A/N: I want to apologize for myself.. I know I missed my deadline (that I set last update no less) and I feel you at least deserve an explanation.

Basically, i fell out of the Bungo fandom for a bit as I got slightly tired of it for a second, then as I was starting to feel slowly re-inspired to start this fic again, my finals hit me and I ended up studying for my life for two whole ass weeks so that was fun.

I want to thank you all for sticking with me, even if i suck at schedules and shit.

Also I want to thank The Umbrella Academy Soundtrack for literally saving my life while writing this. (Watch it please it's very good. On Netflix)

The scene opened on several ADA members sitting in their conference room, including Haruno and Kenji. Kunikida breaks the eerie silence, "A large-scale bomb threat has been issued by an unknown terrorist organization. Furthermore an attack was made on the agency's reputation."

"Oh no!" Dazai gasps exaggerated and loud, "Whatever shall we do without our precious reputation?"

"I'm pretty sure whatever was left of our reputation was destroyed when you joined the agency, Dazai," points out Yosano, ignoring Kenji and Naomi's snickers.

"You aren't wrong," Ranpo sings, much to Dazai's annoyance.

"Shut up Ranpo, You don't help either."

Yosano scowls, "We already know that we are in trouble. Tell us about this bomb predicament."

Kunikida takes out a big file.

"This is the contract that was left for us by the person we are dealing with. I will read it aloud."

Kyouka shifts in her seat, "Why do they need to send in a contract?"

"It's a bond," Kunikida replies, "A written agreement between two parties, even on opposing sides. It gives both equal power in a relationship."

Kyouka simply hums and turns her head to the side.

"Equal power. In a relationship."

"To those whom it concerns. It pleases me to see your agency is prosperous in these times. I have taken the liberty of placing a large amount of lethal explosive somewhere here in the city of Yokohama. In the interest of public safety. I kindly ask you to locate and disarm this bomb with the utmost of urgency. You have until sunset.

Warmest regards, The Azure Messenger."

Fukuzawa sighs, "Do we know the identity of the Azure Messenger?"

"Did we ever figure out who it was?" Tanizaki asks suddenly, "I wasn't really involved in this case, so I was wondering."

Kunikida dips his head down and remains silent while Atsushi catches Tanizaki's eye and shakes his head. Tanizaki nods and looks everywhere but Kunikida, who is shaking quietly in his seat, glasses foggy.

Yosano eyes him, quietly observing all the signs of pain in Kunikida. She shakes her head and turns away, knowing she can do almost nothing to help him.

"No, we don't."

Yosano tips her head to the side, "They expect the public scandal of the agency's failure to disarm the bomb to spread just as fast as the explosion. Normally nothing fazes the agency. But this kind of attack is something it won't endure."

Haruno's normally cheerful face fades, "We have been looking at potential bomb locations, but there are simply too many possibilities."

"It's like I don't even exist sometimes," Ranpo commented, "Why don't you just ask me?"

"You were out of town," Atsushi reminds him gently, as Dazai rolls his eyes.

Ranpo widens his eyes while remembering, "OH YEAH!"

Kenji raises his hand, "Excuse me! Have we been able to get in touch with Ranpo?"

"It would seem he is almost done with his case in Kyushu. We have arranged to receive contact from him the moment he is finished." Haruno says.

Fukuzawa sighs again, "Did we receive any further information from the driver?"

"He claims that he knows nothing about the bomb. He doesn't have the steel to blow up Yokohama." Kunikida's glare is vicious.

"He's a bastard," growls Tanizaki, "Only someone with a truly sick mind would allow this to happen to other people and just standby."

"Maybe he is simply a coward." Fukuzawa says calmly, to Naomi's exaggerated nods.

Naomi spits, "Only a coward would succumb to that kind of pressure."

"Or someone with weak ideals," Kunikida mutters softly.

"That too."

"Listen up everyone." Fukuzawa's voice is authoritative, "This is a cowardly attack on our reputation as an Agency. We have two goals. Locating the Azure Messenger and disarming the bomb. The bomb has a time limit on it. And thus it is our highest priority. If we can't find it and disarm it, then we do not have the right to call ourselves an agency. Be aware that this is a battle and the stakes are lives and the future of Yokohama."

"Hmm," Maggie hums, everyone turning towards her as she reads a file that she apparently pulled out of thin air, "I'm pretty sure this isn't how it happened? Wasn't Atsushi not there?"

"The hell are you talking about?" Kunikida says with an eye roll, "Atsushi was always there."

Maggie snorts again, "These timelines are confusing."

She doesn't speak up again and after a pause in the conversation, they all turn away from her.

The scene shows Kunikida standing outside and making a call.

"What time do you think it is, four eyes?" Rokuzou sighs.

"It's 9 AM," Kunikida says flatly, "Can you figure out who sent the contract to us?"

Rokuzou yawns and replies, " Aren't you calling me because there's something more important you need to get me to do?"

"Rokuzou and Dazai radiate the exact same lazy-ass energy." Ranpo observed, "Don't even try to deny it."

Yosano scowled at him and replied easily, "I hate that you are right."

"Since when am I ever wrong?" questioned Ranpo, a gleam in his eyes that is immediately stopped when Yosano glares fiercely and makes a slitting motion against her neck.

Ranpo turns away with a grimace.

"You know everything, don't you?" Kunikida spits.

"I know what I know."

Kunikda puts his business face back on, "I need you to trace the production of a bomb, I'll send you the purchase history."

"Bombs, huh? Sounds like business is booming."

"That was the worst pun I have ever heard and I've heard Dazai try to flirt." Naomi growls as Kenji snickers.

"I thought it was clever!" He says, waving his hand. Kyouka raises a brow.

"I think people love my flirting," Dazai insists while Tanizaki's face contorts into a frown, "Not really."

Dazai throws a plastic cup at him which Tanizaki swats away.

"Cut the crap and get to work. We're trying to save lives here. Why don't you do something that benefits society for a change, instead of all this illegal work?" Kunikida says sarcastically.

