VOL 2
CHAPTER 7
All According To Plan
of The Amazing Detective,
Ranpo Edogawa!
Which door do I choose? Alu felt claustrophobic—and she wasn't claustrophobic normally. The white door loomed with the mahogany door still trailing.
Alu's throat felt tight. Normally she found solace in being alone in her mind, but this didn't feel like that. It was hard to describe. This felt colder. Alu shivered, rubbing her arms. She took a deep breath. No, she had to stop being so negative. That woman's ability was trying to goad her using Alu's sense of pride. The only thing was, Alu didn't know what exactly she felt prideful of. She prided herself in being independent and not needing any adults to save her.
She prided herself in her ability to think on her feet and be sharp—maybe not as sharp as a certain moron detective— but still, she felt she was pretty damn awesome herself. Her pride came from a sense of needing to prove herself.
Alu looked at the white door again.
The red door was obviously linked to her past.
But this door? Why was she so afraid of her own pride? It was her pride that drove her to get this far. Alu's eyes narrowed. Why was she running? So what if it was a bit cold?
She put her hand on the doorknob of the white door. She began to open it. The door rattled as though there was a howling wind behind it. As it opened, that coldness crept out making Alu shiver.
No, she could handle this.
She'd be fine.
The cold didn't bother her anyways.
Alu's eyes opened. Huh? She was on someone's back? A woman was carrying her? Yosano glanced over her shoulder, sensing Alu stir. "Oh, you're finally awake," she said, sighing with relief. She paused in the hallway they were in, and put Alu down. Alu was a bit unsteady, but she managed to get her footing.
"How long was I out?" Alu found herself asking, still sleepy. It felt like she'd been in a long dream. That white door had led her back here? Why had she been so afraid before? If she had known she'd wake up—she'd have gone through that door, consequences be damned, sooner!
"A while," Miss Yosano admitted. "Look, once we get out of this building, just run, okay?"
Alu blinked, confused. "Huh?" Run? Why was she being told to run? "What about the children?" She gasped, suddenly recalling what she'd spaced out before about, on the ship when she'd been reunited with Kunikida, Ranpo, and Odasaku.
"We'll get them handled, don't you worry," Miss Yosano said, reassuringly. "That woman and her thugs are after you… you're not safe here. My advice...leave Japan."
Alu woke up more. As she did, she felt a sense of frustration. "I'm not leaving," she said curtly, standing to her feet.
Miss Yosano looked at her seriously. "You've already been classified as an international threat by the government forces—if you don't plan to join the Armed Detective Agency— then you may be hunted instead."
"So what, your solution is to just kick me out?" Alu glared, clenching her fists at Miss Yosano. "What happened to all that talk about not wanting me for my ability?"
Miss Yosano blinked. "Our agency doesn't want you for your ability, that part is true," she reiterated. "But, young lady, there is a very real threat to your life if you stay in Japan...at least leave until the heat dies down…"
Alu grit her teeth. "So you're telling me my only option is to tuck my tail in and run?"
Miss Yosano shook her head. "I'm not telling you to be a coward," she said sharply, "But you can't help others with so little regard for your own life!"
Alu growled. "National Security threat? Like this is the first time I've dealt with that!" She turned on her heel. "I don't care about the labels the governments of this world place on me...What I care about is using my own power to save those right in front of me."
Miss Yosano was quiet for a moment. Alu waited for her to speak. Whatever Miss Yosano did say, Alu would just tune out anyways at this point .This was so like an adult. This was a broken record playing on repeat. Like everything in Alu's life, the adults in it always were telling her what to do and how they knew better than she did.
What do you know? You're just a brat yourself!
Alu found herself breathing hard, angry when she felt herself get hugged. She blinked, a bit startled. Miss Yosano hugged her tightly. "If that's what you want to do...then we'll do it, together," she said, smiling at Alu and giving her a thumbs up. "Let's give them hell."
Alu's eyes widened in complete bewilderment. "You're not...going to lecture me about how I don't know anything?..." she found herself asking, a bit shaky, and really confused.
Miss Yosano raised an eyebrow at her. "Look, I gave my spheal. Also, don't mistake me for Kunikida," she snickered, a hand to her mouth.
Yes, trying to picture Yosano dressed as Kunikida and being as serious as him was honestly terrifying. Alu made a face. Miss Yosano snickered.
