Vol. 2.
Chapter 4
It Happens In A Blink
The woman began to laugh, and Alu kept smiling as Ryou sort of hid behind Alu, fearful. The other kids tried to make themselves appear as small as possible as the woman just guffawed. She almost snorted, before covering her face with her hand, and catching her breath. "Oh! What a silly little woman you are," she giggled. "Oh, you do amuse me so, however…" she smirked, her lips curling into a leering grin. "I won't be able to comply with your request…"
She snapped her fingers, grinning still. Some combat dressed men came into the room and Alu's eyes flashed as she realized what was about to happen. Tugging Ryou by the arm, she put herself squarely between the children and the men, glaring at them. "I said I'd work for you—what are you doing?" She hissed.
"We have some unfortunate guests," the woman hummed, smiling coldly at Alu. "I said I wouldn't harm the children—and I'll stick to that...however, I never agreed not to use one or two fo them as leverage to deter annoying little bugs buzzing around my ship…" she hummed.
Alu's blood ran cold. No. This wasn't right. She had to protect those kids. If this woman was in a bad mood… then did that mean…?
Alu had no way of knowing if it was the A.D.A snooping around or not, but a tug in her gut told her that yes—they had come to rescue her. Alu pursed her lips. Well if that was the case, she wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth! For now, her priority was not letting those soldiers touch these kids.
She growled. The woman just smiled and she clicked a button on her parasol. Suddenly, Ryou screamed like his organs were being ripped out of him. Alu jolted, whirling to see what was going on. He lay on the ground, convulsing as electrical currents shot through his body, causing his hair to frizz. Alu cried out alarmed. "Stop it!" She knelt near the boy, instantly pulling the trembling, tearful child into her arms.
The electricity fizzled as quickly as it had first come, and the boy began to sob into Alu's arms, trembling. Alu ground her teeth, good mood completely gone. Now only boiling rage filled her. She glared at the woman and her men. "This isn't what I agreed to," she snarled.
The woman merely smiled coldly down upon her. "Then it seems, we don't have an accord…" she said breezily before she turned on her heel and began to walk away back through the steel door. Alu bristled.
"Dammit, wait—!" She felt her own body suddenly rip through with electrical current. She cried out dropping to her own knees, shaking. It burned and coursed through her, making her tongue feel numb. She couldn't speak, she could barely feel her nerves.
The woman merely left. Ryou was still recovering himself, the other kids not touching him as he lay on the ground, face wet from crying to himself. Alu tried to find the strength in her legs to go over to him. Shakily she raised herself on her knees, only to collapse again. She felt so numb and in pain all over.
She had to get these kids to safety—somehow— there was no more time to wait for Ranpo or anyone else that was here! She grit her teeth. "I'll get you out of here," she said, panting hard, trying to sit up at least.
"Just stop trying to be a hero!" Tomoe yelled at her, upset and cowering like the other kids away from her. "You're going to get us killed!"
Alu flared up, herself—frustrated at this situation mostly. "You think I don't know that?" She yelled at Tomoe, shaking as she forced herself to sit up. Breathing hard she glared at him. "But regardless...I meant it—no matter what— I won't let that woman hurt you!"
The door opened again—how much time had passed? Alu struggled to stay awake. In her blurring vision, she heard the kids starting to scream and cry and as the men began grabbing them.
No...not like this...Alu felt panic tear through her.
The steel door shut and all Alu could hear was the sounds of the children crying. She hated this. She was powerless. She began to bristle. Perhaps she had to use Juubi...there didn't seem to be any other way out of this after all…
Juubi growled. Finally, he was gonna come out! Alu's fingers twitched, starting to grow a bit more claw-like.
Suddenly, without warning, gunshots rang out loudly outside the room. There was a lot of yelling and then—silence. The men trying to grab the kids snarled, turning their attention on the door. One of them opened it— and was met by a flying martial arts kick that sent them flying into the crates and passed out in seconds, blood trickling from their head.
Alu breathed hard, struggling to stay conscious. Her ears felt stuffy. She had an odd ringing in one of them. Blood was trickling out of her nose and ears from the force of the electrical blast that had been coursing through her just moments before.
It'd only been a few seconds since that woman had left, right? What was going on? Alu's sense of time was distorted from the pain her body was in.
"In here!" She heard a man yell. Huh...he sounded familiar.
