Archive of Our Own ^beta

There was bright light when Tetchou woke up.

So bright, that it was blinding and overwhelming him a little. He blinked a few times, and then rubbed his eyes - where was he? The place seemed like a room from an amusement park, and his last memory was falling asleep at the airport after the fight with the kid from the Agency, Kenji.

He looked around some more and spotted people on the other side of the room, all of them talking to each other in semi-hushed voices. As Tetchou tried to move, he realized that he was in handcuffs. Even though he could break them with his sheer force, Tetchou decided not to. He could take serious action at any moment, and for now he needs to observe his kidnappers. Tetchou narrowed his eyes a little, trying to take in who was on the other side of the room - the armed detective agency. The president, the doctor, the detective, the illusion master with his sister, the assassin, the waitress from Uzumaki, and Kenji.

Tetchou purses his lips together. Kenji seemed to still be asleep, so there he couldn't count on at least one person knowing him.

It seemed like all of them noticed Tetchou's staring, so they directed their gazes towards them. Then the short man with a cape and a hat, the detective, started moving towards Tetchou. His moves were animated, very energetic, but Tetchou could sense that under the surface of easygoingness, there was some feeling of anxiety. Soon, the doctor followed up - she stayed beside the detective, as if there was any harm done to him, she would tear Tetchou apart.

"Seems like you woke up, Hunting Dog!" the cheerfulness was apparent in the detective's voice too, it was somewhat mocking. Tetchou mentally compared him to Jouno - if Jouno's mocking was a careful stab wound, the detective's was more like a cat's who is scratching you - accidental, yet extremely noticeable.

Hunting Dog.

Tetchou wasn't a Hunting Dog anymore. Not after what he has done - aborting the mission, losing to the enemy, going against his own morals... No. He had no right to be called a Hunting Dog. He wasn't a Hunting Dog anymore.

"No," he says in response to the detective.

"Eh?" the detective widens his eyes in surprise. His eyes are a very pretty green colour - the same colour as their uniform.

"I am not a Hunting Dog anymore. It's just Tetchou now," he sighed and looked the detective right on the eyes. Tetchou heard a few surprised gasps from other people but he looked intensely at the detective's face. It went from slightly surprised to a wide grin. A face that reminded Tetchou of Jouno, when the latter was tormenting civilians.

"Well, Tetchou-san, it makes things even easier!" Tetchou had the urge to wipe off the grin from the detective's face. He knew both Jouno and Teruko long enough, usually that kind of face expression was followed up with either mental or physical torture.

Tetchou was prepared for it. He closed his eyes, anticipating a barrage of insults or some physical attacks - although, the detective seemed way too scrawny to deal any real damage to Tetchou, the doctor would be way more cut for the job. But instead, the handcuffs on his hands were undone.

It was Tetchou's turn to widen his eyes in surprise. For a second, he looks at his now free hand, and then at the detective, whose face hasn't change one bit. He looks at the doctor next, she is equally confused as Tetchou.

"Ranpo-san—!" she says, before grabbing bis hand.

"It's fine, Yosano-san," Ranpo smiles, and then turns to Tetchou. "You would have no problems breaking out of those handcuffs anyway, right, Tetchou-san?"

It is true, so Tetchou just nods. Why did the detective say that him not being a Hunting Dog makes it easier?

Tetchou rubs his wrists as Ranpo and Yosano keep talking about something. It's difficult to focus of their conversation, not when his thoughts are mostly filled with trying to create an escape route, only to keep failing. Maybe... Maybe he can wait for a bit. Maybe, things will get clearer when Kenji wakes up.

"Tetchou-san," Ranpo's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, "do you want to find your friend?"

Jouno?

Tetchou wants to scream an immediate yes, but something doesn't make sense. No, the Armed Detective Agency are the ones who stole Jouno in the first place, so what did the detective mean?

Is this a trap? Tetchou doesn't know. He doesn't want to make any more mistakes; he has already done enough damage today.

What about his mission?

What about saving Jouno?

Tetchou purses his lips again. Realistically, he should return to his mission, but... Is there a point anymore? He is unworthy of being a Hunting Dogs, what is the point of trying to chase something that he is not cut for after all? At the moment, it seems that saving Jouno takes the priority. Even, if it means cooperation with the terrorists.

No! That was all wrong. Jouno would never approve of that kind of thinking.

"I'll make it easier for you," Ranpo sighed, and the pointed his finger at Tetchou's chest. "You need to kill the ability user that caused the vampire outbreak."

It didn't make sense.

It didn't make any sense.

The ADA were the source of the vampire outbreak, why were they tasking Tetchou with destroying the source—

Suddenly, he remembered Tachihara's words. Maybe, there is a secret puppeteer after all, maybe the ADA is being framed, Tetchou thought.

Maybe they truly want to help me find Jouno.

"If I kill him, will everyone go back to being normal?" Tetchou asked eventually. It would be not the first time he slaughtered for the lives of innocent people, maybe he could side with the ADA against the vampire outbreak, and then deal with them as terrorists later.

The room fell silent. His words managed to knock of the confident smirk of the detective's face. Instead, now there was uncertainty.

"I don't know."

Frustrating.

But Tetchou didn't want to give up just yet. Didn't they— that's right, didn't they have an ability user who could nullify other abilities? Osamu Dazai, Tetchou recalled his name was.

"Tetchou-san! I need your help," said to him Jouno, who was clearly distraught. It was an amusing sight, truly, something that didn't happen often. In his arms were a few boxes, filled with various items.

"What is it?" Tetchou asked, already taking one of the boxes from Jouno's hands.

"All this evidence suddenly resurfaced. I just need a confirmation from someone I can trust to be my eyes," Jouno out the other boxes on the table and began to take out what seemed like hundreds of photos, as well as some video evidence.

"I have a hard time believing that this giant pile is all in regard to one person," as Jouno kept talking, Tetchou was looking the photos and videos. All of them seemed to depict one person - a young man with bandages in a black trenchcoat, sometimes accompanied with another, shorter young man in a hat. The dates on the evidence were old, all of them reached from seven to four years ago.

After carefully checking everything, Tetchou confirmed that it was indeed the same person. Even more interesting was the fact that they had no trouble identifying the man, as they accessed the ID database.

