Vol. 2
Ch. 6
Which Way To Go
"Stop crying!" An angry woman's voice reached child Alu's ears. Child Alu flinched, as a black leather belt cracked out of nowhere, hitting her across her body. Child Alu cried out in pain, falling back onto the floor.
"I'm sorry," she said tearfully, sobbing, cowering before the looming figure before her, brandishing the belt.
"Honestly! I should never have adopted you!" The angry woman continued to scream at her. "I asked for a good child—if I had known then that you'd turn into such a little brat, I would never have taken you in, in the first place!"
The woman was in the shadows, as this was in a black empty space. Adult Alu stood, watching with empty eyes, at the younger her, crying, curled up on the floor.
I've always been on my own, adult Alu thought, subdued. Why do I try to make any change? What can I do? I'm nothing. For the longest time, I didn't have any power over my life.
But where does that leave me now? Adult Alu watched as her child form got to her feet, wobbly. The whip came down again, causing both versions of Alu to flinch. Alu turned away. There was nothing more she could do. Comforting a memory wouldn't make the reality of her past disappear.
Alu took a deep breath.
Suddenly she found herself falling.
With a yelp, she found herself stuck in a room? She landed on her feet, but there was no floor. There were no walls. She was just in an expanse of nothingness. The only reason she knew it was a room, was because at the end, was a door. It was closed, but it had stairs leading to the mahogany frame. She hesitated. The door looked innocent enough, but it was what she would find behind it, that made her afraid.
Why was her heart clenching so tightly? Alu felt like crying when she looked at that door. This pain was different from the other pain she felt watching her younger self. What was this feeling? She didn't like it.
Let me out! She wanted to yell. She looked around, desperate. She didn't want to be here anymore. "Juubi!" She yelled, finally. She wasn't strong enough. She hated that she wasn't strong enough. Where was he? Why was he choosing now to be unreachable? It wasn't like him.
Alu felt alone.
No, she hated this feeling. She hated it more than death itself.
Jane Austen's voice echoed in her mind. "Hehehe. Your pride will goeth before the fall…"
Suddenly, Alu felt her throat with alarm. She felt like she was choking. It was getting harder to breathe. Around her neck appeared red veins that felt electrically charged. She scrabbled at her throat. "Stop it!" She shouted.
Jane Austen stepped in front of her, twirling that blue parasol and smirking at her. "There is a way to make it stop," she hummed. She pointed towards another door—a different door from the one Alu had seen a few moments ago. This door was white with a circular arch and a pretty stained-glass window in the shape of a rose. "If you wish for a way out...then one shall appear to you…"
Alu stared at the door. What was this feeling? It was like a calm soothing expanse on her nerves. But there was also something unsettling. "What...how are you … in my mind?" She found herself asking.
"I'm not here," Ms. Austen hummed. "This is all you, dear."
Alu's eyes flickered. All her? She was making this up? If that was the case, then why couldn't she wake the hell up? She shut her eyes shut tight, gritting her teeth. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, dammit! She felt herself screaming—was it out loud? Was it in her heart? Her mind? Alu opened her eyes, alarmed, suddenly aware that the white door was much closer than it had been previously.
What would happen if she opened this door? What was on the other side?
She shouldn't. Her instinct told her this door was a manifestation of whatever ability that woman possessed. But, there was also some gnawing curiosity that Alu couldn't shake. It felt like she had to open this door. Her eyes glanced to the mahogany door which was farther away.
Between the two ...which door was she more afraid of? No, that wasn't right… she was afraid of them both the same amount. The white door was trying to be more appealing but Alu's heart pounded in her ears. If she chose that door, she'd regret it.
But if she chose the Mahogany door…
would she regret it more?
"You seriously think I'm going to take orders from you?!" Tomoe growled at Ranpo, glaring at him, arms crossed from across the room.
"You heard me. Stay here with the others, I'll send someone for you when all this is over," Ranpo said curt. He had no patience for whining brats. He was already behind on wrapping up this damn mission as it was because there were brats involved in the first place.
"Hah," Tomoe growled. "You and that girl are just going to get us all killed!"
Ranpo huffed, and he opened his eyes, revealing the glint in them. "If you don't shut up, kid, you're just gonna get yourself killed sooner."
