File 4

Yosano wasted no time.

Immediately upon their reentry in the secret passageway, she brought the unconscious boy to the hidden location the other ADA members were waiting. Under Dazai's watchful eye, Kenji and Kunikida tied up the two Guild hostages, standing guard over them should either of them wake or try anything funny.

Fukuzawa didn't have to even ask what was going on.

The expression on Yosano's face said it all.

Even Ranpo, normally a complainer, read the room without difficulty.

Atsushi, the boy with choppy silver hair with a single black streak, pale skin, and unique purple-yellow eyes, looked alarmed as the other members came barreling in.

"D-Dazai-san?" He looked to Dazai, his mentor and primary source around here, Kunikida the second source, when things got weird.

"The lad took on both Akutagawa and the Guild and got hit by the material weathering ability of Margaret Mitchell," Kunikida informed Atsushi and Dazai assisted Yosano with laying the boy down on the wooden floor gingerly.

"He tried to do what!?" Atsushi's jaw dropped, incredulously.

"Yes, that was my reaction," Kunikida huffed. He sounded like he had more to say on the matter, but quieted as Yosano made gesturing motions to the others.

"I will tend to this boy. In the meantime, the rest of you need to return to your patrol," Yosano said, glancing at the others.

"Ah, yes, we may have to slightly move things around," Dazai said, eyebrows knit together, as he glanced at the others now, including president Fukuzawa.

President Fukuzawa, a silver haired older man, and the head of the ADA, in samurai robes, turned to the spiky brown-haired man in detective garb, seated at the desk. This baby-faced man was Edogawa Ranpo. He disliked work and enjoyed junk food. "Ranpo? Why don't you and Dazai figure out the new arrangements?"

Ranpo tilted his head. "Moving things around at this point would be such a pain," he bluntly stated, gazing at Dazai with a frown. "Even though Kyouka-chan is back, sending her out would certainly put a target back on us, and it's not like this new kid is even detective material. Look at him, he's kinda wimpy if you ask me…" he trailed off, sensing Fukuzawa's familiar disapproving gaze when he tended to run his mouth peering down at him.

Ranpo gulped, comically.

"Hmm, if I were to go out at this point and things got out of hand, we can kiss this hideout and our safety goodbye," Dazai pointed out, gazing at the unconscious Guild members.

"Damn, so what then? We're all just sitting ducks?" Kunikida barked, gritting his teeth.

"I'm afraid so…" Dazai sighed, stroking his chin, thoughtful. "Though you're more like a mother hen," he smirked at Kunikida.

"I agree," Kenji piped up helpfully.

Kunikida is not amused. "You two knock it off!" He barked at them. If one really thought about it, he could be descended from the dinosaurs in the form of the mighty hen…he certainly had the energy.

"Atsushi-kun, Kyouka-chan," Yosano said sharply, "Will you both help me hold this boy down? I'm afraid things have gotten to a point of no return," she said gravely.

Atsushi and Kyouka immediately felt a sobering heavy air.

Atsushi gazed at the unconscious boy.

This boy had been the reason Kyouka had reached out and reunited with the ADA sooner than what normally would have happened, he believed.

Atsushi was in the hideout, looking at some strategies on paper with Dazai when he felt his phone ring. Dazai glanced at him with a curious look.

"Expecting a call from a cute girl?" He teased Atsushi.

"W-wha? No?" Atsushi stammered, face turning pink from Dazai's teasing. However he flustered to answer it.

Ranpo meanwhile watched with a sharp gaze.

They knew it could be anyone, not limited to the Mafia who got a hold of Atsushi's number. "H-Hello?" Atsushi tentatively asked, while president Fukuzawa and Yosano peered at him.

Kunikida and Tanizaki hovered as well.

Atsushi's eyes widened. "W-whoa slow down…K-Kyouka-chan?"

Everyones' eyes widened with surprise.

Atsushi put her on speaker, wordlessly. "T-they are going to kill him…I don't have enough power on my own, please Atsushi-kun…help him…s-save him." Kyouka's voice, stricken, resounded from the phone.

