Archive of Our Own

“I’m not doing this anymore!”

She slammed a fist on the old wooden desk, which didn’t seem to do anything but annoy the director.

“Not doing what?” he asked.

“The tiger! I’m sick of living in this awful fear! It not only tore up the coop again, but it went even farther this time, to someone else’s land and killed two bulls. Over a thousand kilos each and they were stripped of their meat with ease! Who’s to say it won’t try that with us one day?”

“And just what do you suggest we do?” the director asked again, a warning in his voice.

“The farmer I talked to also let me have this newspaper, where I found something very interesting,” she said, holding up said paper.

On the front page was a picture of an older man and two younger people beside him. It was titled “Armed Detective Agency Solves Missing Persons Case”.

“A detective agency?”

“Not just any detectives. They have abilities. They use those abilities to take on cases the police won’t handle, usually pertaining to other ability users.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with the tiger problem.”

“I’m not stupid. I know that boy can turn into a tiger. I was there the first time he did so, as you’ll recall. How strange, a child gone and a tiger running into the woods. The next morning, the child is back, asleep at the edge of those same woods with no recollection of what happened.”

“Perhaps the tiger wasn’t hungry that day,” the director said, his voice like steel.

She didn’t back down. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with him and I don’t care. I did not come here just to be ripped apart by a tiger. Either get rid of him, have this agency take him, or I can call someone myself.”

There was a very long pause as the man thought before sighing in defeat.

“Fine, I see your point. I’ll take him to the agency tomorrow but in exchange, you will tell no one of what you’ve figured out. Understand?”

“Yes. I only want my safety assured.”

She left as he began typing on the old computer on the desk.
                 

He really did consider killing her to keep her quiet but decided against it. As much as he hated to admit it, she did have a point. He was able to keep the tiger at bay by keeping the boy away from moonlight, but that strategy wouldn’t work forever. Perhaps those with abilities could suggest something.

So the next day, he showed up at the boy’s cell and threw some clothes at him.

***

Atsushi was already up, his internal clock warning him the headmaster was coming to open his cell. The few times he had been asleep when it happened led to being kicked awake and using his toothbrush to scrub the floor.

To his surprise however, a pile of fabric was dropped in front of him when the cell opened. He looked at the clothes in confusion. They did get clothes from donations but they were always worn and stained. Atsushi got the worst of them, ones that barely fit, the color faded away yet stains stubbornly clinging.

These clothes were still old donations but the colors were still bright and there didn’t appear to be any holes in them. It looked like something the staff would give their favorites, but he wasn’t a favorite. Was he supposed to be washing someone else’s clothes? Was his day already starting off with a punishment?

“Put those on and meet me in the garage in ten minutes. Make sure you use the bathroom because I’m not stopping.”

Atsushi didn’t get a chance to question him before he turned and left.

He panicked over whether or not he should put the clothes on first or after using the bathroom but decided on the latter. What if he spilled toothpaste on the nicer clothes?

He could usually get ready in three minutes but carefully putting the new clothes on took longer than expected. Though he showered every night, he usually only had the same pair of clothes to put back on unless they got horribly dirty or smelled too bad to stand. Now he only had two minutes to dash through the halls to the other side of the building where the headmaster was waiting.

No kid was allowed in the garage because that was where the car, one of the most expensive items in the orphanage, was located. He had only been there once a few weeks ago, when he and a few other children had to completely reorganize the scattered, overflowing shelves and the car had been driven out to the end of the driveway.

It wasn’t used often but sometimes the headmaster had important business that required him to use the car and kept him away from the orphanage for a few days. Atsushi always liked those days. Though everyone else still treated him horribly, the headmaster was the worst by far.

Now he wondered what he could be needed for again? No one else was heading his direction, so not another cleaning. 

Was he going to be punished? But what punishment could take place in the garage? It wasn’t like the headmaster didn’t mind an audience.

His socked feet nearly tripped on the smooth floor in his haste to get there quickly and maybe avoid making whatever it was worse. He opened the door to see the garage door open, letting in the light of dawn. The headmaster was standing by the scratched and dented brown car, holding a briefcase and a pair of shoes.

Atsushi approached with his head bowed, fists clenching the blue fabric of his shirt. He was glad he hadn’t eaten in a while because he might throw it back up. He was reminded of a scene from a book in the library, where a character was about to be executed. Except he had no friends to save him from his awful fate.

The shoes were dropped in front of him. He stared at them, confused.

“Well boy? Put them on. You’re going to make me late.”

Atsushi flinched and scrambled to shove his feet in them. In his defense, they were a lot nicer than what he usually wore and also fit him. He only wore shoes when it was time to tend to the crops but they were usually either too small, too big, or full of holes. When he got shoes anyway. Sometimes, he wasn’t given any shoes and his dirty feet were an excuse not to let him back inside.

He bent down to try and fumble with the laces since he had never been taught how to tie them.

A rough hand grabbed his arm and he bit his tongue to keep from crying out.

“There’s no time for that, just get in,” the headmaster said, half lifting half throwing him into the seat.

It was made of some beige fabric and smelled like a musty closet. He didn’t pay too much mind though, instead trying not to throw up bile as the headmaster grew closer, leaning across him. He could see the back of the man’s head and the musty smell was briefly replaced with whatever shampoo he used.

His stomach turned, maybe trying to make up for his stopped heart. Something was going to happen, he was going to get hurt, he needed to run-

Click.

The headmaster withdrew and he saw he had only buckled the seatbelt. Atsushi had never been in a car (that he could remember anyway) so maybe the man had decided it was best to do it himself instead of wasting more time explaining how a car worked. Not that Atsushi was totally clueless because he’d read about cars in books, though he’d never known what a seatbelt looked like until that day. He thought they were made of actual leather.

The books didn’t lie about how restraining they could be. He didn’t like how it felt as if the seatbelt was cutting into his neck, but knew better than to mess with it.

The headmaster got in and started the car. Atsushi couldn’t help the small gasp of amazement at the feeling of the car starting and rumbling beneath him.

