Chapter 17 Do you want to come down and swim for a while?

After leaving the leader's office and returning to her own office, Hayato Takanashi's face was so expressionless that even Gin was surprised.

You know, Miss Takanashi, who has always been cheerful and lively, has never encountered such a situation before. Yin wanted to ask, but retreated in the silence of his boss.

Not in the mood to work, Hayana Takanashi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the high-rise building diagonally opposite.

That was the cadre building where Dazai Osamu was located.

Does Dazai know about the leader's suspicion?

His request to take responsibility in the morning was exposed and rejected. Was this an action Dazai deliberately carried out in public to distance himself from her?

My mind races at once...

Hayana Takanashi couldn't come to a conclusion.

She didn't have Dazai's absolutely brilliant mind, nor did she have Ranpo's powerful ability to see the answer at a glance. She couldn't quickly see through the truth from the details.

After finally getting off work, she rushed towards the building where Dazai Osamu was, and her speed was so fast that no one could keep up with her.

"Bang--"

Push open the door of Dazai Osamu's office with force.

Seeing that there was no one inside, Hayato Yasana opened her eyes wide in surprise: "He's not here?"

Every time it was time to leave work, Dazai would spend the day in the office processing the pile of documents he had accumulated. During the day, he'd be on various missions, interrogating prisoners, teaching his subordinates interrogation, tracking, and counter-reconnaissance techniques, taunting and teasing Chuuya, and training Akutagawa Ryunosuke. At night, he'd be dealing with collaborations with other organizations, threatening and eliminating enemy forces, or intimidating those involved in the case at hand.

All in all, Dazai Osamu was very busy.

He was so busy that he could only use the evening to deal with the documents piled up during the day.

Hayana Kotori once asked him why he kept himself so busy, and he replied like this:

"The more missions you undertake and the more darkness you encounter, the more you will come into contact with the truth of death."

In response to his emo, mournful answer, Hayana Kotori just looked at him quietly, then took out the fried chicken bento prepared by Kotori's mother and asked, "Do you want to eat?"

Dazai Osamu liked the cooking skills of Totoro's mother very much, and he would be happy for a while every time he ate the food.

The same is true this time.

But on the evening after get off work today, she did not see Dazai Osamu. His desk was clean, without even a single document waiting to be processed.

"...I should have called earlier."

Muttering this, Hayana Takanashi grabbed Dazai's subordinate and asked him where Dazai was.

The other party gave the answer——

The Port Mafia's underground torture chamber.

In the basement of the Port Mafia Building, there is an interrogation facility specifically used to interrogate enemy prisoners. Stationed there is an interrogation team, led by Ozaki Kouyo, one of the five major cadres.

There are two situations in which Dazai Osamu will appear in the torture chamber.

One was the interrogation of the prisoners brought back from the mission he was responsible for, and the other was that the interrogation team encountered very difficult problems.

Unlike Dazai Osamu who frequently went in and out of torture chambers, Hayana Takanashi would not easily set foot in such a place without necessary reasons.

It's not just because Kotori's mother is sensitive to the smell of blood and it's difficult to cover it up, but also because her real identity is an undercover agent. When she sees people hanging there, she always has the absurd idea that she will be hung there in the future.

It would be even more terrifying if she was hung there and Dazai was in charge of interrogating her!

As soon as you enter the underground torture chamber, the first thing that hits your nose is a mixture of damp, bloody and physically uncomfortable smells, followed by darkness.

Walking on the road, you can hear faint groans or shrill screams of struggle from time to time.

The torture chamber where Dazai Osamu was interrogated was the one at the very end.

Looking up, I saw the girl walking steadily in a deep and dark corridor, surrounded by the darkest colors of the port mafia.

It is the bloody evil lurking beneath the city.

When Hayana Takanashi pushed open the door, Dazai Osamu's interrogation was almost over.

"Akutagawa-kun, it seems the enemy's men are much smarter than you."

As soon as I opened the door, I heard Dazai Osamu's pointed and encouraging ridicule, followed by Akutagawa Ryunosuke's unwilling rebuttal -

"It's just this kind of... cough cough cough... I can do it too! Even better than him! Cough cough cough..."

Squeak——

The iron door made a heavy sound.

Dazai Osamu glanced behind him with gloomy eyes, and his expression changed instantly when he saw the person coming.

"It's Hayana~" He raised his hand and greeted the girl who walked in with a smile, "Why are you here?"

Hayana Kotori looked up at him. Behind the boy was the silent Ryunosuke Akutagawa and his subordinates who dared not breathe.

The atmosphere in the room was unusually tense.

Every time Dazai Osamu used torture methods, it would create this terrifying effect.

Hayana Kotori casually glanced at the man hanging on the wall, her tone as usual: "Your subordinates said you were here."

"Huh?"

The boy tilted his head slightly, like a little animal thinking, and then a happy smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Hayasana came to see me in the office."

"Can you wait for me for a moment?" His voice was low, but his attitude was soft. "I'm still working overtime."

Dazai Osamu usually showed this attitude, indicating that it didn't matter whether he worked overtime or not.

Hayana Kotori, who knew him very well, grabbed the boy's hand and, in front of the boy's surprised eyes, pulled him out.

"No overtime today, let's go enjoy life!"

