Back at the Angels' hideout, Fyodor's words sunk deeper into Y/n's head as she tried to grasp what his true plan really was.
"Are you telling me to choose between the Port Mafia or those children? Why wouldn't I just kill you here?" If a glare was enough to pierce his skull, then this conversation would have ended long ago.
"I could be persuaded to let them both live if you tell me where the Book is," Fyodor replied. He still wasn't planning on letting Y/n have a choice in the matter, but if he could kill two, or three, birds with one stone, why not try?
She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Like I'd know where it is."
"But your parents did," he said, smirking.
Her eyes tensed into a glare. It's true that they were the ones in charge of protecting it, but after they died, she had no clue where it had ended up. She just assumed that the Special Division took it with them along with their charred corpses. Even still, if her parents weren't willing to give it up in their lifetime, then why would she do anything but the same? That would be a disgrace to her name.
"Look, I don't know what happened to it, nor do I care, so just tell me where they are, or I'll make you," she said.
He smiled. "Are you sure you don't care? Because the Port Mafia will once they realize that you've gambled with their prosperity. Help me find the Book, and you won't have to worry about all the agony it's brought you hitherto. We can rid this world of ability users together if you quit being so greedy."
She paused. Would I still be me without my ability? Could I even stay in the Port Mafia if that happened? She thought. "I don't need it," she said. "I have other things that are worth more than that stupid book could ever bring me."
"What could be worth more than the chance to abolish this world of its wretched sinners and filth?"
"For now"—she breathed in, dashing towards him—"it's killing you!" She ignited her flames with the intent of permanently blinding him. Before she could reach him, he whipped out a taser and pressed it to her neck. The pain made Y/n lose her balance before he kicked her to the ground. Her bloody face smirked through her grimacing expression. "I'd sure like a mirror right about now," she said.
Fyodor chuckled at her futile attempt to attack him, and was very impressed by her short-sighted boldness. He kneed her in the gut before grabbing her arm, pinning it behind her back, and pressing her face to the floor.
"It seems I was right not to underestimate you. This feistiness of yours is quite intriguing, I will admit. Feel free to show me more," he said, twisting her arm even further.
"Ha, you're toast when I'm free, for sure," she said, gritting her teeth. Shit, is he really going to break my arm? It was a good thing she was flexible.
"You sure try hard for them, and for what? To prove that you're more than just a pathetic orphan girl who only ends up getting left behind by those she reveres most? I'm sorry. I must not pity you, but you make it so easy," he said, sadistically grinning as he leaned in closer to her ear. "But don't worry. I won't leave you behind. Eternity is what you've been searching for, no? I will grant you that which you desire from the depths of your heart."
Y/n coughed as blood dripped from the crevices of her mouth. He was pressing his knee against her back, which made it hard for her lungs to expand properly. She wanted to use her ability, but the piercing pain coursing through her was making it hard for her to focus.
"Have you made your decision yet?" Fyodor asked as Y/n continued to grunt and squirm under his weight. "If you keep making this difficult, then maybe I should choose for you."
She briefly had enough strength to lift her head and glare at him from the corner of her eye. "You aren't the maker here, got that? The Port Mafia will find you, and when they do, you'll be the one munching on the dirt you despise."
"Then I'll assume that you'd prefer that the children be brought to slaughter? My, how selfish of you to sacrifice the young to save the old. Or maybe it would be better to say that you were only intent on saving one to begin with," he said, grinning. "Either way, I hope you're not actually betting on them to rescue you. This place is quite difficult to find, and I've already taken the appropriate measures to ensure we won't be disturbed."
Y/n chuckled. "Maybe I am selfish, but it's far better than being someone like you. You wouldn't know love if it shot you in the head."
Fyodor's eyes went cold, and he pressed his knee further into her spine, pulling out a small knife before jamming it into the shoulder of the arm he had twisted behind her. Her eyes widened, but she muffled her aching scream with her heavy breathing. She couldn't move her shoulder, as she felt like it would tear her ligaments and tendons apart.
Then, he stood up and grabbed his phone. Y/n lifted her head to see what he was doing, and saw murder nestled in his eyes. With a grimacing face, she propped herself up on her remaining arm, and shifted her legs into a sitting position. She grabbed the handle of the knife while breathing even heavier. Even touching the mere bottom of the blade made her flinch from her wounded nerves. If she was going to really do this, then she would need both hands for it.
