[Part of him is tempted to respond with well, you know me, talking is one of my absolute favorite things to do but this isn't the time to lighten the mood. Dazai is the leader of ADA here, there's no Fukuzawa, there's no Ranpo - not that Ranpo was the person to go to for emotional therapy anyway - there's just him.

So he's the one who has to reach out to people. And he has. He's reached out to Fauna before. To Dimitri. To Atsushi, even before all this. And he has to nigh-constantly ask...]

I'm not going to tell you 'you're not alone in this', because you know that. You've been told it before, and no one can replicate your exact story. No one is Fauna, can be Fauna, or ever will be. Your sins are your own. That much, at least, I can understand.

But punishing yourself for them over and over again isn't going to help. I'd know. That's what made me disconnect from humanity, and I don't want that for you. I wouldn't want that for anyone. Not my best friend, not my worst enemy.

My sins are different than yours. But I've punished myself time and time again, and nothing I did with that assisted at all until I allowed myself balance. You can't repent through darkness alone. Light is necessary.