The Stray Hound (OC x Bungou Stray Dogs)

Part 2

"Is that real?"  I asked.
"Don't worry!" She laughed in her trademark sugar-sweet voice "It's a dud Junichiro and Kunikida put together. All it does is count down."
"Speaking of your brother, where is he?"
Naomi smiled sadistically as her eyes moved to the bathroom down the hall; the door to which was probably locked.
"Did you try to sneak a peek again?" I asked.
"It's not like I haven't seen it all before~." She said.
My eyes widened as I stared at the teenager who always had a way of making me feel uneasy.
"You seriously freak me out sometimes," I said.
Naomi just smiled and giggled, then got back to work. I shook my head as I walked over to the men's bathroom and rapped my knuckles on the door.
"I'm not opening the door, Naomi!" Junichiro yelled from inside.
"Relax Chucklenuts, it's me." I hollered.
The door opened and Junichiro stuck his head out.  Junichiro was a young man of a slim, average build with orange hair, hazel eyes, and pale skin. His hair was parted in the middle with its spikes sweeping downwards, along with a light grey bobby pin clipped on the left side, and wore earrings of a similar color. His attire was ragged, though somewhat refined and formal in his way. His ensemble consisted of an oversized, off-white V-neck sweater with a black stripe around the collar, light blue pants, and lightly faded brown shoes. As always, he had a red sweater wrapped snugly around his waist; tight enough to hold, but loose enough to avoid discomfort.

