"You haven't been telling us the entire truth, have you?"
The woman stood at the doorway, the entrance still being wide open. Her whole body tensed, and she looked in another direction. We were all silent, waiting for her response.
"I don't know what you mean." She said with a cold tone, looking up and staring at me directly in the eye.
"I believe you do. Please come with me so I can ask some questions."
"No, I don't. What is this about?"
"Please come with me."
She began backing up. "I don't want to be interrogated, I'm not a threat."
"Let me ask you one question then."
"Go on."
"Are you the Angel?"
She stopped and was silent. "I suppose the cat is out of the bag, huh." She sighed, shaking her head.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Think about it. The so-called leader, also known as the Angel, is the one running all of this. If you found out I was the angel, wouldn't that seem suspicious??"
"It's more suspicious that you didn't say anything! Do you know how many lives have been put to danger because of you? Because they're looking for their leader?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. There's no way they've already found me."
With a grunt, I stomped my way over to her and handed her the note I had received from Ayae. L/N read it, then her eyelids widened.
"I..."
"So that's why there have been more killings of innocent children! Because they're looking for you! They're giving more and more sacrifices because you're gone! And now, they know you're here!"
"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do? Stay there? Even if I had told you, the killings wouldn't have stopped! They have never stopped!" The woman stomped her foot, but almost immediately, she fell to the ground with a yelp. "Ow...shit..." L/N winced from the impact of the fall.
What the...
Why did she just randomly fall? It's not as if she tripped on anything. I peered down to the floor, and saw..a foot..that was detached from its leg..? "...piece of junk.." She slammed her fist into the leg that was hardly attached to her.
"Guys...I think we should calm down." Atsushi stepped up and grabbed onto my shoulder. We both looked back at him, obviously aggravated. Atsushi flinched, but he kept his composure. "L/N, are you okay?"
"What does it look like...?" The woman answered with aggression, still fed up.
"When was the last time you replaced that thing?" Yosano looked over my shoulder and asked.
"Uh...who knows? They were supposed to replace it a couple months ago..." L/N replied with a shrug, trying to find a nearby object to lift herself up with. I began walking over to her for assistance, but she immediately glared at me as soon as I started doing so. Does this woman have so much pride that she refuses to take my hand in any given situation? What on earth goes through her head? I watched her struggle pitifully, and soon I simply couldn't take any more of the torture coming from such a conceited person. Without a word, I moved a chair right next to her, which again, she had ignored and attempted to stand up using another piece of furniture.
"Get in the chair dammit-" I bit my inner cheek from my impatience.
"You can't tell me what to do." She replied almost immediately, with the most childlike voice I had ever heard coming from an adult, and that's saying something considering I spend most of my time with Dazai.
"You are currently footless, woman, is it really that hard to get in the chair?" I was holding myself back from lecturing her as I would do to Dazai.
"Now Kunikida, you shouldn't say stuff like that to a lady when you want her to do things." Dazai patted my shoulder with a smirk. "Now, watch and learn from the professional." He walked over to her, knelt down, and winked. "Now my princess, why don't you use that chair right there to hel-"
"Shut up Dazai."
"Fair enough." He immediately turned back around and sat on a rolly chair near my desk.
"You know what, I've had enough." Walking up next to her, I bent down and picked her up from her armpits. There was one-second resistance, but then she merely let herself be carried with a blank face. I placed her down on the chair, resisting the urge to slap her in the back of the head for causing so much trouble. "Alright. Who is your prosthetist so I can get in contact with them and get you another...leg." I hesitated with my phrase, never meeting someone who had used a prosthetic before.
"Uh..ahaha, issue there."
"What is it?"
"See...uh. If you get in contact with them, they'll probably kill you, and kidnap me. They'll try to, that is." She explained with an awkward smile, clearly avoiding the straight point. I stood there, hand on my hip, waiting for an actual explanation. "Alright alright. The Angel's Apostles are full of people of all class and occupation, including....doctors...prosthetists."
Oh you've got to be kidding me
"Not to worry dear Y/N! I know a friend who can forge some paperwork for you, we'll get you a new leg in no time! Let me just get those measurements and you should get your leg back in a matter of hours." Dazai said with a smile as he walked over and began measuring her thigh with a measuring tape that appeared out of thin air.
"Or I could heal you and get your leg back. It might hurt a bit though, dear." Yosano offered with a slight smirk on her face.
"Nono, I'll take the prosthetic, thank you." L/N declined her offer with an awkward smile, also feeling awkward by the touch of Dazai, who had been measuring her thigh. Dear lord...
***
The agency had gone back to their homes, but we were back in 6 hours max. Many of us were preparing for the conference and walking into the room. Some went to visit with others to talk about plans, or simple idle chat.
"Have you guys seen L/N?" I asked the ones who were around me, which were Yosano and Kenji.
"I believe she's still in the infirmary." Yosano answered. I nodded, but before I was about to walk out, I noticed Kenji with his head low.
"Kenji." I called his name.
"Ah-yes?" A smile was immediately put on his face as he looked up at me.
"Are you alright?" The boy had just figured out that L/N was a part of Angel's Apostles, after all, I was concerned with how he was coping with it.
"I'm alright, Kunikida-san! Just a little shocked. Go get Y/N." The blonde reassured me brightly. I looked towards Yosano, who had a frown on her face. She nodded, so I walked out of the room and went to the infirmary.
Ranpo had left the morning of L/N's arrival to solve a case of serial killings in Kyoto, so L/N was the most essential to the meeting, so she had to be there when it started. What was taking her so long? I opened the door, and there she was sitting on the bed. The woman looked behind her, the new prosthetic leg still in her hand, and not attached to her leg.
