But in the End

Hunting Dogs

Grabbing onto Kenji's arm, I helped get the two into the car as Kunikida sped off. "We just went from bad to worse. The Hunting Dogs are the most formidable squad the military has." Kunikida explained. "Their bodies have been augmented by gifted experts. They have many times the physical capabilities of the average person. The next time they catch us, they'll destroy the car, and we'll be as good as done."

The Hunting Dog's, huh? I remember my father mentioning something about them a while back. A light shot through the middle of the car, causing me to gasp, leaning to one side.

I placed a hand on my arm as it began to bleed as the car split in half before going out of control, flying into the air. I flew out of the car as an explosion went off, slamming all of us into the ground.

"What just... happened to us?" Kunikida asked in confusion.

"You came back to save your comrade and you all went down." Glancing up, I saw the two men approaching us. "It's hardly surprising when you stop to think about it. My experience, that's just how life usually goes." The one with the red and white hair replied.

Kenji jumped up, running towards Jun'ichirō as the other male unsheathed his sword. Just as Kenji pushed him out of the way, the two ended up being cut. "There is no escaping from my sword."

"Doppo Poet! Stun Grenade!" Kunikida shouted out, writing in his book just as the man sent another slash, cutting Kunikida and his book.

"Kunikida!" I shouted as I saw the book slice into two. He dropped to the ground along with Kenji and Jun'ichirō. I gritted my teeth. This is bad. At this rate...

"Now then, if you please Tectchō, first decapitate the doctor." The first man told Tetchō. "We can't have her healing her buddies after all. Besides, she's an angel of death. The world is going to be much better off without her."

"Don't kill her!" Kunikida got back up, shielding Yosano. "Alright, we'll surrender!"

"You have an interesting pulse. Perhaps it's because you're still such an idealist, Kunikida. You're relieved right now, aren't you?" The man asked him.

Kunikida dropped his arms in horror. "What do you mean?"

"I read up on you. Your ideals are as lofty and large as a hot air balloon. But a hot air balloon inevitably runs out of fuel and returns to the ground. You've lived in fear for when that day would come." He explained.

"Stop it." Kunikida whispered out.

The man just smiled. "I'm really happy for you, Kunikida. Starting tomorrow, you'll be free."

The Tetchō guy swung his sword once more, the blade flying over Kunikida, straight for Yosano. "Move!" I shouted, watching as it got close to her.

"Deploy, Gravity Manipulation."

I watched as the trajectory of the blade was pushed off, missing Yosano by a few inches as it impaled the ground beside her.

"You've fucked up, Detective Agency!" Hearing a helicopter, we glanced to the side and saw none other than Chuuya, an executive of the Port Mafia. "I'm here to save your asses on the bosses orders."

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I thought as I watched him grab a handful of bullets, using his ability to send them towards the two Hunting Dogs.

The two used their swords to block the oncoming bullets. As the helicopter circled around us, ropes dropped down. "Grab onto it."

Not wasting a second, we did as told. Once we all got a good grip on the ropes, the helicopter began pulling away. We began climbing up the ropes and into the helicopter, sitting down as we processed the events that just took place.

"To think that one day we'd be saved by the Port Mafia." Kunikida spoke up.

"Saved?" Chuuya asked as if it were the dumbest thing he's ever heard. "Idiot, the only thing that happened was your boss made a deal with my boss. The price in your rescue ids the transfer of an Agency member to the Mafia. We've always got room for gifted criminals with useful abilities."

"The president did that?" Kunikida asked in bewilderment.

Jun'ichirō looked down. "He couldn't, could he? But if not, we all would've gotten arrested. And Yosano would've been killed."

I narrowed my eyes at Chuuya. Who exactly is to be transferred? It was apparent that they were after my ability, but then there's Kyouka who was part of the Mafia before joining us. They tried getting her back because of her ability, but then there's also Dazai. Mori has made it apparent that he wants Dazai back in their ranks. Either way, it's not g-

A crash interrupted me from my thoughts as I glanced over at the source. My eyes widened as I saw a blade running through Kenji's chest.

"Seriously, dude? Come on..." Chuuya trailed off, glancing outside the helicopter. "Shit, he's outside the chopper. Bastards' going to slash up the rotors."

"Tanizaki." Kunikida spoke up, opening the sliding door. "I want you to expose the actual murderer."

I looked up at him. "What are you planning on doing?"

He didn't answer me before whispering out. "Don't fail." All of us let out a gasp as he jumped out of the helicopter.

Scrambling to the window, I watched as he kicked Tetchō off the helicopter, standing on his chest as they plummeted to the ground. "That damn idiot!"

There was a flash before an explosion went off. "Kunikida!" Jun'ichirō shouted.

I frowned, looking away from the window. I made my way to Jun'ichirō, setting a hand on his shoulder. Jun'ichirō turned to look at me as I shook my head. "There's nothing we can do but hope he survived the blast and the fall."

"But- We can't just leave him..." He trailed off, frowning.

I let out a sigh. "Even if we turn back, we risk getting caught and his sacrifice would've been for nothing. The damn idiot used himself as a way for us to escape and clear the Agency's name. We owe him that much, right?"

Not waiting for an answer, I walked over to the side of the helicopter and slid down to the ground.

I hope Kyouka and Atsushi are okay. And Ranpo... I thought back to the phone call earlier. We don't know if he's alive or not and we don't know where Dazai is. Plus, it's safe to assume the military has already arrested the President.

I glanced over to Yosano and Kenji as she inspected the wound. That just leaves us in this helicopter and Kyouka and Atsushi if they weren't caught.

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Published: 07/06/2024