Lupin hung back, sitting at one of the desks. While he didn't quite know the full extent of what was going on, he found this lively company to be interesting, to say the least. His eyes darted to the unconscious Guild members. Worry fluttered like concern in his heart over his features. The ADA members had dispersed for their daily patrols.
This left Dazai, Yosano, Ranpo and Fukuzawa at the base. After some conversation, the final groups were designated by Dazai and Ranpo.
Kenji departed with Kunikida and Tanizaki.
Atsushi and Kyouka remained as guards for the tunnel mostly, from what Lupin gathered.
And where did this leave him?
Well, he felt like an honorary flower decoration, to be honest. He wasn't a part of the agency so there was no reason to list him as one of the patrol groups. But since he was a civilian, Fukuzawa felt uneasy just leaving him out in the enemy line of fire.
Lupin was restless though.
He glanced away from the Guild members, and to the brown-haired man currently balancing a pencil on his nose, feet kicked up on a desk, watching some computer screen with the intensity of a bent spoon. Compared to the sleeping man in a suit from Lupin's uneasy dreams, this guy really couldn't be more different. That's what Lupin thought, as he propped his chin in his hands, lost in his thoughts.
Maybe he got the wrong person?
Not like he knew the name after all of that mysterious person. The bandages made it harder for Lupin to entertain the hopeful alternative theory budding in his mind.
Or maybe they were related?
That new thought flitted across Lupin's mind and he furrowed his brow. A little brother, perhaps? No way this guy had a kid of his own…right? The concept of this guy and children mixing felt so funny and unlikely that Lupin pursed his lips, so he wouldn't laugh and be rude.
The older man caught the unshed expression of amusement on Lupin's face however and grinned, targeting the pencil in Lupin's direction without any warning. Lupin's eyes flashed. "—!" He blocked it easily with his arm and the pencil clattered to the table before rolling on the ground.
Fukuzawa looked up from his book, to frown at Dazai. "Dazai, please refrain from throwing things at our guests," he said, somewhat perplexed by Dazai's antics.
Lupin got the feeling that Dazai was like an unruly eccentric person that somehow fit into the mold of this odd detective agency. Why he threw a pencil at Lupin however, Lupin honestly couldn't say what would be behind that motive. This man was not someone who could be easily read. To Lupin he felt like a book but one whose language was meant only for a select few to really understand the deeper context between the lines of obvious verbiage.
Ranpo let out a deep sigh, frustrated from where he sat next to Dazai. "Man, I'm so bored, I wanna go out for some good food," he complained.
"Do that and the mafia will lop your head off, or you'll be captured by The Guild," Yosano sighed, turning a page in the magazine she was reading.
Fukuzawa sat at his own little station, reading a book. "The lecture hall's location makes it difficult for the enemy to get to us directly. The only real way to storm us would be through the unused underground railroad tunnel at this juncture," he casually explained.
Lupin wondered if it was because he had been expressively concerned that they were going to be under attack any second and buried his face in his arms from embarrassment, feeling his ears warm.
Fukuzawa continued to expound, "The security cameras already stationed would alert us to their presence."
"Ah, and we do have all those lovely traps set up to boot, so even if they did manage they'd need an impressive cavalry to get through," Yosano mused out loud with a dark smirk.
To Lupin, they really looked unsuspecting as almost normal folks of society. But he knew what they were capable of without them displaying much. Yosano alone was incredible as far as Lupin was concerned. Still, they had captured these two Guild members and Lupin couldn't shake this uneasiness in his heart because of it. Had his interference caused the capture of these two? No, if he hadn't gotten involved, they surely would have died at the hands of Akutagawa. Not only that, but Akutagawa himself was badly hurt.
Lupin's expression twisted.
He'd been so caught up in the chaos that he hadn't stopped to ask Yosano to help him!
"Boy, why do you look so distressed?" Dazai asked, taking his own feet off his desk.
