ASSIGNMENT . 2
The fight with Akutagawa was concluded.
Atsushi had refused to leave Kyouka behind.
And, Kunikida's heart thought to be set in stone at this point, perhaps cracked just a little, to reveal his old shine.
Some time passed since the conclusion of the botched Port Mafia kidnapping of Atsushi. The ADA took Kyouka under their wing while deciding what to do about her fate with the government. There was no doubt that Fukuzawa's weakness for cute things made him decide on the spot to take her in. She was cute and small after all.
Honestly, he says he's not like Ogai Mori on some level. The young woman hummed to herself. Ogai Mori may go around actively flaunting his Elise-Chan but the nature of their relationship… was not actually sexual like his ability name implied or how he acted around other people with Elise.
Both of them simply liked to dote on cute things. It was hilariously ironic.
Regardless, that girl had a place now… by that boy's side. The young woman chuckled. She could just hear Ranpo's voice.
'All's well that ends well, for me that is!'
'You… really couldn't leave it alone could you?' A disgruntled voice spoke in her mind.
Haha…I've been sitting on my thumbs this whole time, ya know… the young woman looked up at the blue sky. The clouds crossed it. She held up her hand to shield her eyes from the light's harsh glare but accepted the warmth granted on her face.
'Tch, you know that little girl is going to blab about you to the ADA, you've gone and put yourself on their radar!'
Perhaps…the young woman was thoughtful if not subdued. Although I get the sense they will have their hands tied by their own problems at the moment…considering there's a bounty for that tiger boy.
The voice in her head sighed heavily. 'Honestly. It's like you're just tempting bad luck to take a shot at us….'
Juubi, the young woman said with a grin, have I ever acted without a plan in mind?
'Uh yes. All the time.' Juubi deadpanned from inside her head.
…You know, I have matured quite a bit in my middle-aged years! The young woman huffed.
'You're not that old…you're only 23…'
I could die at 46!
The young woman, Alu, just strolled down the city block now. She enjoyed her exchanges with Juubi. He was her friend after all. They'd gone through a lot together. But not only that, she depended on him more than she liked to admit. He knew it too. Of course, he depended on her too.
"What a nice day to be alive~," she remarked to no one.
—
Kyouka gazed at the President of the ADA.
Atsushi wasn't there. He'd gone home.
But Kyouka had been asked to step into Fukuzawa's office to discuss her current living arrangement. She stood politely formal in the office now. It was after the fight with Akutagawa. She'd spent the day hovering at the office after Fukuzawa finally caved into letting her stay at the ADA agency. Atsushi had gone out on some unsolved case with Kenji-kun today. This left a bit of time for Fukuzawa to discuss things with Kyouka about her current situation. It was actually the end of the day, but Fukuzawa found it problematic to just have her sleep in Yosano's nurse's office for an indefinite period of time.
Ranpo was at his desk in the other room being typical Ranpo.
Kunikida had gone home for the day.
"I am aware that you currently have no place to stay," Fukuzawa began. "Yosano-San isn't an option for you to stay with as your ties… Well, let's just say that Yosano-San regrettably can't take you in."
"…" Kyouka gazed at him, politely quiet.
"Perhaps for the time being you could stay with Dazai," Fukuzawa slowly thought out loud.
Humorous crashing ensued on the other end of the phone he was currently holding. "I don't think my heart or my bachelor pad could handle living with a child," Dazai spoke on the other end.
He was sitting upright comically in his bed. He had a glass of alcohol in his hand. Half of it was spilled onto his striped top. He had his sleeves rolled up, and his outer attire tossed somewhere to the side on the floor. His books on suicide were strewn around himself. He also kept a journal with his dislike for Chuuya Nakahara but that is irrelevant at the moment.
"Plus she is a former assassin, she could kill me before I even have a chance to realize my dream of a passionate lover's suicide! The previous orphan I saved tried to eat me or didja forget that? I don't wanna die because of an orphan, you know! That's a messed up way to go!"*
—-
*insert laugh track and crying depressed Dazai from both universes Beast & Original World lol
—-
"You know she wouldn't kill you," Fukuzawa rolled his eyes, curt. Kyouka looked depressed and yet, Dazai just plowed on, a tad insensitive, the president thought. Honestly Dazai could be as immature as Ranpo. On some level they were alike.
