"What the hell happened?" You gaped, seeing all your coworkers half asleep.
"They got into a fight against the mafia and some guild members," Yosano explained.
"Did we get any hostages?" You asked. "Osamu and I can interrogate them."
"Yes, she's in the infirmary, she hasn't woken yet," Yosano informed, trudging off.
The two of you nodded and headed into the infirmary and sat by her bed, waiting for her to wake up. Dazai sat on her right side, so that he would be the first that she saw, while you sat on her life, so that she would need to crane her neck to see you. It wasn't long before she awoke, her eyes falling on Dazai before glancing behind him to see Atsushi.
"Why, hello there, Ane-San," Dazai smiled. "It's been quite a while!"
".... You thought these restraints would be enough to hold me?" Kouyou glared.
"Oh, surely not!" Dazai grinned. "That's why N/N-chan and I are watching you! You remember N/N-chan, right?"
"It may have been a while, but I wouldn't forget my own boss," Kouyou snickered. "You traitors. Each one of us wants your heads, you realise?"
"Tell them to get in line," Dazai smirked.
"Whelp," Kouyou began, adressing Atsushi. "Is Kyouka safe?"
"She's gone missing!" Atsushi snapped. "And it's your fault!"
Kouyou immediately laughed for some reason, which only enraged Atsushi further. He transformed is arm into that of the tiger's and lunged towards the bed she lay on. You flicked your index finger, drawing up a shield so that he couldn't get past it no matter what. At the same time, Dazai nullified his ability, and sent Atsushi out.
"We'll handle it, kid," you sighed.
"Not to be blunt, but war's about to break out," Dazai began, turning to Kouyou. "And you, as our Prisoner of War, have a big job to do for us, hm? Think you could tell me about what the mafia'a up to, and what their plans for the future are?"
"Have you forgotten the rules of the Mafia, boy?" Kouyou laughed. "Blabbing results in a death sentence."
"You had a dedicated team of tortures, didn't you, Ane-San?" You hummed. "But even then, there were a few iron-willed victims who simply wouldn't talk. Remember how we helped out then?"
"Has there ever been a prisoner who didn't talk when we asked the question?" Dazai smirked, locking the door and cracking his fingers. "Now, let's have some adult time."
It didn't take long for her to start talking, eventhough some useful information was hidden behinds walls of useless rambling. However, before long, the two of you were interrupted.
"Hey, Dazai!" Kunikida yelled from the other side, pounding on the door. "Boss says we have to switch base! Take the prisoner and get out!"
"Alright!" Dazai yelled back, handing Kouyou to you.
"Ane-San, this might hurt a bit," you informed, placing your index and middle fingers of your left hand against her temple.
An electric zap sounded as Kouyou gasped in pain. Suddenly, you were unable to see. The manipulation of light includes the purest form, something you realised when you were in life-threatening danger. By changing the course of light from her eyes, you ensured a foolproof method of temporary blindness. The only downside - you lost your eyesight for as long as your hostage did. Of course, Kouyou didn't know that, meaning Dazai and you could use her ignorance as leverage. Dazai guided the way to your new base, where the two of you brought Kouyou to a seperate room before undoing your ability on her.
"Do you want to continue interrogating Ane-San, or shall we leave it for later?" Dazai asked.
"I've got a migraine, so dealing with her now will only make me violent," you sighed, massaging your temples.
Dazai nodded, and the two of you headed out to regroup with the others, and began discussing next measures. Fukuzawa returned to the agency after a while, catching everyone's attention.
"Boss," Kunikida greeted.
"Listen everyone," he began. "At one time, perhaps two or three days ago, there would've been a way to avoid war. But that path has been closed now. The Mafia seeks to exterminate our firm, and the Guild seeks to usurp it. We must protect the agency from both of these looming threats. Dazai, L/N, explain matters."
"My pleasure!" Dazai grinned, bringing out a blackboard. "We are outmanned by the Mafia, and out-finance by the Guild. A full-frontal attack, even with our skills, will just make us crack our heads open. So, we'll divide ourselves into offensive and defensive squads, and fight back with some underhanded sneak attacks."
"The key mission of the defense squad, is to keep Yosano-Sensei alive and well," you continued. "With her healing skills, we can keep ourselves healthy, as long as we don't die."
"Whether that's a happy thing or not, well..." Dazai joked, causing a few to chuckle.
"The defensive squad will consist of Ranpo-San, Kenji-kun, Fukuzawa-Dono, and Yosano-Sensei," you listed. "As for the attack teams, we'll split it up into two groups. Team A will consist of Kunikida-kun and Tanizaki-kun. Team B will consist of Atsushi-kun, Osamu and me."