"W-Who?" Atsushi asked, completely confused.

He wasn't the only one.

Even Dazai looked momentarily baffled.

"S-someone who took me in last night…he's n-not much older than me. I don't know why he got involved, but he won't stand a chance on his own," Kyouka continued. "I'm sorry, I know I don't have a right to ask…this of you…."

"Who is this boy?" Kunikida barked, agitated.

"His name is Lupin," Kyouka continued.

Dazai's eyes flickered though no one else caught it. His composure remained the same. But it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Kyouka-chan," Atsushi straightened up, immediately clenching his fist, holding his phone to his ear, despite it being on speaker. "Ask me for anything. What do you need?"

"Help him, I'll do my best to hold them off," she continued.

Atsushi didn't quite know what was going on, but as he looked around at the other ADA members, he got the silent nod from Dazai. "Kyouka-chan, we're on our way." Atsushi spoke fiercely and determined.

Kyouka didn't get attached easily to strangers. So whoever this boy was, clearly had left a feeling that he could be trusted, the same way that Atsushi had when he had first saved Kyouka the day they'd met and he dispelled a bomb strapped to her during a failed Mafia bombing of a public train.

Meanwhile, Ranpo shivered. Yosano's ability, 'Thou Shalt Not Die' was a life saving one, capable of bringing one back from the brink of death, no matter how mutilated, however it could only be successful if one was at the brink of death…which required her to go to some extremes at times to get the desired outcome.

Everyone else braced themselves for the screaming. Removing his mask and tossing it aside, Yosano put a cloth in Lupin's mouth so he wouldn't bite his tongue. This wasn't going to be pretty. The two battered guild members remained bruised in the corner tied up but eh, details. They'd live…for now.

Yosano's ability glowed. "Time for treatment!" she declared.

Lupin learned that day that he never wanted to be torn apart for any reason ever again. He saw a lot of things. Nirvana, Hell, Heaven, and the darkside of healing abilities all in one fell swoop. His eyes snapped open as he screeched like a banshee that shook the halls themselves.

As quickly as it happened, Lupin found himself jolting upright with a yelp, clutching his injured arm. Eyes widening, looking smooth as a well oiled baby's bottom, he felt both completely drained and completely healed at the same time. The after-heal glow was the only bright thing about the traumatized teen's experience at the hands of Yosano, the lady doctor of the Armed Detective Agency.

"I-Is it over…?" he weakly asked the mortified ADA members. They knew what Yosano's ability entailed, but even Dazai was terrified of her, lol.

"You're healed," Yosano smiled, looking pleased with this outcome.

Ranpo looked like he was craving to stuff his head into a bag of chips.

Fukuzawa, Kunikida, and Tanizaki all looked just straight up haunted. Dazai, composing himself as he wasn't exactly unused to seeing Yosano's work, found himself standing next to Kenji who just clapped his hands together in awe. "Wow! You really healed him! His arm is all better! Hey! Lupin-kun, how do you feel?"

Kenji trotted over to Lupin, just inspecting him eagerly.

Lupin jolted, not quite ready to leave his mental fetal position just yet, but found that his injured arm was indeed completely healed. He swallowed hard, however. So, this was the formidable Armed Detective Agency currently in a three-way conflict with The Guild and The Port Mafia? Kyouka had positive things to say about the ADA but Lupin found himself hilariously terrified of them, in all honesty.

"Tanizaki, Kunikida, you both will resume your patrol as normal," Fukuzawa said sharply. Fukuzawa sighed, his own relief apparent from his relaxing body language. The boy being injured had stressed him out but Yosano had pulled through as she always did. Now they had to get back on track.

"T-Thanks for healing me…" Lupin addressed Yosano as he got to his feet, still a bit shaky but both Atsushi and Kyouka comically supported him.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard," Atsushi said, not unkindly.

