Part of Your World {A Bungo Stray Dogs fanfic}

"Cannibalism Part 3"

Once I've managed to pull myself out of this overwhelmed trance, I look around at who remains in the truck. It's just me, Atsushi, and Kunikida. Without saying a word or even making eye contact with either of them, I make my way to the door as well.

"Where are you going, Kagami?" Atsushi asks, his expression full of concern.

"Yeah, where are YOU going?" Kunikida adds. Even in his distressed state, he still manages to have a snarky attitude. And here I was, giving him mental credit for being the strongest of all of us.

"I'm going to talk to someone who actually listens to me," I respond coldly to Kunikida without turning to look at him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he rebukes.

"Guys come on now... this isn't the time to be at each other's throats," Atsushi says nervously trying to ease the tension.

Everything I have been through in the past forty-eight hours comes crashing down on me and I can't handle his attitude anymore. I whip around to face Kunikida saying, "It MEANS that if you had just listened to me in the first place, maybe Nekori wouldn't have died! But no, just because of her past, you didn't believe me." Angry tears start trickling down my red cheeks as I continue, "Nekori is dead, and the mafia killed her! Now do you believe me?!" I don't even give him a chance to respond. Instead, I push my way out of the truck and slam the metal doors behind me. I'm so upset right now I don't even care that Kunikida has been through a lot today. So have I! And you know what, not a single person even asked me if I was okay, for the record. Lost in thought, I cry the whole way back to Dazai's hospital room. I'm still fuming when I walk in the door, but all that goes away as my eyes land on an empty hospital bed. Dazai's gone?!

Just as I'm about to start panicking, Creed comes trotting happily out of the bathroom. Dazai strolls in right behind him. A huge sigh of relief escapes my lungs as I throw my arms around him. I might have squeezed him a little too tight as Dazai says quietly, "Ow. can't.breathe." With a small apology and an embarrassed giggle, I release him, and we move to sit on the bed. Creed hops up with us, and we begin to fill each other in on everything we know. As I'm telling Dazai all about the president being sick and the agency splitting up, I can tell he's not really paying attention.

"Hellooo," I say, waving my hand in front of his face to get his attention. "What are you looking at?"

He raises his hand gently up to my face asking, "Where did you get all these cuts and bruises from?"

I place my hand on top of his and move it slowly away from my face as I respond, "I'm fine. It's not important."

"Kagami," Dazai threaten with one eyebrow raised. He doesn't believe me for one second.

I can't make eye contact with him as I say, "I just had a little run-in with the mafia... I'm okay, really." Dazai silently slips his hand underneath my chin and moves my face to look at him. I was not prepared for how deadly serious his expression was going to be.

"What did they do to you?" He asks, his eyes locked on mine.

I contemplate not telling him everything, but as I look into his eyes, everything just starts gushing out. In a mix of tears and sniffles I tell Dazai everything- like everything, everything. I tell him everything from finding him bleeding out on the street to waking up in Akutagawa's bedroom. My story inevitably ends with me sobbing on Dazai's shoulder and him trying to calm me down. Creed also comes to lay on my lap and tries to lick my tears away. By the time I'm done, Dazai's hospital gown is practically soaked from me crying, but I do actually feel a lot better. We stay in that position, embracing each other, for a little while longer while I get my breathing back under control. We don't pull apart until Dazai's phone starts ringing. He leans over to grab it off of the side table and says, "It's Tanizaki." I try to pull myself together and fix my face while Dazai listens intently to whatever Junichiro has to say. Suddenly, Dazai's eyes go wide and he exclaims, "What do you mean the president has disappeared??" I look at Dazai, my jaw on the ground. Shortly after, he hangs up the phone saying, "It's time."

"Time for what?" I ask.

"It's time for me to get back out there and help my friends," Dazai answers as he gets up out of bed.

I rush over to stand in front of him. "Hang on, Dazai. I don't think that's the best idea. I mean, you're not even fully healed yet," I protest.

