immediately trained not to fight but to manage mafia's assets and business partners (under kouyou's tutelege), and his first significant position, after only a year of joining, was handling the mafia's entire jewellery trade. even people he hung around (the flags) were among mafia's leadership ranks and candidates for executives, and then theres the fact he was dazai's partner and expected to keep up to him. hardly any of which had to do with fighting on the front lines, in contrast to akutagawa whose only value-add to the mafia, even after six years, was rashoumon. in my opinion these positions showed mori actually regards chuuya very highly (and ironically values his capabilities way more than fandom on average) so then again if there ever was a situation mori wanted to harm chuuya the payoff better be huge for it to be worth it in his eyes.
tangentially related: not excusing organised crimes or the mafia elsewhere, but in-universe the port mafia under mori has been implied to be "cleaner" than under the old boss's reign multiple times, so tbh i dont think their illicit businesses would ever be enough to cross chuuya's - extremely sketchy - moral lines. at 15 he was fighting turf wars with the pm and didnt hesitate to go the extra mile 3000m above ground just to personally hunt down an enemy, and at 16 he ran the illegal jewellery business for money laundering and his only worry was not catching up to dazai's achievements (read: crime list). we do know for sure the pm doesnt dabble in the drug trade at all (dazai outright said any member touching drugs are to be disposed of and implied he had killed subordinates before for being unclean in dark era). human trafficking & prostitution is 50/50? they do make a nasty habit of employing underaged kids and especially those with abilities but then so does the ada and the government/military (yosano? tachihara? anyone) so maybe minor labour laws in bsd-verse are just that bad. other than that just i just dont see chuuya having a problem with other mafia stuff like weapons trafficking (pretty sure the sheep did this too), arson, extortion, bribery, fraud, counterfeiting (his bestie was pianoman lol), gambling, theft, murder (again lol). i had to pull that list of mafia-related crimes off wiki lol
anyway i guess people want a villain for skk and mori's sure no good guy but theres no need to make him so ooc guys. to be frank once you make mori ooc skk themselves become ooc as well because now dazai and chuuya are ""absolved"" of their mafia crimes but look like total weak-willed idiots who do whatever the big bad mori tells them to. and wheres the appeal in those characters?
Chapter’s name is Jingaimakyou – The first part (roughly translated to “mysterious place out of the human world”). Not sure if it is done on purpose but author Oguri Mushitarou wrote a novel of the same name.
We have a change of pov this month, so we will have to wait at least another month to know what happened in the prison, but instead we get to learn a lot about Bram in this new chapter, and also Bram and Aya interactions are the cutest <3
Please note that neither English nor Japanese is my mother tongue, and Bram’s speech is so hard to understand so I may make mistakes. Please let me know if there is anything you want to correct.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Aya takes Bram to a parking lot and both of them get into a truck of a laundry service. (Bram is like oh this wagon doesn’t have any horses XD). Aya explains to him that besides passengers, there are many other people working in airport service who go in and out of the airport every day. And the securities will not have enough time to check through everything here, so if they get in one of these vehicles and wait, they will be able to get out of the airport once someone drives it out. Bram praises her and Aya is like of course I am the ally of justice.
Aya looks at the sword piercing into Bram and tells him they can look for a way to pull it out together if it hurts. Bram says that it is stupid because once the sword is pulled out, it will release the devil inside him and bring and darkness to earth blah blah blah. Aya then asks him what exactly that sword is, and Bram tells her that the sword used to be human. Hundreds of years ago, when a skill user died, his physical body was turned into metal by the skill, from which this Holy Sword was made. That skill that remains even after the user’s death was the skill to fuse a “physical body” with an “ability”.
We get a quick change of scene here, where Atsushi hears Dazai’s voice calling out for him, telling him to wake up because there is no time. Then he opens his eyes to find himself being tied up in a (supposedly) torture room with Teruko staring at him.
Back to Bram and Aya, Bram continues to explain that the sword has the power to connect the “physical/material” and the “mental” aspect of things, granting the power to control “skills” like a part of the “body”, a skill that goes against the law of this world. When stabbed by the sword, it will take its roots into your brain, and it will craves a holy mark on the person holding the sword. Right now, the mark is on Fukuchi’s hand, which means only Fukuchi can use his power.
