Vol. 5

Ch. 3

Take a Step Forward With A Steady Punch at Hand

The remaining thugs aimed what they had at him. Chuuya scanned the room. He had to admit, he was rather impressed with the sight before him. It was a bit comical actually. There were a few unconscious thugs—clearly taken out by this girl— and he knew from his talk beforehand with his boss that he wasn't expecting Alu to be a damsel to begin with. Still, seeing the knocked out grown men sprawled around her like ugly rugs was an amusing sight.

His eyes spotted the hat in her hands immediately. His eyes flashed. Alu turned quickly just then, sensing guns locked on Chuuya. "Don't just stand there!" She shouted, jolting Chuuya from his thoughts.

Feeling his face warm from frustrated embarrassment, he snapped out of his reverie. That's right, he was here to help her. He heard the gunshots ring out but with a flick of his gloved wrist, the bullets stopped before they even got close to him. Hovering in front of his palm, the thugs and Alu looked surprised.

Chuuya smirked. "Did you really think something as trivial as a bullet could hurt me?" With a cackle he made a small motion with his wrist and the bullets flew backwards in the same projectile path originally launched at him—this time causing the shooters to dodge with squeals of alarm. Chuuya wasn't someone to kill without a reason—but being pissed off and targeted seemed valid enough for him in this case.

Alu's eyes flashed. At the rate the bullets were in danger of ricocheting, someone would possibly die! "Chuuya! Stop it!" She said sharply, quickly pulling out a fuzzy white fox tail, her eyes glowing pink as her hair got silver tips and she launched herself in front of his direct line of fire.

Chuuya's eyes flashed with genuine alarm and bewilderment. Quickly making a fist, the bullets aimed for the thugs dropped to the floor, clattering loudly.

"!?" His bewildered expression contorted into a frustrated scowl. "What the hell!"

The thugs meanwhile aimed their guns at Alu instead. "S-Stay right where you are!" one of the remaining conscious ones stammered, his gun hand trembling slightly behind his wild glare.

Alu sensed Chuuya wanting to respond but she held up her hands. "I won't hurt you," she said, gently, hoping to diffuse at least some of the tension. Now that she wasn't sorely outnumbered, she wanted to get some information from these guys without having to resort to knocking them all out. That would just be a waste of valuable time.

"Y-yeah right!" The thug spat and he pulled the trigger. Alu's eyes flashed. Even as the bullet moved towards her, she watched with wide eyes as it slowed to a halt right before the bridge of her nose. Tapping a foot as she stepped back, or rather, attempted not to stagger, she watched the bullet just clatter to the floor.

Her eyes shifted to look at Chuuya who began to walk over quietly, his gloved hand outstretched. It was clear he was the one who had just stopped the bullet shy of hitting her. Alu held up an arm in Chuuya's direction, a silent gesture telling him to halt. Chuuya did so though his sour expression said more than words at the moment.

The thug grit his teeth. "You're just a freak of nature! I can't trust anything you say! Look what you've done to my companions!"

"You say that like your companions weren't about to harm me," Alu said, calmly, and her glare at the thug made him shiver. Even though he wanted to pull the trigger again, he found his finger frozen on the trigger.

Why couldn't he move?

What was she?

She really was… "a monster…" he stammered, trembling. "No wonder…Boss thought you'd be a big catch…"

"Oh? So you know who hired your boss to get me?" Alu said, perking up, pleased that this was going somewhere. Chuuya looked like he was chewing glass, though he realized what Alu was doing. Knowing better than to interrupt an obvious interrogation, he just crossed his arms, glaring at the remaining thugs that chose to cower behind the one holding the gun at Alu. Apparently out of the remaining thugs standing, their sense of self-preservation came first and they were willing to hide behind the stupid bold one to do so.

"S-Shut up!" The thug growled, glaring at both her and he pointed at Chuuya. "Y-You're only confident because your boyfriend showed up to save you," he sneered at her.

Alu pursed her lips. She was afraid if she opened her mouth, she'd bust a gut, laughing. Chuuya looked displeased with the conjecture.

Meanwhile, perched safely in a helicopter, in the air near where Chuuya and Alu were, Dazai listened in on the conversation through an earpiece. He pursed his lips to refrain from laughing. Chuuya and dating didn't even fit in the same hemisphere, and the thought of him with Alu was so absurd it was funny. Odasaku sighed, sensing Dazai's immature amusement.

Ranpo and Kunikida exchanged glances, as Dazai was the only one connected to the happenings with Chuuya. "What are they saying?" Kunikida whispered, impatient from the pilot seat. He actually wasn't piloting anything-Katai was lending them virtual aid thanks to his ability from back in Yokohama ADA H.Q. where he was currently.