Osamu Dazai. A person with no past. No information of his place of birth, parents, upbringing, school. Nothing except his address, current occupation: a detective at the Armed Detective Agency and brief description of his ability.

"Why did the evidence resurface so suddenly? Could it be planted?"

"Could be. Or... Well, I don't know for sure, but I heard that an ability user who can erase evidence was captured. Maybe some higher-ups wanted to conceal this guy's information, for whatever reason," Jouno sighed.

"Such strong reality-altering ability," Tetchou murmured. The nature of abilities was still obscure to him, despite having the powers himself. Tetchou thought of his ability as an extension of himself - he could control the blade as if it was a part of his body.

His own ability didn't seem complex to him at all - he discovered it when he was just a child, when his grandfather finally allowed him to hold his sword. But the ability that could conceal evidence from a crime... How many coincidences should there be to discover it?

"Well," Jouno's words pulled Tetchou out of his thoughts. "Thank you for your help, Tetchou-san."

"What about cancelling the vampire ability? Don't you have an ability user who can do that?"

Ranpo glanced at their president, a man with silver hair, who looked like he could be around the same age as the commander of the Hunting Dogs. His face seemed calm, but there was something different about it. Tetchou knew that his own face, when having a calm expression, to other people looked very absent and empty, but the director's face seemed completely different. As if every passing second, he was debating internal struggles and fighting obstacles, only to come to peaceful conclusion. The look in the director's eyes was stern and determined. A look of a true leader, Tetchou recognized it. The commander rarely looked at them like that, but when he did - they played extremely seriously.

"He is in prison at the moment," the director says, looking Tetchou right in the eyes. "And we must stop the spread of the vampire outbreak by any means necessary. As Ranpo said, we don't know if killing the ability user will turn people back to normal, but we can't just silently watch. Can you do it?"

"Do what?" Tetchou gulped.

"Just watch innocent people suffer," Ranpo cut-in, interrupting the president. That was when the president's face changed for a second - he shot Ranpo an annoyed and disapproving look, but soon it was back to being calm.

Tetchou clenched his teeth. Even if he felt lost and confused, there was an anchor in his life. He must save and protect innocent people, no matter what it takes.

He must protect innocent people even if he is not a Hunting Dog anymore.

He must—

"I'll do it," saying those words was easy. It was easy, and it was right - he must do whatever he needs to do in order to insure justice.

Even if it means temporarily working with the terrorists.

"See? Told you he'd agree," said Ranpo, turning to everyone else and clicking his tongue.

The detective thought that he clearly was the smartest in the room, yet he behaved like an arrogant child.

"A-anyway!" Ranpo turned back to Tetchou. "Soon Lucy will open the door for the real world, and you'll be back where you passed out. Good luck!"

And with that, one of the doors opened. The colors outside contrasted with the colorful room, in comparison, the airport appeared too sterile and too white. The only colorful accent was Tetchou's and Kenji's blood.

He must kill the ability user who caused this.

Back to square one.

And Tetchou walked out of the room, back to the airport.

While searching for the vampire, Tetchou was keeping an eye on the civilians as well. After all, no matter what his current missions was, he probably wouldn’t be able to abandon someone in need. But it all seemed not so grim – people were running away, most parents were carrying their kids in their arms, or on their shoulders.

As Tetchou was checking various rooms, empty and not, he found a familiar figure – the girl, whom Jouno tormented earlier, was hiding in one of the rooms. When they saw here, she was completely alone, and she was alone right now too.

Tetchou pursed his lips. She looked very young, probably not older than ten years. He… he could probably delay the search for the vampire for a few minutes. He made his way into the room, maintaining some distance with the girl, so he doesn’t scare her away. After all, Tetchou wasn’t particularly good with kids, and most of them feared him. Teruko said it was because of his height and intense stare.

“Hello,” he said, getting the attention of the girl. “Are you lost?”

He saw how her whole body tensed, as she looked him up and down.

“It’s dangerous in the airport right now,” he continued. “Let’s go find your parents together. It must be scary to hide here all alone.”

She looked away.

“I’m here alone,” she said eventually. “I won’t go anywhere with you.”

Tetchou felt a bit disappointed – he couldn’t just let the lost kid be there by herself. Why didn’t she want to go with him? Was it because he was intimidating her? Or did Jouno scared her too much and she didn’t trust the police?

How is even supposed to persuade a child?

“Do you know your parents’ phone numbers? Let’s call them and ask them to come to the nearest police department, so they can pick you up.”

She shook her head. Come on.

“My parents told me not to trust strangers.” Well, Tetchou supposed that this advice was not bad per se. “Answer my questions, and…” she trailed off. “And if I deem you worthy, I will go with you.”

Wow.

“Of course, ask anything you want,” Tetchou sighed in defeat.

"So, first question: is the policeman with closed eyes your friend?" even though her stance is hesitant, she asks the questions with confidence, and is not afraid to look right in Tetchou's eyes.

Friend...

Somehow, calling Jouno just a friend felt wrong. Tetchou's feelings towards him were much more complicated than friendship. And he couldn't call Jouno hus best friend either, somehow, all these words failed to convey the relationship between them.

But Tetchou reminds himself that it is probably not what the little girl is asking.

"Yes, he is my very special friend," he forced a little smile, thinking that he really isn't suited for working with children. He wasn't good at forcing a smile either, but he guessed that he had to use all his abilities to try and calm the little girl down. "Did he scare you too much? Is that why you don’t want to go with me?"

She furrowed her brows and ignored Tetchou's question. As he took as step towards her, she immediately jumped back a couple of steps, taking a defensive stance.

"Don't be scared," he took a step back, where he was previously standing. "It's okay. I just want to escort you out of this place, it's dangerous here," Tetchou extended his hand towards her, despite there being a couple meter distance between them.

Tetchou understood that. He knows that he is scary. And he is probably even scarier now, his face and clothes covered in blood.

"Next question..." she trailed off, looking around, and then looking at Tetchou's sword that was still laying behind him. Then, she locked her eyes with Tetchou's: "What's more important for you - friendship or your job?"