Alu struggled to sit up. She couldn't pass out—no she refused to. She pushed Juubi back into the recesses of her mind—looks like she could hang on just a little longer. Juubi wasn't pleased, but then again, when was he ever?
A blonde man came running into the room, holding one of the guns the combat team had been using, and behind him, Alu's bleary gaze fell on the great detective himself. They'd both come after all. She could hear the sounds of bodies hitting the floor. At least it wasn't the bodies of the kids...
"Hey...stay with me!" The blonde man ran over to her, having already dealt with the men in the room with expert ease.
Alu's eyes were so heavy. "We have to get that collar off her," came Ranpo's voice distantly. Alu could hear them as though they were both far away. Neither of them were wearing the strange collars that she and the kids were currently wearing.
She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep. This was so uncool...she wanted to at least be a little cool… She felt herself being shaken like a maraca by Kunikida. Her eyes opened again, unfocused, slight ire on her features.
"Mn...trying...to rest…" she growled weakly.
"Stay awake!" Kunikida commanded, worry etched in his tone. Alu wanted to complain that it's difficult to stay awake after being struck by a lightning bolt but her tongue still wasn't working right so she just stuck it out at him like blegh.
The blonde man took something and Alu felt the jewel crack and break out of the collar around her neck. It fizzled, and zapped her again but with far less force. The blonde man winced, clearly apologetic. The pieces clattered out of the collar, however it still remained around her neck—just without the odd red jewel that had been powering it.
Ranpo snickered somewhere in the background, having assessed that the other kids—including Ryou, were okay. Ryou was trembling, back on his feet, though not in a great mental place. Ranpo kept his mood light as he teased Kunikida, despite the fact that he knew these kids weren't out of the woods, yet. "Don't piss her off Kunikida, she may bite you."
Alu wanted to give him a thumbs up on that one. Biting sounded so ~naisu~ when she wanted to sleep in peace. She nodded at Kunikida, as though to agree with Ranpo's statement. Ranpo's hat had fallen off her head by now and Ranpo walked over, quieting for just a moment. He bent down and picked it up, glancing at the hazy Alu in Kunikida's arms and then wordlessly he put the hat back on his head.
The kids huddled together, except Tomoe who came over, taking Ryou out of Ranpo's reach, glaring at the two strange men. "Who the hell are you!" He growled, hostile and bristling.
"We're just a couple of guys who decided to go fishing!" Ranpo beamed at him.
Kunikida rolled his eyes, brow twitching. That was one way to put them getting captured by a dangerous armed enemy.
"That woman is going to realize we're not in our cell!" Kunikida growled, stressed. "We have to be quicker than this, Ranpo!"
"Alright...Kunikida," Ranpo said briskly. "We need to hold off about thirty-two more men in the next ten min—"
"Wai—-hold on. Did you just say thirty-two?!" Kunikida's jaw dropped as he cradled Alu in his arms.
"Yep~" Ranpo beamed at him.
"Ranpo—if I die, I swear you're going to be the one I haunt," Kunikida threatened with a completely stormy expression.
Alu heard their conversation though it was liek she was far away from it all. Her vision felt like it was going black. No, it was. She was passing out and she was afraid that if she let Juubi out—well—that just wasn't going to happen with her like this.
Juubi...give me strength to hold on… Alu wanted to ask the fox. But, she hated relying on him more than necessary. He was volatile and unpredictable. If she were to overly rely on him right now there was a good possibility he'd cause more harm than good for this situation. She wanted to handle this with her own strength. She already knew she was limited. But she wanted to prove to these kids—-what was it again?
Prove what? You're a brat yourself.
Alu's negative voice taunted her in her mind.
You can't make a difference. Your pride is going to get those kids killed. You want to put a dent in this messed up world? What a joke.
Alu grit her teeth. Shut up, she wanted to yell. Her fingers twitched again. She found herself suddenly being carried by someone with reddish hair. Huh? "Mister….Oda?" She murmured, recognizing the light colored jacket, the reddish brown hair and familiar face that looked at her with a slight frown. He had her in his arms, and Alu became aware of the fact that they were no longer in the hull of the ship.
They were on the deck, which was basked in moonlight. Alu didn't even remember leaving that room. Man she really was out of it. This collar had not gone easy on her. Speaking of which—it was still around her neck. Alu felt weak. This was abnormal—even for her. Juubi had regenerative properties that usually helped her bounce back if it was within a reasonable amount of time.
"Take it easy," Odasaku said, softly, as he stood on the deck, cradling her in his arms.
