Chapter 3

The guards who had initially escorted the group had already retrieved them, everyone except for Dazai, who stood in the dimly lit conference room. Chuuya's eyes stayed on Dazai as he peeled off his worn tan coat and replaced it with the crisp black one. The coat clung to his tall frame in all the right ways, emphasizing his thin and toned physique. If Elise had been there, Chuuya thought, maybe the room wouldn't have felt as threatening as it did. As soon as the other ADA members had left, Dazai's face had forgone all traces of emotion.

Dazai tossed his old coat aside with a carelessness that surprised his reinstated partner. "I suppose we should get to business now," Dazai said, pushing things to move faster. Mori's wicked grin, the one he had suppressed in the presence of Dazai's allies, grew in response. Even the redhead recoiled a bit - no one wanted to be on the wrong side of that expression.

"Yes, but let's continue this up in my penthouse with some drinks. I have a fine whiskey for you, Dazai. Your favorite," Mori beamed with a deceptive enthusiasm as he made his way out of the room with Chuuya in tow. Dazai knew better than to protest now and risk making things more complicated, so he shrugged and followed them.

The man strutted casually up the velvet carpeted stairs, ignoring the itch of old wounds hidden beneath several layers of pristine bandages. Instead, he tried focusing on what Mori was planning. Mori's intricate schemes were always tricky to decipher, even to Dazai. He was being more than generous with his terms, so he likely intended to manipulate them. Then there was the glowing green band that Dazai couldn't seem to disable; it would render him helpless if he defied the Boss' orders. If that was the case, then why go through the trouble of offering Dazai gifts, like the coat and whiskey?

These thoughts turned the gears in his head, putting him in a deep focus. He barely noticed they had reached the next floor and doors to Mori's penthouse. When they entered, Dazai was repulsed by the unchanged setting; everything down to the position of the throw pillows and drapery was exactly the same as when he had escaped the mafia. Bile rose in the back of his throat, his body moving on autopilot towards the velvet cushion where he sat. Before long, a crystal glass of whiskey was offered to him, which he generously took. He'd need it to get through the tortuous conversation to follow.

Mori hummed to himself as he made his way to an empty seat, drink in hand. Chuuya sipped a rich red wine while Dazai downed his whiskey in one go. It earned him a raised eyebrow and concerned look from Chuuya but to Mori, this was expected. A case file was thrown onto the coffee table and retrieved by Dazai.

"So, the Experimentalists? Couldn't they at least try to be more creative? " Dazai sighed, flipping through the documents. "So, it's a cult of self-destructive artificial ability users created and led by Dr. Robert Heinlein. Shouldn't be too difficult for us to handle if most of their members are being killed by their artificial abilities." The file was placed back down and Dazai sat back. His cheeks were already showing a gentle flush but he didn't seem to mind.

"Heinlein is militarily organized, Dazai. Intelligence has had… issues finding the members of his cult. They could be anyone, giving them the advantage of surprise over us." Mori said ominously, watching Dazai pick at his bandages in deep thought.

"Which is why you need me, so you can use Double Black to take out their leader, right?" Dazai said, bouncing his leg to keep himself aware. If he showed weakness, one or both of the others in the room could strike at any moment. He trusted Chuuya with his life, but under current circumstances he was on his own.

Of course, Mori knew exactly why Dazai was so unusually tense. "Still as sharp as ever, I see. You and Chuuya will be going on a few missions to destroy their members, and eventually their leader. But he'll need to be captured alive," Mori laughed dryly, "After all, he's the perfect gifted specimen for my experiments."

Panic flashed in Dazai's eyes, if only for a moment, at the mention of 'experiments'. "If that's all, I should go back to the agency and fill them in." He stood, swaying as he adjusted to his offset sense of balance. Chuuya looked on in concern, standing to escort him out of the building.

"Before you go, Dazai -" Mori began, "I'm expecting you to meet me at headquarters by nine for a training session. Oh, don't look so upset. I can't just let my protege go into battle with such laughable skills," he sneered, shooing them out.

