Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

   “So were you able to place the bugs?” Mika asked as she finished her coffee.

   “Yes, but several have been discovered already. Mikado placed a few in unconventional places though, so I hope they’ll be good enough.” Anri respondly tiredly.

   “Did you see the news? There’s been another Dollars attack!” Mika exclaimed from across the table. The woman was currently scrolling through article after article.

   “Yes I did.” Anri said as she finished her cup of tea, then squinted at the sunlight. She wished that the shop had better blinds. She still wasn’t used to being up earlier than nine a.m. And Mikado’s presence in her apartment had made sleep difficult. The two had been carried away by talking, like they often were. Their discussions centered around Masaomi, Mikado himself, and whether or not Ikebukuro was safe enough for them.

Masaomi was considering moving, Anri could feel it. And she was sure that he wanted them to come with them. Mika had continued talking, but Anri had begun to tune her out minutes ago. Her mind was still on the events of the past few days. On Mikado, Masaomi, and where someone would plan on attacking. Not for the first time, Anri wondered if she should resume weapons training. Regardless of how quickly she could dodge attacks, learning how to use a weapon could make their situation more secure. She picked up her phone, tempted to text Mikado before she changed the screen.

They had discussed the situation at length last night, reopening the discussion was unnecessary. The true reason behind her desires was clear: she wanted to talk to Mikado. Despite her calm demeanor, the ongoing conflicts had made her very concerned about her friends. Lately, Anri felt a newfound agency that hadn’t existed within her in literal years.

But in addition to that, lately she had begun to think about her friends outside of the context of their safety. Although confirming his safety was definitely a benefit, it wasn’t the driving reason  that Anri wanted to call them.

She missed him. She missed him and they had only been apart for a few hours. And that was how she felt about Masaomi as well.

       “Anri?” Mika’s insistent tone caught Anri’s attention.

       “I’m sorry, yes?”

       “You’re distracted, but I’m going to take it from the top!  So far we have around 8 victims that we know of! Two young men involved in criminal activities and two young women! Sisters! But also, two members from the Awakusu---did the buddy system fail them maybe? Then two civilians. Also, cool fact! Four of the victims go to Raira Academy, our old school! What are the odds of that?” Mika said excitedly. It was concerning, how eager she could get when it came to solving cases. Anri herself always felt very anxious, their business was not one known for making friends.

And Mika Harima was someone with almost a frightening propensity for dangerous passions and situations. It was one of the reasons why she agreed to work with her. aybe she couldn’t stop Mika from getting involved in dangerous things, but she could protect her. At least that was what she told herself went they initially left to gather information. The brother of the two girls had been very helpful, but Anri had her doubts about the associates of gang members.

      “Let’s go, we can talk about this more outside.” Anri said as she rose from her seat. Mika shrugged but followed her out of the store.

      “Does anything about their pattern of victims seem odd to you? Out of all of those people, why would a pharmaceutical company target them? The members of the Yellow Scarves makes sense. They’re a gang of poor teenagers, but the rest?” Anri continued as they turned the corner.

     “Higher risk targets. Fair point, Anri. You’re right, that is pretty strange.”

     “I don’t think we’ve discovered the motives of this case yet. I was thinking that perhaps it’s time to talk to the police?” Anri intoned, hoping that her friend would see the truth in her words.

     “I doubt that the police will cooperate with us when it’s Izumii that we’re investigating. Also, we can’t, we’re private detectives, remember?” Mika reminded her and Anri sighed. They had arrived at their destination.

     “Right. Are you sure that talking to Shizuo Heiwajima is a good idea? He could be dangerous.” Anri reminded her and Mika smirked.

     “Yeah, but so are you.” She reminded her as she casually entered the building. Anri trailed right behind her and took in the sight of several teenagers dressed in yellow attire.  In the far corner, flanked by a foreigner and a man with dreads, was Shizuo Heiwajima.