Dazai merely giggled which made both Odasaku and Kunikida concerned. Ranpo remained silent, observing Dazai. Dazai made a hand motion indicating that everything was under control on Chuuya's end and Ranpo merely nodded to Kunikida and Odasaku, and they both remained quiet.

"Just talking 'bout Chuuya's dating life," he sniggered.

"Hah!? Why would I ever date someone like her?" Chuuya retorted at the thug through Dazai's earpiece.

Dazai's eyes had actual tears in them. "-or lack of one," he wheezed, trying hard not to bust a gut, laughing.

Meanwhile, Alu wanted to punch Chuuya in the stomach. This guy had terrible bedside manners. In this, she could draw a stark contrast between how he acted and Dazai would have acted. Oddly, she wondered if the two boys knew each other. It would make sense considering they both had worked for the same organization. "Move your feet, not your mouth," she snarkily replied, turning her attention from the thug and to Chuuya with raised eyebrows.

"You're the one that just told me not to do anything," Chuuya complained.

"Good, you were listening," Alu cheekily replied, "At least that means you're full of more than just hot air," and with a grin, before Chuuya could retort, she moved quickly. Moments later the thugs yelped in shock as Alu swiftly knocked them all out. It was surprisingly easy. Alu breathed, stepping over the bodies after emptying the barrels of the guns and tossing the unloaded guns to the floor. She wasn't one to use a gun herself and she had a feeling Chuuya already had a gun on himself if he ever needed it.

"Are we done here?" Chuuya asked, impatiently, arms crossed.

"Aw, weren't you going to dramatically save me?" Alu teased him.

"Tch," Chuuya felt his face warm. Okay, maybe he misspoke. He was trying to sound cool at the time but he realized in hindsight he sounded presumptuous. Of course this girl could take care of herself. But he could just see Dazai's damn amused smirk and he wanted to punch it so bad. He wanted to be cooler than Dazai-but he wondered if he fell short of that goal-and no, that was not a pun on his height! What was the point of him even bothering to come? He should have just stayed at the hotel. He would feel less foolish. Dammit. "Let's just go," he said grumpily. It was too late now to regret coming. After all, Dazai had been the one to somehow find him…

Chuuya left the hotel but realized he had no idea what to actually do. Just then his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number. He was going to block it but a text came in a second later. His vein twitched.

The text read: Hey Shortie, you free?

Chuuya crushed his phone in mere seconds. It could only have been one person stupid enough to push his buttons who sent that. "Dazai," he hissed, enunciating each syllable menacingly in a hiss under his breath.

"Well that wasn't very nice," a fake sad voice said from around the corner. Chuuya's head shot up. His eyes widened. There, leaning against a wall, with just a whisper of a sand-colored trench coat peeking out from around the corner, was none other than the one person on the entire planet who Chuuya absolutely could not tolerate-unless they had to work together. But even then! He barely tolerated this ass-hat.

"You-" he snarled.

"Me," Dazai said with a shrug, tilting his head at Chuuya. "As fun as it is to have these informal exchanges with you, I take it you are also here because of that girl?"

Chuuya actually appreciated Dazai cutting to the chase. He needed something to stop him from seeing nothing but red. "What of it," he asked bitingly. "Is it true you left the Port?" he hissed.

Dazai eyed him but didn't answer. "Since we're headed in the same direction, I'll let you know where she is," he hummed, sidestepping Chuuya's other inquiry completely. This made Chuuya's blood boil. It was because of this asshole that he, Chuuya, had been forced to originally join the Port Mafia. He had been blackmailed-his own crew, The Sheep, turned against him, all because of this manipulative sociopathic unfeeling bastard. And yet, he had the balls to leave the Port Mafia only a few years later? No word, no explanation- at least none that Mori cared to share.

Chuuya was aware of his boss's vested interest in the girl—-but what puzzled him was Dazai's.

Just what sort of relationship did that conniving bastard even have with this fox girl? Ugh, thinking about him was making Chuuya's blood boil. Alu's voice brought him back to the present.

"Huh? Where?" Alu asked, trotting after him as he inspected the purple motorcycle in the repair garage. "Oh! That reminds me," she said brightly. She held out Chuuya's hat with a smile. "This...belongs to you, right?"

Chuuya's eyes flickered. He'd been so caught up in talking with her that he had actually forgotten about his hat-no his thoughts had been about getting back in touch with her in general and he'd completely let his real issue slip his mind! Chuuya grabbed the hat with a feral swipe, and growled under his breath, quickly putting it back on his head, shielding his warm cheeks from her curious gaze. Did she have to look at him so adamantly? Jeez. Did she ever blink?

Chuuya felt self-conscious but also relieved. He huffed. "Thanks," he said, curt. He tapped the Motorcycle. "So, anything in your fox powers that allow you to move stuff?"

Alu blinked. She tilted her head. She frowned. "Uh, I'm not a battery, dude," she said, deadpan, realizing what Chuuya was asking. Chuuya sighed.

