Chapter 41&42

Chapter 41: A Deal

Tokisaki Kurumi stood before Bandaged Three, slowly raising her gun. Her expression was cold, finger on the trigger, ready to deliver the final blow. Yet, she couldn't help glancing anxiously toward where Dazai Osamu and Atsushi Nakajima were hiding.

"What are those two doing? How long do they plan to hide?" Kurumi thought, feeling a twinge of impatience. "If they don't show up and play the heroes soon, this plan is going to fall apart."

Both she and Bandaged Three had known about the two detectives' presence from the start. In fact, drawing Dazai and Atsushi here had been their goal all along. For Bandaged Three to infiltrate the Armed Detective Agency, they needed an extraordinary situation. With the agency's rigorous hiring standards, a straightforward approach would have been difficult. So, Kurumi and her three hundred shadows devised this elaborate scheme.

Bandaged Three pretended to betray her "main body" while Kurumi feigned pursuit, staging a confrontation for the detectives. The plan was simple: the agency's justice minded members would undoubtedly intervene to stop Kurumi from killing Bandaged Three. Kurumi would then stage a retreat, leaving Bandaged Three behind under the agency's protection. It might take more work to ensure Bandaged Three's full acceptance into the agency, but at the very least, this charade would get her close enough to make contact.

What she hadn't counted on was Dazai and Atsushi's tenacity. Even after all this, they still hadn't revealed themselves.

"Don't tell me Dazai has already seen through our performance?" Kurumi wondered. Dazai was often regarded as a man "holding the script" a detective who always seemed to anticipate crises as if he'd read the playbook in advance. It made him either brilliantly insightful or utterly sly, depending on one's perspective. Either way, Kurumi didn't dare underestimate his intelligence.

"But it doesn't make sense. Even if he suspects something, he couldn't possibly guess my entire plan," she reasoned. "Or could Atsushi be the one holding back? At this stage, he's still just a timid rookie. Maybe I've been too intense, and he lacks the confidence to step in…"

Lost in thought, she failed to notice a dark shadow moving above her until it was almost too late. Kurumi looked up just as Atsushi leaped down from the warehouse roof, silhouetted by the sun, his body in a half-tiger, half-human form.

"Well done, Atsushi," Kurumi murmured with a smirk, moving swiftly into the shadows at her feet.

Boom!

Atsushi's punch landed with all the force of his leap, splitting the asphalt beneath his fist. Had it connected, it would have shattered bones. He blinked in shock, relieved that she'd dodged in time. That had been his first real attack, and he'd overestimated his strength.

"She managed to dodge," he thought, scanning the area carefully for Kurumi, who had seemingly vanished into the shadows.

Meanwhile, Dazai sprang into action, darting out to drag Bandaged Three to safety.

"Lie still, or you'll bleed out," he advised her hastily. "Hang on. Reinforcements will arrive any minute."

He wanted to patch her up to slow the bleeding, but with the mysterious port mafia spirit lurking nearby, Dazai couldn't afford to divide his focus. Whoever this "Nightmare" was, she had taken Akutagawa's place as the one tasked with capturing Atsushi, making her a formidable threat.

A voice echoed from the shadowed warehouse walls, sounding both familiar and unsettling. "Didn't expect us to meet so soon."

Dazai and Atsushi stiffened, their wariness heightening.

"It's our first official meeting, I suppose," Kurumi said, stepping out from the shadows, smiling slyly. "But I think you already know who I am, so introductions are unnecessary."

"If you'd share your ability and name, I'd be most grateful, Miss Nightmare," Dazai replied with a faint smirk. "A frightful name doesn't suit such a beautiful young lady."

"Fishing for my private information, Dazai?" Kurumi tilted her head. "We only officially met today. A girl might feel uncomfortable if you're too forward."

"Well, the more we understand each other, the better don't you think?"

"That's fair. However, I already know enough about you, and you're not my target."

With that, Kurumi's gaze fell on Atsushi, the intensity of her predator-like stare causing his hair to stand on end. He put on a brave front, his half-tiger form lending him an intimidating appearance.

"To think my prey would come to me so willingly," she said, amused. "You're different from the coward I'd heard about. Seems the intel team got it wrong."

"I'm… I'm not afraid of you!" Atsushi retorted, trying to sound bold. "The other detectives will be here soon to see you face justice."

"You're quite far from the agency, aren't you? Even at top speed, it'll take them ten minutes," Kurumi replied.

Atsushi's face paled; he hadn't expected her information to be so precise. He'd hoped to use the agency's reputation to drive her back, but it seemed she wasn't so easily intimidated.

"Now, I might have had incorrect intel on you, but you know nothing about me. If we fight, the outcome's uncertain," Kurumi added. She stepped out of the shadows, a sincere look in her eyes.

"So, what do you say we make a deal? One that benefits us both."

Chapter 42: You've Been Fooled

Hearing Tokisaki Kurumi's proposal, Dazai Osamu seemed a bit intrigued. Perhaps pressured by the tense situation or simply because the circumstances were unclear, he cautiously responded, "Let's hear it then. What's this deal you're proposing?"

"Though Mori-san assigned me to capture Nakajima Atsushi, I didn't plan to carry out the mission today. Meeting you was purely by chance," Kurumi said with a calm expression. "We could pretend this encounter never happened. I'll let you both leave unharmed if you leave that girl behind. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, don't you think?"

