"Bang."
The sound of the gun followed as I watched as the bullet hit home, making Ivan fall back as I sensed movement behind me.
However, I didn't move as I heard the sound of cracking before the rocks broke, scattering off to the sides as Ivan's eyes widened in shock.
"W-What?" He stammered as I hummed, looking at my gun in curiosity.
"So it does work." I said as Ivan glared at me while clutching his shoulder, blood slowly leaking pas his fingers, staining his clothes crimson.
"What did you do?" Ivan asked as I knelt down in front of him, grinning.
"Nullified your ability." I replied as Ivan blinked in confusion.
"But Dazai Osamu is not here right now, you can't nullify my ability." Ivan reasoned as I nodded.
"True, but who said anything about Dazai-san?" I asked before standing back up and walking towards Akutagawa.
He was still stuck in the now clay-like substance of the earth as I offered a hand to him, which he accepted before pulling him up.
"What did you do? How did you nullify my ability?" Ivan asked, making me turn as I chuckled.
"The bullets. They can nullify abilities. A handy ability as long as you're not the one whose ability is nullified." I said as I remembered how it felt to be in the handcuffs.
I showed those handcuffs to Mori-san, who handed it over to Kaji-san to play with, which he ended up welding into small bullets.
I then shrugged off the coat around my shoulders, handing it back to Akutagawa.
"Now let's go catch Fyodor."
- - Time skip - -
I scoured around the small truck trailer, confused upon finding nothing but a small antique radio that was playing classical music in the background.
"Nothing..." I mumbled as I looked out to see Akutagawa staring at me.
"He's not here." I said as Akutagawa grit his teeth in frustration as he turned to Ivan, who was held hostage by Rashoumon.
"Where is he?" Akutagawa asked as Ivan started laughing, despite the situation he was in.
"Why are you laughing?" Akutagawa asked as Ivan smiled with a malicious grin on his face.
"I'm just so happy. My master removed the part of me that feels grief." Ivan explained, making me frown as I dropped from the trailer.
However, I felt something dribble down my chin as I raised my hand towards my face.
"Did anyone ever once guarantee that capturing this base would lead you to my master?' Ivan asked as Akutagawa's gaze turned deadly.
"What? He was never even here to begin with?" He asked as my fingers brushed across something sticky.
Ivan only continued to laugh.
"Impossible... There are no connections to the outside world here. We're monitoring cell phone communications with our hacking ability. This place can't be operated from the outside." Akutagawa reasoned as I pulled my fingers back, staring at the glistening red liquid on them.
"It's this music." Ivan said, but suddenly his voice started fading in and out as I shook a little on my legs.
Abruptly, a loud chiming noise echoed through the underground cave, bringing me back as I winced at the sudden tightening in my chest.
"Pick up your phone-" Akutagawa started, turning to me before he stopped mid-sentence.
I kept staring at my blood on my fingers as I lifted my head up and looked at Akutagawa.
"Y/n?" He asked as my knees trembled.
"Shit." I mumbled just as my legs gave out and I fell forward.
"Y/n!" Akutagawa shouted as he lunged forward, catching me before I could hit the ground.
I didn't even have the strength to push away as suddenly the temperature seemed to have dropped to what it would feel like in a freezer.
And trust me, I know what it actually feels like.
Let's just say, side and seek with Chuuya isn't going to end well if you hide in the freezer.
"What's happening? Y/n, answer me." Akutagawa said as I blinked slowly, trying to comprehend his words.
"Her times up." Ivan's voice broke through my hazy thoughts as I winced.
I only realised my phone was still ringing as Akutagawa pulled it out, eyes scanning the number before he answered.
"Weretiger. Hurry up and find the virus ability user." Akutagawa grit out as I heard the muffled voice of the weretiger crack in from the other side.
I was shaking uncontrollably now, arms wrapping around myself as Akutagawa cursed before shrugging off his coat to put it around my shoulders.
"Weretiger. I swear if you don't find the ability user in time, I will skin you alive." Akutagawa threatened as he hung up, before lifting me into his arms.
