We don't talk about Jouno

It never ends

"So you mean to tell me, he's got a kid?" Teruko asked incredulously. Jouno nodded seriously. Teruko buried her head in her hands. "When does it ever end?!?" She yelled at no one in particular. Maya placed a hand on Teruko's back. Maya and Teruko didn't always get along when it came to leadership styles. Maya was a calm person who'd negotiate with her villains, and Teruko would prefer to just blow them up. They'd gotten much closer over the past few months, though. Teruko smiled at Maya's soothing gesture. It was nice to have a friend.

"Think of it this way." Maya said, a small smile growing across her face. "It's the gift that keeps on giving." Teruko let her head drop against the table. "But why?" She asked. Teruko momentarily wondered if this was some grand scheme of Raijin's to mess with her. Teruko's self proclaimed nemesis did show up every few hundred years to cause trouble with her. Even the demon storm goddess herself couldn't pull this one off, though.

"Is there any possibility this won't cause us any problems if we ignore it?" Tachihara asked hopefully. Teruko shook her head. As much as she hated to admit it, they'd have to go looking for this kid. Especially if the decay of angels were after whoever it was. It was imperative the hunting dogs got there first, but Teruko didn't want to fall into another one of Fukuchi's plans. She didn't reveal her power as Susanoo to the whole world while defeating him just to get tricked into doing what he wanted a few months later.

"Unfortunately not." Maya said. "As we've seen, the decay of angels  are relentless, and they're brutal. We don't really know why they do some of the things they do, but we know they want the book first, and in their minds 'fix the world.' They somehow need Jouno to achieve this, and they managed to almost kill Gogol in one of the hunting dogs holding cells. I don't know about you, but even if this person is Fukuchi's kid, I don't like the idea of them going after an innocent child." There was a reason Maya was the best speaker in the united nations.

"I'm guessing we're going after this guy." Chuuya said, and crossed his arms over his chest. Maya nodded. "That seems like the best option. We don't know what we're looking for, but Fukuchi's power was that any weapon he used became more powerful. That counted for his own body. That kind of ability in a kid would probably result in all sorts of broken doors and walls, especially if the kid doesn't know they're doing it." Chuuya sighed. "So, basically, we have no idea what we're looking for short of the hulk." Maya shrugged. "Chuuya, I'm not omnipotent."

"I'd say our first step is contacting the agency." Jouno said. "Ranpo will probably know what's going on." Teruko shook her head. "The detective brat hasn't been able to solve any cases since Fukuzawa died." That sucked the air out of the room. For a few seconds, no one said anything.

"I'll go talk to him." Chuuya said. "I was Dazai's partner, so they'll listen to me more than you guys. No offense." Teruko nodded. "None taken. I'll give you this afternoon before we start looking." They all knew that Teruko had no idea what they were looking for, short of a clone, but that was okay. She liked to project the idea that she knew what she was doing.

"I have a request, though." Chuuya said. "Can I take Nikolai?" If Tachihara had a negative reaction to that, he didn't show it. "Uh, why?" Teruko asked. "He's going to present Ranpo with a member of the decay of the angels in order to get him to care about all this again." Maya said. "Most people blame Gogol for Dazai's death over at the agency. That stands a decent chance at working."

Teruko tilted her head to the side, and took a minute to consider. The game had changed. Once again, her whole team was at risk. If Amaterasu was here, what would she do? "Do it." Teruko finally said. "If you think that has a shot in hell of working, you should try it. I want this over before the decay of angels starts up with their plotting again." With that, Teruko turned on her heel and left. Everyone else could handle what was going on for one afternoon. It was time for her to deal with Snorri.

*

Aya sat across the table from her new boss. "How did it go?" The woman under the mask asked. "Well." Aya said. "They don't know he's not there. But I think he's better in your jail cell than that of the hunting dogs." Aya frowned. "But why haven't we killed him yet?"

The woman removed her mask. Aya tried to hold in her reaction. The woman's face was covered in scars, but only on the left side. Whatever had happened to her in the past, it looked very painful. "Sadly, Aya, I need him alive-ish for what's to come." Aya wasn't sure she liked where this was coming. She wanted revenge on the agency, for Bram's sake. But she wasn't sure she wanted everyone to die.

"What are you planning on doing?" Aya asked. Aya didn't know her boss's full plan. She was going to need more information in order to decide what she wanted to do, though. The young woman smiled. "Let me tell you a story, Aya." She said coldly. "Once upon a time, I fell in love. Do you want to know what happened?" Aya didn't think this ended well. "She accused me of killing six hundred and fifty people."

Aya blinked in surprise. That was a very specific number. "But that would make you..." the woman nodded. "The blood countess." She said. "Erzabet Bathory." Aya had heard the stories. If legends were to be believed, this was one of the most prolific serial killers in existence. "Are the stories true?" Aya asked. Erzabet's smile widened. "Depends on your point of view."

A shiver went down Aya's spine. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked. Erzabet got up, and her long white hair fell over her shoulder to end just above her hip bones. "Because I want you to know the lesson I've learned." Erzabet said. "You trusted the agency, Aya. They still killed Bram, did they not?" They had. Erzabet shrugged. "And there you have it. Just because the agency were your friends, that doesn't mean you have to hold back. In fact, you really shouldn't. They need to pay for betraying you, after all."

Aya shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What are you planning on doing?" Erzabet sighed. "I'd been hoping to avoid a full on attack. But the agency has Alex, and the hunting dogs have Jouno. He opens the book, she breaks it so no one can fix my good works in this world." Erzabet smiled coldly. "And if anyone you care about doesn't make it, I'll be sure to bring them back."

Suddenly, Aya understood exactly what was going to happen to the agency and the hunting dogs. As soon as she could, Erzabet was going to launch the biggest attack in her arsenal. "You're serious?" Ata asked. Erzabet nodded, her eyes glazed over a supernatural shade of red. "Deadly."

*

Ranpo wasn't sure which problem was more pressing: Chuuya and Gogol teleporting into his bedroom, or Alex Dumas in the basement. Because both could only mean one thing. For the first time since Fukuzawa had died, Ranpo had a reason to put the glasses on again. He pulled the glasses out of his sleeve, and looked down at Chuuya and Gogol, who had landed in his bedroom, and were pulling themselves off the floor, with Gogol apologizing profusely for the landing. As soon as Ranpo put on the glasses, he knew what was going to happen. "Ah." He said, while Chuuya stared at him in wonder, awestruck that the great detective was back in action. "You'd better get back to the hunting dogs base." Chuuya's eyes widened. "Why?" He asked, knowing the answer couldn't be good. "Because they're about to bear the brunt of a full on attack."