"Ah, you give me too much credit. Most women want to kill me if they stick around long enough," Dazai cheerfully said. He dabbed his top with a white handkerchief.
Fukuzawa felt himself age mentally ten years with exasperation. Dazai had a point. Regrettably. "…then how will we house her?"
"How about this!" His jovial voice spoke on the flip phone speaker Fukuzawa had recently turned on. "Why not have her stay with Atsushi-kun?"
"Ah, Dazai suggests we let you stay with Atsushi for the time being," Fukuzawa sighed. "However if that makes you uncomfortable, I will try to arrange—?"
"Not necessary," Kyouka replied quietly. "I will go wherever you request," she said obediently.
Fukuzawa wanted to pet her like she was a small animal. No, no, focus. He was a samurai after all. He had to exercise discipline. He was not like a certain gross Mafia Boss. Kyouka tilted her head at Fukuzawa.
"Alright Dazai…looks like we will take your suggestion," Fukuzawa sighed inwardly. It wasn't like he had any better options. Yosano had previous war flashbacks to any reminders of that distasteful organization, and having Kyouka live with her felt like a stress he didn't want to put onto her. Ranpo had actually agreed, stating it would not end well.
Ranpo was a big baby himself and Fukuzawa honestly didn't need more than one headache at home. Because yes, Ranpo still definitely lived with him. He would never leave. Ever. He was Fukuzawa's pseudo-son though Fukuzawa didn't mind it too terribly much.
And Kunikida. Just not even in the same universe was it a good idea for obvious reasons.
Kenji-kun still lived at home, only working at the agency part time.
And the siblings had their ….'thing'… that Fukuzawa just let slide cuz it was more problematic to think about the suggestive nature of their relationship than anything. He knew Tanizaki was a good older brother and the siblings were just super cuddly but still. They were kids themselves, and it wasn't their responsibility to look after her.
Yosano had moved out when she was in her late teens for independence and lived actually at the agency dorms. Unfortunately, those dorms were full. Hence, this current situation.
"Yahoo~" Dazai cheerfully laughed on the other end. "I'll toast to their bonding under the same roof!"
"Please don't," Fukuzawa deadpanned, feeling a headache coming on. While he did appreciate Dazai's input on many things, sometimes one just had to wonder what his real intentions were. Still.
"I jest," Dazai said brightly. "Either way, since he's the one who saved her, it makes the most sense that he takes care of her. Just think of it like taking care of a small animal! I know you like cats, President. Think of it like taking in a poor defenseless kitten!"
Fukuzawa gazed at Kyouka as she looked at him with big eyes. It was hard not to imagine the cat ears and tail. It was the same logic he used on the president for Atsushi. Dammit the same trick should not be working twice.
Crap. Fukuzawa was weak.
One head-pet wouldn't hurt.
He stood in front of her now, staring down at the small girl in front of him that was capable of murder. It was honestly hard to believe if he didn't have her attest to this herself. Of course it was because of that damn Ogai Mori that this poor child had been subjected to such horror in the first place. Just another reason for Fukuzawa to want to castrate him.
Not that he could.
Because unfortunately that would undo the hard work of Natsume-sensei, someone that Fukuzawa admired.
Still he reached out a hand to pat her on the head. Kyouka blinked, looking up at him as he pet her head. "?"
"Ah, sorry…" Fukuzawa pulled his hand back.
"It's okay," Kyouka said quietly. She tilted her head thoughtful. "Your hand…is like that person's…"
"What do you mean? Whose?" Fukuzawa blinked.
Kyouka smiled smally for the first time. Fukuzawa decided right then and there when he saw that smile that she was under the Fukuzawa protection squad. Must protect cute things and all their glory. "…your hand is warm and gentle… I can see why she speaks highly of you."
"Who?" Fukuzawa asked again, dumbly.
