Chapter 119 Yokohama 1 (minor revision, no impact)
After the war.
The collector who fell into madness and delusion was finally defeated by the white tiger and the black dog. After the "Ryuhiko no Ma" was broken, the mist that enveloped Yokohama dissipated, and a ray of rosy clouds rose from the sea.
Seeing the figures of the Armed Detective Society members from afar, Akutagawa Ryunosuke had no intention of joining the family reunion of the hostile organization. The black coat became tattered due to the thrilling battle, and several wounds on the body were bleeding, but the black-haired heartless dog still had a cold face and left alone without looking back.
Collapsed high-rise buildings, cracked ground, and the air among the ruins still smelling of gunpowder and smoke. Just by looking at the scene after the disaster, one can imagine the tragic consequences of this disaster.
As the guerrilla leader of the port mafia and the person in charge of an underground casino, Akutagawa Ryunosuke has more than just "fighting" on his mind.
He frowned, his face still expressionless, but his obsidian pupils were noticeably gloomier.
Before leaving the Skeleton, Akutagawa spotted his senior and paused. "...Mr. Chuuya?"
Why are you still here?
The young man he addressed with honorifics was leaning against a collapsed stone, his hat not on his head but pressed against his side by his hands. His bright ochre hair was stained with dust and fluttered gently in the breeze.
His posture was casual and his expression was calm, as if he was soundly asleep. But when his cobalt blue eyes suddenly opened, a sharp gleam flashed in them, without a trace of sleepiness.
“…It’s you.”
Nakahara Chuuya saw Akutagawa. He reached out and pressed the bridge of his nose. His voice was hoarse, revealing fatigue.
That's true. If anyone had used his supernatural powers to suppress and beat the dragon for so long, he would have died by now. Even someone as strong as Chuuya Nakahara was too tired to move a finger.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke walked towards the executive officer, wanting to use his supernatural powers to help him up.
Just as a tip of the black cloth appeared, Nakahara Chuuya waved his hand at him and leaned back, "You go back first, let me stay for a while."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke didn't quite understand, but still obeyed the order and nodded silently.
He had not taken a few steps when his gaze was suddenly caught by something and his black pupils widened instantly.
He seemed to have suddenly thought of something and turned his head eagerly to prove it: "Hit—"
The ochre-haired young man in the center of his sight did not hear the syllables he interrupted midway. He lowered his head and carefully lifted the top hat at his side with unprecedented gentleness.
If there were other people present, they would surely be unable to suppress their curiosity - to be worthy of the gravity to treat it so preciously, is it a priceless gem or a life-threatening secret?
However, there was nothing.
Except for a dying flower.
The young, tender, white petals, which had not yet grown, swayed gently in the wind after losing their protection, and then closed at a slow but visible speed.
The ochre-haired young man raised his lips, and the deep blue in his eyes almost overflowed.
He shook his head to someone, closed his eyes, said nothing, and stretched out his hand to block the wind for it.
…
…
As soon as the fog disappeared, the people from the Special Powers Special Agent Department rushed to the scene.
Repairing damaged buildings, comforting employees afterwards, facing financial bankruptcy and countless troubles that followed... The relaxation after surviving the disaster only lasted for a few minutes before they had to plunge back into busy work.
Ango Sakaguchi stood in the area worst hit by the disaster, surrounded by his colleagues from the Special Agent Division who were busy taking notes. His scalp was tingling and he couldn't help but sigh heavily.
Hearing his subordinates calling him from behind, Sakaguchi Ango was interrupted in his thoughts and raised his head to respond.
Just as he turned around, the green stems and leaves of a plant appeared in a position almost in the blind spot of his vision.
He stopped in surprise, and his colleagues' incredulous discussions also became louder.
"Look over there, there's that piece, is it my eyes playing tricks on me?"
"You must be kidding. How can flowers grow in a place like this?"
"That's a superpower, right? Is there a superpower in Yokohama who can control plants?"
The sudden emergence of clusters of plants in the ruins should have been a scene that made people wary and cautious, but miraculously they did not feel any uneasiness.
In just a few dozen seconds of trance, the plant quickly revealed its true form. The buds wrapped in calyx leaves gradually blossomed, and the white petals spread out, shedding a little light.
The fluorescent light fell on the scarred surface, smoothing out the cracks in the ground like healed a wound.
The surroundings suddenly fell into silence so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. I didn't know how much time had passed before I heard screams and gasps of disbelief from the surroundings.
As far as their vision could reach, everything returned to normal, as if the war had never happened.
At this moment, Sakaguchi Ango's eyes, which were always calm behind his glasses, were in a long state of shock.
His subordinates were reporting something to him in shock and excitement, but he couldn't hear a word they said. His heart was pounding, and he frantically took out his cell phone, but suddenly stopped when he was about to press the call button.
