"My motto is: As long as I'm fine, everything's fine."
The goon slams Ranpo onto the desk, a meaty hand around his throat that keeps him atop the scattered paperwork even through his minimal struggle. A wheeze is forced from his lungs and Ranpo's eyes widen. He can't move away. His legs kick the side of the desk and smack into the goon's knee, but the large man only grunts and squeezes harder in retaliation. Ranpo sees stars and a pathetic noise falls from his lips. Somewhere in the distance, he can hear someone shouting, but the noise is too far away and muffled, as if he's underwater. Ranpo knows the Agency needs him to deduce a way out of this mess, but their assailants know of his abilities and have immediately gone for him instead of anyone else. If he gets taken out, the others stand no chance.
Sure, Dazai can probably come up with an adequate strategy that will work, but it won't be the same. Ranpo knows it. He is the only one who can truly deduce anything coming their way and figure out the right response. Ranpo bites his lip and curses mentally as the edges of his vision begin to turn black. He doesn't have long to come up with a plan. He can't fight, that's for sure, but he can do other things.
Ranpo looks around the room with his failing vision and sees the destruction in less than a second. Gifted are fighting Gifted and he isn't the only one in a tight spot. Dazai is on the floor, a slim woman sitting on his back as she whispers something in his ear. Ranpo can see the widening of his eyes from where he's pushed onto the desk and watches as Dazai's whole body stiffens. His eyes slide over to Ranpo's and he makes eye contact with the only non-Gifted member of the Agency. A look of fear and confusion mixed with something else passes over Dazai's face and Ranpo knows it's bad.
On the other side of the room, Atsushi and Kyoka are fighting powerful Gifted, by their side Naomi and Kirako. Not far from them, the President is holding up an injured Kunikida, katana at the ready to strike their opponent. Ranpo can't see Kenji or Jun'ichiro anywhere and he quietly hopes nothing bad has happened to them.
"Boss," the goon above him says, drawing Ranpo's attention back to him.
He is speaking into an earpiece, and Ranpo can hear the crackling reply on the other side. It's a woman's voice, beautiful and silky smooth – dangerous. Ranpo growls quietly and pushed against the hand on his throat, hoping to dislodge it but knowing he is far less powerful than the man on top of him. The goon snaps his gaze to him and slowly increases the pressure on his windpipe. Ranpo gags audibly and someone calls his name.
He opens his eyes (when did he close them?) and locks eyes with the President. The man looks incredibly worried and points his katana at the goon holding Ranpo, demanding his release. The goon simply scoffs and continues talking. Ranpo knows the President can't do anything while he's in immediate danger, and Kunikida is seriously injured.
A crash draws their attention and Ranpo can just see Demon Snow slicing a desk in half as the woman she was fighting jumps away just in time. Then they disappear through the window, Atsushi on their heels with another assailant on his. It's a game of cat and mouse to see who lasts longer, and they're losing.
"Target secured," the goon above Ranpo says, lifting a bit of the pressure.
Ranpo takes a deep breath and one of his hands scrambles for the paper on the desk, gripping a clump of it and throwing it in the goon's face. The goon is startled and releases him, taking a single step back. Ranpo tumbles off the desk, wheezing and forcing air back into his lungs. His legs don't properly work and he's sitting against the desk, watching everyone fight around him. He wants to help, but he knows he's useless in a fight. He would just get in the way. The goon looks down at him with a sneer but doesn't move to grab him immediately. Ranpo relishes the momentary freedom. He looks toward the President and nods at him. Fukuzawa growls but knows what Ranpo is planning. They've known each other the longest, after all. The President hoists Kunikida higher and takes a step back from the man he is facing off with. The Gifted smirks and twirls his knife in his grip. Ranpo looks away.
"It's nothing," the goon by Ranpo's feet says, glancing down at him. "Target broke my grasp but I've already used my Gift on him."
Ranpo can barely hear the reply from the woman as he wonders what this man's Gift is, though he has it figured out seconds later. This man can disable parts of his body, even when he's not touching Ranpo. His legs don't work. He wouldn't have gotten away even if he wanted to. Ranpo curses mentally again and glares at the goon. The man smirks at him.
