Chapter Text
Fukuzawa Yukichi hadn't intended to start a family when he'd founded the Armed Detective Agency, yet that's somehow exactly what he'd ended up doing.
The thought strikes him as he looks over said family from his seat at one of Café Uzumaki's booths. Edogawa Ranpo, the World's Greatest Detective and Fukuzawa's son in every way that matters, sits between the ADA's president and the window, chatting animatedly about his last case with a mouth full of pancakes that were probably 45% strawberry syrup by volume. The boy (as he'd always be in the former bodyguard's mind despite being 26) had the most atrocious manners, couldn't navigate the public transportation system to save his life, and seemed to have made developing diabetes his mission in life. That's all some people see when they look at him and Fukuzawa truly pities those people. Beyond Ranpo's eccentricities lies a staggeringly sharp mind capable of almost instantly solving the most complex mysteries with practically nothing to work with in the way of evidence. It'd be an astonishing ability if it were actually an ability. It isn't, though; Ranpo is just that intelligent. The ADA had been founded to support and protect him should something happen to his new guardian and he remains the Agency's crown jewel.
Sitting across from Ranpo, facing Uzumaki's back wall, is Dr. Yosano Akiko. When she'd been brought into the ADA its internal purpose had changed from protecting one person to protecting two. She had been shattered by her unwilling service in the Great War under the command of her superior officer and the president's former partner, Dr. Mori Ougai. Then Mori had broken her even further by drafting her into the Port Mafia straight out of the psychiatric care facility she'd been a patient in. She'd been suicidal when he and Ranpo had rescued her from the Mafia boss. Fukuzawa hadn't known if she'd ever recover, but she had; not just recovered but thrived. Her resilience, like her compassion and fierceness, is truly remarkable.
To the good doctor's right sits Kunikida Doppo, feverishly writing who knows what into his notebook of ideals. Kunikida was an intense young man. He gave off an air of authority despite only being 22, no doubt aided by his former career as a teacher. While he can sometimes be overly rigid with regard to time management, the president admired his great respect for life and his unwavering dedication to public service. It hadn't taken Fukuzawa long to start seeing Kunikida as a potential successor. The president does wish Doppo would take a day off every now and then, though. He wouldn't be surprised if Kunikida's hair went as grey as his own before the man reached 30.
Over at the next booth, facing Uzumaki's front entrance, were the Tanizaki siblings, Jun'ichirō and the ADA boss' unofficial personal assistant, Naomi. They were an interesting pair. The ex-bodyguard finds it best not to ponder their relationship too deeply.
Oda Sakunosuke sits next to the window across from the perplexing twosome, face permanently neutral. Oda was a quiet presence in an company full of loud and eccentric personalities. Fukuzawa felt a measure of kinship with the man. Both of them were introverted former assassins who had found themselves raising unruly, extroverted children — or a small squad of them in Oda's case. The redhead was difficult to read. His face wasn't particularly expressive and he rarely voiced his thoughts. Despite this, he was someone the younger members of the Agency looked up to and often sought out for advice.
One of these younger members sits to Oda's right: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, the Agency's newest detective. Ryuunosuke was a troubled young man, to say the least. He'd been taken in by Oda and the following couple of weeks had been spent training him while trying to curb his violent tendencies. It hadn't helped that Dazai Osamu, the man who had unseated Mori as head of the Port Mafia, had targeted him personally with a convoluted plan that had ended with the organization in shambles, its top raid captain missing, and its boss dead by his own hand, all apparently by design. Ryuunosuke has been fairly tight-lipped about what happened beyond a broad overview. Fukuzawa would be concerned, but the Rashōmon user has calmed down quite a bit after the incident so the president has decided to let the matter go for the time being.
Miyazawa Kenji, sitting in one the bar chairs that he'd pulled over to Oda's booth, had a lot to do with Ryuunouke's change in temperament, occasionally inviting the sullen young man to help the Agency's youngest detective work on his family's farm. As much as the men and women of the ADA were family who enjoyed each other's company, the Agency's work was often deathly serious and Kenji was a much-needed source of optimism that kept the shadow of that work from falling too heavily. He's beloved in the neighborhoods and markets around the office. While the boy has his own deeply buried darkness, as they all do, he nonetheless stands as a symbol of the Agency's dedication to serving Yokohama, not just protecting it in an abstract sense.
(There were even more members among the Agency's corps of clerks, but they'd already gone on break since they open the office with Fukuzawa and Kunikida an hour before the detectives come in at 9 o'clock. Although she's a clerk herself, Naomi usually elects to take her break with the detectives so she can eat with her brother.)
