Chapter Text
Fucking hell.
This really was a maze.
Chuuya had probably been searching for a door for hours, and he didn't even catch a single sign of it. It's no wonder so many people were missing for so long.
"Fucking bitch…" he mumbled to himself. "If I so much as catch a glimpse of her, I'll sock her in the face!"
Blue eyes blinked when he spotted something on the far side of the plains that he was currently walking around in. Chuuya slowly started walking towards it, noticing the static background that it emitted. It wasn't exactly large, it was big enough to oversize his hand.
"The hell is this?" He mumbled as he got closer.
"Chuuya!"
His eyes widened as he thought he heard Ranpo's voice on the other side and rushed to the hole. "Ranpo!? Is that you!?" He called.
"Yeah! Thank god you're okay!" Ranpo called on the other side.
"Where are you!? Is Akiko with you!?" The ginger asked.
"Right here, Chuuya!" Yosano called from the other side.
During Chuuya's time at the agency, he got on to a first name basis with Yosano and Ranpo. But that wasn't important.
"Where are you guys?" Chuuya asked.
"We're in the Taisho period," Ranpo answered. "Listen, the only way to get out of here is to find the door to the current present time. The Heisei period. How far back did Nagai send you?"
"The Edo period."
"Then you'll need to find the door to the Meiji period. Soon as you find that, look for the door to the Taisho period. Akiko and I will be waiting for you there."
"Why not just bust through this hole?"
"We can only talk to you through this hole. It won't let anyone jump through."
"Shit. Did you find any of the missing people?"
"We managed to find three," Yosano answered. "And they are pretty scared shitless at these turn of events."
Chuuya gave a sigh of relief at knowing they were able to find at least a few people before frowning in thought. How long had he been looking for the door? An hour? Two? It will probably take longer, even if he does manage to find the Meiji door.
"Ranpo, do you think we might run into Nagai at some point once we meet up again?"
"This is her ability, so technically yes," the detective responded.
"Is it possible for this place to fall apart and get us all back to the present if I beat the shit out of her?"
"It is."
"Good. The minute that bitch shows her face, I'm kicking her ass."
"Alright. But you have to hurry. I have a feeling that Nagai is after something."
"Alright. See you guys soon."
It took about two hours after that conversation took place, and Chuuya still hadn't been able to find the door to the Meiji period. If he were anyone else, he probably would have given up. Chuuya was anything but a quitter, not when so many lives were at stake. Especially his new friends.
He ran through the forest as he looked around before spotting a black door with the kanji for 'Meiji' written on it, and he grinned.
"Finally!"
He quickly rushed to the door and opened it up before stepping through the Meiji period. He marched through the city before sneaking into a restaurant and going to the kitchen to grab a knife.
Once he slipped away, the ginger ran to an alley and felt up the walls. If he was going to try to get into contact with the others, he needed to make sure he did this right. Knowing Yosano, she probably cut a hole with her machete. It would be best if Chuuya did the same.
He steadied the knife against the wall before pressing down. Sure enough, the knife cut through the wall and revealed the same static background that he saw before. He cut the hole wide enough so that he could talk into it.
"Ranpo! Akiko! You there!?" He called.
"Right here, Chuuya!" Akiko answered.
"I'm in the Meiji period now, but it took me a couple of hours to find it. This place is a fucking maze!"
"Tell us something we don't know," Ranpo scoffed a little at that. "But that's not important. Hurry and find the Taisho door, and be careful. Nagai has a trick up her sleeve."
"Alright. I'll go now."
With that, Chuuya ran out of the alley, allowing the hole to seal itself up. He went through a couple of cities in the Meiji period as he searched for the door to the Taisho period. It took at least a couple of hours for him to finally find it at the end of an ally before he opened it up and stepped through. It was at this moment that he managed to come face to face with Ranpo and Yosano.
“About time you showed up,” Yosano said with a smile.
“Would’ve loved to have gone faster, but this place is a damn maze,” Chuuya said. “How long will it take us to find the Heisei period door from here?”
“Exactly six hours,” Ranpo answered before putting on his glasses. “But if I can deduce which path to take, we might be able to get to the door much faster.”
“Wait, are you serious?” the ginger asked, eyes wide.
“I only ever use my ability when the situation calls for it, and right now, this situation calls for it.”
Ultra Deduction
The detective scanned the area before pointing out down the street east from them. “Down there.”
Dazai was storming through the hall and many stepped back so they could give him room to move, not out of respect, but out of fear from seeing him so uncharastically angry. Once he made it to his destination, which was the boss’s office, he banged on the door, a silent demand for the boss to let him in.
