A/N: This BSD fanfic book has finally reached 1K reads!!!!! *goes to a corner and sobs happily*
I can't thank you readers enough! Thank you for staying with this book and I'm sorry for the late update (I had some problems with the laptop. It kept crashing every time I switched it on and the chapter I wrote was saved in that laptop... There it go TwT )
I thought it would take like, half a year or more to reach 1k reads or something, but I didn't expect to reach that many in....*counts fingers* 3/4 months time :00 I can't thank you enough XD Much thanks and much love for the 1.26k reads and 61 votes!!
And, I welcome all new readers who just read this book till here! Hope you look forward to the rest of the chapters!
Enjoy~!
3rd Person's P.O.V
After leaving Tsukiyomi to let her fend off Kei herself, with much protests and disagreements of leaving her to fight alone, Atsushi was able to escape and contact Dazai once he and Tsukana left the building. Agreeing to meet up at the Agency to explain to Dazai of the situation, the weretiger quickly made his way towards the workplace, with a battered up Tsukana in his hands.
Reaching the Agency, Atsushi ran up the stairs all while dragging a tired and angry Tsukana with him. "How could you just drag me around? Where are you going to take me now?!!" Tsukana screamed out in anger, her legs were protesting against her body for running any longer.
Ignoring her to the best he could, Atsushi continued his way up the stairs, to the fourth level and walking in the familiar hallway he had been walking for a few months.
"DON'T IGNORE ME YOU! I'M OLDER THAN YOU, WHITE HAIRED BOY!"
Rolling his eyes, Atsushi mentally groaned in annoyance. 'When will she shut up... How is she Akira-san's sister....? I have enough of her screams eh...'
Once he had arrived outside the Agency entrance door, he slammed the door opened without a moment of hesitation and dragged Tsukana inside along with him, slamming the door close with his leg while he whirled his head to look for a certain male in the workplace.
"S-SHACHO!!! Shacho where are you?!!!" Atsushi screamed out, seeing as the President wasn't in the workplace area while still holding onto a screaming Tsukana who was demanding him to stop ignoring her and let her wrist go.
"What is it?!" The President exclaimed as he opened the door of his office and brisk walk out and into the workplace office after hearing Atsushi yelling for him.
"AH! Shacho!" Atsushi stood straight and did a small salute, in which the President passed it off with a wave of his hand.
"What do you need me--"
"WefoundTsukanaAkira! Andweneedbackupnow!Akira-san isfightingsomeonefromthePortMafia!" Atsushi hollered out in a fury of words the moment the President waved his small salute off. Screaming more words out at the President, Atsushi could not help but let his mouth run more with his hands flailing around in anxiousness.
Looking at Atsushi with confused and narrowed eyes, the President stood in front of Atsushi and placed a hand on said person's shoulder, in hopes of calming him down. "Calm down. Explain it to me again. Slowly."
Taking in a deep breath, Atsushi calmed his nerves down before pulling Tsukana by the wrist and directing her to stand beside him. Pointing his thumb at Tsukana, Atsushi spoke out, more slower and calmer this time, "We found and rescued Tsukana Akira, sir!"
"You did?!" The President said as he eyed Tsukana who was standing beside Atsushi. Under the intense gaze of the President, Tsukana could only stand there and cower under the immense pressure and fear.
"Hai! And Shacho! We need help. Akira-san stayed back to fend off one of the Port Mafia's member so he won't be able to catch up with the both of us and keep her hostage again!" Atsushi explained further. The more time that passed, the more agitated he was every time his mind wandered back to Tsukiyomi and the thoughts of her losing the fight and getting seriously injured sends multiple shivers and stings to both his physical and mental being.
The President's eyes went wide upon hearing those words. "What?! After I told her not to get herself in any more dangers... That teen...!" He hissed out through gritted teeth, his anger rising up the more he thought of that problematic person.
Just then, the Agency's door was slammed open with so much strength that it almost came off its hinges, hitting the wall with a loud bang. The two males and Tsukana turned their heads in the direction of the door.
There, at the door, was a brown-haired man leaning against the door, hunched over slightly with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. "Dazai-san?!/Dazai?" Both Atsushi and the President exclaimed out at the same time.
"You're back, Dazai-san!!" Atsushi cried out in delight, his eyes sparkling in hope then. He had been feeling very down and guilty ever since he left the building with Tsukana. 'With Dazai-san here, there is a glimmer of hope now!' Atsushi thought in his head.
