Naomi's words echoed in the room. Her story didn't make any sense. He asked her to explain the situation in more detail. Chuuya suddenly appeared. He was unconscious on the floor of the office... How was that possible? You needed a piece of Poe's text to get in. Had Chuuya been conscious a few minutes ago and read the text? But how did he get the text?

"Ah, there you are! Haruno-chan was looking for you everywhere, little monster!" Noami took the cat in her arms and covered it with caresses. The animal's intelligent eyes met Dazai's.

Everything made more sense now, or at least a little more sense.

"Seems like Mii-chan brought back something unpleasant." Dazai replied with a smirk.

The situation still remained mysterious. Two days ago, Ango told him that Chuuya had disappeared from prison. Dazai sat up in his bed, awakening pains he would have preferred to forget. What happened during these two days? On the other hand, it was very good news. They would be able to exchange Chuuya for Ranpo and limit the damage from the war that was currently raging between Port Mafia and ADA. Dazai got up to go see Chuuya. He didn't doubt Naomi's words, but he had to see with his own eyes. He clung to the furniture surrounding him to reach the door frame. Naomi gave way to him. Then he saw it. Lying on the ground, covered in bruises and blood. His complexion was much paler than usual. Chuuya was there. He was unconscious on the office floor as Naomi had described it. A feeling of worry ran through Dazai. He staggered over to his partner and crouched as best he could beside him. His breathing was shallow. He was still alive. Dazai was relieved. He took his wrist and checked his pulse. His pulse was weak. But, he was still alive. Chuuya had clearly been beaten or worse tortured. Again. Dazai felt anger rising within him, but he pushed it deep within himself. He had more urgent things to take care of. He places Chuuya's cold hand delicately, with a pinch in his heart. He ignored his feelings again. Dazai turned to Naomi with a determined look.

"Naomi-chan, I need to make a call. Will you get my phone for me, please?''

The young woman nodded and went to get the cell phone from Yosano's office.

On the roof of a building, hair and clothing blowing in the wind, Fukuzawa and Mori stood defiantly against each other.

"Give us back Ranpo. I don't know what your scheme are, but he wasn't part of our deal." Fukuzawa put his hand on the sheath of his sword.

"Well, at the time of the seal off, you were barely conscious. Rest assured, I would have obtained your consent otherwise.'' Mori replied with a mocking smile. "Your assistant proposed another deal I couldn't refuse. Your safety against his assets for Port mafia. He willingly joined us." He paused, still with the same smile, "I envy you. Having such fateful allies.''

Fukuzawa growled at Mori's words. "Let Ranpo go. He doesn't belong in Port mafia.''

"Oh-ya? I thought he fitted well."

Fukuzawa drew his sword at lightning speed and rushed towards his enemy. Mori parries the blow using a scalpel. They exchanged several blows faster than it was possible to see. After a moment, they each stepped back to catch their breath. As they were preparing for another exchange of blows, they were interrupted by the arrival of Kouyou. In her hands, she held a cell phone. From the device, Dazai's voice rang out. The two men listened.

"We have Chuuya. Honor your side of the deal. Give us back Ranpo and we'll give you Chuuya."

Mori quietly put away his scalpel and stood up. He took the time to straighten his clothes before responding, "It seems we're at an impasse. The Guild has Ranpo."

"Poe…" Dazai said to himself.

They were all sitting in the conference room, still covered in dust and bruises. The silence weighed heavily in the room. At the end of the table stood Fukuzawa with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed and his eyes closed.

Kunikida replaced his glasses before speaking, "If Poe does indeed have Ranpo-san, how come Ranpo is still not with us?" Nobody said a word. "What tells us we can trust the Guild?"

Atsushi dared to answer, "They have helped us several times in the past..."

"At what price? The Guild does not act without setting a price."

Atsushi didn't say anything else. Kunikida did not seem open to discussing the subject. He didn't blame him. Everyone was stressed out. His colleague was too. They just wanted to see Ranpo again.

"Neither Francis nor Poe can be reached at the moment…" Dazai said.

"You're worrying for nothing. Poe wouldn't do anything to Ranpo. They're friends, right? Maybe they are just busy." Kenji said innocently.

His positivism was not shared with the rest of the group, while his colleagues remained silent in response.

"Find everything you can on the Guild. We need to bring Ranpo back." ordered Fukuzawa.

Dazai had his eyes closed and was thinking when there was a knock on his door. The brunet immediately recognized the man who entered, accompanied by Yosano. He hadn't changed in 6 years. It was an android after all.

Dazai gave him an overview of the situation with the last minute changes. Adam was relieved to hear that Master Chuuya was safe. He also asks Dazai if it was really a good idea to return him to Port Mafia. The brunet evaded the question with a joke the android didn't understand.

Dazai finally turned to Yosano, "How is he?"

All attention turned to her. Yosano was irritated. On top of everything that was going on with Ranpo, she had to examine a member of the Port Mafia. What's more, she had no right to kill or torture him.

"He has significant bruises on his chest and potentially a rib injury. He was poisoned." she pronounces in a platonic tone.

"It's not surprising, Chuuya is weak against poison." Dazai replied.

"Really? It was quite the strong kind with a fairly high dose. The president won't even let me keep this kind of poison!"

