A Foreign Threat (ShiroLugia x Megarai111 BSD roleplay)

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This is an 1x1 rp between [member="ShiroLugia"] and [member="Megarai111"], taking place in the universe of Bungou Stray Dogs, a popular anime. It's set in Yokohama City. Shiro roleplays Osamu Dazai, Mega roleplays Kunikida Doppo.

A short story overview:
The lives of the members of the Armed Detective Agency change drastically as a group of ability users from outside Yokohama City suddenly invade the city. How will they deal with this new threat?
(we'll just roll with this general idea for now and see where this takes us, lol)

our alternative title - putting it here to keep it for all eternity:

Spoiler

Alright, let's get going!

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Grocery shopping with Osamu Dazai, perhaps the most accident-prone man ever to be alive. Kunikida didn't want anyone to have to deal with this, ever.
Unfortunately, that meant that he was stuck with Dazai himself.

Kunikida sighed heavily. He hoped this day would be over soon, so that he could just go back home and lie dead on the couch for three hours straight, because that was the kind of mood he was in.
He rubbed his forehead. At one hand, going home would mean that he would no longer have to deal with Dazai, but at the other hand, it wasn't like he was going to be able to sleep. A constant feeling of danger had kept him awake for three nights straight.

He knew something was wrong. He sensed it, but he had no idea what it was or where it had come from. He was fine until just a few days ago. Now it was here, haunting him and keeping him from being able to fall asleep.

The only thing that could help him now was coffee, or maybe just a straight shot of caffeine to the blood.

Kunikida could've sworn he heard people talking around him, but he couldn't make out the words they were saying.

This situation called for drastic measures... very drastic measures.

"Hold on a second, Dazai," he said to his partner-in-crime. "I really need caffeine right now... I'm feeling really dizzy. Is there a coffee shop nearby?"

 

@[member="ShiroLugia"]

Sure, the offer Dazai made to Kunikida was tempting, very tempting. However...

"I'll be fine, thank you. If I go back to the Agency now, we'll only get behind on schedule more. Despite your promise of not going to try to commit suicide, I don't think you'd be able to handle the groceries at a higher speed than when I come along as well."

Kunikida appreciated Dazai's concern though. It was nice to not be constantly teased for once. He was happy to know Dazai wasn't all annoying bandage-waster.

After having briefly stopped at the nearest coffee shop (Kunikida bought two XXL cups of the strongest coffee they had in stock), the two partners returned to their path to the grocery store. With the extreme amount of caffeine in his bloodstream, Kunikida felt a bit better, although the only thing that could cure him completely was a long night sleep.

Then again, with this constant sense of danger, sleeping tonight would be impossible. Again.

How bad would it be to tell Dazai about his troubles? Kunikida thought. His partner did look really concerned, so maybe it's the least he can do to help feel a bit better. Talking about your troubles often helps to set them aside or make you ease up a bit at least.

And who knows, maybe Dazai would actually say something useful for once.

"Listen Dazai, before you start to speculate about what could possibly be wrong with me, the truth is I haven't been able to sleep for the past few days because a comstant feeling of danger has kept me on my toes. I don't know why, but I have the strange sensation something is wrong. Very wrong."

They were nearing the intersection close to the grocery store. It was one of the biggest intersections in all of Yokohama City, because it was the point where the biggest road in the area crossed the road that led directly into the shopping district. As such, it was always bustling with people.

Because of that, it was very easy to miss on people. People who could mean harm.

Kunikida saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. It was heading in his direction at an insane speed.

It was too late to do anything. Thanks to his reaction speed having dropped significantly because of his insomnia, he couldn't move.

 

"DAZAI!!!!" Kunikida watched as his trusted partner collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily after having taken the hit of the blast of energy that had been clearly meant for him. Suddenly, his body was full of adrenaline, clearing away all fatigue, at least for the time being.

All he wanted to do was help out his friend and partner, but before he could do anything, he heard Dazai mutter to go and to leave him there.

There was only one thing he could do, then.

Looking up, he spotted a shadow quickly climbing up a building, much faster than any normal human could do, probably the person that had attacked him. An Ability user, flashed through Kunikida's mind. No matter how he looked at it, catching up to the assailant would be impossible.

In that case, he'd better go get help.

He glanced back at his partner and noticed Dazai had already lost consciousness. The amount of blood he was covered in worried Kunikida. If he wouldn't do anything, Dazai could...

"Is there a doctor around here somewhere?" Kunikida shouted at the crowd that had begun to gather around the two partners.

"I am!" A man in his mid-fifties stepped forward.

