Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam (Bungo Stray Dogs 1)

“Well, yeah, we do. But don’t you worry about a thing. It’s over,” the agent continues with a smile. “I can’t even begin to tell you how spooked we were when the Azure King started killing people. See, one of the lawmakers he executed was an illegal collaborator we’d had in our pocket. That Azure King probably had no idea, but it would have come out if the case dragged on too long. That’s why we needed him to retire permanently…which is why we decided to investigate the case behind the scenes and tip off the Armed Detective Agency about his whereabouts. Of course, we falsified the source of the information. Then we fed the police investigation headquarters faulty intel to create confusion within the chain of command. It went exactly how we planned. The Azure King was surrounded by a few police officers, so he blew himself up and died. The truth remains shrouded in mystery, and everyone was relieved knowing the dangerous criminal was gone. A happy ending for us all.”

After taking a few moments to ruminate over what the agent said, Akutagawa opens his mouth.

“Setting aside the arms dealer, I have a hard time believing a foreign intelligence agency would kill a Japanese terrorist to protect a secret. Why did you do it?”

“Oh, it’s got nothing to do with any governmental intelligence agency. I belong to another group as well. We call ourselves the Guild.”

“A double agent? How cliché.”

“It’s a side business of mine. Every member in the Guild’s got a day job.” The agent turns on his heel, then begins to walk away. “I’ll probably be getting in touch with the Mafia again soon with another job. Until then.”

Akutagawa sternly watches the agent go. “Wait. I’d like to ask you something.”

The agent stops in his tracks.

“I’m looking for someone. He has the ability to nullify others’ skills upon contact. Know anybody like that?”

“Sorry, afraid not.”

“Then get out of my sight.”

“You got it.”

He begins to walk again before disappearing into the darkness of the evening twilight.

“…Where did you go? Why did you suddenly disappear?” Akutagawa soliloquizes, alone on the street. “For a moment, I thought you might have been the Azure King, but I was wrong. Where are you? There’s no way you’re dead. You are somewhere here in Yokohama. I just know it.”

The winds of the night collect his words and carry them away.

“I’ll find my mentor if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll find you, former Port Mafia executive Dazai.”

EPILOGUE

I sit before my desk at the office and flip through my notebook.

“And that’s how the Azure Apostle was stopped. It’s been two years since then.”

I close my notebook, concluding the long story.

“So that was your first case with Dazai, huh?” Tanizaki says in admiration.

“Yes, and he hasn’t changed at all since. He is still the same arrogant nuisance as he was then. We have work to do today, and yet, he’s nowhere to be found… Naomi, have you traced the signal on that transmitter yet?”

“I did. It hasn’t moved for around twenty minutes. It’s coming from…I guess that’s the river.”

The river?

Naomi peers at a map. The coin-shaped tracker I gave Dazai is silently resting in the middle of the river. I take a moment to ponder.

“I know what happened. That idiot must have randomly jumped into the river with the tracker in his wallet, which probably fell out of his pocket and sunk to the bottom while Dazai floated farther downstream.”

He and I are in the middle of an investigation, and we had been talking over the phone when he suddenly said, “What a nice river,” and the line cut out. I was wondering what that was all about…

How much trouble does that suicide maniac have to cause me until he’s satisfied?

“I’m going to go look for the freak. Honestly, it’s a damn shame I have to search for my partner before I can get any real work done.”

“Be careful out there, Kunikida. What are you investigating today?” Junichiro asks after getting out of his chair.