"What are you, my dad? Don't tell me what to do." Rokuzou sounds like a bratty teen.

Kunikida gets hung up on and he snaps his phone closed with a grimace.

I could never be like your father.

Kunikida cringes to himself and Dazai's amused face gets colder and more closed off, as he watches Kunikida's affection for Rokuzou.

He feels something build in his throat, almost a lump and he forces it back down. He's never regretted a lot of what he's done but…

He shakes his head, ignoring the voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Oda to try and resolve his poor decision making. It's already over and there is nothing he can do.

He wonders if the others will agree.

Sasaki's voice rings out, "Is it really ok?"

She's sitting at a booth in the small cafe with Dazai, "Your office seems overwhelmed with this bomb crisis and Kunikida seems to be especially busy too."

Dazai grins, " Kunikida is a machine when it comes to his job. He spends two hours every night checking and making additions to his journal before going to sleep, you know? I think he has a colony of worker ants in his head."

"That's sad."

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

"Maybe that's why you're so stressed all the time, Kunikida!" Kenji observes, "You need to go farming!"

"That sounds more stressful," Atsushi tells Kenji, who grins, "Not really! It's very relaxing."

Atsushi wonders if he should believe kenji or Yosano who is mouthing,' No it's not,' over Kenji's oblivious head.

A hand suddenly slaps Dazai across his cheek, sending him flying. Kunikida and Atsushi are standing behind Dazai.

"When did you get here?" Dazai rubs his cheek.

Kunikida glowers, "Why the hell are you skipping meetings and having a fancy date when we're in the middle of a crisis?"

"Bold of you to assume, I'm on a date," Dazai says, but it's not as flippant as usual, he looks tense.

Kunikida glances up from his notebook where he's writing down notes, "I suppose I am sorry for assuming but… you are literally in a cafe."

Dazai scowls and turns away, "I guess.."

"Jealous?"

"Not really!" snaps Kunikida.

Atsushi watches and mumbles, Wow he's actually jealous.

"ATSUSHI!" Kunikida shouts, slamming his book, "I AM NOT JEALOUS OF DAZAI!"

The room was dead silent and Atsushi stared at the book on the table. Kunikida huffed hard and slumped back down onto the couch. Kyouka glanced back and forth between Dazai and Kunikida like she was trying to figure out what the problem was.

Atsushi finally spoke, "I believe you, Kunikida."

"Thanks Atsushi."

Dazai gasps, "She's a victim who was almost killed. Surely keeping her safe and tending to the care of her heart is a matter of utmost importance."

"You are the embodiment of frivolity," Kunikida sighs, "What could you possibly offer her? Besides she probably has a boyfriend."

"They broke up a while ago," Dazai grins and winks.

Dazai glances nervously at Kunikida as he silently writes things down in his notebook, ignoring all of Dazai's small glances and attempts to meet his eyes.

Kyouka tugs on Kenji's shirt, "What is Dazai attempting to do with his eyes?"

Kenji glances at Dazai's shifting eyes and Kunikida's annoyed writing, and shrugs, 'I have no idea."

Kyouka nods sagely, "I also have no idea."

Kunikida looks like he's about to scream, "I came here to tell you what's going on since you deemed it necessary to be at our goddamn meeting."

Dazai sighs, "I know what's going on. The Azure Messenger planted this beam because they want to ruin the agency."

Sasaki blinks, bewildered, "Should I be hearing this?"

"She really shouldn't be hearing this." Yosano says, "Why did you not make her leave?" She asks Dazai, who simply shrugs.

"It didn't seem necessary."

Atsushi sighs, "This agency is supposed to be private right? I just find it weird that she was there."

Dazai rolls his eyes, "It would be rude to kick her out."

"It would also be rude for you to exist, but here we are." Ranpo laughs at his own terrible comeback while Tanizaki groans.

Not really, thinks Atsushi.

"It's fine, you're part of this after all." Dazai smirks.

Huh? Atsushi thinks.

"What do you teach at the university?" Dazai asks Sasaki, who replies "Social psychology."

"Interesting," hums Ranpo, grabbing another ramune. Kenji immediately gets up and walks away heading towards Yosano.

Ranpo immediately starts whining, "KEEEENNNJJJIIII NO COME BACK!" He makes little grabbing motions to where Kenji is pouting next to Yosano.

Kenji shakes his head, "Maybe when you stop dumping your ramunes on me, then I will."

"Great!" Dazai beams, "I'd love to hear your opinion on this case."

Sasai puts her hands on her chin, "The Azure Messenger… Based on the name, I believe that the Azure King could be related in some way."

"I agree," Dazai smiles at her.

Sasaki cocks her head, "It may even be the Azure King himself. They say he blew himself up when cornered. Could he have faked it?"

"I doubt that," Kyouka pipes up, "It would be hard to fake getting blown up. Only person I know who's done that is Kaiji."

"Kaiji?" Naomi asks, her eyebrow cocked.

"Lemon man."

Naomi's mouth forms an 'O' as she comprehends Kyouka's words.

Dazai snorts, "Lemon man."

A flashback begins as a man cloaked in all blue, "We live in an imperfect world," He preaches, "We weep, we pray, yet people still die and evil goes unplanned."

"The Azure King was a former businessman who blew up a government facility to make a statement. He targets criminals who could not be touched by the law. Murderers who were not prosecuted due to procedural mistakes. Lawmakers who were involved in international political corruption." Sasaki narrates, the flashback coming back into full focus, "So let us seek an ideal world ourselves. Not one guided by the hands of God, but a world made by our bloodied hands."

Ranpo snaps his fingers and grins, "I got it!"

They all glance at him as he grins at them, "I figured out who the Azure Messenger is!"

"OHH!" Kenji sighs, his eyes shining, "Do tell!"

"Nope!"

"You're no fun."

The Azure King grins behind his mask.

"Even if the Azure King is still alive, why would he attack the detective agency like this?" Atsushi asks.