What's with the interrogation? Tetchou wondered. Why is this little girl so afraid of him? Why wouldn't she let him help?

"For me, the most important is saving innocent people's lives, regardless, if they are my friends or not," Tetchou answered.

Even though he didn't technically lie, it felt like he did.

Because, in truth, he didn't know anymore. His desire to save Jouno overridden his sense of what's right and what's wrong, the backbone of his life. Was he worthy of being a servant of justice after that? He desperately wanted to, but was he?

"You didn't answer my question", her voice was trembling, but she wasn't backing away, nor she tried to run away.

Right.

After all he has done, he might as well just go along with it. He didn't deserve to be a Hunting Dog anymore.

"My friends, of course," Tetchou answers reluctantly. He feels like the girl’s gaze becomes less scared, and... relieved for some reason?

"Um... I'm going slide my phone over to you. Don't come closer," she carefully bends at her knees, getting on the floor, and then slides her phone towards Tetchou. From how she was moving, and not turning, it looked like she was hiding something behind her back. "The password is 0109."

Tetchou reaches out for the phone and unlocks it.

He was not prepared to see what was on that phone.

It was a photograph - it was Fukuchi, their commander, standing in one of the rooms in front of a coffin, where was located a person cut in half and impaled on a sword. There was a pool of blood near the commander, and the commander was fully absorbed in a conversation with a person in coffin.

What...?

Before Tetchou could even say anything, the girl started speaking again:

"When the policeman with closed eyes approached me, he gave me this note," she pulled out a little note from her pocket, "it asked me to follow him, if I believed that the Detective Agency is innocent."

Tetchou looked at her with disbelief - just what was happening?

"And I followed him. The old policeman asked him to join some kind of organization, but policeman with closed eyes refused, and they started fighting."

Oh god. The blood on the photograph is Jouno's.

"And the old guy, he stabbed him with a lot of swords. Then... Um... A vampire came and bitten him, and then took him away."

She looked Tetchou in the eyes once again, but now she was not as scared. She was looking for his reaction, still being in a defensive stance, as if she could fight against him.

Tetchou was at a loss for words.

It all... It all seemed so bizarre, yet how could he not see it sooner? Yes, it was right - Jouno disappeared right after he went to talk with Fukuchi. Why didn't he think of that before? Why nobody has said anything about it?

Why didn't Jouno warn him instead?

Hell. After that, after seeing Fukuchi's true colors, Tetchou realized that he is certainly not a Hunting Dog anymore. Not because he was unworthy of being called one, but because he would never side with the side of evil. And he will never assist Fukuchi with his plans.

No matter the reasoning, he will not allow that.

No, Tetchou will fight him. He will kill Fukuchi for what he has done to the world, and for what he did to Jouno.

Tetchou dropped to his knees. He was usually a stoic person, but this was too much even for him - or was the blood loss finally hitting him? He couldn't tell.

"Thank you... Thank you so much..." he muttered.

If not for this girl, he wouldn't know the truth behind everything.

"You can call me Aya!"

"Thank you so much, Aya."

"My, this one is one of his least bright kids, I shall say," the third voice rang out. Tetchou quickly sprang to his feet, as he recognized that the voice was coming from behind Aya. He picked up his sword, and quickly shortened the distance between them in mere seconds.

What was behind Aya?

The vampire.

The one in the photograph, the one that Fukuchi was using in order to destroy their world.

Tetchou raised his sword, preparing to make the vampire's death quick and painless, but as soon as he raised his sword, Aya jumped in-between them, shielding the vampire with her body.

Tetchou stood there, his pose frozen, as he realized that there is no way for him to kill the vampire, without accidentally harming Aya.

"No! Don't hurt Bura-chan, he is innocent!" she pursed her lips. "The old guy is controlling his ability, don't hurt him!"

What.

"If you want to kill him, you'll have to get through me first!" Aya came closer to the vampire.

Tetchou reluctantly sheathed his sword back, and he saw how Aya visibly relaxed. She probably didn't think that Tetchou could still defeat both of them with his bare hands.

But Tetchou could practically hear Jouno's voice in his head. Tetchou-san, observe first, act second. Usually, Jouno was the one doing majority of the observing, as well as communicating with people, and Tetchou interfered when Jouno's antics got out of hand.

But Jouno wasn't here.

It was, he realized, much easier for two of them to act as one, than for Tetchou to acts for both of them.

"Okay," Tetchou, however, was not getting what's happening. "See? I pulled my sword back. I am not going to hurt neither of you."

"Youth these days," the vampire grumbled. "Out of all of his children, this one is clearly the least bright indeed. Yet, all of you are so quick to jump into a fight..."

His children? Did the vampire mean... Fukuchi?

"But there is a chance that this one will not end up like the other two, as I now advice you not to engage with a fight. The previous ones, they, dare I say, haven't had the privilege of being spoiled with this crucial information beforehand. Ah..."

Tetchou was not really understanding what the vampire was talking about. He turned his head to Aya, who seemed equally confused.

"Why do you claim he is innocent?" he asked her, deciding that he probably would be able to understand her far better than this vampire.

"I have a name, I'll have you know, young man!" the vampire spoke, sounding a bit annoyed. "I am Bram Stoker, Lord of the Undead. You see, as I have–"

"Bura-chan can't control his ability, that's why he is innocent!" Aya interrupted the vampire, whose name was supposedly Bram Stoker.

It sounded foreign. Tetchou wasn't sure about how he should address him.

"But why can't you control your ability?" Tetchou shot him a suspecting look. He came across many ability users in his life, mostly because of his job, and every single one of them had the perfect control over their ability. Of course, he knew that some ability users had trouble with that, but not once he heard about an ability being exploited by a third party.

"Is this child blind as the other one? Does this one not see the sword that I am impaled on?" Stoker quirked a brow. Tetchou took a closer look at the sword - it seemed... Weirdly familiar.

Yes, he recognized this sword - it was Fukuchi's. Once Tetchou humbly requested the commander to see his sword collection, and this sword was definitely one of them.

Huh...

If he thought about it, it made some sense. Very little, but he could see what was happening. If Fukuchi was wielding Stoker as a weapon, he was controlling the vampire ability. So, if he took out the sword—

As Tetchou reached to grab the hilt of the sword on which Bram was impaled on, Aya quickly slapped away his hand.