They ambled down the driveway onto a dirt road, and while Atsushi was a bit amazed at the fact he was seeing the world outside the orphanage with his own eyes, that joy was overshadowed by questions. There was no way the headmaster was taking him to a meeting. Was he going somewhere far and dumping him on the road like an unwanted pet?

A worse possibility made itself known. What if he was being sold somewhere? For a moment he thought that would be better than the orphanage until he remembered that there was no way he was being sold somewhere nice. It would probably be worse than the orphanage.

He spent thirty minutes getting lost in the possibilities (he knew because the time was displayed on the dashboard) before finally getting the courage to ask.

“E-Excuse me Headmaster—”

He shrunk back as the man turned to look at him with that expression. The one that meant he would get smacked if he kept talking, if he was lucky.

“What is it Atsushi?”

He gulped. The tone was even scarier, a normal question said through gritted teeth.

“I-I just, where are we going?” he squeaked.

The headmaster went quiet for a moment and he wondered if the man had decided to ignore his question. Then he answered, “I am taking you to people who can help you.”

“Help?”

“Yes. When we get there you must listen to everything they say and don’t embarrass me.”

Atsushi nodded quickly and the headmaster turned on the car radio to listen to the news. They had a radio in the orphanage that they were only allowed to listen to the news on, though sometimes Atsushi could hear when one of the staff members took it to one of the “staff only” rooms and switched it to classical music.

He wondered about these people and how they were going to help him. He didn’t think he needed help doing anything that needed doing. Then again, by now he had definitely noticed the treatment towards him was much worse than what anyone else got. 

He was the only one to be locked in a cell at night and the one everyone else blamed for no reason. He had noticed that there were groups, usually siblings sticking together but some were friends defending each other, yet everyone was always against him. Would these people help stop that, somehow?

Atsushi was drawn out of his thoughts by the changing scenery. He had only seen the rural area the orphanage was in and while he had seen big cities in illustrations of books, it was different seeing it with his own eyes.

Wild brown and green faded to colorful storefronts selling things from flowers to glassware. Slowly the buildings seemed to get taller and taller, blurring together in an array of colors so far removed from the dreary gray of the orphanage, the sunshine seeming stronger here.

Atsushi was feeling fidgety and restrained by the seatbelt. Usually, he was running around scrubbing things and while it was nice not to worry about missing a spot, he was starting to feel restless. It had been about three hours now and they had slowed down, so surely the journey was over now, right?

The headmaster muttered something and he flinched thinking he had done something wrong, only to hear it was about parking. There were a lot of cars lining the street but he eventually found a spot and turned off the car. Atsushi waited as he got out, wondering if he was allowed to go with him. Was he supposed to wait there or did he get out too? What if he somehow broke something?

The door was pulled open and the headmaster was there.

“How slow are you,” the headmaster asked as he unbuckled the seatbelt again and yanked Atsushi out.

The street was practically empty, meaning no one was around to hear the small cry.

The door was slammed and the car locked, the headmaster keeping an iron grip on his hand as they walked through the city.

Despite the harsh grip reminding him why he was there, Atsushi couldn’t help but look around with wide eyes at the colors and people all around. It smelled nice, a bit like saltwater but also of whatever wares people were selling as they passed.

Then his view tilted as he almost tripped onto the pavement. The only thing that kept him from falling was the headmaster’s hand.

“Three hours in the car and you didn’t think to tie your shoes?” he hissed, righting the boy up.

He knelt down and Atsushi flinched, preparing for some punishment as the man tied his shoes.

“Can’t even tie shoes. How useless.”

“But I—”

He cut himself off at the look he was given. He wasn’t allowed to argue. Even if that comment was unfair when no one had ever taught him how to tie his shoes.

The headmaster grabbed his hand again and they hurried, quicker than before through the confusing maze of buildings. Atsushi was both in awe and a little intimidated by their height, especially the five black towers that loomed over the city, though they weren’t anywhere near them. Instead, their destination was a simpler five-story building.

Inside was an empty cafe with a single old man at the counter.

“Welcome. Would you like a coffee?”

Atsushi stared in awe at the pastries through the glass, trying to remember when his last meal was. A day ago? And it had only been some stale bread he had to saw through with his teeth.

“No thank you, I am looking for the Armed Detective Agency.”

“Oh yes, they’re on the fourth floor. Though are you sure you wouldn’t at least like a muffin?” The man asked, looking at Atsushi.

He blushed and jumped away from the glass, realizing how close he’d gotten. The grip on his hand tightened slightly and he kept his gaze to the floor.

“We’re fine,” the headmaster said, pulling him up the stairs.

After spending so long cooped up in the car, Atsushi was fine with the climb, even if he was slightly out of breath by the end of it.

They walked down the hall until they reached a door labeled “Armed Detective Agency” and knocked.

A young woman with red glasses and brown hair opened the door. 

“Hello, you must be the one who made the appointment. Come in,” she said, smiling brightly.

She introduced herself as Kirako Haruno and led them to an office space that felt much warmer and cleaner than the orphanage, though that could have been the natural sunlight.

“The president’s office is over here, as for him,” she gestured to Atsushi, “He can wait here,” this time she pointed to a partitioned area with a small couch and two brown chairs, a table between them.

The headmaster nodded and looked at him. “Do not make a mess.”

Do not embarrass me, was the unspoken order. His eyes promised a harsh punishment if disobeyed, one that made Atsushi’s ribs and feet ache.

Haruno led the headmaster away while he carefully shuffled onto the couch. He was used to loneliness but this was a new type. The space was warm, clean, and well-lit, but all the desks were empty. Clearly someone was there for the headmaster to meet but the area around him buzzed with silence and the occasional passing car heard through the window.

He hated it. Somehow this was worse than the dark, moldy spaces he was locked into. A promise of people and noise that had been broken.

He swallowed nervously, keeping his eyes closed for some semblance of the darkness he was used to when he heard a door slam open, causing him to jump.

“Ugh, I’m so bored,” whined a male voice.

“You just finished helping me organize the cold medicine,” said a female voice.