"Nn," he replied, kneeling next to it and inspecting it.

"Why are you interested in that motorbike? You're not gonna steal it, are ya?" Alu asked, frowning.

Chuuya shrugged off her disapproving tone with his own indifferent glare. "And what if I am? Do you have any better way of getting away from here quickly?"

Alu didn't but she sighed, none-the-less. Something was bothering her though about Chuuya's timing. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his back-up, but it felt a little too cleanly planned. She tilted her head at him. She noted a small black earpiece tucked into his ear past his flame-kissed brown hair. Her eyes narrowed.

Ah.

She had a feeling he wasn't working alone. Casually she squatted next to him, and grinned at him suddenly. Chuuya looked up, startled—not used to a girl being so close— and his body tensed instinctively on edge in self-defense. He saw her hand reaching for him and grabbed her wrist with his gloved hand, gripping it firmly.

Alu let out a small noise of chagrin. He was fast. Almost on her level. Impressive. "Ow," she said, trying to pull her wrist free, pouting. Chuuya let her wrist go but he was bewildered.

"What are you doing?" He asked, apprehensively.

"You had something on you," Alu replied lightly.

"I do?" Chuuya suddenly looked at himself, self-consciously.

Alu just leaned next to him and spoke loudly. "I know you're not here alone, so why don't you ask whoever you're working with to come out already?"

Chuuya grimaced. Ah, she was sharp. He realized she must have pieced stuff together somehow by observing him. But how? He touched the ear with the earpiece, and gazed at her. "They can't," he said, sighing.

"Why not?" Alu asked, curious. She tilted her head again, arms crossed.

"That's…" Chuuya paused as Dazai's irritating voice interjected.

"Ah, she's onto us, no point in denying it," he said, bemused.

Alu heard the sound of a loud chopper outside of the steel and stone building. Chuuya sighed and he went over to a control panel. He pressed a button on the wall near one of the garage doors, and it automatically began to lift.

As it did, Alu saw, flanked by the lights of the helicopter, standing on the ground, were Kunikida, Dazai, Odasaku…and …Ranpo.

Alu felt her chest clench in panic. She remembered how she'd hurt Yosano earlier! She wasn't ready to face Ranpo or the A.D.A! Even though Kunikida hadn't been there, she still felt incredibly self-conscious. Who knows what Ranpo had told him by now.

Alu glanced out of the corner of her eye to the door Chuuya had entered through earlier. If she timed it just right, she could yeet. Chuuya grabbed her without warning by her coat. Alu let out a comical gagging noise, "—Oh no you don't," Chuuya said, disgruntled.

Alu suddenly felt like her sense of gravity was sucked away from her. Literally, light as a feather, she felt herself tossed towards Dazai and the others. Her eyes flashed. She realized what Chuuya was trying to do. Alu tried to counter his anti-gravity ability with her own demon fox one, but found herself comically completely drained—battery at 0%.

Ah, shite.

It looked like she had absolutely no spirit juice to spare. What rotten luck. Guess on some level…she was ironically like a battery when it came to Juubi juice after all. With a twist, she found herself caught by Dazai who timed his movements perfectly to engage with her as she got closer to them.

Alu felt her face flush from embarrassment. She had too much pride to be handled like some delicate piece of cargo. She quickly pulled herself free of Dazai, and now that she was with the others, he actually didn't resist her attempt to get out of his arms. But before she could speak, a fireball whizzed past them all.

Alu quickly turned around, swiveling on her heel, to look in the direction of the fireball trajectory origination. "We're not alone it seems," Ranpo deduced matter-of-factory.

"Why can't anything be smooth…" Kunikida gruffly complained.

"Tch," Chuuya landed near them, and crouched like a gargoyle, avoiding eye-contact with Dazai mostly, focused on the direction of the fireball as well. "That was a warning message."

"What do we do…should we engage?" Odasaku asked, frowning. He felt uneasy. Now that the garage door was open, it was pretty obvious that Chuuya and Alu had taken out a solid handful of thugs. Unfortunately, people like Dazai, Chuuya, and Odasaku knew that these gangs often had more members hidden in the shadows.

It would seem the enemy wasn't going to just let them walk away.

Odasaku's eyes flashed. BTHMP.

Five fireballs rained down with no warning, twisting in the sky to form what looked like a roaring lion's snarl, incinerating the helicopter as well as the unfortunate ADA members who stood too close.

Odasaku felt his blood run as cold as a frosted windowpane. "Everyone! Move away! Now!" He shouted, not one for loud outbursts normally. This jolted Dazai and Chuuya to attention—they knew his ability had been activated if he was this agitated.

Ranpo grabbed the confused Kunikida by his arm and steered him away from the helicopter, Kunikida letting out a confused noise at Ranpo's unexpected strength. "!?" Kunikida's expression was nothing short of bewildered. Why did it feel like he was always out of the loop?

