CHAPTER TEN

Facts of The Matter At Hand

A silence hung in the air as the realization dawned on the two men. Ranpo adjusted his hat back on his head. "It's just the facts of this matter," he said, chipper again. It was a rather serious air that hung amongst all three men though. Ranpo hummed. "I'm going back to my desk, see ya!" He waved to the president and Odasaku before he left.

Odasaku eyed the president once they were alone. He walked over and he stood before the president's desk. "If I may ask," he said, polite, "is there any way I can change that outcome? I could take her with me. The kids like her as it is…"

President Fukuzawa shook his head. "No, Ranpo made it clear, her intention is to stay in this city for the time being," he glanced at Odasaku. He shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "To think we were enemies ourselves, once."

Odasaku blinked. He scratched his head, a bit sheepish. "Yeah, small world," he commented, thinking back to that incident eight years ago, prior to when he picked up the Orphans during the "dragon head" war incident. Had it really only been two years since then?

"Regardless, Mimic is still on the prowl," President Fukuzawa's smile slid off to be replaced with his usual furrowed serious frown. "I'll arrange to have you and the children taken to the safe house."

Odasaku nodded. "I said that I was in your debt and I mean that," he said, serious. "I want to pay you back, somehow."

President Fukuzawa held up a hand. "Pay me back by raising those orphans well," he said, his tone serious but kind.

Odasaku looked away. He owed a lot to this agency for harboring him and the kids from the Port Mafia and Mimic. He hadn't heard or seen Dazai in nearly a month. Rumor was Dazai had disappeared completely underground.

He had asked president Fukuzawa if he'd heard anything about his friend, but the president had not. Odasaku tried not to worry. This was Dazai. Dazai would be fine. But why had Dazai left the Port Mafia? That was what Odasaku didn't understand. He wondered if it was because Dazai had been ordered to kill him. The fact Dazai may have chosen to defect rather than hurt him, made Odasaku honestly feel a bit touched.

He had only known that strange kid for a little bit, ever since they were on the Mimic case together, but over that time, he'd come to treasure Dazai as a true friend. He was glad the feelings were apparently mutual. He didn't bring up the topic of Dazai more than twice since he knew the president didn't like the Port Mafia at all. The only reason he was being helped was because he had children in his care but Odasaku was fine with that. As long as those kids were safe, he didn't care what the president thought of him.

Although, it didn't seem like the president harbored any negative feelings towards Odasaku ever since he'd told him that he had stopped killing some time ago in order to pursue his dreams as a writer and protect orphans. Odasaku turned towards the door. "Just let me know...whatever happens with that girl," he said softly.

The president nodded.

Ms. Yosano had been called for a moment downstairs to discuss something, so Alu was alone for a moment in the bathroom upstairs of the agency office. Alu looked at herself in the bathroom of the agency. She'd gotten changed. She turned a bit in her new outfit. It was snug. She slipped on her grey coat. She'd find a way to pay them back. For now, she looked for a way to get out without being noticed by the agency.

There weren't any huge windows in the bathroom she was in. In fact, the public restroom was a bit small with only a few stalls and two sinks. A high rise window was near the larger stall in the back but Alu knew it was too small to fit through. She sighed. She opened the bathroom door discreetly, and peered out into the hallway. No one was there. She spotted the steps leading downstairs to the floor with the agency on it.

On this floor were some additional rooms but the doors were closed. Alu wondered if these were just other rentable office spaces. She took a breath, and glanced around the hallway again. No one else was on this floor. Good. She snuck over to a door and jiggled the door knob. It clicked open with ease. She let out a surprised yet pleased noise. Smirking she slipped into the room, closing the door. It looked like a meeting room, with some tables and desks. A white board was at the front in a school fashion but Alu's eyes fell on the two big windows. Score!

She quickly moved over and she inspected the window sill. Beyond the windows was a fire escape and an alleyway which was sandwiched between the following buildings. She pushed the locks open with ease and began to push the window open. It opened horizontally, pushed up above her head now. She looked behind herself one last time. She heard footsteps. Uh-oh! Someone was coming! Her eyes flashed.

She quickly jumped out onto the escape below. With a clang, louder than she would have liked, she didn't pause to take in the stinging in her knees from her fall. She stumbled to her feet and quickly made her way down the steps, flattening herself against the wall to avoid being seen with ease from the windows above.

