Bungou Stray Dogs: Tainted Future [HIATUS]

Reason 30: Echo

"That's it. I'm now convinced that you're an animal tamer." Hinatsuri voiced out. Atsushi glanced at his friend in question, but she just ignored it.

The man-tiger focused his attention back to his dilemma. Dazai and Hinatsuri just picked the two of them from their location. By two of them, he meant Akutagawa and him. Right now, the brunette was holding their collars to prevent them from fighting. He promised not to get into fight with him, but his senior still did not budge. Hinatsuri explained why they grabbed the two of them, but he was not sure why Akutagawa needed to be involved. She laughed nervously and turned to her brother for his explanation.

"I'm going to have the two of you infiltrate the enemy's hideout." He said. It baffled him. Was Akutagawa really necessary in this plan? He voiced out his opinion on involving only him and Hinatsuri, but she stopped him there. After they were delivered to the base, she would have to go and report to Ranpo and the others about the whereabouts of the director. A sigh escaped his lips.

Dazai internally smirked then continued relaying the information they got from Katai. The enemy's hideout was an abandoned coal mine that spanned around a hundred kilometers. It could be filled with various sensors and traps for any intruders. The highest priority was to catch the virus ability user then second was their leader Dostoyevsky. They need to secure the user first or else the director and Mafia boss will die. Atsushi realized the weight of the mission they will carry, so he questioned the brunette why he paired him up with his worst enemy. He owlishly blinked his eyes and turned to the Mafia dog in question.

Akutagawa held deep concentration that his almost non-existent eyebrows furrowed. Dazai scoffed at how he looked and demanded that he showed him how much he had grown for the past 4 years. Of course, he accepted it without questions. Hinatsuri and Atsushi glanced at each other with dead look in their eyes.

"Hey, you're Akutagawa, right?"
"Yes."
"You're going to fight with me?"
"Yes."
"What did you have for dinner last night?"
"Yes."

"Oi." They both muttered. Hinatsuri turned to her brother and hid her laughter. The fanboy just could not keep his composure. It was too much for her. Dazai saw his sister's reaction and sighed.

Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. There were many guards stationed outside. Moreover, their vitals were taken every minute to ensure that there was no problem. Right now, Tanizaki's ability was working against the sensors. Killing nor making them scared was no option. Before he could retort, Akutagawa stepped out of the truck and activated his ability. He glanced back at him and warned the weretiger.

"If you're slow, I'll leave you behind. If you get in my way, I'll kill you." Within seconds, he disappeared from their sight and traveled using Rashomon. The other three peeked at what was happening. Dazai teased the weretiger of being left behind. Knowing that the director's life was on the line, he also activated his ability and dashed past the guards.

"Smooth. Welps, it's time for me to go. I'll see you guys in a bit." Hinatsuri uttered before disappearing from their sight. Kunikida glanced at his partner who just shrugged. His sister would sometimes hide things from him which was not unusual because he, too, had things he could not tell her. Dazai clamped his hands on his partner and guided him back to the truck. They could not just lose to those three after all. The blonde let out an exhausted sigh and pressed the pedal. They will conduct surveillance over the area away from the enemy's prying eyes.

Coal Mine
Akutagawa and Atsushi

Atsushi had landed safely inside. Akutagawa hid his surprised look and walked away from him. The weretiger scrambled to chase after him since they were partners assigned by Dazai. However, the mad dog needed none of that. Today was his chance to show-off his growth to his senior after 4 long years. It was also an opportunity to crush him. The mad dog realized that the mission was a blessing in disguise to defeat Atsushi.