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What started out as a peaceful, boring morning turned into a not-peaceful morning with broken windows and generally confused people. Dazai used to be Akutagawa's mentor? He used to be in the Port Mafia?! Kunikida had actually fainted, but woke up a few hours later, and he looked quite happy until he realized what had happened earlier.
"Has Dazai come back yet?" Kunikida asked.
"Nope," Kyouka replied monotonously.
The Agency members patiently waited for Dazai to return from his little excursion. They wondered what they could possibly ask him. Atsushi still wanted to know why Akutagawa was so desperate to kill him.
"I have so many questions!" Atsushi exclaimed, completely fed up with the increasingly awkward silence.
"I do too!" Kunikida growled angrily, partially because he was confused and partially because he was nervous. Just what sort of person had Dazai been, if he used to be in the Port Mafia?
"Didn't he join the Agency two years ago?" someone wondered aloud. "This means he was in the Mafia during the reign of Soukoku, right?"
"What's Soukoku?" Atsushi asked, confused. The rest of the Agency members shuddered, with the exception of a candy-obsessed Ranpo (who definitely knew everything and was enjoying watching the Agency suffer) and Dazai who had snuck back in at some point, though no one seemed to notice him.
"Be glad you weren't around back then," Tanizaki said. "I wasn't around, but I've heard stories. If a group like that actually existed-"
"They did. You remember hearing about the Dragon's Head Conflict six years ago?" Kunikida asked rhetorically. Atsushi nodded. Although he had still been in the orphanage at the time, news of the war spread like wildfire. Conversations were centered around the conflict, with the occasional bets on who they thought would win.
"It's known as the darkest conflict in Yokohama's history and lasted a total of 88 days. It was also how Soukoku became, well, known as Soukoku."
"Um, Dazai-san?" Atsushi questioned. "Being a former Port Mafia member, you'd know all about Soukoku, right?"
"EH? Dazai's here?!" Kunikida jumped, turning around to see a smiling Dazai behind him.
"Hi!" Dazai exclaimed cheerfully, pretending he hadn't been eavesdropping on their conversation about him. He didn't fool anyone, which he seemed to realize because he then asked, "You were wondering about Soukoku?"
"Y-yes," Atsushi nodded quickly, his head moving up and down like a bobblehead.
"Well, let's see," Dazai adopted a standard Dazai thinking pose, which he never used when he was actually thinking.
"It was a fearsome duo that was known for their many skills. They were well known for being destructive but effective in their missions."
"Do you know who was part of the duo?" someone asked. "That's good to know, right? Even if they've been disbanded."
"Chibi-"
"WHO'S CALLING WHO A CHIBI?!" an angry voice yelled from somewhere above.
"-and a mysterious Mafia known as the Demon Prodigy."
A few surprised gasps.
" The Demon Prodigy?" "Of course, I should have expected that, seeing as it's named Double Black..." "Scary!"
"Wait, so did you know this Demon Prodigy too?" Atsushi asked, gulping at the thought of anyone that could be called "demon prodigy." Did they look like a demon, as the name implied?
"Well, I haven't met him personally, but I have heard all about him!" Dazai answered. "But don't worry, it was rumored he disappeared four years ago."
Atsushi breathed a sigh of relief as he heard this, and felt even more relieved when Kunikida nodded. He knew better than to trust Dazai, because Atsushi still had a sinking feeling that the Demon Prodigy was still around. If Kunikida knew the Demon Prodigy had gone missing years ago, then they were probably safe.
"Yes," Kunikida pushed up his glasses. "According to Sakaguchi Ango of the Special Ability Department, four years ago, a man named Oda Sakunosuke defeated the Demon Prodigy, and supposedly the Prodigy died that night. Though the Prodigy's death is still only partially confirmed."
"..."
"Only partially confirmed?" Atsushi asked, gulping again. "So he might still be alive?"
If he is, I don't want to meet him, he thought to himself.
"Yup!" Dazai said. "You shouldn't worry too much though. He hasn't been seen for the past four years!"
"Oh, that's… nice," Atsushi finally said.
"Akutagawa-san speaks highly of the Demon Prodigy," Kyouka spoke up, though she was still as quiet as usual.
"Oh, he does?" Atsushi began despairing. "I bet he's a serial killer too!"
There was a moment of awkward silence that was broken by the one and only Dazai Osamu.
"By the way Atsushi-kun! You saved the Demon Prodigy's life~!"
"I-I saved the demon prodigy's life???" Atsushi began to break down into tears. "How- Why did I do that?"
"It was probably an accident," Kunikida said, patting Atsushi's head. "Don't worry about it. When we find the Demon Prodigy, we'll hunt him down. As members of the Armed Detective Agency!"
The rest of the agency cheered, save for one Ranpo and one Dazai (who had run into another room to laugh). They'd completely forgotten to ask about the Chibi mentioned.
Meanwhile, said Chibi (who was on the roof) just sighed at Dazai's stupid antics. Just wait until the Agency finds out...
