★彡[ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ ᴄʜᴜᴜʏᴀ]彡★

...Maybe It's Not That Bad?

They couldn't have arrived at the Port Mafia any sooner.

Akutagawa and Higuchi briefly squabbled over who would open the door for Chuuya, Mary giggling at the display. 

Annoyed, Chuuya ducked around them and went to go get it himself. Thousands of possibilities for their out-of-character behavior had filled his head over the course of their walk. Was this a bet of some kind? A joke? A hidden camera T.V show?

There was absolutely no way that they were acting like this because they actually missed him that much. It wasn't that he was on bad terms with either party. Just, their relationship wasn't like that. They were associates, comrades. Not...not whatever this was. 

Chuuya didn't have a whatever-this-was with anyone.

That he knew for certain.

How...sad.

He blinked. What? Sad? No, not sad. He was Chuuya Nakahara! He was tough! He didn't want a whatever-this-was.

Growling, he shoved open the door.

Then paused.

Aside from the light coming through the doorway, it was completely dark inside. Chuuya squinted, but was unable to make out a single thing. The shutters appeared to be closed, lights off. 

"The hell?"

The lobby of the of the ever-busy organism that was the Port Mafia building seemed to be, for once,  completely still.

Wait. No. Not completely.

Something to the left was glittering in the darkness. A blade. 

"Akutagawa, Higuchi, there's something there!" Chuuya said, throwing out an arm with such force that the coat he kept over his shoulders swayed with the motion.

Before he had a chance to use his gravity-manipulation to force the attacker out of their hiding spot - the fluorescent lights came on with a blinding white flash.

Chuuya's eyes welled with tears at the sudden brightness. Just barely, he glimpsed the knife's owner, crouched over a stack of boxes like an alley cat,

Gin Akutagawa?

The Port Mafia assassin? Why would she-

Chuuya didn't get a chance to finish the thought. Gin hurled towards him with frightening speed. Chuuya doubled back, only to be assaulted by a crushing weight slamming into him from the right.

Chuuya tried to jerk away, then stopped when his eyes landed on pair of violet ones. Standing right in front of him was the leader of the infamous Black Lizard, Hirotsu Ryuro.

"What-" Chuuya bit out, "-what's the meaning of this?"

To his left, Gin was holding him in place. To his right, Tachihara. He could easily use his ability to fend them off, but he was fearing something much fouler at play. The Black Lizard would not attack him without direct orders. What could this possibly mean?

Hirotsu regarded Chuuya over his nose with a guarded expression on his face.

Chuuya glared back, doing his best to hide his mounting panic.

That was when Hirotsu broke out into a huge grin.

"Welcome home, Chuuya!"

It was at that very moment that it dawned upon Chuuya Nakahara that he was not being restrained by the Black Lizard, but instead at the center of what appeared to be a group hug.