Lupin jolted, not expecting this man to be so observant or direct. Well, he was a detective, Lupin reminded himself. Even though he acted immature, there was clearly more to him than met the eye. Lupin swallowed. "I'm just thinking about that guy…from before," he confessed.
"Who?" Ranpo asked, brattily.
Any conversation had to be better than this boredom.
"Um…Akutagawa," Lupin confessed. "In all the commotion, I didn't think to ask if Miss Yosano could heal him…" He sounded regretful and guilty.
This didn't go unnoticed by the other agents. Ranpo huffed, fiddling with his own detective hat. "Listen, it's a good thing you didn't have her heal him. You would have definitely died then," he bluntly mused out loud.
"Akutagawa is certainly hard to eliminate for an average foe," Dazai nodded, leaning back in his chair. "To aid him is to only cement your own demise." He didn't look at Lupin, rather, he gazed at something on the floor that was increasingly interesting. He turned his head back to the monitor.
Lupin shivered.
Dazai's cold dismissal of Akutagawa— despite being the reason for Akutagawa's obsession with appraisal—only unsettled the young boy. His eyes flickered. He found he didn't really have a great opinion forming about this bandaged man. He felt dangerous. Certainly, unlike with the President, Lupin felt as though he wasn't safe with someone like Dazai-San on his good side even. And if he was unfortunate enough to end up on his bad side…Lupin felt his hair stand on the back of his neck from pensive instinct.
"I see," Lupin spoke, averting his gaze.
"You care an awful lot for those that wish to harm you, do you have a death wish or something?" Ranpo snobbishly asked, frowning at the boy. Ranpo was good at deduction, considering his honorary ability within the ADA, but he seemed to lack tact.
Lupin knew in the eyes of these detectives, he probably was incredibly odd. Though hilariously, he thought they were the odd bunch. They fought, like most government approved agencies do, to take down the bad guys with the mental drive to win, at any cost. And Lupin wasn't someone who agreed to settle for that cost. "I don't agree with The Guild's actions, and it's an unspoken fact that the Port Mafia is ruthless and cutthroat by nature…even I understand that survival is about who comes out on top as the fittest…" Lupin spoke and closed his eyes. His eyes danced with red and orange light behind closed eyelids. "But that doesn't mean I choose to live my life believing that is all there is to existence."
"Huh…" Ranpo sighed, leaning back in his chair, arms folded. "So you think if you stick your neck out—save lives regardless of the side they're on— that somehow you're fulfilling some greater purpose? If you ask me, that's just a recipe for bonefide suicide."
"Greater purpose? No, that's not it…" Lupin responded, but he didn't sound defensive or angry.
"Then what is it? You're behaving recklessly so how does that benefit anyone in the end?" Ranpo brattily remarked.
Regardless, Fukuzawa pursed his lips. "There is no need to put it quite so harshly," he said quietly to Ranpo. Though he was of similar sentiment in regards to being concerned about this boy's rather innocent naivety. Fukuzawa's eyes darted with concern towards the young man, distressed that Ranpo would upset the boy by causing avoidable drama. Ranpo tended to be intellectually advanced logically speaking, and this conversation was Ranpo's way of picking apart this boy.
However, Fukuzawa's eyes widened from surprise.
Lupin was smiling.
It was a sad resigned smile.
The shadows across his face made that young man, just for a moment appear older. Lupin himself appeared lost in thought, his eyes downcast as he fidgeted. "You're not wrong…"
"Of course I'm not," Ranpo huffed.
"I just agree to disagree," Lupin replied. "Because it may be reckless to you, but it makes sense to me. I can't control other people, I don't pretend to even completely understand the more complex inner workings of others." Lupin fidgeted, looking down at his hands. He gripped them into fists, expression determined and resolute. "To spare lives I'm willing to be the loser in order to win."
"Hah? That makes no sense," Ranpo irritatedly griped.
