Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 6 Chapter 1 Part 4

Chapter 1 Part 4

The platoon leader dropped to his knees. Even after the footsteps faded into the distance and the dark silence returned, he remained curled up in a ball, trembling like a child.
After retiring from the warehouse, Kyouka and Atsushi walked down the path along the seaside, coldly lit under the streetlamps. But less than a minute later, Atsushi suddenly lost his balance and fell to his knees.
“Are you okay?” Kyouka rushed over.
“I-I’m…fine, Kyouka,” Atsushi painfully moaned. “I was just… transformed…for a long time tonight… That’s all…”
Kyouka swiftly opened Atsushi’s overcoat, exposing his neck, which was hidden beneath his tall stand-up collar.
A large, sturdy iron choker was strapped around Atsushi’s neck. Both sides were adorned with clawlike spikes. Each spike dug into his skin, sending several streams of blood trickling down his body.
“You need to take that off.”
Kyouka reached out to remove the choker.
“It’s fine.” Atsushi groaned in agony. “Without this restraint and the pain…I can’t control the tiger’s power. I’d be putting you in danger if I ever lost control.”
“But—”
“Allow us to take you back, Sir Atsushi.”
A group of men in black suits were standing in the darkness where the streetlamps’ light couldn’t reach.
“Hiro…tsu…” Atsushi painfully smirked while holding the back of his neck. “And everyone in Black Lizard, too… Thanks for…keeping watch for us…”
The dozen or so suited men bowed in unison.
“It appears you have annihilated the enemy as planned. Excellent work, sir.” The middle-aged gentleman standing at the head of the group faintly nodded at Atsushi. “Now, if you would please come back with us to headquarters for treatment. You can report to the boss after that.”
“All right,” Atsushi said with a nod. “The boss’s plan went smoothly as always… We lured the enemy into the darkness and annihilated them. He even knew where to place Kyouka…because he saw through their bomb tactic.”
Atsushi unsteadily pushed off his knee and stood back up.
“I need to see the boss right away. I’ve already got another mission lined up,” said Atsushi while looking straight ahead. “That man saved me from hell and let me join the organization. Whatever he wants me to do, I do.”
Atsushi then began to walk, carrying the weight of darkness on his shoulders but wearing an innocent expression on his face.
“Tell the boss—tell Dazai I’ll be there soon.”

