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]

[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?

[foundfate]

Because my two abilities can combine in a way that lets me 'lend out' my power to someone else, making it significantly cheaper to accomplish what you want. If I were to give you an item that let you see spirits, it would be difficult to afford. But since I can lend out my power as I see fit, the cost is almost nothing.

Besides that, I don't only see spirits. Seeing spirits isn't that uncommon in many worlds. Seeing "that which most do not see", however, is different.

[neverwashere]

Then, Odasaku doesn't count as a spirit? Or is he someone that most don't see?

[It might sound like an idiotic question, but the more time he spent with Watanuki, the more prepared he was to just toss what seemed obvious out the window in favor of actually asking.

Besides, maybe he could be excused. Dazai, after all, wasn't the expert in supernatural matters.]

[foundfate]

He is a spirit, yes. But there are other things to see besides him.

[Such a simple bit of words, but they just begged more questions.]

[neverwashere]

And I might be able to see these other beings if I took up that bargain.

[A statement of the obvious, and the consequence.

Whatever it was, Dazai wouldn't be able to go back to not knowing.

He sighed and glanced at the space next to the third cup. Any thoughts from that corner?]

[foundfate]

Yes.

[The space by the third cup was oddly quiet. There was the usual cold spot which indicated a presence, but otherwise nothing. It seemed Odasaku was either thinking deeply about the situation, or he was waiting to see what Dazai did.]

I could get you spirit-seeing powers in other ways, but those methods are a bit more permanent. And I'm sure you don't want to give up your ability forever in exchange for a different one.

[neverwashere]

[...ahh, jeez. Figuring Odasaku out was so much harder without seeing his face.]

It's not like I care whether or not I have it when I don't even notice it's there most of the time. [He gently traced the rim of his sake cup. Porcelain didn't ring as beautifully as crystal.] However, it would be inconvenient given everything else.

[Because really. Some messes were easier to clean up by shutting off their source.

(That he didn't refer to his own ability beyond pure utility was left unsaid. Its very name, after all, was ever a confession of perpetual emptiness.)]

...well. I suppose it's a matter of figuring out when to do it.

[foundfate]

[If Dazai was paying attention to Watanuki, he would see a flash of something in Watanuki's eyes when he heard what Dazai said there. That something was like recognition, like he had heard something similar to Dazai's words before somewhere. Or perhaps Dazai's situation was familiar to him in some way.

Regardless, Watanuki ended up looking down to his cup swirling it gently by rotating his wrist as he spoke.]

I knew someone like you, once. His power wasn't the same as yours, but his situation was similar. He had been gifted with a unique and sought-after power, one that people would have paid a high price to have, and yet he didn't see it as the gift everyone else considered it to be.

[neverwashere]

[Neither that expression nor the story that followed were expected.]

I know the value of my ability just fine, if you're implying the opposite. It's just that compared to others, it doesn't impact my quality of life. No transformations, no additional tricks, no fancy weapons or super strength. There's only me, my hands, and the occasional broken bone. Blocking punches can hurt, you know! Let me tell you: there have been a few times when I wondered if my arm was going to tear off my torso if I was off by even a few millimeters.

[(Still, Watanuki wasn't entirely incorrect. Dazai, no matter how selfish he was, also didn't see any purpose in sticking around as a person, in the same way that he didn't look at his own ability beyond utilitarian value.)]