"Watch out Ranpo, I think you just walked yourself into this boy's paradox," Yosano teased, heartily.
"Ugh," Ranpo flapped his arms wildly. "There's no way this teenage brat is making any actual sense, c'mon!"
Hilariously enough, the others knew if they said anything to tease him further, Ranpo would tantrum even harder. Getting him to act his age on a good day was hard enough for Fukuzawa.
"Your logic is rather unique," Dazai remarked, bemused, gazing at the boy, his hands resting behind his head. Lupin found Dazai's stare to be disconcerting and focused instead on his own gloved hands.
Though his sleeve was ruined, Lupin did appreciate he didn't lose his arm, today. But, it definitely put some things into perspective for Lupin. He hadn't faced any foes nearly this dangerous up until now. He hated feeling like he'd been living in a bubble until now. Compared to what he faced briefly, he felt like meeting the ADA popped his social bubble.
"I have no wish to die, in fact, I really like being alive, er…preferably." Lupin spoke in earnest, gazing at Ranpo directly. " But I'd rather put my life on the line to save lives rather than to take them…sides don't matter because once lives are lost, they're gone forever and for me, that's a sad way to declare oneself the winner…that's all."
Ranpo quieted. His jade eyes opened and he stared with a silent unspoken intrigue for the boy's response. He wasn't the only one. Dazai and Yosano glanced at each other and then at him. Fukuzawa found himself becoming more curious about this strange profound motto bearing young man.
"Hmph, you're pretty idealistic, with a certain level of bone-headedness," Ranpo deadpanned with a shrug. "Though you are similar to Kunikida, he understands how the real world works. Boy, let me give a piece of sound advice. Grow up before you get left behind to only drown in that fictitious fantasy. Even if your ideals mean well, they are unrealistic and your execution of your beliefs is about as graceful as a depressed elephant." He complained, brattily.
Lupin blinked.
Fukuzawa just sighed inwardly, exasperated. Ranpo really lacked decorum. But inwardly, Fukuzawa didn't completely disagree with Ranpo's assessment. This boy meant well but he was a bit naive. This worried Fukuzawa who wanted the boy's heart which was in the right place to not feel jilted by Ranpo. But perhaps some sense should be talked into the boy for the boy's own safety. After all, Fukuzawa actually thought how Ranpo was being ironically mature here, echoing a similar sentiment Fukuzawa had once slapped into Ranpo back when the detective had been no older than Lupin. At the time, Ranpo had decided to try to solve a murder case with reckless abandon for his own safety—something that had distressed Fukuzawa and kindled his desire to protect Ranpo for the first time by taking him under his wing.
"I appreciate your concern," Lupin smiled wistfully, "…childish as it seems to you, I will not grow up if being an adult means what you say."
Fukuzawa's eyes flickered.
The other agents were quiet, their expressions hard to digress.
And Fukuzawa was honestly a little impressed. He thought Lupin would go off the handle—that would be a natural reaction when being torn into by Ranpo's lack of etiquette.
"Yes, yes, you don't believe in being on a side that would choose to take lives," Ranpo waved a hand dismissively. "Look, kid, lemme tell you something about being a detective. What do you think it takes?" He pointed at Lupin, haughty.
Lupin scratched his head. "A big ego?" He wittily deadpanned, gazing at Ranpo's pompous attitude. Yosano burst out giggling behind her hand. Dazai smirked. Even Fukuzawa drew his lips into the thinnest line possible so he wouldn't laugh at Ranpo's expense.
Ranpo looked affronted.
"Tch, no. Resolve, boy! It takes hard resolve. To seek out the facts and evidence of any matter is the most difficult thing about being a detective, because to be a detective means having to face the harsh unfiltered truth." He declared this, standing up, and placing his hat on his head. "Sometimes sacrifices are inevitable. Other times hard decisions must be made for the sake of saving others. Something you learn if you live long enough, kid…is that you can't save everyone." As he spoke, he pulled one of the computers to himself and then paused.