“Yeah, and now I’m even more bored than I was before. Oh right.”

He heard the footsteps coming closer and straightened up, looking around for anything that could be blamed on him.

“Someone made an appointment with the president. Pretty rare to ask for the man himself.”

In front of him was a smiling man, maybe around Haruno’s age, dressed in an outfit from a detective novel he’d once read.

“You’re one of the kids from the orphanage he runs.”

Atsushi nodded, then remembered it was rude not to speak when asked a question. Though the man didn’t phrase it as one. “Yes, I am.”

“Cool. I’m Ranpo Edogawa, the greatest detective in the world!”

Atsushi stared, awed. “Really?”

The greatest detective in the world would surely be able to help figure out what was wrong with him.

“I’m the entire reason this place could get started,” he said, sliding onto the opposite couch.

Next to him, a young woman about Haruno’s age slid in beside him, holding a few board games. 

“That’s true, but I do quite a lot as well. I’m Akiko Yosano, the doctor.”

“I-I’m Atsu-Atsushi Nakajima,” he stammered after a slight pause.

“Now that introductions are done, let’s play a game,” Ranpo said, grabbing the first box, which had Candyland written on it. “This one’s kinda boring but the luck element combined with the candy makes it bearable.”

Atsushi stared in awe at the colorful board. He could count the exact number of times he’d ever had candy on one hand. An entire world of candy was something he couldn’t even begin to dream of.

Yosano quickly set it up and claimed the red piece for herself. Ranpo took green and handed Atsushi the yellow one.

“Alright kid, now watch and learn,” he said, grabbing a card off the pile.

In the president’s office -

Fukuzawa stared at the man in a tan suit sitting across from him. He normally would direct any requests to Ranpo or Yosano, but hearing it was an orphanage director who wanted him made him curious enough to accept. (He ignored Ranpo’s comment about him wanting to ask about more adoptable children.)

“I apologize for taking up your time, as I’m sure you’re a busy man,” the director began, “But I find myself unsure of where else to take this.”

“No, for trouble with an ability user, you came to the right place. May I ask what you want?”

The director opened the briefcase he was carrying to reveal a stack of papers. He quickly flipped through them and handed him one, a newspaper. 

Man-Eating Tiger Strikes Again

Below was a picture of a ravaged field and a blurred out corpse.

“That was just a bull. Rural newspapers will do anything for sales.”

Looking closer, he could see the corpse was a bit too bulky to be human.

“But the tiger?"

“It’s real. I’ve seen it, the farmers have seen it, most of the children have seen it. It’s been terrorizing the area for over a decade.”

“And no one has done anything?” Fukuzawa asked. All that time and not one report to a zoo or sanctuary?

“Tigers are very stealthy creatures. When people came to catch it the first two years after it appeared, it never showed. It became more of a local legend, which is strange when we’ve seen it with our own eyes.”

“I see that is certainly an issue, but may I ask what this has to do with an ability user?”

The man’s eyes flickered to the door for a moment before he reached into his briefcase again and handed him a photo. It was a baby, less than a year old with a mess of silver hair and purple-gold eyes that shone as it reached for the camera.

“That photo was taken as documentation of a new arrival about eleven years ago. Atsushi Nakajima, eight months old. That was also the day the tiger was first spotted.”

Fukuzawa wasn’t a detective like Ranpo and Akiko, but he could connect the dots. “The boy is the tiger.”

“Yes, though he remains unaware of that.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

He tried to remain polite, but some of his judgment leaked through.

“No. Unaware, the issue only affects him at night, in the light of the moon. In the day, he has no idea he has any power. If he became aware, he might have hurt someone.”

“I see, but to help him we will have to tell him. No one can control a power they don’t know of.”

“So you can help him?"

“Yes. In fact, the skies should be clear tonight and the moon almost full. We’ll observe the tiger in action and go from there,” he decided.

“Go from there? It’s an incredibly powerful creature! Once he’s a tiger, there is nothing you can do to stop him! I’ll admit we’re lucky it hasn’t attacked us yet, because it can break through the storehouse with ease! How exactly do you plan to ‘go from there’ with a monster like that?” the director hissed.

Fukuzawa stayed calm, though he didn’t break eye contact as he explained, “This is the Armed Detective Agency. We’ve faced off against strong ability users before. You have no idea what our abilities are capable of, but I can assure they will be enough.”

The director broke eye contact first. “…Of course. That was my mistake. The thought of others in the path of the tiger distresses me greatly.”

"I understand but rest assured, we are capable of dealing with whatever ability user comes our way.” Fukuzawa stood up. “Now I believe I have one other client to meet.”

The two men left the office and walked out to see Ranpo, Yosano, and Atsushi playing Candyland while drinking tea and eating cookies Haruno must have brought for them.

The director cleared his throat and while the older two merely looked up with curiosity and masked annoyance, Atsushi froze as if he were caught doing something wrong.

“I thought I asked you not to bother anyone or make a mess,” the director said. His tone was calm but sharp, and something about his tapping foot betrayed his true agitation.

Atsushi looked down at the crumbs on his shirt and looked as if he were about to burst into tears, his body trembling.

Ranpo snorted. “Oh please, we don’t do our work anyway. Atsushi here has been nice enough to entertain us.”

“Yeah and he’s a cleaner eater than you,” Yosano added, gesturing to the mess of crumbs all around his area of the table.

“It’s not my fault these cookies are so crumbly! This is why I prefer chocolate chip.” Ranpo crossed his arms.

Atsushi seemed to have calmed down a little, now that the director’s gaze was no longer pointed at him.

“Moving on,” Fukuzawa said, all of them turning to look at him, “Atsushi must remain here for the rest of the day until tonight when we can properly help.”

Ranpo nodded. “Only activated at night then. Got it. Will the others help too?”

“It’s a Friday night, so I would hope so. Though it will be dangerous, so I won’t blame them for declining.”

“What’s dangerous?” Atsushi asked, looking confused.

He flinched at the look the director gave him.

Fukuzawa tried to soften his face, so as not to scare the child further. “There is something we must tell you about. Something that has been kept from you, your whole life.”

