Chapter 2

Fourteen Years Old (II)

The Flags.

This was a youth mutual-aid association that once held a great reputation within the Port Mafia. However, despite being called a mutual-aid association, its membership was pitifully sparse, numbering only six in total.

No member of the Flags was over the age of twenty-five, and all held key positions within the Port Mafia; calling them "young and promising" was by no means an exaggeration.

They were the Port Mafia's youngest and most proudly regarded fresh blood. No one doubted the glory and brilliance that lay in their future, nor that their names would one day be feared and revered by countless people alongside the Port Mafia itself.

This was no self-aggrandizing, exaggerated praise. One of the Flags' members, Chuuya Nakahara, was now one of the Port Mafia's only five Executives. He was also the public face of the organization, the muscle of the terrifying duo known as "Double Black"—a fact that alone seemed to represent the glory and status the Flags had once possessed.

Yes, "once."

Because a year ago, back when neither Osamu Dazai nor Chuuya Nakahara had yet become Executives, the Flags had suffered a sudden, violent ambush. They met untimely ends, and the group fell apart, leaving Chuuya Nakahara as the sole survivor.

No matter what status, power, or reputation one possessed in life, after death, it all turned to a handful of dust, gradually swallowed by time and forgotten by the world.

The Flags were no exception.

For instance, right now, when Dazai brought up the Flags, a completely blank expression appeared on Odasaku's face.

Clearly, he had no memory of the name.

On the other hand, Ango Sakaguchi, the intelligence officer sitting beside them, let out an understanding "Ah," having clearly figured out what Dazai was planning.

"Lippmann?" he asked, uttering the code name of a dead man.

The man code-named Lippmann had been the Port Mafia's chief diplomat while he was alive, serving as the window connecting the Port Mafia to the light of the outside world. All negotiations with the government, the media, and legitimate corporations had been handled by him.

He was a young man of bewitching beauty and charisma, well-versed in using his looks to his advantage. A natural-born actor, he had a massive global fanbase and was actively prominent on the silver screen.

After his death, the tears shed by his grieving fans could have filled a small lake, and some regions had even established a memorial day to remember that tragic event... to be honest, it was all a bit too dramatic.

With Lippmann now gone, Dazai's mention of him was likely because...

"Dazai, do you want the child Odasaku adopted to work under Lippmann's former agency and manager?" Ango asked, pushing up his glasses.

"Why not?" Dazai countered. "That manager and the company behind them have quite a bit of influence and capability."

"Besides, they have some ties to the Port Mafia. If I personally take the child there, wouldn't all the unfair treatment Odasaku is worried about an entertainer facing vanish instantly?"

This was an irrefutable point. Having been deeply tied to Lippmann, the manager and the agency knew a fair deal about the identity and power backing him.

And if Dazai, now a Port Mafia Executive, personally reached out to them, the manager and the company would surely know how to weigh their options.

Based in Yokohama, with an influence stretching across almost the entire Kanto region, the Port Mafia had grown rapidly over the years and was a behemoth that could not be taken lightly.

Ango briefly explained the situation to Odasaku in a few sentences, so even though the latter originally knew nothing about it, he now understood the deeper implications of Dazai's arrangement.

"Thank you, Dazai," Odasaku thanked him earnestly.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~" Dazai hummed a chaotic tune that could barely be called a song. "Then Odasaku has to treat me to crab next time!"

"No problem," Odasaku agreed seriously.

"Don't pick on Odasaku too much..." Ango sighed, feeling utterly exhausted. "And you too, Odasaku! Don't indulge him in everything. Learn to refuse him or call him out once in a while!"

"Hmm? It's fine..." Odasaku said. "Dazai is still just a child."

Hearing this, Dazai raised both hands in enthusiastic cheer, smiling at Ango with pure mischief. "Exactly, exactly! I'm still just a child, Ango~~"

Ango began to feel a dull ache in his stomach.

Seriously, could the two of them just open their eyes and look at the real world for a second?

"Is Ango jealous of me?" Dazai's voice sounded incredibly cheerful, bordering on song. "It's jealousy, isn't it!"

"So that's how it is." A look of sudden realization dawned on Odasaku's face. Then, under Ango's growing sense of dread, he turned to look at him. "I can treat you to crab too, Ango."

Ango felt like he needed oxygen. He pressed a hand to his aching stomach, his voice sounding like a groan. "Odasaku... don't believe everything Dazai says..."

