(A/N: Thank you PinkiePieParty122894 and SumiJepson for your reviews! x3 And to everyone who followed, favorited, and added this story to their alerts as well! It really means so much to me that you all are enjoying this story. This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, but I hope you all enjoy this part, nonetheless. And if you notice any mistakes, just let me know. :))
"Take the weretiger alive? What are you after?"
"My target has always been you and you alone, weretiger. Your fellow agents lying there just got caught in the crossfire."
"Then...this is because of...me...?"
"Indeed. That is your karma, weretiger. You cause misfortune for everyone around you, just by living."
The same...It was the same words she had heard for years at the orphanage...Her eyes grew wide when Akutagawa activated his ability; his personage becoming more demonic. His eyes had turned an eerie red and seemed to be peering straight into her very soul. That was why Atsushi had frozen to the spot, only able to watch as black tendrils shot straight for her.
"AHHHHH!" Atsushi screamed at the top of her lungs, waking up in a cold sweat. Letting out harsh pants, she realized Akutagawa was nowhere to be seen. She was instead laying on a bed in a pristine room that made her think of the nurses back at the orphanage, but she didn't feel at ease from this discovery. What if she had still been captured...? "Where...am I?"
"You're quite noisy, brat."
Slowly turning, Atsushi noticed a familiar blond sitting close to her bedside. This was the first time she had seen the male without his glasses on. "Kunikida...san?"
"Damn. I can't believe you pulled this during such a busy time," Kunikida muttered, though his eyes looked sorrowfully at the obviously traumatized teen.
"I...I was...attacked by the mafia," Atsushi whispered, her pupils shrinking when recalling how Tanizaki and his sister had been severely injured right before her eyes. Shooting up in bed, she cried out in panic, "Kunikida-san, where are Tanizaki-san and Naomi-san?!"
"Calm down. They're both okay," Kunikida answered, turning his attention on his trademark notebook he always carried.
"Are you...sure?"
"Yes. Dr. Yosano is treating Tanizaki right now next door."
Hearing an earsplitting scream, Atsushi couldn't help but jump, and she pulled the covers up over her form as if they could shield her. What was more bizarre despite once sounding like he was in extreme pain and danger, Atsushi heard Tanizaki let out an "Ah...!" as if he was in sudden ecstasy.
"That's...treatment?" Atsushi asked sheepishly, peeking over the covers, her face having turned a little red.
"I heard, brat. You have a seven-billion-yen bounty on your head on the black market," Kunikida voiced calmly, not even bothered by the disturbing sounds they had heard.
"Wh-what...?"
"Seven billion, huh? You've moved up in the world," Kunikida mused, sending the girl an impassive side-eyed glance. "No wonder the Port Mafia are keen to get their hands on you."
"I see," Atsushi said quietly. So that was why that creepy Akutagawa claimed she was his target. She unleashed a groan and gripped at her hair. "Wh-wh-what should I do?! The mafia might launch a raid on the Agency...But why me?!"
"Don't panic. The Port Mafia are certainly violent to the extreme but keep your cool. Losing your cool can kill even the most skilled. That's what my mentor would tell me."
Atsushi gave Kunikida a blank expression as he was casually flipping through his book. "Um, you do know it's upside down...Your notebook."
Freezing on the spot while his face seemed to lose all color, Kunikida took in a deep breath and slowly flipped his notebook right side up. Uncrossing his leg, he then casually stood and made his way closer to a confused Atsushi.
"I haven't lost my cool! I'm not going to panic over the Mafia!" Kunikida screamed out, making poor Atsushi squeal and jolt from how close the male's face had gotten near her own. "I'd beat them back, even if they attacked this very second!"
Kunikida-san's pretty wound-up Atsushi realized a tad freaked out as she watched the uptight male continue to rant while displaying numerous martial art moves. His explanation is all over the place! She looked down at her lap, suddenly feeling troubled. It must mean the Agency's situation is pretty dire, and all because of me...
"He'll come for sure. You caused this," Kunikida abruptly spoke up as if agreeing with the teen's thoughts, once more completely composed as if he hadn't lost his sanity at all. "The worst-case scenario may come to pass...Think about what you can do."
What I can do...?
"By the way, brat," Kunikida said while walking toward the door. "I've been looking for something...Have you seen my glasses?"
H-he really is out of it! Can he not feel them on top of his head?!
"Erm...you actually still have them on you..." Atsushi replied sheepishly, placing a hand on top of her own head for emphasis.
All the color in Kunikida's face appeared to fade once again, and he slowly lowered his glasses back down onto his face. About to step out of the room with what little dignity he had left, Kunikida instead ended up letting out a "GAH!" when he was shoved away by someone sliding into the room.
"Atsushi-chan~! Look! I brought you some flowers to brighten up the room!"
Hearing Dazai's cheerful tone, Atsushi perked up slightly. He held a bouquet of pretty yellow daises in his hand. The flowers were so bright and cheerful, they made Atsushi crack a small smile despite the heaviness that had blossomed in her chest. The fact that she wasn't accustomed to receiving gifts also made her feel strangely warm. It just confused her why Dazai would go out of his way to do something like that for her.
