BSD: Watch the Show

by fizzyshizz

In the aftermath of the train bombing and Kyouka Izumi waking up, a mysterious woman arrives at the agency to show the ADA the future... and past..

4. Episode 3

Atsushi sat in a room of silence. Dazai, who had sat comfortably to his right was gone now, having switched places with Kenji at Fukuzawa's orders. Atsushi knew he had somewhat blown Dazai's words out of proportion, after all he had just been trying to point out a flaw in Atsushi's logic. But… He couldn't just stand there and not hate Akutagawa for what he did to Kyouka. He knew the feeling she must be feeling, hurting because you never knew when the people who hurt you would come back. Haunted by their actions, your entire existence redefined by what someone had done to you.

Akutagawa was to Kyouka as The Headmaster was to Atsushi. A symbol. And that would never change, because they would never change, Atsushi concluded. Dazai's defense of Akutagawa made it all the worse, because in a way, it felt like someone defending the headmaster….

Kyouka watched Atsushi think, her eyes carefully guarded. She really appreciated being here and already thought of Atsushi as a guardian, but she couldn't help thinking,

Is all this conflict my fault?

She knew it was stupid, she knew it. But she couldn't push the thought out of her head and every time Atsushi and Dazai fought, it grew louder. It sounded like Akutagawa.

You're weak you know. We are the only way you can become strong. We are the only people who can give you a purpose.

She shook her head hard, trying to get rid of the thoughts that surrounded her, but found it to be almost impossible.

Kunikida watched Dazai stare quietly at the wall as they waited for Maddie to load the next episode. He took a deep breath, and then walked over to his partner.

"Hey."

Dazai turned his head up to meet Kunikida's eyes. He looked tired and old, dark circles under his eyes obvious now. Kunikida swallowed, He'd never seen Dazai like this.

Kunikida sat next to him, "Are you gonna be ok?"

A shattered laugh came out of Dazai's mouth, "Not really."

"You know that you were right," admits Kunikida.

Dazai's head jerks up and he looks at his partner, "Huh?"

"We don't know Akutagawa, or any Port Mafia members that well," Kunikida's voice shakes, "They all have motives. They're still people."

Dazai cocked his head, "When did you get so accepting?"

"The Azure Messenger."

He watches Dazai's throat tighten, "That.. I'm… I'm sorry about Rokuzo and Sasaki."

Kunikida sighs, "What I'm trying to say Dazai, is that I will still support you. It doesn't matter what you've done or who you've hurt, I know you. And I trust you. And whatever happened, that's not you anymore."

Dazai was absolutely silent.. His voice shook with emotion, "Thank you Kunikida.. I… I trust you too."

Dazai opens his arms wide and Kunikida closed in.

They stayed like that until a noise from the screen drew them away.

The screen lit up with a title, "Apology from ADA Member: Tanizaki Junichirou"

"I'M REALLY SORRY!" Tanizaki slams his hands onto a table, "I know it was for a test but I was really, really rude to you. I'm an assistant here at the Agency."

In the background at the bar, Kunikida and Dazai were kicking each other, while the poor waitress watched.

"I really feel bad for that waitress," Yosano commented, her voice hesitant. She was obviously nervous about talking due to Atsushi and Dazai's fight.

However, Dazai returned, "I bet she really finds us hilarious and she pretends to hate us."

Tanizaki snickered, the mood in the room lightening, "I doubt it."

Tanizaki formally introduces himself, "My name is Junichirou Tanizaki, Will you ever forgive me."

Atsushi waves his hands in front of his face, "It's fine, Don't worry about it."

He seems nice, Atsushi thinks.

Tanizaki blushed, "Thank you Atsushi. I'm at least glad you accepted my apology."

Atsushi's voice was more quiet than normal, "I did think you looked nice, Tanizaki. A lot calmer than Kunikida and Dazai."

He squeezed his eyes shut, "I think I needed a break at the time."

"And this is," Naomi jumps on him halfway through his introduction, finishing his sentence, "His little sister, Naomi!"

Atsushi looks very put-off, "You two are brother and sister? For some reason I thought you had a different relationship.."

Naomi's eyes switch to a very dreamy gaze, "Oh, Do you think I'm lying?"

The agency all glanced at Naomi, who sunk down in her seat, her pale face flushed red.

"I might've gone overboard…" she trailed off.

"You might've?" Kunikida's voice was hard, "This was literally your first impression on Atsushi and you decided to do bedroom eyes at him?"

Dazai stifled down a laugh at Kunikida's anger and at the growing flush on both Naomi and Atsushi.

Her hands trail down her brother's stomach, "There is no doubt that we are related."

Naomi smirks at Tanizaki's face, "We are more similar than you think! Right, Tanizaki?"

As Naomi pushes herself onto Tanizaki, Kunikida steps in, "You should leave this subject alone if you know what's good for you."

The title card next to Atsushi reads, "Atsushi reads between the lines."

Ranpo chuckled at that, "Look at Atsushi's face!"

"He understands what's going on," Kenji observes, "He will be a good detective!"

Kyouka's face is confused which Atsushi notices, "Don't ask Kyouka.. It's not worth it."

Kyouka nods seriously and Atsushi breathes a sigh of relief.

Kunikida straightens, "Listen closely, Now that you have joined our ranks you should act accordingly."

"UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE HERE I COULD MENTION!" He shouts at the Tanizaki siblings.

Kunikida takes a deep breath, "I work to uphold the agency's good name, we are all committed to that goal… well at least some of us are," He turns around, "Right Dazai?"

Dazai strokes a hand down the waitress's hand, "Will you strangle me with your beautiful fingers.."

"What does that mean, Dazai?" Tanizaki asks Dazai.

"It means exactly what I said it means," Dazai replied, "I wanted her to strangle me."

Kunikida sighs,"Of course you did."

Kunikida runs over and smacks him hard over the head, "Were you listening to a single word I said? My hands might not be as great as hers, but I still want to honor of breaking your neck."

Atsushi sighs even heavier than normal.

"I was wondering," The camera shows Kunikida strangling Dazai, a title card reading, "Two Senior colleagues shaming the Agency's good name."

Dazai started laughing really hard, while Kunikida glares at him.

