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The battlefield was a disaster, to say the least.
The battlefield, like always, was unfortunately Yokohama.
And, like always, the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia were desperately trying to reign in the chaos and win the outright war they were facing.
Their enemies? Unfortunately, their vampirized friends and allies.
Their hardest hitters? Mostly incapacitated and incapable of joining the fight.
Their leaders? Fukuzawa's whereabouts were still uncertain and Mori was hiding behind dwindling Mafia grunts and Executives and everyone in between in the Mori Corporations buildings.
Their biggest threat? Fukuchi Ouchi, who was controlling Bram Stoker and his vampire Ability in order to create this whole mess.
Their greatest hope to stop this madness? Imprisoned with an anemic Russian rat.
Their other best strategist? In a mini-coma.
Needless to say, it seemed like Yokohama was fucked.
"Boss, we're getting overwhelmed!" Cried one of Mori's bodyguards as they all sequestered themselves inside a sealed hallway down in the basement. Barely sixty Mafia members were left unaffected by the vampirism Ability, including Mori and Kouyou, and their numbers were decreasing by the minute. Sealing hallways, something Dazai had insisted to be installed after the Q incident some years ago that led to them being locked up in the basement in the first place, had slowed down the spread only so much and now their only option to come out of this unaffected would be to teach the safe room Mori had been hidden away during the Cannibalism incident.
"We won't be able to hold out much longer," Kouyou told the former doctor. "As effective as these measures may be against Q, they seem utterly useless against the vampires."
"We could have really used Dazai-kun right about now," lamented Mori, hard eyes glued to the door. They were Ability-resistant, so even Akutagawa's Rashoumon won't be able to cut through them, and the walls were made like a bank safe. Hopefully, the vampires don't retain enough cognitive ability to figure that out.
"Oh shit! They got behind us!"
"Shoot, damn it!"
"B-but-"
"No buts," commanded Kouyou, Gold Demon making short work of a couple vampires before she had to move back and protect Kouyou and Mori with Elise. A horde of twenty vampires were upon them and shooting willy-nilly wasn't helping anyone. More were bitten and turned, turning the favor even more against them, only for most of the vampires to be suddenly wiped out in a blur of cream colors.
"Verlaine-kun?" Mori couldn't help but ask, utterly perplexed that his most elusive Executive was there. Then again, it was the basement ...
"I promised Dazai-kun that if the building was ever compromised, I'd prioritize getting this one out above all else." And none other than Q was hiding behind Verlaine, clutching his creepy doll and looking scared. "I also got a call from a Sakaguchi Ango. Apparently, he's in contact with Dazai-kun and provided us with a plan to slow down the spread for a while."
"So Dazai has a plan to stop it altogether?" Kouyou asked and Mori grinned.
"As expected of Dazai-kun. So, what's the plan?"
"Q's Ability still works on the vampires," Verlaine explained, gesturing towards the end of the hallway from which they'd appeared. "Vampirism prevents them from outright dying, so letting them focus on tearing each other or themselves apart in a fit of madness instead of turning more people should help slow it down. What's more, they might attack the unaffected vampires, too. It appears that Dazai suggested we pit one infective controlling Ability against the other. He predicted we'd need to hold out for another half an hour at most."
"What is he planning to do?" Kouyou asked. "No Longer Human can't stop this, just like with the Cannibalism virus."
"We don't know whether Dazai-kun could have stopped that, you only believed Dostoevsky's word on it, and this situation is different. By all accounts, Bram Stoker should be dead. And even if Dazai-kun can't stop the vampirism itself, he can stop Kamui's control over the vampires. Stoker will stop the attack when he gets it back. As for Dazai's plan, I don't know and I don't think Sakaguchi does, either. Dazai-kun was in prison last anyone checked, but you never know with that man."
"Chuuya-kun went to fetch him. He was supposed to figure out Fyodor's plans," Mori revealed. Kouyou glared at him at that tidbit of information but didn't comment. "Yumeno-kun, do you think you can do it? Dazai-kun is relying on you for this."
"Dazai-san can die for all I care," the child petulantly spat.
"Really? When he entrusted you with such an important task that no one else could ever hope to achieve but you? When he showed such care as to ensure your safety despite the many times you disobeyed him and caused him problems. Dazai-kun doesn't give out second chances often, you know. This might be your only chance to reconcile with him."
