AN: I have a headache so this will be s short note.

Akutagawa in chapter 83.5 of the manga made my goddam year holy shit.

AKUTAGAWA WORLD DOMINATION

Enjoy the chapter!

The scene opens immediately with a title card and the words, "We made it back alive."

The door of the Armed Detective Agency opens and closes. Atsushi sits alone outside of the door, thinking, Still…

He flashes back to the scene of the explosion as Kyouka carries him off of the ship, I wonder if the Agency can look past the people Kyouka has murdered.

"We definitely can," Naomi says warmly with a smile at Atsushi, "Considering everything that's happened."

Atsushi pouts at her, "I know that!" He tosses his head in mock enragement but with a teasing smile on his face.

Naomi's smile gets a bit wider, "Sure you did."

He finally gets up and reaches for the door, preparing himself for the worst, What'll I do if she and the Agency are hostile to each other? He shakes off the thought and twists the knob of the door forcibly. He enters with a bland expression and mutters, "Good morning, everyone.." only to stop in sheer disbelief.

Standing on a table with the entire Agency around her is Kyouka Izumi dressed in a maid outfit.

"Can you turn around for me?" Naomi asks her cheerily as Tanizaki snaps pictures.

Everyone is utterly speechless at this development, even Kyouka herself. The fact that her on-screen self was dressed in a maid outfit made so little sense to her that she actually almost laughed in pure shock.

"Where did we even get that?" is the first question out of Tanizaki's mouth.

Yosano tries to shake off her own confusion by attempting to answer his question, "Maybe from the cafe downstairs?"

That could make sense, they all think at the same time, but also why would the cafe give us a maid outfit? For Free?

Kyouka does, spinning on her toes as Naomi coos over her outfit, "So cute!"

Atsushi slides over to Tanizaki, who is definitely fully invested in whatever he's doing, "W..what is going on here?"

"It's pretty amazing, right?" Tanizaki turns his head to look at Atsushi, "She looks pretty incredible in just about anything!"

"OHHH," They all say at the same time as if that somehow explains everything that is currently happening. The only person who seems abjectly confused is still Atsushi.

"How did you guys even figure out that she looks good in everything?" He asks them, not sure if he wants the answer.

Ranpo shrugs and replies, "No one knows."

"Just roll with it Atsushi," Kunikida agrees, seeing that Atsushi is about to ask again, "It's better not to know some conversations we have."

Atsushi slinks down lower in his chair, trying to imagine the sheer volume of stupid conversations the ADA has had over the years without him.

Atsushi raises his hand in dismissal with a sarcastic tone, "That's not what I meant."

He goes back to taking pictures happily. Atsushi tries to squeeze by them and whines at Kunikida, who is off to the side and clicking through a computer, "Kunikidaaa?"

"Don't blame this on me," He says with a gleam in his eyes, "You wanted to save her."

"Kunikida, what does saving her have to do with the current situation whatsoever?" asks Dazai, confused.

Kunikida rolls his eyes, "If Atsushi hadn't saved her then we wouldn't be in this situation at all." In a split second, he seems to realize what he's said and coughs awkwardly, "But I suppose a simple awkward situation is far better than what could have happened."

"Indeed," Yosano agrees, tapping her scalpel against her leg, "Much better."

Kunikida quietly scoots away from her, putting some distance between them.

Atsushi blinks tiredly, "Is this really alright?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure myself," Tanizaki agrees, having scooted closer to Atsushi in the confusion. He and Atsushi both look over as Kenji and the girls fawn over her dress.

"Even if everyone else is fine with it, Ranpo's a real stickler for the rules," Atsushi whispers to Tanizaki.

"Since when have I ever given off the impression that I'm a stickler for the rules?" Ranpo flashes Atsushi a confused look.

Atsushi shrugs, "You just seem like the type to obey instructions from the president."

His statement makes both Kunikida and Yosano snort loudly. Ranpo actually jerks up to stare at Atsushi, who again shrinks back in his chair with a squeak, "I mean, In the last episode you got excited from praise from the President so I just assumed..," He says it all in one breath.

Ranpo squints at him, "What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

Tanizaki shakes his head, "Oh don't worry about him."

Just as he says that Ranpo bursts into the room with a paper bag full of candy, "I'm back!"

Atsushi and Tanizaki watch as Ranpo throws himself into the situation and practically shouts at Kyouka, "Look what I brought!"

"Ranpo," Dazai says as the man in question moves his gaze to look at him, "Are.. are you sharing your snacks?"

Ranpo actually looks back at the screen as if to check and make sure that yes, he is before he nods in confirmation, "I guess I am."

"You never do that?" Naomi pouts at him, "And you somehow always have the best snacks.."

Ranpo's smile widens a bit, "You just admitted that you were the person stealing my snacks. I asked you about that like a month ago."

Naomi pales and rushes to defend herself, but it's too late, Ranpo has already won. He winks at her and raises his millionth ramune to the sky, "We will discuss this later."

Naomi gulps nervously and shuffles closer to her brother, "Kay.."

He rummages through the bag as Yosano watches him with a dry expression on her face. Tanizaki elaborates for a very confused Atsushi, "Ranpo's actually into it the most."

Ranpo holds out what appears to be some sort of sugar candy called "Mixy Mixy Mixy Mix Grape Flavor," "This is the snack that changes color when you mix it!"

He leans over to give it to Kyouka as Kenji beams down on the both of them, "Go ahead! Try it!"

Kyouka stares down at it in wonder.

"What is it?" Kyouka asks abruptly startling Atsushi and Dazai. Her eyes are on Ranpo, curious, and almost excited.

"Well," Ranpo beams, "It's simply a powdered sugar that can change colors when it hits something wet! It dyes your tongue fun colors!"

Kyouka opens her mouth in an 'O' formation and then silently asks Maddie's ability to grant her a packet of Mixy Mixy Mixy Mix Grape Flavor. One such package appears above her head and falls into her lap, much to her delight.

She shows Atsushi what she's gotten and watches transfixed as he helps her through the process of making a pop, despite his disgust at the sheer volume of sugar content within.

Tanizaki and Atsushi watch as Ranpo narrates Kyoua through the process of eating Mixy Mixy Mixy Mix Grape Flavor, "First you open the bag! Then put the two pouches of powder in the …."

He fades out as Atsushi sighs with actual pain, "They're like children. Young ones"

"You put all your heart into it," Ranpo continues, "and then you mix, mix, mix mix, mix until finally, Look what you get!"

"Ranpo stop being good with children, it makes Dazai look bad," Yosano says smugly as Dazai literally does a spit-take.

"WHEN DID I EVER SAY I WAS GOOD WITH CHILDREN?" Dazai squawks at her while she laughs warmly.

"You said that after we all suffered through Kunikida attempting to talk to a kindergartener that one time," She answers, ignoring both Kunikida's angry huff and Dazai's muffled snort.

"I did, didn't I?" he says with a slight smirk, "I suppose you got me Yosano!" He leans into Atsushi a bit, "I've been foiled again!"

"Foiled in what?" snorts Yosano with an eye-roll, "Stupidity?"

"I suppose," Dazai agrees warmly with her, his past mood at the previous episode gone. His dismissal only makes her sigh and go back to ignoring him.

Kyouka stares down at cute little sugary snack in her hands, pink smoke covers her and she almost appears to be blushing.

Ranpo grins at her, "Let me try a little bite!" before literally eating the entire thing, to the horror of everyone around him.

"Children is right," Tanizaki agrees as Naomi whines at Ranpo for ruining their fun.

"Don't call us children as if you're not just as guilty Tanizaki," says Ranpo with a grin, "You were literally taking pictures with us!"

"At least I acknowledge it," Tanizaki huffs, "The only semi-responsible one here is Kunikida."

"I think Yosano is responsible too," Kenji pipes up with his usual sunny grin, "Very responsible."

"Depends on the day," Yosano says simply which makes the other ADA members laugh and Atsushi sigh internally, That's terrifying as usual.

"Guess that's par for the course for Ranpo," Atsushi says nervously, before shooting Tanizaki a look, "So do you happen to know who asked her to visit the Agency?"

Before Tanizaki can answer, another voice speaks up, "It was me."

It's Fukuzawa, who always seems to have the best dramatic timing. Atsushi gasps aloud, "President!"

"Why are you all so surprised that your president is in the office?" Kyouka asks the ADA with a confused tilt of her head, "He is supposed to be your leader is he not?"

Kunikida nods slightly and his gaze drifts to Fukuzawa himself, "He's just so quiet that sometimes we forget.."

Fukuzawa doesn't move but simply raises a teacup to his lips, "Should I be offended by that Kunikida?"

Kunikida almost drops his pencil but shakes his head, "That was a fact, President. Not meant to be offensive."

"I see," Fukuzawa says, gazing into his teacup with a slightly tired expression, Maybe I should sit in the main office sometimes rather than just my own.

Fukuzawa walks over the Agency, 'What's our current status?"

Kunikida sighs, "The Port Mafia erased her identity, so the police haven't found her yet."

"I'm sure they'll label her a fugitive soon enough," Fukuzawa agrees, not noticing as Kyouka walks over to him. He finally looks down at her as she speaks, "Please let me stay here."

Kyouka blinks, having forgotten that her future self hadn't actually been accepted into the Agency yet. She opens her mouth to say something, probably related to her own worth as a candidate but Atsushi beats her to it.

