domine dirige nos | bungou stray dogs |

ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᶦˢ ᶠᵘⁿⁿʸ ᶦᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ˡᵃᵘᵍʰ ᵃᵗ ᶦᵗ

Explosive and/or weaponised blood was a very niche category that about a handful of people fell into, and luckily Lewis was smarter than he looked. According to Mary, the compound azidoazide azide was incredibly unstable and as a result it was rare, so traces of it would likely be reported. Furthermore, the compound would likely cause a lot of trouble for the user, considering the instability of it.

The Clocktower Esquires were respected by Parliament and the upper rungs of the country's hierarchy for their clear, credible information for anything and everything regarding abilities, that, of course, included a list of all registered ability users within Great Britain.

And so, Lewis was sat at the table in the underground library, chin resting on the cocobolo desk as a permanent pout graced his lips. Hundreds of people filtered into a select few. The only one who stuck out was Alex DeLarge, who fit the description nearly perfectly. A teenage boy, about sixteen or seventeen, with piercing blue eyes and messy light brown hair. He wore a scowl on his face in the picture, a recent mugshot, and he had multiple scars and wounds on his face. His first arrest was when he was thirteen, for stalking and harassing a local boy repeatedly even after a court order. The boy grew up in the care system, jumping from foster home to foster home and the first time his ability was registered was when he accidentally blew up his home after he got severely cut helping with cooking.

"Alex DeLarge," Lewis mumbled, packing up the file and grabbing his bunny before making his way to find the suspect.

A bar he would frequent was next to the last bombing sight and so Lewis decided to make his way there. There were some strange glances as he made his way towards the bar, pushing the door open. The patrons looked at him curiously.

"Are you lost, boy?" Someone asked and Lewis gave him a smile.

"No sir, actually I'm looking for someone." He approached the bar, stepping on his tiptoes. "Excuse me, mister, do you know where I can find Alex DeLarge? I hear he comes here a lot."

The bartender—a round but nice looking fellow, balding and a warm smile—instantly grimaced at the name. "DeLarge? Oh, let me tell you somethin', son, you ought to stay away from that—devil. He skipped town a few days ago and he ain't tell anyone where he was goin'." He saw the disappointment on Lewis' face. "Well, I say good riddance. You ought not get involved with that boy."

"Oh?" He clambered onto a barstool. "Do you think you can tell me some stories about him, mister?"

Meanwhile, Arthur stared at his screen, deciphering the information given to him about the Armed Detective Agency. Ten named members, two of which were mere clerks. The detectives were all ability users. Atsushi Nakajima, an orphan, Doppo Kunikida, a college dropout who was a part time maths tutor, Kenji Miyazawa, a young farmer boy, Junichirou Tanizaki, a drop out student who lives with his younger sister, a clerk, Ranpo Edogawa, known for his masterful skills of deduction was not a user but was picked up by the president after the death of his parents and Akiko Yosano, also known as The Angel of Death for her kill count when she worked as a medic in the Great War, was the medic of the agency. The last two detectives, Osamu Dazai and Kyouka Izumi didn't have any information listed. Very curious.

"This Dazai fellow and Izumi don't have anything listed," Arthur said, looking up at Agatha as she serenely drank her tea.

"If memory serves, Kyouka Izumi's parents were notorious assassins in Japan, her father being a retired government agent. It was her ability that killed her parents."

"How tragic." His apathetic tone almost made him sound sarcastic. "And Dazai?"

"Nothing. There's nothing on his record up until two years ago."

Arthur laced his fingers together in thought. Nothing's ever really gone, but why was this man trying to become a ghost? What nefarious acts did he commit? "Do you think you can organise a meeting?"

Agatha smiled. "I'll get on that right away."

And so, a meeting was held. Arthur watched just out of frame of the computer as Agatha sat in front of it, exchanging pleasantries. Yukichi Fukuzawa was on the other side of the screen, Osamu Dazai stood beside him, translating everything Agatha said. His English was fairly good, practically fluent, but he didn't have any formal education to speak of. "Well, Ms Christie, how have you been?" he chirped, a wide smile on his face. "I hear your ability is quite interesting!"

Agatha smile as Arthur moved to sit at his desk, behind the laptop. "Mr Dazai, I'd prefer if we kept on track."

"Of course, of course." He muttered something to his boss, and his boss said something back in Japanese. "So, will Mr Doyle be speaking or will it just be you?" Arthur's lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry, it'll just be me today."

"Ah, such a shame. I was looking forward to meeting the ever-elusive man! You know, I've heard a lot of stories about him!"

"I will let him know you asked for him." She crosses one leg over the other. "The diplomat?"

Dazai leaned forward. "Some years ago, there was a massive case of cadmium poisoning in a rural village as a result of mining that contaminated the water supply. He covered up the entire scandal and the families affected by the poisoning." Agatha raised her brows.

"So you think it was a hit?"

Dazai raised a finger to his lips. "Now, now, I didn't day that." But it was certainly what he was implying. With a soft sigh, Arthur motioned for her to cut off the call but Dazai spoke again. "No, I don't think it's a hit. I think there's something else going on."

"Like what?" Agatha asked.

Dazai shrugged. "We're not sure yet."

Agatha smiles politely. "Thank you, Mr Dazai. We'll be in contact once we know something." With a few more pleasantries exchanged, Agatha ended the call, looking at the man. "So, what now?"

Arthur sighed. If it wasn't a hit then it must be a kidnapping, or it might be a voluntary disappearance in order to avoid something like that happening.