"Osamu?" My hand followed its usual habit, my fingers curling around his sleeve as we strolled along the streets of Yokohama. We breathe in the sea air, small crowds move through, and we hear our shoes drag across the pavement. "Why do we have to get up? I want to stay in bed and simulate rotting for a few more hours."
"Don't be so silly! To annoy Kunikida, of course!" I perked up, looking up at him as the morning sun peaked over the buildings in time for us to arrive at work, "Do you have any new ways to irritate him?"
"Hmm... Nope! But, we can lounge around today." I translated his words. Something's going to happen today. "Yay!" I curiously hum a tune as I walk beside him. Maybe I can meet one of Osamu's past friends – there was one in particular that he knew I'd like. I think he described him as being incredibly short with a dumb hat. I shouldn't get my hopes up, though. His definition of an eventful day ranges from being arrested to trying a new poison and collapsing for a few hours.
We arrived at the cafe under the Agency floor. It wasn't too far from the company dorms but far enough that breakfast was forgotten, and the sweet treats in the displays would make me crave snacks.
The door opened with a small jingle, and I instantly set my sights on a particular stool. I skipped toward it, lept onto it, and swayed my feet. "[Y/N]? Give up my stool." I cheekily glimpsed to where Osamu stood tall, expecting me to yield, "N O spells no!" I crossed my arms, my grin widening. "[Y/N], don't make me do this," Osamu's fingers slowly lifted and reached out to me in feigned apprehension, "No! You monster, don't you dare put those hands near me!"
He did.
"Agh!! No! No!! Stop, I surrender– I-I can't– breathe," I choked on a breath, desperately holding onto the counter so I didn't fall off my stool.
I was lifted by my collar, freed from Osamu's terror, and my wheezing form struggled to remove itself from Kunikida's grip. "Let– me g-o, you ass!!"
"I did not enter this building to restrain two feral children, goddamnit!!" I calmed down, and my shoulders dropped, "Awee... All I wanted was to sit on my chair. Osamu, you stink!" My bandaged brother swayed from side to side as I was carried to the seats by the window. Atsushi sat there soon after, followed by the weirder siblings of the Agency.
I pouted, wanting to take no part in Osamu's dumb conversation.
A loud thump erupted from the table, and I glanced to where Tanizaki begged for forgiveness, "I'm so sorry!!" Atsushi seemed just as scared as I did. "Though it was for your exam, I was so rude!
Kunikida disrupts the apology, sternly pushing up his glasses as he sits on the stool beside Osamu, "What are you apologising for? It was all part of the job, Tanizaki." My brother giggles before making a small dramatic gasp, pointing at his partner, "Kunikida! You're being rude!" We watch as he brings his hand to his nose bridge, pushing up an imaginary pair of glasses, "Doppo poetry!"
"That's not it! I was told to do that!" Kunikida doesn't appreciate the imitation. Osamu leans on his palm, giggling as if Kunikida isn't yelling at him, and Tanizaki moves the conversation in a productive direction, "My name is Tanizaki Junichirou. I work as an assistant of sorts at the Agency." His 'sister' hugs his side, and the colour drains from my face. Oh no, they're introducing each other. I gotta get out of here, or my eyes will be burned.
I shifted out of my seat toward where Osamu was being shoved by Kunikida and decided it was best to sit on the stool beside Osamu, away from them. I tuned them out, deciding to ignore whatever that was and savour the rest of my innocence.
I dove my hand into my pocket, bringing out Fitzy 2.0 – Don't ask what happened to the first one. I made meaningless conversation with the frog, petting my finger across its cold skin. Osamu was too busy on my chair to contribute.
"In any event, brat, today you have joined the ranks of the Armed Detective Agency–" Kunikida then yelled, ensuring the sibling heard it, "Do not be a burden to anyone and don't bring shame to the Agency's good name!! The rest of us are committed to that, at least. Right, Dazai? [Y/N]?"
I brought my line of sight to where Osamu was caressing the waitress's hand, much like how I was doing my frog, "Would you strangle me with these fragile, delicate fingers?" This unfortunate woman had been dealing with his flirting for too long now.
