Kunikida's POV
"Don't die, brat, Narumi!" I Grumbled as I speed through the water on the Agency's boat, chasing the boat that the two were trapped on.
Dazai's POV
Chuuya threw off his coat and charged me. I stayed silent and easily dodged three punches, jumping backward. I caught his right arm the fourth time and punched him in the gut.
"You call that a punch?!" He asked me, smirking. He then spun his leg, kicking me full force in the stomach, sending me flying back. I grunted harshly as I crashed against the wall, falling forward. "It doesn't even count as a massage. Your martial arts skills are below average for the Port Mafia. Your ability to neutralize gifts is a nuisance, but I don't even need to use mine at this point. Get up. The party's just getting started." I smirked from the ground; head still lowered.
"You're not the Port Mafia's top martial artist for nothing," I said. "Whoops," I said, swinging my legs to the ground, forcing me to get up to a crouch. I stretched my arms quickly while on the ground. "I thought my blocking arm'd get torn off." I got up and put my hands in my pockets. "We've known each other for a long time. I'm totally familiar with your moves, pacing, and habits. I wouldn't have been a proper partner otherwise, right?" Chuuya then ran at me, like a blur.
'He's fast!" I thought in surprise.
"Then I bet you saw this coming to!" He yelled as he flew towards me, throwing a punch, hitting me right in the side of the face. "This is how you throw a punch!" He hit me square in the stomach, making me grunt and spit flew from the back of my throat as I coughed from the punch. He then slammed his hand against my neck, pinning me to the wall. "You thought you could beat me just because you can predict my moves?" He pulled out a knife from his back pocket and held the tip right to my throat, gripping my throat tighter, making me grunt as it starting to cut off my airways. "Tell me before you die. Why'd you let yourself get caught? What were you waiting for here?" I stayed silent as I simply looked at him. "Heh, the silent treatment? Fine. I'll just have more fun torturing you."
"The main reason..." I started. "Is Atsushi-kun and Narumi-chan." His eyes narrowed at me.
"Atsushi and Narumi?" he asked.
"The weretiger and copycat you're all obsessed with," I told him. "I wanted to know who put the seven-billion-yen price tags on their heads."
"You wanted to know badly enough to put your life on the line?" he asked me. "I'd like to say that's heartwarming... but look where you ended up. Guess even geniuses end up less than average, eh, youngest executive in the mafia's history? Well, you've been deserted by lady luck. After all, you got caught the very day I got back from suppressing squabbles in the West. From my perspective, it was a stroke of luck." I smirked, making a curt, airily laugh. "What's so funny?" He asked me annoyed.
"Let me tell you something that's good to know," I told him. "There will be a meeting between the top five executives tomorrow."
"Impossible," Chuuya said, surprised. He lowered his knife from my throat but didn't let go. I had my hands in my pockets again, pretty relaxed. "That's a meeting of critical importance that only occurs once every several years, to determine what direction to take as an organization. If there was going to be one, I would've been notified."
"The reason it's happening is a certain letter I sent the other day to the upper echelons of the organization," I told him. "So, I'm going to predict this now." I lowered my head and looked right at him. "You're not going to kill me. Moreover, you'll tell me where to find information on who's paying the weretiger and copycat/werewolf bounty before leaving this room. And when you leave, you'll walk and talk like a little rich girl."
"What?" Chuuya asked, looking annoyed and making a face.
"My predictions always come true," I told him. "I think you know that."
"What can you even hope for in this situation?" he asked me. "A letter?" he then asked, eyes wide as if he realized something. He lowered his head and narrowed his eyes. "You mentioned a letter."
"The letter said this: "Should Dazai fall, all of your secrets will come to light," " I recited for him.
"You bastard, you didn't..." Chuuya said, surprised.
"So now you've caught a former executive turned traitor," I said. "But the package included a letter to the upper echelons that, if I die, all of the organization's secrets will be disclosed. If the public prosecutor's office gets ahold of those secrets, all of the Port Mafia executives can be executed a hundred times over. That's more than enough of a threat to trigger the meeting."
"The Port Mafia aren't so feeble that a threat like that'd make them wait and see what happens," Chuuya said. "You'll die! There will be an execution!"
"Probably," I admitted. "But that'll be the council's decision. If you execute me before that decision without permission, your unsanctioned act will be considered an act of betrayal. You'll be discharged or, at worst, executed." Chuuya's face tensed up more and more.