"Quite literally," Kouyou added sarcastically.
"So, what will you do, Yumeno-kun?" Mori asked with a smile that could curdle milk.
00000
Meanwhile, in another part of Yokohama, the Agency and the Guild had no convenient way to hide, fighting out in the open streets, among the panicking civilians who also kept getting turned and the collateral damage the fighting caused. They were even more ill equipped to deal with this whole situation than the Mafia was, surrounded on all sides and with no proper strategy to get them through the mess.
To make matters worse, Fukuchi was there himself with vampire Akutagawa acting like a guard/attack dog. The Agency barely avoided getting bit, let alone fighting Rashoumon. And Fukuchi was using Bram himself and the sword he was stuck in to turn anyone who got close enough. As such, Kenji was strictly forbidden from approaching the swordsman. The same went for Yosano. She was the only reason they could keep fighting.
It infuriated her, to be delegated to dealing with the small fry in the back when she could help on the very front-lines, but she knew they needed her Ability right now more than they needed her skill with a cleaver. It was still vexing, especially as her Ability could heal the vampires but not the vampirism itself. That was probably only something Dazai could do.
As she wondered whether a touch would be enough or if they'd have to use his blood to reverse this shitshow, a sort of boom happened behind her and she whirled around, weapons at the ready, only to pause at what she was seeing. She couldn't believe her eyes!
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" She called in greeting as she strode towards the familiar brunet dressed in one of those horrid white prison overalls. Considering he should be in the highest security prison for Ability users in France, the smoking crater suggested he and his two companions - one of whom she immediately recognized as Nakahara Chuuya, oh so fondly nicknamed by the Agency as Mr Fancy Hat and the other someone Yosano had never seen before with long half white, half lilac hair - had been teleported by some means across the many, many kilometers of distance between them. "Just in time, Dazai! These vampires are kicking our ass and it's shameful." She called as she approached, only to stop when she noticed Mr Fancy Hat was also turned. And he somehow looked the worst off of them all, with swirling red markings all over his skin and completely mad eyes. "Dazai, get away from him!"
"It's okay, Yosano-sensei," Dazai reassured her before she could hack off some limbs to immobilize him. Not that it would have amounted to much. The redhead wasn't the most powerful and dangerous Ability user in the country, or maybe even in the whole world, for nothing. He hardly needed limbs when he had such phenomenal control over gravity. "Chuuya may be a vampire, but he's under control ... Some control. Point is, he won't attack us right now. And as he is now, he's our best chance to stop this Ability."
"What do you mean?" She asked, glancing at the third person. "Who's this?"
"My new pal Sigma. I snatched him right from under Dostoevsky's nose-"
"You were with that rat!?"
"Yeah, we were as close to cellmates as Meursault has," the brunet replied. "That's not important right now-"
"If you're out, where is Dostoevsky?" The doctor insisted, looking around as if expecting the Russian to jump out of nowhere and make their life even more of a living hell.
"Dead," Dazai replied coldly and she shivered at the look in his eyes. In a way, it reminded her too much of Mori.
"Dazai-"
"He thought it would be a good idea to force Chuuya into Corruption," Dazai interrupted her. "Chuuya had already gotten some control back from the vampire Ability; we had a plan, Chuuya should have met up with me and we were supposed to do things another way, but demon Fyodor decided to keep playing his idiotic games and now he's less than particles of dust on the wind of France. As is befitting of someone mocking our bond." The last was said under Dazai's breath, but Yosano heard it even if she had no idea what that meant. She cast a look to the third person - Sigma - and he looked shaken and a bit pale as he replied.
"Nakahara Chuuya decimated an entire wing of Meursault along with Dostoevsky. It's how we got out. I think he may have gotten Gogol, too." He considered her for a moment. "You're a doctor ... right? Please, Dazai-san injected himself with poison to play a game with Dostoevsky and Gogol and he'll die soon-"
"Dazai, what the fuck-"
"You worry too much," the said man interrupted them both. "Sigma, remember when I told you about the stopped time back at the prison? I stole the antidote from our clown cosplaying friend and applied it during one of those pauses; he never left the prison and was instead lazing about in the break room for higher ups."