"Are you going to smear mud on the Agency's name, right as I'm saying we never would?" Kunikida's eyes snapped to me, then to the frog that only croaked in my hold, "I thought I told you to put that frog back in its rightful home, [Y/N]!" I pouted, holding Fitzy 2.0 to my chest, "I'll have you know, this is a different frog. The other one... ran away."
"You bastards!! And don't bother asking for her help all the time! I'll crush your necks with my bony fingers."
"By the way, what were the both of you doing before you joined the Agency?" Atsushi's voice cut through the violence; Kunikda had been trying to strangle Osamu. "Hah?!"
"Uh, no real meaning behind the question, by the way."
"Take a guess." Osamu sat backwards on his chair again, and I stuck my tongue out in focus as I copied him. "It's a game we play often. The rookie tries to guess his senior colleagues' former occupations. Well, it's part of their training as private investigators." Atsushi looked around, his eyes landing on the siblings, "Tanizaki and Naomi were... students?"
"Oh, bingo. I'm impressed."
"How'd you know?"
"I heard you were a part-time worker. I thought you might be a student given your uniform. Tanizaki seems close to me in age, so it was just a hunch." I peeked toward Kunikida – Knowing his former job, I couldn't help but suffocate a snicker. "Honesty is a virtue. What about Kunikida?" My stomach hurt as I burst into laughter, and Kunikda spat out his coffee, "Who cares about what I used to be?!" I held up my hand, "Me!"
"Public worker? An official?!"
"Close." Kunikida looked almost as if he was pouting, his stubbornness getting the best of him. "He was a teacher. A math teacher." I beamed, "Yeah, he taught me when I got here!" I'll give Kunikida this – he's a surprisingly good teacher. Intense but efficient. "Huh? I can totally see that." I hummed, sipping on the strawberry milk I'd been given before gulping the rest of it down. "It's all in the past. I don't want to think about it."
"Uh, [Y/N] was doing nothing?"
"Correct! I was doing absolutely nothing!!" Well, I wasn't technically. In the slums, I was between jobs of questionable morality and ethics despite being 7. But I had hobbies – Like drawing. "And you guessed this because...?" I leaned forward on the chair, interested in his train of thought. The boy sweated, "A-Ah. Well, you're young, but you mentioned being taught by Kunikida– I'd assumed you don't go to school?" I nod, "Mhm!"
We all shifted our eyes to the enigma beside me, who was mixing more sugar into his tea. "What about me, then?"
"You, Dazai?"
"Yes, me." Osamu obliviously smiled and twisted in the stool to look at Atsushi as his other hand stirred his cup. We all watched Asushi's brain abruptly stump, "Well... Dazai was... Dazai was..."
Kunikida pushed up his glasses, "Don't bother, brat. His former profession is one of the seven mysteries of the Armed Detective Agency. The only one who knows it other than himself is [Y/N], but they haven't let up anything." I smile brightly, "It's no fun if I spoil it!" Tanizaki reveals a motive for the money-driven tiger-boy, "The first person to get it receives a reward, right?"
"A reward?!"
Osamu licks the sugar off his spoon, "That's right. No one has guessed right, so the rewards have just been ballooned." Determination radiated from Atsushi as he suddenly gained new energy, "And how much has this reward ballooned to, exactly?"
"700,000¥" I don't even think Osamu has that kind of money- he can't pay his tab. "S-So if I can get it right, I can claim it? For real? For real?!"
"A suicide proponent is true to his word."
"Seven hundred grand will be mine." Atsushi proceeded to name random occupations and slowly but surely, his passion turned into irritation.
"Salaryman!" Osamu says no.
"Researcher!" Osamu says boo.
"Factory worker!" Osamu says non.
"Writer!" Osamu blows a rasberry.
"Actor!" Osamu says no, but... A flattered blush creeps up his cheeks, and he holds them with his hands, cradling his face and swaying from side to side. The site has me giggling at his silly reaction, and I reach forward to poke his blushing cheek, "Like you could ever be an actor!" Osamu huffs, grabbing my finger that poked him, pouting and whining like an incessant child, "What's that supposed to mean??!!"
Kunikida doubted Osamu's integrity, naturally, "I bet you were wandering around, doing nothing."
"Nope!"