“Come in,” Mori called and the teen none too gently burst the door open and stormed in. Rather than be miffed by the action, the man simply smiled in greeting. “Ah, Dazai-kun, what brings you here?”
“Mori, did you happen to have a plan to have Chuuya under Kouyou’s care the moment he joined the Port Mafia?” Dazai demanded.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I thought he would be a little more comfortable under Kouyou-kun’s subordination once he became a full member of the Port Mafia. She’s the most patient executive around, and I’m sure she can teach him a lot.”
“But you know that he’s my dog, right? We made a bet and he's supposed to be mine!”
Mori sighed at this. “Dazai-kun, I am well aware of this bet,” he said calmly. “But Chuuya-kun needs someone who can teach him, not lord over him and make him run errands and such.” He raised an eyebrow when the boy opened his mouth to argue again, but quickly cut him off. “And you will not change my mind on the matter. He will be under Kouyou-kun’s tutelage once he joins the Port Mafia and that is that.”
The teen had his hands gripped into tight fists at this whole conversation.
“You can throw your petty tantrums all you want,” the boss said firmly. “I made my decision a long time ago.”
The brunette grit his teeth a little before conceding. “Fine…”
“Holy shit, that was way faster than I expected,” Chuuya said in amazement as they entered through the door to the Showa period.
“My Ultra Deduction never fails,” Ranpo said with a cheeky grin. “Next up, the Heisei period.”
The ginger blinked as he followed the other two down the street of the city. "So…. The agency…. It helps fight other ability users?" He asked.
"Yep," the doctor said. "The police can't handle ability users on their own. So, anything that concerns abilities or otherwise, we take care of it.” She glanced back at the shorter male. “Why are you asking if you already know all of this?”
“..... Well, I’ve killed people before,” the ginger admitted. “I just don’t think that I would be cut out to be a member of this place after committing something like murder. Who would want the help of a killer, right?”
Both agency members stared at him for a long while as they took in everything that he said. It really made Chuuya a little self-conscious when all he could hear was silence. The only one who was willing to break the silence was Ranpo.
“True,” the detective said. “By technical means, under law you would be labeled as a killer. But think of it this way. What is your take on life?”
Blue eyes blinked at this before narrowing in thought. “At first, I kinda had little to no regard for my own life because I’ve always felt like my body didn’t belong to me,” he said. “But after my fight with Rando, I realise that I shouldn’t be so willing to throw life away.”
“Exactly,” Ranpo said, poking Chuuya’s chest. “There’s a lot more to you than just being a vessel that you give yourself credit for, Chuuya. You’ve got a heart. You have feelings. And you care about life above all else.”
“But I left my friends--”
“You’re hurt. It’s natural to feel that way. It’s what makes us human. I’ll tell you what, when this is over, I can use Ultra Deduction to see if they are okay or not. Sound like a deal?”
The ginger stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Deal.”
“Alright, let's go ahead and get out of here and catch Nagai,” Ranpo said with a grin before the trio continued walking forward.
It felt like it had been less than thirty minutes when they finally came across a door to the Heisei period.
“There it is,” Ranpo said with a grin. “Our ticket outta here~”
“Finally,” Yosano said as the three started to head for the door quickly. “This place was getting to suffocate me!”
“You and me both,” Chuuya agreed.
“Well!” the detective said, reaching out and grabbing the nob. “Home sweet ho--”
He was immediately cut off when they were suddenly yanked back and were circling in the air. Chuuya immediately activated For the Tainted Sorrow to catch his friends with gravity and they floated in the air as the dimension started reeling like a film at high speeds.
“Damnit, we were so fucking close!” the ginger growled in frustration.
“How adorable~” Nagai’s voice spoke out. “You actually thought I was going to let you all out~ Big mistake!”
“Fucking hell!” Chuuya growled. “Stop hiding in this damn dimension of yours and come out!! I’ll happily kick your ass once you do!!”
The three flinched when the fast motion of the scenery stopped and what they saw something neither of them were expecting. Chuuya’s eyes widened when he saw what he assumed was an older version of himself standing on debris of a demolished building. His elder self had on a malicious smile as he looked down at the damage that was clearly caused by the ginger.
“Wow, I heard you were powerful, but to see this kind of future for you? I’m quite jealous~”
All three teens turned to see Nagai standing on a rock with a smile.
“Honestly, Chuuya, who do you think you’re kidding?” she asked. “You’re not meant for the job of a detective. How can you be, when your ability is meant for nothing more than destruction and chaos?”
