Sweat lines the top of his brow; he pushes the onions in. The wooden paddle races the edge of the bowl. Chopping fast, dicing the stems. The garlic grates in a second flat. Then, delicately, oh so delicately, he pours the egg into the mix, expertly stirring it with the chicken. Perfect. Dazai wipes his forehead as he stares intently at the screen. All his concentration rests furiously on tapping the stylus. He's almost to breading the chicken and he hasn't messed up yet.
A soda can rolls into the alley. No, a bottle. He lifts his head and turns it to the side. Someone's coming this way. He closes his game and hides behind some trash cans.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" a woman with bright pink hair asks her group as they walk in. Not that any backstreet alleyway is particularly nice, but this one sure is a dump. There's trash thrown out every which way, garbage cans are toppled carelessly, yet still, so many paths lead to this one.
"Yeah, the tracker said here," one of the guys says behind her. He's holding out some rudimentary piece of technology that has a single blinking light on it. They make a turn onto the leading alleyway and head down. It's an unusual place: still not that pleasant, but there's a decent amount of light coming through, and the smell isn't actually that bad.
The leading member of the group, a short man with tall green hair and baby-like face, stops in the middle of the street. Something's not right here. It's quiet, deserted almost. A main alley like this would usually have at least some kind of traffic. One of the men following behind him, a taller guy with heavily bleached blonde hair, walks ahead to his side. He steps on something and rolls it around with his shoe. A small rock?
Thick smoke fumes out from beneath him. Its mask a white fog; he can hardly see a foot around himself. More and more, he steps on these rocks. They pop, pop, pop. More smoke comes out, worsening his already limited view. What's that?
Cracks of explosive powder fire off. He twists on his heel – his friends. He runs around wildly searching for his friends. All he has to go off of are the sounds of the mines. Pop. Sparks fly onto his skin. He cries out and clutches his arm, the burns branding into him. He trips slightly, landing on another mine. His back arches, his knees about to buckle.
A swift flash. Something's lifted from his pocket. He falls to the ground. His eyes struggle to keep open as a brunette man runs into the fog with items worth millions. "Hey!" He tries to shout after him, but his voice is too hoarse and weak.
Dazai runs straight into the fray, knowing exactly where the bombs and mines are. He doesn't get much farther when he hears something charging at him. "AHHHHHHHHH!" The mafioso quickly ducks and sends the guy clear over him, right into a wall. The man with black hair and casual attire slides off the wall like paper and lands deftly on the ground. Dazai leisurely walks over and takes what's in his pockets too. He checks to make sure it matches what's in the catalog, then promptly heads off. It's such a stupid move to announce an attack, yet people love to do it anyway.
He's near the center of the alley now and the smoke's starting to clear. On one side is a woman with bright pink hair in cargo pants, a halter top, and an overcoat. On the other side is a man shorter than her with green hair wearing the same thing. Dazai tilts his head. Even he's taller than Chuuya.
"Gooey." The man uses his ability. An odd colored goop shoots from his hand, heading straight for the mafioso. Dazai swerves out of the way, and the slimy substance lands on his teammate on the opposite side.
The woman protests vehemently as she fights to get it out. The way she struggles while deriding her partner, he has to admit, it is pretty entertaining. So entertaining, in fact, he barely notices a splat going off toward him. He looks down at the mess on the ground. It didn't hit him, of course, but there is a little smudge on his shoe. Ugh, he's going to have to get that cleaned now. Where would the best place for that be? There's a shop by headquarters, but they don't always do the greatest job. There're quite a few places closer to Downtown… but it's sooooo expensive therrrre.
Dazai holds out his hand, grabbing the man by his wrist. He frowns at the dumbfounded man, annoyed that his internal monologue was interrupted. The man looks at the mafioso in terror. His ability, he can't use his ability. Dazai grins back and swings his leg down. The man folds under him. He pummels toward the ground before being yanked back up and kicked toward the rest of his group.