Catching his breath, Dazai stood up straight and walked over to Atsushi. "Atsushi-kun! You seemed extremely urgent over the phone, to the point you're speaking gibberish! What happened? ...W-Wait!! Where is Tsuki-chan?!" Dazai asked, a worried expression plastered itself on his face as he looked around for the familiar heterochromatic eyes holder that he likes seeing every time now.
Hearing those last few words, Atsushi wasn't able to speak or explain for the lack of her presence. Getting tongue-tied immediately, his body turned rigid.
.
.
.
"My sister left herself back there to fight a guy to stop him from following me and this white-haired male." Tsukana replied for Atsushi, seeing as he or the President said anything for the last minute.
"WHATTTTT?!!" Dazai erupted into a full-out scream.
"You heard me..." Tsukana stated, looking back at Dazai as she fidgeted slightly in her spot, feeling uncomfortable being in another strange place.
"Tsu...kana..?" But her uneasiness went away when she heard her parents. Whirling her head to look at her parents walking out from a door, tears streamed down her cheeks. Running towards her parents and giving them both a bone crushing hug, she choked out, "I-I.. I'm glad to be back! I-I was afraid! It was so dark and a few men kept coming to interrogate me, asking where Tsukiyomi was..."
Returning the hug, the two parents too cried silently, happy to have their daughter back. But their happiness was cut short a moment later when Atsushi screamed his head out while throwing his arms in the air in anxiety.
"WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!! It was all my fault that Akira-san has yet to come back! She said she would call me when she was able to fend that guy off and escape, but it's been so long since I left!! What should I do?!! WH—"
"ATSUSHI-KUN!" Dazai exploded, holding Atsushi by his shoulder and trying to calm the frantic boy down. "Relax!! Calm down for a second and think what we should do next. Worrying too much does not help with the situation here! If you can't help worrying, remember that worrying doesn't help you either!"
But even if he was the one who said it, he himself was seriously worried sick deep down. He wants to rush out of the Agency, barge into the Mafia's hideout and take Tsukiyomi back and create hell to those who hurt her. But he can't. He had to stay and remain calm for those around him.
"Dazai is right. We have to calm down and think of our next step, if she was or wasn't able to fend that enemy off and escape." The president cuts the silence, glancing at Atsushi who was pacing back and forth.
"But—"
"It's all my fault. She had to stay to bring me back." Tsukana interrupted, cutting Atsushi off. Taking a step forward Tsukana said: "I heard from my parents. They asked you people to rescue me from the bad guys... And Tsukiyomi accepted and took this mission even when she knew it was a trap!"
"It wasn't your fault. I specifically told her that she can't work or fight solo. Which was why I sent Atsushi and Dazai with her. But..." The president let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, "She went and did it on her own..."
"On a side note, that is Akira-san for you." Atsushi commented, stopping his pacing and holding his head in his hand, his face turning bluer and bluer after every second. Opening his mouth to add on another opinion, he was cut off with his phone ringing.
*RING* ... *RING*
All eyes in the room immediately stared straight at Atsushi as he hesitantly took out his phone. Once he saw the caller ID, his eyes widened significantly. Jaws dropping to the ground, Atsushi's finger lingered on the 'accept' button of his cellphone. "It's.. It's Akira-san, Shachou!"
*RING* ... *RING* ...
"?!" Everyone tensed up visibly. "Pick it up." The president commanded firmly, looking at Atsushi's phone while it continues ringing. "Hai.", was the reply from Atsushi. Hesitating for a second, Atsushi then pressed on the 'accept' button and took the call, placing it on speaker mode for the rest to hear.
"H-Hello? Akira-san? A-Are you okay?!" Atsushi spoke first, anxiety and fear crippling his voice. Then came the reply from the other end of the call. The voice they want to hear ever since they parted a while ago.
"Yeah? I'm fine. Thanks for worrying!" She replied back, sounding well and energized on the other end. Hearing this, Atsushi let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging down, relaxing his tensed body. "Thank goodness you're okay... I'm sorry I had to leave you alone to fight that guy and escape with your sister."
"It's fine. I managed to fend him off and escape a while ago. Sorry it took me a while to call and tell you I'm safe. I had to find a safe spot to make the call."
There wasn't a reply from the other side of the call, so the Akira family stepped forward, standing closer to Atsushi. "Tsukiyomi... Now that you have save Tsukana, do you want to come back to us?" Shizuni spoke up first. "Would you reconsider coming back to us?" Hajiro followed his wife, persuading her.
"Uhhh... I don't know. I will see to it and put some thoughts on it."