"He wasn't!" I giggle as Kunikida grows peeved by the notion of a kid knowing better than he. "I would never lie about this. Do you yield, Atsushi? Then, you can take the check."
"What?!"
"You can start a tab if you don't have enough right now. After all, it's the Agency's go-to restaurant." And then you can leave that tab unattended.
Tanizaki's phone rang, and he answered to find we had a request. "We have a job?" Kunikida determined, leaving me to pout. Working or not is draining. "Yes. The clients at the Agency already."
A hand landed on my head, and my eyes flitted up to see Osamu smiling at me, a knowing look in his eye. I cast my eyes to the floor, smiling to myself.
Osamu's quick mind and prediction, developed keenly in the Port Mafia, are enviable to those who do not know of that isolating nature. To know that there is nothing outside of your expectations... To know that there is nothing to give your life meaning... A desperate attempt to grasp onto the threads of meaning, the outliers and stray dogs wandering earth that we can guide to a different path than the one we took.
My life up till now has been guided by an infinite number of universes steering me towards the best outcome, and in each of those sixteen years, I have amassed knowledge, experience, and a dull, desensitised reaction to most things. We flow with the tide, drift with the wind, and still when left behind. Sasaki was correct.
I shook the thoughts away, saving them for another time, and then observed the scene around me. "Well, it's time for work." We all stood up, and I awkwardly shuffled off the chair. "Let's save the guessing game for another time."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
"So...You've mentioned that you'd like to request an investigation. But what manner of investigation are we speaking of here?" Our client was a woman with bobbed blonde hair and a delicate face, but her bag told me otherwise. I detected weaponry, purple fog seeping from the clasped metal opening. Dressed in an unassuming suit and with clasped hands on her crossed legs, she didn't look like much.
Before I could mutter my suspicions to my brother, he crouched before the blonde woman and took her hand in his. I almost missed the way he discretely slid a device into her pocket as he occupied her with his flirting. I'm stealing that move, for sure.
Kunikda punched my bandaged caretaker into the open door across the way from us, stress tugging at his wrinkly face, "Ah. Apologies for the disturbance. Don't worry. Please disregard what just happened. Please, continue."
I skipped after Osamu and into the small room as Kunikida marched toward him. I watched my superior mercilessly beat up my brother, yelling profanities and scoldings. I did nothing, and I don't feel the slightest bit bad. After all, Osamu stole my stool and woke me up this morning. Kunikida finished, opened the door, and continued on his conversation.
Once the door was shut, I squatted down and poked Osamu on the nose, "You okay?"
"I-I think I'm dying." His face pulled painfully, and I pouted with crocodile tears, "Oh, no! If that's the case, d'ya mind spilling the beans?" Osamu grinned, pulling a pair of headphones out of nowhere. "Put these on." I did as told, then listened to the audio coming through. "You want us to stake out that place and get that evidence." I heard Kunikida's voice from outside the door and through the headphones. I hum in realisation, "Ah, that explains the sub machine guns in her bag. She's mafia."
"Mhm! A little mafioso is targeting the Agency. It took long enough, no?" I giggled, patting Osamu's face without care, "Wow! My older brother is so smart."
A bandaged arm drags me down, and I'm snuggled into him violently. "You know it!" Engulfed in an uncomfortable hug, I yelped through the material of his jacket, "Osamu, I can't breathe! Let me go!" Shaking his head, Osamu held tighter, rolling back and forth, as if to rock me to sleep, "Nope!'... And don't call me 'older'. It makes me feel like a senior." He moped, and I tried to wiggle out of his bandaged hug. "Keep talking like that, and you might actually become old. Plus, Kunikda has more wrinkles."
"Awe!!"
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Osamu sat, head down facing the desk, and I had perched myself on the edge – It gave me a good view of the streets outside, namely the sweets shop I refused to take my eyes off until I bribed Osmau to get me some desserts. I held Fitzy 2.0 and mindlessly ate away at one of Ranpo's stolen sweets. A sour rope.
