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The Demon Prodigy

Summary:

The Demon Prodigy, basically a myth in the underworld, Port Mafia's most dangerous and precious asset, seemingly re-emerges after four years of silence. ADA is in hysterics. The Port Mafia is laughing their asses off. Dazai is Not Amused and Chuuya is less than Not Pleased with Soukoku's name being dragged through the mud. Shenanigans ensue.

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Everyone in Yokohama who's had so much as a glimpse into the darkness of its criminal underworld knows of him.

The wraith of the Port Mafia.

The Boss' right hand man.

The child Executive.

The Demon Prodigy.

There are so many stories about him that sound so fantastical, many don't believe them to be true. Hell, many people over the past four years since his disappearance are even convinced the man is a myth, an urban legend told by slackers and incompetent fools who couldn't get their jobs done as their bosses demanded. Especially those who joined the criminal underground in the past four years that were marked by the absence of the person who had single-handedly started the Port Mafia's so-called 'golden age' of violence and expansion. The concept of such a dangerous individual existing in the same plane of reality as them just seemed so inconceivable that they couldn't comprehend just how peaceful their lives as criminals and mobsters are.

But the older generations knew well what they spoke of. There were those who were unlucky among them to have personally met the demon and were left alive, either by mercy or because they were considered so insignificant that whether they continued to waste oxygen or not did not bother the young Executive. When youngsters asked them why surviving was considered 'unlucky', they would say that they could never walk the streets of Yokohama, be it by day or night, without looking over their shoulder every few seconds in fear of seeing that man's silhouette anywhere near them again.

The Demon Prodigy's shadow extended over all of Yokohama and only a fool would believe that they can hide from him for long. A genius, competent, skilled, manipulative, merciless, cruel, efficient and deadly were only some of the adjectives used to describe the beast Mori Ougai had brought into the Mafia, into their world of shadows and darkness where the beast all too easily settled in and spread its webs until it controlled half of Yokohama's underworld and all those associated with it with the ease of a masterful, skilled puppeteer. Anyone caught in this web could never escape unless the Demon Prodigy cut you out himself, which he never did.

A devil disguised as a human with blood mafia black, more so than anyone else, as if born to be one of them would forever be part of Yokohama's history, be it as a horror story come to life or a mere myth.

Even four years later, no one dared breathe his name for fear of summoning him like a wraith that will take their soul and devour them whole in the darkness of the night.

No one knew why he disappeared; no one believed he was killed and there was no way the Mafia would eliminate such an asset.

Some say he just left.

Others said he ended things himself.

But no one knew for sure and this fear is what kept the gangs and mobs of Yokohama on their toes and wary to truly oppose the Port Mafia for fear that the Demon Prodigy had simply temporarily retired out of boredom but was ready to get back in action the second a new bigger threat appeared on the horizon testing his organization.

Mori and his Executives strove off of that fear and never corrected such a belief. Mori was, after all, always too happy to reap the benefits of Dazai Osamu's fearsome reputation.

Chuuya was just annoyed that he was no longer allowed to complain about his partner leaving him behind in public bars not owned strictly by the Port Mafia.

For four years, the Demon Prodigy remained nothing but a myth, a legend, a hushed conversation that is always cut off for fear of invoking the man's presence and wrath.

Until, one day, a man burst into the Armed Detective Agency, sobbing and in hysterics, a letter clutched in his hand and begging for protection. Kunikida and Kenji, their two blond heavy hitters, are the first to approach him and he clutches desperately at a confused Kenji as he babbles about monsters and myths and his life being in danger.

"Please! You have to help me! I-I didn't mean to, I swear!"

It takes some time - and medication provided by Yosano - to calm the man down enough that he's not hysterical anymore and was instead just reduced to terrified shaking. Not the most ideal state for a client interview, but still better than the man had been upon entering.

"I wonder what's got the most stout judge in Yokohama in such a fit?" Dazai comments to Ranpo, who hums in agreement.

"Judge?" Atsushi asks, turning towards his mentor.

"Yeah. Takeru Inukai, the current judge working with public prosecutors in organized crime, terrorism and political corruption, rumored to be the most stout and resilient member of the ministry of justice in decades. He's received hundreds of death threats and has never once changed his ruling to save his life. The Military Police supposedly guard his house 25/8 and no, I'm not making a mistake there; he is literally under more surveillance than there are hours in the day. Rumor has it that he once managed to almost prosecute a Subexecutive of the Port Mafia before the evidence mysteriously vanished before it can be presented in court and therefore considered legally representing the crime and the suspect, ending the case. Takeru-san was still said to be fighting to bring that case to justice even though the lawyers themselves gave up, especially since the suspect died last year, five years after the initial trial. Takeru-san supposedly ruled over three hundred death sentences since he became the judge overseeing organized crime, terrorism and corruption cases."

"Oh, wow, he sounds like an amazing person," Atsushi breathed, now even more confused by the shaking mess on their couch. "What could have possibly caused this, then?"

"This," Kunikida said as he approached them with the letter the man had come in with, showing it to their best detectives and the rookie. "This has got to be the worst case scenario the Armed Detective Agency could have ever faced," the blond said with a grave look on his face and Atsushi almost didn't believe him, considering what had been presented as the 'worst imaginable case scenario' the last time, with the Black Lizard. But the way Ranpo's breath hitched actually had Atsushi looking at the letter.

It only caused confusion for him as he read it.

Release Haneuma Dino of all charges against him, or else.

-The Demon Prodigy

The white haired male's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "The Demon Prodigy?"

Takeru shrieked from the other side of the office. "Don't! Don't say his name! He'll come for me and kill me! I don't want to die in pain and torture! I'm a good citizen, I've only done good for my country and my city! I don't want to die!"

"Easy, Takeru-san," Kenji tried to calm him. "Everything will be just fine, okay? You have the Armed Detective Agency on your side-"

"I don't actually know if we should take this case," Ranpo interrupted and Takeru whimpered.

"Huh!?" Atsushi and Kunikida intoned, turning to the shot detective who had the letter - a note, more like, really - clutched in his hands.

"I don't even blame you," the judge whispered, looking even more miserable than when he'd barged through the door. "It is, after all, the Demon Prodigy." It was said in a whisper, as though afraid the individual would hear him and manifest at just the mention of his name(?). "Only someone suicidal would go up against him."

At the word suicidal, the Agency members automatically turned towards Dazai, surprised that he'd been so quiet this whole time after explaining their newest client's identity. They were surprised to find him expressing several almost undefinable emotions while at the same time trying to hide them under one of his usual masks. He looked somewhere between embarrassed and actually angry, unamused and resigned and a bit frustrated while also being intrigued. What was going through the man's head, though, was beyond any of them, even Ranpo when he glanced at his fellow genius.

"Ano, who is this 'Demon Prodigy'?" Takeru squeaked again at Kenji's question.

To the surprise of everyone, the President was the one to answer as he walked into the room. "The Demon Prodigy is nowadays little more than a legend, but up until four years ago, he was a Port Mafia Executive whose results brought in nearly half of their Profits in the two years he was in power. His ledger is terrific and supposedly even other mafioso feared him. He's been involved in several incidents such as the Dragon Head Rush and the Mimic conflict, after which he, however, disappeared off the radar. He is an extremely dangerous individual feared by the underworld itself. No one actually knows what happened to him, but many presumed death. To have him reappear now, after so much time ... This might be a bigger problem than the Agency can handle by itself."

"I assure you, Shachou, that this has to be a fake note," Dazai spoke up, gaining everyone's attention with that one sentence.

Takeru immediately looked enraged. "Don't joke around! This is no laughing matter! My life is seriously in danger! Even the Military Police personnel guarding my house were cut in half since I was considered a lost cause and they didn't want to lose so many men!"

"Am I laughing?" Takeru flinched back at the cold tone and the Agency was utterly confused by this side of Dazai. The President observed him with narrowed eyes as the brunet turned his attention back to him. "The Demon Prodigy- will you stop that? It's annoying and no, he will not magically appear out of nowhere if you say his name." Ignoring Takeru now, he focused on the president. "As I was saying, the Demon Prodigy would have no reason to protect Haneuma Dino, or any member of the Haneuma family, as they are tightly associated with the Red Cranes yakuza originating from Kyoto that have recently been trying to establish themselves in Yokohama, too. They are the Port Mafia's current main rivals in the red district as well as drug trafficking and money laundering. There have been several incidents in brothels of both organizations so it is utterly impossible the Demon Prodigy would protect Haneuma. Ergo, this note is fake, someone riding on the infamy and glory of the Demon Prodigy's reputation and trying to scare gullible fools into following their whims."

