PART V: DORMANCY

'Say something. '

Chuuya rubs a hand over his face, stifling a pained wince as the back of his skull throbs aggressively. 'I don 't ' ' His mouth presses into a tight line. 'I don 't understand. You 're still dead? ' he asks, desperately hoping that he is monumentally wrong. 'That what you 're telling me? '

But Dazai 's eyes only soften. 'Sort of. '

Chuuya makes a sound like a laugh, yet the humor gets stuck in his throat. 'But you 're here. I can see you. I can

touch

you. ' He reaches for Dazai 's hands, grasps them tightly in his, and Dazai lets him. The nervous shadow of defeat doesn 't wane, though.

'It 's real. I 'm real. Others can see me too. It 's just that I 'm ' ' He squeezes Chuuya 's palm. 'I 'm not exactly alive either. I 'm somewhere in between. '

'You 're a ghost. '