女面 - Bungo Stray Dogs Fanfiction

第四話

With the Black Lizard removed from the Agency, it finally came the time to clean up the mess they left. Or rather, as Yosano pointed out, the mess Fumiko made while using the mess Black Lizard brought along. Now that her colleagues (or rather, only Kunikida) thought about it, this wasn't the first time the young detective took such drastic measures to catch the mafia off guard. Whenever she was around during their raids, it somehow left them with more mess and higher cost in maintenance fees. And after seeing how the young detective handled the enemies this time, it's probably best for them that they let her spend the most on repairs and inventory replacement.

Maybe that was why she's exempted from cleaning was occupied with the budget statement. But Atsushi didn't expect Kunikida to actually stop her from cleaning when she volunteered.

"Atsushi-kun, would you like me to help?" she offered.

The said man stopped picking up the files and looked up with a smile. "Sure." he replied, giving a nod as well.

But just as he was about to scoot to the side to let her crouch down, Kunikida quickly approached them. "Enchi-san, you shouldn't spend your energy on cleaning after using your ability." he reminded firmly. "The President said you need time to rest, otherwise your condition will worsen."

'Condition?' repeated the silver-haired man with concern. This was definitely something new, yet unexpected for someone like Fumiko. 'Is Fumiko-san injured? Or is she sick?' Now that he thought about it, perhaps that was why she had pretty prominent dark eye circles.

"Don't worry about it, Kunikida-kun." she reassured. "I can take it slow."

"Do you not see the mess?" he questioned worriedly, trying to convince her not to clean. "There are shards of broken glass that you might accidentally fall on. Or what about the papers? You might even slip on them. Don't get me started on the broken tables and windows and door! What if you accidentally hurt yourself?" As he elaborated on the possible dangers of every mess she might encounter in the office, Fumiko and Atsushi stared at him with deadpanned expressions. The latter couldn't help but wonder if Kunikida was meant to play the role of an overprotective mother of the Agency. "Anyway, just take a rest at where you were sitting earlier and continue with the budget statement. You can even write a report and submit it to the President."

"Okay." was all the young lady could say, followed by a soft sigh. On her way to the desk, she gave Atsushi an apologetic look, to which he gave one of reassurance and pity. But that didn't stop him from being curious.

Once she was back at the desk - sulking and pouting - Atsushi took this as a chance to ask his senior about his colleague's "condition" which he mentioned mere moments ago. After standing up, he quietly asked, "Kunikida-san, you said something about Fumiko-san's condition worsening. Is Fumiko-san alright?"

"Well, this isn't something that should be treated as office gossip." began Kunikida, who glanced over to make sure Fumiko didn't hear her name mentioned. "But as a new member of the Armed Detective Agency, it's bound for you to know a thing or two about your colleagues." Looking back at Atsushi in the eyes, he said, "Enchi-san has always had poor health, even as a child. Because of her condition, she can't use her ability frequently or for too long. Once she uses it, she would need some time to rest for her body to recover before she could use her ability again. This is probably why the President is reluctant to send her on missions that require her to fight, or even let her do tedious activities.

"But for as long as I knew her, she's been doing her best to not let her condition get the best of her. If there's anyone who works the hardest, it's her. She would find ways to contribute to the Agency with her knowledge and intelligence; that way she didn't need to rely on her ability too much. That's how she's able to work her way as one of the best in intelligence gathering. So don't let all this information affect how you've been treating Enchi-san. I don't think she'll appreciate it if she knew that your change of behaviour was because you knew of her condition. It's okay if you're protective of her, but don't treat her like she's made from glass. Always treat her as your equal."