"Stop, this will hurt him!" she furrowed her brows. "Didn't you say you won't hurt us? Are you a liar?"

What? How did she figure what he was going to do?

"Even a child could see your true intentions on your face clearly," Stoker sighed. "This sword is connected to my brain. Even the slightest movement causes immerse pain."

Tetchou... really couldn't do anything. So, he tried to think - what can he take away from this situation? What would Jouno say?

He stood there, for a few moments.

Maybe... If the ability can be controlled from outside, it also should be nullified from outside, right? It made sense in Tetchou's head.

And since he couldn't do anything anyway, there was no harm in bringing Stoker to the Agency. They should at least try to nullify the ability.

"You believe that the Agency is innocent, right, Aya?" Tetchou turned his head to her. "I believe that too. They are in a safe place, let's go meet them."

He extended his hand, and this time, Aya held onto it. Her hand was ridiculously small compared to Tetchou's, and it made him think how she really, really shouldn't have been dragged into this situation.

After a quick run around the airport, all three one them re-entered Anne's room, after discreetly running back to the room where Tetchou started his search.

There were more people now. Well, there were two more people - the weretiger and the man with glasses. Tetchou recognized him - it was the man who jumped out of the helicopter and was captured by them. But now, his hands seemed fine.

Upon seeing this man, Aya immediately let go of Tetchou's hand, and ran up to him, hugging his legs.

"Kunikida!" her voice seemed to break. After all, no matter how brave she was and how much she wanted to help, she was still a little girl, and the ongoing events were hard to stomach even for Tetchou.

Kunikida gently placed his hand over Aya's head, and gently stroked it.

"It's Kunikida-san for you, young lady," he said, voice gentle. Soon, Tetchou realized that not only he was staring at the scene, but everyone. It was quite the shock for everyone, he presumed.

Tetchou exchanged quick glances with Stoker, whom he was still holding in his hands and who seemed entirely unamused by the whole situation.

Soon, everyone stopped staring at Kunikida and Aya. It was a right thing to do, Tetchou thought, it would be better to get Aya some privacy and not get stuck with their whole plan.

"So, you didn't kill him?" as if on cue, Ranpo, the detective, walked up to Tetchou. It seemed that Ranpo was more interested in Stoker, however.

"He cannot control his ability," Tetchou explained. "His ability is being exploited by Fukuchi; therefore, we should kill him, and not the vampire."

"I have a name!"

"Stoker," Tetchou corrected himself.

"Oh! You already know about Fukuchi being the mastermind?" Ranpo feigned surprise, but under that, Tetchou could see some kind of... sadness. "Well, it makes everything easier! You will help us, right?"

"This one will not be of any help, as one cannot defeat him with power alone," objected Stoker, letting out a huff.

"Man... You're no fun," Ranpo sighed.

Tetchou supposed that Stoker was correct, though. He really couldn't offer much besides his physical strength, and even Tetchou wouldn't be able to defeat Fukuchi one on one. All that was left for him is just to wait.

"But I don't want to just wait here," Tetchou blurted out.

He wanted to be useful.

"Well! For that, I, the greatest detective of all time, have just the solution! We have two problems at hand - the first one being that your vice-commander is interfering with our plans. The second one being that there are at least two vampires who are ability users - the Port Mafia hound and your boyfriend. It would be best to distract them before they do even more damage," the smug smile found its way back on Ranpo's face.

"Jouno and me are not boyfr—," objected Tetchou, but quickly got cut off.

"Whatever. There is a lot of work to be done, we need to convince your Teruko to stop thinking herself as a Hunting Dog, and while we are going that, we need someone to distract the vampires," he patted Tetchou on the back.

Tetchou furrowed his brows.

"I can talk to Teruko, she will listen to me," he objected.

"Eh... No, not really. She won't believe you; she'll just think that we brainwashed you or something," Ranpo shook his head. "While under the effects of the book, all of you can't believe that we are innocent if you are a government official. So, we need her to stop thinking that she is a Hunting Dog. Our main idea is to make her think that you are dead, and it's not really a unit with only two peo--"

Tetchou slapped Ranpo's face.

The detective's words made his blood boil.

"That is cruel, and I will not allow it. Nobody is allowed to toy with people's emotions like that," Tetchou withdrew his hand from Ranpo's face.

"Shit... That stings," Ranpo let out a hiss and touched his cheek with his hand. "It doesn't matter if you think it's cruel. Everything you did to us is cruel, but you think that it was for sake of justice, so it's excusable, right? Well, we are doing this to save the world, so isn't that excusable too, Mr. Righteousness?"

Ranpo was right.

Tetchou once again failed to see how he affected everything around him, how wrong he was from the start. He felt angry - but not at the detective this time. He was angry at himself.

Never being able to understand. Never being able to help. Never being able to do the right thing.

He felt like he was just an old rusty tool that shouldn't be used by anyone anymore.

"I'm sorry," he said, his head hanging low. He really should stop letting his emotions control him.

"It's fine," Ranpo sighed. "We need your receiver, and some of the things that can uniquely identify you. Got any insignias too?"

The only insignias on Hunting Dogs' uniforms were placed on their hats, and Tetchou lost his sometime during the fight with Kenji. He silently gave his receiver to Ranpo, as well as one of his fingerless gloves.

The world was so imperfect, and no matter how hard Tetchou tried to fix it, he just fallen victim to the imperfection himself.

Why would he even continue, if he couldn't do anything right? He didn't want for Teruko to think that he is dead. It would greatly upset her, and how would she look at him when she finds out that it's been an act?

The guilt pooled inside Tetchou's chest.

"For the time being, Atsushi will have to distract Akutagawa," Tetchou guessed that it must be the vampire, who bitten Jouno, "and you'll have to take care of your friend. Basically, fight him to keep him distracted, make sure he doesn't run away to help Fukuchi."

Tetchou could do that. After all, that was the only thing he was good for - fighting. Although, he didn't want to fight Jouno.

"Understood."