"How certain are you of this, Dazai?" Yosano asked with a frown. "I mean, there are rumors that the Demon Prodigy betrayed the Port Mafia. Maybe he found a new organization to serve?"

"That implies that he's left a stronger crime syndicate for a weaker one, or that he's resurfaced from hiding and gone to an organization where he would be the newbie or outsider instead of returning to the organization where he was next in line to become the Boss" the man replied with a sigh. "Not to mention that this doesn't match the Demon Prodigy's MO at all. The Demon Prodigy either delivers his threats in person or through intricate blackmail material delivered to the recipient. The Demon Prodigy never flaunted his reputation for such vague, empty threats. This is an impersonator, and a poor one. For one, there would never be a note, let alone one signed 'The Demon Prodigy'," Dazai finished with a mocking sneer before he hid all emotion behind a facade. "So, really, I am a hundred percent certain that this is not the Demon Prodigy and is, most likely, the work of the Red Cranes in hopes of freeing one of their core members of charges of murder, isn't that right, Takeru-san?"

"Y-yes, he was charged with the murder of a family of four," the judge answered shakily. "But are you really certain that it's not him?"

Dazai arched an eyebrow and reached into his pocket for his phone. After typing in a number from memory, he brought it up to his ear and waited for the other side to answer. After what seemed to be the third ring had just ended, the caller picked up.

"I am to presume this is Dazai-kun, no? What a pleasant surprise for you to call me," all but crooned the distinctively familiar voice of the Port Mafia Boss. Yosano and Fukuzawa immediately tensed.

Dazai rolled his eyes. "Mori-san, can you tell me if the Demon Prodigy, perhaps, sent a death threat to judge Takeru Inukai on behalf of one Haneuma Dino of the Red Cranes?"

There was a moment of clearly confused silence from the other end of the line. "Dazai-kun, is this a joke?"

"I wish," the brunet said bitterly and long-sufferingly. "Just answer the question, okay? Fukuzawa-shachou and Takeru-san are unsure about my certainty that the Demon Prodigy is most definitely not behind a case that has landed in our laps."

"I can confirm that the Demon Prodigy has done no such thing?" Mori replied, but it still sounded confused, almost like a question. The Agency could collectively imagine the man's disbelieving face, even if they don't know the cause of it. They themselves were also a bit too preoccupied with the shock of Dazai apparently knowing the Mafia Boss' phone number by heart. "What is this about?"

"Nothing for you to worry about at the moment, Mori-san. I suspect there will be a meeting regarding a possible alliance in handling the Red Cranes in the near future, so maybe you'll get an explanation then. Goodbye." And then Dazai just ... hung up on the Mafia Boss, like it was no big deal.

The Agency members weren't sure if he just had that much guts or if he was suicidal.

... Scratch that, they knew the answer.

"There you have it, Shachou," the bandaged man replied. "The Demon Prodigy is not behind this threat."

"And you'd just believe Mori on that?" Yosano asked, looking agitated to even be talking about the man.

But Dazai just shrugged. "Not even any of the bosses, including the Port Mafia's Boss, take matters regarding the Demon Prodigy lightly. He wouldn't lie about this, especially if someone is abusing the Demon Prodigy's infamy for their own purposes. After all, the Demon Prodigy is Port Mafia's. Mori-san wouldn't give him up so easily or share him with others."

"I think I understand Dazai's angle here," Ranpo added, finally letting go of the letter. "From what I remember, this definitely isn't the Demon Prodigy's MO and the Port Mafia wouldn't help their rivals. This is either a very poorly executed frame job or someone is indeed trying to ride on the Demon Prodigy's coattails."

"Return to your security personnel and tell them that the fake Demon Prodigy will be found and dealt with soon enough, Takeru-san," Dazai all but ordered the man just as the President's phone started ringing with a distinctive tune the man had set for only one person. Fukuzawa frowned but started walking towards his office even as he answered with a terse 'Mori-sensei'. "This case shouldn't last longer than the next eighteen hours."

"You actually think you can catch the Demon Prodigy in eighteen hours-"

"The Demon Prodigy? Oh, no. Not even Port Mafia's gravity manipulator would be able to catch the Demon Prodigy in four years unless the Demon Prodigy would allow it."

"Then-"

"It's a good thing we're not chasing the Demon Prodigy," Dazai finished, gave one last empty smile, before he seated himself at his desk, opened his laptop ... and started working. The Agency members nearly had a stroke then and there but their shock was interrupted by a grim-faced Fukuzawa returning to the main office space.

"Get ready. We're leaving for a meeting with the Port Mafia in an hour."

And so indeed they did, after having Tanizaki and Kenji escort Takeru to his security personnel. They arrived in front of the Port Mafia main building in two cars and piled out in a mess of limbs and gracelessness caused by having one too many teenagers far too eager to get out of the car. They tried to ignore the armed men watching them intensely as they approached the building but it was hard not to tense up.

The only one completely at ease was Dazai, who literally breezed past the men as though they didn't even exist. In fact, the men made room for him, giving inclines of their head in greeting with a quiet "Dazai-san" barely audible beyond Dazai's proximity. Dazai didn't spare those grunts a glance, but when he led them into the lobby and they were greeted with the leader of the Black Lizard, things were different. For one, the old man with the monocle actually bowed rather deeply at the waist, as did the personnel that had come with him, giving a respectful but rather warm "Welcome, Dazai-san" in greeting.

And Dazai, in return, grinned gently at the man, seemingly genuinely pleased to see him. "Hirotsu-san, always a pleasure! Have you yet managed to beat my high score?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid. It is a rather impressive score," the man, Hirotsu, said as he straightened back up. "For today, I am here to lead you up to the Boss. I don't doubt that you know your way around, but security measures, I presume you understand."

"That is perfectly fine, Hirotsu-san. It's not as if your presence up to the office door would change anything should I feel the urge to put a bullet between Mori-san's eyes."

"I meant the security of your group, Dazai-san," the man replied with fond exasperation as if Dazai hadn't just threatened his Boss. The Agency was honestly more disturbed by how casually their coworker was having this conversation than where or with whom he was having it. It was at times like these where they are reminded that Dazai used to be part of the Mafia before he joined them two years ago. It never occurred to them how lasting an impression such work could have on one's life given Kyouka was the closest thing to it they'd known about before Dazai's past profession was revealed. Kyouka had also been in the Mafia for only six months and came out of it with plenty of issues as is; they had no idea how long Dazai had been there before he got out or what his experiences were. "I am well aware only idiots would challenge you, but we've had idiots like that in the past. Should any of you sustain injury as our guests, it would paint a bleak picture of the Port Mafia's capabilities if we are not even able to be proper hosts."

"And Mori-san wants to make sure there's no snooping around."

"And that," Hirotsu conceded. "Now, if you would follow me?"

"Why do you seem so friendly with the leader of the Black Lizard, Dazai?" Kunikida demanded not so inconspicuously as they entered one of the elevators that would take them up half the floors of the skyscraper. Then, they'd have to change into another one which had access from halfway up to five floors beneath Mori's office, where they'd take the final elevator that leads to the office itself. All a security measure Dazai himself had suggested in case of attack. Even the staircases of the building were divided in a similar manner. The measures had only been installed in one of the side-buildings of the HQ when he'd left but it seems Mori had stuck to the plans Dazai had given him.

"Everyone is friendly with Hirotsu-san. Anyone who isn't is instantly suspicious of turning traitor or being a spy and is thoroughly investigated until it is confirmed or denied for certain. After all, only someone truly wicked could possibly be rude to a true mafioso gentleman like Hirotsu-san."

"Dazai-san's high opinion flatters me."

"Besides," Dazai said during the first switch of elevators. "Hirotsu-san is the most loyal and constant member of the Mafia. He's served Mori-san and the old boss before him and even the last year of the rule of the boss before that. Anyone who disrespects that loyalty, dedication and experience deserves what Ane-san's torture squads have to dish out."

"I doubt anyone outright deserves to be tortured, Dazai."

"You'd be surprised, Kunikida-kun."

"I agree with him on this, Kunikida," Yosano added, a dark look on her face. "Some people deserve far worse than they get."

"I should disagree, but I'm not a man who's made a habit of lying," their president threw his own two cents and there was a tense silence for the last part of the trip up. Hirotsu and his men stepped out first, lined up in front of the elevator and bowed as Dazai confidently strode past them towards the heavy doors guarded by four armed men. They briefly bowed to Dazai, too, before returning to their post just as Dazai threw the doors open dramatically while the Agency grouped around behind him.

"Yo, Mori-san~! You called? And a meeting in room A5, I'm flattered~!"

