Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 6 Chapter 2 Part 4

Chapter 2 Part 4

Akutagawa and Atsushi traversed the building together. It was a bizarre spectacle. The Mafia guards drew their guns on them—once. But the guards were unable to do it a second time. Nobody had the courage. After all, a silent death was everywhere the Port Mafia’s White Reaper walked. He didn’t even order them to lower their weapons, nor did he instruct anyone to not harm the intruder. Atsushi was simply present, quietly walking through the premises. However, every seasoned Mafia soldier, each of whom lived in a world of only violence and domination, instinctively understood: Anyone who even thought of attacking Atsushi or the intruder would be killed before they could pull the trigger.
“The Port Mafia’s White Reaper” wasn’t a name given to Atsushi by his enemies. It was given to him by his Mafia colleagues.
The shadowy beast from hell who was prisoner to an emotion he couldn’t identify.
The one who spread white death wherever he went.
Once his switch was flipped, he would bring death to anyone in his way, be they friend or foe. He was a god of a world beyond any and all comprehension—the White Reaper.
“I’m gonna use this stairwell to go back down to the first floor,” said Tanizaki, who had remained invisible until Akutagawa and Atsushi reached the emergency staircase. After readjusting Kyouka over his shoulder to carry her more easily, he earnestly advised, “Be careful, Akutagawa.”
“I will,” Akutagawa said with a nod. “You can release the girl once I give you the signal. Until then, remain hidden so nobody can find you.”
“Got it.”
Atsushi stared at Tanizaki with a stonelike expression, but the White Reaper didn’t utter a single word. As he walked down the staircase, Tanizaki looked back once more.

“Akutagawa,” he called. “What is it?”
“Earlier, I said the difference between us was that I’m a detective and you’re not.” Tanizaki hesitantly glanced up at Akutagawa. “But that’s not quite right. You’re a detective, too, now. And if you find yourself confronted with a difficult decision on the top floor, I want you to remember that.”
After staring at Tanizaki for a few moments, Akutagawa replied, “Why did you decide to tell me that all of a sudden?”
“Because a hero saves his sister and returns safely with her. That’s why.” Tanizaki briefly smirked before promptly putting on a serious expression. “That was something I realized soon after joining the agency, and I can’t tell you how much it’s saved me.”
Akutagawa stared hard at Tanizaki as if he were searching for the truth, which was hidden away somewhere in his expression.
“Listen, the test doesn’t matter. The moment you believe you’re a detective is the moment you become one. That conviction will give you the power you need. All you have to do is believe.”
Akutagawa observed Tanizaki as if he were trying to grasp the true meaning of what he was saying, but he eventually nodded in acknowledgment.
“Then I will take your word for it. Be careful, Tanizaki.” “You too, Akutagawa.”
Tanizaki began walking down the stairs with the young woman on his shoulders until they eventually vanished into thin air like melting snow.

Akutagawa and Atsushi pressed forward after parting ways with Tanizaki. Once they arrived on the tenth floor, there were no guards in sight. There wasn’t even a sound. The order not to approach the intruder had reached everyone in the Mafia. As if they were walking through an abandoned cemetery, only Akutagawa’s and Atsushi’s footsteps echoed among the silence.
“How high up are you allowed to go?” asked Akutagawa.
Atsushi turned around. He looked like he was trying to keep his emotions in check. Then he replied, “The top floor.”

“It appears I chose the right man to threaten,” taunted Akutagawa with a subtle nod. “Seems you’ve been in this organization longer than I imagined, seeing as you can shut up all those suited guards with a simple stare. How many years have you been in the Mafia?”
Atsushi didn’t respond. Instead, he quietly glared at Akutagawa.
“You don’t have to answer that,” said Akutagawa with a chilling stare. “But do not forget that I could make one phone call and have that girl immediately killed if I feel like it.”
“Don’t…!” pleaded Atsushi with fear in his eyes as he swiftly turned around again. “Okay, okay… Four and a half years ago. I joined the Mafia four and a half years ago.”
“Four and a half years ago…?” Akutagawa narrowed his eyes. “What made you join?”
“Someone asked me to after I got kicked out of the orphanage and was roaming the countryside,” admitted Atsushi while he stared off into space. “He said he would give me what I wanted if I joined the Mafia.”
“This man who asked you to join… Was it the current Port Mafia boss Dazai?”
“That’s right.” Atsushi nodded. “How did you know?”
“I figured as much,” said Akutagawa after pondering for a few moments. “That man appeared before me around the same time four and a half years ago… He ended up choosing you over me to be his new subordinate, though.”
“You? In the Mafia?” Atsushi glanced at Akutagawa. “That’s hard to imagine.”
“I agree. I would never join the Mafia,” declared Akutagawa. “Criminals working for underground organizations make me sick. My friends were killed by—”
Akutagawa suddenly shut his mouth, leaving the hint of his last few words to linger in the air. The two walked in silence for the next few minutes, but by the time they reached the thirtieth floor, Atsushi spoke up again.
“Maybe things would’ve been different…,” murmured Atsushi in a hushed tone, “…if Dazai ended up choosing you over me. But that didn’t happen. Everything he imagines comes to fruition. That’s why you won’t be able to save your sister.”