The woman comes in now and the executive swiftly jumps out of the way. Standing across from each other, she holds her hands out and refocuses herself. "Harvest." Tall stalks of corn and wheat erupt from the ground. An entire field of crops surrounds him.
He ambles around the rectangular maze, whistling as he checks out all the produce. "With an ability like this, you should really go into agriculture," he says even though she probably can't hear him. It's true though, especially if it can work regardless of the weather. They're not that bad even; getting as close as he can without touching, he'd say they're pretty good for selling actually.
He seizes her hand just an inch from his neck. She gawks at him, stunned. The crops disappear. Dazai shakes his head in disappointment. "Attacking from behind? Oldest trick in the book."
He holds onto her, bolstering his grip until she falls to her knees. He takes out his gun and points it down at her head. A squad of grunts runs up behind him. He looks out to the other three members still piled on the ground. "Where's the rest of it?"
None of them say anything. The grunts run out and take hold of them. Dazai lowers his gun and shoves the woman away. "Stand them up," he orders his men.
He walks down the line, skipping past the first two men rather quickly. He reaches the man with bright green hair. "Let me guess, you're the leader of the group?" He bursts out laughing as he eyes him. "But you're not it."
At the end of the line, he reaches the woman. "Turn her around." The grunts do so and he fishes around in her back pockets.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" The woman protests his actions. "This is a violation –"
Dazai takes the item from her and walks back. "Well, that was easy. Thank you guys for being so cooperative. I've had a really busy few weeks, so this was much appreciated." He puts the item in his pocket and turns to his men. "Take them away."
The man with the green hair stares at him with a betrayed expression. "But –"
"You should've taken our offer for a deal," Dazai tells him simply. He gestures to his men to continue their job. "Notify Hat-rack that they'll be in the holding chambers. He can do with them what he likes." The mafia grunts nod and head out.
Dazai turns and walks in the opposite direction, ready to leave the alley. A door opens to his right and a familiar face steps out. "Ah, Odasaku! What are you doing here?" the younger mafioso beams. He hadn't expected to see his friend out here, but he's happy about it nonetheless.
Oda lifts his takeout box. "Lunch."
"You should've told me!" Dazai whines again. He would've loved to have had lunch with his buddy.
"You were working," Oda reminds him.
"But work is borrrrrring," the executive complains. His phone beeps from his coat pocket and he looks at it for a second before putting it right back away. "I was thinking of going for a walk later. You should join me!"
The older man furrows his brows in confusion. "You don't like walks."
Dazai smiles and looks out at the sky. "It's a nice day today."
Oda looks in the same eastward direction as him. The sky is blue, the sun is warm, and the air is just right. "It is a nice day."
Heavy pedestrian traffic clogs the whole sidewalk; what else is new? Rei races down the walkway, chasing after a barely visible man with dark brown hair and jean shorts. Apologizing as she tears through the crowd, she spots him taking a sharp turn through an alley. With her being a block behind, he's disappeared by the time she gets there.
She huffs in her spot, but doesn't have much time to waste. It doesn't matter that he thinks he's slick; she knows where he's going. She takes out her phone and faces forward again. "West into the city. He's heading your way." She hangs up and continues on her path.
Luckily for them this case has been rather quick. It's only been a few hours since the notification of the crimes and they're already on pursuit. Hopefully it can stay on this track, but who knows really. It'd be nice if they could finish up and get a few hours off, but she knows they have more work after this anyways. Oh well, Rei sucks it up. She has a job to and she's going to do it.
Large, metal pillars line the sides of the room. A row of four windows sits at the top of the two long walls. Natural light is all this place needs. Corroded, gray pallets paint the scene. Three men wait at a standstill, scouting their next move. Leaves tap against the window, but even their color is muted.
"Flower Veil." Vines shoot from the concrete. Like a bullet with fuel, they demolish the floor of the building as they erupt from the ground. Chunks of cement fly into their faces, the debris picking up meters into the air.
