To Be or Not To Be A Racoon, That Is The Question
It was the weirdest group Atsushi had ever seen. The broken tower that was Mukurotoride had started to come into view. Atsushi figured the group had only a few minutes before they reached it. He, Yosano Tanizaki and Fadeyka were walking ahead. Meanwhile Dazai, Takashi, Kunikida, Daishiro and Fumiya were keeping an eye on the back of the group. Sigma and Fyodor, for some reason, were coming too and they walked in the middle.
Atsushi figured that was why Dazai was so insistent on staying on the back. To keep an eye on the Russian as well. Atsushi glanced back at the man and saw Fyodor's eyes were already on him. He quickly turned his head, creeping out from the eye contact.
"Does he spook you?" Atsushi nearly jumped. Fadeyka was walking right next to him.
"I mean... He is a bit scary."
The boy giggled. "That's my papa... That too unnerves you, huh?" he asked.
"You're pretty observant." Atsushi said. Fadeyka smiled, Atsushi thought he was pretty when he did that.
"A trait he values." he winked. Or tried to. He had a bandage over his eye.
"You should let Yosano-sensei check that. She can heal it." Atsushi pointed at the bandage. Fadeyka looked confused for a moment before figuring it out.
"Oh my eye! No no, it's not a wound. I can even see under the eye patch, no worries! Even if it was, such a little wound shouldn't worth Lady Yosano's treatment." he said dreamily.
"Lady? My such respect." Yosano teased. The boy slightly blushed.
"It can't be helped! I respect you too much, my lady."
The doctor chuckled "Any particular reason?"
"Other than the fact that you saved my life?" Fadeyka grinned, "Your kindness, your elegance, your intellegence, the fact that your wine tastes the best and-" his voice dropped to a whisper. Both Atsushi and Yosano leaned in to hear him "The fact that you're willing to share some with me after a particularly troubling case."
All of them laughed at that. Atsushi thought the boy was scary at first, but now that he watched him laugh so carelessly, he seemed... warmer.
"So yeah... Oh and also- Ryutaro!? Is that you?" Fadeyka exclaimed, stopping so abruptly that Sigma walked onto him.
"Deyka, what's wrong?" Fumiya was first to arrive.
Fadeyka was starring at the wall of Mukurotoride. There, on a high pillar, was a small racoon. It sat there abnormally still for an animal but the moment the eyes turned to it, the animal chittered and jumped onto Fadeyka's head without a warning. It nudged Fadeyka's cheek with its nose before settling on his shoulders. The said boy was red in the face.
"R-Ryutaro what- why did you-!?" he stammered but stopped immediately when the raccoon gave a short squek.
"What's wrong?" Daishiro asked as the rest of the group reached them.
"Ryutaro-san is here!" Fumiya happily said.
"Cute raccoon." Fyodor muttered as he patted it on the head. The animal let him.
"Hm? Oh no, Ryutaro isn't a raccoon." Fadeyka smiled. Daishiro, Fumiya and Takashi solemnly nodded.
All the adults shared a glance as they stared at the raccoon on the boys' shoulder. The raccon, Ryutaro, stared back. He definitely looked and acted like a raccoon. They all collectively decided that this was an inside joke and they were not going to question it.
"Ryutaro-san, what's going on?" Takashi asked.
The animal patted Fadeyka's cheek with his paw and jumped down. He then turned his nose towards the broken tower as if to point.
"You know where Sasha is, don't you?" Fadeyka smiled. Ryutaro let out a noise again and started to walk towards Mukurotoride. Fadeyka just grinned and followed him.
"Come on." Daishiro said "Patience isn't a strongsuit for Ryutaro." if anyone else had said this, the adults wouldn't have cared. But when a Fukuzawa says this, with a neutral face, it makes one worried.
"Hey kid, not to be rude or anything but..." Yosano started. "You know that's a raccoon right?"
Daishiro didn't break his poker face. "Of course he's not." and he followed his team without another word.
"Do you really want to keep trusting these kids?" Fyodor asked. "I am curious how they managed to survive this long."
Although no one would say it outloud, everyone was in the same page as Fyodor. Kunikida adjusted his glasses.
"Come on, we should follow them. They can be annoying but they are still children. As the detectives of this Agency it's our job to protect." he took the lead, followed by Yosano, Atsushi and Tanizaki. Dazai, Sigma and Fyodor were in the last of the line.
Dazai turned to the other two, walking backwards. "That doesn't count you two. Why follow?" he asked.
"Well it's either this or to be alone with Gogol." Sigma shrugged.
"I have no particular reason. They can die as far as I'm concerned." Fyodor said.
"Oh, the great Dostoevsky going for a nightly stroll then? Well that should be- woah! Damn-" Dazai suddenly fell. He had tripped on a fallen collumn at the entrence of the tower. He dramatically clutched his had, groaning.
Fyodor smirked as he stepped on Dazai to enter the building. "I don't know about the others but I can see why Fumiya seems to lack survival skills."
"Bastard." Dazai spat. To his surprise Sigma extended a hand to help him get up. Starring distastefully at the print of Fyodor's boot on his coat, Dazai quickly followed his group to the main room, with Sigma following.