Atsushi stood to my left, placing away a camera to bring on his investigation with an anxious demeanour. His shoulders were tense, brow furrowed. "Hey, brat," Kunikida took his notebook from the pocket in his vest, approaching Atsushi, "It's not that I lack sympathy for your unlucky, ill-begotten life. As such, I'll give you one hint for surviving in this city. Don't run into him." From his notebook, Kunikida pulled a photograph out.
I peeked over his shoulder, seeing a familiar face on a grainy photograph taken from security footage. It's a familiar rabid dog, coated in shadows and an apathetic, empty expression. The one Osamu drags me away from and the one that reminds me of a hazy figure I'd once come across in the slums. Akuatagwa. My ability recognises him.
"If you do, run." Atsushi examines the photo, "Who is he?"
"A mafioso." Osamu sat on the desk, leaning against me with his head draped over mine, "Though we call him that because we don't know much else."
Pushing away my brother's head, I hummed along, finishing the sweet and chucking the wrapper out the open window. Kunikida sighed at my disgraceful actions but continued, "They're a vicious criminal organisation who claims the port as their territory. They're called the Port Mafia. They're the most dangerous bunch in the underground world of this city. Of them, the one in this photo is a dangerous man beyond even the Agency's reach."
"Why is he dangerous?"
"Because he's gifted. His ability happens to be of the ruthless sort specialised for slaughter. Not even the military police stand a chance against him. Even I lost a fight to him once."
That fight would be the one to occur during Osamu's entrance exam, an encounter we'd avoided as Osamu dragged us away. The fighting power of Akutagawa, based on the encounter and Osamu's subtle reaction to the report Kunikida had written, had grown incredibly. Among every universe, no matter what happens within it, Akuatagwa and Atsushi's power clash. It's a consistent detail, their encounters, and their conflict spur the other to improve. It's a chain reaction between them that Osamu will have to provoke, no doubt, in whatever questionable way he intends, but will end with a pairing perfect enough to rival Osamu's stories of his own.
"What's his name?" I mouthed along with the words, careful and slight, but gaining Osamu's attention indirectly, "It's Akutagawa." I turned my eyes to meet Osamu's, looking up at him, "Osamu, would you mind if I tagged along with Atsushi?"
"Sure, just don't go replacing me!" I was crushed against him in another uncomfortable hug that I accepted despite holding a frog. "I could never!"
I lept off of the desk. My feet nearly slipped, the soles of my shoes falling off despite being new, all thanks to my countless attempts on my life. Turning to face the desk, I take Osamu's hand, making him hold it out, then give him my frog. He giggles, taking it into both hands.
I checked my pocket for the phone I kept to call Osamu and then waved goodbye so I could join my coworkers and our 'client'. "Bye-bye!"
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
"That's scary, alright." Tanizaki and Naomi walked ahead of us as I stood behind Atsushi. I was the furthest from the mafioso, watching from a distance. Atsushi moped, "It's not funny. All this talk about the vicious mafia and how you can die... I'm not sure if I'm cut out for this."
"You keep saying that, Atsushi, but we all know you'd be dead without us, so lighten up a little."
"[Y-[Y/N]... You don't need to be so straightforward about it." Tanizaki snapped his head to look at me with wide, nervous eyes, but I waved off his anxieties and continued, "Oh hush, what do you want me to say? You'll be caught gently and then tenderly whispered words of degradement before being affectionately shot dead?" Atsushi sweated, his fear shooting through the roof.
Tanizaki attempts to lessen whatever damage I'd done, "W-Well, that aside, even I've been able to manage. You'll be fine." Atsushi fiddles with his gloves, "But you're also gifted. Your ability must be different from my useless one..."
"I wouldn't set your expectations too high. My ability's not suited for combat." It's almost as if we were asking to be scarred for life. Naomi snaked her face towards his neck and blew air, "You have a wonderful ability. I love it."
"Stop, Naomi. Not here." I hid behind my hands, still wanting to remain oblivious to what goes on behind closed doors. "I have chosen to no longer exist, Atsushi. I might come back in a few minutes – depending on whether or not I can hear them." Atsushi pulled my blind self to his side to avoid me hitting a pole, sweating at his now less-than-fortunate position.
"We're here. This way." The blonde woman spoke, leading us into what I presume is an alleyway.