   “Hello, I’m Mika Harima and this is my coworker, Anri Sonohara. Do you think that we can interview you for a few moments without trouble? Just two or three questions?”

   “Are you here to cause it?” Shizuo’s answer was curt as he approached the two women. But the other members of his gang didn’t move.

   “No,”

   “Then we won’t have any issues. Now what the fuck do you two want?”

   “Do you know if Yashiro or Izuku knew Keiichi Yammamoto, Ran Yotsuba, or Mairu and Kururi Orihara?” She asked, and Anri noticed Shizuo scowl.

   “Out of those four names, I only know who the last two are. And no one in the Yellow Scarves would ever associate with anyone named Orihara.”

   “Why not?” Mika pressed, taking a step closer and Shizuo stiffened.

   “Their flea of a brother is untrustworthy, to say the least. I protect the people I’m in charge of.”

   “Huh.” Mika said quietly as she recorded Shizuo’s statements.

   “Do you know any club or place that they all could’ve met?” She added.

   “How the fuck would I know?”

   “Well, I had to try right?” She asked, taking it in stride and his scowl disappeared, replaced by a reluctant smirk.

   “.....I guess.” he said as he turned on his heel and began to walk back to the others.

   “Um, excuse me? Where are you going?” Mika called after the man and he paused.

   “You said ‘two or three questions’, that was the third one. So we’re done now, and you can leave.” He said flippantly, as the other members of the Yellow Scarves advanced. Anri easily slid into preliminary stance and the gang members paused. Then they parted to make room for the foreign woman.

She walked right past Mika and stopped a mere foot away from Anri.

    “You are the strongest person in Ikebukuro, yes?”

    “That’s correct.”

    “Are you open to being tested?”

    “....?”

    “By me?” The woman finished, and it finally clicked for Anri. This woman, this stranger wanted to fight her. Most people simply wanted to steer clear of her.

    “Vorona.” Shizuo’s voice was calm but authoritative, and the foreign’s gaze moved to him.

    “Come back here. And you two? Get the fuck out.” He said brusquely. Not safe. Anri thought as she grabbed Mika’s hand and roughly pulled her out the door.

    “I’ll be back!” She called as the door slammed behind her. Anri kept pulling her friend until the hideout was well out of site.

    “Next time we interview him, it has to happen in a public place.” Anri insisted.

    “They might be more reluctant to do that though,” Mika complained as the two women slowed to a stop. Mika flipped through the notes she’d taken with a smile.

    “Besides this was very helpful. We know that the eight victims weren’t friends. At least openly. That means that they had something else in common.” Mika pointed out and Anri began to answer when-

    “What are two beautiful girls like you doing outside alone?”

Standing behind them was a thin man, with hair dyed blonde, similar to Masaomi’s but longer. “Just passing through.” Mika said easily and the man took another step forward.

“Maybe you should stay awhile? My name’s Yoshida, what’s yours?” He suggested, coming even closer and Anri’s hand closed into a fist. I’ll make this quick. Then, another man grabbed the blonde’s shoulder, and Yoshida turned to reveal a man dressed in a lab coat.

    “Dude lay off. They’re not interested. HIt the road.”
    “Don’t think that this will be the last you’ve seen of me. Bitch.” he snapped at Mika, polite facade gone and he stalked off. The other male watched him, before sighing quietly.
   “You okay? Punks like that tend to be very aggravating. Always looking for a fight. Maybe you should leave this work to the police?”
    “No way! I love doing this, and besides, I think I’m covered with my friend here.” Mika said and winked at Anri. The man looked doubtful of that, but calmly looked at his watch.
    “Well if you say so. I’m late for work — I have to go.”
    “Wait — My name is Mika Harima.” She declared, holding out her hand.
    “Seiji Yagiri. Nice to meet you.” He said politely as he took her hand and shook it, before he left. Mika meanwhile, focused on writing his name down in her notebook.