She ruffled Alu's head. "You've got a fire in you, and honestly, I wouldn't turn tail and run either. So let's work together and save those kids while the boys handle the rest, okay?" She said, beaming at Alu, good-naturedly.
Alu felt something thud in her chest. This feeling...it was relief. It felt like something else too but it was so foreign that Alu didn't even know what to call it. However, the corner of her mouth twitched and she broke out into a determined grin, pulling back from Miss Yosano. "Yeah! Let's show the boys what we can do!"
Alu couldn't sense Juubi. It was unusual but she figured she'd deal with that later. This actually worked to her advantage as at least for the time being she wouldn't have to deal with his complaining. Regardless, she touched her neck. She still had the weird markings. Yosano looked at her worriedly. "How do you feel?"
"Mm, I'll manage," Alu said, with a small reassuring smile. It didn't hurt—but her eyes narrowed. "For the time being, let's figure out a way to communicate with your side on the outside."
Yosano nodded. "Yeah, it seems our technology was all confiscated. However," She smirked and pulled out the slip of paper Kunikida had given her earlier. "We're one step ahead of the enemy this time around."
Kunikida panted hard, having dodged the lightning strikes. He didn't have Odasaku's warnings or really anyone else to rely on here. He managed to wound the bastard, but the bastard was still able to function with one arm out for the count. Kunikida didn't have a lot of cover in this old decrepit lab either. A table here— some indiscernible boxes there.
Things weren't looking good for Kunikida. He'd exhausted all but a single bullet of his ammo and his opponent was still too far out of range to use the taser up close. He didn't even have his notebook—it lay on the ground, a burned hole through it out of reach from the red lightning that had struck him earlier. At this point, fighting this person was suicide.
And yet.
Kunikida's eyes flickered. It was an incredibly dangerous stupid idea but it was so crazy—that it just might work. Kunikida's eyes glinted with determination. He had one bullet left...time to make it count. At this point, his pony tail was no more and his clothes looked like he'd gone through a tornado. Had Ranpo calculated for him becoming a casualty? Honestly, it was hard to tell with someone like Ranpo—but if his sacrifice would mean success at least for this mission...then so be it!
Kunikida wouldn't let his Ideals be swayed by a tough opponent! No, his resolve to see this through was only strengthened by his own determination.
"Give up, you can't win," the masked individual said, coldly. "I have no interest in killing you. You're not even worth the effort."
Kunikida aimed his gun at the masked individual from where he stood, facing them off across the floor. "Then I'm gonna make it worth your effort," Kunikida growled. "Remember this name...!" The opponent fired lightning and this time Kunikida didn't attempt to dodge. He just ran right into it.
The masked individual's eyes widened with shock. Is this man crazy?!
Kunikida fired his gun. The bullet was stopped by the lightning but Kunikida charged regardless, pulling back his fist. Letting out a sharp battle cry, he threw the taser point blank square at the lightning. The individual quickly tried to withdraw the lightning, but the taser's own electrical current sent a shockwave through what already existed—the opponent cried out as they were electrocuted by an outside power source that he couldn't control easily.
Kunikida grit his teeth, even as blood trickled out of his nose and mouth. He'd see this mission through, no matter. Just one good punch—and he could call his mission complete. As he was recovering—with a godlike speed—Kunikida punched the individual right in their masked face.
The opponent went flying, the mask cracking clean in half and into smaller pieces, crumbling away. Panting hard, Kunikida glared down at his opponent. "Don't forget...the name… Doppo Kunikida...of the Armed Detective Agency!" Breathing hard, Kunikida could feel his body screaming with pain and numbness.
The sound of clapping caused Kunikida to whirl. "Oooh, you're so cool Mister!" A little girl smiled at him, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. Kunikida recognized her instantly though from when he'd been previously abducted from the boat.
"You!" His eyes widened. "Hey, little girl—what are you doing?"
She blinked at the confused adult before her and giggled. "What am I doing? I'm here to get my playmate!" She pointed to the unconscious individual who, without the mask, had long dark purple hair, light skin, was a young adult in age and still looked androgynous in the facial features. Before Kunikida could actually do anything, he watched as the girl activated what looked like another black hole, and he didn't try to stop it.