"Alright, then good luck fighting him," Ranpo smiled, and nudged Tetchou in the direction of the exit. "When we rescue Dazai, he'll nullify Bram's ability, so you better be fast at getting your friend here, if you want him to keep living."

Tetchou nodded.

"I will do my best. Please... Save the world," he looked Ranpo in the eyes.

"Sure, will do! Don't mess up your part, Mr. Righteousness!" Ranpo pushed him out of the door.

It was time for Tetchou to find Jouno. And this time he must succeed before it's too late.

But finding Jouno was hard.

Partially because his ability could theoretically let him hide anywhere. Partially, because the airport was so big, and it it was difficult to check every room.

Yet, he tried - he had to find Jouno.

Bram was already in hands of the Agency, it was a matter of time before his ability is going to get nullified, and, presumably, all the people who suffered from the vampire outbreak will turn back to normal.

And if Aya was telling the truth, which she undoubtedly was, Jouno was stabbed multiple times.

If Tetchou doesn't find him, Jouno will bleed out to death, completely alone.

If Tetchou doesn't find him, he will lose Jouno forever.

Tetchou picked up the pace, he was still a little lightheaded from the bloodloss but it didn't matter right now. He ran, ran past horrified people running away, as he checked every room on his way.

The further he went into the airport; the less people were there. On a back of his mind was a rather silly, for the moment, thought - what if Jouno is hiding somewhere quiet?

If Tetchou was honest, he didn't understand anything about the vampires. All of them seemed to act as if they didn't think but all of them still had full control over their abilities.

Could they think clearly? The only vampire ability user Tetchou saw was the Port Mafia hound, who was, as the weretiger put it, already trigger-happy to begin with.

Maybe, he could reason with Jouno?

Even though Jouno had his sadistic tendencies, Tetchou always managed to put him in place.

Maybe it will work now too?

As Tetchou ran into one of the staff rooms deep inside the airport, he finally found Jouno. Tetchou's heart undoubtedly skipped a beat.

Jouno was sitting on the ground, and as Tetchou opened the door, Jouno instantly looked up from the ground, facing Tetchou.

Jouno!

I... Finally found you.

Jouno's clothes were drenched with blood and torn in places where Fukuchi's blade went through his body, he could see the gaping wound on his chest, wounds on both of his shoulders, multiple on his thighs and one that seemed to go straight through his knee.

God...

It was difficult to faze Tetchou, he saw countless corpses in his life, he saw people die by his own hand, and he saw his fellow soldiers' dying moments more times than any normal person should. But the sight before him made him sick to his stomach. Of course, Tetchou didn't expect Aya to tell him all the details about the fight, he hoped that she wasn't looking for the most part, he never would have guessed that Fukuchi would stab Jouno repeatedly so many times.

Is this the man whom he admired? He looked up to the commander so much, and the commander did that to Jouno. He probably did something similar to Tachihara too.

It was definitely bad. What if as soon as the vampire ability will be lifted, Jouno's body will instantly shut down because of shock and blood loss? Now the detective's words were starting to make sense. About running back as fast as he can.

The plan was simple - to find Jouno and keep Jouno engaged in a fight, so they would be together when Jouno turns back to normal.

No, I don't want to fight him in this state. I don't—

Tetchou didn't have any time to think before Jouno leaped onto him. He was moving like a feral animal - all of Jouno's attacks were aggressive and in full force, which differed from Jouno's usual style of fighting.

It was all wrong. Jouno, who Tetchou knew, always analyzed his surroundings first. He would come up with a strategy in mere seconds, and then he would execute it, focusing on attacking his opponent's weak points. His forte were always agility and speed, sometimes coupled with emotional manipulation, if the enemy could be affected by it.

But now, there was no strategy, as there were no thoughts behind the attacks, Jouno was just using his brute force to take Tetchou down.

Tetchou deflected his attack with ease.

After all, Jouno would never compare to Tetchou in terms of raw strength. Before colliding with the wall, Jouno actually did use his ability, and soon re-appeared near Tetchou. Tetchou tried to back away, only to end up with his back against the wall.

Jouno quickly shortened the distance between them and grabbed fistful of Tetchou's hair. It made a peculiar sound as Tetchou's hair was clumped together with dried blood after his fight with Kenji.

Tetchou felt that Jouno's hands were icy cold, and the fear started to pool in his stomach. It was scary, how cold Jouno's hands were even though his gloves. What if Jouno's body was really already dead and as soon as the Bram's ability is cancelled, Jouno will drop dead on the floor?

Jouno twisted his hair, trying to move Tetchou's head in a way that would give him a better access to his neck, drawing closer to him at the same time.

But Tetchou wasn't going to give up - he covered Jouno's hand with his own two hands, and then crushed Jouno's hand against his skull.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, as the crunching sound of Jouno's fingers being broken rang out next to his ears.

Tetchou tried to push Jouno away, only to realize that Jouno activated his ability. When Tetchou looked at him, this time for a second the look on Jouno's face was almost normal.

 No... It wasn't normal. He looked horrified.

"Tet...ch..." choked out Jouno, before his face expression returned to the way it was before.

Absent and angry, it was the way all the vampires looked.

Despite his dominant hand rendered useless, Jouno unsheathed his sword. His fingers moved awkwardly, Tetchou could see how Jouno's white gloves were beginning to get stained crimson from the inside starting at his knuckles.

Unlike Tetchou, Jouno wasn't ambidextrous, so he couldn't just hold his sword with a left hand, and Tetchou was forced to look at the sad sight of Jouno barely being able to hold his sword.

It felt awful and wrong. They never hurt each other when they were normally sparring, hell, Tetchou would never forgive himself if he did something like that to Jouno in any other situation. But now...

Engage in a battle. Do not deal fatal wounds.

Jouno raised his sword and leaped onto Tetchou once again. It was easy to deflect this attack too.

And the next one.

And the next one.

Usually, Tetchou liked sparring with Jouno. They didn't do it too often, but when they did - both of them usually enjoyed every second of it. When they fought, they could understand each other, and the duels helped them to improve their teamwork.

Two, working as one.

Their battle went on for hours - Tetchou was not sure why Jouno's body was not exhausted after losing so much blood, but his every attack was fierce and aggressive, albeit clumsy and easy to dodge.

