"Is it true the President was attacked?!" Atsushi yelled, running into the office the next morning.
"It is," you nodded. "He is alive but unconscious, struck by an unknown illness."
"Not even Yosano-Sensei can heal him," Kunikida sighed.
"I've been poking around, and assassinations like those seem to be frequent lately," Dazai informed, raising his hand to get Kunikida's attention. "Skill Users, attacked at night in back alleys... several victims have already had their lives taken."
"What do we know about the killer?" Kunikida demanded.
"We know he uses a skill of unknown nature, and he wears a mask."
"A masked assassin..." Kunikida pondered. "I see..."
"But we may find the criminal dead before we even take any action," you reminded.
"Oh?" Atsushi asked. "Why?"
"Think about it, Atsushi. Given that a Skill User Killer is on the loose here in the city, which group do you think would take the most damage?" You questioned.
"...The Special Division for Unusual Powers?"
You shook your head and replied, "Other side."
"The Port Mafia?" Atsushi gaped.
"These killings, executed beyond the 'Night Wardens' authourity... it's humiliation for a family of Skill Users. It's the same as holding a knife to their noses," Dazai explained. "If this killer claims any Mafia victims..."
"Their authority will be crushed, I presume?" Kunikida sighed. "But will they move before they're struck?"
You couldn't help but laugh.
"L/N-San?" Kunikida gaped, watching you laugh in the face of a situation this dire.
"Sorry, sorry," you breathed out, adjusting your glasses. "But they will. Mori-San always said that whoever strikes first will also win. And the mafia's net runs deep. Not only that, they have many assassins in their ranks. All of us know the places for an assassin to hide in. In fact, by now... I'm sure they've ferreted out his location."
"How can you be so sure?" Kunikida asked.
"I was the former advisor for Mori-San, were you not informed of this when we formed our alliance with them to overthrow the Guild?" You hummed, surprised.
Kunikida fainted.
"Well, I'll be off, then," Dazai shrugged, hopping off his desk.
He threw on his coat before heading out to investigate the assassination attempt. You could only hope that he'd return with results, and preferably a solution. Not too long after, Kunikida, Atsushi and you went out after him, tracking his location. He'd requested for backup to be there at a certain time, so you arranged it and went after him. However, by the time you got there, he lay on the ground, bleeding out from a bullet wound.
"Shit!" You grit out, rushing over to get him out.
Suddenly, you felt intense bloodlust coming from above you. Immediately recognising it as a sniper, you raised a shield to protect both you and Dazi, before carrying him out to the nearest ambulance.
"He'll live, right?" Atsushi asked, seeing your unusually nervous expression.
"Of course he will," you breathed out. "It's just been a while before he's done something this reckless without telling me beforehand."
"Right, I forgot you're basically childhood friends," Atsushi admitted, sheepish. "But.. what would you have done if you knew, L/N-San?"
"Going after him would put my own life in danger, but I would have at least told him to wear a bulletproof vest," you grumbled, lighting a cigarette. "We should head back."
The two of you trudged back, both deep in thought, until you suddenly froze.
"Atsushi," you whispered. "Tell the others that we're surrounded."
"But I don't see anyone?" Atsushi questioned.
"Trust me on this one, alright?"
Atsushi gingerly nodded, and rushed into the office. The instant he was gone, you flicked your cigarette away, putting it out with your shoes.
"Your presence is annoying as ever, Chuuya," you sighed, well aware that he could hear you.
"Let's not let personal grudges get in the way of the goodness of our nation, Y/N," Chuuya glared, stepping out. "We have you surrounded. Give us your President's head, and no one dies."
"Aww, what an adorable demand," you sneered. "Your loyalty will be the death of you."
"Don't act as if you don't want the Boss dead!" Chuuya snarled.
"I do," you shrugged. "But we both know the Port Mafia won't just give him up like that. So what makes you think that we will?"
Chuuya immediately lunged at, throwing a punch. You narrowly dodged, stepping away right in the nick of time.
"Listen, I'm really not in the mood for this," you groaned, sidestepping again. "I'm free Thursday afternoon, if you're that desperate."
"You bitch-"
"See you then!" You trilled, dodging and sprinting away from the scene.
You could only hope that your little show had been enough to buy time for Kunikida and the others, praying on whatever being out there that you hadn't fled too early on. Just then, the door to a moving white van opened, and Yosano hauled you inside, slamming the door shut as soon as you got out.
"Is everyone safe?" You asked.
"Tanizaki created an illusion of us, luring them into an all-out fight," Kunikida explained, glancing at you in the rearview mirror.
"Ranpo-San, does it make sense to capture the Skill User?" You checked. "After all, any ability will be terminated upon death, right?"
"L/N-San, are you sure?" Atsushi gaped.
"She's right," Ranpo nodded. "A frontal assault against the Mafia will only get us all killed. To avoid that, we must change the 'rules'. If we can track down the culprit, or have Dazai touch him, we'll be safe."
"But.. what if he's fled far away?" Atsushi asked.
"He's still nearby," Ranpo insisted. "And according to Dazai, this Dostoyevsky called the Virus Caster 'a certain criminal'. No such criminal could escape Yokohama right now."
"The Special Division will cover the main routes, and the Port Mafia will handle the underground conduits," you added.
"I need you to get some leads from the Special Division or the Military Police's Skill Crimes Division," Ranpo requested. "That will provide me with enough material to work with."
By the time you reached your new hideout, Ranpo had already given instructions to Kunikida and Atsushi on where to find the criminal. Meanwhile, the two of you continued strategising, trying to figure out a way to overcome the hurdles the mafia would throw at you no doubt, while attempting to figure out what the killer was trying to achieve through this assassination attempt.
"L/N-San, what do you think the Agency and the Mafia have in common, for the criminal to want to get rid of us both in one shot?" Ranpo hummed.
You thought about it, racking your brains for anything that you had in common.
"We both protect Yokohama to some extent," you mumbled. "But I highly doubt the killer wants to make the political situation here unstable."
Before the two of you could continue, Atsushi texted you a meeting spot, to where Yosano, Ranpo and you had to head to. The three of you immediately rushed to the van, leaving Kenji in charge of protecting the President. You found Atsushi in an alley, a rather stocky man in tow behind him.
"Is this the man?" You asked, shutting the door behind you.
"Oh, right!" He remembered, pulling out a piece of paper. "The Samaritan told me, that if I gave the killers this, they might spare me!"
You handed the paper to Ranpo, who compared the criminal details against the man who stood in front of you.
"They're different," Ranpo mumbled. "Looks like the real deal... but I figure this one is fake too."
"So he's trying to send us on a wild goose chase after numerous fake criminals, in the hopes that we either finish each other off or the leaders die before the two days are up," you realised. "It's almost as if we're playing chess against Osamu."
"Oh yeah, the same guy who supplied the guns gave me a message! All he said was 'no changing the rules'," the guy informed.
"The bastard predicted this," you grit out.
"So much for reasoning with the mafia," Ranpo glared.
"Tanizaki is in danger."