"It's understandable. Good work on bringing your sister back." The president spoke out this time, letting out a sigh of relief too. Crossing his arms across his chest, the president opened his mouth to speak again, "With that, are you coming back? Fighting someone from the Mafia, it shouldn't have been easy. Come back and get your injuries treated Tsukiyomi."
"It wasn't that easy nor was it that hard. I didn't get too injured to some point of blood loss, so I think I'm fine.", was the reply before the shifting of feet on the ground and a loud thud could be heard on the other end, "Mission completed boss. So I will report back to base in a few days' time sir. I will give you the report when I'm back to base."
Hearing that, the president's eyes widened as he tensed up. Turning his head, he glanced at Dazai, who too was sending him a look of suspicion at those words. Nodding his head at Dazai, said male nodded back with furrowed eyes.
"Alright. I will see you in a few days' time." The President spoke out a moment later, pursing his lips. "I will see you soon too Akira-san. Take care!" Atsushi followed after.
"Yes, thank you. Have a nice day and good bye."
*BEEP*
Ending the call, Atsushi closed and kept his phone in his pocket. "Sooo..." Glancing at the Akira family standing beside him, he sends them a wary look, "Now that we are done, what are you all going to do now?"
"...I think we would go back home first..." Tsukana replied back a while later, before she took a step forward and bowed them at the three men. "I...can't thank you enough for saving me. I thought I was a goner..."
"You shouldn't thank us." Dazai interjected as he folded his arms across his chest, "The one you should be thankful for is Tsukiyomi. For all the years you abandoned her, she still accepted the job and rescued you even when she knew it was a trap."
Hearing those words, Tsukana and the two adults looked down to the floor, not saying anything to defend themselves. Their silence told everyone that they admitted to abandoning Tsukiyomi many years ago. Biting her lips, frustrated tears welled up in Tsukana's eyes. Lifting her head up, she glance at Dazai. "I... I have no rights to say anything at all. But... I want to tell her that I'm truly am regretful that I treated her badly on the day we kicked her out of the house and abandoned her."
"We only realised it a few years after... That our actions were really horrible and inhumane...." Tears flowed down her mother's cheeks as she spoke. Patting her back, the father took out a piece of paper from his inner coat before walking up to the President. Holding out the piece of paper, a grim look was plastered on his face. "... I... don't have much to ask, but is it alright if you pass this on to Tsukiyomi? I... We would like to have a chat with her when she comes back."
Accepting the paper, the President glanced at it. On the piece of paper was a phone number and his name—the father's—on it. Folding the paper into half, the President nodded his head and held the piece of paper in his hand. "Alright, I will ask her to contact you when she comes back after her break." With that said, he turned his head slightly to look at Dazai from the corner of his eyes.
Catching this slight motion from the President, Dazai stared back at the President before turning and walking towards the exit door, the one he came in through at first. "I will be leaving first then." He said with a wave of his hand, "So don't mind me, Shachou, Atsushi-kun."
"A..Ah Dazai-san!" Atsushi called out, holding out an arm towards Dazai's direction.
Closing the door halfway through, Dazai turned to face Atsushi, a brow raised in his direction. "Yes?"
"Ah.. Uhmm... Are you free after this? I have something important to ask you." Atsushi asked, his eyes trained on Dazai. Hearing this, Dazai sent him a closed-eye smile, smiling innocently at Atsushi. "No, I'm not free." Dazai replied back with a shake of his head, "Maybe you could ask me tomorrow morning~"
Opening the door and walking out of the Agency completely, Dazai left. The moment the door closed behind him, the smile on his face disappeared and was immediately replaced with a scowl while his eyes glared at nowhere in particular; his mind then was currently fixated on the problem bringer female he had come to like.
Door closing after Dazai, Atsushi sends the door an awkward smile before turning to face the others.
"Now that settles most of the work. What are the three of you going to do now?" The President inquired, raising a brow to the family as he spoke. Looking up at the president, the parents both nod their heads at each other. "I think we should go back now, seeing as it is already this late in the night." The father said, before facing the president. Bowing his head down, the mother did the same. "We want to thank you so much for saving our daughter, Tsukana!"
"Yes, we can't thank you so much. I'm very glad!" The mother exclaimed out, raising her head and straightening her posture and hugged Tsukana closer to her. "Thank you for saving my life." Tsukana smiled, breaking the hug and walking over to Atsushi and bowing at him.
Not having feeling or experiencing this before, Atsushi became flustered and anxious as he sweated bullet. Putting his left hand up in front of him while his right hand went back to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment, he gave a sheepish smile. "Y-Yeah... Y-You're welcome. But, I'm not the only one who saved you." Atsushi pointed out.