Alu looked up at him, blearily. There was something oddly comforting about this stubble-faced man and she found herself giggling—despite the situation. This bothered Odasaku who was worried she'd cracked or something.
"Hey!" Kunikida came running over, panting. His normally prim suit was ruffled and he definitely showed signs of having tussled with the big boys. "Good, you have her. The boat is this way, let's get her and go!"
Alu felt like they were forgetting something but she was so weak and tired she honestly couldn't remember. The collar on her throat continued to glow. Wait, it was glowing? The gem wasn't in it anymore—but the metal itself was now in a red light. Alu's eyes widened as Kunikida and Odasaku looked on with shock as Alu found herself enshrouded by red lightning.
She was pulled out of Odasaku's grasp—or well—she started to be but Odasaku had a vision of her leaving his arms in advance and he doubled down on holding her tightly to his chest, crouching to block her with his own body, attempting to do his best to prevent her body from rising. "What the hell is going on?" Kunikida barked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, as he glared at the culprit who was perched higher up above them.
The masked individual was enshrouded in a pale dark blue cloak, standing atop the roof of the control center. Kunikida's eyes narrowed.
Odasaku knew that between him and Kunikida, he'd be a better match for this masked individual. He looked to Kunikida. "Can you take the girl? I'll hold them off," he said, serious. Kunikida blinked. He didn't know Odasaku that well, but well, he definitely admired his courage. He nodded. He knew as well as Odasaku that he wasn't the best match for this masked person— Ranpo really did have this planned out.
That Ranpo Edogawa was absolutely terrifying, as far as Kunikida was concerned.
Suddenly, Odasaku's eyes widened with horror. Another vision came to him, throbbing in his ears with his heartbeat. The masked figure shot twin bolts of red lightning at Kunikida. One of the blasts would hit him right through the heart.
Odasaku realized he couldn't hold this girl and get Kunikida to safety. Without warning, he barreled into Kunikida—the lightning striking him in the shoulder as he found himself tumbling with Kunikida on the deck. Kunikida yelped, finding Odasaku's weight on top of himself.
Odasaku rolled to his feet, still awkwardly shielding Alu as well. His skin hurt like hell even with the clothes taking the brunt of the bolt. Odasaku grunted, his shoulder feeling numb. Trained to withstand pain, he still managed to move.
Odasaku still held Alu but he didn't pause to talk. Shoving the girl at Kunikida, he whipped out his guns, straightening up. "Go!" He yelled at Kunikida. Kunikida didn't question it. Odasaku had his reasons for what was going on. Kunikida grabbed Alu and with a growl, took off for the direction the president would be.
Odasaku turned his attention back to the masked individual. His eyes flashed.
Bang!
He fired his gun with precision trying to hit the mysterious figure. But his bullets became encased in strange red light. Odasaku's ability activated. Cursing under his breath, he dodged the bullets aimed at him.
Meanwhile, Kunikida panted, having carried Alu to the edge of the ship. Looking over the side he saw Yosano in the boat below. The president was nowhere in sight. Kunikida however noted the ladder that had been lowered for use to allow Odasaku and the president to board earlier. He held Alu gingerly and carried her with one arm down that ladder. Yosano helped him bring her onto the boat.
"What's wrong with her?" Yosano asked, worried, frowning at the unconscious girl.
"We don't know. Ranpo said it's the collar though—and we met someone who can use red lightning…" Kunikida sighed. "Dammit, where is the president?"
"He went with Odasaku," Yosano frowned. "I thought he was with you."
Kunikida frowned. "No, he's clearly not."
"Then, he must be looking for Ranpo," Yosano sighed. "We have our orders as well. C'mon, we're taking the girl back to shore."
"Wait, hold on, what about the others?" Kunikida's eyes flashed thinking about Odasaku fighting all by himself.
"Don't worry," Yosano said, with a small reassuring smile, "Do you really think Ranpo wouldn't have thought about that?"
Kunikida blinked. Oh, she was right, after all. Ranpo wouldn't leave a mission half-finished. He sighed, exasperated. Ranpo had managed to not only get them free, but also he had a plan in advance to remove their collars, thanks to Katai's assistance, as it was.
Kunikida recalled how it happened too…
"We look pretty damn captured to me," Kunikida said, deadpan.
Ranpo just giggled. "Ah, you're a pessimist alright!"
"What does that have to —no I'm not! I'm a realist!" Kunikida spluttered back, growling.
