𝙰𝚐𝚎: 𝟸𝟻
𝙾𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙳𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝙰𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢
𝙰𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢: 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚝 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙳𝚒𝚎 (𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜.)
𝙴𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚜: 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝙳𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚁𝚊𝚗𝚙𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

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= My mind wandered about what I would have for dinner or even what snacks I could steal from Ranpo to satiate my hunger and compliment my wine.—

= —“𝙾𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎.” Mori laughed and gestured for me to follow the two guards that had walked us here. I was relieved that he chose to stay behind with the man I healed. I climbed in the back of the car and looked out the window as the car drove back to the Agency.=

= myself in agitation as I lowered to pick up my bag and then raised to look at him. The less time spent here the better at least for me.—=

𝙽𝚘. 𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎.=

= [Mori and the men entered the room and looked over the man. Mori nodded with approval. “ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ, ʏᴏꜱᴀɴᴏ. ɪ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋ. ᴘᴇʀʜᴀᴘꜱ ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇᴘᴀʏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ?” I shook my head, a quiet laugh to=

= His body jolted and convulsed for a few moments before his heart monitor regulated and his eyes opened wide, frightened to pull from death’s grip. I lower my arms at my sides and tilt my head.]

𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚏𝚒𝚊. 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎.=

=𝙱𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝..

[Once the room was cleared and the door was shut I raised my arms, closing my eyes as I focused, releasing the butterflies to wrap and flutter through the man on the table.=

= I dropped my bag and looked back at Mori and the guards.]

𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚌𝚢? 𝙸’𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

[The heart monitor started to slow and I kept eyeing the men in the doorway, gesturing my hand to wave them back and out of the room.]=

= I saw the boy on the table, his heart monitor picking up faint hits. He met the conditions required for my power to work. I was a little annoyed. I craved to catch the injured in a state that I would need to bring them closer to death in order to heal them.=

= My body tensed as Mori walked beside me and placed an arm over my shoulders. I twisted to pull from his hold without it coming out as an attack. He got the hint and dropped his arm behind him as he walked to the infirmary.=

=—I relaxed slightly when we reached the port mafia hideout. I jerked from his reach and pushed out of the opposite door with my bag in hand. I walked around the car to the sidewalk, following the driver and the other guard Mori walked with.=

= ᴡᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴍᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜʟʟᴇᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʟᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ’ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠɪɴɢ, ᴡᴏʀꜱᴇɴɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ꜱᴇᴇᴍꜱ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪꜱ…” I nodded as I turned to look at him.—

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎.=

= —“ꜱᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ, ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. ɢᴇᴛ ɪɴ, ɢᴇᴛ ᴅᴏɴᴇ. ɴᴇᴡʙɪᴇ, ʜᴇ ʜᴀꜱ ᴘᴏᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ’ꜱ ʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴏᴡ ʜᴇ ꜰɪɢʜᴛꜱ. ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴡᴏ ʙᴜʟʟᴇᴛꜱ. ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀ. ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ʟᴏꜱꜱ.=

= that made me jump a bit. “ʏᴏᴜ ᴊᴜᴍᴘʏ? ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ. ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴡɪɴᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ?” I kept my head turned to face the window away from him.]

𝙸’𝚖 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜?
=

= I tossed the bag into the backseat, not letting him touch it or me before I crawled in the back, staying as close to the door as possible. Mori laughed his stupid laugh before he took his seat in the car, closing the door with a slight slam=

= seeing Mori waiting with the door opened for me. “ᴀᴡ ᴄ’ᴍᴏɴ ɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏꜱᴀɴᴏ, ɪ ᴀᴍ ɪɴ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇʟᴘ. ʜɪᴘᴘᴏᴄʀᴀᴛɪᴄ ᴏᴀᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ.” I rolled my eyes and turned back to him unamused with his targeting my physician's code.=

= I swung my bag ahead of me as he spoke, in his fatherly tone towards me. I stepped through the door with a grunt and groan. When I reached the car I immediately turned back towards the building=

= I made my way out, feeling the stares of the other. My eyes narrowed at Fukuzawa, mentally telling him I did not want to be a part of helping the port mafia.”𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲.”=

=𝙸’𝚖 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚖 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍?

—“𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥.” Yeah, or he just wanted me close. I nodded and pulled my scalpel off the countertop to slip into my glove. Just in case.=

= I rolled my eyes as I shot back the wine and stood to my feet. The room spun for a moment, vision blurred as Ranpo opened the door wider, his face blurred until I blinked enough to sharpen his features. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?” I swatted my hand in the air as I grabbed my doctor bag.— =

= No shouts of my name or plead for help, so it must've been successful without any life threatening injuries. I bring the glass to my lips as I keep my eyes on the knob of my door, watching as it twists slowly. “𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘠𝘰, 𝘐–𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱.”=

= Blurred thanks to those ass holes, Fyodor and Fukuchi. I finish the glass and start to pour another. My eyes raise to the door when I hear commotion just on the other side. Sounded like the team returned.=

= None of them did, though it wasn’t something I talked about either. I understood the need to ally but was uncomfortable with the idea that I wasn’t working against Mori and the crew that were considered the villains. Where was the line?=

= Would me being 25 now make a difference or did he still see me as his little Butterfly girl? My skin crawled at the thought. Ranpo was trying hard to be a bridge of comfort about the alliance but I don’t think he fully understood.=

= He knew me and medically trained me when I was 11. Used me until the Great War ended. He knew of my ability, and used it to his own advantage whenever he could. What would be different this time?=

= I wasn’t sure how I felt about the strange alliance between the Armed Detectives and Port Mafia. Torn because I wanted to hate them. Mori was too close. Uncomfortably close.=

—Fingers tapped against my glass. Lost count of where it's at now, 5 or 8? Didn’t matter. I was only needed when I was needed. The other agents were out on assignment per usual.=

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎
𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗
𝙸'𝚖 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