It occurred to him then that the director, the one who had raised him his whole life might want to break the news, but he only kept his gaze trained on Atsushi.

“You have an ability,” Ranpo said simply.

“What?”

“An ability is a supernatural power. It seems yours only activates at night,” Yosano said, looking to Ranpo for confirmation who nodded.

“A power? Like in books?” Atsushi asked, disbelieving.

“Kind of. A lot of them usually have certain conditions needed to activate. Like mine,” she added with a smile that did not invite questions.

“I can demonstrate mine right now,” Ranpo said, standing up and pulling out his glasses, “With my Ultra-Deduction, I can easily solve any mystery within sixty seconds.”

He put on his glasses, a flash of green appearing as he stared directly at the headmaster, who stiffened ever so slightly. It was an unnerving feeling, having those eyes pierce right through you. What secrets was he hiding…

Then he turned to Atsushi and declared, “Your favorite food is chazuke!”

The boy gasped. “I didn’t tell you that!”

“Yep, but my ability let me figure it out. You love green tea and you mentioned filling up on rice a lot. But who eats plain rice? It would be much better to mix those together. Though I prefer red bean soup myself.”

Atsushi stared at Ranpo with stars in his eyes. Then his gaze turned to himself. “I have a power like that too?”

“No, it’s much worse than that,” the director said with a harsh stare.

The boy’s attention was completely on him now, his body trembling as he again stared at his feet. “Is that why…”

“I wouldn’t say it’s worse,” Fukuzawa cut in, trying not to let his displeasure show on his face and scare the boy further. “Simply different, as all abilities are. Yours is quite powerful and admittedly dangerous uncontrolled, but that’s why you have been brought here today.”

“You’re going to help me,” Atsushi said, though it sounded like a repetition.

“Yes. We’re going to help you find a way to control your power.”

He stood up and it was then Fukuzawa had to remind himself the boy was eleven. He was rather short and thin for his age. That combined with his youthful face would have had him mistaking the boy for an eight-year-old if not told otherwise.

“Th-Thank you sir. I promise I’ll do my best,” he said, his face filled with determination.

“Atsushi, sit down,” the director ordered.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you for your cooperation Atsushi,” Fukuzawa said, lowering himself to his height so they could properly face each other.

He nodded, looking around nervously.

Ranpo cut in. “Bathroom’s down there, first door on the left.”

He blushed slightly, but nodded in thanks and walked in the direction pointed out to him.

“So… Is anyone gonna fill me on what the kid’s ability actually is?” Yosano asked.

***

After filling her in on what happened, the three of them had to devise a plan to deal with the tiger.

In the meantime, they obviously didn’t want Atsushi wandering around, even if his ability didn’t activate in the day, so he was sitting on the couch, reading a book Ranpo had given him. Across from him was the director.

Fukuzawa thought of the look the young boy gave him when the man sat across from him, a plea for help clear in his eyes. Then the director called his name and he quickly turned to answer. Still, it was best he didn’t hear them discuss possible violent strategies to incapacitate him as a tiger, so they moved to the conference room.

“You sure you don’t want to wait for Kunikida and Katai?” Yosano asked.

“Nah, Kunikida will definitely agree to help and then he’ll convince Katai, so no point in waiting around when we can plan now.”

They would take the boy to an abandoned warehouse and have him transform while awake. After all, it was clear he was never conscious while transforming so maybe that was all that was needed to help him control the ability. It was also clear the tiger must have a mind of it’s own to be the cause of such destruction, so the warehouse was chosen to mitigate property damage if Atsushi couldn’t maintain consciousness while transformed.

 From there, Fukuzawa, Yosano, and Kunikida would contain it as the agency’s combatants. Ranpo would keep watch from a safe distance with Katai. If the tiger somehow escaped their grasp, he would use the city’s security cameras to track it down again.

 A foolproof plan, he hoped. The unfortunate truth was that without much information on the boy’s ability, there were too many things that could go wrong.

He pushed that thought aside as they stepped out to inform the headmaster of the plan and check on Atsushi again.

Though neither of them appeared to have moved, Atsushi’s eyes and nose had a slight red tinge and his tea cup had been moved out of reach. He looked up at their entrance, his eyes sparkling before quickly turning to his book, as if trying not to let his face be seen.

Fukuzawa gestured for the headmaster to follow him to another corner of the office while the other two went to entertain the child once more.

“The plan seems fine to me, but if I may, what am I to do?” the headmaster asked.

He bit back annoyance at the implication he was asking for advice on the plan and instead answered the question. “You may either stay outside with Ranpo and Katai or wait here until we return. You do not have to make the decision right now as it’s still quite early.”

The headmaster nodded in thanks and went to return to his seat, the entire area empty except for the tea cup. Moving farther, they saw Ranpo had taken Atsushi and was now showing him some candy while Yosano watched with crossed arms.

“Eating all that will give him a stomach ache.”

“Who said I was sharing? I just think he needs to be aware of all the wonderful candy in there is in the world.”

“On second thought, showing him all this and not giving him a piece is actually crueler.”

“You wound me Akiko.”

“It’s okay, I already had the cookies earlier,” Atsushi said, nervously looking between them.

Fukuzawa felt his heart warm at the sight of the three of them getting along so well.

“Atsushi,” the headmaster called, the boy turning so quickly he might have given himself whiplash, “I said not to bother them.”

“Ugh again?” Ranpo groaned, putting an arm in front of the boy, “Just let me have some fun. We never get fun clients. Well, except for that one guy with the pug and llama thing, but that was ages ago!”

“It’s been slow lately, so I suppose you have some time,” Fukuzawa said in answer to the questioning looks everyone gave him.

“Great! Come on Atsushi, let me teach you about Pokémon.”

Atsushi was staring in amazement at the laptop Ranpo was supposed to use for work but used to goof off instead. They were currently watching the Pokémon anime because Atsushi had never seen it and that was a crime it was his job as a detective to rectify.