Ranpo just hummed and then his eyes glinted. "Okay, so here's the deal. I need you to write something."
Kunikida's eyes twitched. "Ranpo...they already threw away my notebook," he growled. That was the limitation to Kunikida's ability. He could summon things but he needed paper… and right now he was pretty damn sure he had none.
"Eh, wrong," Ranpo huffed, shrugging. He pointed to Kunikida. "Check your sleeve," he hummed.
Kunikida huffed. He did as he was asked, though why he bothered he had —he blinked. His eyes widened with shock. "What the…?" He frowned. He didn't have pockets in his sleeves, yet, tucked into his cuff, inconspicuous was a small piece of paper? Not only that, it was thick—it had been wet at some point but due to its thickness it'd dried out in the time it'd been in his sleeve. He frowned.
Ranpo smirked. "I slipped that to you when we were taken hostage earlier," he hummed. "As for something to write with…" He lifted his foot with a hum and brought out something from his shoe. It was a simple, small, wooden pencil. Ranpo rolled it across the floor with precision so it was easy for Kunikida to reach.
Kunikida sighed. "You really think of everything, don't you?" He asked, half impressed and half at his wits end from the anxiety.
"Of course," Ranpo hummed. "I knew who I was dealing with the second I realized it was a submarine and a ship we were dealing with." He grinned.
Kunikida had no idea what Ranpo was talking about...well, whatever. As long as it meant they could get out of here and grab that girl. He huffed. He scribbled on the piece of paper. "Doppo poet… metal cutter!" The paper in his hand glowed, and out popped out a small hand-held metal cutter.
Ranpo beamed. "Alright, Kunikida, you know what to do!"
Kunikida got himself free first. He then went over and cut Ranpo free. He sighed. "I really wish you'd go over this plan with me in more detail…"
"If I did that, your need for honesty would totally mess up the master plan," Ranpo pointed out. "I'm not saying you'd tell the enemy our plan...but your acting is a lot more natural when you don't know what is going on."
"Are you saying I'm a bad actor?" Kunikida repeated, a bit irritated, salty at the thought that he couldn't be trusted.
"No, you're just not cut out to be an actor," Ranpo shrugged, rubbing his wrists which still had the shackles.
Kunikida wanted to tell him that was basically the same thing.
"Anyways…" he looked around after he and Kunikida were free. "These collars are electrically charged, and those red gems in them aren't for show—whoever controls these collars uses electrical currents to power these gems, but not just any current—it looks like these gems use the natural electrical charges that occur in the human body!...and if you've noticed…" Ranpo smirked, tapping his own collar, "that means we have our own source of power."
Kunikida blinked. "How does that help us?"
Ranpo sighed, deeply, like Kunikida was a clueless child lost in the dark and only he, the great detective Ranpo, was capable of bringing light to the otherwise hopeless situation. "Because," he reached into his back pocket, taking out his dead cell with a smirk, "the enemy sorely underestimates me."
Kunikida mused how that led to Ranpo managing to contact Katai by redirecting the current of one of the broken jewels into his actual phone battery—from there...Katai was contacted and that's how Ranpo and him managed to get their own collars off. Although Katai couldn't see them, Ranpo using video call somehow enabled Katai to unlock their collars despite the distance. Kunikida was thankful he had made friends with Katai back in school—otherwise he had no idea how Ranpo would have gotten them out of that.
This agency really kept him on his toes. He also knew it'd make him go bald before he even hit his thirties. Self consciously, Kunikida found himself patting his head, concerned he already had a bald patch growing.
"Let's go," Yosano said brisk, starting up the engine. Kunikida nodded, settling down with the girl on the bench near him. He looked back at the ship. He hoped the others would be okay.
Odasaku dodged once more.
He was losing his energy though. He'd dodged lightning bolt after lightning bolt from this crazy person. What the hell are they? He thought, gritting his teeth. That red lightning was no joke—very different from the ability user that attacked the city during the Dragon incident 2 years ago. Those lightning bolts were sapping his strength—though he managed to dodge most of them, about a couple hits had managed to land on him.
He breathed hard. He had to think. Was this person the mastermind? No, that didn't fit. Odasaku didn't know much but he had a feeling that Kunikida who had been with Ranpo would have at least let him know if this person was the one behind Alu's kidnapping. As it was, it seemed that whomever this was merely worked for the person in question.
Odasaku took a step back. Okay, he knew what he had to do.
