But in the End

The Truth Comes to Light

The next day, I found myself sitting at my desk, pondering over everything. My ability, my fathers previous affiliation with the Mafia, the incident four years ago, being hunted down, the Agency, the Guild, what I overheard in that alley, and the warning my father gave me.

All of it jumbled in my head, going back and forth between each event, not able to focus on the task in front of me on the computer screen. I had my eyes trained into the screen, thinking, when one thought stood out in particular.

The day I encountered the Mafia.

Everything that's happened since then played out when a suspicion began to form in my mind, before some of the pieces began to fit together. Feeling a headache forming from all the thinking, I stood up from my desk, letting Kunikida know I was grabbing a coffee, before walking downstairs.

I drug myself down the steps, turning to walk to the counter, greeting the man and woman who's put up with us at the Agency for so long now.

Noticing the worn out look on my face, I was greeted with my usual order, causing me to smile in appreciation. I turned around to sit down at a booth, when I heard my name being called.

"Fancy seeing you here, (Y/N)."

I turned to see Dazai had walked in from outside, walking over with his hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

"Oh, hey Dazai. Where have you been? Kida's been going nuts over the fact that you're late... again." I pointed out, raising a brow as the bandaged man approached.

He ignored Kunikida's midlife crisis and smiled. "You see I wanted to try this new method of suicide involving a rope, but next thing I know, it broke on me." He let out a heavy sigh, throwing a hand out as he shook his head, as if depressed over the results. "Failed again."

Over time, I've learned to ignore or brush off Dazai's weird fascination with killing himself, seeing as how they always fail, but it never stops me from wondering why he's so eager.

"I see." I mumbled, taking a sip of my drink as I sat down in a booth, Dazai sliding in across from me, resting his chin on his hand with a sigh.

A cup of coffee was placed in front of Dazai and he simply took a spoon and stirred the liquid in the cup, zoning out as he watched it spin.

I watched him for a few seconds before I decided to ask what's been on my mind lately. "Hey, Dazai?"

"Hmm?" He hummed, not tearing his gaze away from the cup, seeming dazed still.

"Well..." I trailed off, not sure how to go about it. "Theres something I've been wondering."

"Oh?" He moved his gaze towards me, still stirring his drink. "What is it?"

'Only one has.'

I stared at my cup in my hands, building myself up to ask. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but... were you in the Mafia before working at the Agency?" I brought my gaze up to Dazai, watching as he stopped stirring his drink, seemingly as though he was not expecting my question.

After a few seconds, he closed his eyes, letting go of of the spoon. "Yeah, I was." I watched as he sat up, leaning against the back rest opening his eyes back up. "How'd you figure it out?"

I bit my lip, tapping my finger against the cup before I began to explain. "Well anytime the Mafia is involved, you seem to be able to anticipate their next move before they do, and you were able to escape without so much as a scratch on you."

I looked back to meet his gaze, wondering what he was thinking in that moment. "I'm not the only one at the Agency who can anticipate movements, and what if I got lucky when I escaped?" Dazai questioned, seeming to quiz me on my explanation.

"That wasn't the only thing that tipped me off..." I started, thinking back as I began to explain. "About four years ago, I ran into some Mafia men and they cornered me in an alleyway. I was able to render them unconscious with my ability, but someone else showed up."

I paused for a moment before continuing. "I tried to use my ability but it didn't work, so I assumed I reached my limit and ran off. That night I told my father what happened and he said if I were to ever encounter them again to run because my ability wouldn't work." I slowly brought my gaze to meet his. "At first I didn't think about it, but maybe it wasn't because I reached my limit that day, but that my ability wouldn't work on the person-"

"Because they could nullify it." Dazai cut me off, knowing what I was going to say. I waited hesitantly as he pondered everything I said before speaking again. "But I can only nullify an ability if I have physical contact with them."

"True, but the way my ability works, is that it latches onto the person in order to drain them of their strength... meaning that the moment my ability touches someone, it makes physical contact between them and me. As if there is an invisible link between me and my target, an extra arm if you will."

"Only one way to test it out." Dazai stated, not phased in the slightest. "Try using your ability on me. If you're right, nothing'll happen. And if not, I'll be drained the rest of the day."

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright." I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them with an hand in front of me. "Beast from Within..." I mumbled concentrating.

After a few moments, I brought my hand back, not feeling any different. "Guess that settles it then." Dazai spoke up, seeming to be thinking. "Who would've thought that you were the one that ran away in that alley that day."

"Yeah because of all that, I was being hunted down for months and it was exhausting." I groaned, remembering all the running I had to do. "So you're the one that got away, huh?"

Dazai rose a brow, confused by my sentence. "The one that got away?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, yesterday I was talking with my dad and he mentioned how most don't leave without being killed. When I asked if someone did aside from him, he said only one has."

"Your dad was in the Mafia?" Dazai asked, somewhat surprised by the information.

Realizing what I did, I hung my head. "Dammit, I wasn't supposed to say anything about it!" I grumbled, letting out a sigh before nodding my head. No use in hiding it now. "Yeah, he was, but left about four years ago after completing some mission."

"A mission, huh..." Dazai replied, seemingly interested. "What was the mission?"

"Something about being a spy for the Mafia when in reality he was a spy for the Special Operations to track their movements." I leaned back in my chair, letting out a sigh. "To tell you the truth, I didn't know he was in the Mafia until a week before he left."

I noticed Dazai was quiet, causing me to tilt my head in confusion, before I waved a hand in front of him. "You alive over there, or did you finally succeed in your suicide attempt by poisoning yourself?"

"Your father, what was his name?" Dazai asked, locking his gaze with mine.

Still confused, I furrowed my eyebrows together. "His name is Ango Sakaguchi, but what does that have to do with anything?"

I saw his eyes widen somewhat at my response before he replied. "I knew your father very well."

I felt my eyes widen at his response. "You did? But how?"

"How much do you know of what your father did while in the Mafia?" Dazai asked, ignoring my question.

I brought my hand back, crossing my arms in thought. "Nothing except for what I told you, he never talked about it, even now. Why?" I frowned, noticing the distant look he had.

"He was one of the reasons that led to me leaving the Mafia."

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Published: 01/29/2024