Yosano and Sigma sighed in relief before they both slapped him for making them worry. Yosano decided she liked Sigma. He was a lot like Atsushi: respectful and clearly fond of Dazai within a day of dealing with his bullshit, but also not afraid to call him out on said BS, just as politely. He'll probably be the only truly sane person at the Agency, if this was Dazai collecting strays again. Which she didn't doubt. The way Sigma was looking at him was not unlike Atsushi, a boy whom Dazai saved and offered something no one else ever had.
"So, Mr genius strategist," the only woman in their little quartet said. "What's the plan?"
He turned serious as he gestured towards his Mafia ex(?) partner. "Soukoku is trained for a possible mind control situation, so Chuuya will be able to follow simple instructions in this state. We'll just point him at the enemy and he'll do most of the heavy lifting for us. He'll clear the way for me to Bram Stoker; one touch from me will end the vampire outbreak. However, from what Sigma's told me, his continued survival is completely dependent on the sword he's stuck in. Not only that, but Chuuya will also be really beat up by his Ability by the time we finish this; the vampirism seems to have slowed down the corrosive effects of Corruption on his body, but it's still happening, so we need to be quick. Overall, your Ability will be essential, Yosano-sensei."
Yosano nodded, getting a bit unfairly excited at being included in an actual good fight instead of this background bullshit. "Just tell me what you need me to do?"
"I'm guessing Fukuchi has Stoker, right?" The doctor nodded. "Sigma said Fukuchi's Ability is to enhance the efficiency of any weapon, even if it's someone's fist or Ability. There is a high possibility he'll be able to do the same for Thou Shalt Not Die and we'll need that for when I nullify the vampirism. Yosano-sensei, not only will you cover me should anyone get past Chuuya, but you'll go for Fukuchi. Do to him as you please, but use his Ability to enhance the range of yours. You need to heal the entire city in one go, Yosano-sensei, otherwise-"
"The casualties would be endless," she finished with a grim but determined tone. "Alright, count me in!"
"Chuuya will take the lead, obviously," Dazai continued. "Sigma, stay near me," he instructed, giving the dual haired man a machine gun he'd picked up from the ground, no doubt dropped either by Kunikida or some of the now turned - or dead - Port Mafia grunts. "You two will need to cover me and keep up with me."
"You really think I can't match you, Dazai? You do realize I conduct the Agency's fitness tests, right?"
Dazai grinned at her. It was more bloodthirsty and manic than anything either she or Mori ever managed to pull off. For a second, Yosano feared she was facing down an actual demon come straight from hell itself. The fires caused by explosions or crashed cars or just chaos in general weren't helping to fix that image, either, making Dazai's eyes look red. Yosano knew his eyes could take on such a hue, as she'd seen it happen under certain lighting, but it was never not unnerving, though never quite like this.
Sigma, who looked naturally squeamish, surprisingly didn't seem bothered, just resigned to whatever will happen.
Yosano wondered just what the hell he went through with Dazai before they appeared here for him to just be Kunikida-levels of exasperated.
"No offense, Yosano-sensei, but during those fitness tests, I've never been motivated to really give it my all. However, with Chuuya's life on the line, I'd be a bad partner and a bad owner besides if I let my dog die when I could do something about it. So you better be ready to keep up, Yosano-sensei, Sigma. Because I need you to cover me and I won't hold back."
Yosano matched his grin with a manic one of her own. 'Challenge accepted.'
With that silent exchange, Dazai turned around and without a word, took off! And damn, could he run. He wasn't kidding when he said there was a whole world of difference between him trying and him not giving a damn. Yosano and Sigma could barely keep up with his long stride and effortless maneuvers of avoiding lunging vampires or jumping over hurdles and obstacles, basically parkouring over the chaotic streets as he made the mad dash towards Fukuchi and Stoker. Yosano and Sigma were further slowed down by the occasional enemy they had to dispatch, but Dazai had been right about Chuuya doing most of the heavy lifting. Yosano had no idea what those huge chaos balls he kept throwing about had to do with gravity manipulation, but they sure did a whole lot of damage. It cleared up the path nicely, though Yosano was kinda glad none of their turned friends/allies were here right now. The spheres left practically nothing in their wake ... How terrifying.
