A Second Chance

Chapter 60

"How about becoming a messenger?" He answered.

My mouth fell open with a ridiculing look replacing my glare. "Nani?"

"Messenger. If I have any messages for the Armed Detective Agency, then I will ask you to send the message over." Mori crossed his arms across his chest.

"Does that mean Tsuki-nee will be coming to visit me more often??" Elise beamed excitedly. Sparkles and flowers could be seen blooming behind her comically.

"You could say that." Mori pats her head lightly, feeling contempt about the action. "Think of it as," he directed his words to me this time, "working for both sides."

And a frown crossed my face this time. I couldn't believe he had just given me that kind of proposition. It was out of the world. Working for both? Was he kidding me?

"With the recent events that had happened, I thought I should prepare a few things in advance," Mori explained. Any look of amusement or joy couldn't be seen even in his eyes—which were hardened and sharp.

'He's serious. Why?'

"Why? Why the preparations?" I questioned him the doubts that came up in my mind.

"I have a feeling that something bad would happen in the coming future. Think of it as a hunch."

I sighed out in frustration. "Just a hunch? Are you really serious? I can't just agree with this. Working for both sides? Are you asking for a death wish?"

"I think you know." Mori snickered. "That, that Dazai-kun meddles everywhere. Us included. He hides a lot. I really want him to continue being my right-hand man though."

My mind floated to the post-plan activity that Dazai was speaking about. Tomorrow, he would be meeting with Hirotsu, discussing about a few things.

"About this proposition," I brought it up, "how serious are you going on about it?"

"I'm as serious as I will ever be. I'm sure you know." Mori's eyes darkened and his lips pulled into a malicious smile. He picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea. "You have seen, at the last second, the ship descended even when the remote was disabled."

I remembered the dark purplish icon appearing on the screen when I was there with Dazai. It kept laughing when despair dropped upon us. "That third party involvement? You know who it is? Osamu-san knew who it was when the icon appeared."

Mori plastered on a thoughtful look. "I think I can guess who."

"Person," the corner of my lips curled downwards, "or a group?"

"Who knows." He replied nonchalantly.

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me." I groaned in annoyance. He kept pushing the topic around and leaving open holes without filling them with appropriate answers. I couldn't understand him sometimes.

"You will know soon enough." Mori's amusement expression had been replaced with a stretched look of gravity—seriousness. "Regarding the proposition," he changed the topic, again, "what do you have to say?"

Elise slid off from the couch she was sitting and walked towards me with a bounce in her feet. She jumped and propped half of her upper body on my lap. Her actions startled me, and I almost kicked my leg out instinctively—Had I done so, Mori slicing my head off with his scalpel would be the cause of my death.

"You would accept, won't you Tsuki-nee?" Elise beamed happily and swung her legs up and down like the child she was. "I want to see you for a lot of times!"

I looked down at her. Elise wore a pleading look. But no matter how much she would beg for it, it wasn't easy to sway me this time. "Who knows. This isn't something I can just decide like this." I replied to her.