I removed my face from my hands, glancing at the dead-end. This is a death trap, typical for a machine guns assault. Still, I stay by Atsushi's side as he guides me in with them, hand on my shoulder. I trust my ability to keep me from being shot down, so I suppose this can't be bad for me. A bullet can never cause me lethal damage – It either misses or lands somewhere minor. In the rare event that it may land point-blank at close range at a fatal point, Fortuna only knows where to go from there.
"It's kind of creepy." Atsushi's comment is quiet, and he lets go of my shoulder to hold onto the strap of the camera's case. Tanizaki scratches his cheek, looking around, "That's strange. Is this the right place? Um..." Tanizaki urges for the woman's name. "I'm Higuchi."
"Higuchi, smugglers are a cowardly bunch. They'll always have an escape route, but this is a dead-end. If anyone came after them from that direction," Tanizaki pointed in Higuchi's direction, "They'd have nowhere to run."
I hear a bag fall, and she pulls her blonde hair into a bun, "That's right." She unbuttons the top few buttons of her shirt, then places a pair of shades over her eyes, "I apologise, I've led you into a trap. My real target was you."
She brings a phone from her pocket – It's the same cheap burner make that Osamu would carry around – she flips it open, "Akutagawa. I have them as planned." The name triggers a jolt of fear down Atsuhsi's spine, and I grin. "Akutagawa?!"
Higuchi pulled two firearms from her jacket blazer, ruthlessly aiming them our way.
Flashes of gunfire light up the enclosed space.
I stay still with bullets skimming my cheeks and arms. It burns with how quick they go by, stings in the aftershock, but overall is basically a collection of paper cuts more than bullet wounds. I'll have to stitch the small holes on Sakunosuke's shirt again, but it'll be fine. I've got plenty more.
"She's with the Port Mafia!" My coworkers were a different story, but I trust they'll live. Whether that's through Yasano's or my ability. Either one ensures we stay alive.
As unlikely as it may seem.
Blood that manages to fly through Naomi's body makes its way onto Tanizaki's face, and the girl is still for a few short moments, the pain likely being a shock to her system. "Brother... Are you okay?"
Tanizaki collapses to his knees, "Naomi? Naomi!" His sister falls next to his chest as she goes unconscious.
I dismissively watch as Atsushi hastens backwards in fear. "God, what should I do? Oh, right! Tourniquet! Atsushi, do you have any tourniquet on you?! No, first, I have to clean the wound... No. I have to get her to Dr. Yosano. We... We have to take her to the infirmary! [Y/N], can you do anything?"
"Not currently," I mumble, and Tanizaki helplessly feels through his sister's bloodied hair, fingers tangled in the mangled warmth and wet, all while I observe Higuchi reload her weaponry. "Atsushi, get her legs!"
The muzzle is brought to the back of Tanizaki's head with a steady aim. Higuchi speaks over his rambling, "My investigations have already revealed that you are a non-combatant member. Let's have you follow this noble princess to the afterlife."
...
"....What?"
The voice that escapes Tanizaki is a white-hot wavelength of rage. The calm, timid smile is replaced with a heated rage and callous eyes as he seethes through his teeth, "You two-bit thug! How dare you hurt Naomi!"
His ability activates, and Tanizaki picks up his sister when Higuchi steps back. I presume the woman lacks an ability, her only speciality being welding guns. Akutagawa once told me in another life that such weapons make a person foolish.
"Ability: Light Snow..." Green-tinted snow comes down upon us, and Higuchi pauses with her weaponry in hand to look around, "Snow at this time of year?"
"Atsushi, [Y/N], stay far back. This one... Is mine to kill." With the exclamation, Higuchi responds by shooting toward Tanizaki. His body seems to dissolve into particles as the bullets go through him. I do as told out of respect for whatever revenge he wants to exact upon the stranger, stepping back with Atsushi as my hand grips the phone in my pocket. I should expect Akutagawa soon enough.
Higuchi's head swings in every direction, confused, "What?"
Tanizaki speaks through an echoing void, explaining his ability to the woman. Higuchi, in response, shoots around her to where an invisible Tanizaki can stand, turning slowly with both guns held on either side of her, "I may not be able to see you, but bullets can still hit you!"