"I have no idea," admits Sasaki.

"Yea, you fucking do." Dazai huffs under his breath and Atsushi glares at him.

Kunikida's head snapped around and he bolted over to Dazai and smashed his hand into Dazai's skull.

"Language!"

"Well," Dazai tips his head back, "Kunikida found his hideout the first time and thus cornered him. I suppose it would be Kunikida that he hates."

Kunikida shakes his head, "That terrorist's death was confirmed after a forensic analysis by the police. They made no mistakes."

"See," Kyouka says, "He's dead."

Yosano nods, "And the forensics prove it."

Kunikida bites his lip and nods, "Yea, he's definitely dead."

"Either way, it's probably best that we stay on our guard until we know who we're dealing with. We'll need to keep Sasaki somewhere safe." Dazai nods wisely.

"Oh no you don't!" Kunikida shouts.

"Whatever do you mean?" Dazai asks innocently.

"Dazai you didn't." Naomi says, horror filling her voice as she seems to debate whether she wants to slap Dazai in the face or not.

Atsushi immediately defends Dazai, "He didn't! He said he didn't!"

"You really believe that?" asks Yosano with sarcasm dripping down her voice.

Kunikida snarls, " Using her safety as an excuse to lure her to your den, so that you can spend day after day and night after night doing all manner of things to her! Have you no shame?"

Dazai smirks to Kunikida's annoyance, "We slept in separate rooms that night, so naturally I haven't touched her. Of course I knew you were getting the wrong idea, but I thought it was funny so I let you continue."

Kunikida looks like he wants to absolutely strangle Dazai, which honestly wouldn't be too surprising. Yosano sighs and puts her hand onto Kunikida's and simply shakes her head. Kunikida relents easily.

"I'm sorry that I accused you and jumped to conclusions," Kunikida bows very politely at Dazai, whose eyes widen and he nods.

"Uh…. It's ok, Kunikida," He says hesitantly.

Dazai turns away as Kunikida throws his arms up and screams.

I have no idea why those two are partners, Atsushi mumbles.

"Kunikida seems to have taken quite a liking to you, but… what kind of men do you like, Sasaki?"" Dazai turn to the woman in question.

"Why is this relevant?" Naomi puffs, "It's not at all. THERE IS A BOMB!"

Dazai gasps, "Are you kidding? Kunikida's love life is always relevant."

"It's not because it's non-existent." Yosano quips as Ranpo bursts into laughter.

Sasaki flushes, "Wh-what kind of men? I feel it's presumptuous of me to have , I think men with ideals who dedicate themselves to something are lovely."

Kunikida goes silent and Dazai gives him a knowing grin.

"That's 100% our Kunikida. Why don't I let you two take it from here?" Dazai winks.

"Dear Lord, let it end," Ranpo groaned, "THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN ACTION SHOW NOT A ROM COM!"

He chucks a bucket of popcorn at the TV, ignoring Maggie's protests.

"DON'T CHUCK POPCORN AT MY TV!" She shouts at him as he sticks out his tongue at her.

"That is not your decision to make," Kunikida says coldly.

Dazai's smile grows, "You're so easy to read Kunikida."

Kunikida looks ready to kill a man, specifically Dazai.

"He really is." Atsushi grumbles.

Kyouka snickered, "You are!"

Kunikida's face flushes and he glares at both Dazai and Atsushi.

"I AM NOT AN OPEN BOOK!"

Yosano rolls her eyes and Kenji tries to hide his smile.

"His personality is a little awry, but as you can see he's a man of virtue who lives for his ideals," Dazai sighs, "Although that's probably the reason why the bar for his ideal woman is painfully high, Care to read about it?"

He hands her Kunikida's notebook. She cocks her head and takes the book.

"When the hell did you steal that?" screeches Kunikida.

"Seriously, when the hell did you steal that?" Yosanos asks Dazai, who chuckles.

"A guy's secrets must remain his own for the time being," He wiggles his eyebrows and waves his fingers around, aiming his gaze at Ranpo.

Ranpo chucks a soda can at his face, "Get fucked Dazai."

Kunikida tries to take his journal back, but is held at bay by Dazai. Sasaki begins to flip through the pages.

Sasaki's face grows more and more concerned, "Kunikida?"

"Yea?"

Sasaki grimances, "You can't be serious?"

Naomi, Yosano and Maggie all glance at Kunikida, who sinks down in his chair.

"What's written in there, Kunikida?" sings Naomi as Kunikida's already red face gets redder and redder.

Maggie simply eyes Kunikida and murmurs, "I need to read that journal."

Kunikida grabs his notebook and holds it tight to his chest while the girls surround him and grab the journal from him. They sit in a circle and begin to pour over it as Dazai helpfully announces, "It's page 39."

"DAZAI!"

All three girls turn to look at page 39, each of their faces slowly shifting to utter confusion as they stare at Kunikida's notes.

"What the actual fuck." Yosano's voice sounds entirely baffled as she hands Kunikida back his notebook, which he holds tight to his chest and pets like a terrified animal.

Atsushi chokes a laugh, "Man down."

Atsushi's phone rings and he quickly picks it up.

"They got into contact with Ranpo." Atsushi informs them.

Both Kunikida and Dazai bolt upright.

Kunikida drives down the street wildly with Dazai in the passenger seat and Atsushi in the back.

"Why am I always in the back?" Atsushi asked, "I'm old enough to be in the front."

"Because you're the newest member," Kunikida tells him, "The newer you are the farther back you sit."

"Does that mean Kenji sits in front of me?" Atsushi gasps, "He's YOUNGER THAN ME?"

Kenji grins and winks at Atsushi.

A flashback occurs, showing Ranpo's call.

Kunikida speaks first, "You've found the location of the bomb?"

Ranpo's voice blares out from the speaker, "And to think I was going to do some sightseeing in Kyushu and maybe even have an onsen egg. You guys can't even perform a simple little investigation without me…"

"You really can't." Ranpo's cocky grin widened as Yosano sighed loudly

She then gave Ranpo a slight smack, "Everyone does their part."