"I.. know. When Tsuki calls us, I would give her my appreciation. Maybe meet up and have a small chat as siblings again." Tsukana said, lifting her head up, flashing Atsushi a small smile.
With that, Tsukana and her parents left the Agency with tears and cheers of happiness overwhelming the three of them, having been grateful that their daughter had been safely returned back, other having a few bruises and small cuts around her body.
Seeing them out to the Agency door, Atsushi closed the door before letting out a sigh of relief. Ever since they were asked to take this mission, his heart had been thumbing in his chest feverishly. Moreover after having found Tsukiyomi's older sister Tsukana, their mission's target, and leaving Tsukiyomi behind to bring Tsukana back to the Agency, his mind had been going crazy mad with the immense pressure and guilt overwhelming him.
Now knowing that Tsukiyomi was safe and Tsukana had returned back to her family, his mind and heart had calmed down to a relatively well-paced speed, the adrenaline and pressure leaving his body.
"Atsushi" The booming voice of the president cuts his train of thoughts. Blinking his eyes a few times, he lifted his head and turned to face the president.
"Hai, Shachou?" Atsushi responded, taking his hand from the door handle and gave him a small salute.
"Ever since you accepted the phone call, do you feel that something was off?" The president asked, looking at Atsushi. The piercing gaze from the President sends a shiver running down Atsushi spine, causing him to grow tense. "N-No..! I didn't sense anything wrong. I'm very glad that Akira-san has escaped from the enemy without many injuries."
"...I... see..."
Atsushi sent a questioning look to the president when he continued looking at him with that piercing gaze. Flashing the president an uncomfortable smile, Atsushi asks: "I-Is there something wrong, Shachou?"
"Oh... No, there isn't..." The president closed his eyes momentarily, a few thoughts crossing his mind. It was only moments later that he opened his eyes. "Thank you.... Good job in bringing Tsukana back, Atsuhi." The president complimented, nodding his head at said man before his expression went stern, "I think it is best if you go back home to rest now, Atsushi. You do have to come back to work tomorrow anyways."
The corner of Atsushi's lips tugged up before he smiled. "Thank you very much!" Bowing to the president, Atsushi gave another small salute before opening the door, leaving the Agency to go back to his dorm room to let his mind and body rest prepare for the next day.
.
.
.
Seeing Atsushi leave the Agency, the president closed his eyes again. Letting out a long sigh, he opened one eye, leaving the other closed, and turned to look out the window, gazing at the full moon shining brightly in the cloudless night sky.
"Although it is a full moon... Nothing stops and settles down...but only more comes up." He mumbled under his breath, mind drifting to a certain brown haired male and female.
## >> Small Time Skip >> ##
~Somewhere in the shopping district~
It was already night time at this point of time. The streets and shopping districts were filled with countless of people, aging from a teen to an adult, and cars as they walked down the pathway and drove down roads respectively.
Lights from the shops opened along the streets and the lampposts lit up the dark area as people pass by. No one would expect that something bad would happen in the next few minutes while they busy themselves on their phones or just watching people walking by.
At a certain street, they stood a short girl, with very dark bluish-black hair tied with flower pins into two low pigtails that reached to below her waist. Wearing a red kimono with patterns of sprouts at the bottom of the kimono, a slightly dark yellow datejime tied on her waist neatly, her glazed over black eyes, gaze into the distance.
Holding onto a phone strapped with a rabbit doll, the girl ignored the phone as it rang continuously, capturing the attention of two teenage passers-by who stopped to looked at her.
"Oh? Hey girlie. Are you waiting for someone?" The younger teenager wearing a green hoodie asked, a smirk on his lips as he looked down on the smaller girl, his voice sounding playful.
Seeing as the girl didn't even bat them a glance, the older teenager who wore a grey unbuttoned suit over a black long-sleeved shirt grinned, his eyes trained on the girl in front of him. "Come to think of it, I saw you here yesterday too" He spoke out, "Have you been here the whole time?"
"Maybe she is a doll." The other spoke up, speaking up his mind.
Seeing her target of the day, the girl's eyes followed the specific male walking down the streets, her eyes blinking once to let them get used to the environment light after staring into nowhere for very long.
"Oh, she blinked!" The two teenagers yelled out in shock and amusement.
Still ignoring the two teenagers and the ringing phone in her hand, the girl walked forward, eyes trained on the male. Her sudden action to walk forward took the two people by surprise as they turned to see the girl walking off.
Walking for a few more steps, she walked in line with her target. Holding out her hand, she grasped the sleeve of her target, a certain brown-haired suicidal male who covers himself from head to toe with bandages.