"The Detective Agency would never agree to"

"Atsushi-kun, let me handle this."

Just as Atsushi was about to outright reject her offer, Dazai raised a hand to stop him. Atsushi, visibly agitated, fell silent but couldn't hide his distress, glancing urgently at Dazai as if begging him not to consider the offer.

"I could accept your deal," Dazai said slowly. "Frankly, if Atsushi-kun were captured, it would indeed be quite troublesome."

Ignoring Atsushi's silent plea, Dazai continued, "Today, we had no intention of clashing with the Port Mafia. We were simply on another assignment. If both parties can walk away peacefully, all the better."

"Ah, no wonder Mori-san speaks so highly of you. Dealing with someone who can rationally weigh pros and cons is quite refreshing." Kurumi's smile remained, unchanged. "Then, leave the girl here, and you two may go."

"Before that, I have one more question I need to clarify."

"Please, go ahead."

"I need to know who this girl is," Dazai said seriously. "As a member of the Armed Detective Agency, protecting Yokohama and its citizens is our duty. If she is someone in need of protection, I cannot in good conscience hand her over."

"There's no need to worry. That child is not some innocent civilian," Kurumi replied indifferently. "I'm afraid her true identity is private and not something I can easily disclose."

"That response isn't quite satisfying, Nightmare."

"If Dazai-san doesn't believe me, perhaps you could ask the child yourself. Ask if she's an innocent civilian… if she's even willing to tell you," Kurumi said, disarming her pistols and adopting a mildly amused stance.

Granted permission, Dazai ceased his ready-to draw posture. After signaling Atsushi to stay alert in case Kurumi attempted any surprise attack, he approached the bandaged girl cowering behind a car.

"Don't be afraid, little one. I just want to know who you are. Can you tell me?"

"I... I am…" The bandaged girl hesitated, glancing away. "I am beyond the understanding of mere mortals."

Dazai's gaze sharpened slightly. Although she hadn't given him any direct information, he began forming a hypothesis. This girl might not be a random victim like Atsushi, hunted for no apparent reason. Rather, she seemed to be a defector of some kind, someone who had turned against a previous affiliation.

Perhaps she had betrayed the Port Mafia. Or was it Kurumi? He couldn't yet determine. But her evasive behavior suggested she harbored significant secrets, possibly the very reason Kurumi was after her.

"So you're not some petty criminal then," Dazai noted.

Clutching Dazai's coat for reassurance, the girl pleaded, "Destiny's wheel must continue turning with my help. I cannot die here before fate's decree falls upon me!"

"Don't worry. I'll protect you," Dazai assured her, offering a warm smile. "I won't hand you over to Kurumi. Even if you aren't innocent, the proper authority to judge you would be the government, not her."

"Thank you. I will remember this kindness."

"…"

"…"

The two fell into silence. But even so, Dazai continued squatting there, clearly in no hurry to re-engage with Kurumi. He even found the time to use the abandoned car's side mirror to fix his hair.

"Um, what are you doing?" the bandaged girl finally asked.

"Hm? Oh, I'm just stalling for time," Dazai replied nonchalantly while adjusting his hair.

From the beginning, he had a good idea of what Kurumi's so called "deal" would entail. And he had no intention of ever accepting it. If he'd turned her down immediately, they would undoubtedly have had to fight. His own ability offered no combat advantage, and Atsushi was still green, barely in control of his newfound strength. Their odds against Kurumi were grim.

So instead, Dazai was dragging things out as long as possible, waiting for reinforcements from the Detective Agency. What? You think that's underhanded? When dealing with the Port Mafia, who needs honor and morality?

"As expected of Dazai-san," Atsushi murmured, visibly relieved as he overheard Dazai's plan with his enhanced hearing, courtesy of his partial tiger transformation. It seemed Dazai's extended negotiations weren't to save themselves by abandoning the girl but rather to buy them time. Atsushi silently rebuked himself for doubting Dazai, even if just for a moment.

After a few more minutes, Dazai still showed no sign of stepping out to face Kurumi.

Finally, she narrowed her eyes, realizing something was off. "Dazai-san, does it really take this long to verify her identity?"

Poking his head out from behind the car, Dazai grinned sheepishly. "Oh, my apologies! Just give me two more minutes we're almost done here."

"Did you think I was a fool, Dazai-san?" Kurumi's gaze turned icy. "It's become painfully obvious you never had any intention of negotiating in good faith, but merely sought to delay until reinforcements arrived."

"Oh no, we've been found out!" Dazai chuckled, his sly smile barely hidden. "But, Nightmare-san, we've managed to delay you quite a bit. So thank you."

"So, all of you at the Armed Detective Agency are this deceitful?"

"An enemy's insults are the highest praise I could ask for! Please, berate me more!"

"I had thought the Detective Agency to be an honorable organization, but it seems I was naïve to trust that impression," Kurumi sighed, as if genuinely disappointed. "By my calculations, your reinforcements should be arriving any moment now. Fighting further would be pointless. Very well, I'll leave the girl with you for now."

"Then we'll accept your gift with gratitude."

"Don't get too comfortable," Kurumi warned with a smirk, her body gradually merging with the shadows around her. Though she'd been tricked, she retained her composure and poise, her voice carrying not a hint of anger as she vanished from sight.

But just before she disappeared, she left them with a final, chilling message:

"Next time we meet, I'll be taking both Atsushi and her with me."