I Don't Smoke (bsdxmha)

Utterly alone

"You're changing living arrangements"

Sure, it made sense logically. Chuuya and himself could not be seen together after being announced as a member of a villain organisation. It just, left something shattering in his heart. He will be alone once more, and Dazai finds something truly frightening within the concept of that. Chuuya is much too different to the people in this city, or even other mafia members. He is sincerely one of a kind, an angel of calamity which Dazai is fascinated with to no ends. He is much different to Odasaku, who Dazai cherishes for a reason that cannot be explained simply. Chuuya is not good like Oda has a kind heart, nor good like Fukuzawa of the famed armed detective agency who protects others. Chuuya is entirely human, aggressive and caring and ruthless. So many flaws that make him inexplicitly the most human thing Dazai has ever experienced, and it leaves this gaping hole where his heart is meant to be, filled equally with envy that scalds his chest like boiled water and true delight to witness humanity personified. He is simply the opposite of what Dazai embodies, but somehow shares the same desire to be utterly human.

So, he does nothing but agree, watching from afar as they make arrangements. Who is he to sacrifice the important mission for his personal desires? Don't be selfish, Dazai. Don't be selfish.

It feels as if he has too much space without Chuuya to occupy it. Now, he is truly isolated. Chuuya and he may not contact each other in person unless it is of absolute dire circumstances. They are sentenced to messages and letters, like it is a punishment from god.

His new apartment is much smaller. There are only two rooms in his apartment, the bathroom and the rest of it. The entrance leads into the kitchen and then continues to the living room, which is technically his bedroom too. On the right side of the entrance, he has large windows overlooking the east of Musutafu. This apartment, unlike his previous one, is on the better side of town. Not the best, but more believable that a UA student lives there.

The bathroom is small but comes with a bath with a showerhead (You could just die in there. Die and leave a bloody mess for some helpless janitors to clean up). It is inexplicably lonely to realise he is the only one he knows, out of the hundreds of thousands surrounding him. He doesn't own furniture here. The previous apartment was already furnished, but this one came with absolutely nothing but a built-in kitchen with a fridge, stove and microwave.

Dazai thinks this apartment must be an old room like a storage space because it seems every other apartment next to him has at least a bedroom. He isn't one to complain though, just to observe. To idly take notes, free of judgment. It must have been significantly cheaper, because it makes perfect sense for Mori to spend as little as he possibly could on Dazai.

He wonders if he is still going to get paid his normal salary, since he's not doing his normal work. Maybe it's different for long term assignments away from the mafia. He usually is uninterested in his salary, opting to do work for his personal reasons rather than money.

Mori took his card back, too. A shame, but it was inevitable. Dazai is certainly not poor, and he'll just have to make due.

Dazai decides to go out by himself on his day off. The teachers at UA send an email out about classes being cancelled for the next two days for recovery. They also recommend the school counsellor, Hound Dog, to anyone who is having trouble recovering from the USJ. Dazai pays no mind, happy to wander around instead of sitting in a classroom.

So he walks to his nearest mall and finds the cheapest coffee table he can find. If he's going to school, he needs a place to do work. His kitchen is well, small. Dazai makes sure to buy a kettle and a pan (the essentials), then decides he's been too productive so he heads back to his new place. The coffee table fits nicely in the middle of what he likes to call his very versatile room. Dining room, living room and bedroom! Three in one, what a deal!