"She's gonna be accepted into the Agency right?" He asks, turning his eyes on Maddie.

Maddie shrugs with a shoulder, "I'm not gonna tell you anything."

Her indifference annoys him so he pushes harder, "And why's that?"

Maddie smiles for the first time since he's met her, "I want you guys to react authentically, you know? Most of this is entertainment for me as well as informative!"

"So we're just your entertainment?" Kunikida scowls at her, his already low opinion of her dropped. Maddie shrugs again, the smile still on her face, "You could call it that."

Naomi seems to gather what Maddie is implying because she also turns to ask her a question, "You've already seen this whole thing?"

"Multiple times," Maddie agrees with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "Your lives are very interesting."

"I'm not sure how comfortable I feel with that," Tanizaki says simply and looks away from Maddie, How many embarrassing things have I done in the future that she already knows about? God, this sucks...

They stare at each other and she goes on, "I'll do anything."

"I don't recommend it," Kunikida adds as he gets up from his chair, "Not because of your background," He addresses Kyouka with that sentence, "Or not having a job for you. It's for your own sake. It's a difficult life."

"Besides," Atsushi has cut in now, "If you stay here, the Mafia will find you. Shouldn't you run away as far as you can?"

Atsushi cringes at his own future self's words, that seems like a terrible idea. Why did I suggest that?

"There's no way the Mafia wouldn't catch her if that happened," Dazai says smoothly with a sympathetic pat on Atsushi's head, "Even if you took out Akutagawa and put him out of commission, there are other Port Mafia members who want her back."

Atsushi nods in agreement but the back of his mind thinks nervously, I didn't even think about that… Akutagawa isn't a threat to my future self or Kyouka's right now. He's probably hurt.

I know I would be if I didn't have the tiger, He thinks back to the dingy basement and the headmaster again, Although maybe that doesn't really compare much either. Maybe the tiger was active then too.

He can feel it chuff at him, a small whispery breath on the back of his neck and he nervously scoots away from the feeling, The tiger does like to complicate things huh?

Kyouka stays silent for a second before muttering, "Akutagawa. He told me that the only thing I was good for was killing people." Akutagawa's dead eyes flash in her head, she frowns, "But he's wrong. I have to prove that to myself."

Atsushi's eyes widen in shock but fade into acceptance. It's silent for a beat and then he speaks up, "President." Kyouka turns to see that he's right next to her.

"I'd like to vouch for her," Atsushi says with a polite bow.

Kyouka's eyes get all big and watery and she looks over at Atsushi with a smile, "Thanks Atsushi!"

"It's no problem!" Atsushi waves her off with a smile and a weird feeling in his gut, I haven't even done this yet.

The others smile fondly at their newest member's awkward attitude and Kyouka's eagerness.

Kyouka shoots him a glance and then looks back up at Fukuzawa, "Please consider."

Fukuzawa's face remains unchanged.

"Please consider?" she says again, her eyes wet and big.

Fukuzawa's face remains unchanged.

"P...please..co..onsider?"

Fukuzawa's face remains unchanged.

The camera holds on him.

"Very well."

The entire ADA stares in abject confusion," What?"

"What?" the ADA in the room echos back in similar confusion.

Kyouka doesn't seem to care about the odd interaction, she beams instead. It's clear that she's happy to simply be a part of the ADA in both lives.

She bows her head to Fukuzawa with the smile still on her face, "Thank you!"

Fukuzawa just sighs and smiles, "Of course."

"I'll take her in," Fukuzawa continues.

The opening plays as soon as he says that.

"I still love this song," Ranpo bounces up and down to the beat with a smile and nods his head, "It suits us very well."

Maddie nods and pulls out a device, tapping a couple of times on it, "I actually have it saved to a file if you want to listen to it after this."

"We'll take it!' Naomi says, excitedly, "It's like our own theme song!"

"Just don't use the sound equipment for signal tracking to blast it," Kunikida reminds them, "Last time was a literal paperwork nightmare."

Atsushi stares at Dazai who tries to hide a smile and fails miserably, Last time?

The scene opens on a body lying in a medical bed, with red light flooding in through the dim windows. The person is hooked up to several machines and even an IV. The beeping of the machines coincides with their horrible raspy breathing.

The angle shifts and the person is revealed to be Akutagawa, with an oxygen mask over his face and bandages around every part of his body. He's unconscious and it somehow makes him look much, much weaker.

"Sprain fracture of the lower jaw, avulsion of the frontal bone, damage to the jugular ligament, rupture of the brachial and femoral muscles and first degree burns over the entire body," narrates a voice as the camera drags on every one of Akutagawa's injuries.

Atsushi flinches as each injury is listed off, his eyes downcast at the floor as the guilt washes over him.

Even if I don't like him, he's badly hurt. I did that.

It doesn't help his mood when Yosano whistles, low and impressed, "You really messed him up Atsushi."

Atsushi hums as if to agree but his expression is troubled, "I know but…"

"But what?" She cocks her head at him, which only really serves to make him more nervous.

"After all that, what we learned and stuff," he stammers out, eyes sliding cautiously to an indifferent Dazai, "I just feel bad."

Feel bad isn't really the right word to use in this situation, it doesn't begin to cover the massive amount of complex feelings that Atsushi now feels towards his apparent future partner. But it's the simplest way he can express it and make sense of it.

Yosano sighs, "You can feel bad for him all you want. But most of those injuries were because he wasn't fighting smart. You shouldn't get upset about that."

"I still do." Atsushi says quietly, "Or I don't… I don't know. It's very confusing."

Kyouka doesn't like watching Atsushi confused, even if it is over Akutagawa, and gives his arm a sharp squeeze for moral support. He smiles over at her, but then brushes off her hands, lost in thought.

"To top it off he's in a coma," finishes the voice as it shifts to a dimly lit large dining room table. There are many seats at the table but only one is filled, "That's the price he paid for failing his mission."

Higuchi stands at the other end of the table, silent. Behind her, a younger girl with long blonde hair and a frilly dress draws something on the floor. Higuchi swallows and nods, "I apologize."

The voice sighs tiredly, "He may never regain consciousness again."

The ADA freeze in horror. After everything that had gone on in the last episode, even the most apprehensive towards the mafioso were unsure if they wanted Akutagawa to be permanently in a coma.

Atsushi whimpers to himself, his hands shaking, I really really hurt him…. Even if I don't like Akutagawa, no one deserves to never wake up again… What did I do?

However four of them are frozen for an entirely different reason, that being the presence of the little girl and the voice hidden in the shadows.

Mori and Elise, think Dazai, Yosano, and Fukuzawa in the same instant.

Kyouka shivers and comes closer to Atsushi when she recognizes Elise and the voice of the Port Mafia boss. Atsushi manages to set his shaking hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm them both down.

Higuchi flinches with her eyes but her body remains still, "No way.."

"Don't feel too bad." The voice doesn't appear to be that concerned, "Yes, you did fail in attacking the Agency and capturing the weretiger, and you allowed the transport ship to sink. But you all did your best in the end, did you not?" The tone implies that whoever the voice is, they weren't actually happy with these results.

Higuchi's eyes glisten as they go on, 'Effort is what's important. Results come second, don't you agree?"

Tanizaki squints at the screen, unknowing of multiple peoples' panic, "I don't trust that for a second. He just listed literally everything she did wrong, no way he's going to forget that."

"Of course not," Yosano scoffs in agreement, her composure sturdy again, "That's the Port Mafia Boss, Mori Ougai."

The Port Mafia Boss?! The rest of the ADA is now on board with what's going on. Kunikida swipes his pen and begins another page. The Tanizakis stare intently at the screen, Atsushi shivers in repressed horror at the fact that the man who led the Port Mafia was technically on-screen as of right now, and Kenji's ever-present smile dipped a bit.

Ranpo simply sips his drink and frowns.

Behind the silent Higuchi, the little girl hums to herself as she continues drawing on the floor.

The voice keeps going, "The remnants of the group Akutagawa annihilated, Karma Transit? Apparently they're regrouping. Soon they'll want revenge."

The little girl's art is revealed to be a childishly sketched out drawing of Akutagawa, with his head chopped off, happily smiling as blood pours out of his neck.

"What the fuck?" says Naomi, horrified as the girl smiles her way through her drawing, "What's wrong with her?"

No one really wants to answer it, Elise is somewhat of an enigma even to the people who know of her. Instead, Dazai speaks, "This is a bad situation for Akutagawa."

They all look over at him and he decides to keep going, "Akutagawa is in a lot of trouble. He's practically defenseless at this point. Mori won't guard him and if he ends up getting captured, he won't send people after him."

Atsushi can't help but feel sick, "Why won't he do that?"

Dazai runs his hands down his face, "It's not practical. That's what he would say. Akutagawa dug his own grave by using excessive force when he didn't have to. He won't get the Port Mafia involved." He glances over at Ranpo, who doesn't seem as concerned as the others and frowns. Suspicious.

Though there is one weird thing about this whole situation that Dazai finds himself to be stumped by, "I'm surprised Higuchi is the one involving herself in this. I wouldn't think her to care this much. She's just his subordinate and doesn't really strike me as the sentimental type."

He fully expected it to be Gin in Higuchi's place, is his implication, but he doesn't want to even mention her out loud. The ADA's had enough of Akutagawa's past for a bit.

"She does seem to care for him a lot," Kenji coos softly, "Maybe that's why? Maybe they're friends!" He seems far too delighted at the concept.