Ranpo puffs some air out and slumps down in his seat like a petulant child.

Dazai sighs, "We have until sunset, We need to know where the bomb is."

"What about a shopping arcade? A school? One of the train stations? Any one of those could produce hundreds of casualties in the hundreds. Where could it be?" Atsushi continues throwing out suggestions as to where the bomb could be.

"A fishing supplies store."

"Boring," Naomi choruses as Kyouka raises an eyebrow in confusion.

She turns to Kenji, "Is it normal to be entertained by violent acts in this agency?"

"It's more common than you think." Kenji sighs.

Atsushi's eyebrows raise so high they could fly away.

"In Negishicho."

Dazai nods, "Makes sense."

Everyone stares at him with utter confusion, Dazai blinks rapidly and turns to the phone.

"Impressive as always, Ranpo." He tells the phone.

"See?" Ranpo told Yosano, who looked like she wanted to die, "I am the best."

Yosano debates with herself but eventually realizes that she much prefers this Ranpo to a Ranpo who has lost all confidence in himself due to not having an ability. She chuckles and speaks, "Yea, yea you are."

Ranpo beams at her and she grabs at his hand. They sit in silence and she leans into her best friend's shoulder.

The flashback ends, now showing the three of them sitting in the car as Kunikida drives like a crazy person down the street.

"Why a fishing supplies store?" Atsushi asks, leaning forward in the car.

Dazai raises an eyebrow, "Do you have a map?"

"Under the seat," Kunikida says swerving left.

"Who doesn't have a map in their car?" Asks Tanizaki, "It's weird."

Kenij laughed, "I don't even have a car!"

"It's not common for people to have cars much less maps." Dazai says, "We only have a bunch of cars because of our status as an agency."

"Huh."

Atsushi swipes the map up and he flips through it, looking. Dazai leans against him, "Page 97."

When Atsushi finds the page, Dazai points to the map.

"They're trying to blow up that petrochemical facility." He tells Atsushi, whose eyes widen.

Kunikida scoffs, "I should've picked up on that."

"It was very subtle." Ranpo grinned, "Not many people could've seen that."

Kyouka hummed and then asked a question, "How well do you know the layout of the city to be able to find that one fishing shop?"

Ranpo giggled, "I know this city very well. Maybe I could show you, squirt. I bet you'll be good at investigating."

Kyouka's blue eyes fill with tears, "I could be?"

"Sure," Ranpo sucks on his lollipop.

Dazai moves hair out of his face, "Yokohama is one of the most prominent ports in Japan. There are a large number of storage facilities for oil and natural gas an explosion went off and a tank caught fire, the entire Bay Area would go up in flames. But getting into one of these facilities would require clearing a ton of security. The easiest way to go about it would be to simply fill a vehicle with explosives and leave it near one of them."

He finishes his statement with a flourish.

Kunikida winds around another turn, "Based on the radius of the explosion they can create with the bomb, this fishing store is the ideal location."

"Exactly."

"I wonder how the Azure Messenger came up with this location," Naomi scratches her cheek, "What kind of calculations must be put in?"

"You can just use logic," suggests Ranpo to Naomi's annoyance.

Yosano snorts as Naomi's pale face fills with red. Tanizaki glares at Ranpo as his sister turns to tell him all her complaints about Ranpo.

"Thanks a lot, Ranpo."

A bomb disposal unit pulls up to the fishing shop and spots a car in the corner. It has tinted windows and is parked in a way that hides it from view. They carefully open the back trunk of the station wagon. Inside the station wagon is a large bomb with a timer counting down and a radio receiver attached to it.

Dazai picks up and phone and listens for a minute then hangs up, "The police have located the bomb, but they say it can't be moved and it will be difficult to diffuse before sunset."

"What makes bomb so difficult to diffuse?" Mutters Atsushi grumpily, "It would make it a lot easier on us."

"Bombs are very intricate," explains Tanizaki, "You need to be able to find a loophole in the code to diffuse it and if the code is too complicated, it could take a long time."

"Huh," Atsushi growls, "I still wish it was easier."

Atsushi's eyes narrow and Dazai continues, "They've begun evacuating people in the area, but it's hard to say if they'll have enough time."

"It can't be.."

Dazai rolls his eyes and continues, "However it seems the bomb can be stopped via remote."

"Convenient!" Kenji says as Naomi rolls her eyes.

"A little too convenient don't you think?" She asks, "If the Azure Messenger is so evil then why don't they just not create a way out."

Kunikida stops writing, "Maybe they weren't all evil."

Naomi simply scoffs.

Kunikida swings the car around, "We have to do something."

Atsushi screams in fear as Dazai barely looks ruffled by the sudden turn.

Kunikida looks down at a sound and speaks up, "My phone's ringing."

"Hello?"

Rokuzou's voice comes through, "Hey four-eyes, Ya busy?"

"I like Rokuzou!" Kyouka says, "He calls you funny names, Kunikida!"

Atsushi winced hard as Kunikida stopped writing and glanced at Kyouka who was smiling.

"Sure," His smile softens, "He does call me funny names."

Kunikida's gaze softens, "What's going on?"

He's stopped driving and is now in the middle of an intersection, car horns blare out.

"I think we are causing a traffic jam.." Atsushi observes and then his phone buzzes, "Huh?"

"Kunikida.." Fukuzawa says stoically as Kunikida winces, "What did we say about blocking intersections?"

"Don't do it or we'll get notices from the police." Kunikida chanted like he'd been told this several times.

"Exactly," Fukuzawa said as Atsushi turned to mouth at Dazai, "He's done it more than once?"

Dazai nods.

"Hello?"

Ranpo's cheerful voice crackles through, "Hey Atsushi!"

"Ranpo? ….. Ok. … Sure."

Dazai watches both with amusement and then his phone rings. He picks it up quickly, "Yes?"