"Ah, thank you! Please try to stop the bleeding! I'll go get someone from the hospital!" Kunikida told the man, after which he dashed off towards the hospital.

Kunikida had a lot of confidence in his running abilities. The hospital was nearby, luckily, or else he wouldn't have known what to do. He knew that calling an ambulance would take more time than actually getting people to help himself, because traffic on the main road could get really messy, especially around this time of day.

He burst through the hospital's front door. Nurses, patients and visitors looked up as they saw him run towards the help desk.

"Hello, can I help y-" the desk lady begun, but she was cut off by Kunikida's shouting.

"QUICK! MY BEST FRIEND IS DYING ON THE STREETS!! I NEED A STRETCHER AND YOUR BEST DOCTORS!!!"

The desk lady was clearly flabbergasted, although she could see that Kunikida was being dead serious, because he looked super worried.

"B-but sir, that's not the usu-"

"I KNOW IT'S NOT THE USUAL PROCEDURE, BUT YOU'RE NOT JUST GOING TO LET SOMEONE DIE, RIGHT?!?"


It turned out the hospital actually had a special team for situations like this one. Kunikida had been right about the amount of time it took for the stretcher and the doctors to reach the still unconscious Dazai was actually shorter than the time it would've taken an ambulance to reach him. Being so strict about time had given him invaluable calculating skills.

Upon arriving back at the place where Dazai was still lying, Kunikida found that the doctor had stopped most of the bleeding by covering Dazai's frail body in new bandages. He had taken off the unconscious man's coat for that.

"Than you so much, mister! You can send the bill to the Armed Detective Agency!" Kunikida handed the doctor his business card, dismissing the man.

Dazai was loaded onto the stretcher and off they went, back to the hospital. The doctors took care of that, Kunikida followed them closely, carrying Dazai's coat carefully in his arms. It was partially burned and torn. Kunikida decided to go get a new one once his partner had been safely brought to the hospital.


Dazai's wounds had been treated. Bandages had been replaced again, wounds had been desinfected and nurses had changed the still unconscious man into a hospital outfit. An infusion connected his thin arm to a bag of blood, needed to replenish the blood he had lost.

Most importantly, he was safe. Dazai was safe.

Kunikida felt incredibly relieved.

Despite the countless times when his partner had gotten on his nerves, teased him until he was close to killing him himself or disrupted his schedule with his laziness, Dazai was truly irreplacable. Never before did Kunikida know someone he synchronized so well with. He was pretty sure Dazai thought the same thing about him, although it was hard to see because his partner's unpredictable nature made him very hard to read.

The feeling of relief made the adrenaline slowly fade away, and a huge feeling of fatigue finally settled in. Before Kunikida knew it, he fell forward in his chair, landing with his head on Dazai's hospital bed.

And then there was nothing but darkness.

 

Kunikida slowly woke up to the feeling of a hand caressing his hair.

It was a pleasant, slightly tickling feeling. It reminded him of his mother, back when he was young.

Then he remembered where he was, and with it came the memories of before. That meant that the one who was stroking his hair was...

"DAZAI!" Kunikida shot up straight, still feeling a bit dozy. He straightened his jacket and pushed his glasses back on his nose. "WHY WERE YOU STROKING MY HAIR???"

His anger faded away soon though. His partner was still a bit pale from blood loss. Kunikida simply couldn't remain angry at someone in a vurnerable state like Dazai was right now.

"..Hmpf. I'll forgive you this one time. It's just good to see you're not dead." He looked away, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. "Why did you jump in front of me anyway? I'm sure I would've been able to take the hit... Thanks to this, the enemy has escaped."

The truth was, Kunikida was simply trying to keep his act together. He didn't know if Dazai would've done the same for him if he had taken that hit and had ended up in a hospital bed.

"..also, your coat. It's no longer usable. Take some rest, I'll go buy you a new one later."

 

Kunikida had to be honest: this whole situation made him feel very, very awkward. This whole day seemed to be some kind of break from his usual busy life, and he had to admit that spending time with Dazai like this wasn't something he had counted on happening. He was aware of his partner's extreme proneness to accidents, of course, but actually ending up at the hospital severely wounded like this... no, it wasn't something he had wanted.

..well, on very bad days, he could still feel like like roasting him alive...

..still though, everyone does that sometimes when they're really angry. You don't mean it, yet you still think it. In Dazai's case, it was a very sensitive subject though, especially because most of Kunikida's anger came from seeing his partner trying to commit suicide over and over again, failing and then causing trouble for others and shaming the name of the Agency.

..Dazai's whole way of acting could give Kunikida a serious headache, which is why he tended not to overthink things too much.