"I didn't even notice Kunikida was shaming our reputation while he was strangling me!" Dazai said, joyously.

Kunikida grabbed his notebook and wrote down some notes, "Be more aware of surroundings when berating Dazai."

"What were you guys doing before you joined the agency?"

Both men stopped moving, and Atsusi panicked, "I'm sorry I was just curious!"

"Take a guess," Dazai says smoothly, "It's a game we play a lot here actually. Every newcomer tries to guess their colleague's former jobs. Think of it as training to be a detective."

"Like it's even that hard," Ranpo said, "It's obvious what everyone did based on their personalities and clothing."

Yosano shook her head, "You haven't managed to guess what Dazai did."

Ranpo was undeterred, "I've narrowed it down to three possible options."

"Seriously?" Dazai blinked, "I thought it's really hard for people to guess."

Atsushi sighed, "Well maybe if your old work partner was here, he would tell us." His voice was still quiet compared to normal.

"If Chibi was here, you would know what I did instantly," Dazai countered.

Chibi? Atsushi asked himself.

Atsushi stares at Naomi and Tanizaki, "Were you two? Students?"

Tanizaki looks amazed, "You got it!"

"How did you know?" Naomi asks.

Atsushi answers easily, "I was told that you work part-time at the agency and you're wearing a uniform so there was a chance you were still in school, Plus Tanizaki and I seem similar in age, so it made sense."

Kunikida blinked, "I'm not gonna lie, I thought you were a lot younger than you are when we first met."

"Really?"

Kunikida nods, "I thought you were about 16."

"YOU DID?"

"You do act young for your age," Ranpo points out.

Yosano rolled her eyes, "Says the 26 year old who literally eats candy for every meal and doesn't know how to take the train."

Kenji snickered at Yosano's comment while Ranpo gave her an aggravated look.

"Not bad, Atsushi" Dazai remarks, "What about Kunikida?"

Kunikida spits out his drink in anger, "Nobody cares about what I used to be!"

"Hmmmm," Atsushi thinks hard, "An official, Did he have a government job?"

"Almost," Dazai sings, "He was a schoolteacher and he taught math to be exact."

An image of Kunikida standing in front of a chalkboard appears in Atsushi's head, The vision Kunikida slams his hand on the board, "FOR THE LAST TIME USE THE LAW OF EXPONENTS IN THIS ONE."

A chuckle emerged from the ADA, although it was nowhere near the loud laughter that had happened during the previous episodes, in fact it was more subdued.

Kyouka shifted uncomfortably, She didn't like the change in environment and pulled herself closer to Kenji and Atsushi, hiding from the silence.

Silence is bad. Silence means anger.

I don't like silence.

Atsushi's face scrunches up, "I can totally see that."

"It was another life," Kunikida grumps, "I don't want to think about it."

"What about me then?" Dazai says casually.

Atsushi cocks his head, "You?"

"Yea, what was my job?"

"Hmmm"

The camera shows Dazai's face, beaming. Atsushi puts a finger to his mouth, "Dazai. Dazai.. Dazai…"

"I have no idea," relents Atsushi.

Dazai sighs, "I'll admit that my former job is quite difficult to guess. It's very oddly specific."

"Hmmm," Tanizaki seems to think hard, "I still think you worked at a retail store. It is understandable to become suicidal over that kind of boring job."

"I already said that I didn't work in a retail store," Dazai protested.

"Then what did you do?" Naomi asks

"Can't say!" Dazai sings, kicking his feet up, "It'd ruin the surprise!"

Ranpo pushed his glasses up onto his nose, "Well I have two ideas left, because of the fact we now know he had a partner."

Dazai made a face, "Shoot, I was hoping you still had three. It would be fun to see you surprised."

"Nothing surprises me," Ranpo smiles at Dazai.

"Sure."

Kunikida adjusts his glasses, "Don't even bother, nobody knows what he used to do."

Tanizaki beams, "The person who finally figures it out collects a reward, right?"

Atsushi jolts upwards, money flashing in his eyes, "A REWARD!"

"Money is poor motivation," Kyouka informs him, "It is for the greedy."

Dazai looks at her, "Who said that?"

Kyouka cocks her head, "Akutagawa's executive. They were talking about something and I was there."

Dazai rubs his chin, Based on what I've heard about Chuuya, he's Akutagawa's executive now. Wonder what they were talking about.

"What's an executive?" Atsushi jumps in.

Dazai remains quiet, knowing that by informing Atsushi, he would give himself away. Instead he turned to Kyouka who replied quietly, "An executive is the highest rank in the Port Mafia, right below the boss. It takes a long time to get there and people will kill to be named one."

She takes a breath, "There are five top executives who are the strongest in the Port Mafia. Both my executive and Akutagawa's are in the top five."

Chuuya's in the top five, Dazai contemplates, He's going to rub it in my face. But why did he seem surprised about the top five executive meeting when I was captured?

Realization struck him, Mori didn't tell him about it because it was about me. His face stretched into a smile, Chuuya's gonna be mad.

Fukuzawa eyed Dazai carefully, reading his face expressions. Dazai gae almost nothing away as he listened to Kyouka explain.

Yosano looked thoughtful, "Who is your executive then, Kyouka? And why did Akutagawa train you instead?"

Kyouka's hands shook and Atsushi gently held them as she took a deep breath, "My executive is named Kouyou. She's very strong. As for why Akutagawa trained me, I'm not sure."

Naomi opened her mouth to ask another question, but saw the way Kyouka's eyes were shining with tears and closed her mouth.

Next to Dazai, Kunikida was furiously scribbling notes about the Port Mafia, but as the room went silent he looked up, "Thank you for the info, Kyouka. It will be important to know this when we finally take down the Port Mafia."

Kyouka nods quickly and falls silent. Dazai smirks to himself.

The Port Mafia isn't the worst thing that will come for us.

"Yea that's true," Dazai says, "And because no one has got it, the price has really gone up."

"So just out of curiosity," Atsushi leans off the counter, "How much is this reward?"

"Seven hundred thousand yen."

The words 'seven hundred thousand yen' are written across the screen in bold letters followed by a photo of Atsushi screaming.