   “Did you see what just happened? That was so brave of him! I mean, he didn’t even know who you were! He could’ve gotten hurt but he risked his life—for me-”
   “It was quite brave of him.” Anri responded quietly, but it was like Mika didn’t even hear her.  Her mind was consumed with the man who intervened—Seiji.
   “Mika…...do you like him?” She finally asked carefully and the other girl stopped.
   “Well maybe? I don’t really know enough about him yet, but that can change soon! I mean it’s already clear that he’s a good person right? I wonder what else he does besides saving people? He looks fit, do you think he’s an athlete?” Her words were coming out of her mouth at top speed, almost smashing together really.

   “...um he could be? Mika maybe you should calm down a bit? He could be nice, but what if he’s really not? You don’t even know anything about him.”
   “Not yet.” Mika said, her voice had an odd determined edge to it. Anri pondered pushing before she opted not to, and reminded herself that a harmless crush was just that. Harmless. Still even after she dropped her friend off, she still thought about it. Not the confrontation with the man, but her friend and her feelings of…..affection for ‘Seiji.’

      Love had never been an easy concept for Anri to properly quantify or understand. She would spend days pondering what it meant to love someone. Did her mom love her? Did her father love them? Even while he decorated the carpets with their blood? It certainly didn’t fall in line with the descriptions of her peers. In middle school, where she first met Mika, her confusion only intensified. Was this love? Did she love Mika? She knew that she needed Mika, because what was a parasite without its host? And likewise, Mika needed her too, to improve her own reputation. And what better way to do that than to befriend the creepy girl who always sat alone? The one who was quiet, with the dead parents? The one who had a habit of silently but very thoroughly beating the shit out of all that confronted her?



    The importance of self defense was something that Akabayashi had seared into her mind from the day he took her in. He told her that the days of her being a punching bag were over. And somewhere in her empty, cloudy soul, she agreed. After training with him, fighting became natural for her. And she attacked with a near robotic precision, emotionless but frighteningly effective.

    “Anri!” A familiar male voice called out and she turned to face Masaomi. Naturally, he was grinning at her, and it was infectious.
   “Masaomi—hi! Where are you coming from,if I may ask?”
   “Nothing really worth mentioning, it was boring anyway! I’d much rather do something way more exciting-like eat with a cute girl.” He punctuated the sentence with a wink.
   “Masaomi-don’t say things like that.” she said sheepishly. Flirting was something that came naturally for him. And something that constantly embarrassed her. Not only because they were obviously inappropriate, but because they made her ponder her own feelings. But then again, both Masaomi and Mikado invoked unfamiliar feelings within her. Something she had never expected when she first met them all those years ago.

       Anri rarely was hesitant  to involve herself when others were getting hurt. Maybe she was a parasite, but when it came down to it — she was strong. And she used that strength to save him. Back then, she hadn’t known that one simple decision would give her two new friends. However, she viewed them as two more people that she was dependent on. Until ultimately they showed her that they needed her just as much as she needed them. Gradually she realized that she was the shield that stood between them and danger. And she did so by tapping into the strength that had always existed. The strength that allowed her to rip objects out of the ground. That allowed her to take injury after injury without slowing. One that Akabyashi began honing soon after he discovered it, driven to look after the daughter of the women he loved. One that was came from her years of suffering quietly. From a past where everything was constantly taken away from her.

   “Anri?”

    She blinked out of her memories with an embarrassed smile.
    “Oh, I’m sorry Masaomi. I was preoccupied by my own thoughts. What did you say?”
    “Never mind, it wasn’t important. What were you thinking about?” He inquired.
    “Likewise, nothing important.” She said with a soft chuckle.
    “Sure, I believe that. Is Mikado still at your place?” He asked and Anri nodded.

    “He may have left already. He told me that he might stop by my family’s shop.”

    “Right, keep an eye on him already? He can be…..slippery when he wants to be.”
   “Mika and I were investigating our latest case. Four people have gone missing — ”
   “About that, Anri — can you please two stop investigating the kidnappings?” Masaomi groaned.

