Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 5 Chapter 6 Part 2

6—2

The wind howled. Dust danced in the air as the red fog whirled about. Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, now with a red crystal shining on his forehead, grinned with ecstasy as he stood among the ruins of Skull Fortress. Broken shards of glass glimmered in the moonlight. A shadowy figure casually approached him.
“Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, correct?”
The man with the sharp, cold voice was Akutagawa, but without even waiting for an answer, he promptly summoned Rashomon.
“Tenma Tengai!”
Black fabric instantly expanded, wrapping around Akutagawa’s limbs before covering his entire body. In this form, he was using Rashomon’s blades not as a weapon but instead as armor. This was his strongest form, but he could only maintain it for a short amount of time.
“Oh?” Shibusawa’s eyes sparkled with intrigue. “So you two are skill users as well… I thought everyone would be dead by now.”
“You two?”
Bewildered, Akutagawa looked around until he found Kyouka standing right behind him. He slightly knit his brow. “What are you doing here?”
Undeterred, Kyouka indifferently replied, “I just want him to live in the light.”
It wasn’t lip service. Her words were genuine as she faced Shibusawa with determination.
“I’ll take care of him…” Her eyes locked on Shibusawa as she cried, “Demon Snow!”
Her skill materialized, and its sword sliced through the air, creating a huge impact in the space.
Akutagawa and Kyouka. Rashomon and Demon Snow.
Shibusawa looked at their skills and made his excitement no surprise. “Amazing… Never did I dream that anyone—two people at that—would take their skill back!”
Kyouka glared at Shibusawa as he smiled like an innocent child.
“It’s not just the two of us,” she said, to which Shibusawa narrowed his eyes.
After all, she knew that the skill users of Yokohama wouldn’t go down so easily.

Amid the confines of the mist, the leader of the Port Mafia, Ougai Mori, muttered to no one in particular, “It’s finally come to this…” He gazed at the red fog covering the sky. “What do you plan on doing, Dazai?”
However, he didn’t seem all that concerned. It was as if the situation were but an afterthought.
“At any rate, I suppose I should be more worried about myself right now.” Ougai heaved a sigh while taking out a handful of scalpels. An adorable little girl on the other side of the fog leaped out at him.
“Guh… Elise!” Ougai winced. “I love you, Rintarou!”
Elise wasted no time in kicking Ougai to the ground. On her forehead glowed a red crystal.
Ougai tumbled before coming to a stop. “Even the fake you is adorable, Elise! I can’t bring myself to hurt you.” While it may have sounded like sarcasm to an outsider, Ougai was entirely serious. He watched a giant syringe materialize in the girl’s arms. “Now,” he started. “The optimal solution would be—”
He suddenly heard metal hitting metal. It was the sound of two swords clashing. Ougai knew this rhythm. Having a good idea who the sword’s wielder was, he looked over to find the president of the Armed Detective Agency fighting his own skill nearby. The two Yukichi Fukuzawas were facing each other with swords in hand.
Their gruesome swordfight was reminiscent of a dance, and Ougai’s eyes could hardly keep up with their speed. Through labored breaths, Fukuzawa said, “A swordsman with the same skill set as myself… Normally, I would be honored to have such a sparring partner, but…”
“I possess an even more perfect spirit,” Fukuzawa’s skill claimed softly. “While your talents may be unmatched, your swordsmanship is too sincere. You cannot defeat me with a sword that knows no guile.”
“…!”
Fukuzawa narrowed his eyes and scowled as his own skill brazenly lectured him. Ougai suddenly called out to him, and Fukuzawa glanced in his direction.
“What a coincidence, Doctor Mori.”
“Having a little trouble there, Mr. Fukuzawa?” As Ougai approached, it was apparent from his expression that he had a plan. Fukuzawa noticed and immediately knew what he was getting at.
“I believe I just figured out how to solve it,” Fukuzawa replied. “Excellent. Our typical actions are most effective at times like these, are
they not?”
With their backs to each other, they shared their intentions without ever voicing them. They knew what the other wanted.
As Elise charged toward Ougai with her giant syringe, Fukuzawa’s skill readied its sword. Immediately, Fukuzawa and Ougai traded places. Fukuzawa sliced through the crystal on Elise’s forehead while Ougai threw a scalpel as a distraction before pulling out a pistol and shooting the gem on Fukuzawa’s skill. Fukuzawa had no problem attacking Elise, and Ougai had no problem with being cunning. They had switched enemies to better suit their compatibilities.
“So those scalpels aren’t your only weapons…” Fukuzawa turned his back to Ougai. “I’ll have to be more careful from now on.”
Ougai cynically smirked at Fukuzawa, who began to walk away. “You showed no mercy, even to a cute little girl. The lone swordsman Silver Wolf is one wicked man.”
“That was nothing more than a monster,” promptly replied Fukuzawa. By the time he finished his sentence, an adorable young girl appeared before Ougai.
“What do you think you’re doing leaving me behind, Rintarou?!” There was no red crystal on the pouting little girl’s forehead anymore.
“Ah, Elise… The one and true Elise.” Ougai pathetically grinned from ear to ear.
“A monster either way if you ask me,” said Fukuzawa as he disappeared
into the distance. It was evident that both of them had regained their skills after destroying the crystals.