Atsushi stares at Dazai, the title card behind him reading, "At the thought of seven hundred thousand yen, a fire is lit under this penniless man"

"If I guess correct, then all that money is mine?" Atsushi aggressively questions Dazai, who poses back, "A suicidal maniac keeps his word."

Ranpo sighs, "Do you even have that much money?"

"Nope," Dazai says happily, "I'd have to get it from somewhere if anyone guessed correct."

"So you weren't really keeping your word," Tanizaki asks dryly.

Dazai shrugs, "I would've got the money from somewhere."

"That sure is ominous," Kenji remarks.

Tanizaki and Naomi watch Atsushi with annoyed faces. "Gotta say," Tanizaki remarks, "He looks very fired up."

Naomi replies, "There's no way he'll guess it."

"That reward…WILL BE MINE!" Atsushi vows.

He begins throwing out completely random guesses, which Dazai shuts down every time.

"Most of those have been guessed already," Yosano informs Atsushi, "You could've waited and seen what we had guessed already and then gone off that."

Atsushi scratches his chin, "I didn't really think about that."

"If we collaborate, we can probably guess it!" Naomi pumps her fist into the air.

Tanizaki and Naomi watch in utter fascination, "Is he even close?"

Naomi's eyebrow twitches, "No idea."

"MODEL!" Atsushi shouts.

Dazai blushes, "No, but that's very flllaaatttteerrriiinnnnggg."

"It's also a good guess." Kenji points out, "Dazai is really pretty."

Atsushi's face turns bright red at that image, "I was throwing out random guesses!" He defends himself.

He glances at Dazai, who just shrugs.

"I bet," Kunikida takes a sip of his tea, "You weren't doing anything at all."

"Not true!" Dazai shuts him down, "I wouldn't lie about this."

He turns to Atsushi, "If you've given up then," he lifts up the bill, "You can pay the bill tonight!"

Atsushi groans.

Dazai cheekily smirks, "It's our Agency's favorite restaurant, you can always start a tab with them if you don't have any money."

"You mean like you did?" Kunikida glares at Dazai, "And a tab you still haven't paid off yet. Maybe you should pay that off before you give out seven hundred thousand yen."

Dazai looks thoughtful, "Possibly…"

"I agree with Kunikida," Fukuzawa says suddenly, "You should pay that off Dazai, I get emails from them about you sometimes."

Dazai nods seriously, "Understood."

A sound of a phone plays and Tanizaki answers the call, "Hello. Yea. Ok. Got it."

"Is it a job?," Kunikida turns around.

Tanizaki nods, "The client is at the agency already."

"Well," Dazai and the others stand up, "Let's get to work. We'll save the guessing game for another time."

He smiles, "Is that ok with you?"

The intro music begins to play.

As soon as the intro music began to play, Atsushi got up and stood in front of Dazai. He gives him a slight bow and then speaks, "I'm sorry Dazai."

Dazai blinks, "For what? You were perfectly reasonable. I was the one who spoke without thinking." He nods slightly, "And for that I apologize."

He looks at Kyouka, who was watching cautiously over the couch head.

"I'm sorry, Kyouka," He says, "I was trying to make a point, but ended up offending you in the process."

Kyouka nods, "It's ok."

Atsushi goes to sit back down and the room breathes a sigh of relief, the tension that had been in the room since Dazai and Atsushi's argument vanished and quiet chatter started again.

The intro fades out, showing the group inside the ADA, talking to a woman.

Naomi clenches her fist. "Higuchi.."

Atsushi blinks, "Now that we know what she's capable of, it's weird seeing her so quiet."

"Higuchi is never quiet," Kyouka buts in, everyone looking at her, "She likes talking and she's very passionate."

"So this must be even weirder for you then Kyouka," Yosano concludes

Kyouka shrugs, "a bit.. I didn't really talk to her very much."

"Now then," Tanizaki says, "You said you would like to request an investigation, but what kind of investigation are we speaking over."

The woman is in a formal business suit and pants, her hair is blonde and short and she seems quite plain looking. Her hands are folded in front of her, which changes as Dazai takes one.

"So beautiful," He laments, "You look like a lotus blossom, just as elegant. Would you care to join me in…"

Atsushi sighs, "I can't believe you flirted with her Dazai."

"I was actually quite suspicious of her intentions." Dazai informs him, "I actually bugged her while I was flirting."

"Really?" Yosano asks, "That's oddly smart of you."

"What can I say?" shrugs Dazai, "I guess it's the natural detective in me."

He is smashed into the floor by Kunikida, the woman curiously watching as Kunikida shoves Dazai into a closet, "I apologize for the distraction, Continue on. I'll take care of this."

The door closes and Kunikida's shouts can be heard. The woman sits back down and speaks, "I will expand on my request."

"Oh." Tanizaki looks taken-aback at her attitude.

Atsushi stares at her, She's acting as though this is perfectly normal.

Ranpo blinks, "That's suspicious right there."

Naomi purses her lips, "How so?"

"If she was a random businesswoman, I bet she'd have been freaked out by Dazai and Kunikida and might have hesitated before speaking, but she's clearly focused. She was determined to get her story out there, to lure Atsushi to her ambush."

Kenji jumps in, "The fact that she didn't flinch during Kunikida's attack on Dazai is also random, unless you take into account that she's a mafia member who's probably been attacked herself before."

Tanizaki sighs, "In hindsight, I can't believe I didn't notice the weird behavior."

"It's ok Tanizaki," Atsushi says, "I didn't notice it either."

"You see," she begins, her voice monotone, "There have been some seedy looking people loitering in the back alley of my company's building."

"Can you give us more details?" Tanizaki politely asks.

Her eyes look distressed as she responds, "They wear old and tattered clothes and some of them speak in a foreign language, that none of us can identify."

Yosano is the next one to speak, "It's also interesting how she lured us in, she knew what smugglers normally did and knew enough about the agency to know that Kunikida would send a newer recruit to the location."

"I can't believe how stupid I was," Kunikida says, "We didn't even fact-check her story. If we had then, Atsushi and the Tanizaki siblings would not have been attacked."

"At the time, there was no need to suspect anything," Dazai said, "And a simple smuggler case wasn't really a need for fact-checking unlike some of the bigger cases out there."