Dazai, not wanting to remain in the building any longer, didn't bother turning to look at the Boss. The redhead knew something was wrong with Dazai, who wasn't walking as confidently as he normally did.

"I didn't know the Mackerel was such a lightweight," Chuuya joked, "What, are you gonna be sick?" He taunted, following him into the elevator.

The operator pressed the proper buttons as they waited to descend, loosely holding hands without thinking anything of it.

The small gesture had always been a source of comfort between them, especially when one too many of their subordinates died or either of them began to fall back into their self-destructive tendencies. Chuuya could tell there was a familiar unease about Dazai, but he didn't plan to pry anymore than he needed to. If Dazai thought it was important, he'd tell him.

The elevator bell dinged and the doors parted revealing the golden afternoon sun. By Dazai's estimate, he had around five hours before he'd need to return to the darkness. "Do you really need me to walk you all the way?" Chuuya whined, not wanting to walk there and back, and possibly there again if Mori asked him to. Dazai shook his head, giving his partner's warm hand a squeeze.

"Come with me - we can get coffee on the way!" Dazai pushed, dragging Chuuya along. "You hate paperwork just as much as I do, Chibi! You need it~"

They burst into laughter, being idiots together the way they had as teenagers. The duo made their way to the ADA, making sure to stop by the cafe below the office for coffee and ordering it to-go. When they finally made it up to the office, it was already five in the afternoon. Dazai pushed the door open casually, everyone inside going silent at their entrance.

"What's he doing here?" Kunikida immediately demanded, "You may have to work with that scum, but that doesn't mean you should let a criminal like him in here!" He clearly failed at reading the lack of serious tension between them, but Kyoka definitely didn't.

The small girl ran to Chuuya, wrapping her arms around his waist. Out of everyone in the Port Mafia, he was one of the kindest people she had met. "Chuuya!" The mafioso returned the hug, careful not to spill the hot coffee in his hand on her. "Hey, Kyoka." It lasted for a few moments, but eventually Kyoka detached herself from him and went back to her desk.

"~Chuuya walked me back from the meeting.~" Dazai smiled, hanging up the pitch black coat as he entered the office. He gestured for him to come inside, "Want any snacks, chibi? Ranpo's got plenty."

"Don't worry about me, idiot. You need to sit down and take a break before you have to meet the Boss for training," Chuuya shook his head in exasperation, shoving Dazai forward. "But I'm fine, see!" Dazai rebuted, gesturing to his upright form, but sat on the worn sofa in the corner anyway. He'd never admit it, but he was mentally drained from the day's events. Despite the caffeine in his system, his eyelids betrayed his exhaustion.

However, he had plenty of experience trying to outrun sleep; the longest he'd ever gone being ten days. He may have despised most of his childhood training with Mori, but at least the skills he'd picked up were somewhat useful. Dazai continued sipping at his coffee, watching Chuuya catch up with an ecstatic Kyoka. Dazai sat in contemplation until Ranpo sat beside him, offering up a huge cinnamon roll. He gratefully accepted the gift, taking slow bites at first then inhaling the pastry. He hadn't eaten anything all day, and Ranpo had noticed. He licked the frosting from his fingers, and took a much needed breather.

"Kunikida - I need to get you two caught up on the Experimentalists before I have to leave again," Dazai called out, waiting for Kunikida to join him and Ranpo on the sofa. The briefing held at the ADA was already so much more comfortable to Dazai, and he felt himself settle into the security the office offered a little more than before. By no means was he stupid enough to drop his guard, but he wasn't preparing to catch any scalpels anytime soon. Once they were all seated, he filled them in on everything they had discussed back at the penthouse. Kunikida took notes in his notebook of ideals and Ranpo listened attentively to pick up any details that could be connected to better locate the new organization.

Only time could tell if they would make it through yet another round of seemingly endless battles between organizations.