"You got me all figured out, don't ya," he says, squatting down in front of Ranpo to take hold of his hair.
Ranpo hisses at the tightness of the grip. He keeps glaring at the man and opens his mouth to retort, but the goon twists his hand in his hair and Ranpo cuts himself off with another hiss. The goon then lifts him by his hair. It hurts and Ranpo wants to set his feet under himself, his hands already gripping the goon's arm to keep from ripping his hair out, but his legs are disabled and his shoes squeak over the floor as he leaves it.
"Don't go trying to run away now," the man chuckles, even though he knows Ranpo can't go anywhere.
"Release him," Fukuzawa growls, pushing Kunikida into a desk and leaving him there.
Ranpo watches as the blond-haired man hisses and slides onto the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form underneath him. Dazai's face goes pale from where he lies close to them. He can obviously see the extent of Kunikida's injuries. Judging by his look, it isn't good. Ranpo wants to help, he wants to do something, but it takes all of his strength to keep hanging in the goon's grip. He doesn't want his hair to be ripped out and the landing on the floor would be equally unpleasant.
"Don't make demands when you're in no position to do so," the goon says to Fukuzawa.
The President brandishes his katana at him and the guy he was fighting steps between them, a deranged look on his face. Ranpo looks around the room again. Atsushi and Kyoka are nowhere to be seen, as are their opponents. Dazai and Kunikida are neutralized, and Yosano is, just as Kenji and Jun'ichiro, unaccounted for.
"I told you to release him," the President snarls, getting angry.
The goon holding Ranpo's hair laughs as if the President just made a joke and places his other hand on Ranpo's chest, palm pressing over his heart. Fukuzawa stiffens and his eyes narrow. Something is about to happen, he can tell. Ranpo knows it, too, and it's nothing good. For him, anyway. He struggles in the man's grip, eyes going wide slowly when he realizes what the guy is planning to do.
"No-" he begins, terrified.
"Be still in the beating chamber," the goon starts.
He doesn't say it loud, but Ranpo knows that Fukuzawa can hear it, and he can see the President's eyes widen incredibly. His grip on his katana becomes infinitely tighter and he takes one step toward them. The man he was fighting steps in and intercepts him, clashing his blade against Fukuzawa's. They're in a stalemate, fighting for control where the man wants to win and Fukuzawa wants to protect.
Ranpo feels something shift in his chest, and the beating of his heart stutters. He cries out, the pain unbearable for a singular moment before it's gone. Tears roll down his cheeks and he pants heavily, body twitching for a moment. The goon drops him to the floor and, instead of engaging Fukuzawa, stares him down. Ranpo gasps on the floor, his eyesight blurry through the tears and the darkening of his vision.
"Ranpo!" Fukuzawa calls, desperate and afraid.
"Don't," Dazai shouts in return. "He can still use his ability!"
Fukuzawa doesn't move an inch when Dazai states it, and though he looks terrified, there's a determined look on his face. He faces the goon and slowly sheaths his katana. The man grins in victory.
"What do you want?" the President asks through a growl.
Ranpo doesn't listen to their conversation. Instead, he focuses on breathing and slowly crawling away from the guy even though he knows it won't help him. He plants his back against the desk again, legs jello and heart feeling torn from his chest. It's as if he has had a heart attack and been resuscitated. Everything hurts. Ranpo lets his head fall back against the desk and he gazes at the blurry ceiling.
Another crash draws his attention and he can see Atsushi is back in the room, his transformation partial and his face set on murder. The goon glances at him and disregards him, but Atsushi demands his attention as he comes toward him. But then Fukuzawa stops him in his path and Atsushi looks at him questioningly.
"We can take them," he hears Atsushi say, quiet but loud in the silence of the room.
"No," the President replies, eyes hard. "This man can stop Ranpo's heart without touching him. We can't do anything."