This was the last echo that Ryunosuke Akutagawa heard.

Dazai Osamu's initial struggling voice turned into joyful cheers after the girl said that. After the two voices disappeared, Akutagawa Ryunosuke looked at the hung prisoner with a gloomy look.

captive:"……"

So I am a part of your play?

…

“Where are we going to enjoy ourselves?”

Dazai Osamu, who was originally reluctant, is now extremely excited!

"...Do you have any recommendations for places?" Without having any place in mind, Hayana Kotori left the decision to him.

"The Holy Land of Water, Riverside."

Dazai Osamu placed his fingers in the shape of an "eight" beside his chin and spoke the location in an unusually low and pretentious voice.

Then, with sparkling eyes, he asked, "Hey, how's this place?"

“…”

"Not very good."

Hayana Kotori was speechless.

I must be crazy to let him decide where to play!

"The Holy Land of Poisons: Kajii Laboratory."

"He'll use a lemon bomb to blow it up, right?" Not wanting to be the supporting actor next to Dazai Osamu, Hayana Kotori made the decision: "Let's go to the rooftop pool."

The approaching summer season is very suitable for swimming.

The top roof of the Port Mafia headquarters building.

There is not only a helicopter pad, but also a swimming pool, tennis courts, golf, billiards and other relaxing and entertaining places.

Standing on the rooftop of a building several hundred meters high, stepping on the expensive artificial turf, Dazai Osamu said "Oh" with a moist look in his eyes: "This is a holy place for jumping off buildings."

Hayana Kotori elbowed him: "What are you talking about? We are here to swim!"

How come he can always mention a "holy place" wherever he goes?

"Hi hi~" Dazai Osamu responded, his emotionless eyes gradually softening.

The surface of the swimming pool in the spacious venue is dyed golden, and looking into the distance you can see the setting sun, a bright red.

The scenery you can enjoy here is absolutely beautiful. From a high vantage point, you can take in everything you see, and even the setting sun in the distance seems to be within your reach.

The water temperature was just right after being exposed to the scorching sun all day.

A figure wrapped in bandages and wearing black swimming trunks over the bandages was tumbling freely in the water.

On the edge of the swimming pool, Hayana Kotori, wearing a swimsuit and a white shirt, lay on a lounge chair, closing her eyes and enjoying the rare quiet time.

Well, anyway, all we have to do is keep an eye on Dazai and make sure nothing happens to him!

Thinking of a solution, she curled up the corners of her lips into a faint smile, and her already beautiful cheeks were coated with a faint warm halo under the sunlight.

The girl's legs, exposed from under her shirt, were straight and slender, eye-catching, her face was filled with satisfaction, and a bandaged object in the water was slowly swimming towards her.

The room was filled with a relaxed holiday atmosphere.

"Gulululu~Gulululu~Gululululu..."

The sound of spitting bubbles could not be ignored. Hayana Takanashi half opened her eyes, sat up and looked at Dazai Osamu who was floating on the shore with his mouth submerged in the water looking at her.

The boy was soaking wet, with curly hair hanging in front of his forehead, water droplets running down his fair cheeks, and the bandage wrapped around his right eye made him look particularly pitiful.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Dazai Osamu lay on the shore with a few water droplets on his face, like a mermaid lying on a reef.

"Wouldn't you like to come down and swim for a while?" He suggested softly with a smile on his lips, "The water temperature is just right."

Hayana Kotori refused: "No, I want to bask in the sun for a while."

“It’s all sunset.”

“The sunset is also very good.”

"Come to think of it, diving into the water at sunset is a very beautiful thing."

As he spoke, Dazai Osamu sank down again. When the water level reached his ears, he heard the girl's voice: "I thought you knew?"

Floating up, he looked curious: "What?"

"You should have realized that committing suicide in front of me is futile."

At this point, she paused and complained about the other person's attire: "Besides, who would bandage themselves while swimming?"

Fortunately, this is a private swimming pool. If it were outside, a bandage monster swimming around in the water... would cause the social death of his companions!

"Saana said she wanted to swim, and she was still sunbathing with her shirt on." Dazai Osamu leaned back on the water, slowly kicking his legs and floating back and forth.

"You sound like you're interested in my figure."

"I can also show Hayana my figure~ the secret hidden under the bandages!"

"What's so good about your skinny body?"

A third voice appeared on the scene, its ending tone full of youthful energy and deep magnetism.

"Hey? What's Chuuya talking about, wearing his shirt like a windbreaker?"

"Huh?! I'll kill you! Suicidal bastard!!"

"Chuuya?" After texting him where she was, Hayato Yato looked at the ochre-haired boy with an angry expression with joy: "Have you finished what you were doing?"

Nakahara Chuuya hummed, and when his eyes fell on the girl who was only wearing a shirt and a swimsuit, he looked away as if he was burned.

He took off his coat and handed it over.

Under the latter's puzzled gaze, he explained awkwardly: "The temperature is a bit cold."

The next second, he was splashed with water from the sky.

A crossroads popped up on his forehead, and Nakahara Chuuya looked towards the swimming pool with wet eyes.

Dazai Osamu, soaking in the pool, held a water gun in his hand, made a sharpshooter's pose, and smiled provocatively: "It's not just the weather that's getting cold, Chuuya's brain needs to cool down too, right?"