"Bastard! You did that on purpose!" Kunikida accused, his face red from having crashed into the wall while his shaking fist had gripped onto Dazai's shirt.
"Oh! Kunikida-kun! When did you get here?!" Dazai asked with a chirp, his words causing the blond to growl. "I have to say the air in here feels quite oppressive. It's enough to make someone want to jump out the window to their death just to escape from it!"
"Only you could come up with a reason like that, you crazy suicidal maniac!"
"I bet you were going on about, 'You caused this. The worst-case scenario may come to pass...Think about what you can do'," Dazai voiced, mimicking Kunikida's calm range as he even pretended to push up a pair of glasses. "Really, now. Spouting such negative comments like that. This is why you don't have a girlfriend, Kunikida-kun."
"Bastard! How many times have I told you not to mock me!" Kunikida snarled, his hands wrapping around Dazai's throat as the brown-haired male merely laughed when his comrade started to squeeze and jerk him back and forth. "And I don't need to hear romantic advice from someone like you!"
Twiddling her thumbs, Atsushi spoke up, "It's fine, Dazai-san...Kunikida-san is right. I need to think about what I can do after all the trouble I caused..."
Both men stared at the female who had drawn her covered knees up to her chest, noticing the distant look within her two-toned eyes. Kunikida quietly stuck his hands in his pockets after he released Dazai, watching as the much too carefree male approached the white end table by Atsushi's bed. Dazai placed the flowers he had brought in a vase, that happened to be in the room, but kept one daisy in his hand which he surprised Atsushi by sticking behind her ear.
"You don't have to worry, Atsushi-chan. Everything will work out in the end." Dazai assured with a serene smile, shoving his own hands in the pockets of his trench coat.
Everything will work out, huh Atsushi wondered, her fingers reaching up to gently touch the little flower. She felt that she could trust Dazai. In the brief amount of time she had been around the admittedly bizarre male, he already had a way that put her worries at ease better than anyone else she had known ever did...
Yet despite this, Atsushi still couldn't help but feel this growing sense of unease.
It had been a few hours since Dazai and Kunikida had left, and after getting more rest like Dazai had instructed, Atsushi decided she had laid around long enough. Having just finished discarding the hospital gown she had been changed into and back into her regular clothing, Atsushi found herself flinching when a sudden loud boom went off.
Turning to the window, Atsushi rushed over where she placed her covered palms upon the glass pane when seeing black smoke rising up from not too far off in the distance. "An explosion? What's going on?"
Knowing it might be a bad idea, Atsushi found herself running out of the agency; carefully making sure she avoided running into anyone. It seemed a crowd had already formed around the accident, and she pushed her way closer toward the front while eavesdropping on the voices around her.
"I hear it's a massacre,"
"Damn..."
"The military police say the Port Mafia's military squad did it...The Black Lizard group, the most violent of them all,"
"The Black Lizard?"
"They're as good as special ops, and merciless to boot..."
Atsushi's eyes were wide in horror seeing the numerous bodies covered by sheets that were scattered around the wreckage of the former warehouse. She couldn't help but picture the members of the Agency being gunned down like these poor men no doubt had, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.
The Port Mafia's Black Lizard... If they were to attack the Agency... The worst-case scenario.
Quietly leaving the crowd and the main part of the city, Atsushi made her way toward a nearby park that she was familiar with. She somberly stared at the phone booth before her. The girl's heart felt heavy, but she knew this was the right thing to do.
"Yes? Who is this?"
Atsushi sighed softly when hearing Higuchi's voice. She wasn't sure if the number she had left with the Agency would work or not.
"It's me."
"Weretiger? Your colleagues saved you the other day, but that won't be the case next time. What do you want?"
"I'm going to quit the Agency. I'm going to quit and go on the run alone. Catch me if you can!"
"I see," Higuchi mused, and Atsushi frowned hearing the amusement in the woman's tone. "So, you're telling us to call off the war on the Agency?"
Atsushi didn't reply, choosing to hang up as she leaned against the side of the phone booth.
I'm sorry, Dazai-san... But this is right decision...
Heading back to the Agency, Atsushi grabbed up her few belongings that were in the satchel the Agency had given her. She thought it would be best not to let anyone know what she was doing. At least, that was her goal until Kunikida stepped out of the elevator she had passed by carrying a large stack of books.
"Oh, there you are, brat. Thanks to you, it's a huge mess. It's highly probable that this will turn into the worst-case scenario. Come help carry these-"
"There's no need to worry," Atsushi cut in with a reassuring smile, yet Kunikida rose a brow seeing how strained it was. "The worse-case scenario won't happen anymore. This agency is safe."
"Huh?" Kunikida muttered, scowling when the girl continued to walk off. "Hey! Come help, brat! Where are you running off to now?!"
Atsushi ignored the male's yelling as she made her way out of the building; the smile having left her lips where she stared forlornly down at the sidewalk.
"Get out, you good-for-nothing! No orphanage would welcome the likes of you!"
