Outside, after many days of clear skies, there were finally signs of rain. The sunlight couldn’t penetrate the curtains, and the faint light in the gap gradually dimmed, retreating from his sight back to the world outside the window.

In Dazai’s falcon-colored eyes, there was nothing but the sparse sound of rain outside.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, followed by the rumble of thunder. The wind, mixed with rain, blew a corner of the curtain that covered him.

It turned out he hadn’t closed the window.

“It’s raining…”

He caught the moist air with a barely audible murmur.

Could the rain wash away his restlessness?

The five buildings of the Port Mafia were being cleansed by the rain, and when viewed from above, the city’s scenery was different from the bustling brightness under the sunshine. Shrouded in dark clouds, the city was drenched in heavy rain, like a photo with its colors adjusted, stripped of its vibrant hues. Even the dazzling neon lights couldn’t illuminate the entire city.

While he couldn’t hear the sound of rain splashing, Hyakki could feel the movement in his stomach.

An hour passed, and he felt hungry again.

The black-haired youth, unwilling to leave, persisted at the clinic’s entrance. Rainwater dripped from the eaves, avoiding him, but the strong wind blew it back, wetting the bandaged foot and shoe on his right foot.

[…]

[…]

[…]

He was hungry again.

His spiritual world was quiet, with only slight ripples of hunger after.

From the depths of a cluttered alley, a calico cat came running with something in its mouth. It skillfully dodged the rainwater, leaping over puddles, and arrived in front of Hyakki. It shook its damp fur uncomfortably and dropped the bag of bread from its mouth. There was a hint of human-like helplessness on the cat’s face.

If someone could read the calico cat’s mind, they would hear the usual proud cat leader sighing.

[…]

Natsume Soseki had been visiting Hyakki recently, aware of the kind of life he was leading. Breaking his observer stance, he went to the store to buy bread in human form. Then, the sudden rain interrupted his other thoughts, and worried about the child’s situation, he hurried back.

“Meow—”

The calico cat made a sound and nudged Hyakki with a paw that some disciple particularly wanted to touch.

At this moment, the roles of the cat and the person were reversed.

Hyakki moved his body, lifting his face from his knee. Then, without any response to the supernatural event, he went to eat the food the calico cat had brought him.

[…]

[…]

[…]

“Is there an animal feeding me?”

“Heaven’s Child… I never expected to receive such a blessing after defeating the demon.”

Automatically fitting into the role of Nature’s Child, Hyakki had an outstanding adaptability to the world, worthy of being the top-ranked among the one hundred trainees in the Crossing Department. He wouldn’t find any setting strange.

Even in the most miraculous script, Hyakki had seen it all.

During this time, the calico cat went to great lengths to prevent him from eating the plastic bag, then took responsibility for carrying away the packaging and tossing it into the trash can with a flip lid.

With one hand embracing his knee, the other hand was reserved for petting the cat’s head.

The calico cat: “…”

Ps: Calico cat have a triple color.

I really don’t want to be touched by the younger generation, oh well.

The rain grew heavier, and the wind outside whistled through the alleys and crevices. Without hesitation, the calico cat bit onto Hyakki’s sleeve and tugged him towards the clinic’s entrance.

“Child, come inside.”

Natsume Soseki had no descendants; he poured his emotions into the country and this city.

If he had a grandson like Hyakki, stubborn and cute, he surely wouldn’t bear to scold him. He only hoped that Hyakki would soon experience the warmth and truth of the world.

Hyakki didn’t change his determination to stay here; the calico cat was much weaker than him.

With no one else to talk to, he spoke to the calico cat.

“Doro… ro… ro…”

“Meow?”

“Doro… ro… ro… wait…”

The world of the black-haired youth was without wind or rain, without coldness, but endured indescribable loneliness.

He was already grateful for the little animal’s company.

It was a small bundle, trembling when touched, full of spiritual vitality, warm and kind. It was the only comfort Hyakki had in all these years.