"What, you threatening me now? Real mature!" Tomoe snapped back.
The other kids just stayed out of the way of these two. Tomoe was clearly the vocal one out of all the children. The other kids also didn't understand Japanese so honestly, they just wanted this all to be over.
Ranpo took a deep breath. "Fine, get yourself killed. I honestly don't care," he said deadpan, turning to inspect the lock on the door. He knew anything of real use had been confiscated. Luckily he did have Kunikida's slip of paper. He only had the one. Kunikida had asked him if he needed more since Kunikida could activate it even if he wasn't there—since he was connected to the writing itself for his ability to work—but Ranpo had at the time told him with complete confidence that all he needed was one.
This one, he activated now, creating the small hammer needed to deactivate the gems in everyones' collars. He smashed his own collar's gem first. Tomoe watched, startled. He looked to Tomoe and tossed the hammer to him. "Just use that to smash the gems or yourself, I really don't care which option you pick, just pick either. Or both." He turned his attention back to the door.
Ranpo's eyes opened again, fully, while Tomoe hissed like an angry speechless cat behind him. This kid was really getting on his nerves. Ranpo pursed his lips. He didn't like feeling so naked without those glasses. He wanted the illusion to last a little longer. His heart twisted. No, emotions would get in the way. The enemy wanted to mess with his mind. His eyes narrowed. This enemy was dangerous, far more dangerous than he'd anticipated.
"Oh, where are you going?" The voice of a little girl said, popping next to Ranpo. Ranpo turned, unblinkingly, to look at her.
"Oh no, you caught me," he said, completely deadpan.
The little girl blinked. Then she began to giggle. "You look rather upset, Mister Snoopy," she giggled, tilting her head at him.
"You'd be upset too if you were locked up," he said matter-of-factly.
"Well, there is a way to get yourself out of that situation!" The little girl clasped her hands together, eagerly. "Wanna hear it! Wanna? Wanna?"
Ranpo tilted his head. "Sure, why not?"
"Goody!" The little girl squealed and she pointed at Ranpo. "Leave Japan and come work for us in Britain!"
Ranpo blinked. Ah, he already knew that was the woman's end game the second he analyzed her on that wharf. He wondered when she planned to pop the question. "Ah, I'm a bit sad she didn't pop that question to me, herself," he sighed dramatically as though he'd been slighted for a marriage proposal.
"Oh, would you like her to ask you?" The little girl blinked, curious.
This child truly was well, a child. Ranpo knew he could use that to his advantage—-no he planned to. "Well, it does kinda hurt my feelings that a potential employer can't give me the decency of a proper interview," he shrugged with a sigh. "I mean, collaring your potential employee is hardly a sign of endearment in normal circumstances—unless of course—this is normal for her in which case, she has one heck of a kink."
The little girl giggled again, covering her mouth with her hands. "Jeez! You're too funny!" She laughed amused and she held out her hand to Ranpo. "Well! Since you wanna talk to her—you're in luck! She wants to talk to you too, Mister Detective!" She grinned, holding out her small hand for Ranpo to take.
Ranpo nodded. He took her hand without question. "That makes two of us."
He found himself tugged through the girl's dimensional ability and into a rather nice study. He blinked. The girl was no longer there? He looked around. When had she left? He had only blinked for a mere second. However, his eyes fell on the woman who was sitting, a knee crossed over her other leg, at the front of her desk, smiling at him.
Ranpo's eyes widened. He wasn't surprised that he was in her study—he merely recognized the glasses she held in her gloved hand.
"I believe...these belong to you?" Miss Jane said with a smirk, half lidded gaze on Ranpo.
Ranpo tilted his head, as a smirk appeared on his expression. "I must have dropped them, my bad," he hummed, scratching his head.
Miss Jane hummed and she tossed the glasses to Ranpo. Ranpo's eyes glinted. With speed he normally didn't flaunt he managed to catch them. "You're in luck. I didn't want them to accidentally break so I held onto them for you," the woman hummed.
Ranpo smiled, but as he looked at the glasses in his hand, his eyes widened. They weren't his glasses. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What is the meaning of this?" His eyes remained narrowed with a slight glint in them; a dangerous one. He already knew the answer, but the woman just tilted her head, still smiling like a wolf who had swallowed a juicy piece of steak.
