The doorbell rings like it’s announcing a decision nobody agreed to.
15-year-old Osamu Dazai stands on the porch, hands in his pockets, looking faintly smug about the fact that he survived the walk here and still has energy to regret it later.
Inside the house, footsteps approach in tandem.
The door opens.
Chuuya’s mom is there first, smiling warmly like the world is a safe place.
Behind her, Chuuya’s dad appears a second later, arms loosely crossed, giving Dazai a slow, assessing look like he’s trying to determine whether this is a prank, a threat, or both.