No one denounced Ranpo's logic.
Dazai's expression, concealed behind one of Yosano's magazines, discreetly, still reflected someone who understood the darkest depths of human nature.
Lupin remained quiet.
"Ranpo?" Fukuzawa peered at the young man. "What's wrong?" He asked sharply, seeing Ranpo's expression change. Yosano and Dazai peered around Ranpo. Their own gazes became unreadable but Lupin could read a room and the air had definitely turned more serious.
"Ah, it looks like…we have company," Ranpo declared, solemnly. "We should recall our outside patrol, Boss," he said solemnly.
Fukuzawa asked immediately, coming over, shutting his book. "What about Atsushi-kun and Kyouka-chan…?"
Lupin remained quiet. He didn't have an interest in being a detective to begin with. He never saw himself as a government agent. It was because in an adult world, colors faded, becoming only black and white. Lupin wanted to remind himself that this world— the good, bad, and ugly— was still full of color. Was it idealistic and fantastical? Perhaps he was being childish, thinking he could save those right in front of him. But he didn't feel satisfied to settle for lurking in the dark either. Lupin wanted something similar to Kyouka. Perhaps that's why he was drawn to the young lady, who like himself, wanted more from life than being cast in shadows, used, or simply thrown away to be forgotten.
"It doesn't look good. And from the looks of things, The Port Mafia is confident." Ranpo's reply was curt.
"The enemy is here already? How many?" Fukuzawa's worry increased.
Ranpo's response was sharp.
"Only one."
Rising from where he was sitting, Lupin felt curiosity get the best of him. He had to see what Ranpo was referring to. Lupin's eyes widened with alarm. There, on the screen, stood a familiar looking fedora-wearing ginger, along with what appeared to be the two unconscious figures of Kyouka and Atsushi at his feet.
The mafioso grinned up at the camera.
It was not a friendly smirk.
"Oh no!" Lupin gasped, immediately alarmed.
Dazai exchanged a glance with Fukuzawa and the others. The camera blipped to black on the screen immediately. Yosano grit her teeth. "Damn, he's taking out the monitors!" she exclaimed, getting to her feet, quickly.
"We'll have to use our automatic weaponry system! Activate it!" Fukuzawa swiftly ordered.
Lupin's eyes flashed with alarm. "W-Wait!" he yelped, "isn't that a little overkill?" he sweated profusely. He couldn't help but be worried not only about slaughtering one person so brutally but also about the fact that both the bodies of the unconscious ADA members could be caught in the line of fire.
"If I get there in time, it'll be fine," Yosano darkly stated, brusque, already grabbing her machete and heading for the door.
"Ah, no, the kid is right," Dazai spoke up, interjecting. He was usually bemused and cheerful, but with the president, he was polite and semi-formal. It was weird for Lupin to see Dazai take on such a meek respective demeanor in the presence of this older man. It fascinated Lupin to know how someone like Fukuzawa managed to tame someone like…well, Dazai. The fact Dazai agreed with him however, made Lupin surprised.
"Y-you actually agree?" he asked, taken aback, eyes darting to Dazai.
Dazai continued to look at the monitors that remained up. The mafioso, Chuuya Nakahara, continued to whistle, casually strolling past some remaining cameras. He dragged along the unconscious figures of both members, but it looked effortless. Lupin realized he must be using some sort of ability. "His ability would enable him to disarm any bullets effortlessly," Dazai said, with a sigh. "Gravity manipulation…it's annoying but effectively so. Also explains how he avoided detection until now. He must have drawn them somewhere out of our range."
Lupin got the funniest feeling that those two somehow knew each other deeper than acquaintances. If Dazai's amusement at Lupin having stolen Chuuya's wallet was any indication to Lupin, it proved one thing. Dazai enjoyed the thought of tormenting this particular person.
"Then what do you suggest?" Fukuzawa curtly asked, distressed.
