LOVING MACHINE ‣ d. osamu

O7.

   A MOMENT OF SILENCE had passed before oda cleared his throat. "long time, no see, [nickname]." dazai, upon hearing this, looked at the man concernedly.

   "yes, odasaku," she replied. "and hello... dazai."

   "really?" he responds. "a year of me thinking you were dead, and i get a 'hello'?" the cheerful tone slips away in his voice. there is nothing positive about this boy. "i should've killed you at that shooting. i seem to have taken pity on you, however." she sees no such thing as a monster inside him. he merely sounds lonely.

   "i'd advise you not to do that, dazai," said oda. no, no, oda don't say it! [name] screamed internally.

too late.

   "why?" said dazai. the man with black hair and circular glasses gazed at her in curiosity, as if they'd met somewhere before.

"i wouldn't want you hurting my sœurette, now," odasaku said with a straight face. [name] burst out laughing at his indifferent expression. this was a lot for the bandaged boy to take in. sœurette... it means 'little sister,' but affectionately, showing that the two have close bonds with each other... but then [name] is odasaku's little sister? how did the book not mention this to me? dazai slowly nodded, then glanced at the girl as if seeing her for the first time.

   "where did you go when you ran away, aîné?" she asked curiously. by then, the ice sphere in her drink had completely melted. "and where did you pick up this young man?" she glanced at ango, who was startled at being addressed and snapped his head to look at her.

   "just did a few jobs here and there, so i bought a house and lived there alone," the ginger man replied. "of course, i had to quit that job."

"what job?" dazai whispered into [name]'s ear.

   "assassin," she replied at once with a low voice. the brunette didn't look fazed, as if he already knew this information. he already did—in a way—but there was no information whatsoever on the girl that happened to be odasaku's sister. [name] kicked her legs playfully, having recovered from the shock of seeing these three people. at least dazai doesn't seem like he'll kill me, she thought. did i really get the situation all wrong? it had finally dawned upon her that the man wasn't searching for her because he wanted her executed or killed for being a traitor.

   no. it wasn't that at all. he simply missed her. why? because her presence was alluring. it added a shine of light to the atmosphere. while she made fun of his bandages, she never insulted his character all on its own, separating the bandages from the being. naturally, [name] was observant, and at first glance, she knew that she would die when they reunited at the school. maybe it was the way she treated him despite being shot and tortured, being wounded by his hands on a gun? or maybe it was the way that she no longer carried herself around like a queen, not that he ever minded... it was probably the way that she carried herself now.

   "greetings, what would you three like?" said the barman, emerging from the bathroom as her screams had faded from earlier. he straightened his tie and held a glass in his hand readily.

"the usual," said odasaku, before he and [name] looked at each other. the girl cast him a smug glance, while he nodded in reply.

   "just a tomato juice, i need to drive," ango ordered. just like how iced tea is my go-to drink, she thought. but, something's off about that man.

   of course, dazai thought so too, but he already knew. "i'll have some bleach, please!" he said to the bartender.

"sorry, we're all out," he replied nonchalantly, wiping an empty glass.

"oh, that's a shame... how about a bleach-based cocktail?"

"we're all out."

   "oh alright, i'll get whatever odasaku's ordering," dazai replied, succumbing to defeat. the bartender started attending to their drinks, as he handed odasaku his scotch on the rocks, which the brunette noticed was the same thing that [name] had ordered. followed by odasaku's drink, the bartender handed dazai his drink, which was the same, before setting down a glass of tomato juice for ango. funnily enough, the little trio had ordered the same thing.

   "come on, ango, are you not going to have at least a bit of alcohol?" the girl asked him as if the two were already acquainted. "no fun."

   the man in glasses replied with a shrug. "i need to stay sober."

"whatever you say," she sighed. "how about a toast?"

   "whatever you say," said oda, mimicking her in his voice. she burst into a fit of laughter as he gazed at her confusedly. the four people, two teenagers and two adults, raised their glasses in the air with a satisfying clink.

"to the stray dogs," said dazai.

everybody else repeated. "to the stray dogs."

   the atmosphere was silent as they sipped their drinks, dazai playing with the ice sphere in his drink. the barman handed [name] a matchbox. it had the words 'bar lupin,' inscribed on it along with the mascot, a man with a monocle, top hat, and fancy suit. she took it and thanked him. holding it in her hand hesitantly, she glanced at dazai, who also noticed the familiar matchbox. 

   "ango, would you happen to have a camera in your bag?" said dazai.

   "are we gonna take a picture?" he replied, as the rest nodded. he pulled the camera out of his bag, a seemingly old model, and set it on the surface of his tomato juice.

   "is there a way to print a tiny photo?" said [name], marveling at how well she was getting along with dazai so far. maybe living here in yokohama wouldn't that bad after all. i was mistaken.

   ango nodded. "there is, actually. i'll just have to adjust the settings once the photo is taken." the orange, black, and white cat sitting on a stool sifted its way over to where the camera was, sitting on the tomato juice. "oh? are you going to take it for us?"

   the cat's ears twitched, and its little paws set on the button as everyone got into position, oda and ango with a rested expression while [name] and dazai took their best effort to smile, bringing light into the photo. there was the sound of a flash as bright light shot out.

   the girl said to herself in a low tone loud enough for everyone else to hear, "to the stray dogs." as everyone else followed, they finished their drinks.

to the stray dogs.

   everything's going to be fine, she realized. i'm in the loving machine of this city.