"Dazai," says the series voice of Fukuzawa.

Dazai blinks in surprise, "President?…. Huh?….. The police?"

All three sit in the car, chatting on all their phones as cars continue to honk around them

"This is oddly hilarious?" questions Naomi, "Although if I was one of the people being blocked, I'd be super pissed."

"Same." Yosano nods, "Maybe instead of stopping in an intersection, you could pull over to the side and put your hazards on, you know, like a normal person?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Dazai grinned.

"I see, a hacker to find a hacker," Kunikida grins, "Nice work."

"I understand…" sighs Atsushi, "Yes.. sure."

"We'll be in touch." Dazai's voice is very serious, "Understood."

Kunikida starts the car again and pulls away, "That was from Rokuzou. It seems that someone has recently installed communication equipment in an old national defense facility."

"It's amazing that he was able to track that down," Atsushi muttered, "I wish I could do something like that."

"You'd have to be really lazy to just sit at a computer all day and type things out," Yosano argues, "Do you really want that?"

"I guess not."

Atsushi nods, "Ranpo said the same thing."

"We have our destination," Kunikida swings around a corner.

"My call was from the director." Dazai informs them, "According to the police, the taxi driver is dead."

"What?" The whole agency chorused.

Kyouka pipes up, "It's like Port Mafia spies! They have cyanide teeth that they can bite on if they get caught and need to preserve their secrets, I think they stole the idea from someone."

Dazai hums, They got the idea from Mimic…

"Dead?"

Atsushi hums, "Wasn't he in protective custody?"

"He convulsed in pain and collapsed," Dazai states, "The cause is unknown, but it seems the numbers "00" were on his skin."

Kunikida seems furious, "Timers on the palm of the hand? What the hell is going on?"

"You can't be serious?" Yosano asks with a laugh in her voice, "It's obviously an ability."

Kunikida opens his mouth to protest just as Naomi buts in, "You can't blame every random occurance on ability users!"

Yosano sighs, "That is true but you also can't come up with a logical explanation over how a man collapsed and died with the numbers 00 like a countdown on his hand."

Naomi huffs and sits back down, muttering how she's not appreciated in her time. Tanizaki pats her sympathetically.

The car heads into a massive underground facility

"Kunikida!" Dazai shouts, a small amount of worry in his tone, just as a grenade rolls under the car.

Kunikida grabs the wheel and takes a hard turn, clearing the explosion and comes to a halt. As soon as the car stops, gunfire rains towards them

Kunikida reacts quickly, grabbing a page, "Doppo Poet! Flashbang!"

The flash grenade goes off, causing a lull in the gunfire.

"Nice one!" Kenji cheers as Kunikida's small smile forms.

Kyouka squints, "Those gunmen are literally missing every single shot. They're obviously not well-trained."

"That or a flash grenade went off in their eyes." Ranpo observed as Kyouka looks disappointed that her observation was shut down.

Atsushi gives her a quick hug that she relaxes into, a smile on her face. Fukuzawa watches them and looks at Maggie, who rolls her eyes and mouths, "Does it look like I have all the answers?"

Kunikida clicks his tongue, "Definitely the place. You two, head for the stairs. Find the transmitter and disable the bomb."

Dazai and Atsushi nod and charge up the stairs as Kunikida pulls out his gun, stopping short, "What is this?"

He looks at the floor to see a circle filled with glowing numbers appearing under his feet. The numbers gather under his feet and disappear.

"WHOA!' The entire agency glances at Kenji, who's staring at the blonde guy on screen like he just seen a giant buffet, "That's so cool!"

"It is a cool-looking power," admits Tanizaki, who then scowls, "But it doesn't excuse his actions."

"Still!" Kenji says, "I love the diversity in the city!"

Kyouka looks at him with confusion and he grins at her.

"Show me your number," says a guy in the shadows, wearing a hood and a cruel smirk. He's standing on a pile of rubble.

"How are you doing?" He calls down at Kunikida, "You look well. Now tell me, what's your number?"

Kunikida's eyebrow shoots up and he glances at his right hand. Engraved in red writing on his palm, is the number 39.

"So this guy knew the taxi driver?" asks Ranpo, "Interesting."

"You've already figured it out, Ranpo, Stop acting confused." Dazai says, his voice a bit hoarse.

"You're boring when you're thinking," Ranpo tells Dazai, as he glares at the detective.

"This is…"

The guy simply grins, "The fact that you've found this place means that you are is good as they say. Congrats, Armed Detective Agency. It's impressive."

The scene changes to show Dazai and Atsushi on the top of the stairs.

"The sun will set soon" remarks Atsushi, glancing out the window. Dazai quickly moved towards the transmitter that showed the remaining time left on the bomb, counting down to the explosion.

Fukuzawa speaks, "I didn't realize how close you cut it, Dazai."

Dazai nods nervously and glances at Kunikida, who simply arches an eyebrow.

"Yea, probably cause I didn't tell you."

"You should get docked pay for that mistake, Dazai!" Ranpo exclaims, throwing candy at Dazai, who throws it right back.

Fukuzawa wonders how he got stuck with two man-children as his employees

.

"Can you operate it?" Atsushi asks Dazai, with concern in his voice.

"Not a problem!" Says Dazai, perkily, "Just not right now.."

Atsushi cocks his head in confusion as Dazai points to a keyhole, "We need to put the release key in here, but we don't have it."

"Of course, Did you think it would be easy?" Yosano says sarcastically.

"Maybe for once," Atsushi's voice cracks, "I actually fucking did."

"LANGUAGE!" shouts Dazai.

"What should we do?" Frets Atsushi, just as a rather large man shouts at them. They both turn around as he charges at Dazai who simply says, "You must be a heavyweight champion."

Back down on the floor, Kunikida aims his gun at the blonde guy, who chuckles at him and snaps his right hand. Kunikida blinks in shock as his gun is flung from his hands.

"Whoa, so cool!" Kenji claps his hands, "I wish I could do that!"