"The world would be a better place if you'd just die in a ditch somewhere!"
Atsushi's hands balled into tight fists at her sides. This time it was different. She was choosing to leave. She hadn't been discarded like a piece of trash...She just needed to find somewhere else to go where she'd finally feel like her life had meaning. That was, if the Port Mafia didn't catch her first...
Letting out a heavy sigh as she trudged forward, Atsushi wondered if there was a place she could ever truly belong? The Agency had almost felt like somewhere she might have been able to call home, but that had been snatched away from her...No. Maybe it was just a fleeting dream to begin with. Her presence caused Dazai, Kunikida, and everyone else nothing but trouble in the end...
A sudden sound caused her to flip around with a gasp. "Gunshots? But that's where..." Fear overtook Atsushi watching as the numerous windows of the agency shattered. "Why's the Agency being attacked?!"
Almost getting hit by a car when she took off, Atsushi quickly apologized before racing by the alarmed onlookers. None of their panic could match her own as she had no idea what sight would greet her when she reached the tall brick building.
She had told the Port Mafia she was no longer associated with the Agency. So why would they assault them?
Is it all because of me again that everyone's in danger Atsushi pondered, throwing her satchel to the side and stumbling as she hurried for the main office.
"STOP!"
Atsushi gripped at her white blouse, expecting she'd step into the middle of a bloodbath. She never could have fathomed she'd instead be greeted by the sight of Kunikida flipping a middle-aged man, with grey hair and sporting a monocle over his violet eyes, almost too easily with just one hand.
"H-huh...?"
The other agents were handling themselves well, too, it seemed. They almost seemed far too nonchalant as they disarmed men garbed in shades and dark suits with basic punches and kicks.
"So, you're finally back, brat," Kunikida lectured, causing the elderly gentleman, Ryūrō Hirotsu, to shriek when he bent back his wrist.
"I-I don't understand?!" Atsushi squeaked out. She felt like another panic attack was about to happen similar to the one she almost had on the way here. For a whole different reason this time.
"This is why I hate raids," Kunikida complained, pulling out his notebook and jotting something down in it. "They really throw off our budget projections. How much do you think repairing the office and replacing inventory will cost?!"
I-is that the reason Kunikida was so stressed out earlier?!
"Using machine guns for a raid was a little over the top," Yosano, the rather pretty personal physician of the Armed Detective Agency lamented. "It's your turn to go around the neighborhood with apologies and gifts, Kunikida-kun."
"Gah...So it is the worst-case scenario!"
Th-this is the 'worst-case scenario' that he was going on about?! Atsushi gazed around at the Black Lizards who were out cold or twitching where they lay. This is the Port Mafia military squad said to be on par with special ops? A-am I missing something...?
"Kunikida-san, what should we do with them?" the youngest member of the Agency, Kenji Miyazawa, asked cheerfully.
"Throw them out the window."
"Roger~!"
He's flinging them out the window like they don't weigh anything! How?!
"For the umpteenth time, I wish they'd give up on raids,"
Atsushi gawked at Kunikida's back. This wasn't the first time Port Mafia had attacked the Agency, then? For some reason, she was starting to feel bad for the mafia. The Agency almost seemed far more violent. Especially from the way Kenji was cheerfully counting down as he tossed each man out the window at a height that would normally kill the average person.
"Hurry up and help with the cleanup, brat! I still can't believe you wandered off in the middle of it all!" Kunikida chastised. "I told you, you're a member of the Agency now. You should be thinking about what yourself can do. Well, helping with clean-up is about all you can do."
So...that's what he meant...
Hearing Atsushi unleashing an 'unhinged' sounding laugh, a tick mark formed on the side of Kunikida's head, and he started to snap, "Hey, if you've got time to laugh...Wait...are you...crying?"
"Kunikida! You should be ashamed of yourself! Making a cute young girl like that cry!" Yosano huffed out, approaching the stunned twenty-two-year-old with her hands resting on her hips.
"That was really mean, Kunikida-san!" Kenji whined out, staring at the male with disappointment.
"Wow! You don't know how to talk to women, do you, Kunikida-san~?" Ranpo Edogawa, the best detective in the agency, snickered.
Kunikida's face twitched, and he stuttered out, "I-it wasn't my intention...Listen! I'll clean the room myself! There's no need for you to cry over something so inconsequential! Why are girl's your age always this sensitive...?"
"Th-that's not why I'm crying...I'm actually really happy..." Atsushi claimed with a bright smile while tears continued to trail down her cheeks.
"Huh...?" Kunikida muttered perplexed while Yosano, Kenji, and Ranpo were even blinking in confusion at their newest member.
Dazai was standing outside the door, listening to the conversation with a faint smile. Here he was thinking they'd have to track their newest member down after the Port Mafia was dealt with, but it seemed she couldn't abandon the Agency in the end.
Hopefully now, seeing the strength of their members for herself, she wouldn't feel as if her being here was an inconvenience on all of them.
And for Atsushi to realize that she finally had a place to remain that wouldn't abandon her like those in her past had.