In the office near the floor she was inching past, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. With a squeak of alarm she whirled, almost falling off the fire escape itself. Almost falling over the railing, she waved her arms like a bird but to no avail. Suddenly, a man with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in a sharp suit with glasses, who was hella tall, grabbed her by the back of her coat as she fell over. "Tch! Dammit! Hold on!" He growled, his voice deep.

Alu swung comically from his grip, now dangling over the side of the railing like a sack of potatoes. Seeing how high she was from the ground made her turn green. She practically yeeted herself up his arms, causing them both to collapse on the fire escape floor, outside the agency office's window. "I don't want to go splat!" Alu squeaked, clinging to the now swirly eyed man beneath her. She blinked. She looked down at him. The man in question groaned, sitting up. She quickly scooted back. "Oh, sorry, sorry!"

Ranpo called out from his desk away from this window, "Oh, KUNIKIDA! Just so you know, she's going to make a run for it!" His attitude displayed someone who could honestly care less if she ran or not.

The man, who Alu presumed was Kunikida, sat up, and yelled back in ire, "You're a bit late with that news, Ranpo!" Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he glared now at Alu. He put his hands on his hips like an unamused teacher disciplining a child, "As for you, what were you thinking?"

Alu gulped. She had been thinking it'd be nice to go home but well, this wasn't in the cards at the moment it would seem. She held up her hands. "It seemed like such a nice day, I thought I'd take a walk," she said, smiling sheepishly.

"A walk? Without telling us?" The man glowered at her. Alu sweat dropped. This guy was intense. She scratched her head, still smiling, sheepish.

"Well, I mean...it's not like I work with you…" she trailed off.

"The president has already asked you if you want to be a member, and this is how you thank him for his generosity?" Kunikida began his tirade about righteousness and Alu honestly tuned him out, picking her ear with a pinky. Jeez, did this guy even breathe in between his paragraphs of lecturing?

"Hey Kunikida," she said, interjecting.

Kunikida paused. "What?" He growled.

"You forgot something," she said, frowning, concerned.

Kunikida blinked, frowning. "No, I didn't. What did I forget?"

"To breathe," Alu beamed, before she saluted Kunikida and with a quick bounce in her step she grabbed the rail behind her and jumped down to the first level stairs of the fire escape before dashing off.

Kunikida's jaw dropped as his ponytail angrily turned into a zig zag from shock. "Why that little—" he fumed. Ranpo sighed, just sitting in his chair at his desk.

He continued to eat his chips. "Toldja she'd try'na run," he munched on some chips, unperturbed.

Kunikida growled at him. "Why does the president want this girl in the agency?"

Ranpo shrugged. "Instead of that, why not, I don't know, go catch her?"

Kunikida yelled back at Ranpo, a vein popping, "You could at least tell me where she's going!"

Ranpo paused. He tilted his head. He opened his mouth finally. Chomp. Chew. Chomp. He resumed eating his chips, completely ignoring Kunikida now. Kunikida's eye twitched. "Mm," Ranpo said, going back to reading a book.

The president stepped into the small office room at that moment. Ranpo only momentarily paused munching to acknowledge respect to the president. Kunikida however hopped back through the window and immediately bowed before the president, strict and rigid. "Sir! I tried to stop her but she got away!"

"It's alright Kunikida," president Fukuzawa said, with a sigh. He gazed at Ranpo. "What should we do?"

Ranpo blinked. "Why are you all asking me that? The test has already begun, hasn't it?" He sounded genuinely puzzled.

Meanwhile, Alu paused, panting, a few streets away from the agency. She'd managed to finally get away to think for a minute! That guy, Kunikida was kinda funny to mess with, she'd have to make a note of that for later. But other than that, she caught her breath, leaning against the side of the shop she was outside, looking at the street before her. People walked and cars went past. What was she going to do now?

Alu felt uneasy. She had no idea what to expect of Mimic's movements. Though she knew the kids were safe along with Odasaku now, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was a storm coming. Then there was the matter of her decision to accept the offer the president and that Ranpo kid had given her.

Join the agency or don't join the agency? Alu looked up at the clear blue sky laid out before her against the canvas backdrop of city buildings. Alu knew she didn't like associating with any one particular label. She preferred to be a free agent so to speak. She sighed. Having some sense of security sounded nice, but with that, would come a set of responsibilities and expectations that if she couldn't fulfill...would lead her to having no security at all.

