Found (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Chapter 4

Jane awoke in an unfamiliar room. She stirred and felt the silky fabric under her cheek and hand. The air smelled of perfume. A stark contrast to the dorm building.

A second later, Jane bolted upright as she realized that she was no longer in an environment she recognized. She surveyed the room. The windows were covered with heavy and thick-looking curtains. She had been sleeping on a sofa positioned in the middle of the room. In front of the sofa was a low table. Behind the sofa, near the wall, was a bookshelf. The dim light on the ceiling was barely illuminating everything, but she only noticed the carpeted floor when she got out of bed and her bare feet were met with a soft surface.

Jane walked to the curtains and peeked through them. The sun had already set, so she only had the city lights to gaze at. The ferris wheel was illuminated in bright, changing colors but was much farther down than Jane had expected. She realized that she had to be on one of the upper floors of a tall building. But without much experience in Yokohama, she couldn't figure out what building it might have been.

She discovered her shoes tucked under the sofa and put them on before trying to open the door. She tried both pushing and pulling, but nothing worked. Jane's breathing quickened. She had been kidnapped and imprisoned somewhere she couldn't escape from. The kidnappers probably didn't expect her to wake before morning, so it was unlikely they'd check on her. But Jane couldn't possibly sleep in such a situation. She sat back on the sofa, trying to gather her thoughts.

"I think you're the calmest guest we've ever had," a male voice came from somewhere. Jane shot back up, looking for its origin.

At the back of the room, near the bookshelf, a curtain moved and from it emerged a man in a fancy suit and hat – Chuuya Nakahara, the gravity manipulator. Jane instinctively tried to take a step back, hitting her leg against the table.

"Hi there, I'm Jane," she managed to move her still-asleep mouth.

"I'm Chuuya Nakahara."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Jane," he said and took a few steps towards her. The pleasant smell became stronger.

"Could you explain to me what's going on please?"

"I'd love to. That's what I'm here for. But please, sit."

Jane folded the blanket and sat on the sofa, deciding to ignore the fact that he would have had to stand in that corner until she awoke in the morning. Chuuya pulled a regular chair from behind the other end of the curtains and positioned it so that they were sitting opposite each other.

He wasted no time. "You're here because of your gift. It is very valuable, especially if you're a small organization trying to accomplish big things. We brought you here to protect you from anyone who might want to use you."

"And who is "we"?"

"We're the Port Mafia, the organization which controls the night and underworld. Don't let the name scare you, we're a legal organization and also a business."

"It's just your methods..." Jane caught on.

"You could say that. I won't ruin your innocence by providing any details."

Something about that condescending response irritated Jane. "So, what will happen now?"

"You'll stay here until tomorrow when you'll meet with the boss. From there on it's your decision."

Chuuya's body language didn't show any sign of him leaving any time soon.

"How did you know about my gift?" Jane asked. She knew how Dazai knew, but she assumed that the Mafia had other methods.

"There was a case we were involved in (along with the Agency), but it was suddenly resolved. That's when our men combed through hours of security camera footage and identified you. It was the boss who decided that it would be better to bring you here."

"Come to think of it, I think the Agency also tried to protect me. After entering the Agency, I barely spent ten minutes without Dazai for the rest of the day."

Chuuya tsked. "That idiot Dazai."

"You know him?"

"Well, we all more or less know each other, but he's an extremely annoying guy."

Jane chuckled. "I think I know what you mean. He's always fooling around, trying to tick you off."

"So he hasn't changed at all."

"But I think that he is also very kind. He might have had his reasons, but I think he wanted to help and comfort me. He even answered my questions when I asked him." Jane glanced at Chuuya and he was looking extremely annoyed. "At least I think so. I can't say for sure. I've only known him for a day."

"Let's stop talking about that dimwit Dazai and choose a different topic. Just the thought of him annoys me."

Both Jane and Chuuya spent a minute thinking of potential conversation topics, but none seemed fitting. Personal questions were unthinkable and they had probably exhausted the list of mutual acquaintances. They sat in silence for a while.

Jane finally gathered the courage to ask something that had been on her mind for a while. "Do you think I'll be able to return home to the countryside, considering the situation?"

"I highly doubt it. It's too risky for both us and the Agency to let you be captured by whoever gets to you first. We're lucky that you weren't."

Jane buried her face in her hands. Being stuck here is already bad enough.

"You must be tired," Chuuya noticed, "I'll come wake you in the morning."

Jane revealed her face. "Alright, good night."

Jane took off her shoes and laid back down. She closed her eyes and recalled the events of the day – so much had happened. She eventually fell asleep again, thinking of Dazai.