Enemies

Wind in the Willows

Atsushi and Dazai walked around the train station, and Dazai seemed to be completely drained. He felt even more empty than he had before, and he looked up at the sky blankly with a thoughtful look on his face. For the past day he had been almost completely silent, not saying anything, a melancholy expression clouding his face. 

If she really is dead, then there's nobody left who knows me. How many times did I make her smile? Was it enough? Does the world have something against me?

"Dazai-san, are you alright?" Atsushi poked Dazai, trying to get his attention, and he seemed to snap back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, I'll be fine. Hopefully." He saw a figure briefly, one wearing a textured grey suit with a white shirt with sleeves that reached round 3/4 of the way down their arm, with black hair extending down one of their shoulders and accompanying a child with blonde hair. 

Am I dreaming?

"Atsushi-kun, I need to go." He announced suddenly, waving and Atsushi looked confused, but nodded slowly.

"Where."

"Bathroom." He ran off.

Dazai followed the figure into an expensive looking store, and checking their watch and watching the child run around. It was clear the child was Elise, and he entered the door, tapping Elise's guardian on the shoulder.

"I was wondering if you were willing to commit double suicide with me. I'm not that picky with who I do it with, as long as it's a beautiful woman." He said in his usual tone, straining a smile.

"Bold of you to ask that when you don't even know my name." The voice was familiar, and he began to feel a sense of hope.

"Well then, what's your name?" She turned around, her eyes concealed by sunglasses, and she flicked them down, the corner of her mouth lifting up into a smug grin, the exact same one he saw on camera.

"You should know that by now." His eyes widened.

"生き...ている。(You're alive)" He felt a sudden sense of relief washing over him, and everything started rushing back to him, feeling a sense of happiness suddenly overwhelming him.

He tried to say more, but no words came out, and he tried to smile, though he stood completely still, staring at Ren with wide eyes, reaching out his arm. The rain had stopped, with the sun emerging slowly from the clouds. She could see the mix of emotions in his eyes, something which she hadn't seen much before. Thinking about what would've happened, she smiled.

"Don't tell me Mori told you I died. If I actually were, do you think he would've welcomed you with a smile on his face? Usually you would have figured out I was alive very quickly. Just goes to show that when emotions are involved, even you jump to conclusions." She saw a tear  roll down his face, turning into multiple and dropping onto the floor, and she took his outstretched hand, which was almost limp but felt strangely stiff at the same time. "Are you ok...?"

He reached out, as if she were a mirage that would disappear, and he collapsed onto his knees, staring down at the ground, his eyes widening.

Ren kneeled down and lifted his chin up, worried, wrapping her arms around him and smiling to herself. He trembled slightly, taking a moment to register what was happening before relaxing, his tears staining her shirt as he gripped onto her jacket, crying silently and burying his head in her shoulder. She felt like she had messed up by making him worry and not providing anything saying that she was alive, and tried to provide some sort of comfort.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, and her voice was quite sweet, which was unusual but felt comforting. "I'm here now. Don't worry."

"The rain... it's gone..." He breathed.