But he was one step ahead, standing behind her, "Wrong." Fingers wrap around the woman's throat, applying pressure, and then Tanizaki appears fully, "Die!"
A sharp, black-as-night leather impales Tanizaki. He collapses once the blade slips from the wound, the ability glowing red.
Akutagawa comes into view, coughing into his palm and saying a verse, "Fear death." The words echo at the verge of the alley's entrance, his ability ripping through the air and towards us again.
I dodge the leather that comes my way, leaping to the other side of the enclosed space and then climbing onto the vents above, the sound of clattering metal resounding in the space.
"Fear slaughter. Those who desire death have an equal desire to die. Therefore..." His sentence leads off as he indifferently walks forward. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Akutagawa, one of the Port Mafia's dogs, as is she."
His greetings are cut off as a chesty cough is made again, and he brings a hand to his mouth to cover. "Akutagawa! I can handle this myself!" A slap resonates in the alley with not a moment of silence after as Akutagwa scolds Higuchi, "I believe the orders were to take the weretiger alive. And yet here you are, gunning everyone down. You are useless, cur! Stand down!" Higuchi gives a meek apology.
I raise my eyebrow at 'alive'. Are the Port Mafia here specifically for Atsushi? If so, I assume my prediction of a reward may be correct.
Atsushi questions the threat, "Take the weretiger alive? What are you after?"
"My target has always been you and you alone, weretiger. Your fellow agents lying there just got caught in the crossfire." Atsushi widens his eyes, posture stiffening in his crouched position on the floor, "This is because of me?" Akutawaga's words inform Atsushi's thoughts, confirming what others have said about him and what he's led himself to believe. I told him just yesterday that my ability grants the Agency fortune. There's no way someone like Akutagawa could go against the universe and fate itself. But Atsushi's confidence is brittle. "Indeed. That is your karma, weretiger. You will cause ill for everyone around you – just by being alive."
"My karma?"
Akutagawa takes Atsushi's shock as an opportunity to activate his ability, "Rashoumon!" It was as if a beast ran past Atsushi, and I stepped back against the wall from my height advantage as the pavement's rubble and debris flew with the leather. I do a double-take, observing Atsushi sitting alive below with his arms out on instinct. The destroyed pavement glows, though, the friction from the attack being a pointless show of power.
"I missed on purpose that time, of course. But my Rashoumon has poor taste – It devours anything and everything. I intend to take you alive, but if you resist, I'll take your leg next." Atsushi panics, "Why? Why me?" Self-piteous thoughts surround him, making him hesitate to do anything against his enemy.
I feel the smooth surface of my phone in my hand, perking up as Tanizaki speaks up from his place on the pavement. I should be out of sight, so hopefully, he assumes I'm gone – The last thing I need is a rabid dog's attention on me. "Atsushi... Run, Atsushi."
Atsushi runs from his position, a war cry in his chest as Akutagawa sends his ability after him, "Choosing death over me. How tiresome."
Atsushi ducks in a surprising chain of events, yet again reminding me of my unpredictable past father, and he takes the stray submachine gun in hand. He spins on his feet, shooting the weapon toward Akutagawa. While a brave act of selflessness, it does nothing. The air around Akutagawa is warped.
The sound of metal hits the floor, and Atsushi's hopes are drained. "That move wasn't half bad. But in the end, it was a fool's last stand. I told you – My beast is indiscriminate." Atsushi's newfound rival looks over his shoulder with a crazed yet lifeless face, "It devours anything and everything. It consumed the very space bullets were attempting to cross to contact me. Neither spears nor flames can reach me without a space to traverse. And I am a man who keeps his word."
Within less than a second, Akuatagwa's leather beast is sent forth, and Atsushi's leg flies off in the impact.
Blood sprays, pooling around the boy. Akutagawa coughs into his palm as Atsushi screams. The sound reverberates within the alley and can be no doubt heard from the street – Not that any sane person in this city would ever dare investigate.
I suspect the blue literature that now surrounds Atsushi was a subconscious act as he landed on the walls across from me in the form of a tiger. I smile within his eyesight, using this distraction as I quietly land on the floor, making my way to the mouth of the alley as I await Osamu's appearance.