Ranpo himself had not only seen it, but had easily been able to predict everything that happened as he did with all anime. He really only watched them for the animation and voice acting, but in this case he made an exception for the kid. He could teach him about the games (which he preferred) later.

Atsushi looked up from the screen, which was strange because nothing was happening. Even the director was out of view, reading a book. Then he realized what the boy must have heard, just as the footsteps came into his hearing range.

“Time for lunch. Watching TV all day is bad for you,” Akiko scolded, coming out of the infirmary.

Atsushi looked disappointed as he closed the laptop and got up, staying silent in his seat.

Ranpo turned around. “Come on, I know you heard her. It’s lunch time!”

Just in case he still didn’t get the message, Ranpo grabbed his hand and led him downstairs to the cafe. The old man recognized him from earlier and not only got him the lunch Akiko ordered for him, but threw in a free chocolate chip cookie for all of them as well.

Atsushi seemed to be in shock at the sight of the food in front of him.

“I-I can’t eat all this,” he said, staring at the soup in front of him.

“It’s lunch time, that means it’s time to eat,” Ranpo said, taking a bite of his sandwich for demonstration.

“You’ll need the energy for tonight, when we help you for your ability,” Akiko said, nudging the soup over.

“What’s going to happen?” he asked fearfully.

Oh right. They never actually told him.

“It’s simple. Our other two employees will get here at four. We fill them in, get some things ready, and then we go to some boring warehouse and wait for the moon to rise. You transform, we help you out and done.”

A gross oversimplification of everything but Atsushi seemed more reassured. 

“Okay! So, after that, I’m going to be better?”

“Better?”

“I mean, um, you know… No at the orphanage likes me, well I don’t think anyone likes anyone, but they all hate me. Especially the headmaster- I mean, it’s just, they know I’m different is all. And for a long time I didn’t know what it was or how they knew, but now I do know! It’s because I have an ability, and after you help me, things will get better, right?” he asked, desperate for reassurance.

Akiko caught his eye and he shook his head. Later.

She turned to the boy. “We’re going to help you control your ability. No one can say for sure how other people will treat you afterwards, but I can assure you that you will start to feel better.”

He nodded, clearly trying to hide his disappointment but unsuccessful at it. Instead, he politely drained his soup bowl and stared at the cookie.

“If you’re full you can just save it for later. Like after you help me in the infirmary.”

“Help you?”

“Yep. You look like someone who’s good at counting and organizing,” she said, grabbing him without another thought. She put the cookie in her pocket. “I’ll save this for you. Trust me, you don’t want him watching it.”

He stuck his tongue out, a gesture she returned while Atsushi laughed.

Really. Just because he went into the infirmary’s mini-fridge and ate her snacks seventeen times, this did not mean he couldn’t be trusted. He took those as rewards for the extra work he had to do because everyone else was too dumb to realize what needed to be done.

Like now as he walked back into the agency, just as the infirmary door swung shut to talk to the headmaster.

“The others don’t know this yet, but we’re adopting Atsushi.”

Akiko had assumed the boy was eight when she first saw him. To later learn he was eleven not only concerned her, but made her suspicious.

Something told her his headmaster wouldn’t take to kindly to being told she wanted to give him a full examination, so she had to use some trickery.

“I’m not sure the scale is working right, could you step on it and make sure? Good, now stay still while I lower this thing down.”

He flinched when she got close and raised her arm, then quickly apologized, looking as if he were bracing himself for something.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she cut through the apologies, “I should have said I needed to check that too. All it does is rest on your head for a bit, but to make sure it works I need you to stand as tall as you can. Not on your tiptoes though.”

He nodded and with great difficulty, raised his head high and unslumped his shoulders, his eyes darting around nervously.

She wrote something down on her clipboard. “Yep it works, thanks for the help.”

He was rather short for his age. Which could be nothing. Maybe he grew a little slower or was just destined to be short as some were. (Somewhere in Yokohama a redhead — who was totally still growing — sneezed.)

But that didn’t explain why he was so underweight. Not just a little skinny, but to the point it made her want to take some blood and see what nutrient deficiencies he had.

She decided to finish the check-up first.

“Say Atsushi, I’ve been wondering, because of your ability there might be some differences between you and others, physically speaking. While we’re here, I could test for some of those,” she offered.

To her surprise, he seemed to shrink further, almost backing into the wall. “No! I mean, that’s okay, I feel fine, I don’t need anything.”

“Weren’t you just saying people knew you were different? Maybe this could help find one of those differences,” she lied. 

He seemed tempted by the thought for a moment before rapidly shaking his head. “No, I really don’t need anything. I, um, already got my shots the other day and I swear I don’t need medicine or anything.”

“This is just a simple check-up. Have you ever had one before?” she asked.

“The orphanage nurse checks our weight and height sometimes for records.”

“What about your eyes? Ears? Lungs?”

He seemed confused. “Unless something looks wrong, those should all be fine.”

The fuck kind of nurse worked there? She swallowed her urge to scream and calmly said, “Well, those should all be checked once a year.”

“Oh. The last time the nurse checked my height was a few years ago. They said since I wasn’t growing, there was no point in seeing her,” he explained, matter-of-fact.

“I see. Well, at a normal check-up, we check for a lot more than that. And there’s no needles involved.”

Unless one was due for a shot, but she had no idea which ones he’d gotten already, so she decided to leave that out.

“No medicine, either?”

“No,” she promised, not unless he was actually sick. “I just need you to sit on that bed while I check you for any problems.”

He nodded shakily, sitting on the bed as directed as if he were heading to the electric chair.

Not that she didn’t enjoy her patients fearing her, but it felt different when the boy looked at the reflex hammer the same way Kunikida stared at her chainsaw.

Though his reflexes were surprisingly fast. She wasn’t even sure her hammer fully left his skin before his leg came swinging up.

His eyes and ears looked fine, though his temperature was surprisingly high. Yet she hadn’t noticed any coughing and when asking him to say “aah” everything looked fine there too.

Was the thermometer actually broken? Or… Didn’t felines have higher body temperatures than humans?

