Withering moon lit rose

Chapter 30

The pair were currently sat in the section of the agency which was typically used for clients.

Ryuunosuke had his head in his hands as Kyoka sat tall, appearing unbothered despite what she had told the man.

"He remembers nothing?"

"No, he remembers pieces. Fragments if you will."

"So he remembers the train, and what happened?"

"He remembers me being on the train. He remembers me with the bomb, me not wanting to kill anyone. But you activated it, he recalls me jumping out the train. But the memory that follows is not correct."

"How so?"

"The day the Moby Dick crashed, he cried on the shore thinking I had died. That's what he recalls. He says he was alone, which I know not to be true. But he doesn't recall Fitzgerald. He doesn't recall any of the time at the agency." Akutagawa felt his stomach sink slightly, he didn't remember the other organisations.

"What about the Mafia? Does he recall... What I did to him?" Kyoka nodded solemnly, she fumbled with the rim of her skirt before continuing to look at the man.

"The fight you two had that day on the cargo ship, he remembers killing you. I was never there apparently. According to him the boat continued to drift until someone rescued him. He wouldn't say who though, then he ended up where he is now."

"And where would that be?"
Ryuunosuke snapped slightly at that, he knew it wasn't her fault. It wasn't anyone's but whoever took him.

"A business who sounds like another Mafia. It's in a city quite a distance from Yokohama." Ryuunosuke nodded solemnly in response. This was too much to take in.

How long had Atsushi been like this?

Had he been in this state when he wrote the letter?

Could it be reversed?

Akutagawa wouldn't be able to take it if he continued to look at him like he was a ghost.

"So what should we do?" Kyoka shrugged her shoulders, she was at as much of a loss as he was. Thankfully, Dazai made his way into the room to help them with their current problem.

"Hello~" He sang to the pair, his happy personality didn't help lighten the mood at all. "Wow, lots of doom and gloom in here. Be careful you'll end up growing mushrooms." He laughed slightly at his own joke but the others were not impressed.

"Okay are you both gonna continue to be all doom and gloom or come with me and I'll give you some good news about Atsushi." The two perked up at that, they both quickly followed Dazai. However, before following him to the roof Ryuunosuke quickly checked on his niece. She appeared to be having a long conversation about what she had done the prior day. He smiled lightly before making his way to the roof.

"Finally decided to join us?" Chuuya complained why Kyoka sat on the edge of the roof, Dazai lent against the wall next to the door.

"Sorry I was just checking on Mirai." He apologised profusely but the mention of Mirai caught Chuuya off guard.

"So you finally met her. That's been a long time coming." Ryuunosuke nodded and sat next to Kyoka without another word.

"Right," Chuuya began, "So you know the bullets you snatched from that Hanzawa guy." The pair nodded in agreement.

"Well they are this illegal weapon that we in the port Mafia have been investigating recently. The effects only work for 24 hours before the user's ability comes back to full use." Kyoka sighed in relief, Demon Snow would be back at her side by tomorrow lunch.

"But what's most unsettling is..." Chuuya trailed off his words slightly, Dazai placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Chuuya continued.

"Its main ingredient is human blood." The pair looked at him in bewilderment. Had they heard him correct? Did he say human blood?

"We discovered the same blood has been used in two other bullets. One was found in some of our own members. However, that effect is to render the individual unconscious." Akutagawa recalled Atsushi three years ago. Had they tested this on him in the past, while it was still in trial?

"And the other bullet?" Kyoka questioned, they both already knew what it was but wanted to hear Chuuya to confirm it.

"Memory alteration." The two nodded in agreement. "However, it can typically only alter one specific memory per bullet. Each is predetermined when loaded with the ingredients. But I have a theory that a certain individual is able to manipulate the bullets to her will." Chuuya's eyes dimmed slightly at recalling the memory but Dazai coughed to interrupt the conversation.

"That's a topic for another time, but like Chibi said. It's based on human blood. Myself and Chibi have managed to reverse the effects of the blood before but only once. We were incredibly lucky that we were able to help her." Kyoka looked at Chuuya's face, he looked sadden at who it had been. It clicked almost instantly for Kyoka on who it was.

"Ane-san..." She mumbled, but Chuuya caught her words.

"Yes. She travelled on an overseas mission. When she returned she had no recollection of certain people, such as Mori, Dazai and certain subordinates of hers." Chuuya shook his head in an attempt to dismiss the memory.

"After me experimenting with using my gravity manipulation on specific components of the blood while Dazai was in contact with her. He would disable her ability but due to the blood having someone's ability embedded within which he wasn't in contact with it made it easier to locate the added blood." Chuuya gave a devilish smile. "She was cured within hours of our treatment."

Ryuunosuke had a thought cross his mind. "Wait, if you healed Kouyou, does that mean you could heal Atsushi?" Dazai nodded before he spoke.

"But there's a condition. The individual had to be willing to go through the removal of the blood. Due to Kouyou still being aware of what happened to her, Chuuya was able to convince her to go through with the process." Kyoka raised an eyebrow. "What if they aren't willing?" Dazai sighed.

"It can end up harming the person, due to the memories being altered to the degree they are. We think Atsushi was hit with a large amount of bullets." Ryuunosuke locked eyes with Chuuya.

"How many?" The man looked away, refusing to look at the man.

"How many bullets?" Dazai breathed in a slow breath before responding.

"At a rough guess. Around seventy."