"And even if I look past all of those factors and kill you, you'll just be happy because you managed to die," he said. I just smiled and laughed the slightest bit.
"So yeah, go ahead if you want," I told him. He grunted and hesitated, clutching his knife in his hand tighter. "Come on, hurry. Come onnnn." I sang the last bit a little. He grunted, spinning the knife in his hand so he gripped it upside down. He then slammed it into the wall right next to my head, letting me go and walked away. "Oh..." I smirked. "You're not going to?" I asked him. Blood was running down the side of my face because the knife grazed me. " "Chuuya driven out of the organization because of me" had a nice ring to it, too," I told him. Chuuya froze as he started lifting his jacket from the ground.
"Don't tell me..." he started. He then stood up and faced me, jacket in his left hand. "So your second reason was to force me to make that impossible choice just now?" I chuckled and smirked. I thought back to when Chuuya told me his reason for coming down here was to harass me. "In actuality, you were waiting to harass me." I stood up and pulled his knife from the wall.
"It's a reunion long in the making," I told him, walking towards him with his knife. "A surprise of this caliber is only fair." Chuuya spun around quickly, flipping his coat over his shoulders like when he first came down.
"I'll have you die..." he grumbled. "I'll have you die someday, I swear."
"By the way..." I said. "You're the one that broke my chains and freed me. If I just run away now, you'll be suspected of aiding my escape."
"You bastard!" He yelled at me, whipping around.
"If you do as I say, I could make it look like someone from the Agency came to rescue me," I offered sneakily.
"Why should I believe you?!" he asked me.
"I don't lie in these kinds of negotiations," I told him. "I think you know that." I threw his knife back at him, and he caught it perfectly by the hilt.
"Bastard..." he said again. "What do you want?"
"I said it earlier," I told him.
"If it's about that weretiger and the werewolf or copycat, or whatever, Akutagawa's leading the operation," he told me. "He should have records in the communications storage room on the second floor."
"I see," I smiled happily. "Well, I had my guesses about that."
"Oh?!" Chuuya grumbled. He turned around and started walking away, waving. "Just finish what you came here for and leave, you ass."
"Why, thank you," I thanked him. "But I have one correction: my dream right now is to commit double-suicide with a beautiful woman, so being kicked to death by you wouldn't make me happy in the slightest. Sorry."
"Uh-huh," Chuuya said lamely. "I'll try to find a beautiful woman willing to kill herself next time."
"Chuuya," I gasped happily. "I had no idea you were a good person!"
"It's my way of saying go to hell, idiot!" he yelled. "Let me tell you this, Dazai." He slammed his foot onto the step he was on, as he was halfway up already. "Don't think this is the end of it! There will be no second chance!"
"No, wrong!" I shouted. "Don't you think you're forgetting something? Don't-you-think-you're-forgetting-something?" He was shaking, not wanting to do what I wanted him to do. Eventually, his knees caved in and he spun around, acting like a woman.
"There will be no second chance," he said in a feminine-like voice. I stayed silent and stared at him. He stayed silent for a second. "N-N-No second chance. Hey, you should be laughing!" he yelled in anger.
Atsushi's POV
I grunted as I opened my eyes to light entering the cargo bin. I looked up and saw Kyouka in the doorway. "Huh?" I asked. I started to push myself up off the ground. "Did you come... to rescue me?" I screamed as Akutagawa's Rashoumon wrapped around my right ankle, dragging me out of the bin and into the daylight. I grunted as I was thrown against a metal beam and slumped onto the ground, eyes clenched shut. I gasped when the Shadow of Akutagawa stood in front of me. I grunted in pain when he slammed his foot onto the beam behind me, the heel of his foot on my collar bone, right above the Rashoumon wound.
"I struck to kill, but it seems the tiger's healing power is in effect, if in incomplete form," He said, sounding angry. I glared at him a bit.
'Where am I?' I wondered. 'And where's Narumi?' I couldn't sense that she was awake, which worried me a little. I knew that she's strong, but she's still just a child. I then heard a ship's horn. 'Am I at sea?'
"You're on a smuggling ship that carries weapons and munitions, though it's been solely reserved for you today," Akutagawa explained. "Another ship is carrying our precious sister.".
'"Our" precious sister?' I wondered angrily. I grabbed onto his shin as he applied more and more pressure. I raised my head bit by bit, glaring at him.
"Enjoy your last voyage for the next few hours before we hand you and Narumi over," He told me. I grunted and closed my eyes from the pain of him applying pressure to my wound.