Long story short, Dazai convinces me that he is totally fine and that he has to do this, "for the sake of the agency." So now we are in a van on the way to some abandoned coal mine that the cannibalism gifted is supposedly hiding in. Even though he refused to stay behind at the hospital, we did reach a compromise. Dazai agreed (begrudgingly) to at least stay in the van and work the mission from behind the scenes. He sits behind an array of computer screens and other tech, watching our friends' every move. Atsushi and Akutagawa are currently on the hunt for the man who controls the cannibalism virus that is plaguing our president and the leader of the mafia. However, Dazai, Junichiro, Kenji, and I have another goal in mind. Junichiro and Kenji are flying high above us in a helicopter watching closely for anyone Dazai might suspect to be Fyodor. They spot a group of men, a parade of cars, and a boat leaving the area, but Dazai is confident that none of them are Fyodor. Finally, after almost an hour of searching, Junichiro spots a lone hiker to the east of the mines. Dazai jumps on the opportunity saying that he's sure this is him. All of our allied forces rush to surround the hiker, only to discover that he is not Fyodor. It's actually just a man, strapped from head to toe with explosives. Somehow Fyodor must have known Dazai would go for this guy, so he set a trap. Although he remains silent, I can tell Dazai is really upset that he was wrong for once. I sit beside him in the van, trying my best to think of any way I might be able to help him. Then something finally occurs to me.

"Hey Dazai," I begin, "A while back, didn't you tell me about some kind of technology that could spot anyone's face anywhere in the world?"

I see the idea click in Dazai's mind as he says, "The eyes of God! Good idea Kagami!" He runs past me, giving me a quick peck on my cheek, and jumps into the front seat. I almost fall backward on top of Creed as the van unexpectedly speeds away.

"Where are we going??" I ask, making my way carefully to the passenger seat.

"To see an old friend," Dazai answers with a small smirk. I'm not sure how to feel about that... but for some reason, I don't think the person we are going to see is a friend.

Boy, was I right. We went to meet none other that the leader of the Guild, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. Apparently, he recently bought the Eyes of God technology. I don't know how he did it, but Dazai somehow convinced Francis to help us. With the power of the Eyes of God, we located Fyodor in under a minute. Upon discovering his hidden location, the three of us make our way to a place I never thought I would see again... Uchikipan Bakery. Dazai gets out of the van first, and I go to follow him, but he stops me. Shutting the door in my face, Dazai tells me to stay in the van. "It's too dangerous," he says, "This is Fyodor we're talking about." I try to argue but he just locks the van and walks away.

'No way am I letting this happen again,' I think to myself. The last time I let Dazai leave me behind, I ended up finding him bleeding out in the middle of the street. So despite his explicit orders, I use my ability to transform into Creed and follow Dazai inside the bakery. I know he can tell it's really me, but that makes it so much better. I sit my happy self down right beside Dazai in the booth. He just shakes his head at me and gives me a little approving scratch behind the ears. I watch protectively as the rest of our mission unfolds effortlessly before my eyes. Fyodor, thinking he's won, begins to make his way out of the bakery, but stops. Realizing Dazai has been sitting there the whole time, Fyodor turns around slowly to face us. As the cops begin to rush in and surround him, they yell, "Put your hands up!" Fyodor follows their instructions with a smile. His smile is so creepy it sends a shiver down my K9 body, and a growl escapes my bared teeth. I can't help it, something doesn't feel right about him.

Just when one of the police is moving in to cuff Fyodor, Dazai abruptly yells, "Wait! Don't touch him!" But he was too late. The officer who had laid his hands on Fyodor crumbles lifelessly to the ground. He died instantly. My heart begins to pound restlessly in my chest. Dazai was right; this guy is dangerous. My heart doesn't stop pounding until Fyodor has been locked up in a cop car and driven far away. Even then, I can still feel the anxiety churning away in my stomach. It should be a happy ending, but something tells me this isn't the end at all...