The door slams as Kunikida steps out, Dazai being shown knocked down inside, "If I must guess, they sound like smugglers."

The door closes and Kunikida makes his way to the group at the table "It's unavoidable in this port town. With their numbers, the police cannot stop them."

The woman nods, "Right, If we had some sort of evidence of what they were doing, we could get them shut down. That's why.."

She trails off, Kunikida filing in the silence, "You want us to get the evidence for you."

He looks at Atsushi, "Hey, kid. You go."

Atsushi freaks out, "WHAT?"

"Relax," Kunikida says calmly, "It'll be a simple stake-out, Smugglers are rarely violent, just keep watch if they try to make a break for it. It's really the perfect first job for you."

"See?" Yosano points at the screen, "It's odd how she knew Kunikida would send Atsushi with her."

Kenji put a hand to his head, "That is odd."

"They probably checked their files," Kyouka interjects, "The Port Mafia keeps extensive record of everyone who's ever wronged them, including the dead."

"That's awful petty of them," Naomi says.

Kunikida rubs his eyes, "Indeed, but it's also smart. In fact… I'm writing notes on all Port Mafia members right now."

Atsushi seemed to think for a bit, then he snapped his fingers, "So we can do what Dazai said and try to understand motives and stuff."

"Yes," agrees Kunikida, "But these notes will also include combat notes and personality notes as well."

Fukuzawa smiles,"That's a smart idea, Kunikida. We can all add our observations in there as well."

Dazai decides to speak up, "We shouldn't just focus on the Port Mafia, make sure we create these files for every person who antagonizes Yokohama."

Kunikida nods seriously and begins writing.

"Yea, but.."

Kunikida doesn't let him finish, "Junichirou will go with you."

Naomi gives her brother a massive hug, "If he's going than I will too!"

The scene cuts to Atsushi packing a small bag of evidence gathering equipment for the trip. The title care next to him reads, "Rookie Detective Nervous about his first job: Nakajima Atsushi."

"That's true," Atsushi admits, "I was pretty nervous about this job."

Kyouka turns to him, "Why?"

Atsushi shrugged his shoulders, "It was intimidating to me as someone who'd never had a job before."

Yosano let out a short laugh, "This job is way different than any ordinary job."

"I suppose it is," Atsushi commented, "But I wouldn't know that."

"Hey, kid." Kunikida cuts into Atsushi's thoughts, "Did you think I would leave you high and dry, like that? I have some advice for you."

He holds out a photo, "Look here. Memorize this photo and take it with you."

The photo is of a man in black wearing a cravat with ivory streaks in his hair.

Kyouka let out a hazy breath and everyone looked over.

"Are you going to be ok,?" Kenji asks her softly.

Kyouka nods, "He's not here.. I'll be fine."

"Alright."

"Beware of this man," Kunikida advises, "If you see him, run."

Atsushi takes the photo, "Who is he?"

"A mafioso," Dazai, who had been laying next to Atsushi, looks over, "Honestly, we only call him that because we know next to nothing about him."

Kunikida speaks up, "He's part of a vicious criminal organization that work from the port, appropriately called the Port Mafia.."

An image is shown of three people standing in front of a group of black suited men, a man with a green jacket and a smirk, a woman with a mask over her face and a high ponytail and a older man wearing a monocle and a grin.

"Hey!" Dazai exclaimed, "It's the Black Lizard!"

Atsushi cringed, "Yea the Black Lizard." I just remembered that everyone is going to see what I was thinking on the day the Black Lizard attacked.

Ranpo took a sip of his drink, "They look pretty scary for a group that was easily beaten by us. Just saying."

"I bet they are built up to be scary and then we beat them easily," Naomi says, "Sometimes that's how villains work, especially in TV shows."

Tanizaki shrugs, "I wasn't there when they attacked, I was at home."

"They do try to attack us a bunch," Kunikida says, scribbling something down, "Maybe we try to actually arrest them next time."

"They are the worst group this city's underbelly has to offer, the man in the photo is especially dangerous. Not even we can get to him." Kunikida concludes.

"What makes him dangerous?" Atsushi's curiosity gets the best of him.

Kunikida's voice is flat, "He's gifted, just like we are. Unfortunately, his ability is designed for bloodshed. The police don't stand a chance.. I wouldn't want to fight him."

"I have a question," Tanizaki starts, "What is Akutagawa's ability exactly?"

The ADA all glanced at each other.

"Uhhhh.."

Atsushi looks at the young girl next to him, "Do you know?"

She shakes her head, "I never figured out whether Rashomon was a real beast or just something he made. I also don't know all the effects of it."

Dazai narrowed his eyes, "We should probably figure that out." His clothes. It's his clothes.

Atsushi stares in shock, then looks down at the photo again, "What's his name?"

"Akutagawa."

A quiet coughing is heard as a man clothed in black carrying a briefcase walks into a police station.

The police sit at the desk turning around when the man enters.

Yosano blinks, "That's Akutagawa who just entered the station, right? Shouldn't the police arrest him right now?"

Kunikida was leaning foreward watching, "They must not recognize him."

Yosano narrows her eyes, "If a wanted criminal walks into a station, they should know who he is."

"I found this bag on the ground. I think someone lost it." The man says, his thick coat swaying as he walks in.

"Ah," says the policeman, "Thank you very much for bringing it in. You should fill out this lost and found form."

The man takes a couple of steps forward as if to sign it, when the police notice something off.

"Wait a minute...I've seen you before.."

The man sounds pleased as he puts the bag on the desk, "Impressive. You got me already."

It's as cold as I remember. Atsushi thinks to himself. He's too crazy.

Kyouka remembers Akutagawa coming back to her cell on this day, smelling like blood and smoke. She closed her eyes, knowing what was coming next.

Dazai adjusts his position, Like a real exec, Akutagawa. Cold and Distant.

"WAIT," shouts the other policeman, "ISN'T HE THAT WANTED FUGITIVE?"

They raise their guns, "Don't move!"

The man's hair is shown, revealing his ivory tips, It's Akutagawa.

"The military police of this city are so distinguished," he says, as black shadows and red lightning emerge from his coat. His mouth curls into a smile.

The ability activates as Akutagawa's coat flows, the only part standing out is the white cravat he wears. The screen goes black for a second and then Akutagawa walks out of the police station, coughing.