   “Why?”
   “Was that a question? Because it’s dangerous! Plus you’re cutting into my clients—”Anri I already have this covered alright? Just let me handle this—you can have all the cases you want. I have a list of things that people want information about—just not this one.” He pleaded, and she stopped walking.

   “Masaomi, if it’s really that dangerous, then you really shouldn't be involved in this. I can take care of myself and Mika, and you already have so many enemies—” Anri began.
   “Stop. Don’t worry about me.I don’t need you guys to, okay? Just worry about yourselves. Don’t get into more trouble because of me.” He said flatly, and Anri frowned. She hated when he was in these moods, when his own darkness seemed to fester inside of him. In a place deep inside that neither she nor Mikado seemed to be able to reach. Was it love, to yearn for the happiness of another person? To want, perhaps desperately, for them to just be alright? And for them to, maybe more than anything else, love themselves?



    Without thinking, she intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand gently. She ignored the warmth that spread through her and his surprised expression as she grinned at him. Reminded herself that the three of them frequently engaged in affectionate behavior, even though this seemed different. The absence of Mikado made this small act seem private, and even more so, forbidden. Perhaps that was why the three of them rarely hung out with each other unless all three were present. They sensed the thin layer of ice hiding under what they thought was concrete.

   “Masaomi…..can you come back with Mikado and I?” She asked tentatively. She didn’t know how to say you shouldn’t be alone, in a way that wasn’t condescending.

   “I still have work.” He said and she covered their hands with her free one and smiled kindly.

   “Then cut it short. Finish it with us, I just think that you should take a break.” She said and gently, he pulled his hand free.

   “Anri, I have to go. I’ll stop by tonight though, I promise.” He said with a smile that seemed more shaky than real, and turned away.

   “Go home Anri, I just need to finish up some things here. Alright?” he asked quietly and she nodded slowly.

    “OK. Just, if you’re in trouble, call me, ok?” She said. He nodded at her, before he turned and flashed her one of his blinding smiles. Then he left.

     She stood there for a few minutes, just watching his retreating figure. I’m sorry Masaomi. She thought to herself as he disappeared. I wish I could trust you that much. The bug was already activated, so the only thing she needed to do to access it was get on either her phone or computer. She typed in the pin to her phone, and sure enough, his location appeared. She’d tell him about it when he was safe. She just really hoped that he wouldn’t be too upset about it.

    She paused when she saw a message from Titan Arum.

     He had never sent her a PM before.

   Titan Arum: You have to check this out! https://funnyphotos.com/kittensinmugs

   Titan Arum: Also, the slasher has been active again. https://IkebukuroTribune.com/SlasherAttacksriseagain
 

   Anri briefly wondered why he didn’t send this to the group chat, before she clicked on the kitten link. She could read the slasher article when she got home.

____________________________________________________________________________

    When Aoba arrived at work, he immediately headed for his office. Still, he maintained his usual friendly facade for his coworkers, a polite smile on his face. Coupled with his youthful, almost feminine appearance, it invoked a favorable contrast to his brother. The smile made him seem more approachable, kinder, understanding, and more willing to listen. He learned long ago that while an iron fist was the key to running illegal organizations — corporations needed something smoother. Naturally this facade was more taxing for him to maintain. Only with the closest of his subordinates did he ever let his mask  slip, and even then , those moments were few and far inbetween. In short, he hated the process but thoroughly enjoyed the benefits.

     He was the supervisor of lab six of human experimentation, right under his older brother. The last detail was the sole part of this developed identity that he despised. Even after all of these years, he still couldn't rid himself of Ran. The brother who had always held an irrational grudge against him, and left him with the injuries to prove it. He reminded himself that he just needed to remain patient. That he had already initiated the steps to Ran’s long overdue end, his expulsion from his life. Patience was a skill that he had cultivated over the years, it would be worth it. All I would have to do is wait, he reminded himself as he headed for his office.

