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“The Port Mafia?!” someone shrieked, the rest of the agency’s heart rates picking up as they picked up on their colleague’s scream.
Pathetic wimps. Jouno thought.
“Oh! Hello there, Sai-”
Jouno cut off the man abruptly, his head turning from room to room trying to locate his target, “Quiet, traitor.”
“How mean! I remember we were quite close back in the day!” Dazai innocently said from where he was lounging on the couch.
“And that was back in the day.” Jouno finished cooly, approaching a door despite the proclamations and guns of the agency that were being pointed at him. “I ought to take your head where you stand, but that’s now what I’m for.”
A meek voice called out, obviously a newbie, and Jouno felt himself physically gag in disgust, “You’re not?”
Jouno shook his head in response, deciding it wasn’t worth it to answer back.
The boy breathed a sigh of relief. Jouno wrinkled his nose at the naivety.
“We, the Armed Detective Agency, aren’t going to allow you guys to do whatever you want here!”
“Well, Kunikida-kun, you should be grateful that the Port Mafia doesn’t give daily attacks, because this building-” He slammed the wall under his hand and listened to the way the structure creaked, only emphasizing his next statement, “...is two squads away from falling.” He opened the door, containing what he had come for, “I eagerly await the day this loathsome agency crawls on their hands and knees to the Port Mafia for our assistance.” He stepped inside the room, the brown eyes inside staring at him in shock, as Jouno repeated his sentence one last time, “I’ll be waiting, and I’ll help. Oh, I’ll help, but I’ll get something in return. One day…”
He shut the door, locking it and closing off the indignant stares of the agency members and their annoying pulsing heart-beats.
“Well?” Jouno asked the man that was sitting at the chair, who was watching the situation outside his door, “Why are you captured?”
“Why does it matter?” He asked back, leaning on the hind legs of his chair. “I’m an enemy.” He slid his hands back to fold together, “And I’m enjoying my time here.”
Jouno slid into the opposite seat, his ability coming out to slice the handcuffs that was holding the other person captive, “A waste of time.” He slid his hands into his pockets, “Anyway, my offer still stands from earlier, Tecchou-san.”
“You’re still going on about that?” Carefully sprinkled shock was in his voice, before he dropped it to answer, “And my answer still stands from earlier.” He eased the creaking chair onto all four legs, “I’m not going to the Mafia.”
“Your ability will be able to brough to its full potential with us!” Jouno leaned forward, planting his chin onto his fingers, “Don’t you want to see the other side?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows lifted in amusement, “You don’t want to change that to a ‘yes,’ Tecchou-san?”
“Nope.” Tecchou replied, realising that he was playing with fire right now, “The Guild is better.”
Jouno murmured, dropping his hands, “Better?”
Tecchou agreed, looking at the way Jouno was unconsciously flickering through different colors like a croupier shuffling cards before laying a random card for the player.
“Your time’s up, Saigiku!” A voice shouted outside the door, hand pounding against the door for emphasis. ‘Get out of there.”
“Okay!” Jouno shouted back, getting out of his chair, and making his way to the.... window?
“Are you planning on jumping out?” Tecchou asked incredulously.
Planting a gloved hand on the window, Jouno mumbled something over his breath as his ability began floating out, his earring waving in the non-existent wind, “No. I’m not that dumb.” The wispy airs formed into something solid, a demon wielding an impressively large scythe. The demon brought it’s hand down, slicing a smooth portal to the alley, “We’re leaving. Let’s go.” Noticing Tecchou’s silence, Jouno said, “Don’t make me use my ability, darling.”
Tecchou got up, stuffing his hands into his pockets and standing opposite Jouno; the portal fluttering like a curtain in the air between them. “What do I do?”
“Step in.” Jouno said, doing what he said, stepping into his portal, one foot disappearing to where the alley was located floors below them. “See you in a sec.” He said, the rest of his body teleporting, the demon staring at Tecchou expectantly, practically ushering him in with it’s scythe.
“Why did you bring me here anyway?” Tecchou asked three seconds later, here being the alley, bending down to grab his sword from where it had dropped when Jouno had used his ability to bring the two of them down here, though he kept his head up, not wanting to give Jouno any openings.
A shrug from Jouno, “Just in case, you want to leave your pathetic organisation and-”
“I’m not leaving the Guild, I said it back there, what don’t you get.” said Tecchou, his ability starting to activate in pink and silver swirls. “I’m. Not. Leaving.” He repeats, firmly, watching Jouno’s open back that he knew could become guarded in a second.