Aya says that Bram seems to know about the sword very well, to which Bram tells her that is because he has been stabbed by this sword not once, but twice. There is a flashback of Bram from long ago when he and his kins’ heads were hanged on stakes, in front of a big army who are cheering to “kill the enemy of God”. And Bram was asking the soldiers to have mercy and spare the members of his fief, when one of them called him a demon and slashed his head with the sword.
Back to present, Aya asks why Bram is making such a sad face, Bram says that it’s the worry of the lord that the underlings can never understand. Aya stops him there, asking him if he is calling her an underling, and Bram tells her she is more like a horse because she carries him on his back and takes him around (xD). Aya says she would drown him in a bathtub and Bram somehow acknowledges that it is the way people nowadays worship their lord. Aya says no one can beat him at being a natural airhead.
Suddenly the top of the truck they are sitting are cut off and vampire!Akutagawa appears in front of them. Bram urges Aya to run away as quickly as she can.
The chapter ends here. Next chapter will be out on July 4 (JST). Thank you for reading till the end ^^
Gakuen Bungou Stray Dogs - The First Half (Part 1/?)
I decided to do a translation of the au novel that was included as a bonus in the DVD/BD of the anime. The novel is called Gakuen Bungou Stray Dogs (Bungou Stray Dogs School) and is consisted of 2 parts, the first half is included in DVD/BD Vol 2 and the second half is in Vol 8. It is about 80 pages in total. It has also been adapted into a story in the game Bungou Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost so you may find the story familiar.
Below is some of the notes I would like to read before proceeding.
- Please buy the DVD/BD to support the authors if you can.
- I don't mind if you use bits of it for analysis or credits, but do not repost the whole thing out of Tumblr.
- Feel free to retranslate it if you want, but keep in mind that my translation is not perfect as I am not fluent in neither English nor Japanese.
- I am translating casually at my pace so I can't promise when the next part will come out. But I will make time for it when I can.
That's it. Happy reading!
The season of dancing cherry blossoms.
A boy is running along the road to his school.
The boy’s name is Nakajima Atsushi. An ordinary high school student who came to this school with his great ambitions, and with nothing special except for his noticeable white hair.
It is seven in the morning.
He is running down the sloppy way leading to the school, out of breath.
He is going to be late.
It was a bad idea to take a shortcut by a different route than usual just because he overslept a little. To make matter worse, he just started living in this Yokohama this month and it is still a strange land to him. Sometimes, he still forgets the route to school that he just managed to remember one week ago, yet he decided to go straight for a steep bank thinking it would be a shortcut. That was his first mistake. Where is this place? He has no idea.
Atsushi deeply regrets it. At this rate, his brand-new uniform will be stained with mud from the bank. He has to make it in time for homeroom at any cost.
That thought makes Atsushi a little restless. Using the school spire that can be seen from anywhere in the area as a landmark, he continues to run forward blindly. That is the second mistake. He could have just asked someone how to get to the main gate of the school, instead of running a straight line towards such a landmark like a spire. That is because for Atsushi, it is somewhat embarrassing to ask others for directions.
Eventually, Atsushi arrives at the school.
He has arrived but he cannot get in. Because the place he arrives at is the back of the school.
In response to the recent increase in security awareness, the back of the school is now surrounded by a high steel fence. This must be behind the gym, Atsushi takes a guess. It is a long way to the back gate, even farther to the front gate. This is bad, Atsushi finally realizes. The clock on the spire that he can barely see from here tells him that the class is about to start.
There is no choice but to climb up. Atsushi decides.
That is his third mistake.
Atsushi grabs his fingers through the gaps of the black iron fence, and climbs up like a gecko, while making sure not to tear his uniform.
Atsushi has no great strength nor outstanding talent, but he is super strong physically for some reasons. Just like a wild animal, he easily climbs over the fence and lands on the school ground. He makes a weird sound upon landing but fortunately for him, as he looks around, no one seems to have heard it.