'There's no point.' I thought. 'I can't win against him. I'll have to find an opening and make a run for it...'
"The weak will die," he said. "Die and make way for others."
'Why does he have so much hatred for me?' I wondered. I heard a gun cock in front of me and behind Akutagawa.
"Did you find yourself moved by being in the outside world, Kyouka?" Akutagawa asked her, letting me go and slump forward as he turned towards her.
"Let him go," she told him, holding the gun higher before her. Rashoumon cut the gun in half and Akutagawa grabbed Kyouka by the throat, lifting her up.
"Do you know what it's like to be at the nadir?" he asked her. "There is only the mire, a foul stench, and self-pity. At times, someone will look in from an opening far above, but no one notices you. With every breath, your wretchedness burns your lungs. That's what's waiting for you out there, Kyouka. Demon Snow is slaughter made flesh. Yet you think you can live a normal life outside of the Port Mafia? Weretiger, teach her what it's like. To help no one, to be counted on by no one, and to live in hiding, trembling like a worm." I stared at the ground in front of me, eyes wide open. Memories of the orphanage flashed through my mind. I gasped slightly as I looked up a little. I grunted and focused on the ground. "Continue killing, Kyouka, as the Port Mafia's assassin. If not, stop breathing. Worthless human beings don't have the right to breathe."
"You may be right..." Kyouka said shakily. "But... The crêpes were delicious..." I gasped at what she said. My head shot up and I looked at her, before looking behind me when I heard a boat engine.
"Where are you, brat?!" I heard Kunikida-san faintly yell. "Brat!"
"Kunikida-san?" I wondered, looking to the side, where the edge of the boat was.
"So the Agency's found us already?" Akutagawa grumbled. Kyouka kicked Akutagawa in the stomach, causing him to crouch, but not let go of her.
"Run while you still can," She told me. "This ship isn't going to reach the meeting spot." I gasped in surprise.
"Where else is it going?" Akutagawa asked her.
"The nadir," Kyouka said, raising a detonator with her right hand. She pressed the button and explosives below deck went off. I yelled in surprised as I flipped backward, managing to land on my hands and knees.
"Hey!" I yelled.
"Run!" she shouted. "Get your sister!"
"Weretiger!" Akutagawa yelled, standing up. I yelled and covered my face with my arms when another explosion ripped through the ground between myself and the other two. "You set explosives in the armory?" I heard Akutagawa ask Kyouka. "You're trying to die, aren't you? Is that man worth saving at the cost of your life?" I crawled towards the edge of the boat.
"Brat!" Kunikida-san yelled. I gasped and looked down to see him in a speed boat below. "Over here, brat! I can't come any closer because of the explosions! Jump!"
'I'm making it out alive...' I thought. 'I'm safe now. And I can save Narumi.'
"What are you doing?" Kunikida-san yelled. "Hurry up! The ship's going to sink!" I looked back towards where Akutagawa and Kyouka are. "You idiot!" I gasped in surprise and my focus snapped back to Kunikida-san. "How much more trouble are you going to cause the Agency? Everyone's working unpaid right now! And we still have to rescue your sister!" I stumbled to my feet as I stood up straight.
"What about her?" I asked him, gesturing back to Kyouka with my hand.
"Let that girl go!" he told me. "Not all innocents always get saved. I've failed many times too! That's the kind of city we're in and the job we have!"
"She can't be saved?" I asked him.
"That's right," he said softly. His hand shook before he clenched it tightly. "We're not heroes. I've wished so many times that we were. But we're not!" An explosion went off behind me, blowing my clothes, hair, and belt tail around. "Brat!" Kunikida-san yelled.
"She..." I started. "She said the crêpe she had with Narumi and I tasted great. She was told worthless human beings have no right to breathe, and she thought maybe that is true. I don't think so. Because Dazai-san... the Agency... didn't give up on me! I'm going!" I turned around and started running back towards the fire. "Go get Narumi!" I yelled behind me.
"Hey!" Kunikida-san yelled. "Run! Run, Atsushi!"
"Kyouka, is this the path you've chosen?" I heard Akutagawa in the distance. "Out of appreciation for your hard work thus far, I'll lay you to rest." I saw Akutagawa's Rashoumon grow from around him. "Die." His Rashoumon attacked Kyouka, but I managed to run in between them and grab Kyouka in the nick of time. I glared at Akutagawa as he turned his head to look behind him. I was holding Kyouka in my weretiger arms as I faced him.
