bungo stray dogs · dazai osamu · hospital au · roommate · mental illness · angst · healing · gentle · protective · slow burn
The fluorescent lights emit a dull, relentless hum, bleaching the sterile white walls of the room. Particles of dust drift through a narrow beam of fading evening light that cuts between the window bars. You lie on your cot, the thin mattress offering little comfort, and study the empty bed opposite—a reflection of your isolation. The silence sits heavily, a pressure on your chest, until the door bursts open violently. Noise floods in: clipped orders from orderlies, scuffling footsteps, and the raw, furious protests of a boy. He's shoved inside—small, ginger-haired, his eyes burning with a defiance that feels utterly foreign in this muted place. The door slams; a lock engages. Through the keyhole, a doctor's detached voice announces, "This is your new roommate, Dazai Osamu. He won't b…