Naomi shakes her head, "I don't think they're friends, Kenji." She remembers Akutagawa's harsh slap when Higuchi fought Tanizaki in the alley. They don't seem like they're friends to her.

Higuchi jerks back again, startled. The voice now revealed to be a man, sitting at the other side of the table sighs at her, his face obscured by the candles in the center of the table. He speaks to her coldly, "Listen to me. The Mafia is a business which employs violence as its currency. It's allowed to desire and kill as it chooses. Retaliation must be weighed in terms of expenditure and liability…"

The little girl draws another line with her red crayon.

Higuchi seems to understand what he's saying, "But, How can you say that? Akutagawa-senpai has accomplished so much for the Port Mafia."

"It does seem a bit odd that the boss would simply abandon an asset such as Akutagawa," Kunikida says with a frown, "It doesn't appear logical."

Dazai rolls his eyes, "Nothing he does is. It's only logical to him. And literally no one else. It doesn't matter what Akutagawa has done for the Port Mafia. He thinks that the organization would be made better by not moving."

"That's stupid."

"Tell me about it."

"Indeed," agrees the voice, "He is competent. But his level of violence is high even by our standards."

At this point, the little girl from earlier has crawled up onto the table and is smiling at Higuchi, unperturbed by whatever is happening.

"But what about yourself?" The voice seems to almost smile as Higuchi flinches for what seems to be the millionth time, "Tell me, Higuchi."

The voice digs its claws into her, "Have you ever felt that you were truly suited for this job?"

"Huh," Kyouka is almost impressed, "I've wondered that myself."

Tanizaki doesn't seem as easily swayed, "She still attacked me, Atsushi and Naomi, just because she's "not suited for a job" doesn't mean anything."

"She's hyperactive and constantly talks," Kyouka doesn't seem to hear him, "She also loves Akutagawa. All three are weaknesses in a Mafia member."

Before anyone can ask Dazai for a confirmation, he slowly nods, "I suppose that's correct. As I said before, Higuchi wasn't a part of the mafia when I was there. I don't know what she's like."

He actually does, she's a fairly easy person to nail down. In a weird way, oddly similar to Akutagawa's own complex (that he can admit to being involved in), but nothing too out of the ordinary. Boring...

The title card clicks into place reading, "First, an Unsuitable Profession for Her."

A sink runs quickly and Higuchi leans over it, her head down. She washes her hands quietly and holds a handkerchief in her mouth. She looks rather tired. Once she's done washing her hands, she takes the handkerchief out of her mouth and dries them with it.

"I look terrible," she observes after looking at herself in the mirror.

"I have to ask," Naomi says with a squint, "The Port Mafia has a bathroom?"

"There is a bathroom on each floor of the Port Mafia headquarters," Dazai says knowledgeably, "That's probably where she is at the moment."

"I can't believe they have multiple bathrooms and we only have one," complains Ranpo with a frown, "It's much more convenient to have many."

"Dazai also takes hour-long bathroom breaks," Tanizaki shoots a glare at Dazai's blissfully ignorant back, "More bathrooms would stop him from hogging it up and killing my bladder."

There's a sharp slash of a knife and rather quickly, Higuchi is held at knifepoint by none other than Gin.

"That's a sufficient demonstration, Gin," says Hirotsu's dry voice. Gin lets Higuchi go with a sharp twist of her knife. Higuchi immediately hacks loudly, trying to catch her breath.

Standing outside the bathroom door are Tachihara and Hirotsu, the latter looking formal and the former… propped up with one leg and smirking.

"What the fuck is Tachihara doing?" deadpans Yosano, staring at Tachihara's terrifyingly odd position.

"He's asserting his dominance," Naomi replies, making the entire ADA shoot her confused looks. She meets their confusion with her own, "You guys don't know where that's from?"

"No?" Kenji leans forward, "Where is it from?"

Naomi looks him up and down before shaking her head, "I can not ruin you."

"The Black Lizard," Higuchi says as cooly as she can while choking.

Tachihara's voice replies as cool as he can, "You gotta excuse Gin. The boss has him doing a whole lot of infiltrating and assassinating, he'll slice anybody's throat now. Even one of our own."

Gin stares down at Higuchi, something else burning in her eyes rather than pure hate like usual. It almost looks like… worry?

Kyouka notices Gin's worry, mostly because she's become used to the expression on other's faces. Her head comes a bit closer to the screen as she tries to decipher Gin's gaze. As far as she knew, Gin and Akutagawa had no connection to each other. She'd never even seen them interact.

I'm missing something.

Apparently she wasn't the only one who noticed Gin's reaction because Kunikida also frowns and looks at her, "Are Gin and Akutagawa friends?"

"No," she says bluntly before considering, "I do not remember them ever speaking to each other."

"Odd," is all Kunikida replies with "Gin seems way too concerned for that to be the case."

His eyes slide to Dazai, who gives him a cheeky smile, "Anything to say Dazai?"

"Not really!" Dazai says with relish, "I don't want to ruin all the fun!"

"So you're admitting that there is something we are missing"

"Maybe!" Dazai ducks under the pencil Kunikida chucks at him, "I bet you'll figure it out."

"If he'd been serious, you'd be dead," Tachihara finishes with a flourish.

Higuchi sighs, "Does the boss intend to take me out?" Her eyes are cold.

"Not today," Hirotsu says with a puff of his cigarette, "Tomorrow is another story."

"Yikes.." Ranpo says, slightly amused.

Kenji just frowns to himself, "Why would her boss kill her? She works for him!"

Kyouka seems to find his question as ridiculous as he finds Higuchi's statement, "If she is not fulfilling her orders to the expectation of the boss, should she not be eliminated?"

Kenji shakes his head, "In my village, if someone wasn't good at a job, we would figure out what they were good at and move them there! That way they are still helping!"

"That does seem more efficient," Kyouka says, "Less bodies that way."

Kenji either doesn't understand her implication or ignores it completely, "Indeed!"

Higuchi is still on her guard, "Are you here just to gloat?"

Hirotsu glares at her, "If I were you, I'd reevaluate my current situation before an assassin arrives at my doorstep. You, along with Akutagawa are a strike force under the boss and the executives' direct supervision. As such, you are our superior."

"Really?" even Atsushi can't help but question that, "Higuchi is higher ranked than the Black Lizard?"

"She is apparently," Yosano doesn't seem too impressed, "But that's really odd. You would think Hirotsu would be in charge due to his age."

"Hirotsu's not the kind of person to complain though," Dazai rolls his eyes, "He tends to be simply go with whatever the boss says, even if he doesn't like it. That's why he's so respected in the Port Mafia, he's loyal."

"I guess that is a grounds for respect," huffs Kunikida with a sigh, "In a way."

Higuchi's face flickers for a bit, maybe guilt runs over her face. Hirotsu keeps going as the Black Lizard glowers at her, "But do not mistake our position for obedience."

Akutagawa's Rashomon burns into the screen as Hirotsu keeps talking, "It is Akutagawa's power that commands our respect. Tell me.." The current broken form of Akutagawa is shown again, "During the time Akutagawa will be indisposed, Do you possess something that could compel us to obey you?"

Higuchi stands in the red light, next to her superior's broken form. She's silent. Then, her hand reaches for his… only to stop.

"Yeah gotta agree with Hirotsu on that one," Tanizaki says finally, "What does Higuchi have other than Akutagawa to make them respect her?"

"Her annoying voice?" offers Kyouka, not understanding why both Atsushi and Dazai wheeze loudly, followed by some others in the agency.

Kyouka blinks and tugs on Atsushi's arm again, "What did I say?" Atsushi shakes his head at her and smiles, "You made a joke!"

"I did?" She doesn't seem too enthralled by the idea. Atsushi nods, "It was a pretty good one too!"

"Huh," Kyouka settles back down with a mystified look, "A joke."

"I don't need help from you!" Akutagawa's rage-filled voice says in her mind, prompting her to pull back.

She flashes back to a broken building. Akutagawa steps out of the ashes and smoke, his coat flowing in the breeze. The past version of Higuchi runs up to him, "Senpai! Please wait!"

She meets with him in front of the building, "This is suicide! Even for you!"

It's so much easier to put everything Akutagawa does into context now, Atsushi can't help but think, even through his muddled opinion of Akutagawa in general, It's all for a purpose.

He hates the burning feeling in his stomach, the pain that aches through his every bone that feels hauntingly familiar to what Akutagawa is doing on screen. It's disturbing, but also… almost freeing in a way.

"He really doesn't care does he?" hums Naomi, "about anyone."

Atsushi finishes the thought for her, Not even himself...

Akutagawa brushes past her, ignoring her completely. She keeps going, "You're walking into a building full of security guards! We don't even have instruction on how to back you.."

As she yells at him, she grabs his arm, desperate to help. Akutagawa throws her off, "Shut up."

Higuchi stumbles backward, fear in her eyes. But it's not fear for herself, it's clear that she's worried for him.

"Why is she so concerned for him?" Atsushi finds himself asking, eye locked on the scene, "He's done nothing for her."

"I guess, she just does," Ranpo says with a clack of his teeth, "Sometimes there's not much more to it than that."

Atsushi opens his mouth to argue, but it is Ranpo telling him this. He closes his mouth with a frown, I suppose….that's…. true.