Ranpo blinks, "That's odd."

The ADA glance at him, asking with their eyes to elaborate.

He adjusts his glasses, "The cough, I mean. It's gotta mean something."

"He did that when he attacked us," Naomi observes, "I wonder why."

Kyouka speaks up, "He's done that ever since I've met him. He's very used to it."

Kunikida scribbles down some notes.

He passes by a young woman on her way inside. "Hello?" she says, "I'm here to.." She trails off, gasping in horror.

The scene is absolutely brutal as the policeman's bodies are strewn around, blood dripping from the ceiling and the black bag is still on the counter.

Kenji stares, "That is…"

"Gravely unnecessary," finished Yosano, "It's probably supposed to be brutal."

Dazai hums to himself, "He's sending a message."

The woman takes a couple of steps backwards. A beeping sound is heard as the camera shows the bag.

One.

Two.

Three.

An explosion goes off as Akutagawa walks down the road, the impact rustling his hair. A title card flashes next to him, "Wanted: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke. Ability: Rashomon."

"Ok this is completely random, but he has another name?" Ranpo throws his arms into the air.

"Most people do, Ranpo." Tanizaki says dryly.

"That's not what I mean," Ranpo insists, "I mean that's strange that a Mafia member would use his full name."

Kunikida looks up, "It's just more evidence of how brutal they are, they don't even care about their own identities being tarnished."

"ARE WE NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE JUST BLEW UP A POLICE STATION?"

Akutagawa opens a flip phone, his eyes cold.

"It's done.."

The title of the episode appears, "Yokohama Gangster Paradise," as Akutagawa asks "Next?"

The ADA is shown and a voice is heard singing about suicide, the camera showing Dazai with headphones in. The headphones are ripped off of his head by Kunikida.

"What were you even listening to?" Kunikida asks Dazai, who simply laughs

"You'll see!"

Atsushi groans, "I still want to know why we aren't freaking out about the police station."

"Kunikida has already written that down," Dazai points to Kunikida's notebook.

Kunikida nods, "I'm also making a list of all of the Port Mafia's crimes, so we can take them down when necessary."

"Hey Dazai. How come you aren't working?" Kunikida asks.

Dazai beams at him, "I'm waiting for my muse!"

He takes his headphones back and starts singing again.

Tanizaki's laughter cuts into the song, "That sounds very scary!"

Atsushi's defeated face is shown, "It's not really something to laugh about. All this talk about the Mafia and how dangerous they are, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."

Kyouka swallows before she speaks, "You seem pretty cut out for it to me."

Atsushi let out a weak laugh, "Thanks Kyouka! But no..."

He looked at his shoes, "I wasn't able to do anything against Akutagawa. I can't even do anything now."

He buried his face in his hands, "I got mad at Dazai for making an observation and I blew it all out of proportion. He was right."

"Was I?" Dazai said, " Maybe I was, but I was likely hurting Kyouka for defending him and," he looks at her, "I'm sorry."

Kyouka beams and the last bit of the tension leaves.

"You'll be fine," Tanizaki reassures him, "If I can manage then I'm sure you can."

"Yea, but," Atsushi protests, "You have an ability too. It's probably way more useful than what I've got."

Tanizaki looks a bit flustered, "Don't set your expectations too high, Mine's not suited for combat."

"I love it!" Naomi sings, giving him a big hug."

"Cut it out, Naomi," Tanizaki tries to pull away, "This isn't the place."

Atsushi watches mortified.

"Why does Atsushi reflect my entire mood right now?" Ranpo sighed.

Yosano nodded, "I agree with Ranpo in this one, Atsushi is the most sane on in this pack right now."

"Hey!" Both Tanizaki siblings protested, "We're sane!"

Kunikida snorted at that and Dazai chuckled, "No person with an ability is right in the head!" He quoted at them.

"We've arrived," The blonde woman announces, The ADA members frozen in their tracks.

"It's this way," She tells them, standing in a dark alley and they reluctantly follow her down the alleyway.

There's something very creepy about this place, Atsushi remarks to himself as the Tanizaki siblings and him walk down the alleyway, standing in front of the blonde woman.

"Hmmm, That's odd," Tanizaki remarks, "Is this really the right spot?," He trails off, not knowing her name.

"Higuchi," She tells him.

All the of them tensed as Higuchi spoke.

Kyouka swallowed. Higuchi might be impulsive but she's good at her job….

"I'm actually glad." Kenji says softly, they all turn to him.

"This is going to be painful, but we'll always come out better in the end. Knowing everything that can happen. It's going to help us. All the pain we go through in these recordings, it's all going to be worth it because we're going to win and come out on top."

Naomi smiled, "Yea! Whatever awful things happen, we are going to come out on top!"

The Agency smiled together and Maddie eyed Fukuzawa, who gave her a smile. My subordinates won't be crushed so easily.

Tanizaki nods in understanding, "Higuchi, Smugglers tend to be very cautious and always have an escape route and yet, this is a dead end."

He points at Higuchi who is waiting at the end of the alley, "If anyone came from that direction they'd be trapped.

"That is correct," Higuchi has a smile in her voice as she sets down her bag.

Yosano rubbed her butterfly hairpin, "I still think this is too coincidental, Higuchi shouldn't have known that Kunikida would send Atsushi at all."

Tanizaki sighed, "The Mafia are very smart, They knew how to lure us there and it was a very solid ambush. There were only a few hitches on their side."

Kunikida glanced at Dazai, "I still can't believe you fought off Higuchi and Akutagawa to get Atsushi away from them."

Dazai's response was subdued, "Yea."

"I must apologize for deceiving you and leading you into a trap," She tells them, unbuttoning her jacket and pulling up her hair into a messy bun.

"My actual target.." She flips open a phone, the title card next to her reading "Port Mafia: Higuchi Ichiyou"

"Is all of you," She finishes.

"Akutagawa, it's me," She says into the phone.

"AKUTAGAWA!" Atsushi and Tanizaki fearfully repeat her words.

"I have them cornered as planned," Higuchi says coldly.

Akutagawa is shown standing on an building, overlooking the city, "Good, I'll be there in five minutes."

