And all I gave you is gone!

&&&

The atmosphere in the agency turned stone cold as soon as Kunikida finished reading the letter. Eyes drifted to Dazai, waiting for his response to everything that had been said. Dazai had originally been sitting silently, eyes cold and hard as he listened carefully to the meeting, joking attitude nowhere to be seen. Now bloodlust rolled of him in waves as he lowered his head, bangs shadowing his eyes and fists clenching hard enough for his nails to draw blood where they were digging into the palms of his hands. His sudden change in demeanor startled many of the room's participants. Many nerve wrecking seconds of complete silence passed before Dazai began to speak.

"Ranpo-san, I'd like to request that you please find the exact location of where the enemy is hiding Atsushi-kun and Chuuya. You may form small teams to also search potential locations as we don't have much time," he spoke coldly.

"I'd like some time to think," He then stood up from his chair and soundlessly exited the room. No one one stopped him. He was the main game-changer of this battle after all, and his decision was a very difficult one.

Dazai sighed hard, running his hand through his hair, as he leaned against the wall outside the office. He stood in complete silence in the corridor, trying to somewhat organize his thoughts, before straightening his body, walking down the staircase, through the cafe and out of the agency building. His thoughts were packed and disorderly despite all his attempts at rearranging them into a more orderly fashion. Stress and worry was overflowing his thoughts also, causing clogs throughout his normally clean, straight foward and logical thought process.

If he chose to save Atsushi, he would be in the favor of the Agency as Atsushi was their co-worker. However, he would most likely to be hated by the Port Mafia, destroying their current relationships, alliance and potentially starting an all out war between the mafia and agency again. All trust between them would be broken. Vice versa if he chose Chuuya. He'd be in the favour of the mafia but would lose his relationship with the agency.

What option should he choose? If he was thinking logically, then choosing either one of them would be a regrettable idea with detrimental results. If he was thinking emotionally, -and he was majorly inferior when it came to emotions though he'd never admit it out loud- then the only answer would be to choose Atsushi.

As much as he cared about Chuuya, only Atsushi could make his heart race. Only Atsushi could give him a pure, bright smile filled will unadulterated admiration, soft heartedness and love. Only Atsushi could tell him that he was becoming a better person and he would actually feel the need to believe it. Only Atsushi could make him feel things. Only Atsushi could make him feel such warm emotions, when he was literally emotionally constipated with how good he was at understanding and giving out said emotions. Only Atsushi would sit with him during his darkest days filled with nightmares. Only Atsushi would sit with him when his insomnia kept him awake night after night. Only Atsushi would be there by his side when ptsd overran his mind, leaving him deranged and a complete emotional mess, even though he himself was at an such a great risk of ptsd flashbacks, emotional breakdowns and nightmares afterwards. Only Atsushi would bring him food when he new the older hadn't eaten. Only Atsushi would have bandages on hand to give him whenever he had regressed into cutting. Only Atsushi. Only Atsushi. And it would always only be Atsushi.

However, no matter how much he had improved when it came to showing his feelings to others honestly, the logical side of himself that he been using practically his entire life, always showed itself and took over his thought process first. This time though, the emotions he was feeling also had a say, even if it was a tiny bit, not just the logical side like it used to be. Therefore, his mind could only come to one conclusion.

&&&

The agency and mafia members had spread out throughout the office after Dazai left the room. Though the atmosphere wasn't as tense or as hostile as before, it still held a frosty and somber tone. Some detectives and mafiosos had a specific member they wanted to save and others were even contemplating saving both as they didn't want to lose either companion.

The agency and the mafia had both accepted their fate when their leaders called a truce. They had opted to get to know each other, rather than stay enemies and complain about the truce. Though their relationships weren't as close as the individual organizations were, they still somewhat cared about each other.

Ranpo quickly separated everyone into teams to search potential locations and the one that he thought was most likely to have Chuuya and Atsushi hidden in it. Ango and Katai were already searching for any and all information on every single one of the ability users within the organization. Hirotsu and the Black Lizard would search the slums and Suribachi city. Akutagawa, Kouyou and Kyouka would search the harbor. Mori and Fukuzawa would search the outskirts of Yokohama. Tanizaki, Yosano, Kenji, Kunikida and Naomi would search the centre of Yokohama. Even Lucy, Poe and Fitzgerald, accompanied by Louisa, came in to help the search, joining Yosano and Kunikida's team.

After organizing the teams, everyone headed out to search. About an hour after everyone had left, Dazai walked back into the office. He was calmer this time, bloodlust no longer rushing off of him in waves, though he did look genuinely distraught instead. Ranpo glanced at him before looking back down at the papers surrounding him. For once, no snacks were within the genius detective's reach and his brows were pinned in a downward position.