"Nora…Nora Noname," Kyouka said, blinking at Fukuzawa. She was a bit puzzled that he was puzzled in all honesty. They sort of comically mirrored each other in that moment. They really did look related. She could have totally passed for his granddaughter like he'd stated earlier to the Metropolitan Police Detective.
"Is she someone…from your ties to the mafia?" Fukuzawa asked, frowning. It was downright impossible to think there was someone actually decent over there.
"No… she said she was from your agency," Kyouka said.
A beat.
Fukuzawa stared at Kyouka. "Uh," he said with the grace of a deflating elephant. "We…don't have anyone by that name working for us…"
Kyouka furrowed her brow. "But she knew all about you," she pointed out, suddenly inwardly worried. That person hadn't sabotaged anything but if she wasn't with the ADA then why did she tell Kyouka who she was? Was it a trap to get Kyouka to let her guard down? No, that didn't fit. For some reason, Kyouka just couldn't see that person as being intentionally vindictive.
But, then again…people could be deceiving. Kyouka prided herself on her ability to believe in the worst in people…but for a moment, that person had made her want to believe in the best in people instead.
The most dangerous type of person in the world was not one who used weapons but their words to deceive others.
"Kyouka-chan," Fukuzawa's serious tone made Kyouka flinch.
Was he angry?
No, he looked distressed, more than anything.
"Yes…?"
"I need you to tell me everything you know about this person you met starting with when and where you met them," Fukuzawa said sharply.
Kyouka didn't want to disobey this person. She nodded. "Okay…"
Kyouka said what she remembered. Fukuzawa listened with knit eyebrows. His expression was mostly unreadable. However when she mentioned Nora's point of view on Ranpo, he couldn't help but purse his lips. Honestly he would have found it funny if it didn't mean something much more dire. This person was surprisingly perceptive—and this meant she was even more dangerous. If she even knew about Dazai—to a certain undisclosed level— then that meant his agents and their privacy could be in danger.
This was a security breach of his agents' safety, plain and simple.
Fukuzawa could sense Kyouka was distressed. "Am I…in trouble?"
Fukuzawa blinked. "Of course not," he said, patting her head gently. "I'll have Yosano-san escort you to where Atsushi-kun is currently," he said, not wanting to raise the tension anymore for this already distressed child. He was grateful for this information. In a way, Kyouka encountering this person meant that he had a lead. And that would be all Ranpo would need.
Meanwhile Dazai who had been quietly listening in found something odd. "Hey Kyouka-Chan," he said, upbeat over the phone.
"…?" Kyouka blinked.
Fukuzawa sighed and held out the phone to her. Kyouka took it. "Did that person mention me at all?"
"No…" Kyouka admitted, quietly. "You never came up."
There was silence. Then Dazai sighed deeply. "Why am I the only one left out? Ah, my feelings are hurt!"
"Dazai, don't do anything rash," Fukuzawa said with a sigh.
Dazai rolled around on his bed. He had unbuttoned his top but since it was stained he figured he'd just take it off altogether, and he was in the process of this as Fukuzawa's disapproving tone came through the speaker on Dazai's phone. "Tch." Dazai pouted.
"I will discuss with Ranpo-San, and then we will go from there. Stay put. That's an order." Fukuzawa curtly hung up.
Dazai looked at his phone. If the President was being serious then it looked like he would have to be serious too! Dazai sighed loudly. "Yosh~" he stretched, now shirtless in his bed. His torso was also wrapped in bandages. He rested his arms around his head, looking up at the ceiling.
"…" He gazed at a pack of cigarettes with the label: Bar Lupin. His expression is unreadable.
—-
"Huh?" Ranpo said his half chewed potato chip falling out of his mouth as Fukuzawa relayed what Kyouka had told him. "That person said —what —about me?!"
Fukuzawa appreciated Ranpo paying attention but he felt like Ranpo was missing the point here. "The ship with any clues to that person already sunk—literally," Fukuzawa sighed. "So I was thinking you could see what you could glean from discussing this further with Kyouka."