Kunikida was worn out, emotionally and physically. He took a step back. Then another. Oh no, his vision was going more blurry than it was already without glasses. His adrenaline was spent. The girl popped next to where Kunikida collapsed.
"Oh! Are you taking a dirt nap?" She asked curiously.
Kunikida groaned. "I've spent all my energy…" Plus he felt like bbq. Ugh, he knew he wouldn't be able to look at steak for a while.
His eyes wandered hazily, taking in the actual details of this other opponent. This little girl really was just a little kid. While Kunikida had no problem punching adults, he wasn't going to start attacking a kid. That went against his ideals—even if they did work for the opposing side.
"Well, you can go ahead and sleep here!" The little girl said brightly. "I'm going to go play with your other agent now!" She straightened up, humming.
Kunikida's eyes widened. "Wait—hold on a second…" he struggled to sit up. It took difficulty but he managed. "Why...why don't we play a game?" He needed to make sure he wasn't left behind—- what was he thinking? Lying down on the job? One punch and he could just pat himself on the back and say, well that's the breaks? Pathetic! He had to protect Yosano and that girl—the president and Ranpo...what would they say if he failed to do even that much?
The little girl blinked, curious. "What?" She sounded absolutely thrilled.
Kunikida took a shaky breath. "Yeah...after all, if we all play...it'll be more fun, right?" He breathed out hard, managing to get back to his feet with some difficulty.
"Huh, I feel like you're saying this cuz you're just worried about your friends," the little girl said, matter-of-factly but she grinned and patted Kunikida's arm. "But I like a guy with morals! Let's go!"
Kunikida wondered if he'd just been hit on by an elementary aged child and he honestly had nothing mentally prepared to deal with that kind of thing. He was grateful he didn't have to reply when he found himself sucked into another black hole.
Well, down the hole again—literally.
Kunikida landed on his ass in what appeared to be a brightly lit factory room. He grimaced, shielding his eyes with his hand. "Where the hell am I?" He muttered. Suddenly he heard footsteps, and turned quickly, to see Yosano and Alu running over to him.
"Kunikida!" Yosano said, stopping before him. "You're here too!"
Alu panted, hanging back and letting the other two reunite.
Kunikida was confused. "What's going on?" He asked, dumbly.
Yosano made sure that Kunikida was more or less okay by looking him over. "To be honest, it was Alu's idea," Yosano confessed. "Also, you look like shit."
"Thanks," Kunikida grimaced but he was also so relieved the ladies were alive that he honestly would take any and all criticism about his appearance right now.
"I can't heal your injuries while you're like this," Yosano continued, cracking her knuckles, "But I think it'll only take one really hard smack to your cranium for me to be able to heal you, hold still, would you?"
Kunikida sweated. Okay, nope. She was still absolutely crazy as always and Kunikida screamed like a little girl to the heavens as Alu's jaw dropped with horror, watching Yosano send Kunikida literally to hell—-the visuals not suited to be described for a rated T or even M piece of work and R rating would even have its limits— before a bunch of glowing butterflies surrounded his half-dead corpse that collapsed like a sandbag to the ground moments later. "What in the blazes are you doing to him?" Alu yelped, appalled.
"My ability...Thou Shalt Not Die, allows me to heal the body ...but the catch is, you have to be on the brink of death," Miss Yosano explained, smiling at Alu. Alu gulped. Okay, this woman was terrifying—and yet—Alu clasped her hands together.
"You're so cool!" She said to Yosano, and Yosano's crazy smile actually twitched a little. Miss Yosano was not used to having her ability to beat a man within an inch of death in order to heal him...looked at with such—well—enthusiasm.
She let out a small giggle behind her gloved hand.
"Using an ability that can save people like yours—that's really awesome!" Alu continued.
Yosano's expression—her eyes specifically— were almost genuinely surprised. "You're so weird," she giggled.
Alu pouted, her face warming a little from pouting. "What? Me? You two are the weirder ones!" She shot back, but she wasn't mad. She and Yosano just kind of smiled at each other. It was definitely as though Alu wasn't a stranger here—like for this moment, they were almost...colleagues. Alu shied away from this feeling though, because these two were not only older than her—but she was probably the only one who actually felt this way.