They entered a meeting room with a long table with seats placed on both sides. Surprisingly, there were no chairs placed on either head of the table and instead the arrangement was made that the two groups would be sitting across from each other. There were sealed snacks and drinks placed in front of where the Agency members were supposed to sit, which was considerate of the Mafia so it is clear there is no foul play regarding poisons going on. The mafiosos, on the other hand, were drinking their alcohol of choice, ranging from sake to wine and whiskey and anything else in between regarding finger foods.

Dazai sighs as he realizes this means the meeting might drag on for who knows how long.

If he was Kunikida, he'd worry about an unnecessarily long meeting interfering with his schedule.

But because he's Dazai and because he knows the Mafia will probably back him up in this, he knows he can still easily reach his predicted timeline even if this meeting takes longer than anticipated.

Mori just smiled pleasantly at his guests and gestured at the others to make themselves comfortable seeing as Dazai had already taken a seat brazenly, like he was in his own house. "Please, be free to take a seat, make yourselves comfortable like Dazai-kun is. Today we are meeting as allies, after all. I am a gracious host and do love greeting my own back with due hospitality." Dazai, Yosano and Fukuzawa snorted at that but soon, everyone was taking their seats and hesitantly picking up the (peace?) offering before them. "Now, I know this is usually where pleasantries are exchanged, but this is a rather serious matter so I'd like it if we can dive right in, so to say. What is this business with the Demon Prodigy?"

He may have made the attempt to make it look like he was addressing or even looking at Fukuzawa as he asked, but it was still painfully obvious that all of his attention was directed to the brunet sitting across from a confused-looking Nakahara Chuuya. Ozaki Kouyou looked regal and almost uninterested, but her attention kept switching from checking Kyouka's well-being to the Boss and the bandaged detective talking. The third of the five Executives present, a man named Ace, seemed to be displeased with even being in this meeting. The two remaining Executive seats remained empty, but one of the other seats was occupied by the blond haired girl in a red dress known as Elise.

"Isn't the Demon Prodigy a mere myth, Boss?" Ace asked, sounding snobbish without even trying.

The rest of the Mafia higher ups and Dazai ignored him.

"It seems that there's a copycat," Dazai began, briefly explaining the whole situation with the judge and the 'letter', which he even showed the Boss. "I've determined that the copycat isn't even originally a part of the Red Cranes, but most likely Akinari Ueda, whose ability Tales Of Moonlight And Rain basically allow him to change his appearance and impersonate someone based on rumors. I'm not yet sure how he's come to be affiliated with the Red Cranes, but it seems his role is to sow fear and unrest into the Yokohama underworld." The way Dazai said all of this had shivers running down the Agency's spines. They'd never seen Dazai act like this before.

"We can't have that, now can we?" Mori said in the same manner and the Port Mafia side of the negotiations seemed practically unaffected by the tense atmosphere permeating the room. "Is this the only instance of this happening? We need to know how much damage control we'll have to do."

"Actually, Boss," Chuuya spoke up, garnering everyone's attention. "Shameless acts of this nature have been emerging all over in the past month, but no one was stupid enough to buy into the implications that the Demon Prodigy is back." He then proceeded to list a number of strange cases raging from attempted extortion to murders made to resemble Mafia executions. He only stopped when Dazai let out an offended shriek.

"They tried to vandalize Chiyo-obaachan's store?! What the fuck!? That's unacceptable!"

"I know, right!?" The redhead yelled right back, both of the men clearly incensed on this old lady's behalf. "It was a good thing it was on a Sunday so she didn't make any of her pastries or the preparation works for the next day!"

"What kind of monster would destroy Chiyo-obaachan's cute little slug muffins!?"

"These motherfuckers, apparently!"

"Nakahara-kun," President Fukuzawa interrupted with a cough. "Dazai. If you would both mind your language? There are children here."

The hat-wearing Executive deadpanned at the swordsman. "Kyouka-chan spent six months growing up in a house adjoined to a brothel."

"Kenji is too innocent to even understand what we're saying."

"I know far worse words than fuck," Elise added unhelpfully after Dazai's statement.

Fukuzawa sneered at her. "I didn't mean you." He glanced at Atsushi.

The weretiger looked offended but didn't dare say anything against the President.

"So, what's the pattern of these attacks?" Kunikida asked, turning to Ranpo in hopes of dispelling the weird tension in the room after Mori had smiled a bit too sunnily to be genuine at the President after his comment to Elise. The taller man, of course, ignored him.

"There is none," both Dazai and Chuuya answered before Ranpo could even make a show of taking out his glasses for his 'Ability'.

"It's as random as random can be," the slightly older of the partners explained, to which Dazai added. "It looks like they tried to combine both the Demon Prodigy's unpredictability as well as strategic thinking and failed miserably, considering the few strategic places they have attacked were venues the Port Mafia stopped using years ago." The redhead Executives, Elise and Mori all snorted at that. Dazai was Not Amused.

"I'm still not sold on the fact that this isn't some sort of mafia plot on your end," Tanizaki suddenly spoke up, glaring at the criminals sitting on the other side of the table from him and his colleagues. "It wouldn't be the first time you tried to manipulate our actions and reactions and steer us in a direction that could very well lead to our downfall or death."

"Are you talking about the Guild incident? We were at war," the Boss waved him off casually. "Though I must say I do have mixed feelings about the results of that particular plan; I'm both saddened and glad you lot didn't get wiped out. But alas, what's done is done. However, if we're going to bring up past incidents, then our little three-way-war in Yokohama and the so-called Dead Apple incident should be proof enough of our sincerity."

"How, exactly?" Fukuzawa asked suspiciously and Mori smiled, razor sharp.

"Simple. If I'd had my Demon Prodigy at my side during any of those incidents, it would have been an easy victory for the Port Mafia. No more Guild, no more Armed Detective Agency, no more Fyodor Dostoevsky or Shibusawa Tatsuhiko to worry about. Hell, if we ever wanted, we could take over the government; I know he'd want to~ After all, Soukoku as a whole has a bone to pick with them, hmm. But alas, for now, my dear protege is refusing to come home. I am a patient mentor, however."

"Since when?" Dazai and Yosano both snarled but Dazai was almost ignored since Yosano had taken out a knife and stabbed the big meeting table with it.

"Little Angels of Death should be careful before their wings are plucked like that of a weak little butterfly," Mori not so secretly threatened as Golden Demon manifested behind Yosano and pressed her blade against her throat. Kyouka's Demon Snow also appeared, ready to intercept her counterpart and almost immediately everyone was up in arms before Dazai clapped his hands twice sharply, drawing everyone's attention. The Port Mafia side immediately stiffened and decided to draw back. (Ace was forced to do so by an irritated Kouyou.)

A single glare from Dazai had Atsushi and Tanizaki letting up and the others soon followed their lead when no more hostility was presented from the other side.

Dazai snorted. "Children, I swear. Now, then," he continued before anyone could complain. "We have to capture this ... Demon Prodigy wannabe," he said with a sneer. "Before the wrong kind of rumors spread too far."

"A bit too late for that," muttered Chuuya, which caused Kouyou to finally ask him. "And why were you even investigating reports of cases involving a fake Demon Prodigy?"

She put great emphasis on the title, causing Mori to choke back an involuntary laugh. Elise, who was partially the extension of his will, didn't bother and openly giggled. Dazai deadpanned at the kimono-wearing woman. She arched an eyebrow back.

Chuuya scowled. "Because some idiot started saying that Souokoku was back at it again."

Mori blinked in confusion. "I mean, that's not entirely wrong," he said with a glance between the brunet and redhead.

The gravity manipulator's frown deepened and Dazai's deadpan stare turned to the Boss.

"Yes, you were saying, Chuuya-kun?" The black haired man said with a sweatdrop. Elise snickered at him, Kouyou sighed, Ace looked confused and frustrated, Yosano was shocked but amused and Fukuzawa tried his best to keep his face stoic. The rest of the Agency was confused beyond words, besides Ranpo, who seems to be putting the pieces together and slowly solving the puzzle that is this strange behavior around the Demon Prodigy and Soukoku business.

"As I was saying, word on the streets is that Soukoku is back. Working for the Red Cranes."

A tense moment of silence.

"WHAT!?" The entire Port Mafia side of the room thundered, including Dazai. It was the loudest the detectives have ever heard him be, even when he was causing mischief and chaos in the office or on missions to get Kunikida's blood skyrocketing. Dazai simply didn't raise his voice, not involuntarily like this, at least. He also never looked this pissed in all the time they've known him.