The anger in Yosano's voice made Dazai sweat slightly. Then, he noted that he could ask her advice for effective poisons for dying. And, he chased the idea away. Coming from the doctor, it would just be a horrible experience.

"So he practiced becoming more resistant... Hmm... Boring."

Boring? Brilliant was more appropriate, right? Adam had just as much difficulty understanding Dazai as he did six years ago.

"I can dissect him if you want more intel. It will be my pleasure."

Adam stared hard, confused. Why would she need to dissect him, if he was still alive. What was wrong with those people?

"I bet, but no dissection, please." answered Dazai with a fake smile. "We wouldn't want to start another fight with Port mafia."

Yosano pouted and clicked her tongue. Tsk. While she was going to repress a few things, Atsushi appeared in the crack of the door.

"Hmm...Dazai-san?" the newcomer asked, hesitantly. "Chuuya-san just woke up…"

With the help of Adam and Yosano, Dazai went to see Chuuya. Once in the room, he asked to move alone. Near the bed, the doctor had placed a table with tools. Tools that looked more made for torture than for medical examination. He glanced at Yosano who looked away in frustration. Chuuya sat on the edge of the bed, motionless.

To his left, Dazai lit a lamp. The brightness attacked Chuuya who protected himself with one hand. He saw again the bright neon lights of the room where he had been tortured. Dazai was talking to him. He saw his mouth move, but he didn't understand anything. His head hurt terribly. He must be hallucinating again. Dazai was dead. At this thought, he wanted to scream with rage. He had tried to save him. He had believed that the doctor could save him... But, logically Dazai canceled all the abilities. He didn't make it in time…

Then, he suddenly noticed Yosano's presence. If she was there, maybe N was wrong. Maybe she could have saved Dazai without her ability. However, when he saw Adam, he understood that he was having ideas. It was just another one of his hallucinations.

Noticing that Chuuya wasn't responding and seemed absent-minded, the brunet placed a hand on his arm, trying to bring him back to reality. It did not have the expected effect. As soon as he touched him, the mafioso pushed him away with a violent blow of his arm. Then, he leaned back in the bed with an expression Dazai had never seen on him. Was he scared?

In Chuuya's head, images followed one another. The syringe that was injected into his arm. The chains that were attached to his hands. The violent electric shock. Before he knew it, he was panting.

Dazai froze. This wasn't usual behavior for Chuuya. He had never seen him like this. He always seemed fearless, determined and full of vivacity. Now he was scared and silent.

"Shi... Shirase..." Chuuya's words brought Dazai out of his thoughts.

Suddenly in the adjacent room, one of the ADA members dropped an object on the floor causing a loud bang. Chuuya shivered. He saw Shirase tied to a chair again. He heard the gunshot again and the cries of pain. He saw the blood flowing from his leg wound.

"I'll do it again!" I'll do it again... Don't hurt him.", shouted the mafioso, panting.

Dazai was starting to grasp the situation. They had probably used a hostage to coerce Chuuya. They had used Shirase. At this thought, he sighed. It was so much like his partner to stay attached to a person despite being betrayed.

Reluctantly, he understood that Chuuya needed to rest. He was agitated. He had few moments of lucidity between his delusions. Yosano offered to put him to sleep until the exchange with Port mafia. With resignation, Dazai finally accepts.

A few hours later, while everyone was busy finding a way to get Ranpo back, he suddenly appeared in the middle of the office. The first minutes passed in silence. The ADA employees stared at the young man in disbelief. They had been going out of their way for hours to find him. Then he just came back like that. For his part, Ranpo didn't know what to say. After an awkward moment, he waved to his colleagues and headed towards his desk. He wanted to sit comfortably in his seat and eat some treats. However, his sudden movement caused agitation among the others. His colleagues quickly surrounded him, forcing him to stop. They took his hands, they placed hands on his shoulders... Ranpo froze. He did not hear the words full of emotion, worry and above all relief, which were addressed to him.

Then, Atsushi and Yosano gave way to Fukuzawa. The President walked slowly towards Ranpo. Silently. His silence worried the Great Detective. Fukuzawa must have been shaking with anger right now. The young man looked down. He was afraid of a slap. Distant memories resurfaced. Then, with determination in his eyes, he raised his head. No, he had done what was best to save ADA. Seeing him, Fukuzawa sighed. Ranpo had changed since then, but he still remained the same.

"I'm sorry, Ranpo." Fukuzawa's word hit him harder than any slap. "You'll never have to do it again."

Ranpo looked at the determination in his colleagues' eyes. He looked at Fukuzawa. They were serious. They were angry. But, this anger was not directed at him. Ranpo lowered his head, one hand on his hat.

"I'm sorry... ADA's everything to me..." the words were hard to say. Tears flowed from his eyes. His voice cracked, "I couldn't…"

Ranpo couldn't finish his sentence. Fukuzawa placed a hand on his head and Ranpo let go of the flow of his emotions. The others moved closer to him.

From the sidelines, Dazai watched the scene, his gaze dark. He was angry with Mori.

At the end of the evening, Dazai contacted Mori.

"Chuuya is unsteady. He is agitated and has hallucinations.''

Mori didn't let him finish, "Oh-ya? Are you reluctant to give him back to Port mafia, Dazai-kun?"

"Same place, 10 p.m.." Dazai hung up abruptly.