Atsushi's face pales considerably and he looks to Dazai, who only nods. He's still on the floor, the girl from earlier no longer on his back, but he hasn't so much as lifted a finger. Ranpo wonders if he's incapacitated as well. It doesn't matter, he can't help him anyway. Not like this. Dazai looks pained for some reason and closes his eyes momentarily before opening them again. Some sort of symbol appears in his eyes and Ranpo sighs deeply in annoyance.
Dazai's been cursed. Spectacular.
"What do you want with me?" Ranpo asks quietly, his voice a rasp.
Everyone is silent, watching him and the goon with tense anticipation. The burly man crouches down in front of him and grabs him by the front of his cape, hauling him upward. Ranpo's head doesn't work right and his neck snaps backward, eyes rolling in his skull. He feels nauseous and groans when he's put back on his feet. They don't move, but he keeps standing anyway.
"Boss wants you to figure something out for her, so you're coming with us," the goon says in one breath. "She didn't say if we should bring you back in one piece, so if you struggle I'm breaking your legs."
Ranpo doesn't want to, but he shudders at the sound of the threat. He rolls his head around and faces the ground, looking at the President through his peripheral. He can see that Fukuzawa is weighing his options, hoping to somehow get them out of this situation, but Ranpo already knows there is no way they can do that.
This guy can stop his heart with a single thought and Dazai is cursed. Kyoka and the others are missing, and Kunikida needs medical attention. There is no other option in Ranpo's eyes, and he knows exactly what he must do to keep everyone safe. He did promise to keep the Agency from getting hurt ever again. Perhaps he could fulfill a part of that promise to himself now.
"I'll go with you," Ranpo says quietly.
Speaking is difficult and his tongue feels like lead in his mouth, the words almost slurring as they come out. He sees the concerned look on Fukuzawa's face and smiles a little at him, hoping to reassure him. The goon raises a brow and holds him up when Ranpo sways where he stands.
"Just don't hurt my friends," he adds softly, glaring at the man.
The goon smirks cruelly and nods to his partner, who still has his knife pointed at Fukuzawa. He sheaths it and moves toward them. Atsushi takes a step forward but the President holds him back, whispering in his ear that Dazai and Kunikida need urgent help and that it's better if the conflict is ignored for now. Ranpo sees that Atsushi is hesitant, so he turns his attention to the young man and locks eyes with him.
"I'll be fine," Ranpo says to him. "Don't worry about me."
"You're lying," Atsushi states.
The goon and his partner ignore their talking, though the burly man has an impossibly tight grip on Ranpo's arm, keeping him in place. Atsushi isn't wrong, Ranpo is lying. He does want them to worry about him and he knows for sure he won't be fine. He's about to get abducted to who knows where and without him the Agency has little chance of finding… him.
Ranpo sighs and looks at Fukuzawa instead. He and the President have known each other the longest and share a close bond that none of the others at the Agency understand. Ranpo doesn't blame them, it isn't easy to understand something like this. He knows what Fukuzawa is thinking, and those thoughts are nothing but trouble.
"Listen to Dazai," Ranpo began. "He knows."
Fukuzawa nods his head once and then takes hold of Atsushi's wrist, pulling him back toward Dazai and Kunikida. Atsushi gives up his struggle almost immediately and picks up his mentor, who gasps in pain. Nothing seems amiss with him but Ranpo knows the curse is probably doing something bad to the suicidal maniac. Kunikida doesn't so much as make a sound when Fukuzawa picks him up. He hangs limply in the man's arms and the President turns to face the goons with a murderous look.
"Don't think I won't come for him," he tells them.
"I'd love to see you try, old man. The Boss won't let you take him back that easily," the burly man replies with a sneer. "Don't expect to see him again."
Ranpo grits his teeth and the man activates his ability and his legs collapse underneath him. The President calls out to him in surprise and distress, but Ranpo shakes his head at him. He's half hanging in the man's arms, half on the floor. The grip on his arm is strong and hurts the bone but he doesn't say a word.