Kenji and Kunikida shield themselves from the attack. Vines and thorns launch at them, swinging like rabid wolves of their own volition. On the opposite side of the room, a black haired man grins with a crooked smile as he jerks his arms around wildly. His fingers furl and unfurl as the plants whip against the agents.
Kunikida covers his face as he fends himself from the newly sprouting flowers. Tulips, carnations, daisies. It doesn't matter; they're all deadly. "Doppo Poet," he shouts into the air. A pair of clippers then appears in his hand. The detective rushes in and snips them at their buds. The volatile flora drops to the floor, null and useless. The man on the other side reels back, not at all adept to handle this.
"Dazzling." A flash of blinding light washes the entire room. All parties cover their eyes as a fourth man jumps into the situation, landing right next to the black haired man. He's got dark brown hair and jean shorts, his face ready to fight as he faces the agents.
Kunikida drops his clippers as he blocks the light. He turns away and rubs his eyes, leaving himself vulnerable to an attack. "Undefeated by the Rain." Kenji comes in and covers him. With a giant metal sheet in his hands, he slams it down and blows back the brown haired man. He moves to lift the sheet again, but gets tripped by the plants that have regrown. The first man smirks as he whips his arm to lash the plants. The second man now comes up and tries a strike from behind. Kenji quickly jumps and rolls out of the way, barely having enough time to breathe before being rushed again.
A sharp building in the middle of an off-street, Rei runs to the side of the wide, brick structure. She scouts around the back of it; there's nothing but woods and a few patches of grass. She looks at the building again. There must be some way... Loose scraps of metal hang off the wall, teetering lightly in the cool, spring breeze. That'll have to do. She grabs the lowest metal bar and starts climbing up.
The dusty beams of the rafters aren't the most secure, but they're sturdy enough. About a dozen lay across the short end of the room, connecting one side of the boards with the other. Rei edges along them crawl by crawl, watching as the fight ensues below her. Kunikida moves one way, the brown haired man moves another. Kenji takes a weapon, the man with the vines knocks it out his hands. It's a battle of attrition with no side gaining much either way. The occasional burst of light flares in between, and she has to hug onto the rail while it passes.
After a few minutes, the detective gets to the other side and scours around for anything that can help them. She finds some rope and a large tarp and moves closer to where the fighting is. They're all busy and distracted with their own thing, the perfect opportunity for her to strike. She swings down onto the next platform, a much closer view and well within a reachable distance. She takes aim and throws the tarp out ahead of the man with the brown hair. It drifts a little and lands directly on him.
Rei jumps down and lands behind the other perpetrator. He moves to turn, but she launches herself onto his back. He twists and turns, trying to knock her off. The detective holds on as tight as she can. All she needs is a few more seconds. "Get off of me!" He attempts to use his ability on her, but it refuses to work.
The other man wrestles with the tarp, tripping over himself again and again. He finally gets out of it, but Kunikida's already on him with a cable gun in his hand. The blonde detective fires and the cables shoot out toward him. Kunikida pulls him in and forces him to the ground so he can tie his hands behind his back. That's one down.
Kenji runs up behind Rei and she tosses the rope to him. The brown haired man finally flings her off of him and she flies straight to the ground. The man's about to gloat in his victory, but his arms are soon restrained. He turns to see a little blonde boy running around him tying him up with rope. He tries to get out, but he can't move a muscle. What the fuck is this guy?
Rei gets up and brushes herself off, then heads over to Kunikida along with Kenji, him dragging a body along behind himself. They reach the center of the room where Kunikida's standing, the other captured man slumped over at his feet. "So, what now?" Rei asks once they get there. "We have the reports to do, but I imagine there's more than that. They've been at this for weeks; there must be lasting effects on the houses."
"I hope we go eat! I want some beef!" Kenji exclaims.
Kunikida touches his chin as he looks over at the men on the floor. "We'll handle the work here, then deal with the paperwork once we're at the agency. The rest of it will be decided after we speak with the police. Either way, we need to get a move on with our other files too. Yosano and Tanizaki should have more information on those when we get back."
