Where Loyalty Lies // Mori Ougai x Reader

Chapter 11: Secret Strings

Back when Mori had sent members out to look for Y/n, Chuuya was the one who personally volunteered to spearhead the investigation, as he was pissed that someone had the nerve to attack one of their members, let alone that it was Y/n. He had ordered his subordinates to bring the men's corpses back to their headquarters for a more thorough autopsy in case their medical examiner found anything of substance.

Something else Chuuya had also noticed when they were removing the bodies was a shiny object on the ground. He picked it up and realized that it was a necklace, although it was filthy and crusted with dried blood. He didn't know who it belonged to, but decided to hold onto it as evidence.

—

When Chuuya arrived back at headquarters after his investigation, he headed to Mori's office.

"We probably won't hear anything back from the medical examiner for at least a couple of hours, boss," Chuuya said. "However, I found this lying underneath one of them." He held out the necklace he found.

"Very well," Mori said, taking the necklace from him. He noticed that there was a ring hanging from it as well, but couldn't make out what gemstone was embedded in it, so he decided to put it in his coat pocket for now. "I would like you to call Akutagawa and the Black Lizard here. This has become an urgent matter that I need to discuss with you all."

"Right away, boss," Chuuya said before bringing the Port Mafia's strongest members back with him.

As Chuuya, Akutagawa, and the Black Lizard stood lined up next to each other, Mori sat at his desk. He was tapping his finger on the top of his closed computer, while his eyes had been plucked of any joy about the current matter at hand.

"As you all may know, our newest member, Y/n, has gone missing. I have footage of her being attacked by thugs and taken away by an unknown party," Mori said. He opened up his laptop, turning it around for them to see. The video played back the scene of Y/n's brutal beating, as well as the scene of an unknown individual with white hair removing her from the scene.

"Weretiger!" Akutagawa said with a glare.

"You recognize him, Akutagawa?" Mori said.

"Of course I do. He's the bastard I've been looking for. The pathetic scrub who has caught that man's attention and thinks he can make a fool out of me. I will personally go and deal with him, boss."

"No, you'll all go. Y/n may be new to our organization, but she is of great importance to the future prosperity of the Port Mafia. If she's currently being held by the Armed Detective Agency, then we don't know what you might be walking into. Dazai may have already prepared for a fight if we decide to retaliate, so I don't want this to be a solo mission. You will all retrieve Y/n at any cost. I don't care if you have to blow their building to bits. Don't fail me. Dismissed."

"Yes, boss," they all said in unison before exiting.

Once they left, Mori folded his hands against his forehead and thought about how much he wanted to go with them. The fact that Y/n was merely taken by the Armed Detective Agency should have been a sigh of relief for Mori, but it was the prospect of her meeting Dazai again that made him so anxious. What is he planning to tell her? Will she be swayed by his charm and return to him? Would she actually betray me—I mean, betray us—if Dazai asked her to?  He thought.

Mori knew that he had to stay put for now. It was already strange enough that he sent so many of his top members to merely retrieve one new recruit. If this were anyone else, he wouldn't bother wasting so many resources to find one of his members. He made the excuse that she was important to the Port Mafia, but in reality, he just didn't like the fact that she wasn't here with him. Mori knew that he needed to maintain a level head in front of his subordinates, but with every passing minute that Y/n didn't return it became more difficult for him to remain composed. It's the longest he had ever gone without seeing or speaking to her since she joined the organization and he hated how distracted he was by this. The office felt emptier than he remembered and the air felt colder without her warmth. Well, she does have fire, so I guess it's not surprising. He thought. He continued suppressing the idea that he merely felt this way because he was bored without her.

He pulled out the necklace that Chuuya had found and examined its appearance. The clasp on it was broken and the ring hanging from the chain had also been sullied in grime and crusty blood. He grabbed a cloth to polish it and unveiled the stunning amethyst gemstone hidden beneath it. Is this Y/n's? He thought. He remembered seeing her buy something at the boutique from the footage he saw. Why would she buy this? She doesn't seem like the jewelry type.

Mori cleaned the blood and dirt off the rest of the necklace by soaking it in a cup of cleaning solution and decided to keep it with him until she returned. For some reason, he found comfort in the idea that the necklace might be precious to Y/n and that it somehow managed to find its way to him.

However, as he waited for her return, he also thought about the strange circumstances surrounding her capture. If Y/n actually was responsible for killing those thugs, then why would she choose to slit their throats instead of using her ability to stop them? The glitching in the video made this whole thing even more suspicious to him. Mori considered that although the Agency had her at the moment, there might be another mysterious party seemingly pulling all of their strings. What are they after? Is Y/n their target? But then why would they leave her there alive for anyone to find?

Mori's eyes narrowed as he clutched his chin in contemplation. The thought of being outwitted by this unknown opponent made Mori uneasy and he didn't know how far they were willing to go to get what they wanted, or what they even intended to gain from this in the first place. All he knew was that he was not going to break his promise to Y/n. He was going to find the person responsible for Y/n's suffering. And once she was brought back safe to him, he would focus on eliminating every threat that lurked in their shadows.

Even if he had to fill the streets with screams and make it rain blood, he would ensure that Y/n smiled once again.

Thank you for reading, beautiful people!! It means a lot.

///   To be continued... 🧡