To prevent the conversation from sliding into even more painful territory, Ango decided to change the subject immediately.

"Speaking of which, neither of us has ever met the children Odasaku adopted."

However, this wasn't because they, as Odasaku's friends, were intentionally ignoring the children, nor was it because Odasaku was wary of them. Rather, they all knew this was the best arrangement.

All three of them worked for the Port Mafia, which was by no means a safe profession. Even Odasaku, a low-ranking member, chose to foster the children elsewhere rather than live with them, fearing that his ties to the Mafia might endanger them.

If even Odasaku had to be this cautious, the amount of scrutiny focused on Dazai, an Executive, and Ango, an intelligence officer reporting directly to the boss, was bound to be far greater.

If not for the unique nature of this situation, Dazai wouldn't have suggested meeting one of Odasaku's adopted children. Furthermore, they would certainly not meet where the children usually lived, and apart from Utau, he would not meet the other children.

This was a tacit understanding between friends.

Ango asked, "What is the child's name?"

"Utau," Odasaku replied. "Her name is Utau Hoshina."

***

"Odasaku, you've already contacted an agency for me?"

Heaven knew how shocked Utau was when she heard these words from her guardian.

Having lived together for over a year, Utau believed she knew Odasaku well. It wasn't that she wanted to look down on her guardian, but Odasaku simply seemed entirely out of place in such matters.

"To be precise, it wasn't me. Dazai helped with it," Odasaku explained.

Osamu Dazai. Utau knew the name. He was Odasaku's friend, the one Odasaku often went out drinking with.

But that was the extent of it. After all, Dazai and Utau were supposed to be parallel lines that would never cross; hearing his name once because of Odasaku was the absolute limit.

"Which agency is he introducing me to?" Utau asked.

Odasaku searched his memory. "STORM... I think. I recall Dazai mentioning it to me."

"Hmm? It's actually STORM?" Utau was genuinely surprised this time.

Since she intended to re-enter show business in this world, Utau had naturally researched and gathered relevant information—and STORM was one of the talent agencies she had kept an eye on.

Although STORM was not a large talent agency in the traditional sense, it had garnered significant attention for consistently producing stars who became wildly popular not just in Japan, but worldwide. As a result, it had amassed considerable resources, connections, and industry standing.

Over a decade ago, the agency's top star was Yukiko Fujimine, the genius actress who had swept major entertainment awards and taken the world by storm at the age of nineteen. After Yukiko retired from acting upon her marriage, the company barely experienced a few years of downtime before producing their next cash cow—Fuga Hananoin, a genius actor who likewise commanded immense international fame and popularity.

Although Fuga Hananoin had passed away in an accident a year ago... STORM's position was already secure. While not quite on par with the absolute top agencies, it was still considered a Tier 1 company.

*Odasaku's friend, Dazai, seems to be quite capable...* Utau thought.

A few days later, Utau met Osamu Dazai.

She didn't know much about him, having only asked Odasaku a little about him after that day. According to Odasaku's description, he was a clever but lonely child, not much older than Utau.

Odasaku's description could easily create the wrong impression. Utau had sketched a rough image of Dazai in her mind, but when they actually met, she realized just how wrong she had been.

No, it wasn't that she was terribly wrong; there was clearly a massive problem with Odasaku's description!

Utau frowned as she looked at the boy Odasaku had brought along, dressed in a black suit with bandages wrapped around his face.

Utau had met all kinds of people.

She was supposed to be the young lady of the Hoshina Corporation, but because of her inheritance rights, she had often faced oppression from her stepfather. Later, she debuted as an entertainer at a very young age. These experiences combined gave Utau a wealth of knowledge and insight far beyond her years.

Although the boy before her was smiling, some hidden instinct had been warning Utau from the moment they met that he carried an unspeakable danger.

Yet Odasaku clearly misunderstood Utau's expression, assuming she doubted Dazai's reliability because he looked so young.

"Dazai is very smart. He is an Executive of the Port Mafia."

He tried to prove Dazai's reliability this way... though he was admittedly terrible at phrasing things.

Utau's brow furrowed. "No, that's not what I meant... Never mind."

She had wanted to warn Odasaku about how dangerous this boy was, but after meeting Odasaku's gaze and thinking it over, she ultimately abandoned the idea.

Odasaku was no naive do-gooder. Utau understood this clearly.