Fukuzawa takes in the sights and sounds of a normal ADA lunch break: The Tanizaki's teasing Ryuunosuke over his fear of Yosano; Ranpo tossing blueberries into the air and catching them in his mouth; Kunikida thinking out loud, albeit under his breath, as he schedules the next month of his life in its entirety. The sound of the café's front door opening joins the chorus. Being an all-around protective man, ex-bodyguard or not, Fukuzawa looks up out of habit to see who's walking in.
His stomach drops.
Walking into Café Uzumaki at that moment is a figure the president had last seen on security camera footage nearly murdering Ryuunosuke in this very space. Fukuzawa will never forget Nakajima Atsushi as long as he lives. He's wearing the exact same long, black coat with a fur-lined hood he'd worn that day. The same black, military-style cargo pants, the same black combat boots, the same black gloves. There are two differences between the man currently walking into the café and the man from the footage who was burned into Fukuzawa's memory, however. First, his shaggy white hair with a single black stripe is a little longer than it'd been in the video. Second, he isn't alone.
Standing to his left is a young girl in white traditional clothing, somewhere around 13–15 years old. She's wearing a necklace with a cell phone attached to it. Her eyes are focused. The president recognizes Izumi Kyouka, too, but from wanted posters around the city. He knew both of their reputations well. From the sudden uproar of his detectives, he wasn't the only one who'd noticed their presence.
"The 'White Reaper'!"
"What the fuck is he doing here!?!"
"Shit, that's the 'Thirty-Five Killer'!"
Everyone is out their seats in a flash. Jun'ichirō throws himself in front of Naomi. The White Reaper does the same with the Thirty-Five Killer. Fukuzawa, Kunikida, and Yosano form a line so Ranpo has a clear run to the door leading to the stairs and the elevator. But Ranpo remains in his seat, looking intrigued by the mystery that's just fallen into his lap. Stranger still, Oda and Ryuunosuke have placed themselves between the two Port Mafia enforcers and the rest of the ADA. "Everyone calm down," Oda calls out only slightly louder than his normal speaking voice. "What do you mean calm down!?! They're with the Port Mafia!" Jun'ichirō spits back. "No they aren't! Not anymore!" Ryuunosuke yells.
Ryuunosuke had noted that in his report after his attack on the Mafia's headquarters. Had he been wrong?
The White Reaper speaks before Fukuzawa has a chance to ponder that. "I knew this was a bad idea." "Atsushi, we can still-" The White Reaper cuts the Thirty-Five Killer off before she can continue. "No, Kyouka. We need to leave now before this gets out of control." Fukuzawa looks over at Kunikida and Yosano and sees their own looks of confusion and uncertainty no doubt matching his. After an intense staring match, the Thirty-Five Killer relents with a sigh. She seems very disappointed. By what, the president doesn't dare speculate. The two possibly former mafiosi start steadily making their way to the door. Before they can reach it, however, the Thirty-Five Killer bolts in the opposite direction. "Kyouka, don't!" the Reaper screams. She jumps, front-flipping onto the bar which she immediately propels herself off of, back-flipping over the line meant to protect the World's Greatest Detective.
Fukuzawa has already turned to meet her when she lands, but to his shock, she drops down in prostration the second her feet meet the floor. "Fukuzawa-san," she says in a soft but firm voice, "I humbly request that you consider myself and Atsushi for employment with the Armed Detective Agency." All other sound in the room ceases for several seconds before Ranpo speaks for the first time since this tense situation began. "Boss, I think we should hear them out." "What!?!" Kunikida erupts. He's immediately stunned back into silence when Ryuunosuke chimes in. "I agree. We should at least grant them an interview."
That got Fukuzawa's attention, and everyone else's. "Ryuunosuke, the weretiger nearly killed you — would have killed you if not for my ability," Yosano responds calmly, voicing the thoughts of most of the people in the café. "I know. I can explain, though I warn you it's complicated and I'm not at liberty to disclose all of the details." Fukuzawa would be lying if he said that didn't pique his curiosity. He looks over at the now-former White Reaper, still frozen in place. He looks just as surprised as everyone else that the man he'd almost murdered had spoken in his defense.
The president clears his throat to call for everyone's attention.
"Ryuunosuke, Kunikida, and Oda, you three and I will discuss this matter further in my office. The rest of you please return to the main office, though in light of what's just occurred you may consider yourselves on paid time off for the rest of the day. Nakajima-san and Kyouka-san, please follow us. You will await my decision in our reception area."
His orders given, Fukuzawa turns and heads for the door he'd guarded for Ranpo as an awkward, uneasily silence falls over the group.