Lupin glanced at the silver-haired boy. He could see why Akutagawa was jealous. Akutagawa looked and acted tough and menacing while Atsushi looked like a cinnamon roll with sprinkles on top. But what was so great about wanting praise from this Dazai-san? Lupin didn't get it, honestly. Although, if Akutagawa was hung up on Dazai as someone from his past, that indicated to Lupin something about Dazai he hadn't had a chance to consider before. Suddenly, the black suit and tie made a lot more sense…in a more sinister sense.

Oh boy…why was someone like that appearing in Lupin's dreams? Lupin sweated a little.

Yosano meanwhile blinked. Then she smiled. "I'm glad you're alright," she said, and Lupin continued to stare at her a little. She was very pretty, and he thought the butterfly clip actually suited her and her ability really well. "I'm sorry that I had to go to such extremes to make it effective…"

"Don't apologize for your ability," Lupin bluntly said, blinking at Yosano. "It's pretty incredible, even if it is terrifying as hell," he added.

Yosano blinked.

Then she chuckled, putting a hand to her lips. "Pfft," she responded.

"Eh, he's honest, isn't he?" Ranpo remarked, resting his cheeks in his hands, elbows on the desk, bored now that the excitement of Yosano reassembling the decaying boy was over. "What are we gonna do with him though? He's a civilian, regardless of whatever he claims. He doesn't belong to the mafia, the guild, or our agency…or does he?"

Ranpo took out his glasses, with a glint in his green eyes.

Lupin stared. "Um, wait, you think I'm with the…the mafia?" he repeated.

"It's hard to say," Fukuzawa replied, gesturing to Ranpo. Ranpo put the glasses on.

"Rest assured, if you're innocent I'll know, and if you're not…well, you've just walked yourself into a very interesting predicament," Ranpo said with a huge grin.

Ranpo quieted.

"What'd you deduce?" Fukuzawa pressed, as the other members waited for his response.

"Eh…so boring," Ranpo complained finally, taking off his glasses. "Prez, the kid is clean. Belongs to no organization. But that being said…" Ranpo pointed at Lupin, causing Lupin to feel self-conscious. "...he is tied to someone from within this city."

"Wait," Atsushi's eyes widened a little. "Really?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"I am?" Lupin felt inwardly awkward. Had he deduced Lupin's odd connection to Dazai even though it was a connection not even Lupin was sure was actually real? This detective was scary. He knew detectives were supposed to be good at their deduction skills but this guy felt very different from anyone Lupin had met. Of course, Lupin made it a habit to avoid anyone from the government normally. Jeez, why did he waltz right into a detective agency of all things, after all?

"Yes you are," Ranpo continued. "Kyouka-chan mentioned you have been on your own for about a year, but that's not entirely everything, is it? There's more, right? And whatever lies in those details has to do with someone in this city that you're tied to!"

Lupin felt his heart pound.

"Who is he talking about?" Kunikida frowned, glancing at the puzzled boy.

"I…I don't really know myself," Lupin mumbled. But he felt uncomfortable. His chest felt tight all of a sudden. He'd just been scrutinized in a way that felt worse than x-ray vision. "I came to this city alone…" He sounded perplexed.

"Hm, well, I suppose we could let him go, President," Ranpo said, gazing at Fukuzawa, pocketing his glasses again in his shirt. "He may have pissed off the Port Mafia and The Guild but that's not exactly our problem, right?"

Fukuzawa shot Ranpo a look, causing the detective to comically fluster. "O-Okay, nevermind!"

Lupin's eyes fell on the unconscious guild members. His eyes flashed. They still looked hurt. "-!" He moved quickly over towards them, kneeling before them. Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that Yosano had also healed these two while Lupin had been down for the count. Though they had the afterglow shine too, they were knocked out and tied up. "Hey, why haven't you freed them?" he asked, immediately distressed.

The other agents exchanged glances.

Tanizaki, a rather quiet orange-haired young man dressed casually with clips in his hair, spoke up. "Oh, uh, if we released them without bargaining, they'd probably just kill us," he said seriously.

"Can you let them go, now?" Lupin glanced at Yosano, brow furrowed.

"Oi, did you not just hear me…?" Tanizaki looked disgruntled.