“Chuuya, don’t listen to her,” Yosano said as the ginger grit his teeth.
“Akiko, shush!” Ranpo hissed.
“What!? Are you seriously--” The doctor cut herself off when the detective opened his eyes and stared at her seriously. She immediately understood what he was trying to say and kept quiet.
The bounty hunter gave a grin as Chuuya floated himself and the other two down to the ground. “There’s no point in turning away destiny, Chuuya,” she continued as he walked forward towards her. “You’re destined to become an executive of the Port Mafia. You’ll be the best among them. The strongest piece! All you have to do is ditch these detectives and come with me, so I can safely escort you to the boss of the Port Mafia himself. Once we take you there, you’ll be--”
Nagai was cut off by a swift kick to her face.
“I guess I overestimated the Port Mafia’s reputation,” Chuuya said as he lowered his leg when Nagai fell on her ass. “To think that the Port Mafia, the most feared organization in Yokohama, would send someone else to do their damn dirty work? It’s so goddamn sad, I could just cry.”
The purple haired woman tried to scramble away, but the ginger swiftly caught her and pulled her up to eye level.
“Listen here, you arrogant bitch,” he growled. “I never asked you what my goddamn future will be. And I sure as hell didn’t ask you if that was the future I wanted. News flash, bitch. It’s my fucking future! I decide how I’m gonna live my life, and it certainly isn’t going to be under the thumb of a few bastards who are too cowardly to get the job done themselves. I am my own person, not someone’s toy!”
He raised his fist as his whole body glowed from his ability.
“I’ll choose my own future!!”
With that, Chuuya delivered a powerful punch to Nagai’s gut, sending her flying thanks to his ability. As a result, the whole dimension broke into pieces, revealing everyone on the pier in the present time as the bounty hunter fell to the ground, completely unconscious. The ginger breathed out as Yosano and Ranpo walked up to him, the doctor placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Nice work,” she said with a smile, earning a nod in return before the detective opened up his phone.
“Police?” Ranpo said on the phone with a cheeky grin. “We’ve got the culprit~”
Chuuya watched as Nagai was taken away by the police and all of her victims were being questioned and had tearful reunions with their families. He blinked when Yosano and Ranpo stood in front of him.
“So you’ve decided to join us?” the doctor asked.
Blue eyes blinked again before nodding with a firm look. “I’m joining the agency,” she said.
Both gave a smile before Ranpo spoke. “Congratulations! You aced the test!”
Chuuya blinked several times before gaping. “Hah!?”
“This case was your entrance exam,” Yosano explained. “And you passed with flying colors~”
“Hold on! What!?” the ginger asked in complete confusion. “How was my entrance exam!?”
“Well, we were thinking of multiple scenarios to put you through for your entrance exam,” the detective explained. “But for a whole week, all ideas were a total bust. However, once this case was given to the agency to handle, we figured this would be a perfect opportunity for your entrance exam!”
“And this was approved by the president?” the ginger asked incredulously.
“Yep!” Yosano answered. “Ask him yourself.”
Chuuya blinked when he saw Fukuzawa approach them with his eyes closed.
“We do apologize for doing this out of the blue,” the president said sincerely. “Ranpo had deducted that you would choose the agency, but we all could see how hesitant you were. Your capture of Ai Nagai was indeed a test of your morals, and it is clear that you are more than fit for the Armed Detective Agency. You’re free to choose a desk for yourself at the office, and since you’re already settled into the dorms, you won’t have to worry about living preparations.”
Chuuya stared up at the president in shock before looking down to hide his eyes. Everyone looked at him when they heard light sniffles and he frantically wiped his tears out of his eyes.
“You guys are jackasses,” he gave a choked laugh. “I can’t believe I walked right into that one!”
Yosano and Ranpo wouldn’t help but smile before they each took one arm in their own. “Welcome to the Armed Detective Agency, Chuuya,” they said in unison
The ginger couldn’t help but smile at the two. “Glad you can have me,” he said.
“We should head back to the office and celebrate!” Ranpo suggested with a smile. “We can play games and eat some junk food!”
“I don’t see why not,” Yosano said with a shrug. “Having Chuuya around forever is worth celebrating~”
Chuuya scoffed, but he had on a smile. “Sure.”
Fukuzawa simply followed the trio back to the office so that they could celebrate his enrollment in the agency. As promised, they played games and ate a bunch of junk food, courtesy of the smartest detective in the agency. The ginger laughed along with his new friends, now coworkers, and as he participated in celebration, he couldn’t help but smile to himself.
Because for the first time in his life, he finally felt like he’s found his forever home.