"Face me, Akutagawa!" I yelled at him. I placed Kyouka down, leaning her against a metal beam, before standing up and facing Akutagawa again.
"It now seems curious to me, but I eventually felt things between us would end this way eventually," Akutagawa said.
"You'll miss out on the bounty," I told him.
"Don't worry," he said. "I have no intention of handing you over to them alive." I could hear gas leaks increasing beneath me.
"And what about Narumi?" I asked him. "I know you care about her. If you kill me, she'll hate you, and who knows what she'll do all alone."
"I'll tell her that the people who placed the bounties on your heads killed you and nearly killed me if I hadn't gotten away," Akutagawa said. "I'll convince her to join me and the Port Mafia to get revenge. Then I won't have to worry about her safety if she won't get in the Port Mafia's way, like Dazai. No one will be able to take her away from me again and let her suffer as you did at the orphanage."
"I can't forgive you," I said darkly.
"The same goes for me," he returned. We stayed like that for a moment, the atmosphere getting more and more intense until a gas line beneath us exploded. I jumped into the air and charged him, while he leaned forward. "Rashoumon!" he yelled. Several vines sprouted from him and came after me. I yelled as I sliced through some with my right hand. I flipped to the side, dodging a few more vines of his Rashoumon. I grabbed a piece of the boat and chucked it at him. His Rashoumon simply blocked it, breaking the rubble. I jumped up and attacked him from behind, but a spiderweb-like version of his Rashoumon blocked it.
'It's the same devoured space that stopped the bullets before.' I thought as I was stuck in midair, punching the Rashoumon web. 'As long as it's there, my attacks can't get through.
"How futile," Akutagawa said. I yelled as his Rashoumon pushed me back and grabbed me by the arms, lifting me into the air. "Is this the best you can do, weretiger?" I gasped softly as I looked down at him. "Slow torture is not one of my hobbies." An exceptionally sharp Rashoumon appeared, seeming to very much resemble a scythe. "If you must, curse your own weakness. You are a weakling who deluded himself into thinking he was strong for having joined an armed organization like the Agency. Your membership was merely due to coincidence and luck."
"You're quite the talker today," I noted.
"I don't recall ever identifying myself as a mute," he countered.
"It's just like you say," I told him. "I am weak. But I do have two advantages."
"And what's that?" Akutagawa asked.
"One, Narumi is my sister to take care of," I told him. "And two, I can defeat you!" I transformed my arms back to their regular forms, freeing them from the Rashoumon vines.
"You reversed your tiger paws to free your arms?!" he said in utter surprise. I grunted as I backflipped in midair to dodge an attack. I landed on the side of the top corner of a container, before transforming my arms and legs and pushing off. I yelled as I released a flurry of attacks at Akutagawa, which he countered by holding his hand in front of him and creating a round, red Rashoumon barrier in between us. He grunted, closed and swung his hand, and dropped the barrier, before dodging two of my punches by moving his head.
'I thought so.' I thought. 'It takes time to activate the devoured space barrier. I'll just use my speed to push my attacks then!' I swiped my hand in front of him, but I completely missed.
"What?" I asked as I looked up.
"I don't have the time to go along with childish fistfights..." Akutagawa said in the air, lifted by his Rashoumon. "Sorry, but I'll just observe your efforts from up here!" I grunted as I ran and dodged two snake-like forms.
'Having this distance between us works to his advantage.' I thought as I ran, observing my problem. 'I have to close the gap somehow...' I grunted as I stopped, seeing the Rashoumon snake in front of me. I grunted and yelled as it took me in its mouth and slammed me into the ground and against two containers.
"Shit!" I yelled when I saw the gas leaks before me. A huge explosion went off around me. But, I jumped onto one of the debris, sending me flying up towards Akutagawa. Not getting a chance to enjoy the look of surprise on his face, I yelled as I punched him smack in the jaw, sending him flying towards the deck of what remained of the ship. I landed on the ground, crouched low, before coughing and leaning forward a bit. Akutagawa was on the ground before me, slumped against caved in containers. Smoke was billowing around me, and I knew I only had a few minutes before the ship would be fully submerged, especially because of my battle with Akutagawa. I looked behind me slightly at Kyouka, who was still unconscious.
