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

[neverwashere]

Ahh, what a pain.

[The situation was, rather than the two people involved. It wasn't like he could stop an Atsushi who really set out to do something.

With a hum, Dazai stood up and brushed his coat. Atsushi, he'd leave on the grass - no reason to shock the kid by being too nice outside of any harrowing life-changing events.]

I suppose I should just keep him busy.

We'll be out of your hair soon, then.

[foundfate]

[Watanuki simply offered up a smile.]

Of course. My shop never lingers in a single world for too long. Though if you ever have need of my services in the future, you will be able to find me.

[neverwashere]

[Single world, eh?]

Of course.

[As promised, they did leave when Atsushi woke up. The only question Dazai didn't dodge had to do with Atsushi's control.

He excused himself soon enough and made his way to Lupin. Things returned to relative normality outside the shop - Odasaku moved things less and...

...and knowing the man was still hovering around didn't make Dazai's routine easier. He said as much a few days later, visiting Oda's grave.

Wishes were dangerous things. Knowing they could be fulfilled was deadly. Like this, he could accept Watanuki's assessment that Dazai shouldn't be in charge of that Book.

It took a while between the distractions of mundane matters and cases, but Dazai found himself in front of the shop. It was evening, he was tipsy, and there was another bottle of sake in the paper bag he carried.

Odasaku's birthday was in October.]

Knock knock.

[So he announced, rather than knocking.]

[foundfate]

I'm on the back porch.

[Watanuki's voice carried through the house, so Dazai would know where to find him.

He also had three empty sake cups waiting next to him, but no bottle of sake. An interesting setup, really. It was like he had expected Dazai to come with a drink.

His outfit that day was a bit less revealing, but no less fancy. It seemed as though he was always dressed up in some way. He also had his pipe out, though he wasn't smoking it quite yet. It was full of tobacco and he had a book of matches ready, though.]

[neverwashere]

[Please. "Less revealing" was an understatement to Watanuki's barely dressed countenance from last time.

Following the sound of that voice was easy, even under the influence.]

Yo.

[Dazai sat on the porch next to the setup, not commenting on the three cups ---

No, that second part was a lie.]

He can drink here?

[Color him surprised. Had he known, he would've brought whiskey instead.]

[foundfate]

Not exactly. If the right liquor is present he can, but that liquor is difficult to obtain. It's more of a symbolic gesture otherwise.

[Something something honoring the dead, or whatever.

Also, Watanuki looked slightly put-out.]

He didn't believe me when I said you would show up today.

[neverwashere]

Huh. [Nothing too different from the second glasses he usually ordered or poured.] What counts as the 'right liquor'?

And really, Odasaku, what's there to not believe? [Screw heating up the sake - Dazai filled the three cups now, straight from the bottle.] It's a nice night, and not going straight home is a perfectly sensible decision.

[Would've been more convincing if the skies weren't, y'know. Cloudy.]

[foundfate]

Ones brewed under the right conditions, or made by the right hands. It takes skill to make a drink for the dead. And the results of that skill are sought after by many.

[He watched all three cups get poured, and then he picked up the one closest to him. A bit forward of him, honestly, since usually the most-senior person went first. It spoke volumes as to what he assumed their ranks were in relation to each other. It also made it clear he saw this as a social call, not as a customer visit. If it had been otherwise, he would have waited for Dazai to drink first.]

Mind, I can obtain such a liquor. It just has a cost.

[neverwashere]

[That was fine. Dazai wasn't one to care for seniority outside of necessary business etiquette or if he was with the Agency or Hirotsu - after all, he had been in a spot where he was younger than the people he commanded.]

Of course it does. [Not a surprise by now, and Dazai reached for his own cup.] If such a person advertised their services in certain circles, they'd be swimming in profit, setting aside the issue of potential detractors.

[foundfate]

And trust me, they do advertise. Though the 'profit' is likely different than what you are imagining.

[Sip sip siiiiip. For someone who looks like a teenager, he sure can handle his liquor.]

Potential detractors aren't much of an issue, though. They tend to either find their own niche or their own territory.

[neverwashere]

If they charge anything like you, I won't be surprised.

[Three cheers to drinking properly. Dazai would be the last person scandalized to see a teenager imbibing.]

Good for them, really. The question, on the other hand, is if most people would be able to see them.

[This, now, was closer to a thought that's been niggling in the back of his mind for a while.]

[foundfate]

Those who need to see them can see them.

[Oh look, there's the mysterious talk again. Watanuki seemed to like speaking like he knew a lot more than he was letting on. Which he did, but he was probably being impolite to talk like that. He was too used to being around people in the know.]

[neverwashere]

[The mysterious talk, incidentally, also served as giving Dazai a taste of his own medicine.]

That doesn't apply to everyone who are needed at a particular moment.

[foundfate]

[Get rekt Dazai]

Are you saying that you want to see them?

[neverwashere]

[s i g h]

Maybe just one particular person.

[At this point, he was also expecting Oda to react negatively: Dazai might as well have put up a gaudy epilepsy-inducing neon sign that showcased his intent.]

[foundfate]

That can be arranged.

[Dazai should know the second part to that, though.]

[neverwashere]

What's it gonna be, then?

[C'mon, don't keep him hanging.]

[foundfate]

Your ability is what prevents you from seeing him. In order to see him for one day, you would need to give up your ability for one day.

[neverwashere]

...that's it?

[Hardly a difficult thing to let go of provided there were no emergencies.]

[foundfate]

That's part of it. You must give up your ability for one day in order to do the second half. The second half is that you must hold my hand to make use of my ability to 'see that which is not seen by others.'

[And there it was. Dazai would be able to see Odasaku, but it wouldn't be a private meeting. ]

[neverwashere]

[Wut.

Hold on.

Give him him a moment.

.

.

.

Here, let him borrow your wrist and have a proper look at it. Thin, limp, easy to hold, but still attached to an actual conscious body.]

Are you so lonely that you've resorted to third-wheeling? There are far better ways to find a date, Watanuki-san.

[plz explain how this price is supposed to make sense]

[foundfate]

[Yyyep he's pulling his hand away now. ]

As if. I have my choice of plenty of qualified candidates for such a thing. You don't even begin to compare to my former-husband.

[neverwashere]

[Well, that was one minefield he wasn't about to cross.]

Why, thank you. As a self-removal hobbyist and professional leech, I can also safely say you aren't double suicide material.

Pray tell, then: why that particular consequence and not some other temporary measure? You have a lot of junk; surely there's something else that might work?

[foundfate]

Of course I'm not double suicide material, I'm going to live forever.

[It was hard to tell just how much of that was sass for the sake of sass. It looked like Dazai has unlocked Watanuki: Salt Mode.]

I'm not going to condense my powers into an object, even temporarily. That's just asking for them to get stolen. Not necessarily by you- I doubt you understand just how valuable they are- but there are others who have been looking to get their hands on me. So if anyone wants to temporarily use my powers, they're going to channel them directly from me, with me present.

[neverwashere]

Sure, sure, have fun with that. Different strokes for different folks.

[Not his thing.

Dazai drank as he considered Watanuki's answer. There, that second emphasis on his power, rather than using an object that could make this far less personal. While Dazai initially poked this question to satisfy his need for privacy, he may just have had stumbled on something else.]

You're right - I don't understand its value beyond being an additional source of information. After all, there are so many things you could do with it: solve crime, console someone, blackmail, gather more intel. On the other hand, you are unlikely to be the first person to see spirits, or the idea of a medium wouldn't be popular.

So what makes you, in particular, unique?