"You've made your decision yet you hesitate to go through with it. Why Dazai?" He asked quietly.

"The fallout of my decision could end up being very disastrous. I don't want anyone to- " Dazai started to explain until he was interrupted by a fist slamming onto a desk. He turned to Ranpo, eyes widened slightly.

"Stop. Stop worrying about the effects your decision could have. The future is indecisive and can end in a way you never expected it to, even if you've planned something down to the last nitty, gritty detail. There's no point in worrying about it, especially when the decision you're making is such a hard one," Ranpo began, voice and facial expression completely serious.

"Now listen very closely because this is the only time I'm going to say this. I'm a very arrogant person. I act like a know it all and I am, in a sense, due to my deduction ability. Yet some plans I've deduced the outcome to have ended in ways I didn't deduce or even expect. Those times are very few, in fact I can count them on one hand alone! But that doesn't change the fact that something can still go in a direction you didn't think about. So take that heart of yours, no matter how little of it you may think you have, and use it to it's full extent. Don't hesitate. Hesitation in a scenario like this can get you and the ones you care about killed. This is a decision that is completely on your shoulders, so make the decision that you know you'll regret the least, no matter how many people might dislike you afterwards. Don't study the others around you. Make this decision being as you as possible. Don't let the hopes of others burden your decision."

Dazai stared at Ranpo wide eyed as he finished his speech. That was... weirdly inspiring, coming from a person like Ranpo. His lip twitched upward slightly.

"Alright Ranpo-san. I'll take your advice," he replies, gratefully.

They sat together in a peaceful silence in the agency's office and waited for the others to return while organizing their thoughts. About two hours later, the others began filing back into the office. First, Hirotsu and the Black Lizard returned, then Fukuzawa and Mori a few minutes after. Tanizaki, Yosano, Kenji, Kunikida, Naomi, Poe, Lucy and Louissa returned half an hour later. Fifteen minutes later, Akutagawa, Kouyou and Kyouka returned, followed by Ango and Katai shortly after.

Once everyone settled, Ranpo stood up and began to speak.

"Alright, let's hear the results."

&&&

Dark.

It was dark. Really dark.

He couldn't open his eyes or move his mouth. Everything around him smelled like metal and blood. There was an ironic taste on his tongue and he didn't know where it had come from or why it was there.

Pain.

He was in so much pain. Everything hurt.

Where was he? Wasn't he doing something before? He was doing- ah! He was on a mission before wasn't he?! Wait-! Was he with someone? He remembered being with someone! Who was it? Who was it! Umm- wait....  Orange. Orange? Orange what-? Oh wait! They had orange hair and blue? Blue? Blue-! Blue eyes! They had blue eyes! And they liked fancy clothes and wine! Who. Who? Who wa- oh wait! It was Chuuya-san! He'd gone on a mission with Chuuya-san! But where was he-? Was he okay? Did- did something happen to him?! What-?!

"Ohoho! It's seems like our lovely tiger is awake!" a deep voice interrupted his slowly spiraling thoughts.

Atsushi's tried to whip his head around in the dark, to try to locate the direction the voice was coming from. He immediately groaned in pain as he felt multiple sharp pieces of metal dig into the flesh of his neck. He felt other large pieces of metal impaling him on his shoulders and hips as well. The new pain and sensations that came with his attempt to move made him aware of a few new things.

One. His entire body was wrapped in chains and his arms were wrapped in them and held in the air in an awkward position. Two. His legs and knees were cramping from kneeling on the floor for only God knows how long. Three. His shoulders and hips were  as if they were on fire. None of these were as bad as the kind of pain he'd experienced before, considering the suffering he'd endured his entire life, from both the orphanage, the guild and the mafia -specifically Akutagawa-. It did feel like his body was burning a lot though so it wasn't as if he was feeling no pain at all.

However, none of those pains were anything compared to how his stomach felt. His stomach felt as if someone had literally burned through the entire thing using acid or just cut it all open, leaving a gaping hole. The pain didn't slowly decrease as it normally did, due to his regeneration however, which caused his anxiety to start to bubble. It was as if the person who had cut open his stomach was continuously pouring acid all over the giant wound, letting the burning liquid rapidly flowing through the gaping hole left in his stomach, eroding through whatever flesh it touched. The pain was so bad that it made it almost impossible to breathe normally. He felt like throwing up but couldn't seem to do so since there was nothing to throw up. His stomach wasn't there anymore after all.