She counted down from three in her head before yanking the knife out of the backside of her shoulder. She teared up a bit from the stinging sensation, but carefully took off the extra long-sleeved shirt she was wearing and wrapped it tightly around her wound in order to stop the bleeding.
Fyodor turned to look at her with his deathly gaze still present. "I don't think that will do much to help your situation," he said. "I've instructed Nikolai to handle those children in my stead. I would rather be here to judge your sins for myself." He began walking towards her.
"I'm glad, since I plan to do the same," she said, holding her shoulder, trying to tolerate the pain.
She took in a deep breath, calming her heart rate to a steady rhythm. She could no longer afford to pull her punches with this man, so she decided that she would let her sins run wild. "Ability—" She said, spreading her arms out with her palms facing upwards. "Monster."
In mere seconds, a blast of energy released itself from the palms of her hands, and only kept growing more and more into a giant cloud of flames above the two of them. Fyodor's eyes widened, not realizing that he had taken a step back in response to her overwhelming power.
Y/n rarely used the full extent of her ability, and would only call upon it in this manner at the utterance of its true name. However, she was more than willing to send this man's curmudgeonous soul back to hell if it meant saving everyone that had been dragged into this.
Fyodor maniacally laughed. "This is what I've been waiting for, my dear Y/n! We can finally destroy it all, everything that has casted its depravity upon us. I'm proud of the monster you've become for my sake."
Y/n's eyes were glued to him. "I agree. Death is what you ought to have been waiting for."
As the cloud of heat gathered in the air, it gradually morphed into a blue and purple inferno that made it hard for Fyodor to breathe properly. He clutched his throat, coughing and gasping for air. The room was so sweltering hot that when he went to grab the door handle, it seared his flesh. He fell to his knees, and his vision became blurry. Almost there, she thought.
Y/n herself was not initially affected by the increasing temperature or air pressure in the room, but her ability did have its limits. The longer she emitted her flames like this, the higher chance there was of it scorching her own body. But she couldn't stop just yet. Not until she got to see Fyodor choking on his own blistering skin.
Once Fyodor finally collapsed from the lack of oxygen, Y/n became intent on dropping the compiled flames onto his crippled body, but she quickly noticed that the ceiling beams were beginning to crumble as well. She deactivated the giant blue aggregation of fire to prevent the infrastructure from sustaining too much damage, but it was too late. She had already set the room on fire, and there was no escape-for anyone.
A drawback to using her full ability was not just the damage it caused herself, but the lack of control she had over it. In small amounts, it was easy to manipulate, but in a swarm of carnage as big as this one, she couldn't do anything to stop it. The fire had touched every corner of the room, so no matter where she tried to pivot it to, it would only grow bigger. Luckily, the smoke didn't affect her breathing, but even she couldn't avoid being burned alive in a blaze as deadly as this one.
Sweat dripped from her skin, and her shoulder wound ached even more. She darted her eyes around, trying to find any opening of escape, but the room was closed off from the outside with no windows or even pockets of light. As the heat started getting to her senses, Y/n crouched down, trying to remain conscious.
However, one of the beams above her crackled before plunging straight down on top of her. She jumped out of the way, but it left her calf with a large gash that would definitely end up leaving a scar. Great, now I'm bleeding everywhere, she thought. The sweat and blood mixing together on her skin gave Y/n a sticky sensation all over. It didn't help that she was also bleeding through the shirt she had tied around her shoulder.
She sat down, sprawled out on the floor, and took in this sight of a melting den of angels with bored eyes. She saw Fyodor's body lying next to the door, and thought about how she was probably going to die next to the person she hated most in this world. She chuckled as slight tears formed in her eyes. She closed her eyelids, and tilted her head back to prevent them from falling.
She sighed, thinking about the crap situation she had gotten herself into. I wonder if those children are dead by now? Were they even alive to begin with? How many people did Fyodor have working for him? Will the Port Mafia be okay? Will Mori?
Numerous thoughts raced through Y/n's head as she waited for her impending death. But then she thought about what would happen if Mori did manage to eventually find her there. What if he just saw her as a burnt corpse lying there after all of this was over? Would that make him happy? To see her become nothing but a vanquished memory for him? Would she be forgiven?
"Like hell," she said, punching her knuckles into the ground. She stood up. "If this place is only going to crumble into ruin anyway, then I'll just burn this whole shit thing down right now." I'll probably end up with more injuries, but at least I'll have a better chance of surviving, she thought. I promised I would.