Chuuya nodded, looking just as pissed off, if not more, than Dazai. "Yeah, apparently they found out the Demon Prodigy was actually one half of Soukoku so they probably figured if they're using the Demon Prodigy's infamy, they might as well go all the way and claim they have Soukoku, too. There have been reports of supposed sightings of these impostors. I've investigated the scene of the 'crime' and it was pathetic!" Spat the short Executive. "Shitty Dazai could come up with a better plan while drunk, sleep deprived and high on mushrooms that would leave less unnecessary collateral damage even if we were to use Corruption. To think that whoever these fuckers are assumed they can compare to Soukoku-"

"Disgusting," agreed Dazai, making a genuine grimace of distaste. "Alright, that's enough," he decided, standing up from his seat. "At first I thought this was going to be fun, if frustrating. Just hearing Mori-san's audible confusion during this morning's call and seeing even Ane-san's mask slip when we were explaining the case we got today would have been entertainment enough and I would have just handled this on a far more down-low level, but dragging Soukoku through the mud-"

"-is utterly unacceptable," Nakahara finished for him effortlessly. He also stood up, blue eyes locked on whiskey brown. "So, what's the plan, then, Dazai?"

Without taking his eyes off of Chuuya, Dazai extended a hand towards Mori. "Scalpel. And don't pretend you don't have one; I know you too well." Mori gave him a bemused and amused look but complied, shocking the Agency sans Fukuzawa and Yosano when he casually took out several scalpels from within both his sleeves, his breast pocket and even his long red scarf.

"Take your pick. As long as you don't plan on slitting my throat, that is."

"I'll be sure to use Yosano-sensei's scalpel for that, don't worry," the brunet replied as he plucked a single, seemingly random scalpel from Mori's hands. But if you know Dazai at all, you'll know that there's no way anything he does is truly random. He then returned his full attention to Chuuya and extended his other, still empty hand towards the redhead. "Knife."

"I think that's quite enough sharp objects in the hands of the enemy," Ace tried to protest but Kouyou just 'accidentally' whacked him over the head with her ever-present umbrella, making him yelp and almost faceplant into the table.

"Which one?" Chuuya challenges and Dazai rolls his eyes.

"Don't even pretend to be stupid, Chibi. Or, well, more stupid than you already are."

"Bastard!" Nevertheless, Chuuya takes out the very same knife he'd threatened Dazai with when they'd first reunited in the Port Mafia's torture basement cell. He tosses it with seemingly deadly intent towards Dazai, who easily catches it by the handle, twirls it around a bit before he extends it towards Atsushi, along with the scalpel.

"You and Kyouka-chan are to go back to the Agency and rip open the middle pillow of the backrest on the couch I usually sleep on. You'll find a secret compartment there with two seemingly keyhole openings. That's what the scalpel and knife are for. The scalpel is to be rotated in a clockwise direction while the knife is to go counterclockwise. It has to be done at the same time. Do it out of sync or in the wrong direction and the whole thing will blow up and I will be very unhappy, Atsushi-kun."

The white haired teen shivered while the rest of the Agency, Ranpo especially, gawked at the fact that Dazai had, apparently, managed to make a secret compartment and keep it hidden for who knows how long in the Agency with someone as practically all-seeing as Ranpo around. Kyouka was the only one not affected and just nodded, grabbed Atsushi's wrist and already started tugging him out of the room.

"And take Akutagawa-kun with you~! It will be a good bonding exercise, just like during the Dead Apple incident~!"

"Wait, Dazai-san-" But the big doors were already open and Kyouka was already marching right through them without pause and Atsuhsi had no choice but to follow. At the same time, as though summoned there by some sort of magic, Hirotsu stepped inside with a bow.

"Dazai-san, I've made the preparations you've asked for."

"Good ol' Hirotsu-san, I can always rely on you," the brunet in question said fondly before turning to the redhead in front of him again. "We'll meet up at the location I've sent you-" As if on cue, several phones beeped and various people more or less shamelessly took out their phones to see that Dazai had sent them a whole file of information on the Red Cranes, Akinari and the incidents they've been involved in all around Yokohama, including the Ability of the 'Demon Prodigy's' partner, which seemed to be some form of telekinesis. "-at midnight. We'll use Evening With Sunlight-"

"Hah? That old thing?" The slightly older man interrupted to ask, seemingly dumbfounded. "I don't think we've actually ever used that strategy except the first time you thought it up and we named it."

"Yes, well, we usually aren't sent to deal with enemies pathetic enough not to need a more complex or devastating strategy," the taller of the two replied.

Nakahara could only nod in understanding. "Fair enough. What else?"

"Well, I need to go see to some things with Hirotsu but expect that we'll be purging the Red Cranes from Yokohama tonight." A wicked, gleeful, downright terrifying glint entered Dazai's usually guarded eyes. Mori and Elise leaned in their seats to get a closer look at it while Kouyou and Hirotsu tried not to flinch when they recognized that particular expression. "Their sins are too great to be left unpunished."

A matching look settled over Chuuya's face. "And should they try to retaliate?"

"Need you ask?"

"No, of course not. We never leave a job unfinished." If it was possible, the two looked devilishly excited. With a single nod of understanding and agreement between them, Dazai all but skipped over to the waiting Hirotsu, completely ignoring the gawking Agency members he was leaving behind with nary a "See you later, guys~!"

As soon as the heavy doors shut behind the brunet and the Black Lizard field leader, Fukuzawa turned a deadly glare on Mori, who looked like all of his Christmases had come early. Elise, at this point, was dancing around the room, completely ignoring the other occupants in her own little world of euphoria as she sang rather disturbing songs about fields of corpses and seas of blood or some thing or the other of the sort.

"Just what the hell was that, Mori-sensei?"

"That, Fukuzawa-dono, is karma," the former doctor replied easily, smiling genially at his once bodyguard slash partner. "I always knew that if anything could ever draw Dazai-kun back into the Port Mafia, it would be Chuuya-kun, but I've never thought such an insignificant matter would bring him back into the fold to taste his old freedom even temporarily so quickly. I was sure I'd have to wait for whatever nonsense Dostoevsky or the government would try to pull for him to realize he has no business in the Agency. Ah, today is truly a magnificent day~ I get to see Dazai-kun in action again, a bothersome competitor will be dealt with, Elise-chan is happy and I got to talk with my old friend. Truly, what a blissful day!"

"Dazai is not leaving the Agency for the Port Mafia," Ranpo said with a scowl.

"Obviously not," the only female Executive said with a delicate, derisive sniff. "At least not yet. Despite the humiliation, this is still far too petty a slight and situation to garner the lad's return to the fold. There is no threat to anyone that can't be dealt with a single gun or even just a blade if one is skilled enough. But the fact that he has a regular correspondence with Hirotsu-san and that he's so eager to work with Chuuya tells us that, should push come to shove, Dazai will always come home."

"Dazai's home is with the Agency now."

Chuuya snorted. "For now, sure, and you guys may have been good for him, to an extent, but you guys don't even know him, not really."

"And you did?" Ranpo challenged, a mean glint in his eyes. "He left you all behind, didn't he? You think he'll actually care enough to come back?"

Chuuya, instead of getting angry like one would expect, simply looked amused by the attempt to throw him off. He was in far too good of a mood to let anyone or anything ruin his day. Not when he gets to go on a spree with his partner. It's been far too long since either of them had faced even a hint of a challenge. Lovecraft, for all his monstrosity, simply wasn't that big of a deal and that dragon was more an exercise in trust than anything, not really them working together properly with communication and plans. This was going to be fun. It's not everyday one gets to purge an organization with your partner slash rival slash closest friend, after all.

"Say what you will, but at the end of the day, the person the shitty mackerel will lean on will not be any of you. Did he expect any of you to fight a dragon for him? Yeah, I think the fuck not. When you reach that level where fighting gods and monsters is expected as the norm and not a one time thing, talk to me. Now, Boss, if I may be excused," he bowed to the man. "I have some preparations to do. I need to start on the paperwork, if nothing else, since knowing that shithead, he'll try to make me do his part, too."

"You're excused, Chuuya-kun. Have fun tonight and try not to level Yokohama too much."

"Only as much is necessary, Boss."

"Ah, to be that young again," Mori lamented. "You must remember what it was like and still yearn for that thrill, right, Fukuzawa-dono?" The silver haired man said nothing, only glared at Mori. The Boss pouted in a disturbingly Dazai-like manner. "Party pooper~!"

The meeting ended not long after that and they were escorted out of the building by a redhead with a band aid over his nose in a green jacket and a black haired, black clad assassin with a white mask over his(?) face. They passed Akutagawa with a strange box that had an even stranger looking lock in the lobby, who was making a mad dash towards the elevators with a pissed Atsushi and a nonchalant Kyouka waiting outside, apparently done with their little errand for Dazai.

"How he's so eager to be an errand boy while also being a cold-blooded murderer will never not be weird to me," Tanizaki commented as almost all Agency members were reunited and escorted off of Port Mafia grounds.