Despite apparently dying, my heart didn't fail to skip a beat as Akutagawa's arms slid under my legs and behind my back and around my shoulder.
"You're not dying on me." Akutagawa said as I rolled my eyes anyway.
"As if." Was all I could manage when the phone rang again as Akutagawa answered.
"Weretiger." Akutagawa seethed out as there was a shout from the other side.
"Pushkin's disabled his ability and we have him under hostage." Atsushi's voice came through the phone as I felt a shiver crawl down my spine when a bright light hovered over me, showing the symbol of the virus, another identical one over Akutagawa.
He didn't even reply, just hung up on the weretiger as the world finally decided to stop being such a nuisance.
There was no more high-pitched ringing echoing in my ears and the temperature indeed did seem to return to normal.
Now that everything was fine, only then did the embarrassment hit me as I cleared my throat a little, squirming slightly in Akutagawa's arms.
"You can let me down." I said as Akutagawa blinked, arms tightening around me for a split second before he set my feet on the ground.
We pulled back from each other, not knowing what to say when the weretiger actually served a purpose for once.
"Akutagawa! Y/n!" Atsushi shouted, breaking through the awkward silence as I snapped my head up to see him running towards us.
"Where's the other ability user?" Atsushi asked as I turned around, pointing at Ivan who appeared to be knocked out on the ground.
"There." I said as Atsushi's eyes widened in shock at seeing his state, the blood from his gunshot wound had stained his clothes.
"Is he-" Akutagawa started as I interrupted.
"No, we didn't kill him. So he's not dead." I said before pausing, glancing at Akutagawa.
"Or well, that's what I think." I said as Akutagawa continued to stare at me before looking at Atsushi.
"He's not dead. Only knocked out." Akutagawa said as the weretiger sighed in relief.
"Thank god. Dazai-san has also captured Fyodor." Atsushi said as I scoffed.
"Seems about right." I said before Akutagawa spoke up.
"In six months, I kill you." Akutagawa said suddenly as Atsushi blinked.
I didn't know why he was suddenly bringing this up but I wasn't complaining.
"As if. I'll be the one to kill him." I shot back as Akutagawa glanced at me.
"Be well-prepared. When we first fought on the ship, I utterly despised you for how well-off you are. But that's somewhat different now. Until I defeat you, I can't move on. Thus, I will kill you." Akutagawa said as I looked at the weretiger.
"I have my own reasons, nothing that I truly have to explain to you. But I promise you that I will kill you. Even if I have to stop those who try to as well." I added on at the end, glancing at Akutagawa briefly as Atsushi was silent.
"All right. But on one condition. Don't kill anyone for the next six months. There's something simple that you'll learn from that: what it takes to win Dazai-san's approval, and the fact that weakness and strength aren't what they seem, and that you're really ahead of me already." The weretiger said as I blinked.
"Very well." I spoke up, just as Akutagawa did as I gave him a look.
"Whatever, now can you take him before I end up killing him?" I asked, indicating to the unconscious Ivan as the weretiger blinked before turning to Ivan.
"O-Oh right." Atsushi said, stammering a little making me roll my eyes.
"Yeah, you can go tell Dazai-san how I did everything." I said as Akutagawa looked at me with a small frown on his face as Atsushi just grabbed Ivan before nodding.
"I'll see you in six months time, weretiger. Who knows, maybe I'll come and kill you earlier." I said, flashing him a grin as Atsushi swallowed before turning around.
I chuckled as Atsushi quickly disappeared from sight as I turned to Akutagawa.
I only then realised that I was still wearing his coat as I blinked before starting to take it off but suddenly Akutagawa grabbed my wrist making me jump in surprise.
"I'm not going to rip it or anything." I said as Akutagawa kept staring at me with those deep grey eyes making my breath hitch slightly.
We continued staring at each other, as his eyes bore into mine, as if searching as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.
I was about to speak up but Akutagawa bet me to it as he mumbled something under his breath, almost too soft for me to hear but I caught it.
"Fuck it."
Then he leaned down and his lips crashed into mine.
- - -
I am so cruel for doing this but I am the god of cliffhangers!