"I have to take her to Kunikida-san before the ship sinks!" I got up and turned around. I took one step before I was stabbed in the chest by Akutagawa's Rashoumon. I yelled as I coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Why..." Akutagawa said. "Why is it you?!" I turned around as soon as the Rashoumon left my chest, only to be slammed into more containers behind me, near Kyouka. "Your ability is but newly learned, a crude addition... It's full of flaws and you use it with poor planning! And yet... Why is it you?!"
"There it is again," I said. "His hatred for me... Where does such hatred come from?" I just stared at Akutagawa, glowing red from rage and power.
"I won't let him say that," I heard him say. "I won't let him say such things ever again!" I gasped in horror as a beam came right for me. It lifted me high up into the air. "Rashoumon! Higanzakura!" I yelled as the Rashoumon holding me turned into a ball of spikes, but no sound came out. Just blood. I landed on the ground, face first when he let me go. I heard Akutagawa about to walk away.
"Wait," I said. I started to get up again. "Why... You're so powerful. Why'd you have to use her?" Thinking about Kyouka.
"I didn't use her," Akutagawa said, realizing I was talking about Kyouka and not Narumi. "Demon Snow is an ability to kill. Only when killing someone does Kyouka's existence have meaning. If she does not kill, she is worthless. I merely gave her value. To make her worthy to live."
"That's the thing," I grunted as I stood up. "You don't get to decide whether someone is worthy of being alive!" Akutagawa stabbed me again in the wound on my shoulder, but I didn't even react to it. I simply grabbed it with my right hand. "Why couldn't you tell her something different? People need to be told they're worthy of being alive by someone else or they can't go on," I said as I pulled the Rashoumon out of my chest and pulled Akutagawa towards me, who was utterly surprised. I jumped into the air. "Why can't you understand such a simple thing?!" I reared back for a punch, but I grunted when a Rashoumon fist got me first. I yelled as I tore it apart with my right hand's claws and charged Akutagawa. He dodged by using his Rashoumon to lift him high into the air.
"Rashoumon! Sawarabi!" Akutagawa yelled. I grunted as I saw all the little spikes on the ground around me. I yelled as they all stabbed me in the back, lifting me into the air.
"Akutagawa...!" I screamed as I jumped off the spikes right at him. He smirked, making me gasp.
"Rashoumon! Goku Mon Agito!" he yelled. A giant beast-like form of Rashoumon formed, engulfing me in its mouth. I opened my mouth, silently yelling as more blood flew from my body. Akutagawa probably thought I was finished, judging by the look of surprise on his face when I used my Tiger's tail to grab his waist and pull him towards me. "Devoured Space!" he yelled right before I landed a punch. I yelled as I punched his spiderweb-looking shield of devoured space, cracking it bit by bit until it shattered. Akutagawa's eyes widened at the sight. I yelled as my punch finally landed, sending Akutagawa flying into the water below. I lost consciousness as my arms, legs, and tail reverted back to normal as I fell.
Kyouka's POV
I woke up to see that not only was I still alive, but the ship was sinking, and Atsushi punched Akutagawa into the water. I got up and walked over to where he was going to land. I watched as he hit the deck so hard on his back, he somehow managed to bounce onto his stomach. I grunted softly as I draped his left arm around my shoulder and lifted him up. I then silently started to make my way to the edge of the ship, where I knew Atsushi's co-worker was before. I had just barely made it to the edge of the boat when a huge explosion went off behind me. I yelled as the blast sent the two of us flying over the edge. I lost consciousness right as Atsushi's co-worker caught us on the back of his boat.
Kunikida's POV
"You big idiot..." I sighed, looking back at the unconscious Atsushi and Kyouka. I then smiled slightly. "Well done. Now leave your sister to me." I pulled up alongside the other boat, which had apparently stopped, seeing the other ship's wreckage. I pulled out my ideal. "Ability: Doppo Poet, grappling gun!" I ripped out a piece of paper from my ideal. It glowed bright and rings appeared as it transformed into a grappling gun. I shot the hook and managed to hook it onto the ship's railing. I secured the other end of the rope onto the speed boat and took a breath. "I really hate doing this..." I muttered. I leaned down and grabbed onto the rope. I hung underneath the rope as I started climbing, pulling myself up the rope all the way to the ship's railing.
Once I got there, I pulled myself over and panted for a minute. Once I got my breath back, I looked around. "Okay, Narumi, where are you?" I muttered. I walked around, listening intently for anyone or anything. I gasped when I heard a voice and hid behind one of the many cargo containers on the ship.
"What the hell do you think happened on the other ship?" A man asked.