“What?”
Akutagawa’s expression suddenly changed.
“It’s inevitable. Don’t you get it? Your colleague from the agency said, ‘A hero saves his sister and returns safely with her.’ And maybe he’s right. But you’ll never be a hero—because you will never be a good person. It’s clear as day.”
Akutagawa immediately grabbed Atsushi by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
“Take that back,” growled Akutagawa like a wild beast as Atsushi’s choker creaked.
“Taking back what I said isn’t going to change anything,” Atsushi replied with a curiously calm voice. “In my line of work, you start learning how to distinguish who’s good and who’s evil, whether you want to or not. A man who took a girl hostage to threaten someone and only cares about what benefits him… A man who doesn’t even realize his mission has transformed into nothing more than an appetite for destruction… That’s you. Ever since you’ve arrived, you’ve demanded to see our boss and to be taken to the top floor, but not once have you even asked anyone to bring you your sister—and yet, that’s the one thing you should’ve said the most. Your goal has become satisfying your appetite. That’s just the kind of guy you are, and that’s why you’ll never be able to save your sister.”
Akutagawa’s overcoat swelled, then pinned Atsushi’s entire body against the wall as Akutagawa punched him square in the face.
“You’re wrong!”
He punched Atsushi again and again. Atsushi’s lip split open, and blood splattered against the wall. Akutagawa’s overcoat curled into a giant spear behind him, pointing at Atsushi like a scorpion tail.
“Die…!” “Ryuunosuke, stop.”
A tranquil, dignified voice echoed throughout the room. Akutagawa’s fist froze in the air while he looked in the direction of the voice as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Standing there was a woman in a dark suit. She had long, black hair tied in a ponytail that dangled past her neck. She was quiet—so quiet that she hardly had much of a presence. She was more like a painting that came to life than a living human being.
“Gin,” muttered Akutagawa with disbelief.

“Why did you come, Ryuunosuke?”
Her footsteps didn’t make a sound as she approached him.
“The Mafia will hunt us down for the rest of our lives if you save me.” “I don’t care,” replied Akutagawa. “I will save you no matter who gets
in my way or what the future may bring. I made a vow to myself.” “Yeah…,” uttered Gin with a hint of sorrow on her face. “That’s just the
kind of person you are.”
Gin stopped directly in front of Akutagawa. He threw his arms open, and she immediately jumped into them.
“It’s been so long,” Akutagawa said as he closed his eyes while embracing her. “But I’ve finally gotten you back…after losing you four and a half years ago. It was all my fault.”
“You haven’t gotten me back,” Gin whispered. “You still haven’t gotten anything back.”
The next moment, Akutagawa’s face twisted in agony. He shoved Gin, who didn’t even attempt to move, and she leaped back like a small animal, creating some distance between them.
Akutagawa squeezed his side. Sticking out of it was a dagger with a thin, silver blade that shone like a shooting star.
“Gin…,” muttered Akutagawa, his countenance stricken with pain. “Why…?”
Gin stood quietly as she stared at her brother’s face.
“The boss was right,” she grumbled while shaking her head. Her black ponytail fluttered, peculiarly amplified as it brushed against her shoulders. “You were about to kill Atsushi…even though you needed him to save me.”
“No, I…”
Akutagawa’s clothes began drowning in blood that continued oozing out of his wound.
“You don’t care about me, Ryuunosuke.” Gin lowered her gaze with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“You’re wrong… I wanted…to save—”
“I’m not wrong. Because you were no different that day, either.” Gin’s penetrating voice cut Akutagawa off. “You became a prisoner of anger and vengeance that day. You disappeared into the forest to kill those men. But why? Why did you leave me behind when I was injured?”
Her eyes were judging him—accusing him. Gin’s gaze was cold, sharp, and relentless. “Because…”
“If you really wanted vengeance—if you really wanted to avenge your friends—you would’ve come up with a plan before attacking. You would’ve stood by until your wounds healed, researched your enemy, and patiently waited for your chance. But you didn’t do that. You left me behind when I was injured and rushed right into battle without so much as a plan. It was like you were enjoying the flames of revenge.”
“No… Gin… I…,” Akutagawa sputtered.
“If I’m wrong, then prove it. Convince me. Prove to me that you had some sort of grand scheme that day. Prove to me that you didn’t just want to destroy the world you despised like some wild beast.” Gin’s eyes faintly narrowed. “Please. Say something.”
“I…” Akutagawa began to speak. He had the perfect explanation. “I…” He thought he had the perfect explanation.
“I…”
The perfect explanation was somewhere. He just needed five, no, ten seconds, and he would be able to convince her. But even after thirty seconds went by, Akutagawa remained frozen, staring at the floor. Not a single word came out of his opened mouth. Gin lowered her gaze in despair and shook her head.
“The boss said you’d only use me as an excuse again if I returned…” Gin turned her back to Akutagawa. “An excuse to destroy everything around you. I feel the same way. That’s why I can’t be with you anymore.”
She then looked away from Akutagawa and began walking off.
“No! Gin, wait! The boss plans on killing you! You mustn’t go back!”
Gin suddenly halted. “I know,” she muttered. “I pleaded with him to sacrifice my life to spare yours. That’s the only way you can survive. Farewell, Ryuunosuke.”
Gin dashed off. “Stop! Gin, wait!”
Akutagawa began to chase after her while holding his side, but Gin was as swift as a small animal. Not even a few seconds went by before he lost sight of her.
“Why? I only came here to save you! That’s the only reason! Really, it is!”

