Dazai - Trance

A Day In The Fated Future

House of the Crowleys

(Dazai Crowley's POV)

"W-.....what in the hell is this, Dazai?" Blair asked me, speaking in a tone of utter disbelief.

Her eyes were fixated on the plate before her. Her nose was tickled by the savory aroma of her food, giving her a particular feeling she couldn't describe.

"It's just curry and rice…. I know it's a boring classic and what not, but it's one of my favorite dishes…" I responded, acting oblivious to her emotions.

"I-I see…" She murmured aloud.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Help yourself."

"U-....Uhuh…..well, uh, thank you for the food~….." Blair said with a bit of a tremor in her voice.

After showing me her gratitude, she took her time in scooping a tiny morsel onto her spoon. Raising it in front of her mouth, she stared at it real closely as if judging its characteristics. Her throat gulped in what was either discomfort or anticipation as small beads of sweat began forming on her forehead.

With her hands shaking every so often, it was as if she was too hesitant to eat.

But before I had the chance to question why, she slowly placed it inside her mouth. She chewed before she finally swallowed. After doing so, her expression became a little bit unreadable.

I couldn't even tell what emotions she felt. All I could notice was her uneasy panting. For whatever reason, it took a lot of energy to make that bite.

"Well, how is it?" I asked.

"It's so.....GODDAMN DELICIOUS!!~"

"The colorful presentation!! The smell!! The flavor!! GOD, WHY IS THIS SO FUCKING GOOD!?~"

The moment Blair blurted those words aloud, she slammed her hands on the table and stood up, all the while staring at me with unfiltered passion.

Her bright and lustrous pupils were so filled with such emotion, I almost mistook them for the heart eyes you would see in a…."particular" genre.

Not going to lie, I thought she disliked my cooking at first, but after seeing her compliment the food in her usual, and overbearing, way like this was enough to erase my doubts and breathe a sigh of relief.

After giving me her opinion, she returned back to her plate and began eating yet again. Except this time, she threw all rationality and manners to the side and sloppily divulged in her meal. It was like I was seeing a whole new side to her yet again.

Grinning just a little to the woman in front of me, it wasn't long until I was able to unwind a bit and follow suit. Although I wasn't able to enjoy my food the same way Blair did, I still was able to get myself full, and that's what truly mattered.

"Mmphf~....How long have you been cooking, Dazai?"

"Pretty much my whole life, I guess. Hell, I wouldn't be too surprised if somebody told me I was born and raised in a kitchen."

"That would explain your experience~….."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, the thing is, this stuff is seriously way too damn good that the taste is actually pretty fucking addicting~...."

"Hah. Okay, now that's a little overboard don't you think?" I asked while chuckling a little.

"Dazai~…..you didn't lace this with anything did you?~" She asked me in a playful manner.

"Are you trying to get punched?"

"I'm just joking~ But seriously, you did a very good job for a guy who's got amnesia." And with that, Blair, albeit unintentionally, brought up a very good point.

"Well, even though I still have many questions that I want answered, I definitely know a lot more about myself, my family and some of my friends compared to the moment when I first woke up here. So I guess you could say I'm making significant progress, huh."

"Aw~.....That's good to hear~...."

"Thanks, but still. I wonder what the hell came across me earlier. I mean back then, I was so lost in thought, I somehow forgot you were even near me."

"And despite trying to cook after god knows how long, everything still came as rather natural to me, as if I never got rusty in the first place." I continued.

"Hmm, that is indeed odd. From the way you're describing everything, I'm starting to wonder if that was some sort of Career Trance." She eventually replied in a curious manner.

"What's that?"

"Basically, it's a type of passive skill trait that extremely heightens a person's concentration to improve their overall efficiency in the trade that they are proficient in. For example, in your case, it would be called "Culinary Trance" since it triggers when you're focused on cooking." She explained.

"Huh, well does it make you tune out your sense of reality?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, it's been a long time since I checked the records, but from what I know, it shouldn't go as far as to make you outright forget the people near you."

"However, I have heard stories of people being less prone to "respond" to anything unrelated to what they are doing at that time. Hence the reason as to why we call it a trance."

"And since the intensity of said focus works in accordance to how dedicated a person is to their craft, the intensity really varies from person to person." She continued.

Culinary Trance, huh. I think it sounds familiar, but, well, I don't know….Well, for some odd reason, hearing her words made me stare at my right hand.

Regardless, I shake my head and inquire further.

"I mean that's good to know, but where the hell did this even come from?" I asked.

"Well, these types of Trances can be born from nearly anything, but the most natural occurrence happens genetically when a person devotes themselves to a particular trade and yearns for nothing more but proficiency and experience."

"Of course, not anybody can get it, even if they really wanted to. Since it's a genetic trait, some people have it while others, unfortunately, don't." She added on.

"I mean I can kind of see that since me and Alice did take mother's training seriously back in the day, so maybe that explains it…"

"Yeah, I guess. These "Trances'' really boil down to your genetics and how much dedication you have. With some time, a bit of effort and a bit of luck, you can grab yourself a pretty useful ability. But the thing is, in your case, I can't help but feel like there's more to it than just pure luck."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

But Blair didn't respond for a second. She was too busy being lost in thought. But eventually in time, she seemed to have figured out the answer.

"You said your mom was a good cook, right?"

"One of the best around, yeah. Wh-....Ah, now I see." The moment those words came out of my mouth, I managed to put two and two together.

"You think I inherited from my mother, don't you. Thing is, I don't know if she had it or not."

"Either way, it would make the most sense, to be honest. Whether she had the Trance or not, she still had the potential to gain that ability. And you would be surprised by just how much information gets passed down from one generation to the next. Plus, say for instance she did have it and you were able to inherit it sometime afterwards, it wouldn't be too surprising to see that it somehow evolved, right?"

Using what outdated information she had left and applying a bit of simple logic, Blair made a solid and understandable case. And the way she spoke calmly with pure confidence was almost captivating.

"T-that actually makes sense."