"All warfare is based on deception.
Hence, when we are unable to attack, we must seem unable.
When using our forces, we must appear inactive.
When we are near, we must make the enemy think we are far away.
When far away, we must make him believe we are near."
– Sun Tzu (The Art of War)
~ oOo ~
One bowl of tea on rice...
Pickled plums, slickered nori, and leftover chicken from dinner...
All doused in piping-hot water, then shoveled in with salted kelp...
The sun was setting in the city of Yokohoma, Japan, the vast sky turning a cool shade of purple as night began to settle in. A young, petite man with uneven silver hair, unique eyes that faded from purple to gold, and ragged clothing blankly watched a train whiz by on the bridge over the river he stood by as mouthwatering images of food danced in his head.
That was so good... He resisted drooling at the mere memory of food. All those bowls of tea on rice I'd sneak into the kitchen to make at the orphanage...
As soon as the train passed by, the young male continued to gaze upon the shimmering surface of the river, which was now the color of the sunset as it reflected the sight. Several seconds later, the male soon fell to the ground, wincing in pain as his head struck the hard surface. "Ow..." He weakly grimaced. "I'm gonna die of hunger."
He barely had enough strength to even lift his head from the ground.
My name is Atsushi.
Due to certain circumstances, I'm about to die from starvation.
After being driven out of the orphanage, I had nothing to eat, nowhere to sleep, and, as one might expect, not a cent to my name.
Atsushi let out a pitiful groan as his stomach growled in painful hunger.
Yet, I lack the courage to commit theft.
That is how I arrived at my current predicament...
The orphan wordlessly moved his head so his face was now against the ground, before suddenly hitting his fist against the surface.
However...
Atsushi slowly pushed his trembling figure up, struggling to stand back up on his two feet.
If I wish to live, I have no choice but to take and steal from others!
He looked up with determination tracing his features, his teeth gritted. However, before he could completely stand up, voices suddenly shouted in his head.
"Get out, you good-for-nothing!"
Atsushi's eyes dilated in horror as the bleak memory of his expulsion from his orphanage invaded his mind.
"No orphanage would welcome the likes of you!"
"The world would be a better place if you'd just die in a ditch somewhere!"
Shut up...
Shut up!
"Shut up!" Atsushi suddenly shouted, now standing up with a newfound burst of energy, his eyes tightly shut as if trying to block out the ruthless memory. "Shut up! Shut up!"
He clenched his hands into fists so tightly, his nails threatened to break the skin. "Die in a ditch?" He gritted his teeth in anger as he glared down at his feet. "I'm not gonna die! I'm gonna live, no matter what it takes!"
Atsushi's eyes gleamed with determination as he steeled his heart. "Okay...I'll rush the first person who comes along, and rob them of everything they've got!" He thought aloud to psyche himself up.
Then, sensing someone approaching at that moment, his eyes dilated as he whipped around to look behind him.....only to see someone on a motorcycle driving by.
"...well, that was mission impossible," Atsushi sighed in disappointment, realizing how difficult it would be for him to attack someone on a moving vehicle, especially with his current starved condition. "I can't catch him on an empty stomach..."
His eyes flashed back open as he sensed another presence. "Next!"
An army of men in uniforms passed by as they jogged in unison, chanting "One, two, three, four!" while doing so.
"...I...I doubt military police would be toting their wallets during training," Atsushi grimaced at his misfortune so far, a few beads of sweat rolling down his face. "But the next person who comes along...for sure!"
His eyes flashed open once again as he whipped back around to face the river. "I've got this!"
What he saw, however, was something he certainly didn't expect, and would never even see in his dreams.
Calmly floating down the river as if nothing was wrong........ was a pair of twitching legs sticking out from beneath the tranquil surface.
.
.
.
.
Atsushi sweatdropped at the bizarre sight, his mind refusing to comprehend the scene. "Well..." He nervously said, awkwardly watching the legs float by as his eyebrow twitched. "I can't possibly count him."
The owner of the legs let out a gurgled sound from underneath the water surface.
"Y-yeah, I'll pass, please."
Crows had now landed on the drowning man's legs to peck at them, their caws signaling their decision to feast on an apparently dying man.
"I...I'll pass...!" Atsushi at this point was having an internal crisis about what he should be doing. Finally, he shook his head to rid himself of all thoughts about the situation. "Fine!"
Then, without a second thought, he dove straight into the river with the intention of rescuing the drowning man.