Kunikida groaned. As the light green and blue lights lifted from his body like butterfly snow, he finally found himself fully healing—even if his clothes sadly couldn't be healed along with him. Sob, looks like another good suit would be going into the dumpster. Kunikida was going to write a very valid argument to the president about why he should at least be compensated for a replacement suit. After all, a formal five paragraph essay about it would certainly show the president that he was serious about his compensation he felt he was owed. Kunikida blinked. Before he could say anything more, a familiar voice called out to them all, causing all their heads to turn.
"There you all are!"
With a wave and a grin, wearing his black frames, was Ranpo Edogawa.
Yosano straightened up. "Ranpo?"
Ranpo grinned, walking over to them. "I know things got a little crazy, but don't worry. I've got it all under control!"
Kunikida stared. "Exactly how is this under control?" He asked, feeling incredibly out of the loop le Ranpo. He finally finished wobbling to his feet, still a bit jello-legged. At least he wasn't the only bewildered one, as Yosano and Alu were both staring at Ranpo with equally confused expressions.
Ranpo's eyes fell on Alu and though they glinted slightly acknowledging the markings on her neck from the red lightning ability user, he didn't comment on it—for now at least. "Notice where we are," Ranpo hummed with a smirk.
They all stared at him. Meanwhile, the little girl wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Uh, where is that little girl?" Alu asked, sort of side tracking from Ranpo's random remark.
"Oh, hmm, she probably went to play with the children," Ranpo shrugged, completely unperturbed.
Alu stared at him. "Eh! That's bad! What if they get hurt?"
"They won't," Ranpo interjected, confidently.
Yosano meanwhile looked around. Ranpo had a reason for asking that question. It was a clue. Her eyes fell upon something that caught her eye. There, in front of her, where she was looking, was a placard on a wall. It was faded and really dusty. She rubbed it with her glove. "Adzuki Industries," she murmured.
"Ding, ding, ding," Ranpo said cheerfully, gleeful at Yosano's sharp eye.
Alu and Kunikida just stared now at these two, since they were at least on the same page of not having any idea what the heck Ranpo was trying to get at. "Okay, so the name of this strange factory is Adzuki Industries?" Alu remarked, scratching her head.
None of them knew how that was relevant but well, Ranpo seemed almost ready to burst with the explanation. Which was great because honestly, he was the only one who apparently knew what the heck was even going on.
"Yep!" Ranpo said gleefully, pushing his glasses up his nose. Yes, this time, these were the correct ones. How he got them back from that woman...that was another story for another time. He grinned like a child in a candy store, pointing at the others, a hand on his hip. "Alright, listen up. The final phase of this mission is commencing! My deduction has led me to believe this can be resolved easily in time for breakfast!"
"Final phase?" Kunikida repeated, glancing to Yosano as though she would be able to add any more clarity to this convolution.
"3...2….1…" Ranpo counted down, with a smile.
Suddenly, a black hole opened up in front of Kunikida, Yosano and Alu. Out of it, fell Dazai, Odasaku, Ango and Fukuzawa.
They all stared at each other. Dazai looked around, not one to waste the opportunity to assess his environment. He still had Odasaku cradled sort of half on him and half on the gurney. His priority was Odasaku's well being after all. In the meantime, he just avoided Ango, letting the government official land on his face on the ground, when they all fell through together.
Fukuzawa cleared his throat, dusting himself off, getting to his feet and glancing to Ranpo with a frown. Ranpo just grinned. "What the hell is going on," Ango groaned, the last to get up, having dropped his glasses from the fall through the hole.
As he felt around for his glasses, Alu squatted, grabbing them for him. He took them, murmuring and then blinked, realizing who he was staring at. "Ah, you," he said, blinking and sitting up. Ango however noted her neck. "What's wrong...you've been affected by that ability user…" he said, eying her.
Alu blinked. "Who are you?" She asked, tilting her head. "Wait...don't tell me…" she thought for a second and she pointed to him. "I've seen you at that one place, Bar Lupin!" She completely sidetracked from Ango's comment about the red charged lightning shaped veins glowing on her neck dimly.
Dazai blinked, overhearing that part and he looked over his shoulder. Ango blinked. "Uh, yes…?" Ango was concerned if this girl's brain had been fried too.
"Yeah, you know this suicidal maniac, then?" Alu pointed to Dazai, without skipping a beat. "I've seen you three in the past hang out." She was of course referring to Odasaku, Dazai and Ango.