"Meaning of what?" She asked, innocently.
"These glasses aren't mine," Ranpo said, tossing them aside. He kept his cool though. He knew she was testing his ability for deduction. He wouldn't be able to feign not being able to use it here. Damn. Not if it meant getting his actual glasses back. All other priorities went out the window the second Ranpo had been forcibly separated from those glasses he'd received from Fukuzawa. He'd go to hell and back for those cheap frames if he had to.
"Ah, my apologies," The woman, said with the tone of someone who wasn't sorry at all. "I suppose your glasses are lost then…"
Ranpo was calm but only on the surface. Inside he was boiling. How dare this woman take what belonged to him from him. Ranpo put a hand over his face.
However, he began to only laugh.
Ms. Austen eyed him, tilting her head. Ranpo could feel it, that woman's presence tugging at the corners of his mind. Her ability, he deduced, was "pride and prejudice". You know you're better than everyone, so just solve this case and rub it in all their faces. Forget the children...your priority is just to be right. Nothing wrong with that. So what if that doesn't save anyone? Not like you care about something as pointless as that. Ranpo could hear the negative voice—his own— in his mind. You don't need anyone. You're the best judge of character after all. You're a master detective. Even if you died, you know you'd be revered. After all, you're the best this world is going to get. But why waste that talent on a small little piddly organization like the Armed Detective Agency? Your gift—no, that talent can only get you true recognition if you go international.
"Ah, you're right," Ranpo said, a cold leer on his expression as his green eyes glinted sharply at her. Her ability may work on manipulation and tugging out people's inner sense of pride for her own purposes—but Ranpo's pride was exactly where he wanted it to be.
For the first time, it was the woman's turn to be unsettled. This man… If she wasn't afraid before, something about Ranpo's demeanor was definitely putting her off now.
Ranpo's expression was both cold and confident.
"I am the best."
Fukuzawa clutched Ranpo's hat tightly in his hand. He was going to ground that twenty-two year old idiot when he saw him again. He was so sick with worry.
If Fukuzawa's inward tension wasn't enough, the tension on the motor-boat wasn't any better. Ango sat, near the captain, another employee that worked for the Department of Unusual Powers. It was just them five though. Dazai had already helped treat Odasaku and Odasaku was now lying down on the floor on a gurney, as the boat headed for the harbor.
Dazai hadn't so much as glanced at Ango but it was obvious there was a silent disdain hanging in the air like a sour lemon.
Odasaku himself was unconscious from being injured. Fukuzawa looked to Ango, finally breaking the silence. He was a man who preferred action—anything to not knowing what the next step was. "Agent Sakaguchi," he said formally, "Did Ranpo end up saying anything else that would help us to Chief Taneda?"
Ango blinked, and glad for the distraction—and having a reason to not deal with Dazai— nodded to Fukuzawa. "All he told Chief Taneda is that we are dealing with a British ability user from overseas who runs a smuggling business in various countries—including here— and that her ability allows her to feed on a person's pride in order to turn them into a mindless puppet she can control…"
Fukuzawa sighed deeply. "That's no different than what he informed me of…"
"Ah, there was one more thing," Ango said, frowning. He scratched his head. Fukuzawa eyed him, patient but really not patient at all. "Er…" he sounded suddenly rather nervous. Even Dazai glanced in their direction.
"Just spit it out," Dazai snapped, snarkily.
Ango grimaced. "Okay, well…" He took a deep breath and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Edogawa merely stated… 'Fukuzawa owes me red bean buns and he better not forget how I like them'..."
Fukuzawa stared at Ango. So did Dazai.
The captain just kept steering the boat—they weren't paid enough to care about this conversation.
"He…" Fukuzawa's eye twitched. What the hell was that even supposed to mean at a time like this?! "That boy…" he groaned, exasperated, gripping Ranpo's hat so tight his knuckles were white. That guy was a genius at deducing evidence and revealing the truth of any situation—but he was such a little kid in other regards. It exasperated Fukuzawa.
Wait.
Fukuzawa's eyes snapped open. Ranpo would never say something without having there be a reason for it. Red bean buns happened to be something Ranpo liked...but..."It's not about the buns…" Fukuzawa said, as it dawned on him.