He sprinted after his little sister.
After a few moments went by, Atsushi began to chase after them as well, but he suddenly stopped. He was getting a call from the boss on his handheld transceiver.
“Don’t go after them,” ordered Dazai. “I already know what happened. Your job is to stall him.”
“Boss—Dazai.” Atsushi bent an ear to his own transceiver. “Are you
watching us on the monitors in the security office?”
“No. I’m somewhere else, but I know what’s going on. I know that you betrayed us and were helping the enemy to save Kyouka as well.”
“‘Betrayed’?! No, I—”
“I know. That’s why I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.” Dazai seemed both serious and amused at the same time. “I knew about Kyouka’s weakness long before this
happened. I understood that the enemy could use Demon Snow as a weapon, so I installed a device that records everything said into the phone.”
“Wait…” Atsushi knitted his brow. “Then that means—”
“I can edit the audio and change Demon Snow’s orders.”
After leaving the Mafia headquarters, Tanizaki headed over to the detective agency’s truck parked nearby and hid in the truck bed.
“Hmm… Only thirty minutes until sundown,” he anxiously muttered while checking his watch. “I really hope Akutagawa’s doing okay…”
All of a sudden, Kyouka’s cell phone rang until it randomly answered itself, and a voice started to come out of it.
“Demon…Snow.”
The audio was full of static and the voice seemed somewhat synthesized, but it was undoubtedly Akutagawa speaking.
“Stop… Do not…kill your master Kyouka.”
“What the…?!”
Tanizaki grabbed the phone in a fluster, but it wouldn’t turn on no matter what button he pressed. Someone had turned it off remotely. Hovering over

Kyouka’s unconscious body, Demon Snow gently nodded before disappearing.
Inside the Mafia headquarters, Atsushi held his handheld transceiver in disbelief.
“I took sound bites of Akutagawa’s voice when he gave the order and spliced them together to make a different order, then played it through Kyouka’s cell phone.” Dazai was the epitome of calm. “After that, I remotely cut the phone off, so they couldn’t make any
new orders to threaten you.”
“So that means Kyouka’s—”
“She’s safe now… Well, I wish I could say that, but there’s another thing I’m worried about,” began Dazai. “Kyouka is still being held captive by the enemy. In other words, if
Akutagawa finds out what happened, he might contact his colleagues and have Kyouka killed. Of course, I plan on finding her, but it’s going to be hard, since her captor can create illusions and essentially disappear with his skill. There’s only one way we can be certain she’ll be okay.”
“I need to kill Akutagawa before he gives orders to kill her…,” replied
Atsushi so calmly that he sounded delirious. He tightly squeezed the transceiver in his hand.
“Save Kyouka, Atsushi.”
The connection cut off. Atsushi curled forward as he held the now silent handheld transceiver. His back trembled from the fear that had nowhere else to go.
But that trembling found an exit, and it suddenly stopped. “‘Those who fail to protect others do not deserve to live.’”
Atsushi shifted his gaze forward, a cold, pale fire burning in his eyes.