"What's our next move, Shachou?" Kunikida asked of Fukuzawa as they entered their cars. "What should we do with Dazai? We basically left him behind with the Mafia!"

"He stayed of his own accord, Kunikida," the President pointed out but he didn't sound overly pleased by it. "And from what we've born witness, he is in no immediate danger. As for our next move, we have no choice but to let the Port Mafia take the lead in this case. We can only act as support and make sure nothing too untoward happens. We also have to make sure Dazai remembers that the Agency is his family now."

"Yeah, I didn't like how sure they all acted that Dazai-san will go back to them one day," Tanizaki says, worried and bitter. "Speaking of Dazai-san, what was in that box, Atsushi? It looked really weird, especially that lock. I don't think I've ever seen a lock that a key that tiny would open."

Atsushi could only shake his head. "Honestly, I don't know. Kyouka-chan was the one who opened the secret compartment but Akutagawa was the one who all but leaped to take the box. He seemed, uh ... Exicted? To see it, I guess. When I asked him if he knew what it was, he just said it was Dazai-san's special box that only he and the Port Mafia Boss know how to open."

"Because the lock doesn't have a key," Ranpo, the last occupant of the bigger car, said. "I only got a chance to look at it for a second, but that's a special deadbolt lock, probably customized. No key in the world could possibly fit. It latches shut and stays locked unless someone can pick it."

"Dazai does have very skilled, agile hands," Kunikida muttered. "I once saw him crack a bank safe open with just a hair pin he keeps in his bandages."

"Mori-sensei is far too good at picking locks and making daring escapes himself," Fukuzawa added. "And based on the way everyone was acting today during the meeting, as well as a certain conversation that happened not so long ago during the Guild incident, those two are awfully familiar with each other. I just don't know how yet. But Dazai is taking this whole situation almost personally and I don't like it," he admitted, to the shock and discomfort of the other occupants of the car.

"I'll admit, Dazai is a mystery even to me, most of the time," the self-proclaimed world's greatest detective also admitted, causing even more shock to spread through the group. "What I've managed to glean about him is from other people, mostly. I mean, I've always known he had ties to the Mafia, it was as obvious as day when he first came to the Agency two years ago, but I've always thought he was a low to middle ranking member at best. And while Mori has a reputation of not exactly discriminating against any of his subordinates as they could all prove to be useful in certain situations, I have to agree that his familiarity with Dazai is disconcerting. I mean, he was so obsessed with Yosano in the past yet he'd done very little else today regarding her than to taunt her when she spoke to him first. That was beyond strange. Just what was Dazai's place in that hellhole?"

"I have to agree that I, too, never considered Dazai to be a higher ranking member when I learned he was once in the Mafia," Kunikida said. "But he's a capable strategist. I thought that, at most, he was like that Guild member, the young woman we never caught, their strategist. But there's no ignoring the fact that he's capable in the field, too. More capable than any man who supposedly led a civilian life before becoming a part of the Agency had any right to be. He often acts like a general but he's not afraid to get his own hands dirty."

"Akutagawa said that Dazai-san used to be his mentor," Atsushi said, spreading almost inexplicable shock through the car. "He has a lot of respect for Dazai-san and Dazai-san's acknowledgement means more to him than his own life, from what I've seen so far. He hates me but if Dazai-san asks him to work with me, he won't hesitate, won't even complain. He'll insult me, sure, but he won't complain. It's weird."

"And all that respect going around when we got there," Tanizaki said with a resigned sigh. "Plus that old guy also showed a lot of reverence, right? So that's at least two high ranking figures showing respect to Dazai-san ... Just who was he?"

"I think," Ranpo began, sounding uncertain for the first time since anyone's met him. "That we'll find out tonight, for sure."

"Do you have suspicions, Ranpo?" The President asked and the small detective could only nod. Fukuzawa sighed, already too tired for this shit. He was getting a bit too old for Mori's nonsense. "Then I guess we will have to wait until tonight. So go over the package Dazai sent us and prepare. This might be a joint case at this point to stop a new group from invading and causing trouble in Yokohama, but we will still not allow the Port Mafia to escalate things beyond the necessary point."

"YES, SHACHOU!"

Meanwhile, Hirotsu had the questionable pleasure of watching Dazai pick the lock of the box a far-too-eager-for-praises Akutagawa had brought in while the people he had contacted were no doubt rushing to make it to the designated meeting room in time. They were efficient, punctual and never disappointed, so he had no doubt that even four years of volunteer desk job work will have dulled their rigorous training. No, they were not part of the Black Lizard, but Hirotsu was well familiar with them, all men and women of high skill and clever enough to know when and how to execute the orders given to them. Their loyalty would have been a problem had the whole upper echelons of the Port Mafia not known that it was inevitable for Dazai to come back into the fold and thus would need the battalion he himself had handpicked one day. For the first time in four years, now, their patience for their old superior's return would pay off and Hirotsu had no doubt that they were ecstatic.

After all, those trained to meet Dazai Osamu's standards could never be led as efficiently and as satisfactorily by anyone else but the man himself. The closest who have come to replicating their levels of deadly efficiency and lethal competence had been Nakahara Chuuya, Hirotsu Ryuoru and none other than the Boss himself, but it had still not been the same.

The Demon's Horns will no doubt be a bit too eager to please now that their commander was back.

Hirotsu himself couldn't deny being almost as excited as Akutagawa had been upon hearing he, too, would be part of Dazai's strike team tonight. It had indeed been far too long since the Mafia had had any fun. The three-way-war with the Guild and the Agency and the so-called Dead Apple incident had nothing on the age of Soukoku and the types of missions all mafioso were sent out to fulfill. So even if it was for one night only, a good portion of Port Mafia's highest ranking members were more than raring to go.

And as Hirotsu saw that strange, old box click open and the contents inside became obvious, he knew it would be a night to remember.

He makes sure he has his best cigarettes on hand, as well as a full lighter.

Tonight would be worth a good smoke.

When the allotted time rolls by, the Agency makes their way to the west side of the main port, as per Dazai's instructions. Every official member of the Agency was there and they'd had to promise quite a few compromises to Naomi to make her stay back because they were all expecting this to turn out bloody, considering the Mafia was involved. As they walked through the maze of shipping containers and store houses, the only ones even the least bit at ease were their two traditionally dressed members and even then only Fukuzawa seemed at home in the shadows of Yokohama's night. The rest were tense or jumped at the slightest of sounds, be it a pebble they'd hit under their shoes or some rats scurrying around. Despite the Agency having had missions that ran deep into the night, this was ultimately not their domain and it showed.

Nakahara Chuuya, on the other hand, waited for them in complete comfort of the darkness when they eventually reached the storage house where the Red Cranes were supposedly hiding that night. He'd foregone his black jacket but was still dressed in his fine clothes, leather gloves and collar and, of course, his by now downright iconic hat. He put out the cigarette he was smoking when he realized the Agency was there and sighed, as though he was annoyed.

"What are you scrubs doing here, huh? I don't remember Dazai inviting you to the party."

"As if we'd need the Port Mafia's permission for a case that came to the Agency," retorted Kunikida, glaring at the ginger.

Chuuya narrowed his eyes at him slightly. "I never said anything 'bout permission, I said that you're not invited. Two completely different things. If Dazai doesn't invite you to his party, then you're not part of his plans. If you fuck this up, I'll make sure you all learn what it feels like to be crushed by vicious gravity."

"We will not interfere unless there is a need for it," reassured the President, even though they had all come out that night with the intention to interfere anyways, in case the Mafia got too rowdy. "Speaking of Dazai, where is he, anyways?"

The Executive blinked at him, confused for a second, before understanding flitted across his eyes. "Right. You don't have any idea what operation Evening With Sunlight is, do you? Basically, I act as bait, as opposed to how our plans usually go with Dazai being the distraction, and Dazai comes in with the cavalry. We don't usually use this method since usually Dazai needs to extract information first by being his infuriating self or the enemy is too strong so he needs more backup than a few gunmen, that is to say, me. Really, the only times we even considered using this operation was if we had back-to-back missions and I was injured in one so I wouldn't be the main force behind the counteroffensive."

"Are you injured tonight for Dazai to propose such a plan then?" Fukuzawa questioned, battle-trained eyes scanning the short man from head to toe in search of an injury. Yosano was doing much the same with the eyes of a doctor.