"No idea, but I could swear I saw Akutagawa fighting that weretiger," Another man said.
"The weretiger got out?" a woman asked.
"It seems so," the first man said.
"Aw man, what if the kid gets out?" the woman asked.
"Impossible," the second man said. "She's sedated, under lock and key, and guarded by twenty men." 'Of course...' I thought, annoyed. 'So how in the hell will I get her out?'
"What about Akutagawa?" the first man asked. "He said we're not supposed to hand her over for the bounty exchange. Just keep her here, safe."
"I say to hell with what he said," the second man said. "He just got his ass handed to him by the kid's brother who, as far as we know, can barely control his ability."
"But he's down there with her, so we can't really do anything," the woman said. 'What? How?' I thought. He was sent into the water with a powerful punch from Atsushi. And it didn't take me long to get here in the Agency's speed boat.
"I really hate his Rashoumon," the first man said. "It has way too many uses. A shield, a weapon, grappling hook, the list goes on." 'So that's how.' I thought.
"At least he's below deck and not up here with us," the woman said.
"Hey, Bunta... uh... I lost my card for downstairs," a new man said. This one sounded younger than the others.
"What? Again?" The second man asked. He sighed harshly. "This is the last spare card I have. Don't lose it." I risked a glance around the corner and saw the keycard for below deck. I smirked. 'And there's my ticket in.' I thought. I ran quietly towards where the third man just came from. There, I saw a door locked with a keycard reader. I pulled out my ideal and quickly scribbled 'keycard', vividly remembering the look of the keycard.
"Doppo Poet, keycard!" I said softly, not wanting to draw attention as I summoned the keycard. I checked the surroundings before making a dash for the door. I swiped the card and sighed in relief when it let me in. I opened the door carefully and walked in. I pulled out my gun and held it low as I made my way through the halls, past doorways to rooms full of people, down the stairs, and reached a high-security door. I cursed under my breath as I looked through the small window.
I
n the room, I saw Akutagawa sitting in a chair next to a cot where Narumi was lying. I glared a little when I saw the drip connected to Narumi's arm and how heavily she was being sedated. 'She's still such a small kid... why are they sedating her that heavily? It could kill her if they're not careful!' I thought angrily. I grunted when Akutagawa suddenly stood up. I dashed out of sight, into a nearby empty room right as he started to turn around for the door. I waited silently in the room, listening intently. I heard the door to Narumi's room open and footsteps receding. Oddly enough, I didn't hear the door close.
My heart pounded as I risked a peek outside. The hallway was empty. I dashed to Narumi's door to see it only open enough that the security system didn't engage, which confused me. I decided not to question it for now as I carefully opened the door. I closed the door behind me and ran over to Narumi. I carefully pulled out the IV needle and checked her over. I noticed the blood on her clothes and saw how she wasn't healing. 'The sedatives must be messing with her ability.' I thought. I carefully picked Narumi up and sat her up in the chair.
"Come on, Narumi," I muttered. "I need you to wake up and work with me here." I turned around and kneeled. I reached behind me and pulled Narumi onto my back, so I was giving her a piggyback. I then used the sheets on the bed to secure her better to me, so I could use my hands more freely. I then looked out the window to check if the coast was clear. When I saw it was, I silently dashed through the halls, up the stairs, and past all the people from before. I made my way all the way back to the railing where I climbed up. I froze, unsure how to get down from here. I then got an idea.
"Doppo Poet, knife!" I said softly as I summoned a knife with a sheath. I used the knife to cut off two pieces of cloth and I tied them to the palms of my hands. I then placed the knife into its sheath and placed it under my belt for later. I grunted as I brought Narumi to my chest and secured her more firmly. "This won't be easy..." I muttered. "And it would help if you woke up right about now Narumi." I sighed and climbed over the railing. I grunted as I carefully lowered both of us onto the rope. I was thankful for the pieces of cloth on my hands as we sped towards the speed boat.
As soon as my feet were firmly on the boat, I used the knife to cut the rope form the grappling hook and used it to cut Narumi free from my chest. I carefully laid her down next to Atsushi and Kyouka, before starting the boat again. I sighed in relief as we sped away with a clean rescue. I looked back and I could swear I saw Akutagawa standing on the top of the ship, looking at us, but he didn't move, which surprised me. I decided not to think much about that as we sped away, heading back towards land, safety, and the Agency.
(A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this chapter! 😭 You guys are all amazing for being so patient and understanding!)