The man picks him up and he's slung over the shoulder. His legs refuse to do anything and a few seconds later the rest of his body goes limp. The feeling is horrible. Ranpo feels like the man only let his vital organs work and shut everything else down. He can't see anything for a moment, but then he can and he finds himself in a van, lying on his side. The burly man is in the driver's seat, slowly driving them up a mountain road. He groans, tongue feeling like sandpaper. The other guy, the lankier man with the knife, swivels in his seat to look at him.
"He woke up," the guy says.
"Doesn't matter, we're almost there," the burly man says. "Nezumi, restrain him."
"He doesn't look strong," Nezumi growls, though he stands to do so anyway. "He only has a sharp mind, Tachi."
Ranpo wants to retort that he can totally kick the guy in the balls and hurt him, but his head swims and he takes a deep breath, trying to keep from vomiting. Nezumi grabs some rope and flips him onto his stomach, tying his hands behind his back roughly before turning him back onto his side. Ranpo glares at him, but there's nothing he can do. He has to wait it out.
"Doesn't matter what he does and doesn't have. Boss wants him and if he escapes she's gonna have our heads," Tachi responds. "Is he still awake?"
"Yeah," Nezumi answers. "Stubborn little bastard."
He kicks Ranpo none too gently in the thigh, and the young detective hisses, unable to flinch away. His whole body is limp and he can't even move his fingers. He breathes and his heart beats, his eyes work but he doesn't think this is normal. This man's ability is terrifying. The van they're in stops at the summit of the mountain and Tachi turns his chair around to get into the back. He pushes Nezumi aside and the lankier man opens the doors. Then Tachi picks Ranpo up by the front of his shirt and throws him out of the van.
Ranpo yelps and lands harshly on the gravel, skidding a little bit. He feels the small rocks bite into his skin and he gasps, hands flattened under his body. When he lies still, he opens his eyes and watches as Nezumi and Tachi get out of the van. The girl that cursed Dazai appears from a small building to the side and Ranpo watches her quietly. She is almost a head shorter than him and has deep black hair tied into two ponytails. Her eyes are a vacant blue and they unsettle Ranpo on a different level. He doesn't like her.
"Hello, I'm Himari," she says to him, bending to lean over him. "Welcome to our base."
Ranpo doesn't say anything in return and it seems like she doesn't expect a retort. She leans back and faces Tachi and Nezumi. She instructs them to take him inside and then leaves, disappearing through the door of the small building. Tachi hauls Ranpo to his feet and suddenly his legs are working again, his whole body slowly regaining feeling. Ranpo moves his tongue around in his mouth and works his jaw to loosen it. It feels like he's had it clamped shut for ages.
He looks around before they can bring him inside and notes that the sun is as high as it was when the Agency was attacked. He realizes a whole day must have passed. It's strange. The parts where he was unconscious seem so small, he almost didn't notice them, but it appears that he has been knocked out for a whole day and he's far, far away from the Agency. Ranpo feels something akin to fear settle in his gut. He's never been away from the Agency this long when it wasn't of his own volition.
"Walk," Tachi commands, and Ranpo blinks back to reality.
Tachi shoves him into the building and though Ranpo had expected a small hideout, he finds himself in a wooden room with a staircase that leads down. It seems the building is only an entrance to a larger underground facility. Nezumi is walking in front of him, probably leading the way. They go down the stairs and Ranpo stumbles after a few steps. Tachi catches him, the back of his cape in an iron grip. Ranpo gags as the collar buries itself in his neck. He's hauled upright and Tachi grips him tightly around the bicep, dragging him down the stairs.
Ranpo struggles, his feet not complying as fast as Tachi wants them to. After a few moments, they reach the bottom of the stairs and he lets Ranpo go, who immediately buckles as his legs stop working again. He grunts harshly as he hits the wooden floor and doesn't move to pick himself up.
"Useless," Tachi mumbles. "He can't even withstand the smallest amount of my ability. I'm seriously beginning to wonder why the Boss wants him."
"Don't question her," Nezumi hisses. "Do you want your head on a stake?"