"Oh..sorry." I coughed and averted my glance. "A conference is starting soon, are you coming?"
"A conference?"
"Yes, we need to figure out what we'll do next."
"I see, I'll be coming soon once I figure this out."
"Something the matter?"
"I'm not exactly sure how this works..."
"Have you never put one on your own before...?"
"Of course I have. There are just a lot more parts to this leg, compared to my other one. Dazai must've gotten some up-to-date shit."
"Let's see." I took it out of her hands and examined it. The prosthetic looked like it would go above the knee. After looking at it up and down, I was able to figure out how it works. "Oh, it's simple." Walking in front of her, bent down, and reached for her thigh, only to stop and pause.
"What is it?"
"Uh..." Was this okay? Why did I suddenly feel so uncomfortable touching her? Not as if I had touched her before that is. This was odd...why was I affected? "Is..is it okay?"
"Okay to...?"
"Touch you...r......thi...leg?"
"Stop making this weird, you perv." L/N pouted her lips and flicked my forehead. "Just put the thing on, and show me how you did it." Right, what was I thinking? I was only putting her prosthetic on after all. Nothing weird was going on.
I grabbed under her thigh, where the gel liner had already been put on, and slid the prosthesis inside. Once I did I heard a small clicking noise. Immediately L/N stood up, awkwardly making her hover over me. I as well stood back up and watched as she continuously placed pressure onto it.
"I'm sorry about earlier. That was immature of me." I apologized, feeling guilty for what I had said. "From now on, please tell us everything."
"Alright." She said, still not looking at me. "Huh, I guess it was more similar than I thought." She admitted, walking around the room to get used to her new leg. She stopped by a mirror and looked at herself. Although, it soon turned into a stare. Her grin faded and it was replaced with a small frown.
"Is something...the matter?" I asked.
"Yeah, everything is fine. Just perfect." She said with a blank tone, walking over to the window and looking out into the streets.
"L/N, if I may ask."
"Go on."
"Did you really lose that leg because of a cow?"
"Why are you so curious..?"
"I don't know. I just started thinking about how the Apostles are obsessed with limbs for some odd reason and-"
"It's in the Prophecy." The woman interrupted. "The Angel is one with a disadvantage. She has not arms nor legs. Therefore sinners must contribute so she can function again. But what is an angel with a disadvantage, if she has all of her limbs?" It's almost as if she had quoted the whole phrase, and that she heard it multiple times. I stood there silently, knowing what it all meant. How old was she when it happened? Why would they do such a thing? "It's whatever Kunikida, doesn't matter." L/N shook her head and walked out of the room to the conference.
***
"One thing about the Apostles is that they constantly move in groups. For around ten years, the Angel has been stationed in Hanamaki, along with the guy who really started this whole group." L/N began explaining, oddly putting on a professional tone. This was one that was rare to see from her, but it would seem that she was really taking the case seriously. I would have hoped she would though, considering she had wanted to help with the case in the first place.
"Who was the one who started this?" I asked.
"The Apostles called him the Prophet, that's all I know about him personally. However...he has a daughter."
A daughter? How involved could this daughter be? Would a father truly put their child through traumatic experiences such as this?
"Please remember that this man is a con artist. He is in no way leading this cult for religious reasons. The others in the cult, however, are, as they are completely oblivious." She continued.
"What about this daughter? What information can we get from her?" A voice suddenly came up from behind me, which made me flinch. I looked to the back and saw Dazai. When did he even enter the room? I thought he was skipping out as usual...
"I'm not really sure, but this girl doesn't have the guts to be a martyr, so that's an advantage..." The woman crossed her arms and looked to the floor. "They call her Mirai, and if we want to find her, we'll have to look in towns where a group of Apostles has been located recently." She then turned to the wall, where a map of Japan was hanging. L/N grabbed a few tacs and began putting them in certain areas. All of which were rural towns. "Although I don't have their exact location, I do remember them telling me where they've been. Some of these places include, Kamikochi, Hakone,Yakushima, and so on..."
"There seems to be a lot of towns, so how do we choose which one to go to?" Atsushi questioned. He did have a point, there was no way we could search for one woman all over Japan.
"We go to a town that's different." Dazai began, "L/N, would you say this Mirai is one who gets bored easily? Maybe wants to have more fun in her life?" He walked up to her in the front of the room.
"I would say so...yes."
"Does she usually tag along with the Apostles when they go places?"
"Only when they go to a big city, which is rare. Wait..." The woman stared at my coworker for a moment, then blinked. She went to the corner of the room where her bag was laid. After digging through it for a couple of seconds, she took out a small journal.
"Ooh, it looks like Kunikida-kun isn't the only one with a journa-"
"Shut up Dazai." L/N and I said in unison as she flipped through the pages.
"What is that journal for in any case?" I asked, not being able to hold back my curiosity.
"...if I can, I write down the names of the victims' limbs that come in..." She said hesitantly. That came...? I suppose it would make sense. The missing limbs of most of the recorded victims go missing, never to be found. I wondered what they would do with them. Actually...perhaps I don't. "I also write down where they're from, just to put more of an identity on them rather than just a sacrifice." Finally, the woman stopped at a page and completely dismissed what she was saying beforehand. "Aha! Found it." L/N put the journal down on the table and grabbed a tac, heading towards the map. "Arita, Haruhisa. Male. Was kidnapped and killed in.." She stabbed a tac into the map. "Okinawa."