The room had become dark and silent again. The man gently dropped his head into the soft pillow. The pain never left him. His colleagues had just left the room, hoping he was resting. He let out a weak sigh. His dark gaze fixed on the door. In his head, thoughts raced from all sides. His body, meanwhile, was subject to a wave of multiple emotions, which his mind deftly held on a leash. Dazai tamped down his emotions and gave way to the stratagen. What were Mori's goals in agreeing to Ranpo's compromise? Certainly, he could take advantage of the latter's mind for Port Mafia business. Or was he wishing to play with Fukuzawa's emotions?

Chuuya's imprisonment meant nothing good. What were the Europeans going to do with him? And was Fyodor really dead? This rat was really hard to get rid of, after all.

Dazai felt his thoughts start to intertwine. He felt the fog disperse in his brain. It was more and more difficult for him to keep a train of thought. Yosano had probably added a sleeping pill to his medication. However, his system should have resisted it. The doctor must have taken into account Dazai's experience with narcotics and adjusted the dose.

The man's eyelids were beginning to thicken and he let himself slip gently into Morphe's arms.


They were in the large room that served as their office. Yosano was sitting on a desk, her legs crossed. She looked around her, overlooking her colleagues. Tanizaki was sitting on the couch, hands clasped together. His sister patted his back enthusiastically, probably trying to comfort him. In front of them, Kunikida had his eyes hidden by the reflection of his glasses. Elbows on knees, face tilted forward, he was lost in thought. Kenji was also sitting on the couch, his composition calm as usual. To end the painting, Atsushi was seated at his side, very straight. Yosano sighed. The candid atmosphere of ADA had become very heavy since Ranpo's departure.

After a while, Kyouka came back with some tea which she served to her colleagues. When she finally put the cup down on the coffee table in front of Tanizaki, the young man fidgeted nervously.

"Would Ranpo-san come back if-f we went looking for him?" he asked looking down.

"Of course, he would." Yosano replied dryly, one eyebrow raised. "Who would want to stay in the Port Mafia?" Her words, she almost spat them wildly.

"Yeah... But, we don't know everything about the deal he made with Mori." Tanizaki argued timidly.

"Wasn't it just to take the boss's place?" Kenji asked, confused.

Silence fell. They could only suggest the terms of the deal between Mori and Ranpo. Who could know all of Mori's shenanigans? Apart from their colleague Dazai, they had no idea.

"How did he get Fukuzawa here?" Now it was Atsushi's turn to sow doubt.

"Um…" Kenji began, finger under his chin, thinking. "With a page from Poe's book?" He blinked several times, saying what he thought was obvious.

"Exchanging the president, Tanizaki and me against Ranpo-san does sound fishy." Kunikida advanced, face dark as he folded his hands together. "Weren't we a bigger payoff for Port Mafia than Ranpo, if he really wanted to harm the agency?"

Yosano sighed with a bit of uncertainty. "The three of you were on the verge of death. You're lucky you got to me on time."

"Exactly." Kunikida replied, looking the doctor sternly in the eyes. "Wasn't it an opportunity to destroy ADA by getting all of us killed?"

None of them knew what to answer. He had a point.

"Maybe Mori saw an opportunity from Ranpo-san's deductive ability...?" Tanizaki tried to convince them. But no one dwelt on this hypothesis. "Then, what do we do now?" His voice was frail, sadness could be heard in his tone.

Yosano turned his attention to the closed door of his office. Dazai still rested as they talked. She had made sure to give him a good sleeping pill along with his medication. They needed him. But, Dazai's body needed rest to recover from his injuries. When Atsushi brought him to her, the doctor even wondered if he would survive. She sighed thinking about it.


The next morning, they were all back in Yosano's office. Dazai was sitting in an infirmary bed, his back supported by pillows. His colleagues listened attentively to the plan he had drawn up.

1. They needed to give Ango a piece of Poe's book. Tanizaki was the perfect person to fill this role. With light snow, he could encounter Ango unnoticed.

2. Yosano, with the help of Ango and Tanizaki, would heal Chief Taneda.

3. They take Ranpo back from the Port Mafia.

As Dazai was about to explain how they were going to go about the fourth stage, Ango made an unexpected appearance. The newcomer looked around, impressed. The premises looked exactly like the offices of the agency. Coughing, he adjusted his glasses.

"We need to talk." Ango said seriously, his eyes fixed on Dazai.

Before the arrival of the government agent, the room was already full. Now, with him, they were practically stepping on their feet. Under Dazai's request, all left except Atsushi and Kunikida.

"I have been called by the European, yesterday, to investigate." Ango said, glancing sideways at Dazai's colleagues. "Chuuya disappeared."

"Well, that's too bad for them." replied the brunet slightly uninterested.

Ango ignored the remark and continued "He disappeared from a guarded cell. They took every precaution to lock him up... But, he still managed to disappear into thin air."

Dazai remained silent, indifferent.