"Just what would you know?" He shouts at her. She stares at him in abject shock and then the building behind her explodes. She turns around along with Akutagawa to watch the building erupt into flames.

Akutagawa's eyes are somehow even colder, "There it is. A beacon visible from anywhere in the city. A powerful beacon for the one who left without a word." His voice snarls the last bit.

The building's smoke is massive and covers the sky. The fumes and ashes fall down on Higuchi and him.

Akutagawa stares into the smoke, almost frozen, "The one who left without acknowledging my ability."

The Agency tries not to look over at Dazai, but they can't really help it. Their eyes slowly drift over to where Dazai sits on the couch. Dazai's expression hasn't changed much, his eyes are fixated on the burning building that Akutagawa created.

It's incredibly awkward. Fukuzawa has forgiven Dazai, to an extent his words have placated the ADA for now. But, the scene serves as another reminder that the Silent Rabid Dog was, in a way, a monster of Dazai's making.

Dazai hums, "I didn't see it."

Yikes…

Several of the ADA absolutely check out at that point, nope not getting involved…. Too much..

Other than Atsushi, whose brain is spinning once again… Dazai… you saved me… why?... What makes me different?... This…

This is not okay...

"Senpai!" Higuchi turns to him as he continues to keep his eyes above him, "Please allow me to do my part in helping you!"

Akutagawa's dead eyes turn towards her, and the rage he holds spills out, "I don't need help from you!"

Higuchi steps back, afraid.

"Jeez, Akutagawa," mutters Ranpo, "Take a chill pill."

"Never had one in his life."" Tanizaki scoffs, deciding to play off Ranpo in fear that the others will continue to be silent.

"Doubtful he knows what those are," Yosano adds on.

As the flashback finishes, Akutagawa's voice plays one final time, this time mournful instead of angry, "I need no one's help."

Higuchi reaches for the unconscious Akutagawa's hand again, before drawing away.

The scene cuts to much later, it's now nighttime. The sound of a door opening sounds before Higuchi enters a dark home. She's wearing a trenchcoat instead of her normal garb.

"Wait," Kenji suddenly raises his hands, "She doesn't live at the Port Mafia building?"

They all look over at him, completely confused. Tanizaki raises a brow, "Kenji, of course, she doesn't?"

"The building is so big though!" Kenji says aloud, almost starry-eyed, "Why would they not live there?"

"Because…" Dazai actually pauses and thinks, "Actually, why don't they live there?"

The ADA look blankly at him, but Kenji shoves some sort of fruit into his mouth, nodding and pointing with enthusiastic agreement. Dazai stares at his hands, almost in some sort of daze, "That would make more sense…"

"Dazai stop," Yosano tells the shaking man, "You're freaking everyone out."

Dazai doesn't seem to hear her, too engrossed in his mind to pay attention.

"I'm home."

She says it shakily and then remembers her boss's words, "Have you ever felt that you were truly suited for this job?"

She throws her bag to the floor and collapses to her knees, her hands buried in her face.

"No," She whispers aloud, "Of course I haven't."

To say the ADA is confused is an understatement, they're baffled by Higuchi's words. Tanizaki cocks his head at her, barely concealing his anger, "She didn't seem to feel that way when she shot us in the alleyway."

"Yea," Naomi agrees, "Since when did she not have a place in the mafia?"

Yosano disagrees with a shake of her head, "Kyouka told us all about her lack of ability to shut up and obsession with Akutagawa, her subordinates don't respect her and even her boss seems to think she's not supposed to be there. I'm starting to wonder why she's even there in the first place."

She has a couple of guesses of course but doesn't like the implication of most of them.

Naomi sighs and presses her face to her hands, "This is starting to get less fun and more confusing."

Maddie, the only one who knows more than them all, just smiles to herself.

The scene shows a group of armed men as they rush into the room where Akutagawa lays. They shout unhearable orders at each other and then shove their guns in the unconscious mafioso's face. As soon as they determine that Akutagawa is not awake, they pull the plug on his ventilator with a sharp beep.

A phone rings.

Higuchi picks it up, her voice sleepy, "This is Higuchi."

As Akutagawa is put in danger, many of the people seated on the couches suppress shouts of alarm. Atsushi finds himself tensing up with fear for Akutagawa's safety despite it all. Even Kyouka, who vehemently disliked Akutagwa found herself glued to the screen as Akutagawa was thrown into danger like that.

Dazai taps his chair with a frown, This could be bad.

"See!" Kenji says randomly, causing all the people around him to look at him, "They are friends! She's going to rescue him!"

"Sure Kenji," responds Tanizaki dryly.

The voice tells her something and she jerks in alarm, "What did you say?"

She turns and bolts, shoving on her equipment and running as fast as she can.

The scene cuts a bit showing Higuchi now fully armed and running through a warehouse. In her mind, she recalls the Black Lizard watching her pack her weapons.

"Think this over," Hirotsu tells her, "The boss won't be happy."

"Why would he not be pleased with them if they went and rescued Akutagawa?" Kunikida asks no one in particular, "Even if he doesn't want the Port Mafia to rescue him if they do it independently and save an asset…" He trails off and looks over at Fukuzawa.

Sensing that his input is needed, Fukuzawa sighs, "Mori is a vile person. He likes to use people and throw them away. Remember that Akutagawa could be permanently injured and could never wake up again. There is no use for him, so Mori is cleanly letting him go and moving on."

As he points this out, Kunikida's face goes from understanding to repulsion, "I see."

The burning feeling only gets worse for Atsushi as he takes in the president's words and he ends up swallowing a load of bile that formed on his tongue. Kyouka hears him and pats his arm but doesn't ask any questions.

I hate this so much, Atsushi thinks tiredly, absently wiping his mouth even if there was nothing there, so much.

Tachihara nods in agreement, "Are you crazy, sis? You're gonna get yourself killed. Big Bro Akutagawa was taken by a bunch of foreign mercenaries hired by what was left of Karma Transit. There's a crapload of em. Each and every one of those guys are armed to the teeth."

Tachihara's cool demeanor breaks a bit and his voice gets a bit more desperate, "The boss'll issue orders for a retrieval operation, just wait a minute!" He reaches for Higuchi as she attempts to walk past him.

She jerks away, "There will be NO order!"

"What's with Tachihara calling Higuchi 'sis'?" asks Ranpo with an amused gleam in his eyes.

He doesn't seem to ask the question genuinely, but Naomi adds onto it anyways, "And Akutagawa 'Big Bro'?

Atsushi gets a horrible mental image of Akutagawa surrounded by a bunch of other mini Akutagawas and shivers involuntarily, "I don't know."

"I mean," Dazai snorts suddenly, "It's not that far off."

He gets weird looks from the rest of them and widens his smile a bit, mockingly. Kunikida frowns at his partner for what feels like the millionth time, "Something you're not saying Dazai?"

"Nothing of interest to you Kunikida!" responds Dazai simply

Tachihara stands, staring at her shocked. She pants a bit, before sighing, "This attack on Akutagawa-senpai was personal. If we retaliate as an organization we risk triggering more conflicts on a larger scale. The higher-ups don't care about private disputes. They'll turn a blind eye to all of this. Akutagawa-senpai has already been abandoned."

Tachihara's horrified, but he seems to try and calm her down, "But what can you do on your own?"

"See?" Dazai levels a stare with the other members of the ADA, "For all her talk about not belonging there, she gets it. They can't do anything."

"They can!" says Atsushi suddenly with a sharp leap to his feet, "They can do something! They can't just sit there…" He trails off as he seems to realize what he's doing, defending the Port Mafia and Akutagawa against Dazai….He plops back down onto his seat, face flushed.

Dazai blinks at him, completely thrown for a loop by his mentee's outburst. Some of the other ADA members are similarly startled, especially the Tanizakis and Kyouka.

Atsushi's face burns but some odd weight in his chest is gone now, That was stupid. The tiger in his chest only chuffs at him as if mocking him for his jittery nerves.

Shut up you.

"Nothing," She replies, "I can't do anything."

She turns to glower at the two of them, eyes wet, "But I can't just sit here and do nothing."

She runs towards the place where the mercenaries are keeping Akutagawa.

Eyes slide towards Atsushi, who only gaps at the screen as he realizes what Higuchi has just admitted to. The exact same thing he had said…

What?

"Ohhh Atsushi!" sings Dazai with a smile, "You and Higuchi have something in common!"

"HHHH" Is all Atsushi can say though his muddled brain as Dazai cackles like the maniac he is.

As she does so, she thinks to herself, I know where I stand. I know I'm not suited for this job. I know I don't have the respect of my subordinates.

Hirotsu's words from earlier echo around her and she grits her teeth, It's not easy to leave the Port Mafia. But not impossible. I've thought about it often. But each time I could never go through with it.

She makes it to a small warehouse and begins to frantically pull out her weapons and prepares to enter the warehouse. Her hands shake in fear and she hugs herself with her weapon and squeezes her eyes shut.

It's almost amazing how fast the ADA are completely invested in Higuchi's character. Her words must have touched some part of them because they actually start coming closer to the screen as if to touch it.

Yosano speaks with begrudging respect, "At least she knows that she's not suited for her job. That's something.."

"What makes her stay?" is another question asked, though they don't know by who. Each of them ponders it for a bit before coming back with answers.

"She has friends there!" Kenji

"She's stupid." Ranpo

"She has a rather large amount of loyalty". Kunikida.

"She's a masochist." Yosano.

"All of them combined?" Atsushi.