Tetchou wanted it all to stop.

He wanted to hug Jouno tight and never let go, to carry him to the nearest hospital, not to keep fighting him for hours upon end.

But luckily everything must come to an end - at some point, Tetchou couldn't remember how much time has gone, Jouno stopped. The sword fell out of his hand, and then Jouno himself fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

Tetchou quickly jumped to his side. Jouno was transforming back to human - the weird veins from under his eyes were gone, as well as his canines returned to the normal size.

Scared, Tetchou anxiously pressed two of his fingers against Jouno's neck.

Yes, the pulse was there! It was weak, but it was there.

Tetchou carefully lifted Jouno, trying not to touch any of his wounds directly. They didn't have much time, so Tetchou ran with Jouno in his arms.

He probably won't make it to the hospital alive, the only way he can be saved is by the ability of the Agency's doctor.

If I'll have to beg, I will.

When Tetchou entered Anne's room, there were a lot more people there. There were Teruko and Tachihara, who was lying unconscious on the floor, there were a few people from the Port Mafia too, there was Osamu Dazai, the man with the nullifying ability, the manager of the Sky Casino and there was... an infant?

Huh?

Tetchou didn't have time to think about it. He wanted to call out for doctor, but luckily, she came up to him herself. As he carefully out Jouno on the floor, she gestured him to walk away.

"Thou shalt not die!"

As she said that, Tetchou witnessed arguably the most beautiful ability in his life.

In an instant, there was a swarm of golden sparkling butterflies around Jouno – they looked just like the butterfly hair clip in the doctor's hair. The butterflies were flying around Jouno, and then they flew away in a beautiful dance, only to dissolve in the air.

Wow...

Jouno’s injuries were gone.

"Thank you," Tetchou said, his voice shaking. It was finally over! He found Jouno, and now Jouno was not on the brink of death... Everyone affected by the virus were safe. It was all thanks to Yosano, he finally remembered her name.

When he looked through her files, in most of them she was very young. In all of the photos, her eyes were dull, and her face lacked any emotion or color. He knew that look well – it was the face of someone who was forced to partake in a life they did not wish for.  

But now, now she looked very alive. Very determined too - it looked like using her ability was bringing her happiness.

Suddenly, Tetchou felt how someone slapped his cheek, and then hugged him very tight.

"Idiots! Idiots, all three of you," it was Teruko, who was hugging him tightly.

She was crying.

"If at least one of you talked to me, nothing would have happened. I was so worried... First Tachihara, then Jouno, and then you... I thought you died, you know?!" Teruko was choking on her tears but... for whatever reason, Tetchou finally was able to relax.

"Forgive me, Teruko-san."

Oh.

He didn’t notice that he was crying too. Now hot tears were running down his face - now, when he finally could let his guard down. Now, when it all was finally over.

He hugged her back tightly.

"I couldn't stand the thought of losing all three of you, you know. I care about all of you," she clutched her hand on his shirt. "If you have any doubts... Please, always report them to me from now on, no matter how insignificant you think they are."

Tetchou smiled.

He could do that. If he will be given a chance to once again fight alongside Teruko, he will do that.

***

Guilt. Shame. Emptiness.

They all returned soon after the vampire outbreak ended. Silently waiting for things to get better. He was sure that during that hellish day at the airport, something inside him definitely broke and he was not at all sure how to restore it, if he could restore that at all.

Both he and Teruko apologized to the Armed Detective Agency. Kenji was quick to forgive Tetchou, and Tetchou also had to apologize profusely on Jouno's behalf to Kunikida. He hoped that soon Jouno will wake up, and he will apologize to Kunikida himself, but...

It's been nearly a week and Jouno still didn't regain consciousness. Fear and doubt pooled in Tetchou’s gut.

And all he could do is just to sit there.

Waiting.

He heard footsteps - someone approached him from behind. The footsteps were not quiet nor careful, the person didn't try to hide their presence at all. After all, Tetchou was the intruder, the enemy there.

"Y'know", the person said and Tetchou finally adverted his eyes from sleeping Jouno - he finally saw who decided to talk to him.

The detective, Ranpo, he recognized.

"There was nothing you could do under the book's influence."

Tetchou wanted to object, he really did. He opened his mouth but was instantly silenced.

"And even without using Ultra-Deduction, I know, that you want to say - "but Tachihara, but Jouno, both of them noticed and I could have". Jouno would never notice if he didn't suspect that Tachihara lied. And if Tachihara didn't subconsciously think of himself as a Port Mafia member, he would never break out of the book's influence".

Tetchou sighed, defeated by the situation yet again.

Of course, he wouldn't notice. Tetchou knows that he is not the cunning intellectual, he knows his place. But this doesn't help him whatsoever - the guilt is still there.

He feels guilty for hurting innocent people. He feels guilty for not noticing anything wrong. He feels guilty for letting people get hurt.

The silence becomes uncomfortable for both Ranpo and Tetchou.

"I apologize", Tetchou finally says.

"It's fine, I don't hold grudges! Especially, against people like you."

"People like me?"

"Y'know. Idiots."

Tetchou sighs heavily. He was used to being called slow and stupid idiot. He never really payed attention - mostly because Jouno was saying mean things for the sake of just saying them, not trying to hurt Tetchou. Words coming from a detective also did not feel ill-intended, it felt like he was just stating an obvious fact.

"Anyway, you should get some sleep too. It's not good to just sit in one place and worry for days."

Right, he really should get some sleep. His eyes were already drooping, and he felt so tired. So, Tetchou just placed his head on Jouno's stomach. While he knew that Jouno's wounds were already healed with the help of Yosano's ability, Tetchou was still afraid of hurting him.

Being a Hunting Dog meant having a special ability to fall asleep under any circumstances when necessary. But Tetchou found these circumstances rather nice compared to when it was raining heavily in the middle of the forest and the only thing that could protect him at night was his uniform.

"Sleep tight."

"Thank you. For saving everyone," that was the last thing Tetchou said before falling sleep.