Still, it allowed them to be a few steps behind Dazai - Chuuya, now with a direction, taking point, screaming and laughing in a voice that resembled humanity less and less by the minute as he destroyed shit in the front - so they were able to deal better with the vampires that managed to slip around Chuuya, rare as they might be, since the gravity manipulator was attacking on all sides with debris and cars, if nothing else. Sigma was a bit more hesitant than Yosano to attack these people - many random civilians caught in the crossfire - but he let go of his reservations against it when it became obvious the vampires healed super quickly. For a moment, Yosano wondered if the healing was as effective as Thou Shalt Not Die or if it would even stick, but she knew better than to concern herself with these matters now.
She needed to focus on following Dazai, on providing support and on activating her Ability when it's needed the most. She'd left her post so she didn't have as clear of a view or communication with the others, but she was sure Dazai and Chuuya quickly became the main focus of the vampires on the battlefield. Dazai had gained even more speed, having picked up some guns and knives as he sprinted across the streets. He showed an aptitude with both that belied his days as a Mafia Executive; he really was stronger than he looked.
"What the actual fuck?" Yosano wondered to herself but Sigma overheard.
"You should have seen the things he did in Meursault. I swear, a man that skinny shouldn't be able to do the things he can with his body," the long haired male said in awe, envy and frustrated confusion. So, a typical reaction to first time Dazai-sitting. If he joins the Agency, he'll probably become a member of the pulling-my-hair-out-daily-because-of-Dazai-Osamu's-mere-continued-existence club. Kunikida is, of course, the president, but there are quite a few members. Though perhaps Kunikida should be the vice-president and Sakaguchi deserves the president position?
'Nah, Mr Fancy Hat! He probably dealt with Dazai at his worst the most!' Such fanciful thinking in the middle of Yosano casually chopping some vampire legs off so she can keep pace with her coworker. "I guess you get used to Dazai's impossible nonsense and shit. Wait 'til you see him with Ranpo. Two childish geniuses with unhealthy eating habits and are too smart for their own good? Hell on earth."
"I've had enough of Dazai-san interacting with too smart geniuses, thank you," Sigma replied, shooting some kneecaps, and Yosano winced in sympathy.
Poor guy, having to deal with Dazai and his evil Russian twin.
Oh, well.
"We need to keep up!" She ordered, quickening her pace as she finally caught sight of Fukuchi, still dressed in his Hunting Dogs uniform. It seems Atsushi had tossed caution to the wind - or he was really pissed off at what happened to Akutagawa, you never know with that boy - and was fighting Fukuchi, effectively keeping him occupied since the Tiger gifted Atsushi with incredible speed and strength. He seemed to be moving faster than Yosano had ever seen, but he was still only barely keeping up with Fukuchi and that annoying as all hell time sword tingy he has.
Well, too bad for him that the ultimate anti-Ability/Gifted was on the scene now. Dazai had the scary talent of predicting things flawlessly and was rarely ever wrong. He was 99.999% of the time completely right and that 0.001% of the times he wasn't absolutely completely right were reserved for Dostoevsky, Mori or Ranpo. He still got the gist of their plans, their moves, their intentions, but not every detail. Fukuchi can try and outwit him, but he's no Ranpo. He's not even a Mori, let alone a Dostoevsky. He can time travel all he wants, but Dazai will be prepared regardless. And even if he's not, even if Fukuchi lands a blow, that will only work in Dazai's favor, what with his incredibly high pain tolerance and No Longer Human, leaving Fukuchi open to an attack as any and all Abilities he controls get nullified.
It's why he was so dangerous.
It's why he'd been carted off so quickly as far away from Yokohama and into the highest security prison on Earth.
Dazai must have known that, anticipated it even.
It begs the question: did they really capture him? Or had he let himself be captured. Yosano bets on the latter.
"Yosano-sensei, are you ready?" Dazai asked over his shoulder, still keeping the same pace.
"Whenever you are, dumbass," the doctor replied, cutting down another vampire, this time with a far more severe injury so, to be safe, Yosano healed them. She'd rather not stack up a kill count if she can help it.
"On three," Dazai called back, turning around as he leapt over a car just as Fukuchi sent poor Atsushi flying. "Three!"
'Should've known!' But she followed him regardless, stepping on a random piece of debris - she thinks it might have been a bench or something before it was plucked from the ground and thrown about - so she can jump off the roof of the car to be just seconds behind the brunet in white overalls. They definitely had the element of surprise as Fukuchi hadn't even had time to turn to face them before Dazai was shooting at the hand holding the timey-wimey magical sword.
