女面 - Bungo Stray Dogs Fanfiction

第二十六話

A quiet evening fell, and so came the sunset, a prelude to the dawn settling to the horizon. The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground, its slanting rays exuberating a warm tinge that graffitied the sky with ablaze hues of orange and purple. Streetlights and headlights from cars zooming along the road shone their yellow-orange lights into the darkening streets.

The door chime rang as the sliding doors opened wide. Fumiko exited the supermarket with a plastic bag of groceries. Tonight's a great bargain, she thought happily, after managing to pick up a decent amount of discounted items. As she walked, her mind began to plan, loud enough to cancel out the sounds of cars driving by.

'Let me see,' she thought. 'What can I do with this 500g of beef? Oh, I know! I can make gyudon for Yukichi. It has been a while since I cooked something for him. Now, what do I need for gyudon? Beef, onions... I think that should be all. I'll even add a soft-boiled egg for him. Thank goodness I managed to buy spring onions. Okay, that settles then. I'll have dinner on the way back, sleep early tonight, and then-'

At that moment, her thoughts came to cease when her gaze landed on a trail of red substance. 'What's this?' she wondered. She looked up, following the trail until it lead her to a corner, turning into the dark alley. Her gaze intensified, and her gut was churning turbulently. Shifting the bag to her left hand, she placed her right hand underneath her blazer, right on the gun strapped to her waist. She continued to follow the trail, cautiously, her heart raced as she braced herself for what was to come at the end.

However, the countless deaths, violence, and gore during her time as an Armed Detective couldn't have prepared her for what she was seeing. There laid a man face down, unconscious with blood slowly pooling beneath him. His face wasn't shown, but the silver hair and green yukata were sufficient clues for her to chuck her groceries aside and dash for him, gasping and sobbing in agony as she screamed for him.

"YUKICHI!"

The door slammed open, and in came a very worried Atsushi. "Is it true the Director was attacked?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah," Kunikida answered, leaning into his swivel chair. "He managed to survive, but he's still unconscious, his condition unexplained. Even with Yosano-sensei's ability, he's not getting any better."

"Lately, similar assassinations have been happening everywhere," began Dazai. He was sitting in the chair across from his bespectacled colleague, placing both hands on the back of his head as he leaned back. "Ability users have been ambushed in deserted places, and some have died."

"What do we know about the attacker?" questioned Kunikida.

"Only that he uses a mysterious ability and that he wears a mask," was Dazai's reply.

"A masked assassin?"

"Though, well, he might wind up dead before we even lift a finger." Upon sensing the silver-haired man's confusion, the detective continued, "Atsushi-kun, who would have the biggest problem with an ability killer making waves in town?"

The said man placed a finger on his chin, pondering. "The Special Ability Bureau?" he guessed.

"Not in this town," Dazai corrected. "It's the opposite. It's Port Mafia. Assassinations outside the knowledge of the Port Mafia rulers of the night and an organisation full of ability users are like having a knife brandished in their face; the ultimate humiliation. Now, if they were to actually lose someone..."

"Their name would be dragged through the mud, right?" continued Kunikida. "But would they really make a move before that?"

""He who makes the first move wins." That is Mori's favourite saying. I guarantee they will. They might've found his hideout already."