"But, isn't Chuuya's ability gravity manipulation?" Atsushi asked, puzzled. "How could he suddenly disappear from a locked room?"

"Exactly" Ango turned to Dazai, waiting for a reaction from him.

"Doesn't that ability to disappear resemble the one the clown-like man was using?" All eyes were now on Kunikida.

"Nikolai..." Dazai pointed enthusiastically at his colleague. "Good detective work, Kunikida-kun~"

As the man with the glasses gave him an uninterested look, Ango took a folder out of his bag. He dropped the file in front of Dazai. The brunet took it and quickly consulted the documents. His face darkens.

"Wasn't he dead?" Ango asked with anger and betrayal in his voice. "Why have I seen a memory of him on Chuuya's restrain?"

Dazai put the folder back on his covers. A document slipped out. Atsushi tilted his head to the side to make out the photograph. In this one, a man dressed in a white blouse smiled at the camera. On the document, it was written: N.

"N?" Jinko's gaze met his mentor's dark eyes and he stopped short.

Dazai took his cell phone to his side and dialed a number. Ango stepped forward as if to stop him, but the other glared at him.

"Who are you calling?" asked the agent in a voice more defeated than he would have liked to appear.

"Port Mafia."

"This is classified information, Dazai-kun! I'm only telling you this becau-"

"Port mafia must already know." Dazai glared at Ango and added with a smile, "There are more traitors than you think. Some people are just less horrible than you, that is."

His words were cold as ice. Everyone in the room froze for a moment.

Dazai hung up as he got to the voicemail. He quickly wrote on the keyboard of his cellphone: "You're kid brother's missing, go pick him up for daycare." He sent his message to the person he had just tried to contact. Then, he sighed, muttering to himself, "The storm is here..." He continued and dialed another number.

"Android detective agency, how may I be of service?"

"Get me in line with Adam-san, plz~ Tell him, it's his old friend Dazai Osamu."

As the agent transferred the call, Kunikida and Atsushi exchanged looks, confused.

"Long time no see, Adam-kun~ I'm sorry to cut short our reunion but the little princess got kidnapped again by the evil scientist."

For a few seconds the android was silently processing the information. "Princess?" he asked, seeking to validate the information obtained. "The princess of which country?"

Even though his interlocutor couldn't see him, Dazai stared blindly.

"Chuuya Nakahara..." he said dryly.

"Chuuya Nakahara?" Adam repeated, confused. "What about him? How is he doing?"

"Probably tortured as we speak." Dazai replied honestly. "So, I'd say in much pain."

"..."

Atsushi approached Kunikida and asked him what was going on. His colleague shrugged with a sigh, accustomed to Dazai's nonsense.

"What is going on? Who's torturing master Chuuya and who's this evil scientist?"

"Does this whole mystery have to do with the kidnapping of a princess?" tried to understand the android.

"You are no fun."

"I was programmed to understand and make jokes. Do you want me to tell you a joke to ease you? I have plenty of android jokes, if you'd like. Though, I'm unsure on how it will help you with your case."

Dazai sighed, tilting his head to the side, discouraged. "Chuuya was kidnapped by N."

A moment of silence followed, while the brunet heard the android stop in its tasks.

"I see." Adam replied seriously. "This is a dangerous situation. Have you located him?"

"No, I'm looking for any help possible before it is too late." Dazai's words were heavy with implication. "Can I rely on Mr. Android detective-san for some help?"

"Certainly." he paused. "What about the princess? Have you found any information on her?"

Dazai starred for a moment.

"I'm hanging up. Call me when you're in Yokohama."

The brunet hung up and looked at his confused colleague. Only Ango had grabbed part of the situation. Obviously, Kunikida demanded to be informed of his schemes. As Dazai summarily explained that he sought help from an android detective agency, Ango frowned.

"ADA is still considered as terrorist." he reminded him.

"Exactly. That's why we need you Ango-chan~. We need you to bring Yosano-san to heal Chief Taneda."

The government agent sighed even more.

"Dazai-san? I've rarely seen you that angry..." Atsushi said hesitantly. "What's your relationship with Chuuya?"

Dazai grimaced as all eyes were now on him. He thought for a moment. He hated having to answer that question. He sighed in disappointment.

"I missed seeing Chuuya cry the first time he was tortured. I'm not going to miss it twice." he answered with a pout.

Atsushi opened his eyes wide, horrified by this answer.

"You're a horrible person." simply replied Kunikida.


As Atsushi was seeing out Ango, he stopped for a moment. Both of them were alone in the hallway.

"Ango-san, why is Dazai-san always so mean to you? What happened between the two of you?"

The government agent froze, a twinge in his heart as the memories of his betrayal came flooding back to him. He tilted his head, hiding his face. Jinko had a knack for asking painful questions.

"I am responsible for the death of one of our mutual friends. It seems I can never repent enough."

With those words, he disappeared back to the real world.