Finally, she throws a bomb into their base, listening to them scream as she charges in, guns blazing. She manages to get a hit off one but then is forced to duck behind a crate. Swinging her gun around, she picks off another guy, only to see that one of them has climbed over the crate to shoot at her. She fires quickly, knocking him over, but realizes that she's been shot in the leg.

Damnit, She hisses to herself through the pain, I can't rescue Akutagawa-senpai in this state.

A flashback in her mind, hazy and out of focus, of Akutagawa and Rashomon. He turns his head to look at something in the distance.

Naomi squints at the screen, "Does.. does she have a crush on Akutagawa?"

The idea of anyone having feelings for Akutagawa is so bizarre that most of the ADA have to do a double-take at her words. Ranpo even stops lounging and shoots her a weird look.

"Does she?" She asks again, as if someone could tell her.

Kunikida hums to himself, "That could be a cause. Or she simply admires him a lot, similar to how Ranpo admires the President." This time as she says that, Ranpo shoots up as if shot out of a gun.

"WHAT?"

"Please Ranpo," Yosano snorts, "As if we don't already know this."

Ranpo's scowl grows deeper, but he sits down again, his arms crossed over his body. He huffs loudly in Yosano's direction which only makes her roll her eyes.

Higuchi wheezes aloud and then braces herself before jumping into the mercenaries' line of fire with a battle cry. She fires as quickly as she can but her impulses prove to not be beneficial since the gun instantly flies out of her hand, followed by the second one she carried with her being shot out of her grasp.

She crashes to the floor, clutching her shoulder as the guards stomp over to her. They stare at each other for a couple of minutes before one of them finally points a gun at her. She looks up at them, gasping out, "I could never walk away," as she prepares for death.

Atsushi actually drags his eyes away from the scene and down towards his lap, staring at his hands as he waits for the gunshot that would end Higuchi's life. He doesn't know why his body is shaking or why his mind is violently racing to do something, but he does know that Higuchi won't make it and he can't watch the life leave her eyes.

I said I wouldn't care for the Port Mafia, He thinks bitterly to himself, Now look at me. I can't even keep myself under control when two of them are hurt.

Kyouka doesn't even reassure him, too invested to try and reach out. Atsushi hugs himself instead, waiting for the bang of the gun.

"Because the truth is," the trigger on the gun pulls and the gunshot rings out.

The guy above Higuchi falls over.

The Black Lizard storms into the warehouse. Higuchi whips around just as Tachihara shouts, "LET'S TAKE EM ALL OUT!"

Atsushi jerks up in surprise at Tachihara's war cry and finds himself to be immeasurably pleased when he realizes that the Black Lizard has shown up.

Kenji cheers loudly, the only one to do so, "I was right!"

He might be the loudest of them all to express his pleasure, but the other members of the ADA are oddly pleased with the Black Lizard's appearance. They all have small smiles gracing their faces.

Atsushi doesn't actually notice the pleasure of the others, but Kenji's enthusiastic cheers must mean that he wasn't alone in his fear of the Port Mafia member's demise. His head lifts up slowly and he loosens his arms around his middle.

He throws a hand into the air as the Port Mafia goons start firing.

He and Gin charge into the fray as Higuchi watches in sheer disbelief, "You all came. But.. why? "

Hirotsu looks down at her, after all, she's still on the floor. His smile is small but there, "If our superior is in danger, we can't sit by and do nothing."

Higuchi's eyes water and tears threaten to spill out of them.

"That was borderline heartwarming!" shouts Tanizaki in pure exacerbation, "What the fuck?"

"FRIENDS!" Kenji cheers again, ignorant of Tanizaki's disgust, "They came to rescue her!"

"I'm kinda impressed that the Black Lizard actually came," Kunikida says with an almost smile, "From their words earlier you would think they wouldn't."

"Hirotsu can be sentimental sometimes," Dazai huffs with an easy shrug, "He probably suggested it if I'm honest."

"Okayyy," Tachihara stares at the bodies on the floor, "Looks like we're done here."

Higuchi utterly ignores him and stumbles into the room where Akutagawa's bed and body lay. She pants and leans against the door for a second, before saying "Akutagawa-senpai?"

He doesn't move.

It's almost crushing to the ADA, who'd sat through all of this only for Akutagawa to remain in the coma that Atsushi had sent him into. Just as they had been with Atsushi, they were now completely invested in the story even if these people were their enemies.

"Come on you stubborn fuck," Yosano hisses through her teeth at Akutagawa, "Wake up and make this shit worth it."

If anyone disagrees with her, they don't make it known.

She crashes against his bedside, barely managing to choke out a "Please wake up."

And he wakes up, his dead eyes oddly full and less black, grayer almost. His voice is raspy and weak but he says, "Is that you, Higuchi?"

They all sigh with relief, the tension bleeding out of the room as Akutagawa's eyes open. Atsushi finds a grin on his face even if he knows that he shouldn't be smiling for his enemy, At least I didn't send him into a coma for life. I don't know if I could've lived with myself if I did.

Yosano nods to herself in approval, glad that Akutagawa had almost listened to her and paid off the tension in the room. It would've sucked if he hadn't and she really wasn't in the mood to deal with another depressing atmosphere.

Kenji laughs happily and claps his hands, "It's so nice! Even our enemies have friendships!"

"I wouldn't consider that nice, Kenji," Naomi holds back a fond laugh, "But sure."

She's leaning over him, but her face softens and she rummages through her bag and pulls out the handkerchief, "You're bleeding."

He lifts a hand and stops her from wiping the blood off of his face. She freezes, unsure. He turns his head away from her and says while watching her with his weirdly alive eyes, "Thanks."

Higuchi stares at him until the tears start building and dripping down her cheeks. Outside the Black Lizard quietly listen in with smiles on their faces.

"That's…" Kyouka stares at the screen with a startled expression, "Not like him."

Her face is screwed into a frown as she stares at Akutagawa laying on the bed. Whatever she's thinking isn't apparent on her face, but she seems to be deeply contemplating something.

Dazai seems almost impressed, "He actually thanked her. Never thought I'd see the day…"

"The day what?" Kunikida asks, unflinching.

Dazai pops his cheeks, "The day Akutagawa was grateful for anything anyone did for him."

"Hm."

It's not easy to leave the Port Mafia, but I never went through with it, because…

"It's my job," She tells him with a smile and tears sliding down her cheeks.

As the screen closes out, Naomi blinks, "That's it?" To her, this episode feels rather short.

Maddie shakes her head and taps a watch on her wrist, "We've still got another half of this episode to go. This is just a two-parter"

"Oh," Naomi sighs relieved that it wasn't over, "That's good!"

"Sure," Maddie gives her a weird look, "I suppose."

The scene changes to a daytime scene at the ADA. Kunikida walks over to Atsushi with a frown, "I'm leaving you to look after the girl." He carefully moves Kyouka in front of Atsushi

Atsushi blinks at her, "W..what? Is that okay?"

"You were the one responsible for saving her after all," Kunikida doesn't look too pleased. Atsushi nods nervously, "Right.."

"Oh we're back with us!" Tanizaki's whole face brightens a lot, "Cool!"

Kunikidai squints at Atsushi on the screen, "Why wouldn't you house Kyouka? It seems like the more rational option."

"Uhhh," Atsushi stammers, "I'm literally the newest member to the Agency. I've been here for two weeks. Why would I be trusted with that responsibility?"

"Because we trust you as a person?" frowns Ranpo, "You're an agency member!"

"Right," Atsushi's eyes dart to the side, awkwardly, "I guess so."

As he says that the door opens loudly behind them, "E-excuse me?" says the voice of a young woman. The ADA members turn around to see Minoura and a young woman standing there. She salutes them, "We're from the city police!"

"Welcome!" Kenji beams at them, looking up from his plant.

"Back again," Ranpo grins up at the police from his newspaper, "Didn't one of your officers get arrested last time, Minoura?"

"UHHHH," says Atsushi, suddenly making the connection between Minoura (a police officer) and Kyouka (a wanted criminal), "WHY IS MINOURA THERE?"

"Eh," Ranpo waves his hand indifferently, "Minoura's not very observant. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Atsushi's voice rises in pitch, clearly disturbed.

"Yeah," snorts Ranpo, "He couldn't see the truth if it was staring him in the face. Literally. " He gestures at Minoura with a grin. From beside him, Yosano rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather not dwell on that matter," Minoura says with a frown before looking at them, "We have another case."

The title screen reads, "Second, An Ecstatic Detective Agency."

Kenji watches Minoura and the woman walk away through the ADA window with a sigh, "Aw they didn't even stay for tea after business..I guess the city policemen are just too busy for that.."

"You offered them tea?" Kunikida gasps, baffled, "Why would you offer them tea if they are busy?"

"They are stressed, most likely," Kenji claps his hands, "Some tea would calm them down!"

"I guess…But what if they get distracted and we throw them off their schedule!" Kunikida taps his own for emphasis.

"Not everyone has a schedule Kunikida," Dazai giggles aloud, "We're not all boring."

Kunikida frowns and then scoffs, "The police still have a schedule to adhere to, even if it is not as well-written as mine. They cannot be thrown off!"

Kenji only lets a smile dust across his features, "Even tea to go would be good!"

He pulls himself away from the window as Atsushi and Kunikida watch him. Kunikida hums curiously, "What are the police like where you're from, Kenji?"