For now, he was just very happy that he had such a great partner who was willing to take so much risk for him.

That thought didn't take away his awkward feelings though.

He appreciated Dazai telling him how useful he was. Hearing such praise made the awkwardness in him rise even more, because he wasn't used to hearing such praise straigt-on.

"Alright then, if you insist you want to buy your own coat, I won't stop you. I am a bit tired though, so I think I might go home and take a little nap."

That nap was a lie.

Kunikida was grateful for the bit of sleep he could have had, but now that he had a small lead on his attacker thanks to Dazai's sharp observation skills, he had something to trace. There was a chance that this small lead would lead to more leads which would lead to more leads et cetera, but some things are more important than resting up.

He could not let the agency's reputation down. And he could not put the lives of the citizens of Yokohama City on the line.

He did not know who was behind these attacks, but that wouldn't stop him.

He left Dazai's hospital room, ready to set out and encounter no matter what would come on his path. In his mind, he promised to go visit his partner tomorrow morning.

Kunikida was gonna need a lot of coffee.

 

Kunikida knew two things about the mysterious attacker.

One: they were obviously an Ability user, given the way they attacked him.

Two: they seem to bear some kind of grudge against Kunikida, or maybe the Agency.

He returned to the place where he was attacked. From there, he would try to trace the attacker's path of escape.

Suddenly, his phone began to ring.

"Hello? Kunikuda speaking," he answered his phone.

"Kunikida. Why did we just get a phone call from a guy who claimed he was the doctor who kept Dazai alive? What happened?" The voice belonged to Fukuzawa, the Agency's chairman.

"Dazai's okay now. We were on our way to the grocery store when an Ability user suddenly attacked us. The attack was aimed at me, but Dazai jumped in front of me and took the hit. He's in the hospital now. That doctor helped him while I was away, so if he requests payment, I suggest paying him. I don't know if Dazai would still have been alive if not for him."

"Why did you not report this sooner?" Fukuzawa sounded angry, but that was probably just because he was worried.

"My apologies, but I was busy until just a moment ago. Well, no. I'm still busy, actually."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm currently trying to track down the attacker. Now please excuse me, I think I see something."

"Kunikida, don't do-"

But Kunikida didn't give his boss the chance to finish his sentence. He cut off the connection and put the phone back in his pocket. He didn't expect it to start ringing again, but his boss might send someone after him to try and stop him.

Granted, Ranpo's ability would be very useful in this case, but Kunikida really wanted to track down his assailant himself. It was the least he could do for Dazai. Also, if this was a way to keep the other members of the Agency out of it, that would be great.

He walked up to the wall of the building his assailant had climbed upon to in order to escape.

Yes, there was no doubt about it. There were several dark circles on the wall leading up. Kunikida couldn't quite describe them, but if he had to, he'd say they closely resembled burn marks. His attacker had used some kind of blast, so their Ability must have something to do with channeling inner energy into blasts, allowing them to attack or move around like this.

This trail of burn marks was almost too obvious though. Following it would be very easy.

"Kunikida." Kunikida jumped up upon hearing a familiar voice.

"Tanizaki." His colleague had already caught up to him, standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets.

Dammit, Kunikida thought.

"I was in the area when I suddenly got a call from the chairman telling me about some attack on Dazai and you and that I had to go to this crossroads to stop you from doing anything stupid. Looks like I came just in time," Tanizaki said. "I was told to take you back with us. We'll discuss this at the Agency. Fukuzawa wants to hear everything in person."

"Tanizaki, you don't get it. This attack was meant for me, not for the Agency. I can't have you guys get caught up in this. I-"

"Remember how mad the chairman got when Atsushi got abducted? We don't want that happen to you. Ever since that attack happened, the attacker declared war on the entire Agency. This might feel like it's not our business, but it is. Come on, let's go back. We'll think of something once we get back at the headquarters."

Kunikida gritted his teeth. Everything in him told him to run. Hearing Tanizaki lecture him like that angered him.

But... he was right.

Normally, Kunikida wasn't one to just charge into things without some kind of a plan, but the anger inside of him made him lose his composure rather easily.

He put his anger aside, storing it in a tiny space within his body. It would be there if he needed it.

And he would need it, no doubt about it. The next time he would see his assailant, he would make sure they would not walk away alive.

"Alright, let's go back," he said.

 

Kunikida had spent the rest of the day discussing the incident with the other members of the Agency. He would've loved to charge back into action right away, but much to his surprise, Fukuzawa had sent him straight back to his apartment, telling him to go sleep. Tanizaki accompanied him, waiting in front of the door until he heard the sound of Kunikida locking the door. He then took Kunikida's only key like his boss had instructed him too and headed back to the office, leaving Kunikida imprisoned in his own room.