"Ah man," she groaned, rubbing the back of her head. "Decisions...decisions…" she mumbled. Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly. She hugged her stomach, feeling cramping. "Ow, ow, ow," she grimaced. Great, she was hungry. And she had her money stash back at home. No doubt that annoying kid Ranpo had her place staked out though. She tried to think. If she got home, she could see if it was being staked out, if so, she'd just wait until they got bored and left. She nodded, it was a good plan.

Making her way to the familiar path home, Alu tried not to think too hard about being followed. She made her way to the familiar downtown area she had managed to call a home for the past year. Slipping into the backside of the vacant alley, she slipped inside the side door, and took the rickety dark steps up to the top level. There, before her, was a man, dressed in a trench coat, wearing a badge around his neck, seemingly face down on the ground, blood seeping out from his corpse. Alu's expression fell dramatically. What the hell? She narrowed her eyes, confused.

A body? No, it looked familiar…? She inched closer, realizing with horror that it was…"Dazai!" She ran over, horrified. "Hey!" How had he found her place? What was he even doing here? Better yet—why was a knife sticking out of his stomach? She rolled him over gingerly. Oh crap, he was dead. He had to be dead. She gulped. What should she do? No, she had to tell Odasaku. That was the right thing to do. But why was he dead in her home?

She wished she could heal others but the extent of her regenerative ability was due to Juubi. As for rewrite—she couldn't use it if she didn't know what led up to the situation. Why hadn't she had a vision? She hated how fickle her power could be sometimes.

No, first thing's first. Check for a pulse. She gingerly grabbed his wrist. He felt cold. She bit her lower lip. She pressed two fingers to his wrist. A pulse. It was faint—but it was there. She groaned. She didn't want to alert the police. Considering he was ex-mafia, she didn't think he'd appreciate being under the eye of legal law enforcement either. If he lived she was going to definitely make sure he couldn't just follow her home next time. Ugh. Her head hurt. She looked at the knife in his stomach. Blood didn't squick her out. She was used to taking care of her own injuries.

She gingerly slid the blade out and let it clatter to the floor, inspecting his wound in the meantime. It was deep. She quickly tried to use his coat to press it to the wound, to apply pressure. "This sucks!" She groaned. She used her strength to pull off his coat. Gingerly, she used his coat belt to tighten the padded coat to the injury. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do until she could get fresh bandages. She quickly got to work.

A while later, Dazai's eyes opened. He blinked. It was perhaps maybe only 40 minutes since he'd stabbed himself. His body stung but for some reason, it felt like it had been given proper stitches…? Looking up at the dirty concrete ceiling hosting only cobwebs, his eyes wandered to the clean bandages on his waist. Whoever had done this, had expertly changed his current bandages, and then put his shirt back on. His trench coat however was a different story. It was a bloody mess on the floor near the pile of blankets he was lying on.

Alu turned her head, eyeing him from where she was standing, near a window looking out into the street below. "I'm alive…?" He said, surprised.

Alu glared at him. "You're welcome."

"Tch," Dazai said, completely disappointed . Alu put her hands on her hips.

"Don't 'tch'," she growled, "Look I don't know what happened but you don't have to sound disappointed that I saved your ass!"

"I was merely experimenting," Dazai said, cheerful.

Alu looked at him like had a few screws loose. Which, in his case, he probably most definitely did. She sighed and she walked over, putting a hand on her hips. "Look, you're clearly feeling better...so mind telling me why the hell you're here?"

Dazai beamed at her. "I thought dying wouldn't be so bad if it was in the home of a beautiful wo—"

Alu smothered him with his bloody trench coat. "Nevermind, sorry I expected a serious answer from you." She replied, deadpan, leaving him to struggle with his own trench coat and stepping back. He wheezed, sitting up and letting the trench coat drop to his lap. Why was Dazai here? Alu felt uneasy.

"I was just passing the time," Dazai replied finally, shrugging. "Didn't know when you'd be back...it's been 2 weeks."

"Wait, you've been here this whole time," Alu's head snapped to him.

"Yep!" Dazai beamed at her with a sparkly smile that instantly made Alu's blood run cold. Uh oh. That was not a happy smile. He was mad. He was so mad about what happened before. She could totally tell his smile was doing the whole "you left without warning and now I've caught you," smile.