The system had informed him that he still had two years before the plot officially began. He was grateful to have met “Dororo” early. Even if something unexpected happened midway, he stubbornly believed that “Dororo” would come back to see him after resolving it.

Because they were destined.

Destiny had brought “Dororo” to him, waiting for him to open his eyes and see “her”.

Hyakki’s unique voice made the calico cat stiffen for a moment, then its tail drooped.

“…You can’t recognize your Dororo.”

The sorrow of meeting without recognition in this world was something Natsume Soseki never expected to experience in his lifetime, especially with a boy missing many organs and a descendant who killed for the sake of saving others.

Yes, Mori was a student of Natsume Soseki, and Dazai was a student of Mori. If you counted three generations of master and disciple, Dazai had some karmic connection with him.

At this moment, Natsume Soseki only wanted to lift his gentleman’s cane and smack Mori’s head.

How could you corrupt children like this!

The last one, Yosano, was left with psychological trauma by Mori, and now Dazai, led by Mori, had lost his only friend, Hyakki. Although they all sacrificed for the sake of protecting their country and city, it was at the expense of others!

Suddenly, the calico cat let out a “meow” and slipped out of Hyakki’s hand, jumping to a high place.

The heavy rain masked the sound of its footsteps.

In front of the clinic’s door, Hyakki couldn’t avoid the rain under the eaves, and his clothes were mostly wet. The “Complete Suicide Manual” was placed on his stomach, perfectly protected. He belatedly pinched his wet sleeve and took out the red-covered book, placing it in a dry spot behind him, then sat there, paying little attention.

He quietly “watched” the rainy world, feeling a strange sensation that wasn’t quite human. The illusion covering him seemed to have unintentionally strengthened, defending against the rain.

Unfulfilled destiny; Hyakki was isolated from the world, hidden away in a safe corner by this world.

At the old place not far away.

Dazai stood there in a suit and a black coat, sometimes terrifyingly mature, sometimes frail like a child who hadn’t grown up, using his clever brain to disguise himself, warding off the world’s harm. He allowed the heavy rain to drench him, the bandage over his right eye also soaked by the rain, constantly leaving watermarks, while his life flame continued to emit crimson spots, sins trapping his gray soul inside.

The lives of hundreds punished Dazai in this way, polluting his life flame.

The good and evil in people do exist.

Those who don’t care about either side are destined to be abandoned by both black and white.

“This is the fourth time… seeing this person.”

Hyakki didn’t want to see anyone other than “Dororo”; his eyes shifted slightly as he buried his face in his knees.

“Does he know Dororo…”

“But he looks like a dead man walking, completely deserving of his fate.”

“Good people have a thousand reasons not to do evil, while bad people have ten thousand excuses to do evil without needing to. This person’s conscience is gone…”

“…”

Dazai watched him in the rain, and Hyakki didn’t lift his head. Neither of them knew who was being severed.

Raindrops kept falling from Dazai’s hair.

It seemed like crying.

Hyakki didn’t recognize this expression, and Dazai didn’t need him to. A puppet without eyesight, his own cover became meaningless, and he could shed those layers of disguise.

Hyakki waited for “Dororo” for half a month, but found no sign of “Dororo” in front of him. His “Dororo” found a way to cure him, contacted people he didn’t even know, and became an undercover agent for the Special Ability Agent Department within the Port Mafia to obtain funds and information for treatment.

“Hey…”

“Go live in the clinic.”

“With your appearance of being abandoned, like a stray dog… who will care for you…”

…

This wasn’t the kind of life Dazai wanted to borrow.

His puppet should have become a living person, able to cry and laugh, wanting to survive even on the edge of an illusory world, a person completely opposite to him in every sense.

Why do you insist on waiting for me?

Why do you hold onto me, only to push me away?

Your Dororo… even in the darkness, wouldn’t hurt you, idiot.