"First, let's see what he has to say, as I doubt it's anything worth our salt… It'll at least buy us some time," Dazai casually said, getting up from the desk now. Instead of going towards the door however, he moved over to the two unconscious Guild members. "...I think we can make this work to our advantage." He smirked, half lidded, slightly dark.
"Wow, so this is the ADA's hospitality? It's sorely lacking for an Envoy," Chuuya quipped, grinning darkly at the cameras.
From his own dark tower of eminent cartoony darkness, the mafia boss, Mori lurked in his chair. "Our next phase is in motion, ensure the message is received, but do not engage if not necessary," he replied simply.
Chuuya pouted, only a little. He knew Mori's reserve had to do with only one reason, and one reason only. An annoying one that Chuuya wanted to draw out if only to punch in the face. Chuuya made a small noise of dismay but took out the head piece on his head, pocketing it instead into his coat.
This tune would have been very different otherwise.
Still, Chuuya was ready for this song and dance to get on.
He'd already taken out both the girl and the coveted annoying little man-tiger. Why the Mafia didn't just capture them both, Chuuya honestly didn't understand. The whole war was happening because of Atsushi, after all. If the Mafia got Atsushi in their grasp, then they would have a very fine card to bargain with indeed- to both enemy lines. But, Mori seemed against openly charging after Atsushi again.
The reason wasn't divulged.
But Chuuya knew it had to do with a certain bandaged idiot.
Ugh, even now, he was still stuck with that guy ruining his peaceful mafioso life.
"I regret to inform you, but you must be at least this tall to enter our premises," a coy teasing voice rattled Chuuya to his very bones a few moments later, coming from the camera.
"Shitty Dazai," Chuuya crackled, the ground around his feet rumbling with his un-dispelled gravity ability. "Don't you dare make another crack about my height, you damn blue mackerel!"
"Ah, the slug is oozing," Dazai tittered on the other end.
Lupin had a feeling these two definitely went further back than either were willing to confess. He glanced towards Yosano who stood near the exit door of the big lecture hall, machete in hand, ready to go kick some ass. Fukuzawa put a hand on Lupin's shoulder, as though to dispel any youthful impulse he had on his mind to join her.
Lupin grit his teeth.
Ranpo remained a quiet observer, just glancing to Fukuzawa for directions. Meanwhile, Dazai just continued the conversation. His focus was to save Kyouka and Atsushi from Chuuya's grasp. But how he would manage that just sitting and shooting schoolyard taunts from a computer screen, left Lupin perplexed.
Chuuya so wanted to get the bastard within punching range, but he remained composed…for the most part. Focusing instead on his real purpose, knowing small-talk was not what that bandaged idiot would want to deal with, he huffed, reaching into his coat. "Boss has a message for you all."
He brandished a photograph.
It glinted in the light.
Fukuzawa blinked, eyes flickering with realization. He leaned towards the screen, peering at it over Dazai and Ranpo's shoulders. "Ah…this is the Guild?" he asked, surprised.
"Mm," Chuuya nodded, "Laid some "bait" for these guys, and the time and place is written right here," he pointed to the back of the photo. "Out of courtesy for our long-standing feud between our organizations, Boss graciously says you can do whatever you want with 'em."
"Uh…" Fukuzawa wasn't quite sure just what joke Mori was pulling here.
He glanced at Dazai. Dazai momentarily paused the speaking function of the computer they were using. He turned to Fukuzawa. His expression was serious.
"It's…a backhanded trap," he said bluntly.
Chuuya continued to speak, unaware they put themselves on mute. "C'mon, not everyday you get a chance like this to catch them unawares. I'd take it if I were you!~"
Fukuzawa placed his finger to his lips, thinking, somber. Dazai was not wrong about these things. Mori would not just gift wrap this opportunity either, to begin with. Not to mention, Fukuzawa had to consider the safety of this civilian, Lupin now, and the two others unconscious at Chuuya's feet.