~oOo~
Several minutes later, a soaking wet Atsushi was on all fours, panting in exhaustion from the rescue he just commenced. The drowning victim now laid unconscious beside him. Drenched, but alive. He was a young man with tousled brown hair and clothes that were reminiscent of that of a private investigator, with bandaged arms; a rather unusual-looking individual that one wouldn't expect to find drowning in a river.
The brunette suddenly regained consciousness as his eyes shot open in a rather...unsettling manner.
He slowly sat up in a way no human normally would, startling Atsushi as soon as he regained his breath. "You were floating down the river," Atsushi hesitantly informed the brunette. "Are you okay?"
"........I made it." The brunette blinked a few times in befuddlement, taking in his surroundings.
.
.
.
.
.
His face instantly scrunched up in disappointment and annoyance as he clicked his tongue. "Damn."
"'Damn'?!" Atsushi repeated in disbelief. Did he just say "damn"?
"Are you the one who interrupted my submersion?" The brunette asked him, standing up and taking a few steps forward as Atsushi remained on all fours.
"I was just trying to help." The orphan defended himself, unsure why the man was disappointed at the fact that his own life was saved. Then he fully processed his words. "Huh? Submersion?"
"You don't know what I mean by that?" The brunette looked back at him, a blank look on his face. "I was trying to – "
"Ah!" A voice interrupted the two, causing their attention to be directed on the road beside the river. "There you are! I finally found you!"
Atsushi blinked in surprise to see that the owner of the voice was a young child, while the brunette's eyes seemed to sparkle in joy at the sight of the girl. "Ah, Sei-chan ~ !" The man cooed, cheerfully waving up at her.
The young girl had long, slightly choppy black hair that reached just below her waist, with bright blue eyes that shimmered with innocence and happiness. She wore a robe that was strikingly similar to a traditional shrine maiden's attire with a pair of pink boots, a headband adorned with emotional cartoon faces in her hair, and her front locks were each fastened by four hair bands that matched the faces on her headband.
The little girl waved back enthusiastically down at the two before eagerly making her way over to them. "Listen, listen!" She chirped as she made a beeline to the brunette, somehow failing to notice the other male with them. "As soon as you jumped into the river, I told Kunikida-san what you were doing, and he started yelling like EEEEERRGH and AAARRGH again!"
She was now waving her hands around reenacting what she had been doing earlier, even throwing in some of her own sound effects, as she chatted with the adult, who looked rather enraptured with her story. Atsushi simply watched awkwardly as he began to feel his presence being disregarded.
"And here's the funny thing!" The girl beamed, her sapphire eyes sparkling as she put her fists up to her chest. "While Kunikida-san was all GRRR and GAAAH, I snuck away from him and followed the river so I could check if you did that thing!"
"Aaaah, you're such a sweet girl, Sei-chaaaaan ~ " The brunette adult squealed and began to affectionately rub the top of the girl's head. The child made a blissful expression as she soaked in the warmth of the kindhearted action. "It's so nice to know that there's someone out there who appreciates my commitment to suicide."
"S-suicide?!" Atsushi yelped in pure horror at both the ominous word and how the man admitted to attempting it so casually, and right in front of a child, no less.
"That's right. I was trying to kill myself," The brunette explained as he removed his hand from the girl's head (causing her to puff up her cheeks in disappointment) and shoved both hands in his trenchcoat's pockets. He then regarded Atsushi with a deadpan, annoyed expression. "But you just had to interfere... Can you believe that, Sei-chan?"
Wait, is he scolding me for saving him? Atsushi thought as he stared up at the man with one of his eyes twitching in disbelief.
"Eeeeh, you're the one who stopped him?" The black-haired girl questioned, finally noticing the orphan's presence as she puffed up her cheeks at him, her blue eyes filled with disapproval. "Why would you do that? That's so mean ~ "
Am I seriously being lectured by a kid for saving her friend's life?! Atsushi practically screamed in his head with disbelief.
"Still, my priority is to commit a clean suicide without being a burden to anyone," The brunette continued as Atsushi began to weakly stand up from his position. "Yet I did trouble you, so the thought lies with me at this point. I should apologize in some way."
GROWL!
Atsushi's stomach gave a loud grumble in protest of the clawing hunger, causing the poor orphan to sweatdrop in embarrassment. "Are you hungry, boy?" The man asked.
"Your stomach sounds like a wild animal growling." The young girl commented with a smile as she blinked innocently at the older boy, causing the latter to blush in embarrassment.