"Hmmm," Tanizaki sniffed, "It seemed like a lot faster than that."

Ranpo put a finger to his mouth, "It's odd that Akutagawa wasn't there waiting for you. If I was Higuchi, I'd find an alley where Akutagawa could surprise you."

"I'm not sure she wanted that," Dazai contemplated, "She seemed to want to have it all done by the time Akutagawa got there."

"But why?"

Dazai shrugs his shoulders.

Higuchi raises her guns.

"OH NO!" Tanizaki screams.

"She's with the Port Mafia!" Atsushi realizes just as Higuchi opens fire.

Dazai is shown, holding a newspaper and looking startled.

The scene cuts back to the three in the alley as Higuchi opens fire, Tanizaki's face is shown, blurred in white as a drop of blood hits his face.

Naomi stands in front of him, covered in her own blood, a shield.

Tanizaki was frozen and he looked at Naomi, "Thank you.."

Some tears slipped down his cheeks, "You were dumb but thank you so much."

Naomi's responding laugh is weak, "Yea… It was very dumb of me."

The Agency watches as the siblings embrace.

"I'm glad you made it," Naomi whispers and Tanizaki responds by hugging her tighter

Tanizaki collapses to his knees,

"Hey," Naomi whispers, "Are you-"

She falls to the floor.

He catches her, screaming her name as Atsushi watches in shock.

"Oh god, What should I do? Atsushi, do you have bandages on you?"

"Useless," Atsushi murmurs, "I was useless."

"No you weren't," Kyouka insists, "Port Mafia protocol would mean that if you had reached for the bandages, Higuchi would've shot her again."

They all stare in shock.

"Seriously?"

"Yea," Kyouka says, "Actually maybe not…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kunikida.

Kyouka clutches her phone, "If Akutagawa has one thing going for him, it's that he dislikes torture. He ends it quickly."

She sighed, "His subordinates and executive agree. I'm not sure what Higuchi would've done"

Atsushi lowered his head in sorrow. Useless.

Higuchi preps another round as Tanizaki continues panicking.

He turns around, "Atsushi grab her legs!"

A gun barrel is placed on his head as Higuchi approaches, " My research has already told me that you are a non-combatant, I'll do you a favor by allowing you to follow your sister to the after-life."

"There's your answer, Yosano." Dazai tells them, "She did research on the ADA."

Yosano sighed, "I suppose that sort of explains it."

"I find it more concerning that there was any way to achieve this information online," Ranpo acknowledges, "We should look into that."

He looks at Fukuzawa at that, who nods in response.

Tanizaki turns around, fury written all over his face, "You worthless thug!"

His ability activates and Higuchi takes a step backwards. Naomi is cradled in Tanizaki's arms.

"You'll pay for hurting Naomi! Ability: Light Snow!"

The symbols for Light Snow form and break apart.

As Light Snow activates, Higuchi pulls out another gun, "Doesn't look like snow to me."

Atsushi is on the floor as Tanizaki speaks, "Atsushi, stay behind me. This woman's days on earth… ARE OVER."

"I understand that you were in a ton of pain." Kunikida said to Tanizaki," But that's no excuse to take a life."

Tanizaki nods, "I understand…I'm sorry."

"It's ok Tanizaki," Kunikida smiles, "It's understandable, but we should never stoop to their levels."

Higuchi draws her guns again, pointing straight at Tanizaki. The bullets go through a green illusion.

"What?"

Tanizaki begins to talk, "My ability transposes the environment onto a digital realm."

"Why would you tell her that?" Yosano asks, " Now she'd know how to hit you."

"I wanted her to know exactly how I was going to kill her," Tanizaki sighs, "It was stupid in hindsight."

"Damnit," mutters Higuchi.

"I've put this imagery over myself, so you cannot tell where I am!" Tanizaki sounds victorious as Higuchi spins around.

"Even so my bullets can still hit you!" Higuchi spins in a circle, firing on a whim.

"See," Yosano scolded him, "She found an, albeit odd, way of hitting you."

"Yea…"

"You are wrong.." Tanizaki's hands wrap around Higuchi's throat, choking her. She drops her guns.

"Die…" Tanizaki's voice is ice-cold.

Then a blast of red lightning hits him in the back, revealing Akutagawa behind him. Akutagawa coughs and wipes his hand across his nose.

"The stench of death," He says, Atsushi staring at him in absolute fear, "Does not discriminate between those who inflict it and those who seek it."

Kyouka's breath hitches and she exhales. She turns her head towards Atsushi, "I remember him coming back from this."

Atsushi glances down and rubs his hand on her back, "What was he like?"

Kyouka's eyes grow darker, "Furious."

A lump formed in Atsushi's throat, "Did… did he take it out on you?"

Kyouka shook her head, "He destroyed a couple of things, but Higuchi came in and said something, then they left."

Atsushi breathed a quick sigh of relief, he knew better than anyone just how violent these kinds of people can get.

The red lighting pulls itself out of Tanizaki's back, Akutagawa calmly approaching, "Do you not agree?"

A flashback occurs for Atsushi.

Be careful of this man. If you see him, run.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Akutagawa says politely, "My name is Akutagawa. Like this woman here, I am one of the Port Mafia's dogs."

"Dogs," Kenji asks, "That seems… oddly degrading."

Especially if you know that he hates dogs, Dazai thought to himself.

Naomi pursed her lips, "I didn't actually hear what he was saying when I was on the floor, so this'll be new to hear."

Atsushi swallowed, "It's not going to be fun hearing this again."

He stops his monologue to cough harshly.

Higuchi gets up, concern in her voice, "Senpai! I can handle this by myself!"

Akutagawa coldly slaps her, his voice angry, "My orders were to take the jinko alive and yet, here you are, gunning everyone down! You useless mongrel, BACK OFF!"

The room was quiet and after a thick swallow, Kunikida speaks, "He's vicious…"

"I was too scared to register that," Atsushi says, looking sick.

He doesn't want her help, Dazai begins to slowly work out his old apprentice's motives He wants to show that's he's strong and capable of doing this by himself.

I taught him that.

Dazai buries his face in his hands.

Kunikida looks up from his notebook where he's jotting down notes to see his partner, quiet.