"Huh?" Feeling the tug on his ends of his left sleeve, Dazai stopped in his tracks and looked down to his left to see the girl grasping onto his sleeve, not letting go. Pointing to himself, Dazai blinked in confusion. "Me?"
Not looking at Dazai, the girl tightened her hold on said male's sleeve. "Found you." Her melodious voice spoke out, but it was lacking emotions and such. Flipping her phone open, she pressed the accept button to take the call. Immediately the ground beneath her starts to tremble slightly as streaks of purple coloured crescent lines appeared from her legs.
Seconds later a female phantom dressed in a kimono appeared from behind the small girl as it hovers in the air. In its hand was a katana.
Seeing this happening in front of them, choruses of screams and yelling filled the street as people started running away from the girl without a moment of hesitation.
Eyes trained on the sudden appearance of the sword-wielding phantom behind her, Dazai's eyes widen significantly as a small sweat-drop appeared on the side of his temple.
"This isn't good..."
## >> Time Skip to next morning >> ##
Again... this was the second time Atsushi had to run around the area to find someone. The first was Tsukiyomi and now it was Dazai. It seems like people close to him tend to go missing every now and then.
Running to every area he thought Dazai would be, Atsushi was left empty-handed in the end. He checked rivers, dustbins, the traffic roads, the streets, or any places Dazai would think of doing a suicide but to no avail.
Letting out a long sigh he could make, Atsushi made his way back to the Agency with a heavy heart.
.
.
.
Opening the door to the Agency's workplace, he was met with three members, Doppo Kunikia, Ranpo Edogawa and Kenji Miyazawa.
'They may know where he went!' Atsushi beamed out, a smile on his face.
"Has anyone seen Dazai-san? I can't find him anywhere..."
"Dazai's gone missing?" Kunikida was the first to speak while he typed his time off on his laptop, eyes trained sternly on the screen.
"He's not answering his phone, and he hasn't returned to the dorm either. Just when I have things I wanted to ask and confirm with him..."
"He's just floating in some river again." Kunikida replied back nonchalantly, still typing on his laptop.
"Or he could be in prison this time." Kenji spoke up. In his hand was a small potted plant, in which he was looking so attentively at.
"My guess would be that he went off somewhere with a woman." Ranpo followed after while he gazed out one of the many windows, his back facing Atsushi.
Sweat-dropping from all the remarks from the three senior members, Atsushi's expression turned into a dead-panned frown. "But it's true that he is targeted by the Port Mafia." He pointed out, "It could be that..."
"That man's ability to sense danger and stay alive approaches nightmarish proficiency." Kunikida interjected, though his eyes were still trained on his laptop's screen.
"Just think about how he is healthy as can be despite so many suicide attempts." Kenji added on after Kunikida, the same goes for him as he stared at the plant.
"I doubt the Mafia alone will be enough to get the better of him." Ranpo adds on after Kenji, his back still facing Atsushi.
"Even Akira-san is missing... She said she would take a few days break from work due to her injuries and such, I thought she would be in her dorm, but she wasn't in her dorm yesterday... Ugh... Where would she go with all her injuries...?!"
"Don't worry about her. She is a strong person. Even after having getting injured and just treated by Dr. Yosano, she gets up immediately and rushed to our location at our previous job." Kunikida replied back, eyes still trained on his laptop screen.
"Or maybe she is just lurking somewhere and hanging out with people." Kenji followed after Kunikida, his hands now twirling the pot of plant in his hands.
"Indeed. I agree with you both." Ranpo agreed with Kunikida and Kenji.
Anime tears started falling from Atsushi's eyes after hearing those remarks from his fellow workmates. "Demo..."
"I'll go look into it." A new voice spoke up amidst Atsushi's conflicting thoughts about a missing Dazai, and this new voice caught everyone's attention. The three senior members stopped whatever they were doing and turned to the direction where the voice came from. Atsushi did the same. Turning his head to the right, the four of them saw Tanizaki walking out of a door from the hallway.
Eyes widening from the sight of the orange-headed member he had befriended, Atsushi gasped in surprise. "Are you all better now, Tanizaki-san?"
Raising his left hand up, he flashed Atsushi a smile. "Yes, thankfully." He said, reassuring Atsushi that he was finally alright from the injuries he got.
Atsushi can't help but flashing backing to a few days before when he and Tsukiyomi got his first job working with Tanizaki, the day where they got ambushed by Akutagawa of the Port Mafia. "I was really worried when it all happened... I'm really relieved you're okay"
Laughing softly to himself as the white-headed male spoke, Tanizaki scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and guilt. "I'm sorry I worried you." He said while walking forward and standing beside Atsushi.