It is April now. The rows of cherry trees in the campus are literally singing the spring songs of the world. The flower petals are dancing just like in a movie set. Atsushi runs to the school building.
Then he passes by a huge cherry tree.
It is a magnificent tree. Its overhanging branches are three times the length of those of the other trees. The flower petals tremble in the refreshing morning breeze of spring.
This is where he makes his forth, also his biggest mistake.
He stops there.
Because an unbelievable thing catches his eyes.
From the tree whose outline are highlighted even more by the backlight, something is hanging down.
Or, more precisely, “someone”.
Ah, this is something I should not see. Atsushi thinks reflexively.
The thing which is hanging down from the giant tree by something like a rope, no matter how he looks at it, is not a big bagworm. It is too big for that. It is swaying in the wind and squeaking like a heavy pendulum.
He should have ignored it and walked away but Atsushi reflexively stands still.
And thanks to that, he is able to observe that “someone” more closely.
That is a tall person. Messy hair. From the fluttering uniform, he seems to be a student of this school too. The rope is completely hooked around his neck.
Atsushi’s heart is thumping so hard it hurts. Cold sweats are gathering on his chin.
I have to call the teachers. No, I have to report it first. No, ambulance first!
Atsushi takes out the cellphone that he just learnt to use recently and tries to make a call with his confused brain and his trembling fingers. Wha.. What should I do? Wait a minute, what number is 119?
At that moment, the body starts speaking.
“Woaaaaahhhh…. I slept so well.”
He says so as he swiftly unties the rope and drops himself straight to the ground.
“Gyahhh!!!” Atsushi unconsciously lets out a strange voice in shock.
The tall person tosses away the rope that was tied around his neck, stretches his back, cracks his neck and suddenly strikes a pose by himself. That’s when he notices Atsushi.
“Hey you over there.” The person says, “Yes, you. I’m talking to you.”
Atsushi nervously looks around, praying that the guy is calling to someone rather than himself. However, there is no one but him here.
“You. Put your phone away.”
Atsushi looks at his hand. The phone he was trying to use, is now dialing.
“Huh? Eh? Ah?”
“I told you. Could you please turn it off? I’ve had this a lot. This kind of misunderstanding.”
“M…misunderstanding?”
“What were you trying to do?”
Atsushi is pathetically honest. When he is asked, he answers honestly. “What? … I was trying to call an ambulance…”
“Where is that person who looks like he needs an ambulance here?”
Atsushi finally gets it.
The young man in front of him acts as if nothing has happened. Even though no matter how you look at it, he clearly was putting a rope around the cherry tree to try do… “that”. Even though the red traces of the rough rope are still there on his neck.
What the hell is this? What does this even mean?
“It’s a pain, you know. People like you who made hasty judgements and misread the situation. There are bad days when I was offered flowers and steamed bun under my feet.”
“Eh?“
“I just ate the buns.”
“No, no, not that.” Atsushi waves his hands exaggeratedly. “You said it was a misunderstanding… so that means you were not ha…hanging yourself?”
“I was hanging myself.”
“What?”
“Hanging for health.”
Ahhh… So that’s why…
Atsushi is almost convinced for one second, before he jumps up and says, “There is no such thing!”
“If you don’t know, I will tell you. I have been obsessed with suicide ever since I was a kid. Drowning, jumping, electrocuting. I have tried all kinds of suicide methods, that my body ended up developing a tolerance to suicide. Just a slight and little lethal dose won’t be able to kill me anymore. It can’t be helped so I have no choice but to hang on the trees in the campus every day to sleep. It is super convenient because I don’t have to go to and from school. It is also easier to fall asleep. In addition, it has so many benefits, such as stretching your spine, improving blood circulation, removing toxins, and activating the immune system. You should definitely give it a try.”
“I won’t.”
“People say it a lot, you know: If it is for your health, it is okay to die.”
“No one says that!”
Atsushi is confused to no end. This person looks completely fine. But he doesn’t understand anything other than that. He has an idea that the other was telling him that everything was okay because it was not a suicide and also explained the reason to him, but the explanation part just slips right off the surface of his brain, leaving him totally clueless in the end.