The predicament was far from light.
"What could this 'bait' he's talking bout, even be?" Lupin asked, frowning at the others.
Dazai's eyebrows furrowed. He was thinking, and that reassured Lupin that maybe he was actually a good detective after all. "Good question, I have no idea," Dazai said brightly, after a moment.
Lupin pursed his lips, expression: comical disappointment.
Ranpo however narrowed his eyes.
Fukuzawa sighed and shut his own eyes for a moment.
He could not waver.
"Listen up, Mafia Envoy," he said finally into the mic, "I appreciate your offer. Surely, taking out the enemy would be beneficial in swiftly bringing an end to this conflict, however I know this is your boss's way of avoiding expending any of his own forces in this isolated opportunity. If The Guild and our agency were to attack one another, it would only be to benefit you in the end."
"True, but if you win, it benefits you too, ya know?" Chuuya beamed.
"Assuming your offer is genuine," Fukuzawa's voice coldly cut in. "You are mistaken if you think the ADA is merely a stray dog, desperate for scraps. Controlling intel is a high-level tactic, yes, however," Fukuzawa's glare could break glass, "if you think that crude technique will work on us then the Port Mafia is not fit for waging war."
"Ho…veiled threats from the ADA president himself…?" Chuuya whistled, only a little taken aback but mostly intrigued.
Ranpo caught Fukuzawa gesturing to him to use his glasses. Lupin watched as Ranpo put his frames on. A moment later, Ranpo's eyes widened with shock. "I see…so that's how they're playing it…" he sounded uneasy.
"Ranpo?" Fukuzawa asked, worried.
"President, it is true that the Port Mafia lured them out with some tasty bait…but that bait in question…just what is it?" Ranpo asked Chuuya directly, having undone the mute function.
"I have nothing to hide," Chuuya cheekily replied, spinning on his heel daintily.
"…Alright, Mr. Fancy hat," Ranpo remarked, causing Chuuya to hilariously pat his own head.
Did he just call me a fancy hat? Chuuya was a little surprised.
Dazai put a hand to his mouth, with a small amused chuckle in the background. It was quiet enough that it didn't get picked up on the mic easily. "Pft." He approved of Ranpo's tormenting of the other party.
"You were the one who made contact with the happy Guild Couple, were you not?" Ranpo asked.
"Huh…yes…?" Chuuya blinked.
"And although they doubted you as much as we do, they bit regardless. I would gander that the bait in question was too irresistible," Ranpo continued. "So tell me, what did you hook them with?"
Chuuya smirked.
He didn't respond immediately, but Lupin wordlessly pressed the button on the computer screen. "Hey—!" Ranpo flustered but he shut up immediately, seeing the expression on Lupin's face. The others as well, gazed at the somber boy.
"…It's a person," Lupin was the one who spoke this hunch first. It was soft, but taut. He was upset. "It's not a what, it's a whom!"
Fukuzawa's eyes darted to the boy, along with the others. "You don't mean—?" He asked, incredulous.
Lupin's expression was hard. "Nothing is more valuable than a human life…otherwise why would the Guild bother knowing it's most likely a trap set up by the Port Mafia to engage your agency anyhow? Why go to all the trouble if this bait was easily replaceable to you?"
Dazai's eyes flashed.
He stood up immediately.
"That would mean…" Fukuzawa's head swiveled to the monitor. "…Who?" Fukuzawa grit his teeth. "This is just going from bad to worse…"
Chuuya was growing increasingly impatient with the silence. How long does it take for the enemy to bite a bullet? In Chuuya's experience, it took less than a second, heh. Of course, the thought of sending even Dazai into a flustered tizzy made him almost feel like being patient enough to bask and revel in that notion.
"Hm, well the silent treatment is a bit unprofessional," Chuuya huffed, but he tapped Atsushi lightly and the boy's unconscious figure floated easily by Chuuya's side. "…since you took one of our own, I think it's only fair we take one of yours! Or Dazai could hand himself over, gift-wrapped with a ribbon on top!" Chuuya leered.