She pushed her suspicion aside and continued. His heartbeat and blood pressure did seem a little high, but considering how nervous he looked that was to be expected. He’d never had his blood pressure taken before he told her.

“Okay, now it’s time to test your eyes and ears.”

“Didn’t you already look at those? But it’s fine if you need to check again,” he added quickly.

“It’s fine. I was just looking at them. Now we have to test if they actually work.”

When she led him to the eye chart, he said, “Oh, that’s what that’s for.”

Though he passed with flying colors. Same with the hearing test.

She even checked him for lice which is how she realized the little black streak wasn’t dirt. Apparently, his hair was just like that.

“Well, that was interesting,” she said when they had finished all the tests.

Atsushi seemed much more at ease as well, which made her feel better.

“Do you need help with anything else?” he asked, his eyes closed.

“No. And we’ve still got a few hours before the other two get here, so why don’t you take a nap?”

“But I’m not-” he yawned “-tired.”

She raised an eyebrow at the denial. “Oh really? If that’s the case, then why don’t you lay down, close your eyes, and count to ten. If you get back up afterwards I’ll believe you.”

He did as he was told. He fell asleep at seven.
           

When Atsushi woke up, the light from the window had turned golden, casting long shadows. He momentarily panicked wondering where he was until he remembered the events of the entire day.

He had fallen asleep. He looked around for something to do, some way to apologize for lazing around and show he appreciated the hospitality but no one was there.

Then the door opened and Ranpo walked in with a water bottle. “I knew you’d be up. We’re about done briefing Kunikida and Katai so you can come out and meet them.”

Though his mouth felt as if it were filled with cotton, Atsushi declined the water bottle.

“I’m the greatest detective in the world, I know you’re thirsty.”

Well, there was no arguing with that. He took the water bottle and carefully sipped from it as he was led out of the infirmary.

Everyone in the agency had been so nice to him so far. Logically, he knew it was because they were supposed to help him but he still didn’t feel it was right.

When he stepped out, he noticed two new boys in the office. To his surprise, they were both rather young, about fifteen. One was blond and had his shoulder-length hair in a small ponytail, his clothes perfectly pressed. The other had messy black hair and wrinkled clothes, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. Maybe he had if the futon around his shoulders was anything to go by.

“So you’re the ability user we’re helping. I’m Doppo Kunikida.”

“Katai Tayama,” the one in the futon greeted with a small wave.

He waved back and shyly introduced himself.

“These are the other two members we had to wait on? Children?” the headmaster scoffed from where he was standing near the sitting area.

“We weren’t going to pull them out of school early for this,” Ranpo said.

Atsushi flinched, even though that annoyed looked wasn’t directed at him. 

“We may be young, but I promise you sir, we can handle this,” Kunikida said.

Katai nodded beside him, though he looked less sure of himself.

“That one looks like he hasn’t even woken up,” the headmaster sniffed.

Atsushi felt bad for him, but rather than shrinking, the boy replied evenly.

“The futon helps with my ability. Besides, it’s cozier than a jacket and it’ll be chilly tonight.”

He almost gasped at the backtalk.

“As I said before, all our detectives are perfectly capable,” the president added, causing the headmaster to silently turn away.

Atsushi liked the president. At first he imagined him as someone like the headmaster, who ran the orphanage with an iron fist, but he was the opposite. He let them drink tea and watch anime on the job and he hadn’t shouted or called anyone names once. He thought people like that only existed in books.

“Anyway, I believe we should get going now if we want to make it before the moon comes up. It’s autumn now, so that’ll be happening sooner,” Kunikida said, writing something down in a notebook.

“Let’s just go now then. I’m bored of waiting,” Ranpo sighed, letting his head fall onto his desk.

“We are taking the train,” Fukuzawa reminded, “Perhaps it would be best to leave a little earlier.”

Atsushi wasn’t sure why they all turned to look at the greatest detective in the world, but that seemed to get everyone to agree to leave earlier. All the detective began grabbing their bags and everything else they would need for what was to come.

He would be fine. They were going to help him.

But he had no idea what was going to happen. All he knew was he had some kind of power, a dangerous one that could hurt people and it activated at night. (Which made sense, now that he thought about it. Sometimes he fell asleep and would wake in an entirely different place or have strange dreams about killing animals with a single bite.)

For a reason he would never quite understand, even as an adult, he looked to the headmaster for reassurance. Strangely, the man hadn’t moved other than to flip another page in his book.

His mouth wouldn’t work but the headmaster sensed his gaze anyway and looked up.

“What is it?”

“A-Aren’t you coming?”

“No.”

Atsushi would never understand why he felt hurt. It made sense for the man to stay behind from a dangerous situation but…

Why?

He didn’t know why he was asking that either. Why did his eyes sting? Why did he even want the headmaster around? Why didn’t he realize this would happen?

“Hey kid,” Kunikida said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up, hoping his eyes weren’t brimming with tears.

“It’s time to go,” he continued, grabbing his hand and leading him to the elevator.

Atsushi let himself be led away, swallowing and wiping his eyes before a tear could run down his face. Children with no parents didn’t deserve to cry.

Atsushi somehow ended up with Katai’s futon draped over him instead as they walked. He tried to refuse but the others insisted, saying it wouldn’t be good for him to catch cold. He had never caught a cold before, even in the awful conditions during cold season, but he decided not to be rude and argue.

They got onto a train, which was nice and warm before going back out to the autumn chill. The sun was beginning to set and he realized he should have been sleepy by now, but the nap after the day’s exhaustion was keeping him on his feet.

The warehouse was dark and covered in dust and cobwebs, but it wasn’t as awful as his cell. There was a lot more room to run around, though he stayed still as the others began discussing where best to place themselves.

By now they had reached the point in time where the sun was gone and the moon was slowly beginning to rise. There was a pale strip of moonlight on the ground that was slowly growing larger.

Almost entranced, Atsushi began walking towards it, his feet a few small steps away from the patch of moonlight. He looked up to see the moon, which was almost full he had been told.

“Hey kid, there you are. Come on, it should be time for you to show off your ability.”