"So you have finally recovered." Kunikida spoke up after Tanizaki, folding his arms across his chest, he let out a sigh.
"It's all thanks to Dr. Yosano's treatment."
Hearing this, Kunikida closed his eyes and turned his head to his right and faced the other way. "So, how many times did she get to you?" Kunikida muttered out lowly, a hint of pity laced in his tone of voice.
The moment those words let Kunikida's mouth, Tanizaki immediately froze. His face turned bluer and bluer every second he recalled back to the time he went through Yosano's 'treatment'. Being strapped tightly to the table, the creepy and mad look Yosano had on her face as she 'fixed' his injured body and the fear eating at his mind.
Not able to take any more of this, his mind overloaded and shuts down on him. Whole body now a deep blue with sweat rolling down his face in waves, he held his head with his hands and crouched down low on the table, his back facing the rest of the members in the room. "F-F-F-F-Four t-t-times..." He stuttered like a broken recorder.
Atsushi's look held a poker face as he looked at the currently crouched on the floor, blued in colour Tanizaki. Even though he heard many rumours of Dr. Yosano's treatment and having heard Tanizaki's crazy scream back a few days ago, he still could not believe and imagine how scary her treatment was.
"That many..." Kenji mumbled out as he sent Tanizaki a pitied look at his figure.
Regaining some of his senses, although he still was in his frightened mode, Tanizaki spoke out. "Atsushi-kun... As long as you remain at the Agency, remember to never get injured." He said, directing his words to the clueless Atsushi, giving him a frightful warning, "If you were to get injured, knock yourself unconscious before you receive treatment..."
"Ha..." Atsushi muttered under his breath, still sending Tanizaki a poker look, not really understanding his words.
"If you think you're at any risk, run." Ranpo, who was now sitting on the table and facing Atsushi and Tanizaki, spoke up this time, "You should cultivate your ability to sense danger on a daily basis."
Atsushi turned to look at Ranpo with a questioning look, not really understanding the meaning behind his words. Seeing Ranpo taking out his watch from the inner pocket of his brown coat, he was more confused.
"For example, ten seconds from now..." Ranpo started, eyes looking intensively at his pocket watch.
Just as Ranpo finished his sentence, a loud yawn was heard from the door Tanizaki walked out from. There stood Yosano clothed in her usual clothing which include a black tie, a white long sleeves shirt, a pair of black long gloves, black shoes, knee length grey socks and her butterfly hair clipped on the side of her head.
"Oh, Yosano-sensei. Good morning." Atsushi greeted her as he flashed her a wide smile.
Placing both of her hands on her hip, she looked at Atsushi for a second. "Oh, Atsushi-kun." She acknowledged his greeting a second later, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Blinking in confusion, Atsushi sent her a questioning look. "Oh, I'm fine." He replied back.
"Darn."
Seeing and hearing Yosano say that with an impassive look on her face, Atsushi sweat-dropped, his eyes twitching in slight irritation. "D..Darn...?" He muttered to himself, debating on whether to open his mouth to retort something back to Yosano or keep his mouth shut. In the end, he decided in the latter.
"I was hoping to have someone come with me on a shopping trip," Yosano spoke up a moment later as she looked around the workplace, breaking Atsushi from his trance, "but I guess you're the only one around."
"What?" Atsushi let out a surprise breath and looked to his left. For some reason he didn't know, the five people who were here ten seconds ago had disappeared suddenly. Finally realising what Ranpo words meant seconds ago, Atsushi dead-panned.
"Is this what he meant by the ability to sense danger?" Atsushi muttered under his breath while he grumbled angrily to himself for not realising earlier.
## >> Time Skip >> ##
Since none of the Agency members 'were there' in the morning, Atsushi was, unfortunately, dragged along to go shopping with Yosano. And he learnt from the hard way, how bad going shopping with her was.
Now, the both of them were walking through a big shopping mall, with Atsushi carrying many big boxes Yosano bought in his hands as he lagged behind Yosano.
"Y-Yosano-sensei. Are you still not done?" Atsushi stuttered and huffed in exasperation as he tried catching up with Yosano. "Don't you dare drop anything." Said female warned in a cheerful tone without looking back at the white-haired male.
A shiver ran down Atsushi's spine the moment her words registered in his mind. Holding tightly onto the many box packages in his arms, he gulped down the fear collecting at the back of his throat nervously.