Five fireballs flew in the sky like comets, but they swirled around one another, forming what looked to be a roaring lion's snarl… headed right for them!

Alu found herself steered out of harm's way without warning by Dazai's firm grip on her arm. With 0% energy to spare, she realized her strength was also depleted after defending herself against those thugs and using Juubi's form so much. She hated feeling like such a glass cannon. Finding herself suddenly tugged, she felt her body unquestioningly let Dazai puppet it. He pulled her, in a mere few seconds, away from the helicopter. Alu observed how Odasaku and Dazai both awkwardly moved out of harm's way, as best they could, as the helicopter was incinerated before their eyes.

Chuuya, being Chuuya, naturally was able to get out of harm's way easily. He floated now in the air, making himself weightless, eyes narrowed at the flames licking the sky as the groaning metal caved in on itself. "Found you," he said with a snarl, and before anyone could stop him, he disappeared up to the roof of the building itself.

"H-hey!" Alu shouted, alarmed, but Dazai put a hand on her shoulder.

Alu looked at him, agitated. Why was he so calm? She noted how his demeanor was serious though and she quieted. Odasaku breathed hard, relieved that his vision had stopped them all from becoming rotisserie. "Is everyone alright?" He asked, glancing towards Ranpo and Kunikida who stood away from the heat, near them.

"Fine and dandy," Ranpo said with a grin and a thumbs up—seemingly unperturbed that he had almost become a human s'more.

Alu however couldn't shake her concern for Chuuya's impulsive behavior. It was clear to her that Dazai knew Chuuya well for him to be so calm. But, Alu was alarmed at such a powerful ability being launched at her. These people would only be hurt if she kept them by her side. She grit her teeth. She had to somehow get them to leave!

"You guys need to get away from here!" She said fervently, glaring at them with frustration.

"What? And miss the show?" Dazai countered, with a smirk. Alu grimaced. He was both teasing and bluntly telling her off for trying to get them to leave her there alone.

"Dazai, what do you want to do?" Odasaku asked, frowning at Dazai. Odasaku knew that if anyone was a planner, it was Dazai. He was the one who could best think on spur of the moment situations like this one. Odasaku was in agreement with his friend. They were not going to just abandon this girl after the trouble they went through to make sure she was safe.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" Ranpo trotted over, with a beguiling smile.

Kunikida came over as well, but mostly out of self-preservation. He didn't want to be targeted for another fireball. "I say we split up," Kunikida said, calculatively.

Dazai blinked, and looked at the blonde four-eyes with genuine surprise.

Kunikida glared at him, not liking the look this eccentric bastard was giving him. It made his hair stand on end. Dazai just clasped his hands together. "That's what I was going to say," he said with amazement. "Could it be that you are the one who will finish all my sentences?"

He was of course making a joke about how couples can read each other's minds(supposedly) but Kunikida being dense as a doorknob, didn't get it. Though Odasaku and Ranpo pursed their lips along with Alu, because all three of them got the reference and didn't want to have to point it out to Kunikida. "Huh? No I'm not finishing your sentences!" Kunikida barked. "Since it seems we're on the same wavelength though, then you know what I'm going to say next but I'll say it anyways!" He huffed, pointing a finger at Alu. "Get this girl to safety, that's our priority. However it rubs me the wrong way to just leave that red-head behind…he's a friend of yours, right?"

Dazai gagged. "Ugh, not a friend," he said, wretching.

Kunikida was even more confused. "But you said that you and Odasaku have crossed paths before with him."

"Crossed paths… I used to be the one to work with him," Odasaku said, carefully, so that Dazai's past with the Port Mafia wouldn't be exposed to Kunikida. Although the President and Ranpo knew, he wasn't actually sure who else knew besides Miss Yosano.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Alu huffed, irritated. "I'm not a delicate piece of cargo to tote around!" she put her hands on her hips, frowning at Kunikida.

Kunikida flustered. "I-I'm not saying that!" But in a way, he was trying to protect her because she was a girl and that was the right thing to do—wasn't it? According to his ideals, girls, women, and children needed to be protected…right?

The roof suddenly shook and the sound of a BOOM jolted everyone to look up. Dazai sighed. "Ah, looks like he's nuking them," he said undistressed.

Alu didn't like that sound. Dammit, why was she at 0% at a time like this! She took a step forwards instinctively in that direction only to find herself falling. Huh? Why were her legs suddenly heavy? Alu's vision blurred with no prior warning, her heart beat thundering loudly in her ears. She felt herself be caught but was too disorientated to get a clear visual as her vision began to black. She only heard a voice that sounded faintly like Odasaku's calling out to her. "Hey! Are you alright?" He seemed to be saying. Alu wanted to reply but her tongue was heavy. She slumped in his arms, going unconscious.