Kenji turns around with a smile, pressing his fingers to his mouth in thought, "We all know each other in my village! It's common to see our policemen doing things like fixing the pump to the local well, rescuing cats, or standing in line to taste the first crop of watermelons!"

"Are you serious?" Kunikida can't hide his disbelief well, "What happens to your lawbreakers?"

Kenji laughs, "They get hogtied and tossed off a cliff!"

"UHHHH," The ADA's eyes all slide over to Kenji who giggles delightedly to himself, "That is true!"

"You throw people off of cliffs?" questions Tanizaki, who now has a completely new perspective on Kenji, "Wh…"

Kenji smiles, "Yes, we do!" And he leaves it at that. From the couch nearby, Atsushi whines quietly to himself as he imagines Kenji happily throwing a criminal off a cliff to their doom.

What a horrible image..

Kunikida can't stop his eyes from looking directly at the President as if an explanation could be offered. Fukuzawa gives no such thing,

Atsushi wheezes from beside him, completely baffled…"Kenji?"

Kenji seems blissfully unaware, "I was living in a small village called Ihatov where there's no electricity till about two months ago! After the president recruited me, I came here! I'm having fun learning all sorts of new things!"

"Learning new things?" Atsushi asks, curious, "Like what?"

Kenji becomes thoughtful, "Well, I don't really understand the concept of money?" A title card beside him reads, 'Isn't bartering enough?"

"You guys bartered for things?" Yosano has no such apprehension for Kenji's village life, in fact she had always been rather curious.

Kenji nods, pleased someone is into Ihatov, "We did! There are many other things in modern society that I do not understand, such as phones and washing machines." He clicks his tongue, "Why can't you just do things with your hands?"

"Convenience," Ranpo puffs his cheeks, "And it's less complicated for people."

"Less complicated isn't always the only opinion, " Kenji's sunny face actually frowns, "I find most city things to be overly complicated."

"Whatever," Ranpo leans back on the sofa, eyeing Kenji.

"Is that really possible?" Atsushi sighs tiredly

Tanizaki speaks up from behind them, "Kunikida, what should we do about that request from the police?"

Kunikida slides his chair over to read the file over Tanizaki's shoulder, "Car in motion explodes for unknown reasons, huh?"

"I'm assuming that that is what this episode is about then," Naomi says with a frown, "Stuff like that is never brought up without a reason."

"Probably," Dazai blinks blearily, "I don't watch as much TV as you do Naomi, so I wouldn't know!"

She sighs at him, "I'm sure." Her sarcasm isn't appreciated by Dazai, who gives her a small glare.

"They're completely stumped by it," Tanizaki turns back to the screen.

"You wanna give it a go?" Kunikida askes Atsushi who turns to him, startled, "Shadow another agent. Try and get the hang of things."

Atsushi blinks twice, contemplating. After all, the last time didn't go so well. Kunikida adds on, "I know you can do it."

Atsushi's face melts to a smile,"Thanks!"

The actual Atsushi flushes a bit before grinning at Kunikida, "Thanks for believing in me!"

"It's not an issue Atsushi," Kunikida says to him, unaware of just how happy Atsushi is to simply be given a job, "You should be given assignments sometimes. Especially since your last one went so badly."

"Right!" Atsushi says happily, "I'm happy to take on any job!'

"Any job?" Dazai squints at Atsushi's enthusiastic face, "Even my…"

He doesn't finish anything before Kunikida hurls a pen at him, "FINISH YOUR PAPERWORK!"

The next scene was of a car smashed up high into the side of a building. Police sirens wail and mingle with concerned civilian voices.

"The car was driving along and somehow ended up there?" Kenji is standing directly in the shadow of the car as Atsushi kneels on the floor behind him, hands in his hair, "This is way over my head!"

"Was that a pun?" Tanizaki stares at Atsushi with an almost impressed expression, "That was really good!"

"I didn't mean to make it…" whines Atsushi, having realized what he said at this point, "It was an accident…"

"Too late," Ranpo tells him seriously, "This brain never forgets!"

"I showed you the way to the candy store last week and you forgot," Yosano snorts at him, "You definitely forget things."

"SHHH," Ranpo aggressively shushes her, "Don't expose me."

"The unidentified driver died on impact," Kenji continues.

"Unidentified?" Atsushi whines before looking at Kenji, "Can't we use fingerprints or teeth to figure out who they were?"

"Sure!" Agrees Kenji looking down at him, "If we had any!"

"Ewww,,," Naomi groans as she thinks of all the horrible things that probably happened to that person, "Gross."

"It is rather gruesome to think about," agrees Kyouka suddenly, "But their death was painless compared to some others I have seen."

Naomi shudders at the thought, "That's horrific, Kyouka."

Kyouka just shrugs, "I can tell you hundreds of more painful ways to die than burning in a car crash. At least he wasn't tortured."

From beside her, Atsushi winces harshly, recalling his own torment at the hands of the headmaster. Kyouka doesn't notice, too engrossed in her own thoughts about the Port Mafia and her past.

Atsushi flips out again, "What?! You're saying that the body… is completely sludge now?"

Kenji taps his chin again, "Now then…," As he talks, the horrific sound of Atsushi retching in the background is heard, "I know Ranpo could solve this case right away, but we're just gonna have to gather information the old fashioned way."

A building labeled the "Yokohamabashi" is shown, it's clear that it's some sort of shopping area judging from the number of stands and people there.

"Oh, I love that place!" Tanizaki says with a smile, "They always have the best food there!"

"Food?" Atsushi and Ranpo's heads both pop up at the same time, which is endlessly amusing to Dazai and Yosano, who both have stupid fond smiles plastered onto their faces.

"We should go there!" Atsushi turns to Kyouka and Dazai, "We can do it after this!"

Kyouka nods, way too enthused by the idea of going to a big marketplace similar to her future self in the show, "It will be fun!"

Atsushi opens his mouth to agree just as Dazai claps him on the back, "As long as Atsushi pays for it all."

"HHHH" Atsushi squeaks, hands darting to his wallet.

Kenji walks among them, distracted by a little old woman, "Kenji!"

"Hello, Maeda-onee-san!" Kenji calls to her with a wave. She beams at him, "Thank you for the boar meat the other day, It was scrumptious!"

Kenji only waves her off, "It was nothing really! My folks sent me a lot from home!"

"Your parents send you meat?" Naomi shoots Kenji a concerned look, "How are they able to keep it fresh?"

"Family secret!" says Kenji with a wink, "I can't tell you!"

Naomi looks rather sick at the idea of a large amount of meat shipping through the mail, "Gross."

"It's not that gross," Kenji overhears her, "You should try it sometime!"

Naomi flinches at the thought, but does accept his offer, "Sure."

Atsushi, who has been tagging along with Kenji, squints, "Did you say onee-san?"

"She'd be considered young in my village," Kenji tells him, just as someone yells at him, "Hey kid!"

Kenji and Atsushi both turn around as a man moving boxes speaks again, "You know the vegetable garden I told you about? It isn't draining very well."

"Hold on," Kunikida raises his hands, "Since when do you have the time to do all of this?" He directs this at Kenji.

"I make the time," Kenji says coolly, "It's simple!"

Kunikida's face drops as he realizes that someone else in the ADA might care about time management, "How do you do it simply?"

"You let the wind take you," Kenji tells him earnestly as Kunikida's face drops in annoyance, "I see."

Kenji shrugs "It must be the soil in the rows, I'll check it out later!"

"Great," the guys sigh with relief, "Thanks a lot!"

Atsushi watches him go, mystified, "You're really popular!"

'It's just me being nice," Kenji tells him seriously, "It's amazing what that can do! It helps me in all my cases!"

"Really?" Atsushi asks, bewildered, "How would that help you solve cases quicker?" His curiosity is noticed by Kunikida, who silently freaks out from where he's sitting. His wild gestures and attempts to get Dazai's attention to make Atsushi stop listening to Kenji speak are completely ignored by Dazai.

"You can solve cases by only being kind?" Atsushi asks, voice getting higher as Kenji nods, "By being honest!"

"That sounds great!" Atsushi says aloud before he's whacked by Kyouka in the back of the head. He turns to her, mournfully rubbing his head.

"Snap out of it," is all she says.

"Hey Kenji," says a darker voice. The two of them turn to see an older, more sleazy looking man staring at Kenji, "You on the job?"

Atsushi hides behind a completely unrattled Kenji, who beams, "We are as a matter of fact! We're investigating the explosion that just happened! Can you tell us anything about it?"

"Oh," The guy glances nervously around, "With the car right? You could say… there are rumors.."

"He's up to no good," Yosano sighs tiredly, "it's so obvious that it actually hurts."

Kenji gives her an offended look, "Don't make assumptions!"

Yosano raises one eyebrow and darts her eyes rapidly between Kenji and the man, as if trying to help open Kenji''s eyes to the clear bad vibes the man had.

He doesn't notice.

Kenji's smile grows and the guy seems to back up a little bit, before looking back and front and then leaning in forcing Atsushi to back away from him, "I'm really not supposed to talk about it...but from what I overheard….right before it happened those backstreet folks from the factory district bought a load of fertilizer…"

"Fertilizer?" Kenji whispers back, as if playing along, "So you think they realized the beauty of farming?"

"No," The guy says, "They were talking about manufacturing something!"

"What can you make with fertilizer?" Atsushi asks the others, confused as to how fertilizer fit into all of this.

