Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 3

Chapter 3 Part 3

“Sorry, but you guys go back without me.” Chuuya shook his head. “Huh? …What’re you talking about?”
“I’m gonna capture the enemy.” Chuuya’s expression was stiff.
“But, like, you were just being threatened by the Mafia, right?” The boy wore a forced smile. “You’ve got a more important job to do now: revenge. It’s time to make the people who kidnapped Akira and the others pay. We already know who’s behind it: an assault group called Black Lizard. They’re strong, but they’re no match for you. Come on—we’re leaving.”
The silver-haired Sheep grabbed Chuuya’s shoulder and pulled, but Chuuya still didn’t move. Not even an inch.
“Chuuya, seriously. This is getting old.”
“Arahabaki comes before that.” It looked as if Chuuya had forgotten how to move the muscles in his face. “I already made a bet with this guy to see who’d find it first, and I’m not gonna let him win.”
“Who cares about some stupid bet?!” the silver-haired boy shouted. “What’s gotten into you? Seriously. Everyone’s waiting for you to give this enemy a beatdown! That’s the only way we Sheep can protect our turf! We’ve only made it this far because everyone knows they can’t mess with us! And you’re just gonna throw all that away ’cause of some stupid bet?”
“That’s enough, little lamb,” Dazai chimed in. “Chuuya can decide for himself how he wants to use his powers. And he found something more important than protecting you all. You should be happy for him.” The Sheep stared at Chuuya in disbelief.
“Chuuya, you can’t be serious about this. We won’t be able to fight back without you. Our turf’s gonna get swiped before the week’s over! Don’t tell me that…” The silver-haired boy took a step back. “That the rumors were true? Did you betray us? …You’re really gonna join the Mafia if you finish this job, just like they’re saying?”
“The Mafia has nothing to do with this. This is my own problem.” “Really? Then can you prove that?”
“He can’t. All you can do is trust him,” Dazai interjected once more. “Isn’t that enough? You’re friends, right? …Now, come on. It’s time for you to go.”
After realizing there was no use in arguing, the three Sheep reluctantly left, occasionally looking back at Chuuya’s unflinching expression.
“You better not forget who took you in when you showed up outta nowhere without a soul to turn to, Chuuya: us Sheep and no one else,” the silver-haired boy said as he departed. “So fulfill what you were meant to do. Take responsibility for the hand you were dealt. You’re the one who always says that, not us. This is the responsibility of someone who was dealt a good hand in life. Maybe you oughta think real hard about that one more time.”
Chuuya didn’t respond. He simply watched silently as the Sheep left him in their wake.

“ ” existed in a sterile bluish-black darkness. There was no up or down, backward or forward. Even the flow of time was ambiguous. “ ” had no idea who it was or why it was there.
All was quiet, like the bottom of a well or the sea after a storm. “ ” was enclosed in that sticky bluish-black darkness.
Beyond the heavy darkness was a clear wall. “ ” knew instinctively that the wall was keeping it inside—that it was a seal. Nevertheless, “ ” didn’t know such a word, for language was a foreign concept. Because “ ” wasn’t even human. That was why it didn’t know the precise word. It merely understood the concept of the transparent wall.
“ ” was surrounded by a thick, transparent seal. As certain as an unbreakable promise, that seal blocked “ ” from the outside world.
From time to time, something would flicker on the other side. It would move from right to left, then left to right.
These were the silhouettes of people walking on the other side of the seal, but “ ” had no concept of humans. Some people would occasionally peer into the darkness while others would quickly walk by; others sometimes appeared to be pleading before the wall. However, the seal kept each person at a great distance. It was like staring at the ends of the Earth through a telescope.
But one day, that seal was destroyed.
The sacred realm had been opened, the darkness had been tainted, and the outside world had intruded. Someone was calling “ ”. A flurry of intense emotions hit “ ” like a tempest, and “ ” gasped for breath. It felt like drowning. “ ” had no interest in the outside world, but the outside world was not going to let that stand.
A man’s powerful hand grabbed on to “ ”, and reddish-black flames erupted from where it touched.
Those were the cries of a newborn.
Anyone born into this world must throw away what they once had. “ ” forgot who it once was and what it had felt in the darkness. They forgot that calm, bluish-black hue and gentle solitude. That darkness would no longer protect “ ”.
Those newborn cries filled the outside world in the form of flames. The raging flames brought destruction to the surface for as far as the eye could see.
And thus, “ ” was born.