Fukuzawa exchanged a glance with Dazai and Ranpo, who were both at the monitors.
"The more you dawdle, the sooner those guys will get to your precious secretaries," Chuuya hummed, turning on his heel to leave with Atsushi.
"You sent them after our secretaries?!" Fukuzawa exclaimed with horror, the mute switched back off.
"Eh, there's still time for you to get them back. We didn't tell them you're on the move, so they're in the dark about whatever you've been up to," Chuuya shrugged, dismissively.
"Shit, is there any chance he's lying?" Fukuzawa asked, voice quaking to Ranpo.
Ranpo shook his head. He adjusted the frames on his face. "I'm afraid not…see, it's at times like these that the truth really bites…"
"Hold on," Lupin's voice cut through the air suddenly.
Chuuya gazed at the odd short youthful burgundy boy standing before him. His expression was genuinely taken aback though it smoothed over to irritation quickly. "Is this a joke? You couldn't even bother sending someone a bit older?"
"I think you two are both old enough to play with each other," Dazai replied, chipper into the mic.
"Why don't you come down here so I can beat the shit out of you, huh?!" Chuuya yelled at the camera, shaking his fist, incensed.
"I think not. After all, you're not tall enough to reach my face," Dazai tormented the poor mafioso.
"Hah! You've sunk low enough for me to reach!" Chuuya countered.
Miss Yosano sighed deeply, resting her machete across her shoulders stepping onto the scene now. Lupin just glanced at her, a bit confused. "Um…do they always do this?"
"Tsk, alright ladies, let's cut the girl-talk," Miss Yosano said, deadpan, brandishing her machete with a dark smirk.
"Oh…?" Chuuya leered at Miss Yosano. "You think you can defeat me? Why not try it?" Chuuya's lower lip curled. Chuuya's eyes lit up and immediately, Lupin and Yosano leapt out of the way as Chuuya unleashed his ability towards Miss Yosano, directly. "I do dislike violence against women and children…so I'll make this quick. Let's see how well you hold up against gravity~"
The crater shook the small passage.
"How fascinating…where does one such as yourself draw the line between chivalry…and chauvinism?" Miss Yosano disdainfully leered, dodging agilely.
Dust settled like their volatile feelings around them.
"Heh, you don't have the stones to face me," Chuuya leered at them.
"Please," Miss Yosano smirked, glaring fervently at Chuuya, "when I'm done with you, you're the one who won't have them because I'll have sawed them to pieces~."
Fukuzawa inwardly flustered, worried if he'd made the right choice sending those two out against someone dangerous like Chuuya. Dazai would have been a better option, but…he glanced at Dazai and Ranpo.
Everyone was tense.
"Please, at least give us Kyouka-chan," Lupin spoke, redirecting the conversation like a ship captain at the helm of unsteady emotional waters, polite but urgent.
Chuuya paused. He glanced at the unconscious young girl. His eyes narrowed. His expression was unreadable. "Tch. She's useless to me, take her!" He scoffed, and he waved a hand, flinging her like a sandbag at Yosano and Lupin.
"—!" Miss Yosano reacted quickly, grabbing the girl into her arms.
Lupin's eyes darted.
"How is she?" He asked worriedly.
Chuuya scratched his head, grumpy. "Relax, they're both alive. I just roughed them up a bit," he waved a hand dismissively.
Lupin gazed at the unconscious girl in Yosano's arms. His expression smoothed over as he straightened up with a small sigh, facing the dangerous Port Mafia Executive.
"Chuuya-San…"
Lupin formally addressed the befuddled Mafioso.
Chuuya comically looked taken aback to be addressed so formally, and by someone he certainly didn't know. "—?" He blinked a few times. It was anyone's guess what expression Dazai was making at this moment—haha.
