The response is predictable, of course. Atsushi would have expected nothing else (if he'd bothered to expect anything at all), but this still leaves him with nothing more to say or do. He can't force any help on Akutagawa. He's not really sure he wants to help Akutagawa, either, but he does think Akutagawa needs help, and he's pretty sure the guy won't seek it out of his own accord - at least: not without additional motivation.
What to do..? He tries and tries to think, even though he's much better at simply acting than he is at clever plotting. For that, he would really need Dazai's -...
Ah! Got it!
"... If you die because you don't take care of yourself... you'll bring more shame on Dazai-san than I do."
Most people would say that is the case anyway, but not Atsushi. Because apparently bad things like chopping people up can't reflect poorly on Dazai when Akutagawa does them. They're bad things, yes, but just part of the mafia job, and clearly not even a little bit Dazai's fault.
Well... if Atsushi were to deem anything that Akutagawa does Dazai's fault, then his own abuse at Akutagawa's hands would be Dazai's fault as well. And that is not an option.
no subject
What to do..? He tries and tries to think, even though he's much better at simply acting than he is at clever plotting. For that, he would really need Dazai's -...
Ah! Got it!
"... If you die because you don't take care of yourself... you'll bring more shame on Dazai-san than I do."
Most people would say that is the case anyway, but not Atsushi. Because apparently bad things like chopping people up can't reflect poorly on Dazai when Akutagawa does them. They're bad things, yes, but just part of the mafia job, and clearly not even a little bit Dazai's fault.
Well... if Atsushi were to deem anything that Akutagawa does Dazai's fault, then his own abuse at Akutagawa's hands would be Dazai's fault as well. And that is not an option.