"Using underhanded tactics, is that really your organization's way of doing things?" Lupin asked, pointedly, staring at Fukuzawa now with a clear disapproving frown.

Dazai closed his eyes, head turned towards the ceiling as though lost in thought.

Fukuzawa found it perplexing to be receiving a lecture from a kid who hadn't even been born while Fukuzawa had been in his prime. "...You're a civilian so I'm afraid I have no reason to divulge our tactical reasoning, but just know that these two are not your concern," Fukuzawa gruffly replied. "We will however protect you as it is our sworn duty as the Armed Detective Agency to protect those in need," he said, firm and absolute.

Lupin gazed at the silver man. He thought he was just a little cool. Intimidating, but not in a bad way. Lupin couldn't explain it. But when this man was in a room, he held a commanding presence that felt comforting. Lupin felt a little awe. So this was what a genuine good leader was like?

"Ah, if I may…I have a suggestion actually for how to mix things up a bit," Dazai spoke up, eyes opening again with a mischievous glint, raising his hand, oddly tentative.

"Yes?" Fukuzawa nodded in Dazai's direction. Ranpo meanwhile pouted. He craved Fukuzawa's approval and disliked his disapproval as much as certain vegetables.

Dazai hopped on over to the white board and picked up some chalk. "Well first, we have Kunikida-kun and Atsushi-kun go on patrol so the enemy doesn't realize immediately that we potentially have their own members…and have Tanizaki-kun and Kenji-kun take the other patrol. I'll be defending President Fukuzawa instead, alongside Yosano-kun and Ranpo-san," he said formally. "Additionally, now we have an unexpected but helpful little fourth squad," he added cheerfully.

"We do?" Kunikida sounded apprehensive.

"We do," Dazai continued, jubilantly. "None other than Kyouka-chan herself and her little friend," he said, beaming. "Why not just have this kid join the ADA too?"

Lupin blinked.

"Huh?"

His hilariously timed confusion matched everyone else's except Ranpo. Ranpo was still wallowing in Fukuzawa's disapproval of his dismissive attitude regarding Lupin.

"Dazai, Kyouka-chan is one thing, but we cannot involve every child we pick up off the street!" Kunikida hissed, looking ready to throttle Dazai. "We are not a daycare!"

Lupin hilariously found himself staring at Kenji who seriously couldn't be that much older than himself—lol. And if he thought about it, Atsushi and Tanizaki both looked relatively in their teen years still.

Atsushi meanwhile found himself not actually included in Kunikida's rant even though if he thought about it, he'd also been a borderline child—freshly barely eighteen, previously picked off the street and picked up by Dazai—haha…

"I respectfully decline," Lupin's reply was tentative, polite but firm. He fidgeted. "I'm glad, Kyouka-chan," he turned to look at her. "You really did find an interesting bunch," he smiled smally, wistful. "But they're your people, not mine."

"Who are your people, then?" Ranpo haughtily asked, irritated.

"Ranpo," Fukuzawa sighed, sensing Ranpo having a bit of a bratty moment.

Lupin however faced Ranpo. "I don't have anyone, and it's better to keep it that way," the boy admitted, averting his gaze from everyone. He sensed the silence and lapse of conversation at his statement. But Lupin didn't feel like explaining his reasoning.

"You have me!" Kenji brightly volunteered himself, clasping Lupin's hands in his own with a grin. "Any friend of Kyouka-Chan's is a friend of mine!"

Lupin got the feeling Kenji was missing the point of his statement but the excitable boy from the country didn't seem to care. The term 'friend' felt foreign on Lupin's tongue. "I try not to form meaningless attachments," he admitted.

"Meaningless? There's nothing meaningless about the bond between friends," Kenji said with a smile, and Lupin thought he was blinding like the sun, itself. What an odd country boy, though Lupin was one to talk. He didn't look like it, but he too, was originally from the country.

"I agree with Kenji-kun," Atsushi said, awkward but passionate. "You helped Kyouka-chan but to be on your own…who would choose that?"

Lupin flinched.