He gestured to the young girl who just hovered, obedient like a statue.
"President, you don't have to worry," Ranpo's green eyes glinted as he frowned at him. Fukuzawa was inwardly surprised and a bit pleased to see Ranpo acting maturely for the sake of his fellow agents without needing to be bribed. "…I will definitely get to the bottom of what kind of person would denounce my invaluable contribution to society!"
Ah. Moment gone.
It was all about Ranpo's bruised ego. Sigh. Well, whatever motivated him, Fukuzawa inwardly sighed with exasperation.
Ranpo pulled out his frames with a smirk and put them on his face. He gazed at Kyouka. "Addddyeeupp~!"
"…"
"… … …"
"… … … … …"
"President," Ranpo said, his voice deadpan. "Her name is not 'Nora Noname'…she was messing with you, kid," Ranpo huffed at Kyouka. " Nora means 'wander' in japanese, and 'Noname' is just a fancy way to say 'No Name'—essentially she pulled one on you and didn't reveal her real name."
Kyouka felt herself blush with embarrassment and shame. "I…did terribly to investigate further," she admitted, clutching her kimono fabric in her small hands.
"Yeah you did," Ranpo agreed but he caught Fukuzawa's glare and he nearly swallowed his own tongue like it was a long piece of laffy taffy. "Uh, er, I mean…can't be helped. After all, no one has my level of depth perception at their disposal to go off of! And uh…you were there to be a useful clue…so uh, if you really think about it, we wouldn't have any leads if not for you!" He quickly said, scrambling to shake off any implication of Fukuzawa's disapproval.
If there was one thing Ranpo feared in the world—it was that. Oh and responsibility.
"What else can you gather?" Fukuzawa asked, eyeing Ranpo.
"That's actually about it," Ranpo said deadpan.
"Is she a threat?" Fukuzawa felt anxious.
"That's unclear," Ranpo frowned. "But, I can tell, she wasn't lying. She doesn't mean to harm the ADA—at least, not at this time…"
Fukuzawa inwardly sighed with relief. Even if it was a temporary breather, at least it was a breather. Having to deal with recent events was cumbersome enough without adding yet another outside danger to it all.
"So this person knows about us…perhaps it was someone we encountered in the past," Fukuzawa said.
"I would know better if I could analyze her physically, myself," Ranpo huffed. "Besides, I want to meet this person that claims I'm not a great detective!" His green jade eyes glittered with the bubbling tantrum under his matured features. Ranpo may be 26, but he still had the mentality of the teenage brat Fukuzawa had first met all those years ago.
"So for now, what do you want to do? Should we bring her up with the others?" Fukuzawa asked.
"For now, if she turns up, report to me immediately," Ranpo said seriously. "And yes… I got the impression this person only revealed her 'ties' to us because she needed Kyouka-Chan's trust…which she obviously got."
"So you're saying she's someone who is actually trying to keep a low profile?" Fukuzawa frowned. "Is she not from Japan?"
"Hmph, clearly not," Ranpo huffed. "Everyone in this country knows that I'm one of a kind! An incredibly handsome crime-solver!" He puffed out his cheeks like a brat.
Fukuzawa inwardly had to agree with the girl's assessment. She really pegged Ranpo dead-on.
The following day started out like any other at the Armed Detective Agency. Except for Atsushi having a heart attack about having an underage girl living with him. Dazai had already gone over with Atsushi why Kyouka would be living with him, giving him reasons to question the ADA's moral ambiguity of this situation.
Kunikida just didn't even try to voice his own objection to the arrangement.
Then Dazai revealed to Atsushi about who had put the bounty on Atsushi's head originally. According to Kunikida, they were a notorious shady group from North America with their hands in every pot imaginable when it came to status or wealth. But not even Dazai could fathom what they would want with Atsushi— considering his ability and identity had thus far been mostly concealed by the ADA.
Someone had to have leaked him to the other Continent, and that person…was someone Dazai would get to later.
Fukuzawa had them come in a bit earlier than usual to go over the urgent matter that Kyouka had brought up the day before.