The door to the café opened, and a tall man walked inside.
“Oh,” squeaked Tanizaki after turning around to see who came in. “Glad you could make it. What took you so long?”
“You’re late,” commented Kunikida after looking over at the new arrival. “The newcomer you invited caused a scene while you were out doing who knows what. Hurry up and take care of it.”
The tall man scratched his head and muttered, “Yeah, sorry about that.”
He tottered over to their table, faced the waitress who had tripped a moment ago and was exhaustingly wiping the floor, then quietly placed his order: “I’ll have the curry.”
He then took a seat next to Akutagawa. Dressed in a sand-colored coat, the man had reddish-copper hair and a five-o’clock shadow. It was difficult to get a read on him from his expression. It always seemed that he was both concentrating on something, yet thinking about nothing at the same time.
“So? Why were you late, Oda?” asked Kunikida.
“The old lady at the tobacco shop down the street kept talking and wouldn’t let me go,” Oda said simply.
“Again?” Kunikida frowned. “Chatty old folks really seem to like you. At any rate, although it’s wonderful that you respect your elders, you can’t be three hours late to work. You have to start saying no to them from time to time.”
“I did. Nobody takes me seriously,” Oda replied, looking incredulous.
“I really can’t tell when you’re being serious sometimes…,” replied Kunikida with a troubled stare. “At least make it look like you’re not enjoying yourself so they’ll realize you want to go home.”
“I do, but nobody notices.” “Really? Show me.”
Oda stared blankly at Kunikida in silence. After a few seconds had passed, Kunikida’s expression turned suspicious, and he asked, “How much longer is this going to take?”
“I’m doing it right now.”
“Oh… Uh-huh…,” replied Kunikida with an exhausted sigh.
Tanizaki noticed the troubled looks on their faces and tried to change the subject.
“Uh… Akutagawa, I’m sure you already know who he is, but allow me to formally introduce you. This is Sakunosuke Oda. He’s been a detective at the agency for two years now, and from today on, he’s going to be your mentor.”
“I look forward to working with you, Oda.” Akutagawa bowed his head reverently.
“Me too.” Oda nodded without changing his expression. “You been eating?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Right after Oda nodded, the waitress gently placed his plate of curry in front of him. Oda gave her an acknowledging look.
“If you hadn’t found me, I would have surely perished at that riverbank,” said Akutagawa.
Watching Akutagawa submissively lower his head, Kunikida mentioned, “Oda has a habit of going out of his way to help orphans in need, after all.”
“I just felt like it,” commented Oda before digging his silver spoon into the curry and taking a bite. “…This curry isn’t spicy. At all. Did they give me something off the kids’ menu?”
Oda turned around in his seat and called out to the waitress standing in the back.
“Excuse me, waitress? Do you think you could switch this—?”
That was when Akutagawa attacked Oda using one of his deadly cloth blades without any warning, seemingly out of the blue. Its sharp point was aimed straight for Oda’s head; Oda wouldn’t see it coming from his blind spot. One hit, and Oda would be swiftly and silently decapitated.
Oda used his spoon to parry the blade and send it off course…all without even looking back at what was attacking him. The cloth blade passed right by his face, scorching the air. After glancing in its direction, Oda continued, “Do you think you could switch this curry out for something a little spicier?”
The waitress let him know she would be right back with a spicy curry. “What…?”
Meanwhile, the detectives watching the attempted murder froze in mute amazement. Eventually, Kunikida managed to squeak, “What the hell was that?”
“It’s not curry if it isn’t spicy,” Oda replied, turning to his fellow detective.
“That’s not what I meant!” shouted Kunikida. “New guy! What the hell did you just do?! Because to me, it was pretty clear you were trying to slice off his head!”
“Why do you ask?” answered Akutagawa as two more blades of fabric pierced the air. The gray blades were precisely aimed for Oda’s face and heart, but Oda slightly tilted his head to the side and leaned back, dodging both attacks. Not once did Oda ever even glance at the blades.
“Hey!”
“He suddenly tried to attack me when I found him at the riverbank,” Oda explained with the utmost nonchalance. “But when I repelled his attacks, he said he wanted me to teach him how to become stronger. I told him I didn’t know how to train people, but I could give him some guidance if he joined the agency. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.”
Oda gestured at Akutagawa, who nodded back and said, “I am very fortunate. I’ve never met someone as talented as Oda.”
Meanwhile, Akutagawa swung another blade of fabric at Oda, who smoothly parried it with his spoon.
“No…no, no, no…” Kunikida shook his head. “While Oda’s skill is extremely powerful…what kind of person tries to attack someone in the middle of a restaurant?! Enough! Go to a dojo if you want to train!”
“I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble if my enemy was at a dojo,” griped Akutagawa with a piercing glare. “I could be walking down the road when I encounter them, or inside a restaurant, or even inside a train. I need to be prepared to fight regardless of the location, or this will all have been for naught.”
“Your ‘enemy’?”
“There are apparently two people he wants to kill,” Oda said while looking at Akutagawa. “That’s why he’s been honing his skill so much.”
“One of them is a man—I have no idea who he is, nor what he looks like,” added Akutagawa. “I simply call him the ‘man in black.’ He kidnapped my younger sister, so I plan on killing him and saving her.”
“Your younger sister?” Tanizaki’s eyes opened wide as he stared at Akutagawa. “Oh… No wonder you were so angry earlier when we were talking about my sister.”
Naomi looked at Akutagawa and asked, “Do you have any idea where she might be? Any leads?”
“Not the slightest. I don’t even know if she’s still alive.” A faint light wavered in Akutagawa’s normally expressionless eyes. “But I will find her.”
“So that’s why you wanted to join the agency.” Kunikida crossed his arms. “It makes sense. You can browse the city police’s records on missing people at the agency, and you can easily get your hands on information about various underground organizations. However…”
Tanizaki took over for Kunikida with a troubled expression.
“It’s not going to be easy finding someone in a big city like this.” “Giggle… It appears you’re all forgetting something,” Naomi mirthfully
suggested as her lips curled into a grin. “Akutagawa, you made a wise choice joining the agency. And that’s because there isn’t an organization in the world better suited to finding your missing little sister.”
Naomi looked at everyone in an amused manner, then began speaking in a hushed voice as if she was telling a secret. “Wouldn’t you all agree? You all know as well as I do that he should be able to find Akutagawa’s sister.”
“Oh, yeah.” “True…” “You’re right.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Akutagawa, you’re going to be reunited with your sister in no time.” Naomi stood up with a smile. “Anyway, shall we go? I’m about to introduce you to the greatest detective in the world!”