Atsushi swung the bag of groceries in his hands while walking away from the convenience store. He had just earned a considerable sum of money from the few jobs he had completed for the Port Mafia, so he decided he would try to cook himself some food he made for himself. At this rate, he would be able to pay back Chuuya in no time while still being able to treat himself every now and then. So far, joining the Port Mafia was shaping up to be a good choice.
He turned around the corner and heard the sounds of another group’s conversation.
“...so sleepy, guys. Is the office still far away?”
“Well, we did tell you to wait until we got back before you started eating.”
“Eh? But Ranpo-san already started eating!”
“That’s ‘cause he’s got no self-control!”
The Armed Detective Agency?!
Atsushi stopped in his tracks, but just before he went to walk the other way, they had already spotted him. Atsushi’s eyes locked with Kunikida’s.
“Weretiger?!”
“Oh, hi... Do you guys still need to turn me in…?”
The Agency members all gave each other a look and nodded. That was when they all made a move to surround the young man. Atsushi sighed and carefully placed his grocery bags on the sidewalk just before the boy with a straw hat lunged at him. Atsushi dodged just in time, but then Yosano easily sent a kick at his legs. The orphan fell over onto the concrete and when he looked up, he saw the detective Ranpo just watching the scene with an amused expression on his face and a lollipop.
“Wha-”
The weight of a sharp heel could be felt on Atsushi’s back. He let out a yelp and tried to pull himself away from the pressure. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t escape being sandwiched between the ground and the shoe.
“Huh? What’s that?” Atsushi could hear the timid ginger ask.
“What? This?” Yosano stepped on Atsushi’s back even more and leaned in closer to him. “Is that… a collar?”
She poked one of the outer spikes with her finger. Atsushi grit his teeth as the spikes on the inside dug deeper into his skin. He felt a trickle of blood spill down the back of his neck, causing him to shiver a bit at the feeling.
✦✧✧✧✧✦
Atsushi lamely wriggled around under Akutagawa’s weight. He wasn’t even using any force on Atsushi’s back and he had informed the young man that he was severely underweight. Still, Atsushi struggled to free himself. It left the young man feeling utterly pathetic.
“Tch. You can’t even get away from this?”
Atsushi thrashed around a bit on the ground before lamely letting his arms drop to the floor. “No… Am I really not allowed to just use my ability?”
Akutagawa sighed in exasperation. “Usually, these training sessions would be used to help you control the tiger in battle. However, if you advance through the fundamentals using the tiger, you would be of the same skill level as a crab with a gun taped to its claws.”
“That’s… a strange metaphor. YOW-!”
Akutagawa pressed his foot deeper into Atsushi’s back. “Atsushi, how flexible are your arms?”
“Pretty flexible,” Atsushi responded breathlessly, deciding not to bring up the devices used at his old orphanage that stretched his limbs to an ungodly degree.
“Can you reach back and grab my leg?”
✦✧✧✧✧✦
“No… no, no! Get away from me! You’re not taking me away!” Atsushi roared.
YOU ARE READING
𝐔𝐍𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀 | completed
Fanfiction(also on ao3) ✦✧✧✧✧✦ nakajima atsushi has recently been kicked out of his orphanage. after starving and wandering through the streets of yokohama, he discovers an unsettling truth about himself that has an agency of detectives after his head...
