Magic and Mystery

Chapter 6: The sorting hat

Dazai's thin fingers tugged on the edges of his cloak until Ron shot him a dirty look.

"...What?"

"Quit fidgeting! You're going to tear a hole in that and we haven't even made it in the school yet, you know."

"You don't think the cloaks are weird?" Dazai huffed, tucking his bandaged arms behind his back with a childish sound. "What are they adding to the learning experience?"

"It's a school uniform."

"It's not practical."

And really, it's not. Ever since he put the damn thing on, Dazai had been imagining all the different ways wearing a cloak was more of a hazard than anything else. For instance: what if he's running away from someone? It would be too easy for them to grab at his cloak and drag him back! When he tried explaining this to Ron, however, his no-good subordinate-in-training had only replied with:

"Why are you planning to be chased? Just calm down, mate."

It's hard to find a good subordinate these days.

Ron rolled his eyes, all but pushing Dazai off the train. It was dark when they un-boarded, and Dazai silently mourned how much time he wasted talking to his classmates instead of gathering information. Still, when he hopped off the train a step ahead of Ron, Dazai couldn't help but feel a tickle of excitement shoot up his spine.

It's a strange feeling and not one he'd ever want to voice aloud: Dazai doesn't really get out much. For maybe the first time in forever, his bedroom door is unlocked and no one is watching his every move. Mori wants him here for a reason, of course—but that old doctor isn't here now, so there's nothing wrong with enjoying this freedom a bit, right?

It's not like anyone back home has to know that for maybe the first time in forever Dazai is feeling a positive emotion.

" Woah!"

Dazai blinked back to attention, immediately tracking Ron's awed voice to the hulking figure before them. The man stood more than twice Dazai's height and three times as wide.

"'Right then!" The man boomed, startling some of the students around them, "First years, this way please!"

Feeling rather pleased with himself for not flinching at the shout, Dazai barely noticed Ron shoot him an eager grin. Ron immediately trailed after the large fellow who had called for them like a dog to its master. With a raised brow, Dazai followed his subordinate lamely.

"This way to the boats—follow me!"

"Boats?" Dazai half-whispered to Ron.

The red-head shrugged, bounding along the path. "We take boats across the lake to school, 's what I hear." After a quick look to Dazai, he added, "Just the first years, though. My brother said after that we take horseless carriages over."

As he spoke, Ron seamlessly guided he and Dazai into a rickety old boat. Dazai regarded the thing critically before shrugging and taking his seat. If it broke apart and they drowned... well, that wasn't really a bad thing, right? Anyway, a quick glace to that large, bearded fellow proved the boats could handle a little weight. Dazai was almost disappointed to realize they wouldn't be drowning this afternoon.

Wishful thinking.

He didn't voice this thought aloud, however. Mori had warned him against being too obvious about his willingness to die, and although Dazai couldn't care less about what that man had to say, he did see the merit in hanging around a bit longer. At the very least, he wanted to enjoy just one day without some mafioso breathing down his neck.