They nod and Kenji plops both of the guys over his shoulder. Camera clicks, brakes, and the sound of car doors come from outside. Kunikida gazes from the entrance to the men draped over the young farm boy. "Looks like the media is here." He walks over and stands by them. "I'll go with Kenji to the police station. We'll have more information by then anyway." He turns his attention to Rei. "Hayashi, are you ready?"
Rei nods and they split up. Kunikida and Kenji exit out the back door while she heads out the front. The door opens, letting a wash of sunlight hit her, that and a mob of cameras. Instantly, a pack of microphones and notepads are shoved in her face.
"Detective, can you confirm that these strange cases of home invasions are related? And were the police actually unaware until earlier today?"
"Is this an inside job?"
"What about all the flowers that were left after the homes were ruined? Can you comment on that?"
The swarm of reporters circle around her. They all talk loudly and over each other, some even pushing through others to get to the front. The detective smiles as she answers their questions. It's going to be a long day.
Up old stairs and a thin metal railing, Rei sighs as she lugs herself back to her apartment. Today was definitely a full day of work: an entire investigation on the fly, following the leads of two cases back to back, an impromptu press conference, and not to mention the piles of paperwork afterward. To be honest, she got nowhere near done before she left, but at least here she can do it while laying on her furniture like a starfish.
She reaches the top of the steps and sees the mailman at her door. Slightly confused as he doesn't usually come around at this time, she stops a little before approaching him. Once she's at the door, he turns to her. His face is highly puzzled too. "Rei Hayashi?" he asks as if that's the first time he's said either of those words.
"Yes?" she answers, also confused as if she's never said the word before.
He then smiles brightly like a friendly, old neighbor and holds out whatever it is he was about to tape to her door. She takes it from him and inspects what appears to be some kind of card. The second she has it, he, still smiling, waves bye to her and heads off down the stairs. She waves – sort of – back at him, but he's gone by the time she does.
Rei turns the item over in her hand. It looks like a postcard, but it doesn't have any city name or text on it. On one side it's an absolutely gorgeous picture of Sakura trees: hundreds of them lined against a shallow dirt road, the richness of the sky behind them, the vibrancy of the grass at their trunks. On the other side it's completely blank. She puts the card down and takes a step out to the railing of her building. With one hand loose on the aged metal, she looks out to the far end of the city. Her eyes wandering to a place long past where the monorails go.
Thin patches of pale blue sky fitted by full, flourishing branches. Trees up against the dirt path, their fine, pastel petals laid in every step. It's a scene straight out of a movie. She thought there could be hundreds, but there are actually thousands. The elegance of each individual flower as it hits the Earth. She's never seen anything like it.
She glances at the postcard again, then back to the trees. It's so different being here alone. In the western city, there were always so many people around. Spring festivals are always so popular, she laughs, her eyes dancing as a petal drifts onto her card. She takes it in her palm and puts the card away, continuing on her stroll.
A bed of grass that extends to a hill, she walks up it to the beginnings of a large tree. Underneath it sits a man with his eyes closed and his legs out in front of himself. She walks to the trunk of the tree and sits down with him.
It's so soothing as the wind passes through their clothes. The soft grass that lays lush to their fingers, the petals that fall on them like they would a lake. Simple rhythms of a springtime afternoon make it so easy. So they sit together, not thinking of what or why, just being.
She glances at him. His image is nearly poetic. It's haunting in a way, but somehow welcome. It doesn't make a difference anymore. She takes a breath. "Osamu, I –"
His lips brush against her ear. Her sentence drops the second he whispers to her. Etched in time like a fossil, she turns to him, their position now face to face. He lifts her up and edges her into his lap, setting his chin comfortably on her shoulder.
So they sit like this, and he plays with her hair, his fingers gentler than the breeze. "I could stay like this."
"For how long?"
Silence echoes after her words. Even nature is held still. A second for pause, then the flowers drop again. "For... a while."