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it," Ranpo tells him flatly as Kenji whips his head around and his eyes glitter.

"I will."

"Please no…" Kunikida looks like he's about to cry, "Not again."

"Again?" Atsushi mouths

He grits his teeth and looks at the blonde guy, He must be a long range ability user.

"How's your number doing?" Asks the blonde guy, his face almost split by his grin.

"Number?"

Kunikida lifts his palm to see the humber go from 32 to 21.

"IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!" Ranpo swings his arms wildly, and begins to make noises like the song in question as Yosano tries not to laugh, She fails.

"Idiots," Kunikida says, "You are all idiots."

Atsushi gasps, "What did Kyouka do?"

"Everyone but Kyouka is an idiot."

"Thing is," the blonde guy moves his fingers to the left, "There's really no escape from my ability."

Like a puppet, Kunikida flies to the left of the blonde guy. The guy moved his fingers in many directions, Kunikida moving with him until he slams Kunikida into the floor from a big height.

"That's a very powerful ability," Kyouka says, "I wonder what it could be used for it used correctly?"

"Is there a correct way to use your ability at all?" asks Ranpo with an eyebrow cocked as Kyouka seems to contemplate that.

Eventually she shakes her head and says, "There isn't is there?"

"I can move people who have a number on them anywhere I want. Doesn't matter where they are. But if the humber hits zero, they die. No one escapes." A shadow falls over the blonde guy's face as he leers at Kunikida on the floor.

The number goes down to 15.

"Shit."

"Kunikida?"

Kunikida nods, "It was very close."

Tanizaki nods shakily, "Very close."

"Are you the boss?" Spits Kunikida as the guy laughs, "You are more trouble than the mafia was. But the Armed Detective Agency is finished."

Kunikida looks absolutely shocked as the blonde guy pulls out a key from his pocket, "Here's the release key for disarming the bomb. You can't stop the bomb without it. Would you like it? I bet you would. Watch this."

He snaps the key in half with a smirk on his face while Kunikida watches in horror.

"Huh?" mutters Naomi, "How did you defuse the bomb without the key?"

"It'll literally be revealed in like a minute," Dazai says with an eye roll, "Maybe you should be patient."

Naomi scoffs and Tanizaki makes an unenthusiastic attempt to calm her down.

The guy throws back his head and laughs, "There goes your last hope. It's over. Give up."

"YOU FOOL!" Kunikida retorts loudly.

The camera swings back to Dazai and the bigger man, who are duking it out. Dazai attempts to punch the guy without much luck. Atsushi comes up behind him and smashes a chair against the man's head, but again to no avail. Instead the man kicks Atsushi across the room.

"Oof."

"Oof."

"Oof."

"Oof."

Kyouka nods sagely, "Oof."

"Atsushi!" Shouts Dazai in fear.

The man quickly shuts up by slamming him against the wall, Dazai grunts in pain. Blood drips down his mouth as he grins up at the man, "You're really strong. You should start a moving company."

Back on the floor Kunikida fights the blonde guy's powers. He attempts to get close to him but to no avail as the numbers tick down. Kunikida hears a cracking sound and he looks up to see Dazai being slowly pushed against the glass. The giant man is choking him hard as Dazai laughs.

"Finally Dazai gets what he deserves," crows Ranpo as Dazai glares sourly at him, as Yosano snickers.

Kyouka pipes up, "No one deserves to be choked. It's one of the worst ways to die."

Ranpo eyerolls, "Yea it is. But Dazai probably wants it, doesn't he?"

Dazai throws more candy at Ranpo's head as Kyouka's face changes to look like she's having several breakdowns at once.

For one brief moment, Dazai and Kunikida's eyes meet.

"Kunikida!" Dazai screams, desperation leaking into his voice.

"I know, damnit!" Responds Kunikida, creating a wire gun and firing at the blonde guy, who easily dodges it. Kunikida uses this opportunity and leaps to attack him.

"Nice moves, Kunikida," Naomi cheers as Kunikida huffs.

"It was a sloppy getaway, but thank you." He replies bashfully, as Naomi laughs.

"This is getting old," The blonde guy snarls, blasting Kunikida away.

Kunikida flies through the air, in the direction of the communications room where the massive guy was about to finish off Dazai. He smashes into the room, firing his wire gun into the wall and retracts the wire, flinging himself to the second floor.

"Dazai!" Kunikida shouts.

"On it!" Dazai responds, jumping.

"Oh that's a cool shot!" Naomi gasps as Kenji oohs and ahhs at the teamwork.

Tanizaki mutters to himself, wondering how those two can only get along when they're about to die and how it's annoying that he has to be the rational one on missions with all three of them.

Fukuzawa simply sips his tea and congratulates himself on an excellent partnership.

They both fly through the air and for one brief moment they pass each other In mid-air, before exchanging places. Dazai on the floor and Kuniida in the communications room.

The blonde guy grins at Dazai, "Show me your number!"

The numbers swirl around Dazai's feet and disappear. The guy blinks in shock, "Impossible! Why aren't the numbers being imprinted?"

"Because Dazai." Tanizaki says sarcastically.

Yosano grins as she replies, "That basically explains our entire lives now, because Dazai."

"Ain't that the truth."

Dazai's face stretches into a grin, "I hate to break it to you, but your powers won't work anymore. Oh, and tell your partner to start his own company."

While speaking Dazai lunges forward and punches the blonde guy across the hanger. Meanwhile, Kunikida squares off with the bigger guy as Atsushi watches in admiration. The large guy flies through the air into a wall where he lays down unconscious.

"Go team!" shouts Kenji, cheering as the fight takes place on screen.

Atsushi nervously laughs, "It was amazing to watch in real life as well."

Yosano rolls her eyes, "Dazai barely did anything."

"That's true," Kyouka says as Dazai gasps in false shock.

"It's as if he weighs nothing.." Says Atsushi, then turns towards the floor, "What about Dazai?"

