PSL (closed)

[foundfate]

[The shop had finally settled again. It was a bit of a relief, because it hadn't anchored to a world in nearly two weeks, and Watanuki's food stores had started to run low. A shopping trip would be in order, mostly to replenish his nonperishable before the shop set out looking for another world in need of his help.

Usually Watanuki could guess when a move was about to happen, but sometimes it happened out of the blue. Like this last move, which had come so soon after arriving in the previous world. That usually meant that his services were in dire need and that people's souls were calling out to him, even if they didn't quite know it themselves yet. Watanuki would just have to wait for them to come to him.

His first visitor, at least, wouldn't take too long to get there. Watanuki always had a sense of when someone was to arrive, and as soon as the shop's gates had opened and revealed itself to the busy streets of Yokohama he had felt the impending arrival of a customer. It was enough to pique his interest, because he didn't usually get a visitor on the same day after a shop move. Someone was very perceptive, it seemed.

By the time his guest would arrive, Watanuki had already set up some tea in one of the sitting rooms. The summer was at its end, and the cool breeze felt nice enough that Watanuki had decided to open the movable doors to reveal the backyard, which was still bathed in the greens of summer. They could stay cool without the need of an air conditioner that way.

From there, he waited. He had a feeling that his guest was a particularly clever one, so he felt sure that they would find their way to the sitting room on their own.]

Comments

[foundfate]

[Possibly, but that wasn't what was going on here. Watanuki didn't blame Dazai for not believing him, though. Most who couldn't see what he saw didn't believe him either.]

Right now he's grumbling about the last four years and how he had really hoped you wouldn't turn out to be an alcoholic. But this strange, scruffy man won't share his name. Could you tell me, perhaps?

[neverwashere]

['Scruffy' was a word he'd used earlier. In hindsight, he could've altered his description for a proper test - ah, but old grief tended to trip him up, more than he'd care to admit.

But a note on being an alcoholic? Drinking wasn't a topic they'd strayed close to, today and last week.]

I could. If you describe him to me in detail.

[It was probably telling that he asked for the appearance first over the message. If this encounter turned out to be real, he'd clean out his stock of sake when he got home later.]

[foundfate]

You don't believe me.

[It's said with no tone of offense, but more as a stated fact. Like he has been doubted before and has come to expect it. But it's fine. He was saying all of this for a reason, after all.]

He's dressed plainly but carries himself like a man of conviction. His eyes show a heavy past, but every time he looks at you a fire sparks up in them. He's a protective one, someone who has gone into rivers and positioned himself just right to prevent 'unfortunate accidents'. Someone who values your life much more than you do, clearly.

Even with a hole through his heart, he still cares.

[Suddenly a rush of wind went past Watanuki's face, and a small cut appeared on his cheek. He didn't move in that moment, but afterwards he reached up to touch it, only for his fingertips to come back bloody.]

Ah. Perhaps that last bit was too much.

[neverwashere]

That's...

[More for him to not get his hopes up, really.

That description and that last part. Oh, indeed, that was where the person he was thinking of was shot, and the sudden cut that appeared on Watanuki's cheek startled him out of the morose spiral he was about to embark on.]

Oda Sakunosuke.

[At some point, he'd balled his hands on his knees. Dazai took a breath to steady himself, feeling strangely light-headed. Maybe it was shock. Certainly helped with the suspension of disbelief - he'd have known if someone like Watanuki knew Odasaku.]

He was... is? [He shook his head and looked at the floor.] He's a dear friend of mine.

[How his throat hadn't closed up in spite of the growing ache there was a mystery.

He closed his eyes, if only for a moment.]

...maybe I should've brought sake.

He thinks I'm being reckless, does he?

[Hearing his own word choice was bizarre, given the context.

He also still dreaded knowing the answers, equal to how much he craved them. Ahh, such was the nature of his cowardice.]

[foundfate]

He thinks a lot of things. He's a very opinionated ghost, which he really shouldn't be, because those attachments to life are what keep him from passing on to be reincarnated.

[The way Watanuki spoke, it was as if this was a common problem.]

But the point is, he's there. And what's more, he's involved in the price of your second wish.

I will grant your wish of keeping the details of the first wish a secret. Nobody will be able to speak a word of it to anyone, until you tell someone else who is not yourself or me. Once you speak of the details of your wish, then that information can be freely exchanged. But until then, nobody will ever know it.

But in exchange, you cannot know the message Oda-san is trying to get me to pass onto you. As long as your price remains a secret to the world, his wishes will remain a secret to you.

[The way the entire room suddenly went ice cold was probably a good sign that Odasaku did not appreciate being used as a pawn like this.]

[neverwashere]

...ahh.