Atsushi jumped slightly, shaken out of his trance. “Sorry, sorry! I just got distracted by the moon.”

Kunikida waited but he didn’t move. He raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“It’s just uh, do you know what I have to do? I don’t even know what my ability is. What if it doesn’t work because I’m awake?” he asked nervously. The moonlight spread, causing his feet to cast shadows.

“Wait, no one informed you of what you could do before? What were they— No, calm down Doppo, these are your well-versed seniors,” he said, more to himself, taking some deep breaths.

Though the anger wasn’t technically directed at him, Atsushi winced regardless. He knew from experience that just being in the same room was enough to have that anger redirected at him instead. On reflex, he began looking for a place to hide, which was how he turned to look at the moon. It almost filled the whole glass with how close it seemed.

“-versed seniors. Okay, I am calm. Now, we’re going to be late so let’s go…”

He trailed off as he stared at the boy, who was now fully bathed in moonlight. He remembered one of the instructions the president had given him, which was to keep him out of the moonlight at all costs until they were prepared. 

“Shit! You need to get out of there before—”

Just as Kunikida took a step to help him, he screamed. The boy’s body contorted as fur began sprouting along his arms and legs. Several snapping sounds could be heard, like firecrackers going off as he gargled and choked.

He turned, revealing a face that had also sprouted fur and eyes that had switched from the heterochromatic gold and purple, to a predatory gold with a thin purple ring.

The change happened in seconds and before he could even think to shout, Kunikida was faced with a large white tiger. It took a step back and from observing the behavior of his old family pet, he knew it was preparing to pounce.

The only reason his head was still attached to his shoulders was because the president tackled him to the ground just in time. The tiger missed and crashed into some shipping containers.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Katai and Ranpo had already exited the warehouse to wait on standby and Yosano had her cleaver out.

He and the president stepped back as there was a groan and the tiger emerged from the crushed metal, seemingly unscathed.

“Don’t let it catch you,” the president instructed, pushing him away before rushing at the tiger.

He ran and hid behind another container, where he watched the president and Yosano rush at it. He used his ability to create a gun and waited.

They dodged the tiger’s swipes and it’s huge jaws, but when the president ducked under it’s stomach to cut it open with his katana, nothing happened. He emerged with no red anywhere on his blade or staining the beast’s fur. 

The beast turned, jaws open to bite it, but this time Yosano rushed in and slammed her cleaver in it’s face. He saw the way her arm trembled, as if she had tried to drive it through a brick wall instead. It turned, piercing her with it’s gold eyes as it bit clean through the metal of the cleaver.

Before it could go after her instead, the president drew it’s attention towards himself, attempting to jab his blade in it’s eye. Again the metal glanced off, but this time he was close enough the beast sunk it’s jaws in his side and threw him.

There was a strange ripping noise as the president was thrown, a streak of red following him. When the tiger turned to the side to see where Yosano had jumped off too, he saw it had something in it’s mouth. A bit of green fabric stained dark with red…

He jumped out of his hiding spot and ran behind it, his finger pulling the trigger. He fired a few shots directly into the tiger, the recoil making him fall down.

The tiger turned, completely fine. The only red stain it had was on it’s mouth.

“It’s bulletproof too?!” he heard himself shout, not quite in control of his own body at this point. 

He scrambled to the side as the tiger leaped but he wasn’t quick enough. There was a searing pain in his left leg as the tiger bit through it. He screamed, his thoughts scrambling now as he tried to think of what to do. Blades nor bullets would work, yet that was all he could think of as the blood poured out of his leg and he could feel himself going into shock.

A tourniquet then? He had no idea how to tie one. He saw the glint of a gold hairclip and realized Yosano was trying to reach him, but was being kept away by the pursuing tiger. Turning, he could see he the president lying unconscious in a pool of blood, one shipping container away.

Was this the end then? What a miscalculation on their parts. He should have pressed harder for information on the ability, should have kept the boy away from the moonlight, should have…

Ah, it didn’t matter now. A bright light flooded his vision and he was sure the afterlife was coming to greet him. He felt “Turret of Justice” by DECO*27 was a strange song for the angels to be playing, but who was he to judge them?

The squeal of tires snapped him out of his trance and he blinked away the brightness of the lights, realizing they were just the headlights of the bright green car Ranpo was driving. A terrified Katai was next to him, holding out a piece of fried chicken through the open window.

He honked the horn, drawing the animal’s attention. “Hey kitty! Want some food?”

The tiger growled, preparing to pounce.

“Come and get it!” Ranpo cackled, the car tires squealing again as he turned and drove back out of the warehouse.

It ran after them, leaving the warehouse empty.

In the silence, Doppo wondered if he had hallucinated everything. Then a familiar pair of red heels clicked into view.

“Thou Shalt Not Die.”

A wave of blue butterflies crowded his vision and he felt the pain in his leg fade away. Though he was now in perfect health, the sudden rush of adrenaline leaving made him feel disoriented.

“Was that Ranpo?” the president asked upon getting up.

They nodded.

“So that was why he wanted to stop and get food,” he mused.

Kunikida froze, remembering he was the one who had firmly rejected the idea in a rush to get to the warehouse on time. The president placed a hand on his shoulder, and he prepared for a scolding.

“None of this was your fault,” the president reassured him, “I am the one in charge and I agreed with your idea. I should have remembered we always listen to Ranpo for a reason, and it was my fault we both paid the price.”

He nodded numbly, still disoriented from everything. In the few months since joining the agency, that was the closest he had come to watching a fellow member die.

“Come on. I don’t know what Ranpo’s plan is, but I know he needs our help,” Yosano said.

“Right,” Kunikida said. 

There was no time to dwell on “should haves” and “what ifs”. He was a detective and he had taken this job to help a young boy with his dangerous ability. He marched forward on both feet, running out to the moonlit road to see a peculiar sight.

Ranpo was driving around in large circles. He didn’t have a license, but the president had taught him how to use a car in case the need ever arose. He was using those lessons now it seemed, having Katai throw food to slow the tiger down when it got too close.

