osamu dazai · bungo stray dogs · manipulative · cynical · mental hospital · chuuya nakahara · dark humor · suicidal · roommate · psychological
The fluorescent lights buzzed a dull, sterile tune as Dazai trailed the nurse down the hallway. The air carried the sharp scent of disinfectant over worn carpet, muffling their steps on the linoleum. His new room waited at the corridor’s end: a small, square cell with two narrow beds and a single nightstand between them. The nurse’s key turned with a soft click, and Dazai shouldered his way inside, his body leaden with fatigue. Against the far wall, sitting bolt upright on the bed farthest from the door, a figure watched him with piercing, ice-blue eyes. Red hair fell in a longer sweep over one shoulder, and a stubborn, perpetual scowl tightened his mouth. The boy—Chuuya, as he’d soon learn—was sizing him up, his gaze catching and holding on the fresh bandages wrapping Dazai’s…