Jouno’s body flickered, just a bit, the urge to leave Tecchou hanging right there, but he halted himself, “You think you will emerge victorious in this fight?”
“Yes.”
“What a fool you are, Tecchou-san.” Jouno smiled, his ability quicker than a flash to throw Tecchou into the wall, the demon behind hosting the same mocking smirk it’s owner was. “No one wins against the mafia.”
His sword lengthened in an attempt to stab the demon, though it was useless. Quickly blocked, it was, by the demon’s weapon. “What about that agency we were just in?” He asked.
“They’re different.” the man sharply answered.
“You know little children?” Jouno continued, “You have to listen to their every little whims or else they start screaming at you? That’s precisely what that meddlesome agency is.” He yawned, hands in his pocket, standing behind the demon, “High ideals. Lofty. Believes that they’re at the top and they’re all righteous and shit.” His eyebrows creased in annoyance, “They’re annoying, that’s what.”
“Why do you work together, then?” Tecchou curiously asked.
Jouno called off his ability, the ethereal being floating to his earring, locked in the bell again, “I believe that you sir, are a Guild affiliate, an enemy against us. I’m not obligated to let you know our tactics and reasons.” Jouno advanced closer, his silver hair a stark contrast from his dark clothing and the dark shadows that were merging together. “And I have a job to eliminate any annoyances that step foot here.”
“By the boss himself?” Tecchou asked.
“By the boss himself.” Jouno repeated, voice softer, yet at the same time louder than a whisper. A knife made its appearance, the silver blade catching the little rays of lights that managed to seep through the darkness of Jouno’s presence.
Tecchou maintained his calm facade, “Any wagers?”
“I don’t have time to engage myself in those frivalties.” Jouno said, faking a stab towards Tecchou’s shoulder, while his ability managed to give him a kick towards the floor, Tecchou’s weapon and ability useless in close-combat, more suited it was for long-combat, and besides that, Jouno’s ability was just all over the place.
“Not bad.” said Jouno, as if he was reflecting the weather, dodging a slice, “Not enough for the main round, but sufficient to be a side dish, I suppose.” He commented, parrying a strike.
“Well.” A stomp on Tecchou’s back as Jouno stood on top of him, quite literally, pinning the man to the floor, “That was pathetic.” He moved up his spine, “I regret getting you out of there now. ”
“Can you get off-” He wheezed.
“No.” Jouno replied, cutting him off.
Tecchou could see the wispy airs of Jouno’s ability in front of him as Jouno continued, slamming the man under him, “I faked a stab, and my ability pushed you. And you fell.” A breath. “You rely too much on that hunk of metal. Learn to actually fight.” He got off Tecchou’s back; muscles twinging from the weight that was on top of him as Jouno felt around for Tecchou’s collar before yanking him up and slamming him into the brick wall. “Learn to plan ahead.”
The brunette’s sword clattered to the floor, falling from his loose grip, and Tecchou had never suffered such a loss.
“Have you heard of the phrase, ‘an eye for an eye,’ Tecchou-san?” Jouno breathed into the man’s ear, his left hand holding Tecchou’s throat, and the other pushing the edge of the knife deeper, just a bit, enough to remind him that the threat was still there, and that he wasn’t going to escape anytime soon.
Tecchou wheezed, bloodied and battered from the beating Jouno’s ability had given him, “Yes-” He wheezed, blood dripping down his lip to which Jouno picked up with his gloved thumb, allowing Tecchou some air, “I-I’ve… heard- about that phrase.” A cough.
“What does it mean?” asked Jouno, the knife stroking over Tecchou’s pulse point; Jouno’s body unconsciously flickering colors between oranges and reds, the characters flickering like firecrackers as Tecchou flinched knowing precisely what it meant.
“An-an exchange.” He said, trying to breathe through the grip, “You inflict the pain..” The gloved hand around his neck flexed, “...of which you were inflicted back onto the other person.”
Jouno smiled, a dark smile, taunting and just as dangerous, if not more, as the lone candlelight glowing at the bottom of the basement. It was bait. It’s a lure, meant to get you dependent on the light.
And Tecchou had fallen.
Hook, line, and sinker.
“That’s correct.” said Jouno, the black-gloved hand leaving Tecchou’s throat, but the knife still laid there, flat and unmoving. “Good boy.” A mocking pat on his head, before it slid to cup Tecchou’s cheek. “The road in the mafia is long and rough, painted with blood splatters and shaded with betrayal.” His knife tapped one last time on his neck, before pulling away completely, “Maybe if you’re lucky enough, you’ll see two red eyes on the road.”