Atsushi's question was meant to be innocent, but for Lupin, it felt like a box he held deep within himself was having its lock picked by that little question. Lupin's eyes flickered. He pulled away from Atsushi and Kenji, feeling suddenly crowded and overwhelmed.

Dazai didn't speak before but he spoke up now. "Well, I suppose you could leave," he mused out loud. But as he spoke, he waved around something in his hand that no one noticed before. It was a wallet.

Lupin's expression shifted to bewilderment. He quickly checked his pockets. "—You?!"

Dazai just chuckled. "So, you're a freelance bodyguard, you say? And yet, I take it you also pick pocket to cover your expenses, huh?"

Lupin's face burned with shame. He knew being a thief wasn't ideal but he had to live, and freelance work was picky for Lupin who didn't take jobs that involved killing anyone. It apparently made him less desirable as a guard who protected life. Ironically. "You probably think I'm just a petty thief," he grimaced. "But the truth is, it's hard for me to get freelance work since I have a strict 'no-kill' policy…"

"Doesn't matter what I think, although perhaps you should look into other sources of income going for…—" Dazai remarked coyly, quirking a brow. He flipped open the brown wallet, gazing at the photo inside. "—wards…"

He paused.

His expression was comically bemused. "Do you have any idea who this Kisho Kishomura is?" He asked, pursing his lips.

"Um…no?" Lupin deadpanned, tilting his head cutely baffled. On his head, a single cowlick twitched in agitation. "I picked it off this drunk dude in an alley…"Lupin thought back to the alley and the drunk in a fedora sleeping in the alleyway.

Dazai giggled. "He's actually Chuuya Nakahara of the Port Mafia, but he's not just anyone. He's one of the five Executives," he hummed. He tapped the photo with a finger.

Lupin began to sweat profusely. "Wait…so you're saying…?" The comical expression of dread was hard to miss.

"Yep~ You could leave but honestly, at this point, it could very well be a death sentence," Dazai cheerfully cheekily remarked. "But hey, you prefer to work alone, so you do you, and just give us a call if Chuuya comes knocking~!"

Lupin knew without a doubt that he didn't want anyone from the Port Mafia to go knocking on his door. Of course, he'd riled up Akutagawa, and he realized with a sinking heart that slipping back into the shadows just wasn't really an option anymore, at this point. This Dazai-San was a bit of a troll, but he was cunning with his words and Lupin knew that despite the teasing outward demeanor, that this person was warning him of the dangers of being on his own from this point forward.

Lupin grimaced.

There wasn't a scoreboard on who was right —but if there was…

Two points at this point for Mr. Bandages.

Zero for Lupin.

Atsushi gazed at the young girl next to him.

They stood in a tunnel, leading to an abandoned train track.

They were currently assigned to be the patrol unit for the underground hideout since it would be safest for Kyouka at the moment in regards to fewer eyes on her from The Port Mafia. It was a given that The Guild may learn of their location at any time through the underhanded means of The Port Mafia, but considering neither had come knocking, it was safe to assume they were momentarily in a calm before the storm status.

Fukuzawa never gave out the location, of course, but Dazai warned that Mori was someone capable of getting into the toughest cracks if he put his mind to it. To exercise caution, it was best to be on their guard and listen to the wind for any shifts from either side. In the meantime, Dazai stayed behind in case the Guild members woke up and tried to use their abilities for any reason.

But Atsushi was fine with a little time alone with Kyouka.

He had been worried about her ever since she ran off the other day following the Guild attack. Of course, she had been faced with a fierce foe from the Port Mafia leading up to all that. A woman named Kouyou; one of the five Executives of the Port Mafia. Kyouka had been her target. But through Dazai's persuasion, somehow they had her cooperation.

Kyouka was quiet, so Atsushi decided to instigate the conversation. "U-um…so your new friend…he seems nice," Atsushi smiled meekly.

Kyouka blinked.

Then she nodded.

"He is very nice," she agreed.