Ango blinked and slowly looked over to Dazai. He wanted to say yes, but the glaring daggers Dazai had targeted for him made it rather a tasteless choice. "I drink alone," he found himself saying finally.
Dazai sighed out a mushroom cloud. He didn't have time to pout about Alu's apparent disregard for his presence. He however was intrigued. If she knew this then his hunch that she had been tailing Odasaku for longer than she let on may be correct. He wondered just how much this girl actually did know about everything going on in his life, Odasaku's life—and apparently Mr. Traitor's life too.
He blinked, sensing movement out of the corner of his eye. His attention was redirected momentarily, seeing Yosano kneel next to Odasaku who was still on the gurney. "He doesn't look so good," she murmured, worried.
"Use your ability," Fukuzawa replied, nodding to Yosano, his tone serious as always.
Yosano nodded. She set to work, cracking her knuckles and looming over Oda's corpse menacingly. "Understood."
Dazai's eyes widened with abject horror as once again, imagery not suited for this fanfiction graced even Dazai's retinas thus this making it the only time he ever questioned his desire for suicide with a beautiful woman. Of course, he'd rather live than perform a double suicide with that hot-headed shortie Chuuya—but that was completely unrelated and off topic and something for his diary entry later.
Meanwhile, Ango straightened up, taking in the surroundings along with Fukuzawa. Ranpo strolled over to Fukuzawa, grinning, hands behind his head. "Sorry it took so long, man all this planning really took me a while!"
He sounded chipper however, the glare that Fukuzawa shot him made even Ranpo flinch behind his confident demeanor. "Ranpo, what the hell is going on," Fukuzawa growled, glaring.
Ranpo held out his hands like he was trying to calm down an angry beast—which he was— it just so happened to be his boss, L.O.L. … "Like I said, all according to plan!" He said cheerfully.
He glanced at Ango. "I take it, Chief Taneda is aware of his role in all this?"
Ango nodded. "Yes, stay out of it, I believe is what you said more or less eloquently," he said deadpan. "You merely asked for my help...which I still don't understand why I was brought into all of this specifically—unless…" Ango's eyes widened, as something suddenly dawned on him. "I see…" he said, quietly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Ranpo just hummed, turning back to Fukuzawa. "So, that little girl brought you all here at my behest!" He stated brightly, holding out his arms like he was a Saint or about to do jumping jacks—honestly either explanation would suit Ranpo.
Alu meanwhile, just stood with Kunikida. "So...do you know now what's going on?" Alu whispered to Kunikida, completely confused. Kunikida would cry if he had the energy.
"Not a clue," he grimaced, shoulders slouching.
Alu's eyes slid back to Ranpo.
She wondered what he was planning.
These Armed Detective Agency members were honestly way more interesting in person than Alu had first even cared to acknowledge. She had assumed they were just a bunch of boring stick-in-the mud types but well, the boss carried the air and the attire of a freaking samurai. The kid with glasses was really smart and could deduce anything in seconds, the blonde guy could summon crap from a piece of fricken paper—and well, the young woman Yosano could bring those on the brink of death itself back to life fully healed! Alu realized this was a rather balanced team of individuals.
It was clear though that their trump card was Ranpo Edogawa. His ability was clearly the most revered—the ability to see The Truth of any given case. It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Alu found him to be the most peculiar of all though not because of his ability but his character. His motivation for all this felt more like he was staging some sort of school drama not actually doing a serious case that involved risking the lives of everyone involved. Alu frowned, wondering if that was a healthy way to address any of this.
She watched him, talking to the president and the dimple faced man with glasses, before she finally raised her voice. "Hey, Ranpo...I have a question!"
"—eastside because in order for Ms. Jane Austen to—" Ranpo paused explaining the current situation to Fukuzawa and Ango.
He blinked at her. Alu realized she sort of had the attention of everyone. She felt self-conscious—not liking all the eyes on her but she just gazed at Ranpo, keeping her target specific. "Why are you involving yourself in this?"
It was a question that was completely random as far as the others were concerned. Ranpo however grinned. "Because I'm The Greatest Detective!" He pointed to himself, giving himself a thumbs up. "After all, without me, this case wouldn't even be solvable."
"That's not what I asked," Alu repeated, staring down Ranpo. "You know the question I'm asking, Mister Edogawa."
A tense silence hung in the air.