Chuuya rolled his eyes, waving them off. "No, I'm in perfect fighting condition and raring to go. My guess as to why that shitty mackerel chose this tactic is probably so he can throw the enemy off. After all, that Akinari guy's Ability is based on rumors and this is hardly the type of tactic that would be spread around considering the other operations that bastard and I've done in the past. Well, that, and I might have said that those uninvited to Dazai's 'parties' are usually not included in his plans, but let's be real here: this is Dazai we're talking about. He must have known you would come so he chose the least morally questionable tactic under our belt to deal with this crap. Usually, we, as in the Port Mafia as a whole, would just wipe the entire organization off of the face of the earth and be done with it, but I guess he also wanted to see if it would be necessary to go to such extremes. The Red Cranes have, after all, only been small nuisances for a short while, not yet a proper threat."

Atsushi was a bit intrigued by that reply. "... Just how many plans do you and Dazai-san actually have, Chuuya-san?"

Chuuya sent him a deadpan stare. "Since when are we friendly enough for you to call me by my first name?"

The weretiger spluttered. "I'm sorry- It's just that- Everyone- And Dazai-san-"

"Well, you're not exactly the bandage wasting bastard, are you?" When Atsushi continued rambling, the redhead snickered. "I'm just messing with you. Chuuya is fine. As for the answer to your question ... Possibly hundreds, but they aren't all named. Some are spur of the moment, one hit wonders that Dazai came up on the spot and we never used them ever again."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Well, anyways, it's time," Nakahara said as he turned back towards the warehouse they were about to storm. "Keep outta sight, will ya? Despite this being your case, it's the Port Mafia's rep that's being dragged through the mud. And more importantly, Soukoku's, which is just unacceptable. You can join in the hunt when the purge begins. Don't know how many men Dazai planned to take along for that but expect Akutagawa and the Black Lizard at least." And with that, the short man confidently walked through the front door like he owned the building.

The Agency followed under the cover of Light Snow, heeding Nakahara's warning for now but they were also ready to jump in whenever. The man might be reputed as the strongest Ability user and martial artist in Yokohama, but Dazai had a tendency of being late to even the most important things. The Agency was thus ready on standby as backup should Chuuya need their help.

"Who goes there!?" A dramatic voice thundered, sounding menacing. Chuuya comes to a stop and there's a strange pinch to his brow. It was like he was both trying not to laugh and not to puke on the spot. "My, my, I was not aware anyone dared face the Demon Prodigy's wrath by invading his territory!"

"They're clearly even stupider than that, buddy." And the redhead cringed visibly at that. "They're stupid enough to challenge the organization under Soukoku's protection!"

"... Is this a joke?" Nakahara Chuuya, Port Mafia Executive and gravity manipulator, former King of the Sheep, couldn't help but ask, somewhere between incredulous, pissed off, confused and on the verge of cry-laughing as he took in the scene before him. He felt like he was at a cheap comic or anime convention where no one actually put zero effort into their costumes or rather as though there was a golden medal prize somewhere for the shittiest costume.

Before him stood two men, both dressed in black but there was so many things wrong about their disguises for Chuuya to even begin wondering how the fuck they thought they were imitating Soukoku. The dark haired one wrapped in bandages was shorter than the very tall redhead with blood-red hair. The bandaged one wore a shorter jacket over his shoulders and leather gloves. The redhead had combat boots, a choker and an eye-patch(?) over his left eye. The redhead's hair was at least long, but far longer than the person's he's imitating, going down to the middle of his back and tied in a lackluster braid of all things. The brunet's right eye was covered only by too long, straight-cut bangs. Their three-piece suits looked tacky and way out of fashion. Like, the '40s kind of way out of fashion. The redhead at least had a hat ...

A leather, black, cowboy hat hanging off a string over his nape.

The eye color was the only thing even close to actually matching, but the fake!Dazai's eyes were plain brown - none of that intriguing pigmentation that made them look red in the right (lack of) light - and the fake!Chuuya's eyes were more gray than the clear sky blue real Chuuya had.

"What the fuck?" Ranpo whispered to his fellow detectives and none of them could really react, though he had perfectly voiced all of their thoughts, including Chuuya's, upon seeing the 'Demon Prodigy' and his 'partner' that made up 'Soukoku'.

"Who's this guy?" The 'Demon Prodigy' asked as he and the other were surrounded by armed men, all of them aimed at the baffled Chuuya. "He's pretty~!"

"Womanizer, even when it's not women," the redhead at his side snapped. He then pointed an overly dramatic finger at Chuuya and struck a pose that could have only come from a comic book or an anime. "You! Have you come to challenge me, the best and greatest Ability user in all of Japan? I've fought griffons before, so you should run while you still can! Everyone is pulled in by my dangerous gravity!"

"..." Chuuya just gaped at them and the Agency was no better.

"Ooh~ Look how scared he is! It is to be expected," the dark haired man said as he took a step forward, flaunting a gray gun as he sauntered towards Chuuya. "You are facing the Demon Prodigy. I completely understand that my mere presence has rendered you motionless with fear. Have you perhaps not actually come as a challenger? We do take in new members-"

"Are you fucking serious right now?" The ginger finally asked, getting tired of this nonsense. "You're the Demon Prodigy? Demon Prodigy my ass!"

"Well, if you're offering-"

"Lemme just stop you right there," Chuuya interrupted. "If you're going to imitate the Demon Prodigy, at least get the bandages right. Besides, for all his loud personality off the field, the Demon Prodigy doesn't intimidate with words and dramatic gestures. I'd know, since I've watched him make a whole organization of grown men and women become blabbering messes in five sentences or less."

"Oh? And you'd know how I'm supposed to act as myself?"

"Considering everything, yes, pretty much," the redhead said with a shrug before pointing at his own failed doppelganger. "And you! You're not rolling your Rs right and that phrase is all wrong! It's 'nothing escapes gravity' or 'get crushed by vicious gravity'! If you're going to imitate me, at least do it fucking right, for fuck's sake!"

The other redhead just scoffed at him while the brunet sniffed. "I think I'd know how to intimidate people the best, thank you."

"Oh really now?" A new voice, a very familiar voice but in a completely unfamiliar tone, spoke from the shadows from one of the side entrances of the warehouse, drawing everyone's attention towards it. Except that corner was pitch black and barely even the silhouette of a person could be seen. Tall, thin, seemingly draped in a long coat that swayed rhythmically with every step the person took. Said steps were methodical, slow, precise and echoed throughout the building in the new cold, deafening silence the way only the most expensive leather shoes possibly could. Each step felt like a warning, a threat all by itself and it raised the hackles and hairs of all people present except Chuuya, who actually looked like he was anticipating something.

"W-who's there?"

"Damn it, why isn't this place secured better?!"

"Why aren't we just shooting, damn it!?"

"Why, indeed," Dazai said as he slowly exited the shadows and the detectives all gaped at the man. He was completely decked in black, a far more tasteful three-piece suit than the 'Demon Prodigy'. He still had the same bandages, except for the addition of bandages around his head, carefully concealing his right eye from the world and giving him an ominous vibe. In fact, the very shadows he'd stepped out of seemed to cling to him like physical hands trying to draw him back home, where he belongs. "You know, this whole thing is so tedious," he said, ignoring the guns redirecting their focus from Chuuya onto him.

"S-stay back!"

"One more step and we'll shoot!"

"What is that bandaged maniac doing!?" Kunikida hissed as he ripped out a page from his notebook in preparation to help his work partner. He stopped, however, when Ranpo placed a hand on his chest and shook his head at the blond.

"Let it play out."

"You've dragged some very unpleasant memories to the surface with your brainless scheme," Dazai continued as he slowly walked towards where Chuuya and his cheap double were. "The Demon Prodigy was put to rest, four years ago, but resting demons aren't dead. They're just resting. So when someone pokes a sleeping demon, one should be ready to face the consequences, ne?"

"Exactly," the 'Demon Prodigy' said with false bravado, but everyone could see he was shaking now.

"But, you know~" Dazai had started circling his faker, like a shark that's smelled blood in the water. "Despite his absence, no one actually forgot the feeling of the Demon Prodigy being in the same room, you see~ Chills down your spine, lack of air in your lungs, numbness in your limbs, unadulterated fear in your bones ... That's not enough to quite capture the illusion of the real thing, isn't it, Akinari-san~? There's something missing, something people can't put into words thus it can't make it into those delightful rumors that power your ability."

"W-what are you saying?" The impostor stutters out and the smile that crosses Dazai's face can't even be called a smile. It shouldn't even be called an expression at all, because it expresses exactly nothing. His eyes are empty, the lines of his face might make up what a human would call a smile but not even Atsushi or Kenji would be naive enough to label what they were seeing as a smile, because while all the motions were there, there was nothing behind them. They were practices, an act, a deliberate set of motions to imitate humanity as though in mockery.

Kunikida remembers reading about the uncanny valley and he wonders if this is the feeling that accompanies it. Nothing in the man before him now resembles the annoying partner he'd been working with for two years despite that, indeed, being Dazai.