Atsushi waited for her to expound. Maybe talk a bit more about him. Kyouka didn't. She instead just leaned against the rock wall. The silence became stretched like thin dough between them. Awkward. Atsushi swallowed. He didn't want to pry but he did have a few burning questions for Kyouka. Not just about that boy, Lupin, but about herself.

A woman with bud lips, an extravagant kimono, and hair done up, spoke, "Your ability is a weapon that is meant to kill," Kouyou spoke, gazing at the upset young girl. Atsushi, attacked earlier, lay on the ground, bleeding, in pain, and trying to endure.

"No!" Kyouka exclaimed, upset.

"However, the real instinct comes from within. Otherwise you never would have advanced so quickly through training," Kouyou continued. "Face the truth, Kyouka, you're a natural…otherwise we wouldn't have been able to draw on your ability through the cellphone in the first place."

"No you're wrong!" Kyouka exclaimed, again, distraught.

"That same ability…it's the one that killed them. Your parents," Kouyou continued.

Atsushi's eyes widened with shock.

Kyouka's expression twisted. She dropped her cellphone to the ground where it lay, broken. Her own gaze as it locked on Atsushi, the silent scream hurdling in her mouth, bubbling like acid.

Thinking back on that, though he was remembering it in a fragmented sense, Atsushi knew he had to address this delicately. But he wanted to address it, none-the-less. "I'm glad you're back," he finally spoke. "You know, we did try to find you…but when you called, man, that was…unexpected," he admitted.

"I had no other choice," Kyouka spoke, solemn, and guilty.

Atsushi waved his arms wildly, flustered that he'd upset her. "Oh no-no! It's fine! I mean, I wanted you to call me!" he stammered.

Kyouka's cheeks were slightly pink. She gazed at him, unblinking. Atsushi's heart fluttered, from agitation. "That is the purpose for a phone, is it not?" she asked, cutely.

"I-indeed!" he nodded. "Um, so…" he scratched his head. He noted that she didn't have her cell phone anymore. "You seem to trust him…despite only just meeting him," he thoughtfully said.

Kyouka blinked. She gazed at Atsushi, her expression contemplative. Atsushi worried he invaded her personal bubble. However she said, "He is not a bad person. He took me in, despite knowing what I am capable of," she confessed.

"You said he was a bodyguard or something, right?" Atsushi asked.

"He says he defends those who need his help," she nodded. "Although he has stated he doesn't take sides. Rather, he is a vigilante of Twilight."

She said this with a serious face but Atsushi couldn't help but purse his lips. He knew it was rude to laugh, but it sounded corny. "Vigilante of Twilight?" he repeated, putting a gloved hand to his mouth, thoughtful. "Did you learn anything about his background?"

Kyouka shook her head. "He only said he doesn't take sides because then he wouldn't be free to be impartial in whose lives he could save…"

Atsushi knew in a disheartening black and white sense, that the boy wasn't exactly wrong. If he did pick a side, then saving lives on any other could easily brand him as untrustworthy, a traitor, or worse, condemn him. But still, Atsushi thought it was a bit odd if not admirable that someone so young as Lupin, not much younger than Kyouka, felt so strongly about the value of human life. In some sense, Atsushi actually admired that boy's resolve to his own sense of purpose. Atsushi envied that. Even now, Atsushi felt like he was still struggling to swim in this sea of uncertainty, his own foothold on the present moment fleeting and unstable.

"I never really thought about it too hard…saving the lives of just anyone," Atsushi confessed, wistful. "I mean…I know that I'd protect the innocent, that's what we do here at the ADA. But…I never really thought about it, saving someone who wasn't a stranger or even a friend. Mostly because I guess it drives me crazy, knowing that the reality of wanting to help everyone isn't realistic."

He thought back to what Kunikida had once told him about rocking a boat with two people in it and causing it to sink. At the time he was referring to Atsushi's desire to help Kyouka. Atsushi had rocked the boat anyway in order to save her from Akutagawa and from facing arrest. Things worked out but that was only one example…

Atsushi's mind wandered to a young woman, not much older than himself actually.

Lucy M. Montgomery of The Guild itself.

