A Future Without You

Ch 8: Nobody is safe

  Dazai leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "This is so much more complicated than I remember it being..."

  Elise yawned, "then why don't you just call the guy with the big glasses?"

  Dazai sat up abruptly, "Elise, you're a genius!!!"

  She blinked, "huh?"

  Dazai pulled out his phone, "if anyone could help decode this it would be Ango!"

  "Oh. Uh, you're welcome." Elise folded her arms triumphantly.

  "Wait, Elise, did Mori ever-"

  Elise shook her head, "he was always careful to never let me know any of his secrets. I cant read any code at all."

  Dazai nodded, "sounds about right..." he sighed, "such is the life of a Mafia Boss I suppose."

  Elise asked, "do you believe me?..."

  Dazai looked up, "Hm? About what?"

  "What I saw... It was like a zombie..." Elise stared at the desk, "it doesn't sound real..."

  Dazai paused, "I've seen a lot of things that shouldn't be real. This is nowhere near the weirdest." He smiled, "besides, we've fought vampires, so zombies can't be that bad."

  "Yeah, okay..."

  Dazai sent Ango a few text messages, adding in a sneaky little threat that didn't really mean anything.

  "Hey, Dazai..." Elise waited for him to look at her before continuing on, "what do you think will happen if you touch me?..."

  Dazai shrugged, "you'll probably evaporate, but who knows? Maybe Ango will have an answer to that, too. He's smart like that."

  "Alright..." Elise nodded absently.

  It wasn't very long before Verlaine and his younger brother returned. Chuuya sighed as he moved around all the papers, "I swear I've read through everything twice, what could we be missing?"

  "Perhaps what we need to find isn't even here," Verlaine mused.

  "Maybe not," Chuuya sighed once again. He lifted Elise up and set her down in her own chair before reclaiming his seat.

  Dazai leaned back in his chair, then dramatically flopped forward onto the desk. He groaned loudly, "I don't wanna do this anymoreeeee!"

  "Then go take a nap," Chuuya suggested, "it's not like we're going anywhere..."

  "I've got Ango on the way to help decode this," Dazai lifted his head, his eyes still closed tightly. "I gotta be awake for that, ya know."

  "I know," Chuuya chuckled. He pressed his hand against Dazai's arm, rhythmically tapping it with his index finger.

  It took Dazai a moment to realize that Chuuya was speaking to him. But not out loud. Through their own version of Morse code they had come up with when they were younger.

  'Can you hear me?'

  Dazai couldn't help but smile into his elbow, where his face was nestled. He found Chuuya's arm with his hand and started tapping back. 'Of course I can.'

  Elise yawned, slouching in her chair, "if Dazai won't nap, then I will..."

  "You know what we all need? Tea." Verlaine announced before walking out.

  'Can I ask you something?' Chuuya was tapping Dazai's arm in a hesitant way.

  Dazai caressed Chuuya's arm with his thumb as he continued to communicate with his index finger. "Anything.'