"Fuck!" The man yelled, reaching with his hand for the Stoker-sword, no doubt about to try and turn Dazai but an explosion caused by Chuuya distracted him enough for Yosano to do her job and tackle him, making him drop the other sword, too. Stoker let out some sounds of discomfort or pain when the sword hit the ground, but that was as much attention as Yosano could pay to him before she had her hands full with hacking away at Fukuchi's limbs. It was messy, hardly her finest work, with blood everywhere and uneven cuts, but Yosano didn't care.
"If you don't use your Ability on me, I'll leave you to bleed out," she told him gleefully, a smile that no doubt mirrored Mori's to a T spreading across her face. For once, having that smile didn't disgust her. Just this once.
"Fuck you!"
Unfortunately for Fukuchi, Yosano could be quite sadistic, especially when she knew she can heal the wounds. She stuck two fingers into an open wound and twisted, relishing in the cry of pain it earned her. "I'm ready, Dazai!" She was sure even Fukuchi wouldn't want to be stuck with her like this.
Whether he heard her or he just trusted her enough to do her part, he still lunged like a beast after the sword with Stoker stuck in it.
"Dazai-san!" Sigma screamed in warning and Yosano looked up too late to see Akutagawa charging at the brunet. She made to move and help him, but Dazai had crazy reflexes, apparently, because he reacted the second Sigma called his name. He turned towards Akutagawa as Rashoumon and its user rushed him, only for No Longer Human to nullify the Ability while Dazai himself did an impressive judo grab and throw with Akutagawa when he caught him. Yosano was no expert in martial arts, but even she could tell this was a well practiced move. Either Dazai had known it from his Mafia days, or he'd been dragged into self-defense lessons by Kunikida. Still, the throw wasn't enough to keep the vampire down, as he hissed and lunged back for Dazai, only to this time be met with a crushing fist to the face which sent him flying an impressive distance considering what Yosano had thought was Dazai's strength's upper limit. When Akutagawa got up this time, it was with a wary hiss and keeping his distance from the detective.
Dazai smirked cruelly. "You may have one of the arguably most powerful Ability users from the Port Mafia under your control, but it's just too bad I was the one who taught him everything he knows."
"Dazai-san!" Atsushi yelled as he tackled Akutagawa before the vampire could try for another attack. "Leave Akutagawa to me!"
"Roger that, Atsushi-kun," Dazai replied with a mock salute, approaching Stoker now. Atsushi kept Akutagawa under control while Nakahara was still rampaging nearby, strangely enough sticking close to Dazai. Yosano was quite worried about him, since he had blood pouring out of his nose, mouth and even ears. Whatever he was doing, even with the vampirisim's healing, he won't be able to hold out for much longer. "Bram Stoker. I'm going to nullify your Ability and the sword's Ability imprisoning you. Don't worry, though. My friend will heal you before you can die."
"I don't care either way," the long haired man-sword replied. "I just want for my Ability to no longer be used like this to cause so much harm."
"Too bad the Armed Detective Agency doesn't kill unless it's the last resort. This might hurt," was Dazai's last warning before he grabbed a hold of both Stoker and the sword.
00000
One moment, the world was going to shit, then the next, Yokohama lit up with an incredible, beautiful glacial blue light. It seemingly covered all of Yokohama in strings of kanji, exploding and expanding from 'random' spots and spreading, spreading, spreading. The citizens of Yokohama couldn't help but stop and stare, regardless of the chaos they'd been trying to escape from.
And that was when everyone realized ...
The chaos had stopped.
The more Yokohama was lit up by this strange light, the less chaos was on the streets, in and on the buildings, in parks and everywhere else in between.
Kunikida blinked in surprise when the vampire he'd been fighting just dropped to the ground, fairly unconscious and suddenly heavily bleeding. "No Longer Human?" He mused to himself, recognizing his partner's Ability.
In the Port Mafia headquarters, things suddenly became quiet as well. Kouyou braved to open the sealed doors with Gold Demon covering her. On the other side she was greeted by a heavily bleeding Q in Verlaine's arms as a familiar light dissipated from down vampires, leaving normal humans in their wake. Even the ones Q had been so desperately trying to control, causing blood to seep from their own eyes and nose, had fallen, still shaking and twitching under Q's curse but unable to move with their injuries being so severe. "What in the world?"