She sweated. "I see, so...uh...to what do I ...owe the pleasure?" She had to remind herself that this fool who had been bleeding out on her floor less than an hour ago was also ex-mafia and terrifying when he wanted to be.

"I just wanted to have a little chat," he said, and he started to get up but winced. Alu frowned.

"Hey, don't move around too much, I just did your stitches," she sighed. "It'll be a bit before that slice heals."

"True, but, you don't want me to overstay my welcome," Dazai replied, smiling though this time it was a half-grimace because he was still in pain.

Alu scratched her head. She growled and finally waved her hand dismissively. "Not my fault if the police find your ass hiding here," she grumbled. "Just stay until your wound is feeling better, jeez." She huffed, crossing her arms and looking away, irritated. Dammit, she was trying to lay low and now she had this guy of all people to deal with! Wait!

A duck quacked in her mind.

She slowly turned her head to look back at the smiling man sitting on the pile of blankets and pillows behind her, cross legged. What if he'd planned it this way so that she couldn't throw his ass out if he was injured? Her eye twitched. This guy was gonna be such a headache to deal with from now on, she could tell.

"I'm truly grateful," Dazai said, clasping his hands together and giving her puppy dog eyes, "for the chance to recover here."

"Yeah, sure," she said, deadpan. "And I'm sure you didn't intentionally stab yourself so I couldn't get rid of you," she rolled her eyes.

Dazai blinked. "Eh, you figured it out already?" He sounded surprised, genuinely.

Alu just stared at him with a comical glare. "Honestly, you strike me as the kind of person to do anything to get what they want," she replied, voice completely flat.

Dazai blinked. Then he began to laugh. He hugged himself, and winced again, as his bandages began to color a bit red. Alu gasped with alarm. "Oh, my. You're just full of praise!" He giggled.

Alu looked at him with concern and irritation. How could anyone stand this guy? He was a nut bar. Saving Odasaku was one thing...but she didn't know what can of worms she'd opened up getting involved with this guy. "I'm aware that you remember everything from the previous timeline," Alu sighed, figuring he'd want to cut to the chase. Well, she wanted to at least.

Dazai's laughter simmered down. He just eyed her, leaning back a little against the wall, propped up on the pillows a bit. Alu found the silence a bit unsettling. Was he going to talk? Did she prefer the quiet? Usually, but he was unusually quiet. She decided to busy herself with rummaging for a snack to eat. She had a cooler and another bin full of non-perishables. She pulled out some chips, just turning her back to him. If he didn't want to talk, fine. She'd just eat.

She popped open the bag and began to munch, for lack of anything better to do. Dazai just continued to gaze at her. She sweated harder. Okay, this was getting really awkward. She turned to look at him. "Do you want any?" She finally asked.

"I guess I am a little hungry after my failed suicide," he nodded.

Alu rolled her eyes but she rummaged in the bin. "Okay, I have soda, water, and some chips. Do you like pretzels?"

"Pretzels," Dazai said with a thumbs up, smiling. Alu sighed and she grabbed the bag of pretzels. She figured soda wouldn't be great on his stomach right now, so she grabbed some water. Trotting over, she handed him the bag and water. He took it, and he began to open the bag and munch. She finally just sat cross legged across from him, watching him with a frown. She had eaten a little, but she suddenly didn't have an appetite. Having him here was nerve-wracking, and mostly she hoped the Port Mafia weren't around the corner waiting to jump them.

Dazai eyed her expression and he paused eating, tilting his head. "Something on your mind?" He sounded amused.

Alu sighed. "I have a lot on my mind," she admitted, leaning back on her palms, looking to the side. "To be honest, wasn't planning on adding a visit from you to that list…"

"Mmm, I find when it comes to making sure someone doesn't run away, it's better to catch them off guard," Dazai said brightly, putting his bag of pretzels down and smiling at her again. He folded his hands in his lap, and sitting cross legged himself, just gazed at her.

"I wasn't running away," Alu said, defensive. "I decided the outcome was crap and I could do better so I did."

"Yes, though you said you have to be near the scene at the time it's happening—so I suppose, my question is— how did you manage to go that far back to the night before?" Dazai asked, and his tone was light but also genuinely stumped.

