But in the End

Suspicions

"Ranpo, have you ever seen so many sweets in one place before?!" I gasped, glancing at the options that lay out on the table before me.

"Wow (Y/N), never seen you get so excited for anything before." Yosano spoke up from beside me as I placed some sweets onto my plate.

I turned to look at her, a gleam in my eyes. "Can you blame me with all the sweets?!" I gestured to the table. "Father never really let me eat sweets growing up so I indulge when I can."

"You're right (Y/N)." Ranpo spoke up, placing sweets on his own plate. "Just look at all these sweets."

"Ranpo!" Junichirō exclaimed as he, Kenji, and Kyouka joined us. "I see that you made it out of the mystery novel."

"Of course. I identified all five hundred criminals." Ranpo replied, stabbing a piece of cake on his plate. "Mr. Fancy Hat's still inside. He gave up on the mystery novel and started beating everyone up."

Feeling my phone buzzing, I excused myself from everyone, making my way out of the dining room and into a vacant hall.

"Hey, you wanted to talk?" I asked, leaning my back against the wall.

"Correct, I wanted to ask you a few questions about your ability."

I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion. "My ability?" I took a few moments before speaking up again. "What do you want to know?"

"When you first started using your ability, has there ever been a moment where you lost control or anything of the sort?"

I took a moment to ponder his question, remembering the only time that I could recall would've been when it first activated. "No, aside from that day from school but that was different."

"I see. As of right now, what are your limits when it comes to using it?"

"Well, how much strength I haven't really had to push past my limit. But I can only use it so many times in a single battle and only on roughly a handful of people at a time."

"(Y/N), I must ask that you come back to the Special Operations once more to get tested."

I thought back to the times I've spent there, getting tested to find out more about my ability when it first started activating, causing me to worry slightly. "Why? What's going on?"

"Ever since you told me about your suspicions with the Port Mafia trying to get a hold of you, it caused some concerns to run through my mind."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure if I liked where this was going.

"The only time someone is sought out by the Port Mafia is because Mori is interested in someone's ability and how it will help him."

"Yeah I had a feeling, but why? There's a lot of people who have strengthening abilities, like Kenji."

"Exactly my point. Mori goes after unique abilities, and yours is to snatch and steal others' physical strength. But what if that's not all you can do?"

———

"So this is where you've been hiding out?" I asked, stepping up to the railing. "Don't think I've ever seen you in anything aside from your work outfit. However, the suit suits you." I snorted at my phrasing.

"I could say the same about you." Dazai replied, glancing in my direction. "Don't think I've ever seen you in a dress."

I let out an amused chuckle. "Me and you both, I don't ever wear these things. But this is one of those times to wear one, you know?"