"The trail is still fresh now, what was he thinking?" Kunikida sighed as he sat down on his bed. His head was feeling heavy after all the talking he did. It seemed like the sleep he got at the hospital hadn't been enough to clear away his fatigue altogether.

I suppose I can close my eyes for a bit, he thought as he let himself fall back. He took his glasses off his nose and placed them on the ground next to him. He closed his eyes, finally letting his fatigue setting in. It dragged him under surprisingly fast.

---
He woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. It took him quite a while to be able to sit up straight. He hadn't realized he was this tired.

He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed his phone. He didn't realize the number, so he was a bit cautious when he picked up the call, but he relaxed when he heard Dazai's voice. It didn't seem like the mysterious attacker from yesterday had obtained his number somehow, which was good.

Wait... Dazai was calling him? From an unknown phone?

Kunikida looked at Dazai's coat, which he had taken along and was now draped over a chair. He must've left his phone in there then.

Still... should Dazai be calling him right now? Did he really heal already?

Knowing his partner, Kunikida was fairly sure that he had just dragged himself over to the phone. It was very irresponsible, but he admired the things Dazai said to him. He didn't hear him say thank you a lot.

"It was the least I could do. We're partners, after all. I intend to keep my promise to visit you, so I'll bring your phone." Kunikida paused for a second. "Dazai... please don't do anything stupid again. If you try to get out of the hospital too soon, you might end up doing more bad to yourself than good, alright? I'll try to get there as fast as possible, but I have kind of an... issue at home. Anyway, see you soon." He hung up. Next up would be Tanizaki, who would have to go open the door for him again.

"Hey, Kunikida! Are you finally awake?" he said upon picking up the phone.

"I am," Kunikida replied. "What do you mean by 'finally', though?"

"Well, didn't you check the time? It's already 11.30 AM! You sure slept long."

The time. In his fatigue, Kunikida had forgotten all about the time. He was usually so punctual...

"Unbelievable. You're right."

"So then, I guess I can come over to unlock the door for you?"

"Yeah. Please hurry, I promised Dazai to go visit him in the hospital today.

"Alright, I'm on my way!"


A few minutes later, Kunikida was a free man again.

"One more thing... Fukuzawa has told me to come along with you to the hospital. He wants you to go straight to the office after we finish our visit." Tanizaki handed the key back to him.

Kunikida sighed.

The two of them headed over to the hospital, sharing only a few words along the way.


"Dazai, I'm here. I brought your phone," Kunikida said as he entered the hospital room his partner was staying in. He handed him the phone. He was glad to see Dazai already looking better, although it was obvious to see that he wasn't ready to get out of the hospital yet. He still looked weak and Kunikida had no idea how fast new blood cells are produced to replace the amount of blood he had lost yesterday. "Tanizaki is here as well, Fukuzawa had him come along."

"Kunikida discussed the attack with the others from the Agency. We don't know who's responsible yet, but we're fairly certain it's not the Port Mafia. It does appear to be an organized attack though. We plan to have Rampo trace the attacker, after which we want to investigate the place together. Fukuzawa wants you to rest up, Dazai. You can leave the rest to your colleagues."

It's nice that you say that, Tanizaki, but you know just as well as I do that he's probably not gonna listen to us anyway, Kunikida thought. "Anyway, you seem to be doing fine. If there's nothing else we can do for you, we'll leave again."

 

Kunikida was able to understand perfectly why Dazai was feeling so anxious about staying in this room. He wasn't fond of hospitals either, because they gave off an eerie feeling. Still, they were much-needed, especially now that Dazai was in no state to move around.

Hearing Dazai's last comment, he could pretty much feel a vein inside of his head about to snap. In the end, he was barely able to control himself and not snap at Dazai for teasing him as usual. One, it would be bad to yap at people when you're in a hospital, and two, Kunikida still felt pity for Dazai's situation. No comment from his partner would be able to change that.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"Anyway. You're right about the assailant not being a Port Mafia member. I've never seen a power like that before," he said. His voice had calmed down again as well. "I personally don't see why one person would try to attack our members individually on such a random location, so we can safely assume this assailant is planning something, and it has almost definitely something to do with a group of some sorts."

"Rampo is currently looking at the traces the assailant left behind before, during and after the attack, so we should know about their whereabouts shortly," Tanizaki added. "I'm very sorry, but we really can't take you back with us yet. Could you please try to stay in bed for the rest of the day? I'll ask Fukuzawa-san about taking you with us tonight again, but for now, you really are in no condition to even move around." He paused for a second. "We don't do this because we want to, you know? We only want to do what's best for you."