Ranpo stood there for a while and then sighed heavily. He was not the one to be considerate to others, but he figured Tetchou needed a little bit of help after what happened, and it didn't seem like anyone else felt comfortable doing that. Of course, there was Kenji, who managed to befriend Tetchou but everyone figured that the boy should get his well-deserved rest and that it's not worth to wake him up. Ranpo draped a blanket over Tetchou's shoulders and left the room. He didn't want to be there for longer than necessary.

***

A loud scream rings in the room, and Tetchou immediately wakes up, his heart racing thousand miles per hour. But after a few seconds, he calms down, recognizing that the source of the scream was none other than Jouno.

Jouno breathes heavily and is visibly trembling.

Was he awaken by a nightmare? Or was Jouno still thinking that he is in a middle of a fight with Fukuchi? Or did he think that he was in a middle of the fight with Tetchou himself?

Tetchou reached out and placed a hand on Jouno's shoulder. Still observing, Tetchou drew closer and hugged him, starting to stroke his back in an attempt to calm him down. He can feel how the fabric of his uniform starts to get a little wet on the shoulder.

"Everything is alright now, Jouno. Everyone is safe. You are safe."

They continue to sit in silence, the only sound being Jouno's quiet sobs every now and then. Gradually, the sobs become more and more quiet, until the room falls completely silent.

Jouno shuffles a little, in an attempt of unpeeling himself from Tetchou's grip but he doesn't succeed.

"You can let go now. Pretend that it never happened," Jouno tried to push him away to no avail.

"No."

No, Tetchou is determined that he will not let go of Jouno anytime soon. He will make sure that Jouno is well-rested, that he is not doing anything that would put him in danger and that he is fine.

"I can't afford to lose you like that ever again."

Jouno opened his mouth but then quickly closed it. He wanted to say something back - a joke, an insult, anything to change the mood but he couldn't bring himself to.

"I was very concerned and scared." Tetchou's grip tightened. "But it doesn't matter right now. Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

In the end, Tetchou went easy on him. He was desperate to know why his partner chose not to say anything to him, but he knew that pushing Jouno right now would be unwise. Tetchou knew that if he tried to get answers out of Jouno, he would just retreat into his imaginary shell and not talking to Tetchou at all or, even worse, ask for him to leave and not come back.

"Dreadful", Jouno sighed, finally easing a little. Probably, sensing that Tetchou is not going to overstep his emotional boundaries. "Where are we? I guess we're in an infirmary but not the one in our base."

It seemed silly to Tetchou. This dance around the real question that went unanswered, he really couldn't understand why they couldn't talk about it openly. It was one of many things he couldn't understand about Jouno - why did he need to cover his true feelings and intentions under a mask of something completely different?

These questions kept bugging him now, when Jouno is fine, his primary concern switched from "will he wake up" to "what do they do about the situation".

But what Tetchou thinks doesn't matter right now. Right now, he needs to support and help Jouno, even if he has troubles understanding it. If Jouno will want to talk about it, he will listen. And of Jouno won't want to talk about it, then Tetchou won't pressure him.

"It's the infirmary of the Armed Detective Agency. Everything is over now; you were just one of last ones to wake up."

Jouno hummed.

"Michizou is okay too, althoug he..." it was one of the few times where Tetchou didn't know how to say something. It was difficult, and he didn't know how Jouno would react, especially in his current state. He didn't want to make anything worse but he also didn't want to hide anything--

"Is leaving the Hunting Dogs to work for Port Mafia?" Jouno asked nonchalantly. As if this was something, he was already aware of for a long time.

"That's right. How did you know?"

"Had my suspicions for a while. Well, hopefully he will be happy there," Jouno smiled a little. It was rare to see Jouno actually smile and not put it on as a mask. Tetchou felt as if some of the weight on his shoulders suddenly disappeared.

"That's one issue sorted out. What will happen to us? Considering what Fukuchi has done, I would assume that he is not our commander anymore. Because, if he is, I will personally kill him... And then kill him again." Jouno let out an annoyed sigh, and then chuckled a little.

Tetchou found himself starting to laugh a little, despite knowing that what Jouno just said was not a laughing matter and not very funny. Still, he couldn't stop laughing - and Jouno couldn't too.

The room was filled with their not so quiet laughter, and the sickly feeling of uncertainty and fear finally started to bother them less and less.

In a way, it was funny. They had no idea what will become of them now - will they continue to work? Will they all be moved to a different force? Or will the government try to conceal their existence and leave them to rot?

Tetchou wiped out a few tears that formed while laughing and then, with completely serious and monotone voice said: "Jouno, this is not funny. You should stop this at once."

Jouno scoffed at him, and Tetchou chuckled once again. He felt alive.

"You are no fun, Tetchou-san! How can we restore the Hunting Dogs' reputation and dignity if my partner is a moron without any sense of humor?"

That's right. Despite everything what happened, they were still a team. They will work together as one, they will restore what was broken and help those in need.

After a long but comfortable silence, Jouno spoke to him once again.

"I don't know how much exactly got uncovered and how much do you know but the commander tried to persuade me into joining them."

That much Tetchou knew. He didn't hear Fukuchi's confession, as he didn't want to waste his time on listening to Fukuchi for even a second.

When Tetchou heard about it, it made him angry. When he heard that Fukuchi tried to convince Jouno join the Decay of Angels, it made him even angrier. It seemed that their commander still viewed Jouno as some sort of criminal, who will jump at the first opportunity to wreak havoc.

But Tetchou knew that Jouno wasn't like that, at least, not anymore. He knew that Jouno is truly kind and protective of the civilians, even if he doesn't show it much. But to Tetchou, it is all clear as day. He can see the look on Jouno's face when the civilians thank him for helping them, a rare moment when complete strangers exchange nothing but pure kindness towards each other. Sure, Tetchou knows that Jouno is far from perfect and still has to do a lot of work on his violent tendencies - but to view him as someone will betray the Hunting Dogs given the opportunity?

That Tetchou could not forgive. The commander, whom Tetchou admired dearly turned out to be a terrorist with zero faith in his subordinates.

"But I refused. I guess, that much even you could guess," Jouno sighed. He seemed to look a bit lost. In reality, Jouno wasn't sure at all why he was saying all those things to Tetchou. He hated being vulnerable with other people but somehow, he didn't feel on edge when he was with Tetchou. "I realized that being a Hunting Dog brings me the most joy I ever had in my entire life, and I'll have you know that I tried many things in my life."