Alu blinked. "I…" she quieted. She sighed. She didn't want to give the way her power worked entirely to him. Still, he wouldn't leave her alone most likely and would stalk her to the ends of the earth until he found out how it worked regardless, she could tell. With a head shake she finally rested her hands in her lap, and addressed him, eyeing him. "The truth is, that's true to a point. If I've witnessed a scene unfold, I have the details needed to determine a change in the outcome."

Dazai was quiet. "I see," he sounded genuinely fascinated.

"If I haven't witnessed it, or seen a vision of it, my hands are tied," she admitted. "I don't really want to delve too much deeper than that, if you don't mind."

Dazai was quiet, contemplative. But he smiled, pleased with the information she'd given him. He began to munch the pretzels again, beaming at her. "Nah, I'm good."

Alu watched him eat. He didn't seem bothered by anything at all. But she wondered if he'd talked to his friend since what happened a few weeks ago. Then again, if anyone had information on Mimic it would be him. "So, are you with the Port Mafia or?" She found herself asking.

Dazai paused drinking his water. He lowered it and he shook his head. "Nope. Quit that life," he hummed, capping the water again, with a smile. The smile was about as warm as the dark side of the moon and Alu knew that he must have really quit. Not wanting to pry into the reason why since she figured it had to do with Odasaku leaving, she just left it alone.

Dazai blinked, and he tilted his head at her. "You know you can ask me questions too right?" He sounded amused.

"Oh," Alu sighed. "Your reasons are your reasons. Besides, that's your business."

Dazai eyed her, and he hummed, going back to munching on his pretzels. Alu popped her soda open and sipped it, looking away from Dazai. Her home was small and mostly bare. It was the inside of an abandoned building after all. But it was a roof over her head and that's all that mattered. She had some crates that she used as furniture sometimes to hold stuff and she was pretty proud of the view she got in this building. It wasn't set to be demolished for some time yet. "You know, I used to be a murderer," he said brightly.

Alu nearly choked. She looked at him, appalled. Why the hell would anyone start a conversation like that? The shock value must have been what he was going for because he began to snicker at her expression. She rolled her eyes, turning away. Ugh, he was so immature. "You're so immature," she muttered.

Dazai blinked. "Eh? Me? Immature?" He tilted his head. "I've been called a lot of things but I have to say, first time someone called me that."

Really? Alu found that so hard to believe.

It must have shown on her face because Dazai hummed, crumpling up the pretzel bag. "I know you probably had to do stuff like that in the Port Mafia," she huffed. "I really don't need your backstory," she shook her head.

Dazai chuckled. "Well, I think it's fair. After all, I wanna know all about yours!" He beamed at her, with a dazzling twinkle in his positive expression. Alu felt like her retinas were being seared off. She looked away, blinking profusely in irritation.

"I don't talk about myself much," she admitted.

Dazai dialed back on the shiny smile, and settled for a calm smile, just fiddling with his water bottle, eyes locked on her. "Well, we've got nothing but time, so let's have a sleepover and braid each other's hair and tell each other secrets!" He said, brightly.

Alu rolled her eyes, again. "Don't be creepy," she said, deadpan.

Dazai shrugged, but he started to get up again. Alu quickly stood up, frowning. "Not to worry, due to someone's expert stitching, I can actually move with relative ease," he said brightly, though he was ginger with his movements.

"Why are you moving?" Alu frowned.

"You said you don't want to have a sleepover with me," he said, tilting his head, smiling. "I'm just going to go sleep under a trash can somewhere instead!"

Alu wondered if she was a bad person for preferring that, honestly. She let out a long sigh, running her hand through her hair. "Hey, Dazai," she finally said, and her tone was serious. Dazai paused, still smiling. She looked at him seriously, "You're the one who left the medical stuff here in advance to me coming back. You knew I'd come back and it looks like this wasn't the first time you used the medical supplies to pass the time, as you said."

Dazai blinked. "I'm impressed," he said finally, tilting his head. "You're highly perceptive. Are you sure you're not hiding some hidden genius?"

Alu shook her head. "No," she said, deadpan. "It just fits your M.O."

Dazai blinked again. Then he began to giggle. "You know, I have to wonder how someone like you ended up in this messed up world," he hummed.

Alu detected something more serious to his tone but she figured she may as well address it. "Yes," she replied, staring at him, with a frown. "Your hunch is correct. I'm not from this world."

Dazai stared at her, genuinely momentarily taken aback. He had been partially kidding, but to have her so bluntly confirm it...now that...was fascinating.