Her heartbeat quickened at the idea of making this place even more unbearably hot, but nevertheless, decided to raise her arms up towards the ceiling.
However, before she could do anything, she heard loud explosions coming from outside the room. She dropped her hands, shifting her eyes to the door. What's that, a bomb? She thought as her jaw stiffened. More of the ceiling beams began to fall, and it became harder to dodge them. Oh, my poor face. She could feel the new scratches and gashes that continued to adorn her cheek. She backed away from the burning debris, but bumped into something else.
"I didn't expect that you would stir up a mess so quickly, my angel," a voice said.
Y/n whipped her head around. It was Nikolai. "Are you kidding?" She said, shocked by his sudden appearance. "Why do you show up now of all times?"
"Hm? Did you think I was really going to let you die like this? That would be no fun! Use your imagination. I'm here to guide your heart to its true place."
She sighed, glaring at him. "Once again, this is not the time for your cheap riddles."
He giggled. "Which is why I've only come here to retrieve him," he said, glancing over at Fyodor's body. "You, on the other hand, may do whatever it is you want to do."
"So you're here for a corpse, but I'm supposed to just stay here and kindle the flames?"
He laughed again, but this time clutching his stomach as his braid dangled across his shoulder like a monkey's tail. "You may see it that way if you wish," he said, picking up Fyodor's body, "but you are still mine. I will never just let you rot in purgatory. Pursuing you is my ultimate freedom, after all." He lifted up coat, opening one of his portals.
Her eyes widened. Is he really just going to leave me here?
"Until death do we part, my lovely Y/n," he said, gazing into her eyes with a grin. The next thing she knew, he was gone. What did I expect from a clown that parades as an angel?
She then heard another explosion from outside, but this time it sounded closer to the room than before. She stepped as far back from the sound as possible, but the repeated booming only increased in frequency. Finally, the door flew off its hinges along with the wall surrounding door frame.
Although the room had been busted open, the heavy smoke still made it hard for Y/n to see clearly, so she wasn't exactly sure who had just entered. She quickly glanced around in every direction, as she couldn't tell where anything was once the noise had ceased. Was this just a bomb set up beforehand to finish her off? Was this one of Fyodor's men? Dammit, I can't see anything, she thought.
She repeatedly turned her body around, still trying to make sense of where she was standing, but then, a hand wrapped itself around her waist. Her eyes widened as the person gently spoke into her left ear. "You're always disappearing on me, Y/n. Must you be so cruel?"
She felt like she had just been wrapped in a blanket, one where the tormenting heat of the surrounding air had already dissipated. She wanted to fall deeper into it and never wake up from whatever dream she was currently hallucinating. Then her eyes met with his. "Rintarou," she said in disbelief, "you're here."
Y/n fully turned around this time and plunged herself into his arms. In return, he did the same, stroking her disheveled head. Mori squeezed her tight, which made her grimace from the pain in her shoulder.
He noticed her reaction and examined her shoulder. His eyes widened. "You're hurt? Who's responsible for this?" He asked, narrowly looking at the rest of her most apparent injuries, including the capacious gash on her leg.
Y/n sighed. "Don't worry about it. I've taken care of the problem. I can still move it, so it's not too bad. I'm just glad nothing happened to you. I thought Fyodor might have done something."
He furrowed his expression. "Did you honestly think that I wouldn't worry? I never asked you to die for me!" He looked like he was about to cry. That's a first, she thought. He should do it more. "And regarding Fyodor, Dazai explained to me what his plan was, and we managed to locate the missing children on one of the lower levels of this building, so your mission is complete."
"Dazai? Why is he involved?" Y/n asked.
Mori paused, deliberating on whether to distract her focus away from himself. "As much as I would have preferred not needing his help, his intel was necessary for us to find this place."
"Yeah, but don't think that I'm ever going to help that bastard again. I could've broken in here all on my own by now if it wasn't for him," a voice said, emerging from the doorway. The smoke was clearing out of the room, but the fire was still spreading around them, so they would need to leave soon before their surroundings collapsed in on them.
Y/n smiled at who she saw. "I was wondering who was being such a nuisance and blowing things up."
"Fine, I'll let you die next time. You're welcome for nothing," Chuuya said, crossing his arms and turning his head away like a pouting child.
"Thank you, Chuuya," she said with sincerity. "And thank you, boss. If there was anyone that I wanted to find me, it was you."