'Ahhh... I can't drop these no matter what. Or I might dieee...' Atsushi whimpered in his mind as he walked a distant behind Yosano.
While walking, he crossed paths with a short female with dark-bluish hair wearing a red kimono, a rabbit doll strapped to her phone was hung on her neck. The moment he and she walked past each other, Atsushi had this calm yet bad feeling in the pits of his stomach. The feeling was like seeing thousands of sakura petals flying with the wind in a pitch black environment. It was soothing, yet it brings multiple shivers of fear and sadness running down his arms.
Eyes widening in shock, Atsushi turned his head to his right to look at the short female from the corner of his eyes. The female did the same and turned her head to her right to look at Atsushi.
For an instance, their gaze met each other, before the female cuts the eye contact. Turning her head back forward, she continues her way.
Eyes still trained on the female he felt the feeling from, Atsushi didn't look where he was going and in the end, he slammed into a business man—who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as he screamed into his phone.
Knocking into the man, Atsushi fell forward and dropped all the boxes he held in his hands, all falling to the floor with a loud thud. Slamming face flat on the floor, Atsushi grunted in pain. Finally realising what had happened, Atsushi immediately pushed himself onto a sitting position. Turning to see the back of the one he walked into, Atsushi started sweating buckets. "U-Um, are you okay?" Atsushi asked the business man.
Standing up onto his feet, the business man turned and glared at Atsushi as said male cowered on the intense glare. Patting on his brown coloured suit, the business man scowls at Atsushi. "What's the meaning of this, you little twit?" He let out a yell, "This is custom-made suit from a European brand."
"S-Sorry—" Before Atsushi could apologise any further, Yosano appeared in his line of sight and stood in front of him, facing the business man. Kneeling down, she patted down on the pants leg of the man in front of her. "I'm very sorry." Yosano apologised, flashing the man a closed-eye smile, "Were you hurt?"
Eyes twitching in anger, the man slapped her hand away from him hard, causing a resounding smack to ring out in the area. "Don't touch me" He demanded angrily as he balled his hands into fists beside him, "I'll be lodging a complaint with your employer! Hey, what's your job?"
More and more onlookers continued to gather at the side to watch the scene unfolding in front of them. None walking out and helping to stop the man or give a helping hand to the fallen Atsushi on the floor and the many boxes laid sprawled around him.
Having no reply, the man glared at Yosano kneeling figure in front of him. Crouching lower on his knees, the man stood closer to her. "Are you a tea server? A receptionist?"
"Or perhaps you're something a little more specialized?" He said as he caught Yosano's chin with his left hand and pushed her head to force her to look at him.
Having enough of the man, Yosano place her right hand over the man's one. Grinning maniacally, Yosano hummed out in amusement. Pulling the man's hand off her chin, she gripped hard onto the man's hand, causing the man to erupt into a painful scream. Standing up from her crouched position, Yosano pulled the man onto his feet too.
"I'm a doctor, you pervert." She declared dangerously, the sly smirk plastered on her lips, her bangs covering over her eyes so no one would know who and where she was looking at. Just her smirk was enough to send chills running down someone's spin. If her eyes were to add on to her already scary smirk, goosebumps would appear.
"Ohh?" She hummed out again, the sly smirk of hers widening even larger as she clutched onto the man's hand hard. Finally tilting her head upwards, she looked straight at the business man. There, with the addition of her largely widened eyes, the creepy face of hers appeared.
"You have two arms... That's way too many~" She mused, venom lacing in her tone of voice as she spoke lowly, causing waves of shiver and sweat to ran down the business man's spine and forehead simultaneously, "Would you like me to take one off..?"
With that said, Yosano crushed the man's hand she had a hold on with her strength, causing the man to wailed out in pain as the bone-chilling sound of bones cracking echoes in the area, blending in with the man's scream of excruciating pain.
## >> Time Skip >> ##
With all the things happening right in front of him, Atsushi was now fearful of Yosano.
Sitting in the train on the way back to the Agency, Atsushi sat beside Yosano as he fiddled with his hands he placed them on his lap.
...
"I'm sorry about... um... earlier." Atsushi mumble out cutting the silence between them, his eyes looking down on his hands as guilt settled into him while he recalled back to the incident with the man he walked into. Lifting his head, he eyes the boxes placed above his head, "The packages are in a sorry state too..."
"Nothing to be sorry about." Yosano waved it off, dropping the tense atmosphere between the both of them. "By the way..."
Before Atsushi could react, Yosano grabbed his right leg and pulled it upwards and rested his leg on her lap, causing Atsushi to topple to his left in an ungraceful way. Quickly pushing himself up, he held his body up by his elbow as he sweat-dropped at Yosano, who was currently touching his right leg.