"With Tanizaki-kun's stealth, and my nullifying ability, we'll strike the enemy's flanks," Dazai added. "The most vital part of this is that we keep our base a secret. If our foes plow into this building all at once, our defense won't last a chance."
"Out of all three sides, only one will survive," Fukuzawa reminded. "There is no way forward, except to fight! This is a three-way war among organisations - and our skills!!"
"As the defense team, it's vital you tap into as many security cameras surrounding the area as possible," you instructed. "Any footage we get around the city is useful too, especially at the port, since that's where the Mafia and the Guild are most likely to be."
The first half a day was slow, with the five attackers dispatched on solo patrols, with the expectation that they could handle themselves fine. It wasn't long before you got a call about activity at the harbour, and immediately rushed to check it out. However, what you saw surprised you. Two of the Guild members were bleeding out, with thick black fabric piercing through them like a pincushion. The cause? Akutagawa and his Rashomon, of course.
"Ryuu?" You called, the familiar nickname rolling off your tongue with ease.
Akutagawa looked up at you from the floor, where he clutched a wound at his stomach.
"C'mon kid, the sea air is bad for you," you sighed sadly, picking him up.
"Leave me be," he rasped out.
"Nope," you shrugged, heading inside to set him down. "What does the mafia have up its sleeve, Ryuunosuke?"
Akutagawa flinched at the lack of a nickname, glaring up at you as you dressed his wounds.
"Taking care of the enemy is stupidity of the highest order, L/N-San," he spat out. "Clearly, the Agency has gotten rid of your edge."
"Just because your mentor was an ass back in the day, doesn't mean I was as well," you scoffed. "Now tell me, what is it that Mori-San has planned for us?"
"He's sending Nakahara-San with some information," Akutagawa glared. "To lure your agency out into clashing with the Guild. After all, if you get rid of each other for us, we have less work to do."
"We relocated, how does Mori-San know where we are?" You pressed.
"Have you heard of Scandium Trackers, L/N-San?" Akutagawa asked. "We contacted the Guild before hunting you down and contacting you, with the help of those trackers."
Of course.
Scandium Trackers were microtrackers hidden in liquids, such as grease. They were often applied to the sleeves of lackeys if it was likely that they would get into a physical fight. Why? Simple. The trackers got attached to the skin through touch. Considering they found your new location, it had to be Fukuzawa who'd gotten his hands dirty. Since they were microtrackers, they could easily imbed themselves into your skin and blood without you ever noticing, something the Mafia smartly took advantage of.
To add to it, if Mori had sent one of his top Executives, it meant that he was expecting a fight as well. But since all the heavy-hitters were out, there was no one left to be able to match up to Chuuya's strength. Kenji could try, and so could Yosano, but their skills would be useless if Chuuya changed the physics of the very land they walked on.
But to add to it, Mori sent Chuuya after they'd already contacted the Guild. Clearly, it was a trap, which the Agency had likely figured out due to Ranpo and Fukuzawa. But by baiting the Guild and then the Agency at the correct times, they ensured that the Guild would neither benefit nor suspect a trap.
"A lot of these are your former tactics, L/N-San," Akutagawa continued. "You're only wasting away at the Agency. After all, people with our blood belong with cold-hearted killers like us."
"Speak for yourself, Ryuu," you glared. "But if these are my tactics, that means the Agency also knows how to overcome them."
"Hah, as if!" Akutagawa laughed dryly. "You couldn't have given them too much information without them getting suspicious, how do you expect them to manage?"
"If Mori-San wants us to clash, he would have timed it in a way that the Agency would get there in time to fall into the trap," you reminded. "And since it's my tactic, you're targetting the weak. In other words, you found our clerks and are using this information for your benefit."
"They didn't call you the Mafia's Brain for nothing, huh, L/N-San?" Akutagawa mused. "You know, the Boss still has a spot saved up just for you. In fact, he would like to know if you're interested in returning to leadership at the mafia."
"If he can pay double my former salary, as well as get me a nice big mansion, I'll think about it," you smirked, calling Dazai and putting him on speaker. "How're things on your end?"
"The clerks are showing up any minute!" Dazai grinned.
"What?!" Akutagawa gaped, sitting up.
"N/N-chan, you didn't tell me this brat was with you!" Dazai groaned. "Well, I'll just tell you the rest later then."
With that, he hung up, and you turned to face Akutagawa with a victorious grin.
"It's a shame that the Boss underestimates Osamu and me, even after seven years of knowing us," you pouted, feigning hurt.
"Tell him to not mess with forces he can't compete against for me, yeah?"
A/N: sorry if this feels rushed, it is.