[His lips curved. The sharpness of his teeth showed. It wasn't a smile.

Figured that even when he was literally making a wish, Dazai still might not be able to attain what he wanted for himself.

So. How much did he need to keep the origins of Atsushi's inexplicable control a secret?

Paranoia was a cruel master.]

I'm assuming his message is not related to work.

[foundfate]

You can assume what you like about it.

[Sorry Dazai. No details until the deal was made or not-made.]

Of course, the choice is up to you. If you don't want to be left not knowing his message, you could risk that someone might find out what you have wished for. I don't make a habit of telling my client's business, you know, so it would have to be forced out of me anyway.

[neverwashere]

[Tsk. Really, Watanuki, what kind of negotiator did you take him for?]

I'm well aware.

Shall we? With all due apologies to Odasaku.

[It wouldn't be the first time he disagreed with Oda on certain directions.

For now, he could still crush the burgeoning hope of 'what ifs' that threatened to take root in his heart. What was a chance at happiness to a man who'd given up on attaining it?]

[foundfate]

Of course.

[And then he held out a hand to Dazai.]

The bandages, if you will?

[neverwashere]

[The smile was painfully fixed onto his face as he shed off his clothes, starting with his bolo tie and the buttons on his vest. The methodical activity was always something to focus on that was decidedly not the exposure he signed up for, and the added cost of not hearing Probably-Odasaku's message.

(It wasn't that he thought Watanuki was lying. Rather, he just couldn't process that entire exchange in full right now, close as it was to grief.)]

I don't suppose you have a privacy screen or something?

[He extended his leg and tugged up the hem of his pants. Yep, more bandages. Unless Watanuki didn't mind being subjected to a lazy strip show that rivaled his own?]

[foundfate]

You can use the room next door.

[He pointed to the wall, which was one of those sliding walls that could also function as a door.]

You could have asked from the start too.

[Not that he was honestly complaining or anything. Nor was he oogling Dazai's shirtless self. It was what it was, and he didn't seem particularly take by nor uncomfortable about Dazai's half-nudity.]

[neverwashere]

And here I thought you wanted a show. Ta.

[A flying kiss and a wink. Humor was a fantastic coping mechanism.

The coat, vest, and shirt went with him to the side room. He'd take in the furnishing - an added distraction - as he stripped, maybe taking his time to undo his bandages. There was something to be said about the strange awareness this'd be the last time he had to take these off, of parting with the comfortable familiarity he found in the simple texture of gauze.

Streams of white covered the floor when he was done. Putting on his clothes afterwards was such an alien experience. His skin, finally able to breathe, would thank Watanuki for it. Not that gratitude was the first sensation Dazai had to contend with - no, that was reserved for the sheer discomfort in walking out with his neck uncovered above his collar, the cool air pebbling his skin.]

Here we go.

[Don't mind the mass he just dumped by Watanuki's feet. That was just Dazai's latent spite of everything in general working to derive stinging amusement.]

[foundfate]

[A pile of bandages was fine. Watanuki merely held out his hand, palm-up, and the bandages slowly lifted up and started to roll in on themselves until they made one tight roll in his hand. Hm. Must have been some wish-granting magic.]

Very well. The price for your wish has been paid.

[Then, finally, Watanuki got up off of his couch. The bandages stayed in his hand, and he carried them with him as he walked over to the door that led to the hallway.]

Follow me. The item I need to grant your wish is in the store room.

[neverwashere]

[Don't be surprised if Dazai started making very specific comments over the next few visits, Watanuki. For how ill-defined certain Abilities could be applied, they still had certian limitations. Levitating strips of cloth seemed to be a bit of a strech for wish granting, if there was an element of equivalent exchange involved in that one.]

Item?

[He'd follow Watanuki and discreetly check if Atsushi was hanging around.]

Don't tell me you're going to store those, by the way. Even I know using second-hand bandages can be unsanitary.

[foundfate]

Of course I'm going to store them. They're a physical representation of the price you have paid. It's not like I'm making these deals for my clients' health, I do get something out of the exchange.

[The fact that the bandages seem to be energized with 'something' was a sign that his words might have some truth to them.

When they reached the storage room, Watanuki slid the door open with a hand and stepped in. It was packed in there, stored floor-to-ceiling with various items and objects. The bandages were deposited onto a shelf on one side of the room, and then Watanuki moved down to a box in another section. He had to dig around for what he was looking for, so it would take a moment.]

The item is just a way of transferring the wish. A vessel, so to speak. Once it is used, Atsushi will have no need to keep it if he doesn't want to.

[If Dazai wanted to poke around, though, Watanuki wasn't about to stop him. There was plenty to see too. Though if he stole anything, there would be consequences later.]

