女面 - Bungo Stray Dogs Fanfiction

第十五話

Taking a step forward, Dazai stared at the small brick-walled house and questioned, "Is this the place where Q is imprisoned?"

After the secret meeting between the two leaders, Fukuzawa ordered his Agency to search for the mafioso's whereabout. It wasn't as straightforward as they'd like, for Rokuzou and Fumiko weren't able to track him down through a mobile device or surveillance cameras. So instead, they had to track him down by tracing the Guild members' past movements using those means; and that meant all the members. Eventually, they narrowed down their options to a cabin in the woods, which was most likely where the Guild would hide their hostage.

"Yes." replied Fumiko before her gaze landed on her flip phone. "After going through the cameras, Rokuzou-kun discovered that Q was last seen with a Guild member named Lovecraft. After tracking him down, it led us to this place. We thought this is the most ideal place to hide their hostage."

"I see." was her colleague's response.

All of a sudden, bright white spotlights shone on them, followed by the sounds of guns cocking. "Good evening." greeted Steinbeck mockingly as he and Lovecraft stepped forward. "Our strategist is very proficient at predicting the enemy's movement."

Dazai and Fumiko turned around to face them. "Is this a trap?" questioned the former with a raised brow.

The unfazed woman stared at them before glancing at her wristwatch. 'Let's see.' she thought, seeming to be anticipating something that not even Dazai seemed to be aware of. 'He should be here in a few seconds.'

As if on cue, Lovecraft looked up and saw someone approaching them from above. But before he could even comprehend who it was, the person harshly landed in the center where the Guild men were, pulverising the ground beneath them as thick shrouds of dust lingered in the air. The others tried to shoot whoever this person was, but they glowed in red before they levitated in the air and then were slammed back down. While Steinbeck wondered what was going on, Dazai had a look of dread while rubbing the back of his head with his good arm, and Fumiko merely had a sheepish smile plastered on her face.

"Yo, Fumiko." greeted the orange-haired man as he took a few steps forward. "How have you been? I hope this bastard is behaving himself."

"I've been well, Nakahara-kun." she responded with a warm smile. "Thank you for asking. Don't worry. Dazai-kun has been very good since day one."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Chuuya?" he grumbled. "Well, it doesn't matter." But then, his soft gaze hardened when it landed on Dazai. "Let me clarify this first. After I take out this bunch of trash, it's your turn next."

"Sure enough, it ended up this way." sighed the brunette with disdain. "That's why I was so dispirited early in the morning."

"As if you're the only one who's dispirited." remarked Chuuya. "If it weren't for Boss and Fumiko, I wouldn't be here in the first place."

Dazai snapped his head at the woman who appeared nervous the moment she felt his gaze. "You called him of all people?!" he gasped. "Fumiko-chan, how could you?!"

"Sorry, Dazai-kun." pouted the said woman. "I thought Nakahara-kun was the best person to help us in this situation."

"How's this possible?" questioned Steinbeck, who was caught off guard by Chuuya's sudden appearance. "This ambush didn't appear in the strategic prediction." He created a hole in his palm which allowed tree roots to grow rapidly and into the ground.

But unfortunately for him, Dazai merely stood behind him and patted his shoulder. "Alright, I'm sorry." he said sarcastically, nullifying the Guild member's ability. "You can't use that."