"W-What?! Is this punishment..?"
Ignoring Atsushi's question, Yosano stared attentively at his leg, her hands travelling up and down his leg to inspect it. "... Hmm... nice leg." Yosano spoke up moments later.
'HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!' Hearing that, Atsushi's mind went haywire as he continued staring at Yosano like she was mad.
Still rubbing her hands on Atsushi's right leg, Yosano glanced at Atsushi. "I heard your leg was bitten off by the Port Mafia when Tanizaki and Tsukiyomi got injured." She said, her eyebrows raised above her hairline.
'No signs of scaring or fusion... It is more of a restoration than a regeneration.' Yosano thought in her mind, eyes now staring at his leg, 'The tiger did this instantly?'
....
"Um..."
Hearing Atsushi's plea, Yosano glanced at the frightened white-haired male. "Is..there a problem...?" Atsushi whimpered softly, eyes widened to the maximum in fear.
"Oh, I'm sad I could not treat you." Yosano claimed, throwing Atsushi's leg back at him as it wiggled back like jelly. Having his leg back, Atsushi quickly sat up straight, creating a slightly more distance between him and Yosano.
"But there is no reprieve next time for you." Yosano declared firmly, eyes looking at the sweating Atsushi from the corner of her eyes.
"What?"
"The Mafia are known for surprise attacks." Yosano stated before closing her eyes and turning away from Atsushi, "You should watch yourself at night. You never know when they might strike next. The same goes for Tsukiyomi, since she has a bounty on her head too."
'That's right... I'm their prime target. We're their prime target....' Atsushi furrowed his eyebrows together as the thought of the Mafia coming after him and Tsukiyomi caused warning alarms to ring continuously in his head, 'I should know how to protect myself on my own.'
*Sound of the train's speaker being switched on*
"Testing, testing. This is your train conductor. We apologise for the inconvenience but we will now conduct a minor physics experiment! The topic: Evaluation of Explosive Reaction and Sensory Response in a Non-Inertial Reference Frame. The test subjects will be our current passengers! We greatly appreciate your cooperation! So without further ado, please listen to this!"
The moment the last words was spoken, a loud explosion was heard from a few cars behind the one the two Agency members were in, causing the train to tremble and wrack back and forth as it sped forward faster.
"Maybe two or three of you already died from that one?" Not fazed, the 'train conductor' continues speaking. "But that will pale in comparison to the next one! We have rigged enough explosives in the front and back cars to blow everyone clear to the moon! Now test subject Atsushi-kun. Unless you surrender yourself, all passengers will go straight to heaven, much less the moon!"
Hearing that, Atsushi let out a gasp of shock. His eyes widened as he gripped his trembling hands onto the seat hard.
"Speak of the devil..." Yosano mumbled lowly, not feeling as nerve wrecking as how Atsushi was currently. Eyes looking straight ahead as she stood up from her seat nonchalantly, taking a few steps forward and facing the direction the train was moving in.
"W-What should we do?!" Atsushi exclaimed out in fright, sweat rolling own his temple.
Having her back facing Atsushi, Yosano held up her right hand and flicked up her index finger, representing the number '1' . "Option one, turn yourself in." Flicking up her middle finger, she represented the number '2', "Option two, jump off this running train with several dozen passengers to escape." Flicking up her ring finger, she represented the number '3', "Option three..." Not continuing her sentence, she turned to meet Atsushi's wavering gaze.
"..Beat them up." Atsushi finished for her.
"Excellent." Yosano complimented, a smirk on her lips, "After all, we are the Armed Detective Agency."
Standing up from his seat with determination fuelling him, Atsushi stood straight up. "Okay Atsushi-kun. Let's split up and look for the bombs." Yosano suggested, cutting the eye contact with Atsushi and looked straight ahead, "I'll take the front. You take the rear."
Tensing up in the moment, Atsushi furrowed his brows together. "What if we run into the enemy?"
"...Terminate with extreme prejudice!" Yosano declared, gripping her left hand harder as she held onto a black handbag filled with heavy items. Walking forward, she didn't look back.
"Roger!" With that, Atsushi turned and ran towards the opposite direction.
Each of them left with a heavy yet strong heart. The very core objective of their own mission currently were driven deep into their minds.
'A bomb threat on a train with civilian passengers in broad daylight... That's tantamount to suicide. Even for the Port Mafia, this plan's pretty bold... Or rather, obsessive. I wonder who's behind this.'
(Number of Words: 7123 words)