"It seems Dazai-kun has done it again," Mori commented, having followed his Executive and deducing what had happened. Verlaine could only not to confirm it, having seen each turned person glow with the light of No Longer Human before the vampirism dissipated.
"But we will lose far too many people to these injuries," Verlaine had to add with a detached sort of displeasure.
Almost as though summoned by her words, a swarm of sapphire blue, glowing butterflies flooded the hallways and rooms around them, settling on all the fatally or near fatally injured, making them glow as all their injuries were instantly healed. Upon seeing this, Mori couldn't help but cackle in a proud sort of glee.
"Thou Shalt Not Die?" A perplexed Tanizaki mused out loud as the previously-vampire people around him healed in a far too familiar manner. Fitzgerald near him, who had taken quite the hit, was also healing, a butterfly having landed on him a few seconds ago.
On the other side of Yokohama, Atsushi was crying in relief as he clutched onto a barely conscious Akutagawa, who was, by the way, beyond confused. Dazai ignored his proteges, having run off to rescue his partner from the throes of Corruption, Chuuya now safely resting against his thigh as Thou Shalt Not Die erased any and all injuries and ill effects he usually had to heal from 'naturally' after using the true form of his Ability.
"What the fuck happened, you shitty mackerel?"
"Let's just say that our teenage attempts to tame Arahabaki in the throes of Corruption have paid off, hatrack," the brunet replied with a smile that was between relieved, teasing and all around wrapped up in fondness. "The short version of it all is that we won. You can rest now, chibi. Leave the clean up to us."
"But I strangely don't feel nearly as tired as I usually do," the redhead protested as he sat up, the two easily moving together so Chuuya was leaning against Dazai. "I'm guessing I have you to thank for that?" He said to Yosano, who waved him off. "Who's the scrub?" Was the next question as he studied Sigma, clearly remembering him but not really sure from when or where, the vampirism having messed with his consciousness quite a bit. "Wait, he was in prison with you, right?"
"More or less. Let's just say that Sigma has the potential to join the Agency should he wish it," Dazai replied with a smile. He laughed at Sigma's stunned stare. "Don't be so surprised! You just risked your life to help a harebrained scheme made by a suicidal maniac in order to save thousands of people! The Agency thrives on nuts people like you! Just ask Atsushi-kun!"
"I think he's too busy smothering the guy in black to say anything," the perplexed and panicking Sigma replied. "But speaking of saving the city, what about Fukuchi?"
As if summoned by his name, Fukuchi seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind Dazai and Chuuya. With a war cry, he made as though to stab them both with a sword, only to find himself crumbling under a beautifully timed and aimed karate chop to his neck.
"That's what you get for all the things you've done to Bram and to the Agency!" A small ginger haired girl yelled as she proceeded to kick Fukuchi's fallen body with frustrated tears running down her cheeks. "Take that and that and that!"
"That's enough, Aya-chan," Stoker said as he picked up the girl, causing her to wrap around him like a protective koala. It was very endearing, in the way strange behavior could ever be endearing only in Yokohama. "Thank you for being so protective of me. And thank you," he said with a nod to Dazai and Yosano. "You two freed me, and not only freed me, you gave me a chance to continue living. I know my Ability is dangerous, which is why I used to hide away from others. This time, I hope you'll find me a better solution. I can't leave Aya-chan to fend for herself."
The girl gave an excited gasp. "We could both join the Armed Detective Agency! We can annoy Kunikida while showing him why I'll be the best at fighting evil!"
"Annoying Kunikida-kun, you say?" Dazai perked up. "Well, don't mind if I do set up an entrance exam for you both," he said with a laugh. "You're already like a chibier chibi, so if that holds up, you'll be perfect!"
"Fuck you!" Chuuya said halfheartedly and they all laughed. Well, until Gold Demon glided hurriedly over to Dazai while carrying a very familiar split-dye haired kid with a very familiar creepy, cackling doll.
"Oh? What's this?" Dazai intoned even as he reached out for Q and their doll.
"I protected the Mafia, Dazai-san," the smaller brunet told the older one proudly, even though they could barely open their eyes from all the blood caking their lashes together. "Are you proud of me? Am I good enough to play with now?"