Right at that moment, Kunikida's phone rang. He picked up.

"Yes? This is Kunikida Doppo speaking."

"It's me, Rampo. I'm about done here, so why don't you hop on over and see what I've found out?"

"We'll be on our way." He hung up and shot his partner one last look. "Please use this time for yourself for once. We're doing what we can to solve this. For now, you can focus on recovering. We'll handle this for now, so don't worry." He turned his head to look at Tanizaki. "Let's get going."



"Ah, there you are. I was getting worried you'd gotten lost on your way here," Rampo said with a jokingly voice as he watched his colleagues approach.

"The hospital is pretty much around the corner. Of course we wouldn't get lost," Kunikida replied irritatedly. "Now then, please tell us what you've found out about."

"Sure, sure." Rampo pointed at one of the buildings. "I know where your assailants are hiding.

"Wait - you're using a plural form, so you know for sure they're multiple people?" Tanizaki asked.

"I do - look, there's still a pair of binoculars laying around on the edge of the roof. Also, please let me finish." Rampo cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying, I know where they're hiding. Drum roll please!"

"Please refrain from making jokes like that in this universe," Kunikida coldly commented.

"Really? Don't you think it's about time I change my glasses though?" Rampo shot Kunikida a grin.

"No. I just want to know about the assailants' hideout." Kunikida was starting to feel seriously irritated.

"Jeez, just give me a break sometimes... Alright then." Rampo sighed. "Their hideout is located at the port, but not quite on the port's terrain. The building they're currently housing in is a closed-down fish factory. Fish that was caught would first go through the facility there to be sorted out, cleaned and stored in plastic boxes filled with ice cubes in order to preserve the fish. After that, it would be transported by train or by truck. The company got involved in a huge scandal though, which eventually led to it going bankrupt. They never got to demolishing the building though. It's pretty big, so I see why they would use it to hide in."

"If they're hiding out there, then I guess it's safe for us to assume that they're involved in very fishy business," Tanizaki said.

Kunikida and Rampo both eyed him.

"Hey, someone's gotta light up the situation with a joke here, right? Kunikida, the tension I feel coming off of you is killing me." Tanizaki scratched his neck, smiling awkwardly.

"This is not the time for jokes." Kunikida felt a newfound resolve rise inside of him. Now that he knew where his assailants were hiding, he was more than ready to take revenge on them for the pain they caused to Dazai.

"You look raring to go, Kunikida-san, but unfortunately, Fukuzawa has still forbidden you from going anywhere near them," Tanizaki said.

"What?" Hearing that made Kunikida furious. "But I'm the one who was originally being targeted! Why does he want to keep me away that badly? If anything, it's my right to go there!"

"Your anger is exactly the reason why he wants to keep you away. You always turn into a loose cannon whenever you get mad, and in order for you to be useful to us, I need you to go in there with a cool head." Kunikida turned around upon hearing a new voice.

Behind him was no other than Fukuzawa himself.

Kunikida gritted his teeth. Deep down, he knew Fukuzawa was right though.

He took a couple of deep breaths.

"I suppose that means I have to leave this matter up to you as well?" he said to Fukuzawa as soon as he had calmed down again.

"Kenji is currently on his way to there. Tanizaki, I want you to go see him and assist him. You two will be coming back to the office with me. We'll investigate further from there. Today, I want to look into the ability user that attacked you specifically, and try to see if there are any leads we can pick up on online. Maybe something like this happened before, or perhaps the assailant used to be active in a different city." Fukuzawa looked at Kunikida. "You can pick up Dazai tonight yourself. He'll be staying over at your place."

"I'll be on my way to the port then." Tanizaki waved the others goodbye and jogged down the road in the direction of the port.

Kunikida sighed.

"Alright then, Fukuzawa-san. I don't like this, but I suppose this is for the best," he said with a slightly irritated tone in his voice.

Suddenly, he heard Rampo beside him laugh.

"What's wrong?" he asked, feeling the irritation inside of him grow again.

"You'll be picking up Dazai tonight. He'll be over at your place[/url]. Good luck with that." Rampo laughed even more.

"W-what?" Kunikida shot Fukuzawa a sharp look. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You didn't hear it the first time I said it?" Fukuzawa looked genuinely surprised. "It's just as Rampo just said: Dazai will be staying over at your place tonight."

"No way..." Kunikida groaned at the idea of having to take out a rope to tie his friend to a chair. Having that man run loose, even in his current weakened state, was dangerous, because you never knew when he would decide to go tease him again or try to commit suicide.

So much for this day, then.