Bound by Obsession

Part 56

Armed Detective Agency POV

Back at the Armed Detective Agency, the mood had grown even darker. Every passing day without Dazai weighed heavily on the group, the absence of their most unpredictable member unsettling them in ways they hadn't anticipated. The Agency's offices were unusually quiet, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

Atsushi sat at his desk, his head in his hands, staring blankly at the paperwork in front of him. The mission reports seemed trivial in the face of Dazai's disappearance. He had been trying to focus, to keep working as usual, but his mind kept drifting back to the last time they had seen Dazai—being carried off by Fyodor, helpless in the Russian's arms.

Kunikida stood near the windows, arms crossed tightly over his chest. His face was set in a hard, determined expression, but the lines of frustration were evident. He had been relentless in their search for Dazai, but every lead seemed to turn cold, and it was starting to take its toll on him.

"I don't get it," Kunikida muttered, breaking the silence. "Why hasn't Dazai tried to reach out to us? It's been two days, and we've heard nothing."

"He might not be able to," Ranpo said, not looking up from his seat. "Fyodor's smart. He wouldn't make it easy for Dazai to contact us."

"But that's not like him," Atsushi said, lifting his head. "Dazai always has a plan. He wouldn't just let Fyodor keep him like that... would he?"

Ranpo's gaze flickered toward Atsushi, his usually confident expression more serious than usual. "There's more to this than we know. Dazai's unpredictable, but Fyodor is... different. He's not like the enemies we've dealt with before."

Chuuya, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, scowled. His usual cocky attitude had been replaced by something darker—something more personal. "Fyodor isn't just playing a game," he muttered, his voice low. "He wants Dazai. Not as a pawn. As... something else."

Kunikida's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Chuuya looked away, his expression unreadable. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not good."

The room fell into silence again, the weight of the situation pressing down on everyone. They had no idea what was happening to Dazai—what Fyodor was doing to him, or why. But they knew one thing: they needed to get him back. Before it was too late.