Mori grinned. "Not going to use my name this time? How cold of you, my love."
"Chuuya's here. Why would I?" She said in a hushed tone.
"Hey! What are you saying about me?" Chuuya said, spazzing out.
"That your hat is getting singed," Y/n replied before reverting her gaze back to Mori.
As Chuuya stomped out the flame that was attempting to burn his precious hat, Mori and Y/n exchanged gentle grins with each other. "Shall we go home?" He said.
"Where else would I go?" Mori clasped her hand. She jerked her hand away, as her fingertips still had minor burns on them. "I don't think that'll work," she said.
He grabbed his chin in contemplation, and gazed at her form before lifting her into his arms. "Then I guess this will have to do," he said, beaming shamelessly.
"I swear, if you don't let me down—" She said before Mori stole a kiss from her. When he pulled his lips away, he was left smirking at her flustered expression.
"That's payback," he said.
"For what?" She said, raising her voice. His face was so close to hers that she almost spontaneously combusted again.
"For not telling me about your plan and getting yourself hurt in the process."
"How did you know I was planning to get captured?" Y/n knew that he was crafty, but didn't think that he still distrusted her so much.
"When you talked about luring the culprits in with bait, I considered that you'd be dumb enough to use yourself as a target, so when Chuuya told me about what happened, I had a feeling that you weren't entirely blameless for it."
"And yet you came anyway? Was that really the best thing to do after what I pulled?" Even though Y/n was hoping that they would find her, she knew that the organization always came first in Mori's eyes. She wouldn't have wanted him to save her if it ended up hurting the Port Mafia. He didn't need to try so hard for her sake. It wasn't fair.
"You're right. I wouldn't have done this if there was nothing to gain from it," he said with a stoney expression.
"I see," she said, looking down as he held her in his arms. She figured that was the reason why, but hated hearing him actually admit it.
Mori lightly grinned at her dejected face. "In order for an organization to flourish, its leader must be able to perform their duties effectively. Your absence would have hindered my ability to do so, which is why my well-being is naturally contingent upon your own. Is it clear now, my dear?"
"So, you're saying that you'd all essentially die without me?" She said with a smirk. "Kind of dramatic, no?"
"At the very least, I would." Mori said, closing his eyes as he held her closer to his chest. Now that he had her in his embrace, he didn't know if he would ever be able to let her go again. At the very least, not for a long while. All this time, he still refused to blatantly admit to his fear that Y/n seemed to have full control over.
As Mori walked out of the room with Y/n in his arms, Chuuya followed behind them. They headed down the staircase for safe measure, and when they reached the first floor of the building, they were greeted with the rest of the members of the Port Mafia who had come to assist them in the retrieval mission.
Even though she was embarrassed from helplessly being carried by Mori in front of the other members, she didn't put up a resistance, as the soreness percolating through her body made it difficult for her to move.
The commander of the Black Lizard approached Mori. "We've secured the building and its escape routes, boss, but there's no sign of Fyodor. The Armed Detective Agency has taken the liberty of escorting the missing children back to the police station, but we have nothing else to report otherwise."
Mori sighed. "Very well. Please handle the cleanup here as well, Hirotsu," he said, stepping over the dozens of bodies littered throughout the entrance of the building. It seemed Fyodor had other bodyguards besides Nikolai doing his dirty work for him. He was really intent on keeping her in the dark, wasn't he?
When Mori headed out to the covert black car waiting for them, dark gray storm clouds loomed overhead. Light sprinkles of rain graced the tree leaves and continued to fall onto Y/n's face as Mori finally set her feet down on the ground.
"Watch your head," he said as she ducked into the car.
"I know. I'm not stupid."
"Just wanted to be sure," he said, grinning. He wanted to keep an eye on her even more than he had done before after this incident. It was almost compulsory to him, like she would fade into mist if he looked away for even a moment.
Once they both got into the car, they were driven back to headquarters. Rain droplets layered the windows, and puddles splashed against the wheels of the car as Mori sat with one of his legs crossed over the other.
Y/n was too tired to make further conversation, so she simply sat in a daze, staring out of her window for the rest of the way home. Using his door as an armrest, Mori propped up his cheek with his hand, and for the whole way there, he never took his eyes off of her.
Thunder was currently shattering the drenched sky with its booming fury, but his mind was never more at peace as when he gazed upon her presence. He wanted it to last forever.
The last chapter is upon us...
Thank you all for reading! /// To be continued... 🧡