But now, everyone stood in Fukuzawa's office, quiet. Kyouka looked down, feeling terrible and guilty. If she hadn't been so trusting, maybe she would have said something sooner. After all her time at the Port Mafia, just having one person be 'nice' had apparently made her blind sighted that not everyone was like Atsushi.
"It's not your fault, you know," Ranpo said with a huff, tilting his head at Kyouka. He normally didn't care about other people and tended to be dense when it came to reading a room, but well, the president would get mad if he made her cry again.
"Yeah…but…" Kyouka began.
"Hey, that person said she was there to help me—apparently, why would you want to doubt that?" Atsushi said, frowning at Kyouka. "Although, I kinda would have liked to meet her…especially if she was on our side. Even though she didn't lift a finger to help with the actual fight…" He mushroom-cloud sighed. "I really wouldn't have minded having some help against that crazy piece of work demon dog…" He mumbled, ruefully.
At least Dazai would have intervened if he had been present, Atsushi concluded. But would that make this mysterious person even more of a chaotic loose cannon than even his mentor? That was a scary thought in itself. Atsushi shivered.
"Now, now, Atsushi," Dazai said, waving an index finger and chiding, "You shouldn't expect a girl to fight your fights for you all the time!"
"What's that mean?" Yosano said, smiling darkly at Dazai.
Dazai felt his manly jewels suck back into their 'safe'…. "Uh…I just mean… a man should fight his own fights, just as a woman can totally hold hers down, you know?" He stammered, inwardly wouldn't admit to it but Yosano terrifies him—-lol.
He made the mistake of flirting with her only once.
Once.
"President, we should apprehend this person immediately," Kunikida's sharp baritone interrupted. He had been oddly quiet but he spoke up now. It was hard to tell what he was actually thinking. But what Kyouka had relayed about that woman's 'wish' for Kunikida had certainly left him feeling mixed and confused. Because he couldn't recall meeting this person for the life of him.
Of course, if even Ranpo couldn't remember then it was that serious.
"Now now, there's no need to be hasty," Ranpo said holding up a hand. "If anything, there's the possibility she could also be working alongside The Guild…after all, she did know of their retrieval vessel for Atsushi-kun."
The others quieted.
"Hm, Ranpo-san's right…" Dazai muttered. His brow was uncharacteristically knit. He actually looked like he was adulting and Atsushi seriously wondered if he was dropped in an alternate universe where Dazai actually cared about work for a change. "Rather…I think the best thing to do at this time is to let me meet her. I can 'woo' her with my manly charms," he sparkled at the others making a 'piku' expression of cuteness.
"…"
Absolutely no one thought that was a good idea.
"Dazai-San… I'm not so sure that's the best tactic here," Atsushi tentatively spoke up.
Dazai pouted. "Agh. No one believes in my manly charms! My feelings are hurt! Now, what did you say, her eyes were blue?"
"…brown," Kyouka deadpanned.
"I was close," Dazai beamed.
Everyone mentally face-palmed because Dazai. Just being Dazai.
Kunikida sighed harshly. "…Dazai can barely remember due dates for assignments, much less details about the poor women he targets," he grumped. "The last thing I want is for him to scare her off indubitably before we have a chance to properly interrogate her." He cracked his knuckles out of an anxious habit.
However, to Atsushi, it looked like a menacing gesture and he sweated a little. "U-Um…if Ranpo-San has ascertained she's not a threat at this point…m-maybe we shouldn't just use brute force," he tentatively said.
"At this point, we will just proceed with caution," Fukuzawa said curtly.
Just then, there was a commotion. Tanizaki ran over to the window. "Uh President…this is bad…"
Everyone clambered to the window in hot pursuit. In front of them, a chopper whirred. "Ah, looks like The Guild took the initiative," Dazai uttered, both alarmed—rarely shocked was a man like him but he was—that and contemplative.
Fukuzawa was ready for some noon-time drinking after this. And it wasn't even 12 p.m. yet. His daycare was growing. And now some overly powered rival preschoolers —not from the Port Mafia for once—were coming to knock on his door.
—
