A month after the Cannibalism incident, the Agency received a birch bow of honour for saving Yokohama from a larger crisis. Atsushi had been training with Kunikida every day, and learning how to use weapons from you every other day. Since you couldn't always see your targets, Kunikida decided it would be best to learn shooting based off intuition from you. So, you trained him, preparing him for his duel against Akutagawa five more months from now.
Sunday morning, your day off.
Or rather, it would usually be your day off.
After something Dazai had mentioned in passing a few weeks ago, he'd also told you that you needed to be in for work on this specific day. While you didn't understand why exactly that was necessary, you didn't question, well aware that he must have predicted something you just couldn't see yet.
So here you were, in the Agency, listening in on a meeting.
"A murder society?" Yosano frowned, surprised.
"Yeah, it's an emergency request from the government," Kunikida nodded, pointing to the pinboard. "First, look at the photos of the victims."
The first picture, was a man whose skin on his upper body was inversed.
"That's terrible..." Atsushi shuddered.
"He was a young diet member from Yokohama," Kunikida continued. "He left a session midway, only to be found five minutes later in this way. As you can see, his skin was removed from the waist up and then placed inside out. The skin was sewn together like a business shirt, complete with tie and cuffs."
"The throat lacerations and restraint marks..." you sighed. "The vic was screaming for most of the torture, by the looks of it."
"How tasteless," Yosano commented.
"The perp's carried out four murders this week," Kunikida added.
"Four?!" Atsushi gasped, standing up.
"The vice commander of the east guard... has corrosive poison poured over his head that devoured his skin and bones," Kunikida listed. "He died from the shock caused by the pain."
"The secretary of the Government's Chief of International Public Safety, had an air compressor inserted into his mouth, and the high-pressure air blasted the blood and nerves out of his pores. Finally, a top level officer in the military police's Special Ability Crime Unit was injected with a painful South American plant called 'suicide weed' and left in a locked room. He scratched at his skin down to the bones and died from cerebral contusion after having bashed his head against the wall."
"I see," Ranpo hummed. "So it's a message from the Decay of Angels."
"'The Decay of the Angel' refers to the five signs of decline within the Devas or beings who reside in the highest realms of existence," Fukuzawa began, entering the room.
"President," Kunikida greeted, bowing curtly.
"Sign one, 'soiled dress' - clothes that emit an oily filth."
The victim with the skin turned inside out.
"Sign two, a 'wilted flower crown' - the fading and rotting of the wreath on the head."
The victim who'd had corrosive poison poured onto his head.
"Sign three, 'malodor' - an evil stench from the body."
The vctim who'd had high-pressure air blasted through him.
"Sign four, 'sudor' - sweating under the armpits."
The victim who'd scratched at himself for hours.
"So... all these flashy bizzare crimes... they allude to that?" Tanizaki asked.
"Who's the final vic?" You probed. "And what's the fifth sign?"
"The fifth sign 'wretched seat', has not occured yet," Fukuzawa nodded.
"When will it happen?" Atsushi asked.
"They will not," Fukuzawa glared. "Because we will stop them. We must band together to stop this heinous group's actions."
"I don't think so," Ranpo interrupted.
"Ranpo.... state your reason," Fukuzawa demanded.
"My friend's last words," he sighed. "I'm turning this job down."
Silence.
"Ranpo, did you see the birch bow in my office?" Fukuzawa glared. "It's a once-in-a-century honour for keepers of peace."
"So we have to take this because some guy gave us a bow?" Ranpo spat out.
"No, that bow... it is just a piece of wood," Fukuzawa said, shaking his head. "To us, praise and reward are a light drizzle. Even if we were underground thieves with no honour, we must stake our lives to prevent this murder."
"Do what you want!" Ranpo snapped, storming out.
"Ranpo-San!" Kunikida called.
"Leave him be, Kunikida," the President insisted. "The Agency will pursue the killer... and Ranpo will investigate the Agency's potential destruction. Even Ranpo knows that a two-pronged approach is best."
You stood up, your chair grating against the floor.
"Ranpo-San has yet to be wrong when it comes to strategy," you reminded, throwing on your coat. "With all due respect, President, I'll investigate with him remotely, that seems to be the more sensible thing to do."
With that, you stalked out, giving Ranpo a call and having him explain the situation as you made your way to your apartment. You got barely any information from using the security cameras, as most of the footage ended up being deleted for some reason, likely to ensure the perfect crime. You weren't sure if it was Mushitaro's ability at work, but you had a feeling that Ranpo would have recognised if it was.
Soon, it was late into the evening, and you got a sudden call from Ranpo.
'We've been framed, get Kunikida and the others out, they're on the run!' Ranpo instructed.
"Are you on call with them?" You asked, throwing on a jacket before heading out. "I'll get help!"
'No government officials!' Ranpo demanded.
"Just trust me," you requested, to which Ranpo nodded, hanging up.
"Move!" You ordered pushing past hordes of people. "I need to see the Boss!"
"No can do, ma'am," a guard glared, grabbing onto your arm.
"Don't you dare manhandle me you bastard!" You snarled, punching him.
"Guards!" He called.
Within seconds, an entire group of men had their guns raised at you, some even holding the muzzles right to your head.
"Do you even know if you're allowed to kill me?" You sneered. "Mori-San, get out here and tell these fuckers to get off!"
The chaos and commotion was enough to get the Boss and his executives rushing to the balcony, looking down to see you being held up downstairs.
"Lower your guns and send her up!" Mori ordered.
"But Boss, she's the traitor!"
"It's too dangerous!"
"Are you sure, sir?!"
"Are you doubting the Boss?" Kouyou glared, pulling out a knife as a threat.
All the men shuddered in fear, lowering their guns and giving you clearance to make your way upstairs. You sprinted up, muscle memory guiding you as you slammed the door to the conference room over.
"The Agency's in trouble!" You panted. "We need help!"
"You usually take Sundays off, is it that bad?" Mori asked, surprised.
"You don't get it, we're being framed for something we have no connection to!" You urged. "I was pulled from my day off as backup, you know how much I hating working overtime."
Mori hesitated but picked up his phone, glancing at you before dialling a number.
"What do I get in return?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
You froze, unsure how to respond. Dazai knew this would happen, he'd told you of it, he'd asked you not to risk everything. But the people in danger were your friends, they were the ones who'd taken you in when you had nothing left for you. They were the ones that ensured Dazai was alive, and that you didn't have too much on your hands when it came to dealing with him.
"I- I'll come back to the mafia. As your right hand."