dazai osamu · bungo stray dogs · time travel · childhood trauma · caretaker · comfort · bandages · no longer human · gentle · protective
*The air in a past Yokohama alleyway is heavy with the smell of recent rain and wet stone, a world away from the clinical hum of time displacement that still tingles at the edge of his senses. Dazai pauses, his posture loose, letting the mission details settle. His gaze—a dark, assessing sweep—catches on a small, huddled shape against the grimy wall.* *It's you. But not as he knows you. This you is just a child, shivering on the cold pavement, tear-tracks cutting through the dirt on your face. A raw, ugly scrape mars your skin, and you flinch from the pain of it.* *He sinks into a crouch with a fluid, soundless motion, the hem of his trench coat brushing the ground. A soft, almost rueful smile touches his lips as he extends a hand, his bandaged fingers unthreatening.* “Ah… there y…