At that moment, the first bell rings, indicating that classes are going to start. Atsushi comes back to his sense.
“Nooo! I’m late!”
He jumps up, remembering the situation he is in. “I’m late for class!”
“What? You are getting all worked up about such a thing?”
“Such a thing” is quite a way to put it, Atsushi thinks to himself. Judging from the uniform, this guy must be a student of this school, too. If so, shouldn’t he be just as rushed as Atsushi when the bell rings? As he gives the young man in the uniform that look, the other smiles suggestively.
“It makes sense if you are late for half a day. But this much? There is no need to rush. Okay then, this is not my paying back for causing you troubles, but I will teach you my method to prevent being late.”
“Huh?”
Method to prevent being late? A question mark pops up above Atsushi’s head.
There is no preventive measure for people who are about to be late at this very moment. The first bell just now was to mark two minutes before the start of class. Even if he runs from here, he will not be able to make it in two minutes. This is not something that can be solved with a little preparation or tricks.
“What is your name?”
The young man points at him, so honest Atsushi answers honestly.
“Nakajima… Atsushi.”
“Come with me, Atsushi-kun. My name is Dazai Osamu.”
Dazai Osamu. Atsushi repeats the name in his head.
“You look like a new student, right? Then let’s go, to our school.” The young man named Dazai chuckles as he says that.
“Let me tell you about the many strange and bizarre people of this school, and suicide enthusiast is not even one of them.”
Somehow Atsushi feels as if he has been fooled by a fox.
He will eventually understand.
That “the many strange and bizarre people of this school” is neither a metaphor nor an exaggeration, it is literally what it sounds.
***
A scary thing has happened.
Things went exactly as Dazai said.
Atsushi entered the class a whole 30 minutes late, yet he received no scolding nor punishment. He smoothly went in like the air, and after exchanging a word or two with the teacher, he was assigned to his seat with no problem.
Atsushi looks at the piece of paper in his hand as if he is daydreaming.
A tardy slip.
That is what Dazai gave Atsushi.
The document clearly states that his late arrival is reasonable, with the signature of the teacher giving permission. It has today’s date and Atsushi’s name, too. It is a genuine certificate, no matter how you look at it. As long as Atsushi has this, his late arrival will be treated as fair.
This must be magic.
How in the world could Dazai prepare this kind of document?
The mere sight of someone hanging themselves first thing in the morning is quite enough for a traumatic event that can scar the witness for the rest of his life. But to see the hanging person come out completely fine and cast some kind of magic to turn his late arrival into nothing? No one would believe that. Who in the world is that student Dazai? Is he even real?
In the mean time, the morning class passes by in a flash.
The boy sitting next to Atsushi in class was sleeping the whole time. He is a classmate called Miyazawa Kenji. He was sleeping with an extremely peaceful face and showed no sign of waking up even during recess. He looked so relaxed. Is he okay? Why is no one waking him up? Atsushi felt a little restless but Kenji finally woke up just before noon as his stomach started to growl. And after that he was taking classes so normally and happily. It seems that he didn’t sleep in class because he is a delinquent or a rebel. He just slept because he was sleepy.
How wonderful it would to be if I could live like that, Atsushi thinks.
Just like that, the morning passes and the bell rings for the lunch break. While everyone starts leaving their seats one by one to go for lunch, all of a sudden, the math teacher who has been teaching the class until just now approaches Atsushi and says.
“Nakajima Atsushi. Come to the staff room. I have something to talk to you.”
For someone who sees himself as an ordinary and timid high school student like Atsushi, being summoned to the staff room must be the biggest incident of the century. He may look like this, but he is just a shy boy who has been keeping his head low and walking as quietly as possible just so as not to cause troubles or be noticed by the teachers or the delinquents, even since he attended this school one week ago. Now that he is being called to the staff room by himself and having absolutely no hint why he was being summoned, he cannot keep his calm at all. Atsushi’s temperature drops steadily. His arms and legs are shivering, and the long tuft of hair on his right ears is shaking with fear.
“Excuse me.”
Everyone in the staff room looks at Atsushi as he makes a 90-degree bow and enters the room. That alone is enough to make him break out in cold sweat.