Yosano, on the other hand, was having literal war flashbacks at the look on Dazai's face, remembering Mori at his most inhumane with his immortal infantry.

Ranpo and the President could only watch with grit teeth. They'd known Dazai's origins, but they'd never known this side of the man could exist, despite being far too familiar with his masks. But this was too much even for them.

Kyouka could see far too well the hands of darkness reaching out or still outright clinging to the man who had helped her pull herself into the world of light. Despite how terrifying he was at the moment, she couldn't help but admire him even more for being able to cling to the light despite it burning him and despite the darkness trying to drag him back where he belongs.

Chuuya, though? He was honestly ecstatic. Don't get him wrong, he finds the 'new Dazai' quite a bit more likable than the Dazai he'd last seen before he left the Port Mafia; that Dazai had had no concept of the value of a human life. Perhaps the current Dazai didn't, truly, either, but he'd made himself care and that was already leagues above the old Dazai. But Chuuya had also hated the new Dazai because, at times, he was so completely different that Chuuya felt like he wasn't talking to his partner at all, but a stranger. And while no normal human being would find relief in watching a single man terrify an entire branch of an organization with his presence alone, Chuuya wasn't exactly a normal human being, now was he? Ability users as a whole weren't 'normal, but Soukoku in particular were far from the human standard of normal, especially when they were together or apart. So seeing the Dazai he knows best had Chuuya's blood pumping and he felt like he was fifteen again, staring down a unit o GSS with a new annoying but interesting rival slash supposed enemy to protect and impress.

For The Tainted Sorrow thrummed underneath his skin at the mere thought. And the real fun hadn't even begun yet. Dazai had promised him a purge. The Red Cranes will be gone from Yokohama, one way or another.

Dazai just needed to stop playing with his food already.

"Why don't I just show you?" And suddenly the room was glacier cold, forced into deafness even as various people nearly hyperventilated as the fear skyrocketed with a single look from Dazai as all veneers and pretenses of playing human vanished from his face and the Demon Prodigy was back in full. The moonlight shyly peaking into the warehouse suddenly appeared as though it were blood red and it was only a trick of the observer's mind, because the Moon was as white as ever to the rest of Yokohama. But to the people suffering under the suffocating pressure of the Demon Prodigy's presence, air might as well be solid, let alone the moon as red as the blood that was about to spill.

"D-demon!"

"Lord save us!"

"Kill that monster!"

The other impostor lead the charge, going straight for Chuuya, who jumped in front of Dazai to take on the barrage of bullets. Chuuya scowled at his fellow redhead but sensing the easy minute shift in his partner's stance and taking it as the signal it was, Chuuya abandoned his post of protecting Dazai to fight the telekinetic just as all doors leading to the warehouse burst open. Within the blink of an eye, Akutagawa was there to take Chuuya's place, Rashoumon devouring the space the bullets were meant to travel through, leaving Dazai unscratched. The sudden entrance made everyone but the two redheads pause and the Agency could only watch as a veritable army of gunmen swarmed the place, each dressed in pressed black suits, white collar shirts and black ties, each with an ear piece and each wearing pitch black sunglasses despite it being the middle of the night with only the Moon as a source of light and the low lighting of the storage unites around the port. Each and every person was armed with riffles, automatic guns and handguns, not even bothering to hide their firearms. They moved as a synchronized unit, as though they were one organism rather than a group of people made up of individuals.

If one were to make a careful observation, like Ranpo did, they'd see that every single person breathed at the same time, twitched at the same time and only alternated in blinking patterns, as if certain groups are taking turns so at no point in time was the entire group ever completely blind. And even with the sunglasses on, it wasn't hard to deduce who was the center of attention of the division, even if all guns were directed at the enemy organization.

"Reporting for duty, Dazai-san," Hirotsu said as he stepped up to Dazai's left, leaving Dazai's blind side open for his partner once Chuuya is done with his impostor. That side, Dazai's blind side, was forever reserved for the one person Dazai completely trusts in this world, the only person he truly trusts. Akutagawa remained standing as a living shield between Dazai and their enemies Gin, the only other member of the Black Lizard invited for the purge and the only other member Dazai trusted, was hidden somewhere in the shadows, watching Dazai's back, even if it was not necessary.

After all, Dazai's special division of the Port Mafia was there to make sure their leader would not come to harm, not to mention Chuuya and his overprotective tendencies when his partner was involved. Between the Demon's Horns and the brawn of Soukoku, the Akutagawas and Hirotsu were an overkill, but the invite for the purge was actually Dazai's way of apologizing for leaving them all behind when he left the Mafia in face of the realization that Mori would have no grievances of sacrificing those Dazai cares for in order to fulfill his own goals and he'd use Dazai to make it happen if he can help it.

Dazai still hates Mori for Odasaku's death and will never forgive the man, but that doesn't mean he hates the organization itself. The Port Mafia itself had nothing to do with Odasaku's demise other than being in Mori's control when it happened. The members should not suffer because of the leader, thus Dazai never sought vengeance on the Mafia and instead kept all their secrets. It was more than just a good bargaining chip, after all.

"Just on time, as always, Hirotsu-san," the young brunet replied with a pleased hum to his tone that had the Red Cranes practically pissing themselves in fear. They didn't even know why yet. Sure, they were surrounded, but nothing could explain the amount of fear they were currently feeling. "It's about time we got this show on the road, ne?"

"Your orders, Dazai-san?" A choice few people, including Hirotsu and Akutagawa, inquired and a lazy smile curled Dazai's lips into something devastating.

Before he could give the order, though, Chuuya was already finished with his impersonator, the taller redhead left a crushed, bloody pulp on the floor in a small crater that acted as a halo around where his head once was. He came to seamlessly blend into Dazai's right side as though he were a limb finally being returned to where it belongs, as though he was nothing more than an extension of Dazai and Dazai was an extension of him in return.

The Demon Prodigy now looked truly delighted. "Clear out the trash in here first. Then we need to go to the other locations I gave you. Let the purge begin. But, oh~! Leave the illustrious 'Demon Prodigy' to me, yes?"

"HAI, DAZAI-SAN!"

And with that, all hell broke loose in such an organized manner that the Agency wasn't sure if it was chaos or an act of god unfolding before them. Dazai was left alone to casually walk through the room in the middle of an exchange of bullets as his men and the three higher ranking mafioso took down the enemy opposition with such laughable ease one would wonder why the hell these people ever thought they could pose a challenge to the Port Mafia in their own city. The Armed Detective Agency members realized almost immediately that they were entirely unnecessary for this mission and understood why Dazai hadn't given them a specific role to play in the game he'd set up. He'd allowed them to come along, probably because he didn't want loose ends unaccounted for so knowing their location would keep them safe, but he didn't need them there.

Far from it.

The warehouse was littered in corpses within less than a minute between the gunmen and the other three Ability users currently acting under Dazai's command.

Dazai stood in front of his fake and studied the man with the balls - or the lack of brains - to impersonate one of the most fearsome figures in Yokohama's bloody history. Impersonating the former Boss had been incredibly ballsy on Arthur Rimbaud's part, but in many ways, Dazai was far worse than that man could have ever been. For one, he had all his marbles about him, at least the ones that were actually important for rational thought and logical decision making. And even if he didn't, he was still way more dangerous given that, even when he's off his rocker due to poisonous or hallucinogenic mushrooms, he could still make incredibly precise predictions and countermeasures for any attacks one might try to launch at him.

Not to mention that he had true loyalty and protection from quite a few dangerous people whom the old Boss had never truly pulled under his thumb. Kouyou alone hated that bastard with enough burning passion that one might mistake her for a certain other redhead as the vessel of Arahabaki, the calamity god known for its black flames.

"Well," he said to his 'counterpart', who was shaking like a leaf on the ground and seems to have made quite the disgusting mess of himself in the meantime. He was just sitting there in the pool of his allies' blood and Dazai found himself disgusted with the thought that someone like this had been using his name and reputation so shamelessly. Worse yet, he'd found himself a partner in crime and had dared shame Soukoku's name, too. "I don't have time to waste on you, otherwise, I'd give you even more examples of all those unsaid things about me that had the entirety of Yokohama's underworld and beyond trembling at the mere mention of the Demon Prodigy."

"P-please," the other whimpered and Dazai actually grimaced at him.

"I can't believe I'm breaking my promise to Odasaku over you, but you've stepped over a line I could never overlook." He took out his gun and hated how at home it felt in his hand. "My reputation keeps the Mafia safe. The Mafia keeps this city and all those in it safe. It keeps Soukoku safe and Soukoku keeps Soukoku safe. I can't let you destroy all my hard work since I was fifteen. Sorry not sorry, Akinari Ueda."