[neverwashere]

[Dazai gave him a Look. He wouldn't know about that energy, too used to thinking of himself as a nullifier that was decidedly the opposite of abilities -

Come to think of it, how was he even affected by Watanuki?

Something to ponder over as he looked around the storage room with an appreciative whistle.]

I see.

In any other context, you'd be mistaken for a pack rat. Some of these look positively ancient.

[Anything of historical significance in here?

Not to worry, no theft was going to happen. Dazai was only a pickpocket in certain contexts, and it helpef that he rather appreciated Watanuki's frankness with his dealings.

If the presence he sensed earlier stuck around, well. He couldn't exactly do much about that, other than to wonder.]

[foundfate]

[That, actually, was a very good question. And perhaps one Dazai should look into. There's a specific reason why Watanuki knows Dazai will not find out Odasaku's message before he needs to, after all. Even if his powers should be nullified by Dazai's touch.]

Some of these have been in here for over a thousand years.

[Interesting, given that the architecture of the building seemed to say 1500s, and thus wasn't nearly old enough to have been a shop for a thousand years.]

But I know where everything is, I keep careful track of- oi! Don't touch things.

[The cold presence was definitely there, and now a book was levitating off the shelf slightly. But as soon as Watanuki spoke up, the book dropped back onto the shelf.]

[neverwashere]

[The levitating book sent Dazai into a fit of belly-aching laughter. He'd return to that thousand years thing later, but - ahh, wasn't this just like Odasaku?

At this point, it was safe to say his suspension of disbelief held up.]

He's not the type to listen to just anyone. [The fondness in his tone was unmistakable.] Not even our old boss, which was pretty ballsy of him.

[Dazai obviously approved.]

[foundfate]

Well he's going to get kicked out if he- HEY!

[Speaking of ballsy, that sure was a ghostly hand tugging on Watanuki's obi. Watanuki totally would have been exposed if not for his quick reflexes. Now he's drawn his arms tight across his front to try to keep from showing off any noodly goods.]

Kindly tell your pervert of a friend to knock it off before I call in an exorcist!

[neverwashere]

Ehhh?

[No, Oda wasn't a pervert, nor was he prone to stripping random people without provocation.

That only meant -

A twinge of nostalgia ran through him, terribly fond and rather sad. Oh, Odasaku. The man could've been free in the afterlife, possibly with the need to fend off Gide, but this?

Dazai leaned on one of the shelves against the wall after making sure it wouldn't topple over. What did he ever do to deserve such an ardent defender of his dignity?]

A deal's a deal, Odasaku. Thank you, but there's no need.

It'll be fine.

[He didn't know how honest that last part was, but Dazai would've said it even if he was about to go off and, oh, sell a kidney or something if it was the last resortv and the price was right.]

[foundfate]

[Hooray, Dazai got the meaning! The response wasn't quite what Odasaku wanted to hear, but there wasn't much that could be done about that. Regardless, the grip on Watanuki's obi dropped, and Watanuki was free to hurriedly rearrange his clothes.]

I told you he was protective of you.

[Someone was salty.

That someone also managed to find the item he had been looking for before too long too. It was a small box, and inside of it was a set of round orbs that glowed and flickered like the sun. He pulled one little orb out of the box, and he held it out for Dazai to take.]

Here you go. If he eats this, he will have control of his powers.

[neverwashere]

[Oh, someone was definitely heading to Lupin after this. Dazai took a moment to study a figurine on the shelf in an effort to compose himself - this was just too much.

When the crack in his smile had gone away (pushed down, more like it), he held out his hand to receive the orb, giving the box a scrutinizing glance before testing the bauble's weight.]

Guess I'll have to come up with something that isn't 'candy.'

The other one is connected to this?

[foundfate]

It is, yes. They are two pieces of sunlight from a long-dead sun, the last remnants of that galaxy. As long as one is shining somewhere, both are.

Atsushi-kun's problem is darkness and moonlight. with a tiny piece of a sun inside of his body, he won't fall victim to the pull of the moon. And that sunlight will remain inside of him until he dies, or until it is called back by this space in the box being vacant for too long.

[In the orb's place, he put the roll of bandages.]

Which won't happen unless the bandages are removed, and that won't happen so long as you don't cover yourself up anymore.

[neverwashere]

[Sun? Galaxy?

What in actual fuck.]

I'd hate to be a critic, but your attempts at waxing poetic need work. Try adding a better rhythm to it.

[How literal or literary was that description?]

[foundfate]

It's not a poem. It's literal. You are holding a sun in your hand right now.

[Hello Dazai, welcome to the world of 'what the fuck is this magic bullshit'.]