Dazai snaps his fingers, "Actually you can make a lot of things, not just plants! But it would all depend on the kind of fertilizer."

"Based on the time left in the episode, the fertilizer is probably what we are looking for," Naomi adds cheerily, "So it's probably nitrogen fertilizer that can be used in bombs!"

"Bombs?" Atsushi has never heard of such a thing, but gets his confirmation as the whole ADA nod, "I didn't know that."

I really need to work on my skills if I'm ever going to catch up...

Kenji's eyes widened, "Then it was probably nitrogen fertilizer!"

"What's that?" asks Atsushi, still a couple of feet away. Kenji turns to look at him, " An ingredient for explosives."

Atsushi shouts, "What?!"

"Called it!" crows Naomi, "Explosives!'

"You sure did," Tanizaki agrees politely with his sister, even giving her a high five.

Atsushi sinks down in his spot, embarrassed that he didn't get the fertilizer clue even if all the others did.

Kenji bows politely to the man, "Thank you as always! You've been very helpful!"

The man shakes his head, "Anything for you Kenji!"

Stunned into silence, Atsushi watches, We already have a lead? Kenji's amazing!

"Not particularly!" Kenji dismisses suddenly before turning and grinning at Atsushi, "You're the amazing one Atsushi!"

Atsushi stares at him before his face breaks into a startled smile, "I'm not!"

"False!" Dazai sings as he drapes himself over Atsushi's shoulder, "You've gotten through so much already! And you're still a great person!"

Atsushi blinks at him, "Great person? I'm.. a great person?"

"Sure!" Dazai tells him as Kyouka nods vigorously from beside him. The other ADA members all mumble words of assent as Atsushi buries his face in his hands for what feels like the millionth time that day out of sheer embarrassment.

The two of them continue on. Kenji smiles, "Speaking of the factory district, there's a hangout spot for the Youth Association there!"

"Who's that?" Atsushi asks, confused.

"To put it in city terms," Kenji says with a smile, "They're a gang!"

"A GANG!" Atsushi blanches as he registers what Kenji said, "Why are we going to see a gang?"

"They probably had something to do with it," groans Ranpo, rubbing his hands over his eyes, "Why can't this show give us good mysteries?"

"Ranpo this is a real-life situation," Tanzaki says.

"Well, it's a lame one," Ranpo tells them with a nod, "Come up with something better."

"Who are you talking to?"

"No idea." Ranpo pops a candy in his mouth with a beam.

Atsushi flinches, "A..a a gang?!"

"I wonder if they could be the ones who built the bomb," Kenji ponders out loud before grinning, "Let's go there and ask them!"

"Wait a minute!" shouts Atsushi, completely bewildered, "Even if they were responsible, why would they admit it? Especially to us!"

"Atsushi is correct," Kyouka turns to Kenji, "What makes you believe that a group of gang members would confess to the murder?" She leans forward, her eyes sort of gleaming, "Unless you plan on torturing them?"

Kenji laughs lightly, "No torture! After all, if you are honest then people will give you honesty back!"

The incredulous look on Kyouka's face says that she believes rather differently. But her mouth twitches as though she's trying not to burst into laughter.

Kenji waves him off, "If we go and ask them nicely, I'm sure they'll tell us! That's how life is!"

Atsushi scoffs in disbelief. "That's how life is? Are you serious?"

Kenji just smiles mysteriously. Atsushi is absolutely baffled, "You are serious…"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kenji frowns at Atsushi, who immediately backtracks his future self's words, "I'm sure I didn't mean it like that!"

He drops his body forward a bit, "It's just, I can't believe that anyone would simply admit something like that."

"You'd be surprised," Yosano interjects, "Kenji has a way with people." She recalls the one mission the two of them went on together and her absolute confusion as Kenji literally fought the entirety of the group they were questioning after one tried to break her finger, not that it worked.

It'll be fun to see that again.

There's a pause and then Atsushi gets an absolutely dorky expression on his face, "I guess you're right Kenji!" Pink clouds float around his head.

Back at the ADA Kunikida has arrived back from the market and seems to have realized Atsushi is gone, "Hey Junichiro. Weren't you with Atsushi today?" A title card besides Kunikida reads "Was off purchasing Eggs on a Limited-Time Sale."

"Kunikida, I have a very important question for you," Naomi is staring at the grocery bag in Kunikida's hand.

"What."

"Do you have a coupon book?"

"What sort of question is that?" Kunikida reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the coupon book, "Of course I do!"

He fails to notice Naomi practically spitting her water out and wheezing into her brother's shoulders.

Tanizaki shakes his head, "Actually Kenji was the one with him."

Kunikida scratches a loud, "WHAT? He's with Kenji?"

Tanizaki shrugs, "Yeah, they went to the crime scene! Kenji has solved a lot of difficult cases in the past, so I can't imagine there would be any prob…"

Kenji turns and stares at Kunikida, "I don't see how me and Atsushi doing things together is a problem?"

Kunikida groans to himself and pinches his nose, "No… no. It's not that. I just think that…."

He clearly doesn't want to admit his fear, but when he finally looks over to Atsushi's blank stare and sees Dazai making a mocking face behind Atsushi's back. His frown gets fiercer, "I just don't think Atsushi can follow the same methods as you Kenji."

"Hmmm," Kenji taps his chin, "He probably could!"

"I could do it," agrees Atsushi, more entranced by the idea of peaceful resolution than anything. Kunikida cringes as he says that, "Maybe we should finish this episode first, before you make a decision."

"IT'S A HUGE PROBLEM!" rages Kunikida, "Kenji's methods are way too bizarre for him to be copying. Given how naive Atsushi is… HE MIGHT TAKE KENJI'S APPROACH AS THE GOLD STANDARD!"

An image pops up of Atsushi and Kenji holding hands and skipping through flowers. They are stamped with the words, "The Best and Worst Team."

"This isn't good."

"The best and worst team?" both Atsushi and Kenji say together, before shooting each other a weird look, "Why?"

"That just sounds like the nicest team if I'm being honest," Tanizaki points out, "Like a team of two puppies playing in cotton candy."

"I love cotton candy," says Ranpo with a wise nod, "I don't know about puppies though."

"I don't like dogs," Dazai says with a frown,, "They make no sense."

The entire ADA shoots him a weird look as he says that. Dogs are such simple creatures, how are they confusing?

A building is shown and a man holding a baseball bat frowns angrily. Kenji stands in front of him completely blind to the very large bat, while Atsushi cowers on the floor.

Kenji speaks, "Did any of you make that bomb that made that big car fly into that building?"

The guy grins at him, "You're a funny guy! You cops or something?"

"Actually," Kenji holds up his ADA card, "We're with the Armed Detective Agency!"

"WHY WOULD YOU TELL THEM THAT?" Atsushi screeches loudly as Kyouka's mouth drops open, completely flabbergasted at Kenji's bluntness, "THEY'RE A LITERAL GANG!"

"So?"

Atsushi's hands wring through his hair, "They're gonna lie to us! Or worse, track us down!"

"Nah," Kenji waves him off, "If they come to the Agency then we will simply show them the window" He waves at one of the blacked-out Agency windows with a smile.

Atsushi only groans in horror.

He notices the guy's chain on his belt, "That's a cool chain!"

He actually grabs the chain and looks at it, "Do you keep one handy in case you have to haul cows around?"

The guys both yell at him for randomly grabbing the chain, but Kenji just laughs sheepishly, "Oh! I just wanted to ask if any of you were responsible for what happened?"

Even the most senior members of the Agency raise their eyebrows at his bluntness. Dazai actually laughs aloud, startled at the words.

"Kenji, what the fuck?" says Tanizaki, absolutely flabbergasted, "I know you like being honest, but there's no way they are going to tell you anything, even if it is most likely that they were the culprits."

Kenji sighs, "Stop doubting it and just let it happen! It won't fail, trust me!"

"Sure," Tanizaki's voice wavers as he recalls Kenji's perfect record, "Of course."

They all gape at him, before smirking.

"Can't say we know anything about it!" jeers one guy, clearly mocking him, "Right?" He asks the others behind him. They all laugh.

"If that's the case, then I'm sorry to have bothered you," Kenji says, blissfully ignorant of their implication as Atsushi flips his shit in the background. Kenji bows to them, "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about it"

"They clearly know something," Kyouka squints at Kenji, "Why are you not pursuing this lead?"

"No need," Kenji shrugs her away, "I have already told you to trust the method. It'll turn out fine!"

Dazai leans towards Kyouka with a smile, "I was confused when I first saw Kenji's methods but they do always work despite how odd it looks."

Kyouka hums with confusion but doesn't press further.

He then leaves, as the men stare at him in complete shock.

As soon as they are out, Atsushi screams, "They were lying about everything! They probably used the bomb to kill someone in a rival gang or something! There's no way they weren't involved!"

Kenji brushes him off once again, "But they said they didn't know anything about it."

Atsushi sighs to himself, "I'm not even going to protest this anymore. But this is just the craziest thing I had ever seen in my entire life."

"Eh," Ranpo sips a tea, "At this point Atsushi, you need to stop limiting your mind. We're literally watching ourselves on television. Life is crazy."

"I suppose you are right," Atsushi mumbles aloud, "But Kenji's methods are the most confusing thing I've seen during this entire viewing session."

Kenji shoots him a mock-offended look that makes Atsushi laugh.