    His actions were interrupted by the sudden sound of shots cutting through the air. He immediately crouched behind a desk, next to a frightened coworker. When he looked up, he saw a teenage girl with glasses and a braid that reached her waist. Held against her was another lab worker that she secured with an arm around his waist and a gun to his head. It was moments like these that he was grateful for their strict policy regarding cell phones. Otherwise, the cops would have arrived here in moments, and Aoba hated paying people off.

    “Now that I have your attention — I have but one simple request! Kururi Orihara! Where is she?” The girl — no he recognized her Mairu — asked. Her voice was strangely cheerful, and she grinned as she held a man at hostage. Aoba hadn’t ever seen anything like it, and it further augmented how truly precarious this situation was. What Mairu Orihara did not know was that in her gun wasn’t bullets, but rather tranquilizer darts. Their actual firearms were kept in more secure parts of the facility. Experiments were treasured items here, and naturally Izumi Pharmaceuticals would prefer not to lose any. Still the fact that she acquired one meant one of two things.

One, that she had incapacitated either someone of his rank or a lab assistant. Or two, she had outright killed them before taking their weapons.


     He wasted no time pondering, he would find out after he took her back into custody. He swiftly pulled his tranquilizer gun out of his jacket and fired at her. In the same instant she pulled her hostage in front of her, and utilized him as a shield. In one fluid motion she threw his now limp body at Aoba, and he barely had time to roll away. Mairu threw herself into the air again, this time aimingfor him. With his free hand he grabbed a stapler and threw it at her. She shielded her face with her arm, leaving herself open. Aoba promptly emptied four darts into her chest, and she crashed down onto a desk.

      Carefully he took in his surroundings to ensure that nobody around him had been injured. Problem resolved. “Supervisor Kuronuma!” Someone called and he stopped in his tracks, before turning with a reassuring smile on his face. Just like that his mask was back in place. Behind him was Seiji Yagiri, an intern that was a few years older than Aoba himself. He was moderately useful in the workplace, definitely intelligent, at least on some level. Still something told Aoba not to make personal use of him. Out of all of his uncle’s employees, he made sure to pay the malleable ones special attention. When it came down to it, Ran and Aoba had conflicting interests. Naturally, Aoba developed a group that would be loyal to him above all else, and he had initially been interested in Seiji.

      But the guy was odd, in a detached, off-putting manner that made Aoba want to watch him closely, if only to ensure that he wouldn’t get in his way.

     “Seiji, I need you take her back to her cell. Make sure that I haven’t caused her to overdose as well.” He said with a sigh before he turned back to the rest of them.
     “Everyone else, get back to work. We still have a quota to meet this month. My uncle and my brother are both counting on all of you.” He said with a kind smile before he headed back to his office. That was when he noticed the absence of Neko and his eyes narrowed. Without another word, he opened the first door to the lab. The first thing he noticed was that the room was completely dark, and the second was the odd choking sound. Slowly he turned on the light and froze at the sight.



    Neko was tied to an office chair, the poor bastard twitching and choking around the gag. Aoba reached into his pocket and grabbed his knife, completely ignoring the pain in his side. He quickly checked the room and noticed that the inner door was unlocked.The room was mostly untouched, except for the containers he kept his writing supplies in.Both cups were completely empty, and he wondered if the contents had somehow been involved in the experiment’s escape. He crossed the distance to Neko with an unsurprised expression on his face.



   “What did you do?” He demanded as he pulled the gag out of his mouth and froze. Shoved in his lackey’s mouth were markers, pens, and pencils. Someone had forced them into his mouth and down his throat. He forced his hand to remain steady as he carefully removed them from Neko’s throat. His mind was overcome with questions as he wondered how this happened. They kept their experiments in their cells at almost all times, the sole exclusion being for experimentation. He didn’t bat an eye when he forced his fingers down Neko’s throat, focused on removing the pens.