There was a small pause.

"Will you be my sword, Tetchou-san?" asked Jouno, his face expression serious. His brows were a bit furrowed.

Before Jouno could try to elaborate or add anything, Tetchou pulled him closer, interlacing their fingers. They both weren't wearing their gloves, and Tetchou found the warmth of Jouno's skin against his quite pleasant. He noted that he must catch Jouno not wearing gloves some time again.

"In a heartbeat."

Tetchou will be Jouno's sword, and Jouno would wield him. Jouno would point Tetchou in the direction of evil, and Tetchou will cut right through. Together, they will combine their forces and work as one.

Tetchou noticed a faint blush appearing on Jouno's cheeks, as the latter turned his head away.

"You can really let me go now. I feel tired."

This time, Tetchou obliged without any questions. Whatever they will have to face, they will do it together no matter what.

Even if it takes an eternity for Jouno to talk to him about what exactly happened between him and Fukuchi and his feelings about it, Tetchou would wait. He guessed that some things cannot be rushed no matter how much he wanted to cut straight to the chase.

Maybe Tetchou never needed an actual answer for any of his questions.

Maybe he just needed to know that Jouno will remain by his side despite what he did.

"I'll tell the doctor that you've woken up then," with those words, Tetchou stood up from the rather uncomfortable chair and left the room.

Jouno is okay now.

***

"You did what?"

Jouno furrowed his brows, facing Tetchou, who currently tried his best to quickly learn how to use Priceless Tears and just disappear into thin air.

Unfortunately, Tetchou was not capable of doing that, so he was stuck with Jouno not so silently judging him.

"You went on a rampage and almost broke your samurai oath and nearly killed a child? Because I was absent for twenty minutes?"

He didn't really have much to add. He really did act on his emotions in that moment, being so worried about Jouno that he decided to abandon the mission.

"Tetchou-san, I can't say that I am not flattered by being placed above everything else in your little justice system but that's a bit too much."

"I made amends with Kenji, so it's not as horrible as you make it out to be."

"Kenji?"

"The boy I fought. Although, it was I who was nearly killed. Such strength..." Tetchou shuddered a little. Not once he saw someone display such level of raw strength and willpower.

"Right," Jouno sighed. "Does your brain turn off when I leave your sight? Seriously..."

"But my feeling that something happened to you was not false."

Jouno couldn't argue with that but the whole situation still disappointing him. Not as much as Tetchou anticipated, of course, but Tetchou still felt extremely guilty.

"I guess the only way to keep you in check is to watch over you nonstop, Tetchou-san."

Right now, however, it was Tetchou watching over Jouno. After the latter woke up, Yosano examined him once again, stating that for the next few weeks Jouno will need plenty of bed rest and that it would be the best if someone were to take care of Jouno for that time. Tetchou volunteered, of course. It was not like Jouno any other option, so there was not even an attempt to object.

It was not as bad. Jouno learned that Tetchou was actually a decent cook and that realization made him somewhst horrified. It meant that all the atrocities against food were commited with full intentions of making them absolutely horrible by mixing food by colour.

Thankfully, Tetchou was considerate enough not to torture Jouno and made him normal food.

"Do you like the pancakes?" Tetchou asked.

"Wow, I am amazed, Tetchou-san. You changed the topic so smoothly and elegantly, I didn't even notice," Jouno snorted.

"But it was you who didn't say anything in return. I thought we were done with the topic."

Jouno let out a small huff.

"The food is good. You keep surprising me with the fact that you know how to make something edible."

"All food that I make is edible. You just don't like it."

"Of course! Of course, I don't fancy strawberries with ketchup. Or eggs with sugar. Or-- Do i honestly even need to continue?!"

It is all good, a thought flashed in Tetchou's mind. If Jouno had the mental and physical energy to complain about things, it meant that he is recovering. For the first few days at Tetchou's home he mostly slept or didn't feel like talking at all, so seeing him so full of energy and his usual spite was somewhat heartwarming. So much, that it felt almost as if everything was back to normal again.

When Jouno was done with his breakfast, Tetchou pulled Jouno into a tight hug.

Seeing him acting normal again filled Tetchou with happiness, but it also felt like a stab in the chest. It made him emotional, and so, so happy that Jouno is alright.

He wants to capture this moment in his memory forever. If only he could freeze time in place, and they could stay like that for a little bit longer - when there is no danger or pain, just two of them being together without a care in the world.

Tetchou buried his face is the crook of Jouno's neck, feeling how Jouno hesitantly embraced him back.

"I love you," Tetchou whispers. He knows that Jouno knows, but actually saying those words out loud is thrilling and nerve-wracking. But he likes it - he likes to lay his feelings bare in front of Jouno, finally abandoning any sense of shame and uncertainty towards what he felt.

"I love you too," Jouno says back, there is no hesitation in his words.

Usually, both of them shied away from such bold words like love.

They both knew that with jobs like theirs there is no guarantee that they will see each other again after a mission, and both of them knew that that getting attached will probably result in even more pain.

But...

After almost losing Jouno, Tetchou realized that it was all just an excuse. It didn't matter anymore, he was already too attached to Jouno, he might as well call it was it was.

Love.

Tetchou reached out for Jouno's hand, and then intertwined their fingers. Since the moment that the Jouno was declared missing by Fukuchi, Tetchou was operating not on his sense of justice, but on love. Only after saving Jouno, Tetchou understood what was that moving force.

It was uncontrollable and destructive, it devoured everything on its way.

But maybe...

Maybe when Jouno is with him, they would balance each other out, like they always do.

Tetchou was completely lost in thought, Jouno pulled away slightly. Before Tetchou had the time to react, Jouno cupped Tetchou's cheek with his other hand, pulling Tetchou's face closer to his.

Oh.

"Can I kiss you now?" Jouno's smile is both sincere and devilish in this unique Jouno way. Tetchou doesn't say anything, instead, he leans forward, initiating the kiss.

Ah.

After these long days of doubt, uncertainty and confusion, Tetchou finally feels happy.