"Well, yea," Atsushi agrees, confused, "But…"

Kenji smiles softly, "Whether it's cow or man...in a village or city... If you are honest others will reply in kind… it works! That principle has never failed me yet!"

Atsushi stares at him, baffled, "I..is that true?'

"Yes!"

"That's what I've been saying this whole time!" crows Kenji, "Honesty is the best policy."

"It really only works for you though," Tanizaki says with a sigh, "If only we were all able to pull off what Kenji can."

"I'm sure you could," Kenji winks at him, "Everyone appreciates honesty!"

"The members of the Detective Agency all have different methods of solving cases," Fukuzawa says suddenly, causing the rest of them to turn and look at him. He coughs and continues, "Everyone has a different method, there is no need to compare methods, as long as they are effective."

"Yeah!" Kenji claps his hands and turns back to the screen, "But I am still excited to see how this case goes!"

Atsushi stares at him, concern shifting across his face before he turns back into his funny emoji face, "I GUESS I CAN SEE THAT!"

Kenji smiles at him, blissful as usual, "Why don't we head back for now?"

"Good idea!" agrees Atushi, following him with a jump in his step.

"That's cute!" coos Yosano as they bounce along the street together, "You two are a cute team!"

Atsushi flushes hard and Kenji laughs with a light giggle, "Thank you Yosano!"

"Not a very effective team, though," Kunikida mutters loudly, "You are too blinded by positivity, Atsushi. Kenji's methods aren't for everyone."

"I've gotten that by now, thanks Kunikida," Atsushi says sarcastically with an eye roll as Dazai snorts loudly from beside him.

The two of them walk away just as the gang follows after them, dark looks on their faces.

As the two of them go, Kenji's stomach growls. He laughs with embarrassment, "Can we stop by at a beef bowl place? I'm really starving."

"Hang on," Atsushi laughs, "You eat beef even though you keep cows?"

"Huh," Dazai says aloud, tapping his chin with his finger.

Kenji raises an eyebrow at him, asking "What is it?"

"I would've bet money that you were vegetarian," Dazai voices the words that all of the ADA were thinking. Kenji's confused look goes back to happiness, "Oh! No I am not."

"Wild," breathes Naomi.

"Of course!" Kenji's eyes sparkle with delight, "I love everything about them, including how they taste!" As he finishes a car pulls sharply in front of them. Suddenly, they are surrounded by the gang from earlier.

"I gotta say," says the gang member from earlier, "I'm surprised you private eyes figured out we used a bomb to kill a rival gang member."

His smirk widens, "We barely had a chance to chat back there. You wanna tell us what kinda evidence you got against us?" He raises a bat as if threatening them.

"It's only one piece," snorts Ranpo, "And they literally just admitted to it. Dumbasses."

"You would think that a gang would know better than that," Kunikida rolls his eyes, "Shouldn't they?"

"I'm sure they don't," agrees Dazai with a sigh, "They seem far too unorganized and brash to be a legit gang. Any other gang would make them look like a joke."

"Especially a Yokohama gang," Kyouka points out randomly, "They tend to be more organized due to the Port Mafia's influence."

Atsushi shudders to himself, Kyouka's knowledge is scary.

The guys behind him jeer, "We won't just let you run to the cops."

Kenji clasps his hands and practically sparkles with joy, "This is wonderful! I just knew you would come clean and tell us the entire story eventually!"

The gang's faces drop in confusion. Kenji pushes on, even as Atsushi loses his touch on reality behind him, "I just knew my honesty would be repaid in kind!"

"Kenji you are too pure for this world," Naomi tells him with a smile. Kenji's eyes shine as his head looks over at her, "I am?"

"Yeah!" Naomi laughs with a smile, "I know this episode is all about how you solve cases, but you're just so fun!"

"Thanks!" Kenji's face actually gets redder, "It's nice to hear that!"

He turns around to face Atsushi, "In all of the cases that I've worked on, everyone always ends up confessing to me like this!" Atsushi goes from panic to absolute 'wtf'ness in a split second.

"OHHH I GET IT…" He tries to say, just as Kenji is bashed over the head with a bat. Kenji crashes onto the floor, face down as Atsushi watches him in panic. The gang member who slammed his pole into Kenji, looks up, a feral gleam in his eyes, "One down, one to go."

Atsushi hisses, Crap! We're surrounded! What am I supposed to do?

"Kenji!" Atsushi shrieks as the Kenji on-screen goes down, only to realize that unlike so many other times, the ADA only seems mildly concerned, "What."

Kenji brushes the back of his head, "That might've hurt a bit! Maybe I should test it out later." He looks over at Yosano, "Wanna help?"

"Sure," She shrugs, "I'll bash your head in."

Atsushi raises his hands in utter confusion, "You'll what?"

He is utterly ignored.

He doesn't get time to think since the gang charge towards him, weapons drawn.

They're about to clash when Kenji speaks up, "That kinda stung a bit!"

They all freeze as Kenji gets up with a pained grunt, "There we go!.."

Kyouka's eyes widen in fear, That didn't even affect him. That could kill some people.. Her gaze shoots over to the sunny Kenji, What secrets are you hiding?

Atsushi shrinks down next to her, tired of being left out of the loop. "What is going on?" he mutters to himself.

"No idea," replies Kyouka, startling Atsushi, who thought his comment was private, "Oh!"

"Yea," He ends up brushing his hair through his fingers, "Me neither."

He turns to Atsushi with a smile, "Oh! Don't worry about me. This happens sometimes!" As he keeps talking, the gang and Atsushi watch in absolute shock.

Kenji walks past them, "Out in the countryside, cows can get a temper and refuse to listen to you."

He reaches for the underside of the car nearby, "In times like that…" His hands grip the car and bend the metal.

Kenji laughs aloud at Atsushi and Kyouka's faces, which are dropped open in surprise, "Did you forget I have an ability too?"

Atsushi, unwilling to admit he had, shakes his head, "I knew but I didn't expect it to be so…"

"Powerful," Dazai chimes in as Atsushi whips his head around to look at him, "Yea, that's Kenji. Full of surprises."

That's such a cool ability, Atsushi mutters to himself just as the tiger moves underneath his skin, Much better than mine.

Atsushi and the gang watch as Kenji lifts the entire car over his head with one hand… Kenji only smiles.

Be not defeated by the rain, Keni's voice narrates as he literally beats the shit out of the gang, Be not hindered by the wind, Be not halted by an iron pipe, knife or metal bat. Be strong of body. Be without desire. Be unfettered by anger…

A flower in the concrete sways in the breeze as Kenji bashes the guys into the floor with a stop sign, all while smiling.

They all watch in half horror, half fascination as Kenji watches his own methods being executed on screen, mouthing the words along with his future self with a massive smile.

"I think I'm just gonna figure out my own path in this agency," Atsushi mutters weakly, "Far, far away."

"That's probably a wise move," Kunikida agrees with Atsushi, "I can't see you using the tiger in that way."

"Yea," agrees Atsushi, If I ever used the tiger that way, I don't know if they would survive...

Always carry a quiet smile, Kenji seats himself on top of the cars and men that he's smashed into the floor. A title card pops up beside him, The Miyazawa Family Motto: Should Cows Act Up, Beat Them With Whatever's Close At Hand.

Kenji taps his chin again, That is the sort of person I strive to be.

Atsushi squints up at him, completely dumbfounded, "This will not work."

"That is your family motto?" Tanizaki asks, completely bewildered, "What do cows have to do with anything?"

"People are just cows with more brainpower," Kenji says matter-of-factly, "They won't understand unless you make sure they do."

It's so blunt that it throws Tanizaki back a bit, "Oh…"

Kenji continues, "Not all people are like that though. Like you guys!"

"AWWW" coos Naomi, heart warmed until Kenji finishes his sentence, "And Akutagawa, Higuchi and the Black Lizard."

"WHYYY," whines Naomi, even if she already knows the answer. Kenji just smiles and says, "I'm gonna make them my friends!"

"Good luck with that," Kunikida tells him, remembering the previous episode.

"Thanks!"

"I CAN'T GO AROUND DOING THINGS LIKE THIS KUNIKIDA!" shouts Atsushi into the phone.

"CALM DOWN YOU FOOL!" Kunikida shouts back at him, through the phone before sighing and doing so himself, "I commend you for realizing that yourself. Kenji possesses superhuman strength, but he isn't totally invincible. He can only use it when he's hungry."

Atsushi is shown squatting outside of a beef bowl restaurant, "What!? And what happens when he's full?"

"That seems awfully inconvenient," Kyouka remarks, but Kenji tuts at her in disapproval, "It's actually not! I just only eat at the end of my day! It allows for a lovely sleep every night!"

"Huh," She hadn't considered that, "I suppose that is true."

"Unless of course, I get random nighttime missions," Kenji presses on, "but that's only happened once." His eyes slide towards Dazai, the apparent perpetrator of this crime. Dazai gives him a thumbs up.

"Only once," Kyouka echoes.

Kenji is shown, curled up quietly on a table inside the store, snoring.

Kunikida sighs, "He sleeps."

The episode ends rather cleanly and all around the room, the ADA force themselves to wake up and blink the sleep out of their eyes. They've been in this for a while.

Maddie smiles at them with sympathy, "Only one more episode, then we can take a break. Get some sleep."

That seems to perk them up and they all nod in agreement. Maddie clicks her remote once again, "Let's continue."