"Are you ok Dazai?" He questions, his partner eventually giving him a nod in return.

Kunikida wondered if he could talk to Fukuzawa about Dazai's odd behavior after the episode was over.

Higuchi's face is turned to the side, a red mark growing on her face, "I'm sorry."

"Take me alive?" Atsushi whispers, "You are after me?"

"Of course," Akutagawa responds as if this was obvious, "The objective of this mission had been you and you alone, Jinko. Your friends were just caught in the crossfire, an unfortunate consequence."

"He didn't even want Naomi.." Tanizaki snarled, "We were just objects in his way…"

"Indeed," Ranpo agrees, stuffing his mouth with more candy, "And what part of that fact is out of character for our emo friend?"

Tanizaki opens his mouth but, shuts up a second later, not able to come up with a response.

Atsushi stares at the bodies of the Tanizaki siblings,"All of this is my fault?"

"Indeed," Akutagawa agrees, "That is your karma, Jinko. You are bound to cause misfortune to those around you."

Atsushi looks down, no doubt having another flashback to the orphanage.

"My karma.."

Yosano eyed Atsushi, who had put his head down with Kyouka next to him, rubbing his arm.

He has such little value in himself..

She narrowed her eyes, "Atsushi."

He turned towards her, hesitant and she met his sunset-colored eyes with her own, "I never want to hear you be so degrading to yourself again."

"Huh?"

"You heard me," She said, her voice dark, "You're not a burden on us, you're part of this family now and we're not going to stand for this bullshit, you hear me?"

Atsushi looked honestly terrified by her tone so Kenji spoke up, "What Yosano ist trying to say is that we care about you Atsushi and that seeing you hurt yourself like this makes us sad."

"Oh…"

The ADA smiled at Atsushi as he stared at them in shock, "T-thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Akutagawa's eyes open a bit, "Ability: Rashomon."

The symbols for Rashomon form in black and red lettering, and break apart, the red letters form around Akutagawa. The lightning fires at Atsushi, missing him by an inch and creating a flaming crevice in the floor. Atsushi stares at it in utter terror.

"I missed on purpose that time," Akutagawa tells him, "But Rashomon has been getting hungry."

"Is his ability a real tangible thing?" Kunikida asks the others, who all shrug, "He seems to refer to it as a real thing so."

Ranpo hums, "I haven't noticed anything that would tell us what exactly his ability is."

"I hope we figure it out soon," Tanizaki growls.

The red lightning has formed into a beast that floats above Akutagawa's head.

"I want to take you in alive, but if you resist."

Akutagawa's gray eyes glare coldly, "I will have it eat your leg next time."

"Why," Atsushi asks despairingly, "Why is this happening?"

Is this my fault too? Do I make people around me suffer just by being alive?

"Atsushi," warns Yosano.

"I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT I THINK IN THE PAST!" Atsushi flails his arms, but quickly stops as he sees the amused look on Yosano's face.

"Very funny."

"A-Atsushi.."

Atsusi glances to see Tanizaki staring at him, "R-r-run. You got to run."

Atsushi can't move. It's like he's paralyzed in fear.

They are both still alive. Atsushi realizes and this realization gives him the motivation to get up and charge at Akutagawa. He screams as he does it, Rashomon arches towards Atsushi.

Naomi blinks, "We gave you the motive to charge at Akutagawa."

It's not a question, but Atsushi answers anyways, "I didn't want you two to get hurt because of me."

Kenji laughs, "That's part of the job, Atsushi. That's what we sign up for."

"I think I've started to notice that now," Atsushi mumbles sheepishly.

"A fool's errand, How tiresome." Akutagawa comments unconcerned.

Atsushi dodges Akutagawa's blow and slides under him, grabbing one of Higuchi's guns. He points it at Akutagawa's back and fires until the ammo runs out. Akutagawa doesn't even flinch. Rashomon roars and emerges from the back of his coat, the bullets falling to the floor.

"I'll commend you on a noble effort, but in the end it was futile.I already informed you, My Rashomon's hunger knows no bounds."

Rashomon reaches for Atsushi, it's jaw working hungrily as it tries to devour Atsushi.

"That thing is untamable," Kunikida pushes his glasses up onto his nose, "Look how it's reaching for Atsushi like it wants to eat him. Is it Akutagawa's will or is he just trying to hold it back?"

"Both," Ranpo says, his hand on his chin, "Akutagawa seems to be doing both, He is Rashomon, but he's trying to restrain himself."

"He's quite impulsive." Kyouka agrees.

"It devoured the very space your bullets crossed in order to reach me." Akutagawa turns his head to look at Atsushi, "It doesn't matter what kind of weapon you use. None can reach me."

How can anyone stand a chance against him? Atsushi though, fear all over his face.

Akutagawa's eyes widen, "Unfortunately for you. I keep my promises."

In that instant, Rashomon roared past Atsushi, taking his leg at the same time. As Atsushi lay on the floor in a pool of blood, screaming his lungs out, Akutagawa coughed lightly into his hand.

"I'm also curious about that," Yosano said, "Seems like it's something in his lungs, since we've seen him do it a lot."

Kyouka, meanwhile, gripped Atsushi's arm tightly, "He.. took your leg."

Atsushi ruffled her hair, "It's ok, Kyouka. It will grow back."

She glanced down at his leg, So he has regeneration.. That explains why Demon Snow couldn't take him down.

Atsushi's screams were drowned out by another flashback and he watched his younger self get beat up and screamed at. I cannot cry.

His ability activated and both Port Mafia members turned around at the sound. The tiger was shown perched on a wall.

"Fascinating," Akutagawa observed, his voice raspy.

The tiger's eyes open and Atsushi's leg re-grows, Higuchi startling back, "His right leg just re-grew!"

Naomi rolls her eyes, "Brilliant observation Higuchi."

"Seriously," Dazai comments, only Kunikida noticing he's been quiet for awhile.

Kenji just laughs, "I think it's very useful! Think about how much damage Atsushi takes normally, and factor in his ability. It's useful cause Atsushi gets hurt very often."

Atsushi twisted his face into a grimace, "Unfortunately."

Akutagawa only blinked.

The tiger's body formed fully and attacked them, Akutagawa's eyes dilated, "This is what I've waited for!"