~~~
"Do you have your plan now?" Kunikida grunted. Daishiro didn't answer him.
"We would usually just barge in but Shizuko-senpai isn't here." Takashi said. "Oh don't look at me like that. We never deal with dangerous enemies! You should see plans captain does for Mori-san!"
"Well since we can not use you as a live bomb like Kajii, we need other options." Daishiro turned to Dazai and Fyodor. "Want to be useful? Or are you two going to bicker like children?"
"You are unnecessarily mean." Atsushi commented. Daishiro ignored him.
"There are hostages, to keep them safe, sneaking in would be ideal." Dazai said, then he turned to Tanizaki with a devilish grin "Well look who we have here! Someone who's ability is perfect for the situation."
"Alright, we use Light Snow to sneak in and get the girls back." Fumiya smiled. "Let's do it!"
"So what's the plan?" Kunikida asked readying a paper in hand.
"Fumiya just said it. Use Light Snow to get the girls." Daishiro answered.
Kunikida ripped the paper into bits.
~~~
Naomi couldn't help but feel envious of her fellow prisoner. She looked so calm and uncaring. Only sign of discomfort she showed was when her nose got itchy and she had to use her knee to scratch it.
Still Naomi could see how badly she was treated. Her white pyjamas (Naomi thought it was a straight jacket at first but appearantly she just had peculiar taste.) were drenched in blood and her there was a deep cut on her cheek.
"It's fine Naomi." the girl said. There was a subtle accent, similar to Dostoevskys'. Though she didn't give her name, Naomi knew she was his daughter. She looked a lot like him after all. Dark purple hair, same almond shaped eyes, pale complexion. She was extremely pretty though. A couple more years and this girl was going to be very beautiful.
"I know, I know. Still don't worry, I'm sure my brother and the others are coming for us!"
"Oh I'm not worried. Fadeyka wouldn't leave me here after all." she grinned before dropping her voice to a whisper. She shook her head so her long hair hid her face "And I already have someone bringing them to a secret entrance I noticed while coming in. So don't you worry Naomi." she shook her hair out of her face and winked.
Naomi wasn't sure if she should listen to a girl who immediately became a hostage and there was the fact that she acted like a psychopath but it's not like there was a better option.
"Hey! You two, shut up!" a guard yelled. The girl opened her mouth to speak but Naomi shushed her. She tend to scream and swear when threatened and it caused her new bruises each time. Luckly she saw Naomi's look and decided to not speak this time.
"I swear I'm going to rip your head off."
Naomi pretended to not hear that whisper.
The hours passed but nothing happened. Both girls had to deal with the guards taunting them. Naomi tried to stay calm. She was the older one here after all! No matter what she said, the other was a child around twelve. This didn't mean Naomi wasn't panicking as well, especially now when the clock read 23.35 and the guards acted even more excited.
"Well time is ticking. I hope you can swim with your hands and feet tied!" Warden laughed.
"Well even if we could, you will drop us from a bridge that's quite high up. We will die from impact before we'll drown anyways. Also I can't swim even without these ropes so I suggest you untying me at least before you throw us. This is some quality rope. If I were you, I wouldn't waste it."
"Do you have to ruin our fun?" a guard asked.
"I find great pleasure from doing it."
Whatever the guard was gonna say, they didn't. A small thud had echoed around the empty room. Naomi turned to the girl. She looking towards a far wall of the room, smiling knowingly.
"What was that?"
"I didn't hear anything." Naomi said. She did hear it but she assumed it was a good thing, based on expression of the little Russian.
"Well no one asked you!" Warden shouted. "Find the source of that noise!"
"Found it." a guard said. Trapped in his arms, was a racoon. It was just swishing its leg like some kid sitting on a bench. Without a warning, a loud, high-pitched laughter rang in the room, sounding much more louder because of the echo. The little one took a minute to calm herself down.
"Oh that's cute. But Ryutaro is not a racoon."
And the second she said that, the guard who held the animal fell down and stayed unmoving. The racoon landed the ground with ease, making his way towards the captives.
"Ladies and gentelmen!" a voice rang. Naomi raised her head to see Fadeyka standing on top of a collumn, his hands opened in a dramatic way.
"Welcome, welcome to the past! A pleasure to have you here! Now let us get this show started!" out of his coat thousands of confettis blew, covering the entire area, raining on them like snow.
"Rescue and show! Isn't he amazing?" the girl asked to Naomi. The older couldn't help but laugh. At that moment her own brother removed his ability. With that the guards realised they were surrounded by Agency members. Naomi felt relieved immediately. Now with a clear head she turned to the girl.
"You know I never caught you name."
"Oh? Just go with Sasha. You'll butcher the pronunciation."
"Now that's an honour Naomi!" Fadeyka said. Naomi hadn't realised it but now he was on the ground easily knocking out the guards.
"She doesn't let many people to call her like that."
"Well we are captive mates now! It's only natural." Sasha said.
"You're crazy! Both of you!" Fumiya yelled from the other side of the room. Sasha's only answer was to laugh.
