N. Chuuya X Fem! Reader: The Territory of Gravity

10.7 - The Dark Era

"Being a government official was a thankless job for little money," Ango claimed with a scowl.

"So that would mean Ango wasn't a double agent, but a triple agent," Oda said.

"Yep." Dazai nodded. "Well, that's about the extent of my research. Anyway, enough boring stuff. Let's drink."

Glasses were then gently placed before your seats. Usually, they would say cheers after that, but not this time. Perhaps that would never happen again.

Nobody spoke for a while after that. A bitter silence, more bitter than anything on the menu, filled the air between the four of you. At this stage, you already thought about leaving, but Ango had information which could turn the tide during this war.

"So..." Ango reluctantly spoke up since no one else would say anything. "Did you come here to affirm our abiding friendship?"

"As if." Only the corners of Dazai's lips curled. "We came to get information on Mimic. You knew that."

"It's strange. This is the same liquor I always order, yet it has no taste," Ango muttered while staring at his glass as if he was talking to himself. Then he turned his gaze to Oda and asked, "The Division's surveillance group informed us that you met Gide. Did you see his skill?"

I told him I saw that Gide could predict his enemy's attacks.

"Even the Special Division for Unusual Powers has no way of dealing with that skill." Ango shook his head. "The only option would be to drop a massive bomb on him...but he's elusive. We can't pin him down. The higher-ups apparently intend to let the Mafia deal with this case. After both crime syndicates take each other out, the Special Division for Unusual Powers can just manage whichever group survives, thus never having to sacrifice one of their own."

Such a brilliant maneuver would be like killing two birds with one stone for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.

"How convenient," you sighed, tilting your head to the side. "But even the Mafia would have a hard time dealing with that skill." 

Dazai then looked at Oda out of the corner of his eye. "...With the exception of one lowest-ranked mafioso, of course."

"He's a military veteran in command of countless powerful soldiers," Oda mentioned as he stared at his reflection in the drink. "Besides, our skills merely allow us to see a few seconds into the future. Who wins depends on whoever's more skilled in battle and with a gun."

Being more skilled with a gun means being able to shoot your opponent from farther away with more accuracy.

"Odasaku's marksmanship..." Dazai broke into a meaningful grin. "There's a lot of uncertainty. Plus, there's also the problem of a skill singularity."

"Skill singularity?"

"Did anything unusual happen when you used your skill against Gide?"

Oda thought about it for a moment, and seemed to remember something.

"It's a phenomenon the government has started to research only recently." Ango's expression was stern as he spoke. "They've observed that when multiple skills interact, on rare occasions they'll careen off into a completely unexpected direction. The details are unclear, but for example...let's imagine two people are fighting, but both have the skill to always strike first... Or one has the skill to always deceive their opponent while the other has the skill to always see the truth... What would happen? The answer is we don't know until we try. Most of the time, one skill ends up winning. However, in some rare cases, it leads to a phenomenon that isn't initiated by either party. The Special Division for Unusual Powers calls this a singularity."

Then if Gide and Oda had the same skill, would their interaction count as a skill singularity? After all, the both saw futures stacked upon one other, where only one would superimpose the other each time. Or would a singularity be something much larger?

"I really wasn't supposed to tell you any of that," Ango mentioned. "Even the fact that we met here would be a huge problem if the higher-ups in the Home Affairs Ministry ever find out. I'll need to go into hiding for the time being."

Dazai looked at Ango, then beamed as he said, "Oh my. It almost sounds like you think you'll be able to leave here alive, Ango."

The air froze. Ango's expression slowly faded away, but Dazai was still smiling.

"I mean, you know what I'm saying, right? An elusive, secret agency of skill users shrouded in darkness—a group of mythical status that sends shivers down the spines of all criminal syndicates in the country—and one of the members from that organization is here right before my eyes. The amount of information I want out of you could create a tome thicker than the dictionary itself. Am I wrong?" Dazai drawled, wrapping an arm around your waist. "N/N-chan is very adept at getting people to talk, if you catch my drift."

"Can I finish my drink first?" You asked, wriggling out of his grasp.

"Do you want to turn this place into a warzone?" Oda deadpanned.

"It's my fault," Ango said as if he had given up. "I made a mistake. I assumed that this place was the one place we could meet that transcended status or rank. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble here, so do to me as you will. I won't resist."

"Ango." Dazai quietly spoke up, turning his hand back and forth as if to inspect both sides. "If I make just one phone call, my men will immediately surround the place. But they still haven't made a move. Get out of here before I change my mind."

Ango tried to say something, but he swallowed his words.

"I'm not sad. I knew from the very beginning," Dazai said. His face was a blank mask now. "It didn't matter whether you were with the Special Division for Unusual Powers. I always lose the things I don't want to lose the most. That's why I don't feel anything anymore. The moment you get your hands on something worth going after, you lose it. That's just how things are. There is nothing worth pursuing at the cost of prolonging a life of suffering."

To live a normal life.

To have friends were work didn't interfere.

Two of the things Dazai wanted most in life, only for them to be cruelly ripped away each time. 

Such were the tragic tales of the Port Mafia.