Chapter Text
The beauty that can be seen from Ougai Mori's office, located at the top of the tallest of the black towers of the Port Mafia in Yokohama, is intoxicating. The cityscape of the darkest night that Dazai has ever lived to see is enough to make him look at him with fascination, so that Mori feels the need to make sure that Dazai is listening to him.
"Are you paying attention, Dazai?"
"Yeah, yeah," Dazai turns his head toward his boss and looks at him with boredom. "A mid-level member of the Port Mafia, a certain Senade Akuro, ruined the Port Mafia's relations with an organization in Sendai, in turn ruining the lucrative drug sale..."
"Arms, arms sale."
"The same, illegal things that get people killed," Dazai replies listlessly. "The idiot fucked up this year's sale and those to come. Fearing reprisals, he ran away from us, along with the shipment of arms he was supposed to sell to those people in Sendai."
"Correct." Mori smiles with satisfaction as he confirms that his subordinate was indeed paying attention to what he was saying. "Now, this wouldn't be a problem if..."
"I know you're going to order me to take care of him," Dazai tries to keep the tedious conversation from dragging on any longer than necessary. "I know the next forty words that are going to come out of your mouth. So let's get to the point of this exchange where you tell me what I don't know, boss."
"Very well." Mori is already quite used to Dazai's attitude to be upset by it, if he ever was. "He escaped to one of the few places abroad where the Port Mafia can't reach him," a sour expression frowns on the boss's face, "Gotham City." Well, that's interesting.
"What's he doing there?"
"Why do you think I know the answer to such a question?" Mori replies in a honeyed tone.
"Because we're talking about an idiot. Idiots love to talk." Mori gives Dazai a satisfied look before continuing.
"Apparently, he has a 'plan' to establish business relationships with some criminal organization in that city, sell the weapons, return with substantial profits, and wait for a promotion..." A loud laugh prevents Mori from continuing to speak for a minute. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Dazai, it's just that..."
"No, no, it's okay," Dazai is also smiling at the humor of the situation, "It is funny." Mori takes a minute to regain his composure.
"Returning to the problem at hand, I'd like to know if you're aware of the Port Mafia's current stance regarding Gotham." Dazai sighs at the surprise quiz.
"We don't do business there, we don't get involved with their organizations, and we simply treat Gotham as if it were an empty space on the map." That's how Mori had established it like a year ago.
"That's right, and do you know why I established such rules?" Mori continues before Dazai expresses his disinterest, "I did it because Gotham is a disaster waiting to happen. For twenty years it was one of the most corrupt and violent cities in its hemisphere. Now, it is on its way to becoming the most dangerous human settlement on the planet. I suppose people can only endure violence, both physical and structural, so much before succumbing to madness. Gotham is a city whose inhabitants are succumbing to the madness that their suffering and fears have brought them. In a place like this, crime is no longer a business. At best it is an adventure, at worst it is a sport. It's a chaos in which I won't let the Port mafia get into. And now, this... idiot, is heading to that city. With the intention of negotiating on behalf of this organization."
"Uh-huh. And why should I be the one to handle it? You have people who specialize in these cases."
"..... There could be someone in Gotham, someone problematic," Dazai raises an eyebrow at his boss, "I know you are aware of this new heroic era that the world is entering. And that the United States is where the heroes and villains who star in it have been most noticed. Well, Gotham City is a place rich in these kinds of characters. And his eccentricity usually goes beyond average. Among them is someone... a particularly dangerous hero. They call him the Batman," how theatrical.
"And this Batman is so fearsome because..." Mori takes a moment to answer.
"Yokohama isn't so different from Gotham. Both are cities with a large number of people possessing unique capabilities and a tendency toward conflict. So what allows for balance in Yokohama? What sustains peace in this city?" What an obvious question.
"The tripartite framework."
"Yes, a simple and natural system that divides the sphere of conflict so that they self-control each other. It does not need a bureaucratic organization or a formal pact. It is just an implicit agreement between its parts. A principle of civility that keeps us away from self-destruction. The only thing that keeps Yokohama as a functional city. It is responsible for Yokohama's survival to this day," how boring. "And that Batman... that being, on his own and without needing to take anyone's life, is to Gotham what the Tripartite Framework is to Yokohama," puted that way, Dazai already thinks this will be a more entertaining business than he thought. "We know almost nothing about him, and almost no one knows anything significant. It's presumed he's human, but it's not known for sure. There are only rumors and unreliable testimonies. We only know that he appeared some years ago and made the city his own. The rest is mere speculation. From what we know, he could be a demon who mistook Gotham for hell," Mori takes a moment to release the tension that had overcome him, "so I sent you, in case the fear that everyone seems to have of this 'demon' is justified. A precaution, because this is a very important task. I hope you can leave for Gotham in the morning."
"I will leave right now," because this task seems very interesting. "It is preferable to arrive as soon as possible. I will travel by plane and arrive a few hours ahead."
Dazai gets up in a good mood from his chair and walks leisurely towards the office exit.
"What will you need?" Mori doesn't bother to demand a proper farewell.
"Just access to the vast coffers of the Port Mafia," exclaims a smiling Dazai "nothing more." If what Mori says about Gotham is true, then it's one of those places where there are few things that money can't buy.
There isn't a single creature that doesn't fear for its life when grabbed by the neck. It was one of the first things I learned in my youth.
So, I understand why the man beneath me starts to cry when I wrap my right hand around his neck and press him to the ground.
"Y-you're..." I press him down so that I can still understand what he's saying, "the bat... you're the..."
"What's the job you didn't want to tell your friends at the bar about, Anthony?" there is no need to shout. His friends at the bar next to this alley might hear me and come out to find out why Anthony is taking so long to pee. It's enough to let Anthony know that I know who he is, and that I can come after him later if I want. "What did Two-Face send you to do this morning?"
"A-a shi-ship." I sense the fear in his voice. Good. "A cargo ship will arrive in a few hours. We need to take care of the cargo, protect it while we're transporting it. God, don't hurt me."
"Which dock? Where does it come from? What does it bring?"
"N-no-no... damn it! I don't know which dock it is. They're coming to pick me up in fifteen minutes to take me there. I don't know what the ship is carrying; they didn't tell us," I increases the pressure on his neck. Just a little. "It's Japanese! They say it's from the Yokohama Mafia."
The Port Mafia of Yokohama: one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world. I had a few run-ins with them when I was there. I understood they'd distanced themselves from Gotham. Maybe this is some outsider trying to capitalize on their reputation. That's in the best-case scenario. Anyway, I'll be finding out in a few hours.
What did you do this time, Harvey?