Dazai's face inexplicably softened as he grabbed the doll and nullified Q's Ability, finally allowing them to rest even as he leaned Q against the side not occupied by Chuuya. "Yeah, you did great. I'm proud of you, Kyuusaku-kun." With that, Q lost consciousness, but Dazai wasn't done yet. "You too, Atsushi-kun, Akutagawa-kun. You all did great." He smiled up at Yosano. "Thank you for trusting me, Yosano-sensei."
Yosano looked away from Gold Demon dragging Fukuchi away, towards its Master, Mori and another tall, bleach blond man, instead focusing on Dazai again. She extended a hand for a fist bump, which he eagerly returned. "Hey, glad I could help. But you owe me a drink. Damn, Dazai, but you can run!"
The brunet laughed her off before focusing on the redhead still leaning against him. "Thank you for trusting me again, partner."
"Thank you for bringing me back ... partner." In response, Dazai held Chuuya tighter and neither moved from their position even as Atsushi dragged a Dazai-san-complimented-me-sort-of-dazed Akutagawa towards them and Kyouka found them. Soon enough, Kenji, Kunikida and Tanizaki joined them as Gin also ran over to check on her brother. Eventually Kouyou came to check up on the Port Mafia members of their strange little celebratory party as more people gathered, Mafia, Agency and Guild alike.
With Thou Shalt Not Die having spread over all of Yokohama, everyone recovered, including Ranpo, Taneda and Fukuzawa. With all three leaders of the Tripartite system alive and healthy, Yokohama slowly started going back to how it used to be. The Agency's heroic actions against the vampire invasion assured the public that the detectives had been wrongly accused. Dazai, Yosano, Chuuya and Sigma were even declared heroes for their contributions in finally stopping the chaos. Natsume even personally made an appearance to hand them medals for their bravery and sacrifice.
Sigma did end up in the Agency and he seemed to like it quite a bit. He got Dazai's old dorm while the brunet moved in with a certain ginger. There was, apparently, more to their relationship than they ever let on and it seems to have been the case since the Dead Apple incident. Bram and Aya, though, decided against it; well, Aya wanted to, but she was younger than even Kenji and Kyouka and she didn't have an Ability, so she'll have to wait a few more years before she can apply. Bram simply wanted better control over his Ability and his life. Fukuzawa offered him assistance, Stoker passed the test and now All Men Are Born Equal helped Bram live without the fear of Fukuchi or anyone else ever controlling him like that again. Fukuchi's magical swords, meanwhile, were destroyed with Dazai's assistance.
Another thing dealt with peacefully with Dazai's assistance was, of course, Fukuzawa's promise of an Agency member in exchange for the Mafia's assistance. Not only had he pointed out that the brunt of the work that went into saving Yokohama and the Pprt Mafia with it was done by Agency members, he also made a deal with Mori that left the man both satisfied and slightly terrified. No one but them and Ranpo knew what the exact deal was, but it got Mori off their backs.
The public never found out about the events that happened at Meursault, since the public never formally knew about it to begin with. And with the destruction Corruption left in its wake ... Still, certain prisoners received asylum in Yokohama before they could be transferred elsewhere. Many divisions and organisations specializing in Abilities protested this, but none of the Yokohamans gave a fuck. They owed them, too; after all, there were plenty of rampaging vampires on European soil, too. Dazai's Ability had had a world wide effect. Plenty people owed him and he abused it as readily as the Demon Prodigy he is.
And with Natsume's and the Special Abilities Division's backing, they really couldn't contradict him or the Ability users who'd assisted him.
Things went more or less back to normal, with a few exceptions like the Agency-Division-Guild-Mafia alliance becoming stronger, Atsushi being practically glued to the hip with Akutagawa, Lucy being glued to the hip with Atsushi as well as Kyouka already more or less being glued to the hip with him, Dazai's new living arrangements, Kunikida having to monitor a pair of too-excited-for-fighting gingers during martial arts lessons, Sigma's new home, Gin's continued search for the still MIA Tachihara and Q's new freedom to visit Dazai whenever they want as long as they don't cause trouble on the way. Many things stayed the same, like Ranpo eating his sweets but now he had two geniuses to fluster/annoy, Yosano still liked shopping and chopping people up for treatment, Dazai still tried out new suicide methods, the Tanizaki siblings were still scandalous, Akutagawa still wanted Dazai's approval and to defeat Atsushi, Kyouka still liked crepes, Kenji still smiled every day, Mori still enjoyed annoying the other two Tripartite leaders and Natsume still stalked Dazai in his cat form when he was bored or needed assistance.