"Hey papa, Sisha, I get it you won't fight but at least get us out will you?"
Naomi quickly turned and noticed they weren't alone in their tiny corner. The racoon from earlier was sitting on the table, watching the fight. And both Dostoevsky and that casino manager was sitting on chairs. Dostoevsky merely glanced at Sasha but returned watching the fight a second later.
"I'm talking to you! Wow you really were annoying. Sisha! Help me out! Please!" Sasha tried again. The casino manager looked around, as if to find someone else.
"Sisha is you Sigma. Will you help me or should I bribe Ryutaro into doing it?" Sasha said, now looking a bit angry.
"I didn't realise you were talking to me..." the manager, Sigma mumbled as he got up. "And that's a racoon, kid. It can't help you."
"No he's not. Anyways thanks!" she got up and streched as Sigma untied Naomi. She gave him a smile which he returned.
"Well, this was nice and all but now I have a murder to commit. Toodles!" with that she calmly started to walk towards the fight, her bare feet making small tap tap noises on the marble floor.
"She was joking, right?" Sigma asked. Naomi wasn't sure. That kid was really weird. It was Dostoevsky who answered, still observing the fight from his chair.
"She was not."
Somehow, Naomi was not surprised.
~~~
Warden easily slipped out of the room. It would be such a shame if he, a highly useful member were to die now, wouldn't it? Sad for his subordinates but that's how the world worked. Important ones and the ones beneath them. He would get them a proper burial after this anyways.
He jumped over a fallen debris and entered a narrow hallway. A secret exit point in the tower, and probably how the kids and that no good Agency got in. As he was walking in the dimly lit corridor he heard something from behind. He quickly turned, fearing he was followed but the way he came back was empty. There were no doors in this corridor as well, so maybe it was the wind. He turned around towards the exit-
"Going somewhere?"
-and screamed. There, standing in front of him, was the little Dostoevsky, casually leaning against the wall. Warden took out his gun and pointed at her. She only smiled. There was something in those dark blue eyes of hers that made feel Warden really creeped out.
"My, I thought kings went to war with their soldiers. But then again, you are nothing but a pawn. Just a slave to the Ring." she said in a low voice.
"You don't know what you're talking about little girl." Warden said. "I keep almost everyone out of jail! I am one of the most important member to the organisation!"
"So are ants to mother nature yet they're easy to squash."
"You-!" Warden removed the safety. "I'm so done with you and your witty comebacks."
Dostoevsky didn't even flinch. She even moved from her spot, standing straigther as if to give him a clear shot.
"Go on." she smirked, her voice becoming high again. "Do your best."
Warden almost pulled the trigger but this felt off. Why was she giving herself away like this?
"Oh I see!" Warden exclaimed. "So you're trying to trick me eh? This is just an illusion of that smarty kid? Or that ginger?" he lowered his gun. "You want me to shoot you. " Dostoevsky only shrugged.
"Don't shoot then. I don't care."
"Reverse psychology won't help. I won't shoot." Warden said.
"Okay. Don't do it then." the girl replied. "If you're so sure I want you to shoot." she smirked.
"Huh? Don't try to trick me! You want me to shoot."
"You sound so sure. But again you were so sure about this plan here as well. Or the last time too. How did that time go? Oh right, Takashi gave you that scar!" she laughed.
How dare she!
"You bitch! You got lucky there! That Edogawa bastard is nowhere near my intelligence! None of you are! I will fucking kill all of you!" in a fit of rage he threw his gun at the girl to destroy that illusion. But Dostoevsky just took a quick step to the side. The weapon hit the wall and fell down with a loud noise.
"God, you're too easy." Dostoevsky said as she bent down and picked up the gun. "I would be dead if you shot back then."
"W-what!?" Warden took a step back when the girl pointed the gun at him.
"No illusion here. You're just an idiot." she smiled. Warden bared his teeth and lunged at her. She sighed and lazily shot his knee, sending him to the ground. Warden screamed in pain.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Dostoevsky turned him facing up with her feet. Then she shot his knee again. And again. And again. And again until there was a snap and she stepped on his leg with one foot, severing it completely. Warden had hold on fairly well until then but when his leg came off, he barely heard what she said. He did see her watching with a cold expression.
"Oh how much I would like to do this, over and over and over again but it seems like you'll die before I do that. Pity."
She kicked the injured part of his knee. "That's for calling my brother stupid."
Then she smashed the gun on Warden's head "And that's for kidnapping Naomi."
"And finally..." she dropped the gun and leaned down next to his face. She got her hand very close to Warden's forehead, "This is for myself. If the afterlife is real, enjoy rotting there." and she gently tapped it.
Warden screamed in agony only for a second before blood burst out of his veins, raining on the body and the girl next to him. He was dead, in a second. The girl sighed and got up.
"Great." she said, examining her clothes "Now I have to burn these."
Alexandra F. Dostoevskaya: Hacker
Ability: The House of the Dead
"Kouhai! Kouhai!" Takashi's voice came from the other side of the corridor
"Coming senpai! You wait there!" she called back. She did not want to get scolded for causing a mess again. With a sigh, she went back to greet the others.