...Dazai-kun must have anticipated what he saw now.
After a long silence, Sakaguchi Ango put away his phone, reluctantly looked away from the flowers, and let out a long sigh.
…
…
Armed detective agency.
What greeted the knights who defeated the dragon was not cake and applause, but an office in a mess that looked like it had been violently demolished.
After staring at each other for a while, the people who had just experienced a fierce battle had no choice but to pick up brooms and rags and join in a new battle.
The black-haired, green-eyed detective sat cross-legged on the only intact tabletop, eating snacks with gusto, and occasionally speaking out a few words to remind the members who were too busy to turn around.
By the time the cleanup was almost done, the sun had moved to the center.
"So, in fact, everything is in Mr. Dazai's plan, right?" Nakajima Atsushi whispered to the senior who loved to be a mystery teller in the detective agency, "It's obviously for the protection of this city. It would be better if Mr. Dazai could be more honest."
"If I'm being honest, I wouldn't be like Dazai." Ranpo Edogawa replied incoherently with potato chips in his mouth.
The white-haired boy nodded in agreement: "That's true - ah, that's right!"
He suddenly remembered something extremely important, and hurried to Dazai Osamu, who was lying on the windowsill in the sun, with a nervous look on his face: "Mr. Dazai, the other day I recommended Mr. Oda to go on a business trip to Tokyo, could this also be part of your plan——"
"I don't have Odasaku's ability to predict the future, Atsushi-kun." Dazai Osamu interrupted him leisurely.
The black-haired young man was wearing a slim-fitting shirt and vest. He changed his posture and leaned against the windowsill. His iris-colored eyes were so bright that they were almost transparent in the sunlight.
He raised his chin towards the door and said with a smile, "Jinghua is calling you."
Nakajima Atsushi exclaimed "Ah", turned around and saw the kimono girl looking around. He ignored the previous problem, put down the broom and hurried to look for Kagamika.
Dazai Osamu narrowed his eyes, raised his bandaged hand to his eyes, half shielding the dazzling sunlight, and stared blankly at the blue sky outside the window. He seemed to be absent-minded today, and he had been absent-minded quite a lot.
But before he could be distracted for too long, he heard the voice of his junior calling him again.
"Just leave it here! Hey, Mr. Dazai, can you put your coat on the hanger?"
Dazai Osamu had to turn his head helplessly again, ready to tell Nakajima Atsushi not to ask him about this kind of thing in the future. However, the next second, his eyes widened in a daze.
Nakajima Atsushi, who was holding a pot of flowers in his hands, didn't notice his abnormality. Seeing him staring at them blankly, he thought he was curious, so he volunteered to explain: "This is the flower we just picked up downstairs. It almost withered, but it seems to be better after watering it. Jinghua and I plan to keep it."
"That's amazing, Mr. Dazai! I looked it up and found that Epiphyllum only blooms at night. I didn't expect to see it during the day. It's so beautiful!"
Nakajima Atsushi became more and more excited as he spoke, and wanted to let his respected senior observe this small miracle up close. Just as he lifted the flowerpot, he saw the black-haired young man suddenly take a big step back.
“…It looks good.”
Dazai Osamu looked at the pure white flower and smiled reluctantly, his voice ending a little unsteady: "...Please take it away from me."
"Eh?" Nakajima Atsushi was stunned and quickly retracted his hand. "Mr. Dazai, are you allergic to pollen?"
And Dazai Osamu just shook his head at him.
He murmured quietly to himself, "I'm going to hurt him."
"he"?
Nakajima Atsushi looked at the Epiphyllum in his hand in confusion.
Contrary to his usual behavior, Dazai Osamu did not say anything else. His eyes flickered for a moment, then quietly merged into the light.
"Atsushi--" Edogawa Ranpo's drawn-out voice came from the reception room, and the detective yelled willfully: "The tea sets are all broken, but the detective wants to eat yokan now!"
"Okay, Mr. Ranbu, I'll buy it right away! Ah, be careful not to cut your hands!"
The voices around me gradually faded.
Perhaps because he had been exposed to the sun for too long, Dazai Osamu felt a slight dizziness.
He stared at the flower pot. As Nakajima Atsushi had said, the petals were wilted by the strong midday sunlight, and there was even a burn mark on the edge.
When beautiful things are destroyed before one's eyes, one either feels pity for them or increases one's desire to destroy them.
He stared at the moment for a long time until his eyeballs were dry, and then he slowly closed his eyes. The memories that had been buried for three years only needed a small flap of wings to surge into his mind.
The thing that he had been holding on to for so long, thinking he had found the light, disappeared before him as easily as a wisp of smoke.
The funniest thing was that he couldn't even reach out and grab a handful - such a futile attempt to keep it.
Only he can't do it, and dares not do it.