The biggest change, though, happened within one man.
00000
Fukuchi looked up in surprise upon finding out he had a visitor. He was even more confused when he saw who it was.
Or rather, when he realized he had no idea who the platinum blond man in a fancy cream-white suit was.
"Fukuchi Ouchi, I presume. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I'd be lying," the man greeted.
"I'm afraid I have no idea who you are, pretty boy," the older man confessed, slightly offended by the disgusted curl of lips that comment got him. It's not as though he was serious! "Nor what you would want from me."
"My name is Paul Verlaine, an Executive of the Port Mafia," the man introduced himself and Fukuchi's eyes went wide as recognition hit. The Assassin King himself. Fukuchi doesn't know whether he should feel honored. "I'm afraid I'm not here to kill you."
"Oh? Then why are you here?"
"Dazai-kun sends me," Verlaine replied casually. "I believe you have something he'd want me to retrieve for him."
"And since when does a Port Mafia Executive obey the whims of an underpaid detective?" Fukuchi mocked, trying not to squirm in discomfort. He'd hoped they would forget about him, about the Page. He should have known better than to think that the other demon would forget. He was too much like Dostoevsky for that to ever happen.
"All those in the Mafia obey the Demon Prodigy," the assassin replied calmly. "To disobey him is to fall out of Hell's own mercy, questionable as it may be."
"And is this mercy?" Fukuchi asked mockingly as he gestured towards his chained up wrists and arms full of needles and drips of various drugs meant to sedate him or keep him from effectively using his Ability. "I have fallen so far from my previous grace that death would be the mercy I should have received."
"I never said Dazai-kun's mercy was gracious," Verlaine corrected, stepping closer to Fukuchi before he started patting him down. Everyone had been more concerned with chaining him down than checking whether he had anything on him. Since he was strung up into immobility, for the moment, it hadn't been important. Meursault would have him checked over once the prison is up and running again, receiving new prisoners. "If anything, his mercy is painful. He is like the Boss in that regard. The Angel of Death, too, it seems; I've seen what was left of your limbs back there. You would have bled to death if she'd just left you to it. What terrible, terrible mercy."
"They're monsters," Fukuchi spat. "Almost as much as you."
Verlaine was not the least bit phased by that. Instead, he focused on what he was here for: the favor he owed Dazai. It was never a good thing to owe the Demon Prodigy anything, but Verlaine owed Dazai a lot more than he was willing to admit. The most recent? Chuuya's life, yet again. It was a never ending cycle with the brunet: once you owe him something, you're in debt for life, because he always, always has something you owe him for.
Today, Verlaine received a fairly easy task to repay Dazai's continued care of his alleged little brother. All he had to do was break into the Special Abilities Division's holding cells, find Fukuchi and take a very specific something from him that Dazai would rather have in his hands than be left with Fukuchi. Verlaine could care less for the importance of this one sheet of paper; it by itself doesn't have the power to do what Verlaine would love the most to happen and he doesn't even know how to properly use it. Retrieving the Page from Fukuchi was, by far, the easiest thing he's had to do for Dazai as of yet. Just for that, he'll take it without looking a gift horse in the mouth.
"Perhaps," he agreed blandly, having no intention to argue with a doomed, dull man. That he'd left his basement at all for the little mission showcased how much he appreciated Dazai's care for Chuuya, even if it had nothing to actually do with Verlaine or the debts he owed Dazai. "Perhaps not. After all, it takes a lot of gal to plunder both heaven and hell and steal their brightest. The Boss did it anyways and this time, that was your downfall." He pulled away after he finally found the Page, putting it into a zip bag like Dazai requested. He considered the Page, found it nothing special and shrugged as he put it away inside his coat. "We owe them a lot, you know? But alas, you will soon be sent to rot in an impenetrable prison. The arrangements have already been made. I'd wish you luck, but you've caused far too much trouble for my darling younger brother," he said by way of a farewell, walking out of the cell without a single glance back.
He had a debt to repay, a 'package' to deliver and a wine party to attend. Chuuya was already expecting him, no doubt, and the Page had to be handed over in secrecy, or so Dazai insisted.
He had no time for wannabe devils who didn't even dare steal angels and demons.
Let Fukuchi rot.
OWARI