The other two stared at him like he had cracked which for all intensive purposes—Fukuzawa may as well have at this point.
"Agent Sakaguchi," he looked at Ango seriously. "I know what Ranpo meant."
This was great news for the other two because although they had a lot of discontentment between themselves they ironically were both thinking the same thing :what the hell do red bean buns have to do with any of this?
Kunikida and Yosano snuck down the hallway of the building. It was clearly a building that used to be a lab—though it looked like it'd been abandoned for a good long while. Yosano carried Alu on her back, so that Kunikida could focus and have his hands free to use the notebook he held, currently.
"A submarine...a ship...and an abandoned lab…" Kunikida murmured. "Just what kind of goose chase is this?"
"I'm not sure," Yosano sighed, "but the lack of guards is unsettling. It's also very quiet. I noticed this as well when we got out of the room, Kunikida, but I have the feeling that ability user separated us into separate locations…"
"Huh? You mean…" Kunikida's eyes widened with horror, "...that the others could be at another location?"
Yosano nodded. "That little girl had said that she would have new playmates—I can only imagine she meant she caught those kids…"
Kunikida grit his teeth. "With any luck...Ranpo and those kids are alright…"
"I wouldn't worry about them," a voice said coldly from atop an old cylindrical device.
Yosano and Kunikida both looked up with alarm. Before them, was the mysterious masked figure in the blue cloak that Kunikida recognized from before.
"That's the Red Lightning ability user!" Kunikida gasped, within earshot of Yosano.
"You two aren't as dumb as you look," the masked user continued. "You're correct. You are separated from your friends. Now, hand that girl over...I had you put here for one reason only…"
Kunikida growled, and he began to pull out his notebook. "Doppo poet...taser gun!" He summoned a taser gun and brandished it with an angry look in his eye.
"Now, now…" the masked individual sighed, and honestly they couldn't discern if it was a man or woman. "No need to go that far. Our target was never you two." The masked individual gestured behind them, and a door clicked, unlocking from the electrical current they sent through the circuit breaker near the door itself. "The exit will be through there. Now, hand over the girl. I'd rather not have to deal with too many folks from the Japanese government special task forces as it is…"
Kunikida growled. "Like hell we're going to just leave this girl in your hands!"
Yosano's eyes flickered. "My colleague is right," she said, glaring up at the masked person. "We don't turn a blind eye to someone in need simply because they're not from this country!"
"Fools," the masked ability user scoffed, "I'm giving you only one chance to walk away from this alive...it's not a request."
Kunikida moved closer to Yosano.
Yosano's eyes were drawn to the folded piece of paper in Kunikida's hand held out to her. She took the slip of paper while Kunikida stepped in front of her, brandishing the taser-gun.
He glared, and despite not having his glasses, and looking roughed up...he was a fine looking member of the A.D.A in this moment. In a deep growling voice, full of conviction, he stated, "The only orders we follow...are from our president."
The ability user sighed. "Death to you both."
Red lightning crackled from their wrists. "Here they come," Yosano said, tensing with Alu on her back.
"Go," Kunikida said sharply.
Yosano looked at him alarmed. "Kunikida—I won't—-"
"No matter what, I'll make sure you get out of here with that girl," Kunikida said sharply. Yosano's eyes flickered. "She needs a doctor—she needs you..Miss Yosano."
Yosano didn't want to leave Kunikida to fend all by himself. But, he was right. She needed to get Alu medical treatment—and Kunikida was someone who wouldn't let her down. She nodded. The lightning came at them from all directions.
"Doppo poet...flash grenade!" Kunikida yelled. An explosion followed by a bright white flash, blinded even the masked individual.
Suddenly, the masked individual cried out in alarm. The sound of gunfire rang out. Looking to their shoulder, the masked individual clutched their shoulder as blood dribbled out of it from the bullet wound.
"Eyes over here," Kunikida yelled like a lion roaring. As the dust cleared, there stood Kunikida, alone now, Yosano and the girl gone. He stood in solidarity, with one single gun in his hand, taser in his other, the look of a man who would complete his mission at all costs on his face. A man with nothing to lose was truly a force to contend with.