“Kunikida! You know what to do!” Ranpo shouted over the pop music blaring from the car stereo.

Did he? Surely, Yosano or the president were more capable of taking it down than him. He had to know guns and knives didn’t work. What else was there to use? No object—

No object.

He wrote one word in his notebook: Taser.

The tiger had paused again in front of a rack of ribs. It turned its head, but even if it jumped, the long range of a taser would allow him to dodge completely this time.

Ranpo was right, as usual. The pure energy of electricity was able to stun the tiger, causing its body to freeze and lock up, like that of a human. 

The car parked and the two came running out to join the others, surrounding the tiger.

“This won’t hold it for long, but it should be enough,” Ranpo said with a meaningful glance at the doctor.

“I had some horse tranquilizer darts. I shot one when the tiger crashed into those shipping containers, but it didn’t pierce the skin as you can tell,” Yosano explained, emptying what he now realized was a tranquilizer gun.

She carefully emptied each container into the tiger’s panting mouth. It clearly wasn’t happy about this but was still unable to move. He worried that maybe it had some sort of immunity to the drug, but after about three-fourths of the darts she bought had been emptied, it’s eyes closed into a sedated sleep.

“Um, is there really anything we can do to help him?” Katai asked after a small silence where they simply observed the tiger. “The best we can do is try to keep him from transforming, but that might not even be possible.”

Kunikida frowned at his friend. “Well, we can’t just let him go back to the orphanage like this! He could really hurt someone.”

Ranpo snorted. “Geez, you’re all dummies. Obviously, there is something we can do. We take him in as one of our own and the president’s ability will keep him from rampaging like that again.”

“What?” they all said, except for Yosano who nodded along.

“That makes sense. I was worried. It’s such a powerful ability, I have no doubt that someone out there would love to use it, whether the kid wants to work with them or not.”

“If we hire him though, wouldn’t we be basically the same then?” Katai asked. He yelped at the glare she shot him and hid behind his futon, like a child hiding from the closet monster beneath their blanket.

“He doesn’t have to use his ability. He could work as a clerk if he wanted to, or not work at all,” Ranpo said, pulling out a stack of papers and a pen from beneath his hat. “Here you go Boss, just sign these and it should all be good.”

Kunikida looked over and gasped. “Adoption papers?”

“Got them from that director guy. Come on, it’s clear he doesn’t want to go back and sending him back would be dangerous anyway.”

Fukuzawa stared at the sleeping tiger for a moment, watching its chest rise and fall. Then he skimmed over the papers and signed his name.

“Wait, you’re just doing it like that? Shouldn’t you take at least a day to consider such an important decision?” Kunikida gasped again.

“The concerns about sending Atsushi back are things I had been thinking myself and Ranpo’s solution makes the most sense. I also have the room and funds to care for him.”

“And most importantly, you’ve been wanting to adopt that orphan since the moment you saw him,” Ranpo teased.

He didn’t deny it.

Yosano snorted. “Let’s just try to figure out how we’re going to transport a tiger back to the agency. That car is way too small. Hey, how’d you get the car anyway?”

“It’s one of those electric cars, so Katai used his ability to power it on and I drove it to the store to buy some food. Then we came back and I enacted my brilliant plan.”

Katai shuddered. “Even with me using GPS he almost drove into a river.”

Fukuzawa patted his head. “You did a good job Ranpo and I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

Kunikida bowed. “I as well.”

“Hehe, thanks. As long you all remember I’m always right and my snacks should always be bought, there will be no further problems.”

“Yes, we’ll keep that in mind.”

As it turned out, they didn’t need to worry about transporting a tiger as he turned back into a boy soon after their conversation. He seemed fine, but with the amount of horse tranquilizer dumped into the tiger’s mouth, they decided to bring him back to the infirmary for observation.

They all piled into the car and drove back to the agency where someone was waiting outside the building.

“You managed to tame him after all. I suppose this means you decided to go through with the adoption?” the headmaster asked them.

“Yep,” Ranpo declared, proudly holding out the papers. “All filled out.”

The headmaster held out his briefcase. “Here’s all his papers then. I brought everything related to him as I was unsure of what he needed. He has no other belongings to bring either.”

“Then I suppose this is goodbye,” Fukuzawa said. “Thank you for bringing him here.”

The headmaster seemed surprised at that, but his face quickly smoothed over. 

“Yes, this is goodbye. Thank you for adopting him,” he said, staring at the sleeping boy the president was carrying. “When he wakes, tell him I said to remember what I taught him.”

Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

They all walked into the building without saying a word until Atsushi was safely laid in an infirmary bed.

“We’re not telling him shit,” Yosano said.

“But what if he asks? Is it right to lie to him about this?” Kunikida asked.

“If he asks, I will be truthful, but I will not volunteer the information,” Fukuzawa said.

“His orphanage wasn’t a nice place then?” Katai said.

“You don’t know the half of it. You’ll probably find out when we have to do all that boring legal stuff though,” Ranpo said.

“What boring legal stuff?”

“All that boring paperwork they’re going to make us fill out once we prove the orphanage is abusive and get everyone who works there fired and jailed.”

“Oh.”
   

This time, Atsushi woke up to the bright morning sun.

He sat up gasping, worrying he overslept when he realized this wasn’t his cell. He was back in the agency’s infirmary.

The door opened and the president walked in. “How are you feeling Atsushi?”

“F-Fine sir. What about you all? I didn’t hurt anybody did I?”

“We’re all perfectly healthy. Your ability to turn into a tiger was tricky but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“I can turn into a tiger? That’s funny, there’s supposed to be a tiger haunting the orphanage. It only comes out at night and I’ve never seen it…”

Fukuzawa nodded as he trailed off at the realization. “Yes, you are the tiger. Though I wouldn’t worry as we’re going to help you control it.”

“Am I going to be staying here for a while then?”

The man’s lips twitched. “In a way.”

He handed him a paper. He read it and then read it again.

“Welcome to the Armed Detective Agency, Atsushi Nakajima, as my son.”