Atsushi tries to stand firm on his shaking legs and walks toward the math teacher that called out to him a while ago.
“What can I do for you, Kunikida-sensei?”
As Atsushi says so, the teacher, who is sipping Japanese tea, glares up at him.
“What can you do for me?”
The math teacher called Kunikida looked at Atsushi with the sharp eyes behind his glasses. That is the gaze of Kunikida-sensei, known as one of the most terrifying looks among the teachers’ in this school. Female students who try to start a normal conversation with him end up crying sometimes. His rectangle glasses do not help with softening the atmosphere at all.
“Nakajima Atsushi, right?” Kunikida-sensei speaks slowly as he sits on his chair. “What is your relationship with Dazai?”
“… Eh?”
The question comes from such an unexpected direction that Atsushi, who was just called to the staff room and met with such scary eyes that he was thinking of crying, can’t get it for a moment.
“I said Dazai. Don’t tell me you have forgotten. Didn’t you get this tardy slip from him today?”
Now he remembers. About the magic tardy slip that has saved him from being late today, and the authorization signature of the teacher in charge. It is no doubt Kunikida-sensei in front of him, whose name is written there. In other words, Dazai has had this Kunikida-sensei write that tardy slip?
Come to think of it, he is pretty sure that Dazai said he was going to get a tardy slip for himself too, which means this Kunikida-sensei has issued the tardy slips for both Dazai and Atsushi.
Tardy slips can be issued only for unavoidable reasons, such as sudden illnesses, events, or family issues. There are no justifiable reasons for Atsushi, who was late because he arrived at the back door and had to climb up the fence, or Dazai, who was just hanging himself on the cherry tree. In other words, this Kunikida-sensei has issued a justifiable tardy slip for Atsushi’s unjustifiable late arrival.
For what?
He doesn’t know.
Atsushi thinks about it, but he can’t understand, so he expresses his gratefulness without thinking much. “Thank you for issuing the tardy slip for me.”
“Thanking me for what?” Kunikida pounds the table. Atsushi jumps up.
“Are you one of his kind, brat? He is a demon who always pulls out my weaknesses from absolutely groundless sources and threatens me for tardy slips. Every time he appears out of nowhere, he shatters my plans and my ideals into pieces before disappearing again. The other day, he appeared right before my payday and somehow found out how much I was paid and even used a mistake I made on the night of the teachers’ year end party to threaten me and…”
Kunida suddenly stops as he notices the looks and whispering from the surrounding.
Then he stays still for a moment as if his battery has run out, before letting out a big cough.
“Anyway.”
“Yes?”
I want to hear a bit more of that story, Atsushi thinks.
“His… Dazai’s personal conduct is an eyesore to me. But he always has his escape route prepared and manages to get away cunningly. On top of it, he has a position in this school, so even teachers cannot expel him as we wish.
“Position?”
“This.”
Kunikida says as he holds out a piece of paper.
That paper, printed in an official layout, shows the activities records as well as incomes and expenditures report of a certain organization.
“Student Council…”
“I am the advisor there.”
Atsushi stares at the name of that Student Council.
What a strange name for a student council. That’s what he thinks.
The paper has the names of the Student Council members written on it. And Dazai is one of them.
“I have been thinking about this for a long time. I need a bell on Dazai’s neck.”
“A bell?”
“A bell that rings when he moves. His methods are deeply-rooted and unbelievably ingenious that there is nothing I can do to punish him. For the time being, I will put you under his wing, brat. Report to me when he tries to do anything.”
Atsushi makes a face showing he is troubled and wants to refuse. Kunikida who sensibly observes that tells him that he will cancel today’s tardy slip if he refuses. Atsushi therefore has no way to retreat.
Still, Atsushi thinks to himself.
A group with that Dazai as a member, and with a name that smells danger on top of that. This student council might not be an ordinary organization at all.
The innate animal instinct sends a chill through his back, making him shiver. It is the right intuition.
Atsushi then takes another glance at the name of the student council written on the paper.
janainaart
jacobvanloon
origamiaround
jbbartram-illu