They had crossed blows recently when The Guild first landed and attacked. She had trapped Atsushi in her room. Her ability allowed her to capture her prey in a big play room and Atsushi had only managed to thwart her thanks to Tanizaki's help.

She had begged him not to cause her to fail her mission.

But he found he had no choice but to choose to sacrifice his own life and even gamble hers if she chose not to free the other lives she'd captured in her web. He wasn't cool like Dazai. He knew he wasn't as strong. He only managed to get that far without Tanizaki because of a greasy old guy who turned out ironically later on to be the actual head of the entire freaking Port Mafia.

Atsushi knew he wasn't as capable, reliable, or cunning as Dazai but he was trying. That's why, this boy who claimed to only be interested in preventing death, not the actual conflict, both intrigued and puzzled Atsushi. The boy's logic felt like it should make sense, but to Atsushi, it was a little nonsensical. He knew he wasn't alone in this thought process, but he wondered if Dazai had been serious about having the boy join, despite the boy's initial protests.

I tried to leave too in the beginning, kid…he'll get you to join if he puts his mind to it, haha…Atsushi grimaced comically, remembering how Dazai essentially told him he could leave if he wanted to be billed for room and board instead of joining the ADA after the ADA had Atsushi take a terrifying bomb threat exam to join.

Atsushi's eyes flickered. An exam…that's right…he gazed at Kyouka. She still had yet to become a formal member, Atsushi realized somewhat belatedly. While initially Atsushi found multiple reasons that made leaving sound more sensible, he found himself drawn to the ADA and his eccentric womanizing suicidal afficionado of a mentor despite this because the ADA did stand for helping others and Atsushi wanted his life to mean something in the end.

Kyouka's eyes flickered. "I wouldn't be able to do it," she said darkly. "An enemy exists to be eliminated."

Atsushi gulped.

Ah, so Kyouka still needed some heavy cleansing of the mind-washing in the Port Mafia employ. Atsushi did worry about Kyouka's ability to distance herself from her past at that brutal place. Suddenly the sounds of explosions down the road alerted them to some commotion.

It would appear that they were no longer alone.

"The traps went off," Atsushi reiterated, tensing, already poised.

"Let the traps take care of them," Kyouka stated, "If they manage to make it through that, then we strike." She pulled out her concealed blade. Her eyes held a murderous glint in them.

Atsushi gulped. He didn't want to be insensitive but he wished she could pull out that samurai spirit of hers. As if reading his mind, Kyouka summoned 'Demon Snow', her ability to her side. Atsushi's eyes bugged comically.

"W-Wait, I thought you needed your cell phone," he stammered, falling on his ass, gracelessly.

She looked at him, blank. "That is no longer the case," she stated.

"C-Clearly," Atsushi gulped, sweating profusely. "U-um…" he didn't sense any murderous intent on her, but that wasn't saying anything. Kyouka was terrifying and capable of concealing her true intentions. In the world of assassins, she really was a top tier one.

"I told Akutagawa-dono this and I'll tell you too," Kyouka's eyes were dark, "If it's to protect both the light and those I've sworn to protect, I will use any means necessary. Even this monster that lurks inside me."

Atsushi didn't know if he felt comforted or disturbed by this declaration. Was this girl capable of killing even her own parents? It was true not all the facts were on the table. This was clearly a topic that Atsushi himself was wary to step on. It wasn't exactly his business. But, he found it hard to believe she was that heartless. Up until this point, everything had been orchestrated by The Port Mafia. Maybe they'd orchestrated that as well! She was someone who enjoyed crepes, stuffed rabbits, and good food. A young girl who lamented the lives she took and kept them close to her heart.

No way, he thought, gritting his teeth, feeling his emotions bubble inside himself. He refused to believe she was just some killing machine! Even if she didn't want to hear it, he couldn't help it. Still, he found himself blurting, "I don't think you're a monster!"

Kyouka paused.

She turned her face away, while her long thin ahoge twitched. "..." she didn't speak, but her expression, turned away from Atsushi, was full of undisclosed emotion.