Tachi sighs deeply and walks away, leaving Ranpo on the floor. Nezumi rolls his eyes and walks away as well. Ranpo wonders if he can make his escape now, but before he can think of anything to do with his limp legs, the staircase above him clangs and a heavy metal hatch slides in place over the steps.
Great. He's trapped.
Ranpo sighs and pushes himself up with his bound hands, blearily looking around for a moment. Several hallways are going in different directions. Nezumi and Tachi both took the same one; the middle. Ranpo is lying halfway into the right hallway. A soft light is burning at the end of it and Ranpo squints, trying to see what it is illuminating. Something moves and he yelps when several rats appear from the darkness. Ranpo doesn't really like rats. He flinches away when one of them runs over his pants and through the hallway to his left. The others follow suit slowly, circling Ranpo. He feels like prey trapped in a snare. The rats multiply within seconds and a dozen becomes twenty-four. Ranpo doesn't know what to think of this and so he sits quietly, watching the rats as they walk over his legs and shoes and skitter off.
After a few moments, all of them are gone and Ranpo sighs. What were they doing there? Ranpo has no ideas. The feeling in his legs is slowly returning so he pushes the thought of the rats out of his head and climbs to his feet a little clumsily. The ropes around his wrist are coarse and they hurt, but they aren't extremely tight. With a bit of maneuvering, Ranpo could probably loosen them enough to slip out of them. He leans heavily against a wall to his side and blinks black spots from his eyes when he's fully upright.
"I see you can at least resist it a little bit," a soft voice says.
Ranpo snaps his head around. It's a bad idea because nausea immediately follows and he careens toward the floor. A delicate hand catches him and he falls against a woman's chest, face pressed into her shoulder. Within seconds, he realizes she's the Boss everyone has been talking about. Her presence tells him more than he needs to know. He doesn't need his glasses to deduce this much.
He glances at her from the angle he is at and takes in her features. Her hair is long and brown, curling gently down her back in rivers. It just reaches the dips in her hips and the curve of her frame complements the red dress she is wearing. It cuts low, her cleavage on full display. Ranpo isn't interested in that, however, it's the look she's sending him.
Her eyes are dark brown and deep like tidepools. They convey emotions he can't place. He's far too disconnected from human emotions to fully understand what this woman is feeling. Her face is pretty, he thinks to himself. Her lips are full and a rosy color. Her cheeks have a healthy sheen to them and her eyebrows are smooth. Her hair frames her face perfectly and Ranpo can't think of anything amiss with this woman.
"Who're you?" he asks in a bit of a slur.
The woman smiles, her hands delicate yet strong as she pushes him back a little. He falls against the wall, his legs trembling as he keeps himself upright. The woman regards him for a moment before flipping open a pocket knife and slicing through his bonds. Ranpo rubs his wrists quietly and watches her, curious.
"My name is Ayame Murakami. I was the one who ordered your arrival here," she introduces.
"You mean my kidnapping," Ranpo states, feeling a little better now that he's no longer restrained.
Ayame chuckles humorously, "If you see it that way. Please, follow me."
She begins leading the way through one of the hallways. Ranpo follows at a slow pace, reluctant yet knowing he'll probably get hurt if he doesn't comply with her demands. He can't fight her, she's probably stronger than he is. He's not surprised, most people are stronger than he is. He prefers to use his mind in a fight, after all.
He follows the click of her heels with his ears and takes the right turns through the many hallways and intersections. She leads him somewhere far from the entrance and waits at a door for him, opening it when he stands next to her. Then she motions for him to go in and Ranpo does because what else can he do?
He enters a small living space. There's a couch for two persons and in the corner is a futon, the space minimally decorated with a table and two chairs. There's not much else. Ranpo feels fear curl the hairs at the back of his neck. She's imprisoning him, he realizes shortly. He turns quickly, hoping to catch the door before she can close it but he's not fast enough. He slams into it just as she closes it and his forehead smacks into the wood painfully. He falls back with an undignified yelp, rubbing his head.
"You can't keep me here," he calls to her. "They'll come for me."
Ayame doesn't respond. She's gone. And Ranpo is alone.