"It is my understanding that you work with The Port Mafia. By extension, your loyalty runs deep and it shows. And yet you're someone who exercises self control and doesn't flaunt your power needlessly. Because of this, both of these people are not badly injured despite it appearing that way on the surface. A strong person may flex their power, but a stronger person knows the value of showing genuine mercy. You're not simply someone who seeks senseless violence, are you?"
Chuuya didn't know what new twist the ADA was pulling, sending in this psycho-analyzing weird pipsqueak to serenade him with pretty language and his eyes narrowed. "Flattery won't work on me, brat," he stated. "Besides, I just don't believe in overkill."
Although a teensy part of him did enjoy basking in the praise—rofl.
It wasn't often that anyone actually bothered to look beneath the surface of Nakahara Chuuya's outward demeanor and this child was sharp. Shame he worked with Dazai. Maybe Chuuya would have considered recruiting this kid although he walked a moral high ground that didn't make him a great fit for Chuuya's place of employment.
"It's not flattery. It takes a certain kind of iron will to last in such a place," Lupin spoke calmly. "You're an admirable kind of person."
Although the other agents didn't know where he was going with this, Ranpo's furrowed brow indicated he was the only one who had some idea what this boy's true intentions were—but was letting it play out.
Dazai looked like he'd sucked on a sour lemon and was choking. Clearly, he hadn't foreseen the prospect of this kid —or anyone really— that Dazai was acquainted with, ever complimenting Chuuya in his presence—haha.
"And yet, I don't think you'll be walking off with Atsushi-kun today."
Dazai quirked a brow at Lupin's declaration.
His expression of intrigue comically mirrored Chuuya's disbelief in that moment.
"Hah, you're going to stop me, kid?" Chuuya snorted, rolling his eyes.
Lupin's expression was vapid and smooth as a polished stone. "I don't want you as an enemy, personally, but… rather than stopping you, I'd rather make a deal."
"I don't have time for this," Chuuya waved a gloved hand dismissively.
"If you win, you can have Atsushi-kun," Lupin bluntly stated, surprising the others who didn't think he'd be bargaining lives with all of his earlier motto revealing. "But if you lose then you have to spare all the lives of the ADA."
Chuuya paused, despite himself. "Where do you get off ordering me, punk?" Chuuya smirked darkly, the ground beneath his feet crackling into a crater shape. Atsushi's limp noodle body floated out of the way. But Chuuya was still pissed.
"If you back out, you'll lose by default," Lupin deadpanned.
"Why you—!" Chuuya's expression crackled. So, Dazai sent this boy out to get Chuuya's blood boiling, eh? He pointed at the monitor, irate. "Just watch Dazai. I'm about to make your damn confidence get pressure checked! Alright, punk! I'll look forward to having you eat those words!"
Chuuya was not one to be done in easily by taunts discourteously whipped up by mere children, but this one seriously rubbed him the wrong way. He was like a calculating—yet scarily polite— version of Dazai. And if Chuuya took in the boy's messy features, particular angle of the limited lighting, and tousled side bangs blanketing the right side of his face and spilling a little to the left, he perhaps looked distinctively similar to Dazai. Well, there was a terrifying notion to crush.
Chuuya snarled.
As Chuuya unleashed the brunt of his ability, his eyes widened from sudden shock. Jolting, he found himself blocking a well timed punch followed by a spinning kick from the boy.
"—Tch!?"
It wasn't the attacks that alarmed Chuuya. It was the speed at which the blows flurried at him. Despite Chuuya's years and fighting capability, he found he was always one step short of whatever the kid's next attack was! Even if he could touch him and activate his anti-gravity ability to fling Lupin back, it was as though the boy was a ghost—slipping through Chuuya's very touch effortlessly and yet somehow still managing to land blows on him!
…Dammit!
Chuuya found himself in a position he rarely found himself caught in unless it was Dazai's doing.
He was caught off guard.