"Are you feeling okay?"  I asked.
Junichiro had his hand pressed against the bathroom wall with his other trembling on his kneecap.  He looked pale, even more so than he usually did.  His hands and knees were shaking, though the latter was less noticeable, and beads of sweat ran down his face every few seconds.
"Nerves."  Junichiro replied nauseously "I'm not a very good actor."
That's when it dawned on me.
"You don't think you'll do a good job,"  I replied.
"What if I mess up?"  He asked miserably "What if I choke?"
"I can't believe this. Junichiro, I've seen you act."
I leaned against a wall and looked down at him.
"Do you remember that poker game between me, you, Ranpo, and Dazai?" I asked "It took Ranpo thirty seconds to figure out your tell. Thirty seconds. If it took him that long, you've got nothing to worry about."
"You think so?" The ginger-haired teen asked.
"Definitely."
We bumped knuckles just as Naomi started pounding on the door.
"They're here!" She yelled frantically.
We rushed out the door and were met with an... interesting sight. Naomi was tied up in front of Dazai's desk near the far end of the room with the fake bomb positioned behind her head. The rest of the girls were huddled together in the hallway leading to the Presidents office. I turned my ear to the door as the sounds of three pairs of feet drew closer and closer with every passing moment. Junichiro rushed forward and jumped on Dazai's desk as he pulled a detonator out of his pocket. The look on his face changed from flustered to angry and unstable in an instant.
"Don't move!" He yelled as he pointed the detonator at me "Take one more step and I'll blow us all to hell!"
I calmly held up my hands, trying to mask my giddiness as Dazai, Kunikida and Atsushi ran inside the office.
"Take it, easy kid." I said calmly "Just put the detonator down and we can talk."
I took a step forward and Junichiro's thumb moved over the detonators' single button.
"I know who you are!" He growled, "You're Doyle, the Mad Dog!"
My eye twitched at the sound of that name.
'Don't oversell it, brat.' I thought 'And don't push your luck.'
"I know about that damn ability of yours. All you have to do is bleed and it activates! Well, I won't let that happen, not until I see the President! Spread your fingers and keep your hands where I can see them!"
I did as I was told and stood as still as possible. I could hear feet shuffling across the tiled floor and watched as Kunikida stepped into view.
"Easy kid, just put the—" He began.
"Not another step!" Junichiro ordered.
Kunikida froze on the spot as Naomi trembled in fear.
"I did my research!" Junichiro yelled "You're Kunikida, the gifted with the notebook! Get on the desk on your hands and knees right now or I swear I'll blow this whole building to pieces!"
Kunikida and I looked at him in a mixture of confusion and mild disappointment. Junichiro flinched and started to sweat nervously, but quickly regained his composure.
"You heard me!" He barked "On the desk, now!"
Kunikida sighed and climbed onto the desk to my right.
"Can you reach him?" The blonde whispered.
"No." I replied gravely "I so much as flinch and this kid will pull the trigger. He planned this, all of it. He got here before I arrived and looked into every agent we have."
"Not all of them." Kunikida corrected.
"What are you — wait, don't tell me you brought him here."
"He was with Dazai when I found him. There wasn't any time."
I groaned in annoyance.
"I got a bad feeling about this," I muttered.
Just then, Dazai pushed Atsushi out from behind a flower pot with a mountain of papers in his hands.
"D-D-Don't do it!" He stammered as he walked forward on a pair of trembling legs "W-What are you h-hoping to get out of this? I-I bet your parents would be really sad if they knew."
"Who the hell are you?!" Junichiro yelled.
His change in tone scared Atsushi right off his feet.
"S-Sorry..." Atsushi apologized fearfully.
"I've never seen you before." Junichiro said, "You're not with the Agency."
"I-I'm a newspaper boy!" Atsushi said as he showed last week's paper "I was just dropping by while I was on my route!"
"Why the hell did you get involved with this?!"
Atsushi looked up at me. He was terrified, but considering the environment, it wasn't surprising. I said nothing to him, but slowly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then looked back at him. Atsushi nodded slightly and copied me, then got back up.
"Because what you're doing isn't right." Atsushi answered, slightly calmer than before "No matter what happens you shouldn't threaten to kill people. Think about all the things that are worth living for."
"Oh yeah?" Junichiro spat "Name one!"
Atsushi froze and started shaking again.
"Um, uh, y-yummy tea on rice!" He shouted desperately "That's a reason to live!"
"Pretty lousy one."
"A-And a roof over your head! Waking up with one is a good enough reason! But if you push that button, we'll all die."
"I realize that."
'This is too much.' I groaned mentally.
I tapped my foot and motioned Atsushi to get closer with my eyes. Without wasting a second, he marched right up to Junichiro and got in his face. Junichiro reeled back and kept the detonator away from Atsushi.
"What about a job?!" Atsushi asked frantically "You've got one, don't you?!"
"Uh, n-no?" Junichiro replied uneasily.
"Well, what do you say you put that remote down, then you and I can go find a job together?!"
"Um, I'm good. And aren't you already employed..."
As Junichiro spoke, his grip on the detonator loosened.
"Now Kunikida!" Dazai yelled.
"I'm on it!" Kunikida yelled back.
It only took him a few brief seconds for Kunikida to take out his notebook and scribble something down.
"Ability! Doppo Poet!" He yelled as he tore the page from his book "Wire Gun!"
The page started to glow and bend as it transformed into a small handgun with a claw at the end of the barrel. Kunikida aimed the device at Junichiro and fired, snatching the detonator from his hand.
"I got him!" I yelled.
I rushed forward and grabbed Junichiro by the collar of his shirt, then threw him on the ground and pulled his arm behind his back.
"One man down." Dazai said casually "Nice work everyone."
I heard Atsushi breathe a sigh of relief as the girls applauded us.
"Hold on a second." Kunikida said, "This isn't a detonator, it's a garage door opener!"
I looked at him in confusion, and that's when it hit me. I looked behind me and felt the color drain from my face when I saw the deadman switch on the ground beside Naomi's feet.
"Shit!" I yelled.
The explosive beeped loudly as the countdown started.
"Thirty seconds left!" Atsushi yelled.
Before I could react, Junichiro broke free and pinned me to the ground as he put my gun to my head. Kunikida and Dazai couldn't move an inch. I could hear something moving behind me, and my eyes widened as Naomi was thrown to Dazai.
'Atsushi!' I thought.
I threw Junichiro off and gasped as I watched Atsushi cover the bomb with his body.
"Kid, no!" I yelled.
Atsushi closed his eyes tightly as the timer hit zero.