“Don’t vomit.” He said coolly as he carefully removed the objects. He didn’t miss how they were set up, and couldn’t help but admire it. Most of them were placed to cause discomfort, and the few in his throat didn’t block his air completely. Interesting. She wanted him to suffer, but not to die. Mairu Orihara had been angry, obviously, so why didn’t she kill him?

   Aoba absentmindedly patted Neko's back as he pondered this question. He felt like something was going over his head, and it wasn’t a comforting feeling.

    “What happened.” It wasn’t a question, and the smaller male shot his superior a look of fear.           

   “I—I—She kissed me.” He blurted, and Aoba narrowed his eyes.
    “What else happened?”
    “She had been flirting with me since we grabbed her and her sister yesterday. Her sister has bigger boobs, but-I don’t know—she just—” He broke off and Aoba rose to his feet with a sigh.
    “Just what? Almost ruined everything? Almost forced us to start all over again?” he asked irritably, sneering at his ‘friend.'
    “I sedated her before she could do much damage. Perhaps you would like another job?”
    “No-”
    “No? Then next time, don’t enable any of our experiments to escape. Or you’ll have more to worry about than things down your throat. Understand?” he said calmly.
    “I understand.”
    “Good, now that everything is settled. Did you do what I asked you to? Did you find out what they have been hiding from me?” His tone was one of false patience, and Neko knew it.

Aoba’s ‘friend’ moved away from him, back hitting the desk as Neko took slow calming breaths.

    “I saw something right before she attacked me. Ran went into a room-”

    “Which room-”

    “That neither of us have access too. It isn’t opened by a keycard, they used a code.”

    “You don’t have the number.” It wasn’t a question.

    “No, but I can get it to you tomorrow.” Neko said hastily and Aoba sighed. He remembered that this was typical of Neko, being lackluster at best.

    “By Tomorrow afternoon if you can?” He asked sweetly, all smiles once more. He had no intention of staying past 2pm.

     “I can try,” Neko said and Aoba nodded, smile disappearing.

     “And you can “do” as well. Don’t disappoint me again Neko,” He warned him as he took another step forward, easily invading his personal space.

     “Or next time, I’ll let you suffocate.”

________________________________________________________________________

{Masaomi? How are you doing?}

She didn’t havethe impression that the information broker was doing particularly well. She could see it in the the bags under his eyes, or the slow way that he walked. He hasn’t been sleeping. She observed coolly as he sat down on the sofa across from her.

“I’m fine. I just,” He broke off and rubbed his eyes. If she had a mouth, she would frown at him. Celty had been hoping that her assumptions had been wrong. If their five year friendship was anything to go by, attacks on Mikado and Anri tended to hit Masaomi hard.

{Maybe you should take a nap? You can stay here if you want}

“I’m fine,” He repeated, as he leaned forward onto his knees.

“Celty, there’s something that I need you to do for me.”

{Is it another package? In the city or outside of it?}

“Inside, and this package is people. Izumii Pharmaceuticals is the company that’s taking people. Tomorrow the Yellow Scarves are going to attack their building, and I need you to make sure that the victims are released. Check the labs and make sure that nobody is left behind. You won’t have to do it alone; I don’t think that Shizuo would leave them behind. But if their victim count is high enough, then they’re going to need help.”

She had questions, so many questions. About how many people they took, about why, about how he found out. But she erased them from her textbox before she could show him. Those weren’t the important questions at the moment. Masaomi was in bad shape, and the sooner they finished, the sooner she sent him back to his friends.

{What about you?}

“I’m….going to keep in touch. After this ends I’m going to help you find your head okay? I promise.”

Celty showed him a smiley face, but the shadows around her moved nervously. For all his promises, she held her anxieties. Not about his dedication to finding what was hers, but about him. About all of them. About tomorrow.

Be careful.

_______________________________________________________