"Well..." Atsushi gave a woeful sigh as he answered. "I haven't eaten in several days."
GROWL!
An even louder grumble escaped the brunette's stomach this time, causing Atsushi and the young girl to blink in surprise. "How odd," the man mused. "I'm also hungry."
"Then..." Atsushi perked up hopefully.
"By the way, the river seems to have taken my wallet." The brunette informed, turning his pockets inside out to show that they were indeed empty (save for a few frogs that apparently made their way inside while he was in the river earlier, before hopping out).
"Eeeeh...?" Atsushi dropped his head down in despair. "You've got to be kidding..."
"We really are in a pickle now, aren't we, Sei-chan ~?" The brunette sighed as he suddenly held the said child in his arms, one hand rubbing the top of her head. "Whatever are we gonna do now ~ ?"
"Isn't it your job to figure that out?" The little girl puffed her cheeks up, unamused at the adult.
"There you are, blockheads!" A voice shouted from the other side of the river. The three looked all the way over to see a man standing there. He was a young male with blonde hair tied in a low ponytail, with a pair of glasses worn over his golden eyes, and a business-like uniform.
"Ah, it's Kunikida-san!" The little girl beamed before she stepped out of the brunette's arms to excitedly wave over at him. "Hey ~ "
"Oh, hey," The brown-haired adult blinked in pleasant surprise, before waving a hand in greeting and calling over to him. "Nice work, Kunikida-kun ~ "
"Nice work?" Kunikida scowled in annoyance. "And just who caused all this work, you suicidal maniac?!"
"Ehe ~ You're in trouble again ~" The little black-haired girl teased the bandaged adult.
"You're not any better yourself!" Kunikida snapped, somehow managing to hear her from all the way at the other side of the river. "Who the hell told you to just run off out of nowhere without a proper adult escorting you, when you can't even pay attention to the streets yet! You're already 12 years old, not a toddler, for crying out loud!"
"That's because I hate waiting for the walking signal..." The girl grumbled under her breath, pouting grumpily.
"I've had enough of you two disrupting my schedule!" Kunikida yelled, his hawk-like eyes glaring over at them.
"Oh right!" Dazai seemed to realize something as he turned his attention back to Atsushi, paying absolutely no attention to the glasses-wearing man. "I have a great idea. He's a colleague of mine from work. Let's have him treat you to a meal."
"Oooh ~ Good idea!" The little girl clapped her hands in agreement with a bright smile.
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Kunikida screamed, startling Atsushi. Alas, he continued to be ignored by both the child and the other man.
"What's your name?" The bandaged man asked the orphan.
"Huh?" Atsushi gave a small jump at the sudden question, before hesitantly answering. "Nakajima...Atsushi."
"Well, come along, Atsushi-kun!" The brunette smiled. "What would you like to eat?
"Um..." Atsushi hesitantly began speaking, looking down slightly. "Well, if it's not too much trouble..."
"Oh, there's no need to hold back!" The man reassured him.
"Yeah, you look like you're gonna pass out any second now!" The girl commented, pointing out the orphan's skinny figure.
"...I'd like to eat some tea on rice..." Atsushi hesitantly replied, a faint blush on his cheeks. The bandaged man blinked a few times in surprise, before he suddenly began to laugh lightheartedly, causing the orphan and the girl to look at him in confusion.
"So a boy on the brink of starvation wants to eat tea on rice?" The brunette smiled. "Very well, let's have Kunikida-kun treat you to thirty bowls of that!"
"Oh, oh! And while we're at that, can we throw in some soba?" The little girl excitedly asked.
"Of course ~ "
The said man, who had been impatiently waiting on them while tapping his foot, unsurprisingly reacted poorly to their words. "Don't get all generous with my money, Dazai, Seiko!" He shouted at them.
Atsushi turned his gaze over at the said two in question. "Dazai...and Seiko?" He repeated in curiosity.
"Yeah, those're our names." The brunette smiled almost enigmatically, the wind suddenly picking up around them as it caressed their clothes and hair.
"...I'm Seiko. Seiko Tanabe," The blue-eyed child gave a soft smile up at Atsushi as the wind stroked her black locks. "Feel free to call me Seiko, or Sei-chan if you want."
"And I am Dazai," The bandaged brunette introduced himself as well, looking down at the younger male with a smile that showed honesty, but at the same time hid several untold secrets.
"Dazai Osamu."