The gag over Atsushi's mouth and the blindfold over his eyes were then suddenly ripped off. Bright light flooded his sight momentarily, causing his vision to go white when he tried to slowly pry his eyes open. Once his eyesight had adjusted enough, he was able to finally see where the voice was coming from. It came from the man currently standing in front of him. He wore a full black suit with a white bow tie and shiny leather dress shoes. On his hands he wore pristine white gloves and planted firmly on his wrist was a watch made of gold. His hair was pitch black, slicked back and shiny. His eyes were navy blue and he had a very defined jawline with slim eyebrows. His skin was pale, but a very healthy, slightly tanned pale.

He looked to be in about his late twenties. The smirk gracing his lips sent shivers down Atsushi's spine.

"How was your rest sleeping beauty? I hope it was peaceful, because from here on out, peace is going to be the last thing on your mind," he spoke again. His voice was cold with a playful undertone. Kind of like Dazai'san's voice whenever he spoke to Mori-san.

"Who are you!? What do you want from me!? Where is Chuuya-san?! Is he okay?? Wha- " Atsushi began to yell at the man. He was interrupted by a loud chuckle.

"Hold your horses there Tiger! That's a lot of questions you got there! The only things you need to focus on are whatever things we tell you, or whatever things you tell us. And we've got a lot of questions for you. For now though, just call me Hitoki."

Atsushi looked on at the man with narrowed eyes.

"Where is Chuuya-san! At least tell me where he is and if he's okay!" he yelled again.

The man, now named Hitoki, looked down at him again, the smile of amusement falling from his lips.

"I'd heard you had a saviour complex but I didn't think it would be this bad," he responded with a sigh, turning his head to the side and scratching his scalp with an irritated look painting itself onto his face. "This is going to be a pain."

"But don't worry then Tiger-chan! You'll be seeing him soon enough! You'll just have to answer some questions for me first! I'll answer any one of your questions if you do what I say too!" The annoyed look dropped of his face in an instant, his smile coming back so fast that it gave Atsushi whiplash.

Atsushi looked at him warily as he made his proposition.

"What if I don't want to answer your questions?"

Hitoki chuckled again, shaking his head and voice going cold.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," he stated coldly, grabbing Atsushi by his hair and pulling him up roughly, causing the chains and metals spikes to dig deeper into his flesh.

Atsushi yelped loudly as the pain he was feeling all over his body elevated. However, before he could even try to even out his breathing, his eyes widened in horror at Hitoki's first question. The older man slowly combed the fingers of his right hand through Atsushi's longer strip of hair, before dragging his left hand down his chest, thighs and placing it on his ass.

"Now my beautiful Tiger-chan. Do you know about the Grantors of Dark Disgrace?"

&&&

Chuuya was pissed.

Pissed as hell.

First, he had to deal with Dazai's teasing early in the morning. Then he had to go on a mission in the evening with the subordinate that he always talked about. The kid was cuter than he expected, he had to admit, but he wasn't as cute Akutagawa, not that he'd ever let anyone else know that. Now, he was tied up to a chair by wires, chains were wrapped around his neck, his arms and legs were impaled by spikes and he was blindfolded and gagged in God knows where. Everything hurt really bad but he couldn't let pain be his main focus at that point.

What a pain in the ass. Literally.

How did he get here anyways. All he remembered was hearing a dark voice saying the words 'absolute cancel' and then everything went black. He'd also tried to use his ability as soon as he regained consciousness but couldn't get it to activate. It made him very wary as he was now completely vulnerable. He couldn't use martial arts to defend himself if he was tied up and impaled could he?

"Ah, I see you're awake Mister Port Mafia Executive," a voice echoed throughout the space. It was different than the one he'd heard before falling unconscious. It had a calm tone, yet no emotion to it. His blindfold and gag were then removed allowing him to see the person in front of him. He was partially blinded for a moment due to the brightness of the room but once he regained his bearings he was able to locate where the voice came from, though it wouldn't take a genius to figure that piece of information out.

Standing directly in front of him was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She wore a white blouse with frilly sleeves underneath a crimson red spaghetti strap dress that reached her knees. She wore a silver chain with a golden pendant around her neck and black combat boots with heels on her feet. She had a soft face with green eyes, pale skin and a button nose. Her face was caked in makeup.

"Rise and shine darling. It's time to answer some questions!" she exclaimed dramatically, a wide smile on her face.

"Who the fuck are you? And why the hell am I here? Where am I for that that matter!? And where is the weretiger!" Chuuya yelled back angrily.