He sees the blonde guy on the floor as Dazai stands over him.

"Amazing." Breathes Atsushi, "Kunikida, do you have the key?"

"The key's fucking broken." observes Ranpo, "How are you going to fix it?"

Kunikida rolls his eyes, "Does my ability mean absolutely nothing to you at all?"

"Well, it's not as good as min-..." Ranpo trails off as he remembers his earlier revelation, "It's not as good as some others." He finishes awkwardly.

"It's broken" sighs Kunikida as Atsushi gasps in horror, "How are we supposed to disarm the bomb?"

"Calm down, kid," Kunikida remarks, pulling out his notebook.

"Doppo Poet," mutters Kunikida, "Release Key."

The page quickly changes into a small release key that Kunikida jams into the keyhole.

Kunikida gives a disgruntled Ranpo a smug look as Ranpo rolls his eyes, "I would've thought of that eventually."

Kyouka clicks her tongue and replies, "It's possible you could not have, that is why it is good to have a solid understanding of how each group members' abilities work, that way you can take advantage of all opportunities."

Instead of replying, Ranpo sticks out his tongue and shovels more candy in his mouth. Kyouka sticks her tongue out in confusion, trying to replicate Ranpo's disdain.

"My ability allows me to recreate anything I have seen and understand the function of. However it can't be bigger than my notebook." Kunikida elaborates

"It really is a tool to realize your ideals, Kunikida." Remarks Atsushi, and Kunikida remains silent.

The scene cuts off at that shifting to a graveyard. Kunikida lays a pile of flowers on a gravestone to offer his respects.

"Oh Kunikida.." Yosano says quietly, "You don't have to do that.."

"I do."

No one speaks but then Ranpo pipes up, "It will only make you feel worse."

"It's a reminder."

No one knows what to say after that.

"Are you visiting the grave of a victim?" Asks a soft voice, as Sasaki walks over, a bundle of white flowers in her hand.

"Correct." Kunikida is quiet and respectful, "The first time someone died while I was on duty, I cried so much I couldn't even stand and I took days to return to work. My tears have run dry. Which is why I feel I should visit their graves instead."

"If we cry for them," asks Sasaki, her voice wavering, "Will they rest in peace?"

"Bitter irony." Dazai says nonchalantly, "considering who she's alluding to that is."

"Hm." Kunikida's tone is clipped. Dazai sighs.

The others exchange glances as Dazai stand up and moves next to Kunikida, placing a hand on his back and rubbing circles into his back.

Kunikida doesn't attempt to escape.

"They wouldn't know peace or rest," sighs Kunikida, "Time has stopped for them."

"In our conversation earlier." Sasaki starts, "I lied about something. My boyfriend… We were separated by death."

"I see."

Sasaki smiles bitterly, "It's as you said. Time stops for the dead. Nothing I can do to make him happy or make him smile."

"Oh no.." Atsushi says, "I didn't realize…"

As the others show their sympathy to Sasaki, Dazai leans over to Kunikida and whispers, "how much do they know?"

"Not much.." Kunikida replies, "Only the president and police know the full truth. I didn't have the heart to tell them."

Dazai hisses through his teeth and nods.

She stops and falters, "I don't know what came over me.. I have something to attend to. You must excuse me."

"Goodbye."

Kunikida opens his mouth to speak to her but his phone rings interrupting him.

"Hello?"

"Could I borrow you for a second, Kunikida?" Sang the voice of Dazai.

"Uh oh," Tanizaki rolls his eyes, "What stupid thing are you making him do this time, Dazai?"

"It wasn't stupid," Dazai growls, "It was an important lesson."

When he says that Kunikida's eyes go colder, and he stands up and moves next to Kyouka, who silently moves out of his way.

"Weird," Naomi mumbles to her brother, who nods.

The scene fades into the lobby of the hospital Sasaki was found in.

"Why are we in this damn place?" Snarls Kunikida at a seemingly indifferent Dazai.

He lifts up a flash drive with a grin, "What do you think this is? It contains information from the computer in the hideout we hit, about a Yokohama investigation. Surprisingly enough the annihilation of the detective agency is top priority."

"Top priority?" Kenji echoes, "Why would people who are doing good be targets of a Azure King-like guy? Didn't he want to stop crime?"

"Maybe the Azure Messenger believes that the existence of the agency summons criminals?" Naomi questions as Tanizaki nods in agreement.

"I guess," Kenji sighs, 'But it still doesn't make sense to me."

"It will soon," says Dazai, his voice missing the usual bounce to it.

"Not even the Port Mafia? They control the underworld," asks Kunikida confused.

"They were played with false info," Dazai says calmly.

"Another mastermind?" questions Kunikida.

"Called it!" Ranpo snickers as Yosano sighs in suffering.

"End me now."

Ranpo chuckles as Yosano considers death by teacup.

"Actually I sent an email to the person I think is responsible." Dazai says, his voice without emotion, "I told them I have evidence. They should be arriving any minute now."

Sure enough footsteps sound down the long corridor. A figure emerges from the dark.

It's.. Rokuzou

"ROKUZOU?"

"Well he did die in this confrontation, remember the police report?" remarks Tanizaki.

"It doesn't make any sense," Ranpo insists, "There's no reason it would be him.. Was I wrong?"

"No," Kunikida says, startling Kyouka, "It wasn't Rokuzu."

Ranpo arches an eyebrow and falls silent.

Kunikida's jaw drops, "You.. no.. you're not behind this?"

"The hell are you talking about? Am I early or something?" Questions Rokuzou directing his question at Dazai, whose confusion slips off his face.

"You must have hacked into my email."

"Yep, sounds legit to me," Ranpo says with an eyeroll.

"I don't know enough about any technology to disprove that," Yosano grins as Kenji laughs.

"I don't know what hacking is!" he says cheerfully.

Kunikida glances wildly at Rokuzou, "You aren't behind this?"

"I just want to see who's behind this." Rokuzou assures him.