"I'M SORRY! I'M SO SO SORR-"

A bullet cut him off, but there was no bang to accompany the shot. It's not impossible for the gun to have had a silencer on, but Dazai instantly recognized the precision of this shot and turned surprised eyes towards Chuuya, who was studying him with a strange expression on his face. The redhead met his eyes. "That piece of shit isn't worth it to break a promise to a precious friend, oi. You keep your hands clean for as long as you can. Leave the actual bloodshed to the Mafia, shitty mackerel." And Dazai couldn't help but smile gently at his partner who, despite clearly missing missions and operations like this, wasn't willing to ruin Dazai's current life unless it was unavoidable.

"You're right. This piece of trash isn't worthy of it. I'll only break my promise over a spectacular case of a very annoying chibi human," he said casually, knowing Chuuya would get the message that would go over everyone else's head - which is very ironic in Dazai's opinion, given how short Chuuya was! - before he turned towards where he knew the Agency was hiding. "You can drop the illusion now, Tanizaki-kun~ The coast is clear!"

And it was. Just like that, just like always, Dazai's men acted like a well oiled machine, far too used to taking orders from their superior for them to ever fail him when he was directly there to supervise each and every one of their moves and redirect them as needed. There were no casualties, although two of his oldest seem to have gotten more or less grazing wounds in the exchange of fire. Their designated medics were already wrapping them up and everyone had already reloaded their weapons to march on to get over with the rest of the purge.

For a moment, Dazai ignored his fellow detectives for his former subordinates - who had, apparently, willingly subjected themselves to four years of desk jobs and paperwork because they refused to follow a new commander unless it was Chuuya or Hirotsu and had actually told the Boss as much; they were Dazai's most loyal, the core of them all the people who had been there when Dazai took down the GSS and dismantled the Sheep while he was recruiting Chuuya - giving out his orders. "Yosh~! You all know what to do; I've given you all your jobs and all the information you need to do them according to my instructions. We're on a bit of a timeline here, so chop chop," he said with a clap of his hands. "I promised Takeru-san that the threat to his life will be dealt with in a total of eighteen hours; we have two and a half hours to wrap this up, so get to it." His voice had gone from vaguely playful to a clear cut command and his men bowed deep before they scurried efficiently out of the warehouse, towards the cars and other transportation vehicles so they may begin the chase and the purge. Gin stayed behind with Dazai while Akutagawa and Hirotsu only needed a nod from the brunet before they, too, left the warehouse to fulfill their part of the job.

Chuuya lingered only long enough to taunt Dazai about not being late to his own party before he shot out like a comet. He was meant to take on the most wide-spread and far apart groups that would take too long to reach by car or even helicopter while everyone else dealt with the more accessible targets.

That done, Dazai, with Gin shadowing him as an acting bodyguard, approached his colleagues, who looked quite a bit scared but also kind of awed by the efficiency with which the core of the Red Cranes' presence in Yokohama had been dealt with.

"Dazai, what the hell was that!?" Demanded an incredulous and disbelieving Kunikida.

"Oh, that? That was a standard Demon's Horns operation being predictably successfully executed under my command and supervision, as always," he said casually, waving his current field partner's incredulousness at the whole thing.

"I can't believe I didn't deduce that of course you're the Demon Prodigy," Ranpo half-complained to his fellow genius, who only shrugged with a smile.

"I'll buy you cake for not letting you figure it out sooner." That pacified the master detective, who didn't seem the slightest bit fazed or thrown off by the sudden change in attitude, work ethic and seriousness coming off of Dazai, not to mention the levels of competence he was showing.

"Dazai," the President began as he closed his eyes and began massaging the bridge of his nose as Mori's clear obsession with getting Dazai back finally began making sense and he still felt like they were only scratching the surface regarding the clearly preferred Port Mafia heir to Bossdome. "The next time something like this happens ... Just ... Take your men out and deal with it, okay?"

"SHACHOU!?" Even Ranpo was shocked by this turn of events.

The building headache grew at the noise. "I'll even make a formal contract with Mori-sensei to finalize it all. It will even make our current truce official and contractually binding. Just ... If you can make sure something like the Guild incident never happens again by bending a few legal restrictions, then by all means, go for it. I certainly won't judge you over it; I used to be Mori fucking Ougai's bloody bodyguard, what the fuck."

Hearing the silver haired swordsman curse was such a surreal experience that not even Dazai immediately recovered from it. Then he grimaced as he remembered Mori once low-key simping over someone from his past and even Elise considering him more pitifully pathetic than usual; connecting the dots was too easy and made for a very unpleasant picture. Dazai will be having words with Sensei about the first generation of Soukoku. Zenki Soukoku sounded even more dysfunctional than both Soukoku and the fledgling Shin Soukoku put together! How Yokohama survived that era is anyone's guess. A miracle, really.

"Shachou needs better taste in men."

"You're telling me."

Dazai couldn't help but snort at that. "Well, if I have Shachou's blessing, Gin-chan and I'll be taking off, now," he said with one of his usual cheery smiles to dispel the tension still very much present in his coworkers' bodies. "My men might be frightfully competent, but I am still the brain behind that machine. I might turn up late tomorrow for the briefing, especially if the hatrack and I go through our usual Soukoku post-mission ritual, so I'll be seeing ya tomorrow~! Let's go, Gin-chan~!"

And with that, the two were gone, leaving the Agency to stare after them until their President just started walking back towards the cars they took to the location so they could go home. Ranpo easily followed after him, which spurred Yosano on and soon the rest of the detectives all followed like lost ducklings, discussing what they've seen between themselves in hushed whispers. The President ignored them and instead took out a phone and started typing rather aggressively into it; whoever the recipient was probably won't like the contents of the text message once they receive it.

Takeru was informed right on the dot as the time ran out on the eighteen hours Dazai predicted that the fake Demon Prodigy had been dealt with by the Port Mafia and that he was now safe to properly prosecute the Red Swans member during his case.

Yokohama's underworld spread the news like wildfire that the Demon Prodigy had made a return, all regalia in place, including his partner, his apprentice and his squad.

The Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency both covered for Dazai when the Special Abilities Division come asking some questions. The Division let it be just this once since they did not want to deal with both organizations on top of a potential return of the Demon Prodigy.

Dazai did indeed come in extra late to work the next morning with suspiciously expensive gifts and cakes for everyone; it turned out to be courtesy of Chuuya, on behalf of 'his mackerel partner' for 'destroying their furniture for his secret compartments'. Everyone decided to focus on the cakes and peace offerings instead of the fact that there were, apparently, more hidden compartments than the one once again hiding the Demon Prodigy's assemble or the fact that Chuuya was apologizing for the least offensive thing Dazai had done in the last twenty four hours. They preferred their sanity intact instead of trying to decipher the infamous 'Soukoku unconventional mating rituals' they've been hearing about from their Port Mafia allies as of late.

And Mori did end up getting a very interesting text message that had him preening, giggling to himself, pouting and sulking all at once but left him ultimately very satisfied with himself and grinning like the cat that got the cream.

After all, despite this not being the way he would have preferred to test it, he did end up finding out quite a few answers and confirming quite a few theories regarding Dazai's potential return to the Port Mafia. There were certain triggers for it but Mori wasn't stupid nor suicidal enough to mess with them unless it was absolutely necessary. The Port Mafia, and with it Yokohama, will be in good hands should anything ever happen to him; Soukoku had, yet again, proven that to be fact.

Dazai knows where he truly belongs should push come to shove and he clearly won't hesitate to act on it should he need to. Therefore, Mori was quite content to let his protege play around with the Agency some more. Should the need ever arise, Dazai will heed the call. For now, Mori had to be satisfied with that.

After all, he'd rather be a tentative, barely tolerated ally than Dazai's enemy. We all know the Port Mafia saying regarding Dazai's enemies, after all.

And Dazai, per the two organization's agreement, lived up to it again and again, when Dostoevsky and every other enemy came. The Demon Prodigy would wake from his oh so 'peaceful' slumber almost like how Chuuya called upon Arahabaki's power and with the Demon Prodigy came Soukoku, came Shin Soukoku, a good portion of the Black Lizard and, of course, the Demon's Horns. Each and every time, Yokohama's enemies were decimated and Dazai would return to being Dazai the next day as though nothing happened.

Now, for how long this song and dance lasted, dear readers, you'll have to predict or deduce yourself!

All you need to know is that it took quite the push to break a certain promise.

And that, even then, orphans were receiving the help Odasaku would have wanted them to.

People were being saved, Yokohama was being protected.

The Demon Prodigy or Dazai Osamu - did it matter?

As long as the job gets done, right?

OWARI