As the tiger attacks, he shoves Higuchi out of the way and dodges the tiger.

He flips around and Rashomon charges out which the tiger dodges, using Rashomon to run right at Akutagawa, who realizes what's happening a second too late, forming a net out of Rashomon, which just shoves him backwards.

"Hey Atsushi!" Kunikida practically yells, "You managed to get a hit on him! That's good info."

"Yea, but I wasn't in control at the time," Atsushi's protests are drowned out by the ADA praising him for managing to hit Akutagawa.

Kyouka gazes at the screen, getting a small amount of satisfaction in watching Akutagawa get pounded into the wall.

Higuchi watches in fear and pulls out her guns, firing at the tiger. The tiger barely flinches at her bullets instead turning its attention to her.

"Rashomon: Agito!" Akutagawa shouts as the jaws of Rashomon open, revealing him with red, glowing eyes inside. The Tiger is neatly sliced in half, falling to the floor as Akutagawa coughs harshly.

"So much for taking you alive," He remarks, looking at the tiger.

The familiar green of Tanizaki's ability flashes and the tiger disappears.

"Nice one Tanizaki!" Kenji bounces up and down on his seat," I forgot that that was a factor at all in this battle!"

Atsushi nodded," I also forgot."

He looks back at Tanizaki, "Thank you, Tanizaki."

Tanizaki chuckles in reply, "You're welcome, Atsushi! Glad I could help."

"Well, What's this?" Akutagawa takes a step towards Tanizaki, "It appears I've destroyed an illusion."

The tiger steps out from behind Akutagawa, who notices it instantly, turning around with a grin on his pale face, "Rashomon: Murakumo!" The two abilities charge at each other, Rashomon having been formed into an arm and the tiger roaring.

The symbols for "No Longer Human" appears just as they clash.

"Alright, that's enough," Dazai's voice says.

He appears between the two, both abilities disappearing. Akutagawa's eyes widen in fear and surprise.

Ranpo notices the slight fear in Akutagawa's eyes when he spots Dazai's ability, That's odd. But he shakes it off almost immediately, Dazai acts like he almost knows Akutagawa, personally. But if Akutagawa is afraid of Dazai…

How do they know each other?

The others were asking Dazai questions, "How did you sneak up on them?" Yosano's question is the first one he answers.

"I came from above them!"

"How did he-," Atsushi's question was interrupted by Kunikida, "Remember he bugged Higuchi. He said he had earlier."

Atsushi's face flamed, "OH yea."

Atsushi collapses at Dazai's feet. Higuchi stands up, "You are from the Agency.. Why are you here?"

Dazai gives her a winning smile, "I couldn't keep a lady like you off my mind," He lifts a speak up, "I decided to keep in touch."

"It can't be!" Higuchi rummages through her pockets as Akutagawa stand still besides her.

She pulls out a small device, "That means… When you were flirting… You had already seen through me before this even happened!"

Dazai squats on the floor patting Atsushi's back, "C'mon Atsushi, Wake up! I don't want to carry three people back at the same time."

Higuchi pulls out a gun, "Do you really think we'll just let you go?"

She is interrupted by Akutagawa, however, as he laughs. "Let's leave them be. We'll come back later."

"Huh?" Atsushi turns to Dazai, "You said you fought them off, not that they let you go."

It was Dazai's turn to look embarrassed, "I might've lied a bit."

"If you could have negotiated with them, you should've asked them to just leave us alone," Naomi's face was full of fury, "You could've gotten the Port Mafia away from us."

Dazai shook his head, "It's not as simple as that.."

Kyouka nods, "If it were that simple, Dazai could've scared them off a long time ago."

She steals a glance at Dazai, This doesn't add up.. I wonder if...

Confusion on her face, Higuchi lowers her gun, "But, Akutagawa… Why?"

Akutagawa glances at Dazai and sighs, "Oh well, We will retreat…"

He turns to Dazai with his whole body, "Be sure that the Port Mafia will be back to claim our prize."

Dazai looks back at Akutagawa, "Why's that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Akutagawa replies, boredom in his voice, "That jinko has a large amount of money on his head on the black market. The bounty is about 7 billion yen."

"That's a lot of money," Atsushi says faintly.

Kenji claps his hands together, "Dazai is correct! That is very generous of them!"

Yosano taps her hand to her face, " The way Dazai phrased it made it seem like the bounty was from somewhere in Japan, but now that I'm hearing Akutagawa say it, it seems as though it came from further away."

"Maybe someone in another country?" Tanizaki guesses

Kunikida shakes his head, "Then how would they know about Atsushi in the first place if they weren't here."

Dazai glares at his hands, That dirty fucking rat.

"Wow," Dazai beams, "That's so very generous of them!"

Akutagawa blinks, "We'll pay you a visit at a later date. Be assured that the Port Mafia will collect what's owed them."

"Oh really?" Dazai stands up, his voice getting an odd edge to it, "Is that a formal war declaration?"

His eyes held no light as his voice slipped down, "Go ahead and try it if you really have the guts,"

Akutagawa took a small step backwards, his eyes growing colder.

They all noticed it that time.

"Why is Akutagawa afraid of you, Dazai?" Naomi asks, not aware of the storm she just unleashed

Dazai's voice is so small that they have to strain to hear it, "Might have something to do with my old job."

"Your old job?" Kunikida askes his partner gently, who just nods in response.

They don't press further.

Higuchi speaks up, "Do you really believe you can threaten us? You are a small scale operation with very few lackeys while we hold the keys to this cities operations at every level. An agency like yours can't even touch us. If we wished so, we can wipe you all out!"

Ranpo rolls his eyes, "You were right, Kyouka, She does like to talk."

"See?" Kyouka smiles at him, "Higuchi won't shut up."

Naomi and Tanizaki both laughed at Kyouka's deadpan delivery.

Dazai scratches the back of his head, his face completely calm, "I'm quite aware."

"Indeed," Akutagawa agrees, "I'd expect you would be, considering your previous history."

Dazai smirks.

"As a former Port Mafia member that is, Dazai."

And the outro plays.

Dazai could feel the entire Agency's eyes on him. He gave a smile at the floor.

"I imagine you have a lot of questions."