Odasaku ran away.
The masked person just stared. Before attempting to follow after him, but just then, the masked person looked over their shoulder with alarm. The sound of a chopper in the air made their eyes narrow from behind the mask. Aiming their red lightning from two red gemmed bracelets on their wrists, the masked person directed their lightning at this new intruder.
Odasaku too, looked up with alarm.
"Hey! Don't start this party without me!" A man said, grinning from ear to ear like a maniac. Odasaku's eyes widened.
The man leapt out of the helicopter and landed on the deck, with a grin, not losing his balance for a second, hands in the air like he was on a roller coaster. "Tch," the masked person growled, before directing his lightning at the helicopter again but the helicopter managed to move away, before it was struck. Odasaku's eyes widened with horror as the helicopter blew up in the air.
He didn't know which was more terrifying—the brown haired man grinning like a child at Christmas — or the helicopter exploding behind him illuminating him like something out of a cheesy spy film.
"He-ey," the man grinned, saluting Odasaku as he trotted over. "How have you been?"
Odasaku just stared, speechless. Finally, he managed to utter the only word on his mind this whole time. "Dazai?"
—xxxx—xxxx—-xxxx—-
Fukuzawa assessed the children that were on board the ship. He panted, having just finished taking out the remaining men that were standing in the way between them and the other lifeboats on board the cargo ship. He didn't draw his sword—he was actually rather good with martial arts.
Ranpo hung behind him, carrying the boy, Ryou though he didn't look exactly thrilled about it. The kid was passed out. "Can we get off the ship, already?" Ranpo complained, impatient. He really didn't like toting these kids around. They weren't even their problem.
Ranpo was frustrated. Their mission would already be done if they'd just left the kids. However, Kunikida had blabbed to the president who had been with Odasaku at the time they had all reunited. Kunikida had mentioned there being kids on board. Naturally, Fukuzawa had agreed to grab the kids.
"They aren't even in our jurisdiction!" He complained. "We don't know where they came from!"
Fukuzawa sighed. "Be that as it may, leaving them with human traffickers isn't right, either."
Ranpo was having a big pout. "Yeah, but again, not our problem…" he muttered.
The one named Tomoe just glared at Ranpo. "We never asked for your help!" He yelled at Ranpo, startling the other children and Fukuzawa.
Ranpo paused walking, and turned to look at Tomoe. Tomoe breathed hard, making fists. "If you don't want to help then don't! No one asked you to pity us!"
"Pity you?" Ranpo tilted his head, frowning, "I don't feel any such thing for you. I don't feel anything at all other than annoyance that you're the reason that we're not off the ship sooner."
Fukuzawa let out a deep heavy sigh. "Ranpo, enough," he said sharply.
Ranpo glared at Fukuzawa. "Don't lecture me," he griped. "I get it, we're doing the right thing or whatever. It doesn't mean it's not an inconvenience!"
Tomoe growled and he swung a punch at Ranpo. "Then just leave us, dammit!" He missed as Ranpo moved out of the way easily, still holding Ryou. Fukuzawa instantly moved to grab the boy from Ranpo.
"Enough!" He said sharply.
His grating tone made both Ranpo and Tomoe freeze. Fukuzawa's bad mood was apparent. "Both of you, cut it out." It was not a request.
Ranpo moodily pursed his lips, and just stalked past Fukuzawa, hands behind his head. "Whatever, I did my part. Your turn, President," he sighed, dismissively walking ahead of Fukuzawa and the kids.
Fukuzawa just shook his head. Ranpo could be a lot sometimes. He looked to Tomoe who looked ready to burst with anger. "I'm sorry for his lack of social awareness," he said, serious. "It is not our intention—"
"Shut up you old fart!" Tomoe yelled, glaring at Fukuzawa. "I don't care what you have to say! These kids may not understand Japanese besides Ryou and myself—but they can tell you're going to just throw us all to the government! You think the government gives a damn what happens to kids like us? We are better off dead!"
Fukuzawa quieted. This kid had a lot of pent up resentment. Fukuzawa couldn't blame him. In fact, he knew that the government would most likely place them in an orphanage. Whether or not that's actually for the best—well Ranpo was right— at that point it would be out of the A.D.A's hands. "That isn't true," he found himself saying. While it's true that world governments had a lot on their plates—neglecting children wasn't something that Fukuzawa felt would happen if they managed to get them to take these kids. Sure, they'd be rehomed but that wasn't going to guarantee a life of neglect.