"Hey hey now! No need to yell," the girl huffed defiantly, "My name is Emily. That's all you need to know. For now, you just need to answer some questions for us."

Chuuya scowled darkly at the woman. Rage began flowing through him violently, almost making him lose control of himself. Who the hell did this bitch think she was demanding him to answer questions. Oh she'd never see what was coming her way once he got out of here.

"And what if I don't want to answer your nonsense questions? I have no obligation to do anything you say," he replied, voice cold, yet body hot with rage.

"Then it'll be no trouble at all for me to tell my boss to lop the head off of the teenager who came with you. And what a shame that would be too, he did have some really pretty eyes. Mabye I can gouge out his eyes and then the boss can kill him! Then I'd have a great souvenir to show off to everyone!" Emily told him, voice lowering in disappointment before rising in excitement again at the thought of keeping Atsushi's eyes. Chuuya gritted his teeth.

"Fine. What are your damn questions?"

"Hmph. Alright let's begin. What is the chant you use to activate your corruption form? Feel free to chant it since your ability won't activate," she asked. Chuuya furrowed his eyebrows as his suspicions increased.

"I have to chant the words 'Grantors of Dark Disgrace, you need not wake me again' in order to activate corruption," he told her.

"Good, good! Next, do you know who the grantors of dark disgrace are? Has Arahabaki told you anything about them? Have you had daydreams or nightmares involving them or anything of the such?" she responded quickly after.

Chuuya's scowl increased.

"How do you know about Arahabaki?!" he yelled at her once again, unable to swallow down his rising anger. Emily huffed.

"In order to get the information we need from you, of course we'd need to know the basic information about you. That includes your past and ability. What we're doing here is no small joke or something we can achieve with barely any information," she responded, voice lowering and taking on a slightly annoyed tone.

Chuuya stared at her, eyes narrowing.

"Fine. No, I don't know anything about these 'Grantors of Dark Disgrace'. They're only in the chant I use to activate corruption. I don't know anything else about them. Arahabaki doesn't tell me anything either. He doesn't actually speak to me. Sometimes I can hear him growling angrily in the back of my head when I'm in a destructive mood, but that's the most the two of us interact."

Emily bent over and looked him straight in the eyes for a few moments before standing up and sighing.

"I see no lie. I guess there's nothing more we can get from you. How boring. Take him to the central room! And tell Hitoki that it's a negative for A5153!" she spoke to a corner in the room.

It was then that Chuuya spotted a tiny camera and a speaker in the corner she was speaking to. She received a polite "yes ma'am!" from a male voice in return. One of the walls then began to tremble, rising from the ground to reveal a dark corridor. Men dressed in military like armor then flooded the room, reorganizing the chains and wires on his body to make it possible to move him.

"Careful with him. It should be wearing off soon and he's still dangerous as is. He's not a mafia executive for nothing," Emily warned them before exiting the room, "Don't overdo it though. We still need him alive for this to work!"

"OI! YOU BITCH! WHERE ARE YOU GOING! WHA- " Chuuya's shouting was halted as a needle was pressed into his neck. The pain that he'd been trying to ignore then amplified greatly. He screamed in pain as black dots began to fill his vision. Everything went black again shortly after.

&&&

"They're hideout is in located in the harbor," Akutagawa, Kouyou and Kyouka told everyone. The  atmosphere lightened a slight bit.

The others had nothing new to report as everything else had business going on as normal. Ango and Katai then shared their information about the ability users. They'd only been able to get the abilities of the lower ranks of the organization. The top committee, which comprised of the most important members, had no information on them. It was determined that they were most likely unregistered ability users or weren't ability users.

Ranpo then began to explain the plan he'd formed.

"Alright everyone. The motivation for this is likely for two reasons. One. To get their hands on either Atsushi or Chuuya's ability. When it comes to the pure offensive power of their abilities themselves, Atsushi and Chuuya are the strongest ability users of their respective organizations, so they likely want to use them for their own gain or kill them. Two. They want to cause a stir between our two organizations, likely because the both of us working together is a big problem for them. As we know with the guild, our forces are much more powerful when we work together. This would indicate that what they are doing right now is a small part of a much bigger plan. If they are successful in what they've come to accomplish, they will likely leave to complete their plan and come back later on, probably be in a few years. We'll need to end this part of their plan so that they won't be a threat to us  any longer. But first..."

He then turned to Dazai, waiting for a moment before completing his explanation.

"We'll need your decision to make a complete plan. So what have you decided on Dazai?"

And just as in the beginning, all eyes turned to Dazai, waiting to see what he would do.