"You better tell me the truth!" Kunikida says despair in his voice.

At that moment the sound of metal scraping can be heard, all three turn towards the sound of a gun loading.

"Oh shit."

Atsushi blinks in confusion, 'Wait, if it wasn't Rokuzou, then… Who was it?"

Ranpo looks like a child as he grins, "It was actually…"

He gets popcorn thrown at him, "NO SPOILERS!"

"You…" Kunikida says, his voice destroyed.

"FOUR EYES LOOK OUT!" Rokuzou shouts, shoving Kunikida out of the way. Blood pours down his shirt and Dazai runs over to his body as he falls.

"I knew it," Dazai crows, "So you're the Azure Messenger."

Sasaki steps out into the light with a gun raised, pointed at Kunikida and Dazai. Dazai pulls another gun out of his pocket and aims.

"CALLED IT!"

No one else responds, too shocked at this revelation to comment on Ranpo being Ranpo.

"Sasaki…"

"I can't believe.."

"Wow."

"This can't be.." Murmurs Kunikida.

"Now that I think about it." Dazai's voice has the sound of victory, "This isn't the first time you've used your intelligence to commit a crime."

"There was a fire in his soul." Sasaki says, shaking, "which burned for his ideals. All he wanted was a world without crime and he stained his hands with blood for it. I would do anything to make his ideals a reality."

"It's amazing what people will do for love." Yosano says calmly, "I feel sorry for her."

"Why do you feel sorry for her?" snaps Naomi, "it's her own fault! She didn't have to commit any of those crimes, but she did. There's no excuse."

Tanizaki nods angrily and in agreement with his sister.

Yosano sighs, "Still it's not right that her boyfriend set all that on her shoulders. Relationships are complicated and she shouldn't have to deal with that."

"The man you loved, the Azure King, was an idealist who committed crimes to punish other criminals." Dazai grinds out, "and this is a continuation of that."

"Put your gun down!" Kunikida interjects, "Nothing good can come of this!"

"Surely you know where this will lead?" Sasaki asks, politely, "There is something about you so similar to him."

"Is that why she was drawn to you?" asks Kenji, "Because according to her, she is attracted to men with strong ideals."

"She said people not men."

"No she didn't."

'Don't assume someone's sexual preferences."

Kyouka wonders how they got from murder to the sexual prefrences of criminals.

Kunikida grimaces and Dazai interjects, "Your plan was quite clever. You committed no crimes yourself, yet you managed to defame the agency and used us to stop a criminal organization and the kidnappings. However you don't believe in anything, you were just following the beliefs of a dead man."

Sasaki lowers her gun in defeat, "I am so tired. I want to be free of this. Are you going to shoot me, Dazai? I've lowered my weapon."

She smiles grimly, "If you shoot me now, it would be unjustified self-defense. Kunikida won't turn a blind eye to that."

"I'll give her one thing," Ranpo mutters, "that's a good move. It guarantees no easy way out of this situation."

He glances at Kunikida's stony face and Dazai's guilty one, "At least no easy one for you, Kunikida."

Kunikida's head drops a bit and Atsushi gives him a small pat, as he starts to realize what happened.

Dazai's grin splits his face, "That's right. I can't shoot you, but…"

While saying this, Dazai drops his gun. It falls right into the hands of Rokuzou, laying at his feet.

Three shots ring out.

"Shit…" hisses Naomi.

The agency turns to Kunikida, who buries his head in his hands and makes a weird moaning noise.

"Damnit Dazai," Tanizaki glares at Dazai, who hasn't moved, "That's messed up."

The gun trails smoke, and Rokuzou sits up for one last quip, "That was for my father… Go to hell."

He slumps to the floor, dead. Sasaki lays on the floor nearby covered in blood.

Kunikida's voice is cracking and shaking, "Why… why did this have to happen? What did we do wrong? Who is to blame?"

Dazai shakes his head, "I already explained myself to Kunikida. I am not going to do it again."

Yosano frowns at him, "You indirectly killed two people and forced Kunikida to watch. Don't you think that is a bit messed up?"

"Says the doctor who has to almost kill her patients." Dazai snaps back as Yosano's eyes flare.

"Besides, in case you forgot, I was a Port Mafia member," Dazai looks like he hates mentioning it but he presses on, "Violence is in our nature."

"But is it?" asks Kenji and Dazai is quiet.

Kenji presses on, "The Port Mafia may be awful violent people, but I'm sure they have things they love and believe in. They're people too."

Dazai is quiet and seems to be thinking.

"No one," Dazai says, his voice clipped and cold, "This was the only way."

"SHUT UP!" Grief shatters Kunikida's voice and you can hear it. He grabs Dazai in a fit of emotion.

"You could've done something! ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS IS OK?" Kunikida's voice is gone and hoarse with pain as he shakes Dazai.

"It's a clean cut solution." Dazai says it like it's something he's been told not something he believes in.

Kunikida spits, "BULLSHIT! You could've done so many other things besides death."

"You could've stopped Sasaki if you had just told more of the agency what was happening," Yosano observes mildly,"If more of us had been there.."

'Shut up."

She blinks, "Oh?"

"Shut up, Angel of Death."

Yosano recoils like she's been slapped and Ranpo's eyes widen.

"Justice is a weapon," Dazai's voice is cold, "It can hurt but rarely will it save. Sasaki was killed by the justice of two men, the Azure King and you."

He licks his lips, " Kunikida. If you continue to pursue, your ideals, someday the flames of the Azure King will find their way inside you. And burn everyone around you."

"I DON'T CARE!" Kunikida shouts at him, "I'll push through whatever I must! Do NOT underestimate my ideals!"

Atsushi shifts awkwardly in the silence that greets them after the episode fizzles out. Kyouka breathes shakily next to him and he looks around at all the faces of sorrow, anger and hurt around him. He looks behind him to see Maggie, watching them mournfully.

He wonders what Angel of Death means to Yosano. But knows from the look on her face, he shouldn't ask her.