Fukuzawa tended to be honest to a fault. He didn't like twisting his words or lying. But, what could he possibly tell this upset young man? He quieted. "How old are you?" He found himself asking, because this kid was giving him some deja vu to a younger Ranpo.
"What's it matter!" Tomoe glared. "Not like you care!"
"He asked a simple question, brat," Ranpo huffed, glaring back at them over his shoulder.
"Don't call me a brat!" Tomoe hissed.
"Look, it's obvious you're a teenager, no older than maybe fourteen," Ranpo said, pushing his glasses on his nose, bored. "Come on, President. We're wasting time catering to his tantrum. No need to sugar coat it. We're not babysitters, they're going straight to the Japanese government once we're on shore."
Fukuzawa felt a pang. Ranpo wasn't wrong there. They were losing valuable time, but at the same time he felt that this young man needed to be addressed. The sound of a siren shrilly going off, for a few seconds made everyone jolt. Ranpo furrowed his brows. "That's Katai," he said sharply to Fukuzawa. "I told him to alert us if anything was going south."
"What does it mean?" Fukuzawa asked, bewildered.
"It means that we have to get off this ship now," Ranpo replied curtly, turning on his heel. He beckoned to Fukuzawa mostly to follow him. Fukuzawa nodded. The other kids huddled, scared and Fukuzawa gestured for them to follow. They glanced at Tomoe but Tomoe just scowled, and he ran ahead of everyone, and out of sight—heading above deck.
Fukuzawa looked to Ranpo. "Ranpo, take these kids to safety!" He said, pushing Ryou into Ranpo's arms again. Ranpo made a noise of discontentment.
"What? Why do I have to?" He asked, whining.
"Ranpo!" Fukuzawa said exhasperated, not having time for one of Ranpo's tantrums.
"Hmph," Ranpo grumbled but he took the boy. "Come on, you lot!" He gestured to them, speaking English, —wondering if they'd understand that —-to follow. They hesitated. But finally, they followed Ranpo—separating from Fukuzawa once they reached the deck. Ranpo moved away from Fukuzawa, getting the kids herded over to the lifeboats. Good to know they knew some English.
Fukuzawa separated from Ranpo, going in the direction Tomoe had run off in.
Fukuzawa had already taken out the rest of the crew that Kunikida hadn't managed to so the resistance was honestly laughable at this point. The only real contenders were the two ability users and Ranpo deduced that this fight would be over in less than five minutes once Fukuzawa, Odasaku and Dazai teamed up against them.
How did Ranpo know that Dazai was there?
Well, he had been the one to call him.
Ranpo was cranky as hell. The chance of a quick success had depleted the second they involved these kids and now he was forced to babysit to boot. He was so going to make Fukuzawa owe him a bunch of red bean buns! He took out the small notepad that Fukuzawa had brought for him earlier, and scribbled something on it, tearing off the note and folding it. He finished placing it in his hat.
At the same time, he piled the children into the lifeboat. He tucked his hat under the seat when something caught his eye. Looking around, hair on his neck raising, he came face to face with a little girl peering at him from out of a black hole in the middle of seemingly air behind him.
"Will you play with me?" She said cheerfully, before Ranpo realized that and the other kids were being swallowed by that weird black hole. He felt himself falling into what felt like black nothingness.
He tried to speak but something sharp was sticking out of his neck, causing Ranpo to collapse unconscious. He knew that woman had an Ace up her sleeve—not one but two. He had been waiting for the other one to show itself—- and he had a feeling that this was gonna be how he was proven right.
All he'd deduced to Fukuzawa had been the fact there were two ability users on board—and their target would be Alu and those kids specifically.
He hadn't told Fukuzawa that he knew the only way to get to that woman's submarine would be to use himself and the remaining kids as bait because Fukuzawa would have not let him get caught otherwise. He was so in for an earful after all this, Ranpo knew. Ranpo just hoped that Fukuzawa would realize in time. Well, even if he didn't realize right away...he was equipped with all the tools he needed in order to beat that woman already.
The little girl meanwhile floated next to him in that black space. "Huh, he's an odd one," she commented, tilting her head at Ranpo's unconscious form floating. "Most people don't smile when they're losing..."
Ranpo's face looked peaceful, a smirk on his lips even though he was unconscious. All was going according to plan. The rest would be up to Fukuzawa and a few wild cards of his own.