Chaos ensues inside the space, a heated battle between soon-to-be rivals, and I whistle to myself as I wave over Osamu, "You're late!" My brother lazily grins, hands in pockets as he strolls with me, "I know, but I was really enjoying my walk." He giggles, closing his eyes before peeking out of them to see the mess. Even I'm slightly surprised.
With a sigh, blue forms in Osamu's hand to activate his ability, "Okay! That's enough!" Flashes of kanji appear before us, nullifying the tiger and leather at once as a breeze passes. "Wha—?" Akutagawa's eyes doubled in size at the sight of Osamu, recognition in his eyes and pure shock.
Higuchi is the first to speak, "You're one of the detectives... And the kid who ran away? Why are you here?" I smile, "I was above your head the entire time, lady." Osamu smiles, "I'm the type who can't stop thinking about what a beautiful lady might be up to. I decided to secretly listen in." Osamu brought a device, and Higuchi hurriedly shoved a hand into her pockets to pull out another tiny apparatus.
A bug. "Impossible. Back then... You had already seen through my plans, even then."
Osamu disregards Higuchi, crouching beside Atsushi as he pats his unconscious form, "Come on, wake up, Atsushi. I don't want to carry three people back to the Agency." I kneeled to prod Atsushi with Osamu, generally just glad to be back in his presence, too much to care for anything else but going back to the Agency and laying down to nap with Osamu. "Yeah, and I don't want to have you forced onto me midway there because Osamu got too tired..." I pouted, resorting to just booting his side slightly.
"You think we'll let you go alive?" Higuchi pulls another weapon from her blazer, a small Marakov PM, and I scrutinise her, "How many things can you fit in your jacket?" Akutagawa stifled a laugh, knowing that such a weapon would be useless, "Don't Higuchi. You can't win." The woman apprehensively puts down the pistol, "But, Akutagawa..."
"Dazai, we'll retreat for this round. But the weretiger will be the Port Mafia's someday." Akutagawa overlooks the woman, glancing to where Osamu prods Atsushi's face. My brother pauses, turning to him, "Why?"
"Simple enough. That weretiger has a bounty from the black market. The bounty sum is seven billion yen. The sum is more than enough to seize control of the underworld." Ah, so I was right then. Good, it's one less thought I have to worry about... and yet a million more – Maybe it's not so good.
"Now, that's very generous," Osamu grins at the claim, and I tiredly lift Atsushi by the collar, "What would you even do with that kind of control?" It was a ridiculous amount, but perhaps an organisation like the Port Mafia could benefit from such money. Atsushi won't be taken - Not when I'm with Osamu and the Agency.
"We'll pay a visit to your Agency at a later time. The Port Mafia will claim that seven billion." Osamu moved to get up and rose to face the two mafioso opposite us, "Is that a declaration of war against the Armed Detective Agency? Try it... if you dare."
Higuchi confidently opposed the Agency's conviction, "You are an insignificant small-scale operation whereas we are this city's darkness made incarnate. We have connections in this city's economy and politics on every level. An Agency with a dozen or so operatives will become ashes along with your office in less than three days – No one who's opposed us has ever lived." Osamu dismissively scratches the back of his head, replying to the woman casually, "I know all that." I bet it's all he used to hear.
"Indeed, you know that better than anyone, being an ex-Port Mafia member, Dazai." Osamu smiled eyes deep with the recognition of the boy's words. I chuckled, watching them leave, "Osamu, is that why we had to avoid him? You could say so. I don't like secrets." I folded my bottom lip as I continued to poke at Atsushi's face. "Apologies, [Y/N]! ...Yet, I have a feeling you knew all along." I hummed, not confirming nor denying the claim.
"Help me wake up Atsushi... The only people I know who sleep this much are you and me." Osamu shook his head, lifting Naomi and Tanizaki to carry on either of his shoulders, "Sorry, no can do, [Y/N]! I've got my hands full!" I groaned, glimpsing back toward the unconscious teenager, hoisting him under his armpits and dragging his deadweight out of the alley with Osamu. My brother laughed at my distressed state, effortlessly carrying double the weight I was, "This will teach you for running off without me, [Y/N]!"
"Osamu, you suck."