On the way to the secret bunker, I do my best to keep up with Nekori, but it's clear who's more experienced in the art of stealth. Nekori moves with the fluidity of a wild cat. She weaves in and out of Yokohama's dark alleyways as if she's done it a thousand times before. It does make me wonder just what she has been doing all her life to become so adept at this... Eventually, we enter a building, but it's too dark for me to make out what this place even is. I continue to follow Nekori's every move to the best of my ability as she opens a hidden door and leads me into a small elevator. After Nekori presses a button, the old doors slowly slide apart with a rusty creaking noise. To our surprise, the doors open to reveal a group of people already hiding beyond them. Before us stands none other than Atsushi, Kyoka, and Akutagawa.
"Atsushi! Kyoka!" I greet them as I run up and trap them both in a group hug. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."
Atsushi receives my hug with a slight chuckle and asks, "So who's your new friend Kagami?" I turn to introduce everyone to Nekori, but I get cut off.
"Nekori," Akutagawa and Kyoka both say her name simultaneously. Now I'm really confused. I look at all three of them one by one. Akutagawa and Nekori are locked in a staring contest so intense that it gives me the chills. Kyoka on the other hand has a slight blush on her cheeks and is doing everything in her power to ignore my new friend.
"I guess you guys know each other?" I ask with my head tilted slightly and my eyebrows furrowed.
They refuse to give me any answer until Kyoka finally says in a low voice, "It's a long story..."
I'm about to ask for a better explanation when Atsushi says, "Well I hate to be like this, but we don't have time for.. whatever is happening here.. so you guys are just going to have to try to get along okay?" No one gives any particular answer to Atsushi's request, but Nekori finally moves all the way into the elevator, allowing the door to close. Though it may have been short, that was the most awkward elevator ride I have ever been on in my entire life. When we reached our destination and the doors finally opened, the air still had a deadly tension about it.
I decided to break the silence saying, "Sooo, what's the plan here?"
"Simple. Overcome our abilities and murder the bastard who got us into this shit in the first place," Akutagawa answers coldly and walks away without a second glance. Then he adds, "And whoever beats their ability first is clearly the strongest of all of us."
"Yeah...I don't think that's the best plan, but okay," I mumble under my breath. For some unknown reason everyone decides to go along with Akutagawa's plan and immediately starts splitting up. Over my dead body am I going out there by myself again. Plus, I'm still curious about Nekori's relation to the port mafia, so I decide to tag along with her. I don't ask her any questions, but she can tell I want answers.
Nekori looks at me out of the corner of her eye, and with a sigh she says, "Go ahead. What do you want to know."
My cheeks immediately turn bright red. Am I really that transparent? Or is she just that intuitive? "Who, me?" I say with a nervous laugh. Nekori just raises her eyebrow at me. "Ok yeah, I have a lot of questions, but how's not really the best time, so just tell me one thing- how do you know Akutagaw and Kyoka?"
Nekori can't bring herself to make eye contact with me as she answers, "I used to be a member of the port mafia."
"Oh cool, I kind of figured that much,"I say with a shrug.
She looks at me with a confused expression saying, "You're not surprised? Or scared of me?"
I can't help but laugh at her. "Why would I be afraid of you?" I ask. "I know plenty of people in the mafia. In fact, my boyfriend used to be an executive member." The look on Nekori's face is absolutely priceless.
"What?!? Who??" She asks.
"Well... I actually wasn't supposed to tell you that..." I say, cringing at my own forgetfulness. I totally forgot that Dazai and I aren't supposed to be together until all this blows over. Oops...
But I think I can trust her. "It's Dazai," I whisper to her, "but he's on a secret assignment right now so no one can know, got it?"
"I won't tell a soul," Nekori says, pretending to zip up her mouth and throw away the key. I can't help but giggle at the cliche gesture.
It's nice to have a girl friend to tell secrets to sometimes, I realize. Just in time to end our wholesome moment, we both hear a deep growl coming from the shadows. Nekori and wyd make eye contact, our eyes growing wide. Then, without a word, we silently turn to stand back to back, ready for combat. Hiding in the shadows I see not one but two dark figures stalking us. It seems both of our ghosts made it in time for haunting hour...
Creed and the black panther step out into the light at the same time, their eyes unwaveringly locked on their targets. The animals begin circling us like predators stalking their prey. When they each come to stand in front of their owners, they freeze. It's kind of scary how I'm sync they are, like they planned this or something. My heart rate begins to pick up and my breathing becomes shallow. I don't know if I'm going to be able to fight my best friend. But I don't really have a choice... so here goes nothing.
Both the hungry beasts leap at us at the same time. Nekori and I subconsciously dove in opposite directions to avoid their attacks. I didn't even know Nekori had knives on her until I notice she pulls out two shurikens from inside her jacket. I hear the sound of metal clashing upon metal as the panther's claws strike against her blades. I can't afford to be distracted for long though because I have my own foe to deal with.
The ghost of Creed comes down on me with teeth bared and no mercy. I dodge this way and that. I know I have to beat him, but I can't bring myself to cause him any pain. The gem on his forehead glints in the moonlight as if it's mocking my cowardice. Eventually my stamina starts to drain. I feel like I've been running in circles for hours, and I can only avoid this vicious beast for so long. And it looks like Nekori is struggling too. It's not looking to good for us. I have to do SOMETHING. With my heart in my throat, I take my stand. Planting both my feet firmly on the ground, I whip my gun from its holster. I raise it slowly in front of me, preparing to fire a bullet directly into Creed's head, but as I move my gun to eye level, I realize how bad my hands are shaking. The beast knows I don't stand a chance. He moves closer and closer to me, taking his sweet time. His tail swishes back and forth behind him, daring me to make a move. He's right in front of me, but I can't get a clean shot. The barrel of my gun keeps moving everywhere but at its target. I can't control it. The tremors are too strong. It's happening again. My train of thought has fallen off its tracks. My mind is like a broken record playing a symphony of panic on repeat. 'I can't,' it says, 'I can't do it. I cant shoot my best friend.'
I can't. I can't! I CAN'T!
YOU ARE READING
Part of Your World {A Bungo Stray Dogs fanfic}
FanficAtsushi wasn't completely alone in that dreadful orphanage. He had a friend named Kagami. She was the only person he liked in that place. She made it a little bit less terrible and had this way of calming him down. This is the story of Kagami's jour...