Though he always seemed a half-step slow to react to everything, as if possessing a natural dullness, Odasaku's mind was as clear as a mirror. He knew exactly what he was doing and what he set out to do.

Therefore, she believed that Odasaku had carefully considered who he befriended and the consequences it might bring, meaning she didn't need to meddle.

And just as she had thought when she agreed to meet Dazai earlier—he was Odasaku's friend. Utau trusted Odasaku, so she was willing to trust someone Odasaku trusted.

But of course, she wouldn't lower her guard against Dazai because of that. If he ever did anything dangerous, she would absolutely show no mercy.

Thinking this, Utau looked up, only to find Dazai studying her with his single exposed eye.

He might not have meant to, but he had habitually adopted that overly aggressive, invasive gaze that seemed to analyze a person inside out.

But this look clearly made the girl feel threatened. After a brief shiver when their eyes first met, Utau quickly reacted, feeling challenged, and glared back at him huffily.

The amber eye curved slightly in surprise, and then its owner let out a soft chuckle.

*She's on guard against me...* Dazai thought.

Yet that wariness didn't displease Dazai. Instead, he found the way this girl—who only came up to his shoulder—glared at him to be like a bristling kitten, and a very rare, precious breed at that.

*How amusing.*

"Utau-chan~"

Dazai's voice was sickeningly sweet. Utau felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. It felt as if someone had recklessly dumped sugar cubes into a cup of coffee, resulting in a cloyingly sweet, nearly semi-solid concoction.

"Before the agency people arrive, why don't you tell me first? What are your requirements and expectations for the contract?"

Since they were discussing business, the girl temporarily suppressed her instinctive aversion to Dazai—or rather, to danger. She looked up and earnestly stated her demands.

"Copyrights and autonomy," Utau said. "Those are the most important."

"The copyrights to my songs must remain in my hands, not the company's. At the same time, I want as much autonomy as possible. At the very least, there must be no forcing me to do anything against my will."

The latter point wasn't stated explicitly, but it didn't need to be; they both understood what it meant.

"As for the financial split, I can accept anything within a reasonable range. I can be flexible there. But if they want to hold onto me and bleed me dry, that's absolutely out of the question."

In other words, as long as the company wasn't too greedy, Utau would turn a blind eye. But if they treated her like a naive, clueless child who had just entered the industry, she would never agree.

Her core demands didn't seem like much, but on second thought, for a newcomer, they were exceptionally high.

Dazai let out a long "Eh—? That's going to be a hard bargain for a rookie who hasn't even debuted yet, you know?"

Of course, if they used the Port Mafia's name to apply pressure, they could probably make it happen... but Dazai knew that even setting aside Utau's own wishes, Odasaku would strongly object.

He didn't want the children he adopted to have any connection to the Port Mafia. Though it was completely unfathomable to Dazai, Odasaku seemed to desperately want those kids to grow up safely on the side of the light.

Thus, he could only regretfully abandon this highly effective method.

Utau's expression remained unchanged at Dazai's words. "I know."

She was the one who had actually been in this industry before, and she believed she understood it far better than either of the two men in the room.

"Actually, I've already prepared for this," Utau said. "If Odasaku hadn't told me that you could recommend me to STORM's manager... I was planning to post my first song on Twitter in a few days anyway."

If she only wanted a normal debut, it wouldn't be too difficult. Many talent agencies—including the top ones recognized today—had trainee programs and classes. Utau was confident she would easily pass if she applied.

But in that case, the power would be entirely out of her hands. She would practically have to live at the company's mercy for a long time, losing a great deal of control.

Utau would never allow herself to fall into such a situation.

In that case, she had to prove her value. As long as the profit she could generate was large enough, even the most outrageous demands would be accepted by an agency.

Although Utau didn't elaborate, the information conveyed in that single sentence was enough for Dazai.

He understood exactly what she was thinking almost instantly.

"So confident?" The black-haired boy smiled. Unlike his previous superficial smiles, this was the first genuine expression of amusement he had shown today.

"Of course," Utau said, tilting her chin up confidently.

Dazai tapped his fingers slowly on the table. "Then, why don't we just play it directly for the manager later? What's the name of the song?"

His question was a bit abrupt, but Utau understood his meaning perfectly.

And so, the girl smiled too. Her smile was so proud and unrestrained, outshining all the glittering diamonds and stars in the world.

"Labyrinth Butterfly."