Chapter 10: Watch These Bones Live - You Don't Know Me As Well As You Think

Blood floated through the air. Dark gold eyes watched hungrily, while their owner wrote down notes on its composition.

"Hmm," Chisaki tapped his pen, then made a quick gesture. "Enough for today. Put them back in the cell."

Black mist swirled around the bodies on the tables, before they disappeared. Chisaki ignored the display of power, walking to the glowing screen where the other scientists were crowded around. "Verdict?"

One of the scientists stepped up to him, their eyes glittering excitedly.

"Your hypothesis was spot on, Chisaki-sensei! The blood comp of the subjects have major differences in RBC and WBC count, A5158 has higher levels of both even with our tampering with A5159. Interestingly," they swiped the screen, bringing up a window and enlarging it, "A5158 seems to have enhanced organs, on par with Q9542, the one with the strengthening Quirk. Unfortunately, we lost Riko-sensei during the maneuver," here, they nodded to the body covered by a bloodied sheet in the corner of the room, "since we needed to measure the unsuppressed effects of the subject's Ability. A pity."

Another scientist stepped in, pulling up another window on the screen as she narrowed her eyes. "The neurochemicals in the brain show Arahabaki's presence, but cross-comparison with other base examples indicate abnormally high levels of dopamine, like those with hallucinations. From our previous experiments in transferring Abilities and to an extent, Quirks, from one user to another, we've seen neurochemical imbalances like this as well, before the Ability rejects the new host and begins rampaging. There's a higher rate of success in Quirks, but the difference between the two powers makes it a moot point.

Also, the connection between A5158 and Arahabaki is probably unstable, leading to the deterioration of its organs. Unfortunately, we don't have much data about restoring balance between the vessel and the Ability or Quirk – most of the experiments end up self-destructing before we can collect more data. There doesn't seem to be an off-switch for these rampages unless someone manages to get those power-restraining cuffs on them, but even then, the organ deterioration normally gets them before we can do anything else."

"Which means that we need to do more testing before we can implement the Project, then." Chisaki's eyes were alight with possibilities, a gloved hand coming down to bring up three glowing DNA models. "Cross-reference the data from Ability experiments with the Quirk experiments, I have an idea…"

Chuuya couldn't help the whine that escaped his lips when he was deposited on the ground of the cell. He could still feel the phantom movement of his organs, exposed to the air even as his screams were muffled by the gag that was shoved into his mouth before the madman of a scientist began taking him apart. Across the cell, Chizue let out a hiss of pain as she slumped against the wall, then lowered herself to lie down on the ground.

"Don't move too much. The pain will go away eventually." She bit out against gritted teeth. Chuuya cast weary blue eyes over to her, then slid to the ground as well. The cell quieted to the sound of pained breathing until Chuuya broke the silence.

"Does this happen all the time?" He didn't look for Chizue's reaction this time, choosing to stare up at the ceiling. His breath stuttered when Chizue made a sound of affirmation. Fifteen long years of experimentation… shit, he couldn't even stand the thought of having to go through another session like before. His train of thought was cut off when his little sister started speaking again.

"They test things on other subjects first, then they use it on me." She shifted, the sound loud in the silence of the cell, then continued. "Then, there – there's the times when they train me, and send me out." She broke off, and Chuuya turned his head to look at her. There was something terribly, terribly sad and wrong about her lying there alone, uncertainty and pain and anger and loneliness and a dozen other things all mixed up in a bag of roiling emotions that he remembered feeling when he woke up 15 years ago on that small piece of intact land in Suribachi City, now reflected on her face.

Ignoring the spike of pain, he reached out a hand towards her, the chain around his wrist jangling and pulling painfully as he stretched to touch her hand. She turned to look at him in surprise, then her face crumpled, and she grabbed his hand, her grip almost painful in its intensity. She swallowed thickly, her other hand reaching to wipe tears from her eyes before she continued.

"The, the training, it's to prepare me for fulfilling my role as – as a tool. A weapon, for the government to aim at whomever they want. So, they send me out, give me a, a target, that I'm supposed to – that I'm supposed to eliminate." Chuuya ignored the nails digging into his hand, more worried about how his sister started to shake uncontrollably now. He squeezed her hand gently, opening his mouth to tell her to stop, but she barrelled on, tears seeping from her closed eyes.

"I don't know how many people I've, I've killed, nii-san. People who I don't know beyond faces on a report and details on paper, faces that I see in nightmares. But every time, I get to go out, to see the world outside, to taste freedom, and, and it hurts, nii-san, it hurts so much, because I would rather go on a mission to kill someone than to stay in here any longer. I'm a monster." The tears came harder now, falling in streams down her cheeks. "I had a handler, once, who helped me with my earlier missions – he took me in, gave me books, told me about the world, taught me about morality, and he was so nice, teaching me and telling me stories about his experiences, about his family, treating me like, like I mattered beyond being A5159 and a weapon."

"He told me that my situation wasn't fair, that I didn't deserve it, as though it wasn't my fault that I had to fight and kill and be experimented on. And he tried, he tried taking me away from here, bringing me away during a mission, trying to give me a chance." Chuuya's hand was bleeding by now, but he didn't let go. Wouldn't let go. "The higher-ups, they, they caught us. Threw me back into the cell and the labs. I don't know what happened to him." Her breaths were coming in gasps now, and Chuuya gently stroked his thumb over Chizue's hand, trying to calm her down.

"It's my fault that he's gone now," she whispered, opening her eyes to look up at the ceiling. Chuuya's heart broke. He sat up, ignoring the spike of pain that went through his whole body when he did.

"Bullshit. Those fuckers are the ones playing with your life, messing with stuff that they don't understand. It's their fault, that you're suffering here. It's not your fault." His eyes flashed dangerously. "You hear me? It is not your fault that they did that to you, that they forced you to kill those people, that they took away your freedom and that person who tried to help you. It will never be your fault."

"And I promise you that I'll get you out of here, Chizue."

Chizue's head snapped up. Her eyes were bright as she looked at Chuuya.

"Really?"

His heart clenched at the earnest look on her face, disbelieving yet desperately hopeful.

"Of course. You've got me with you, after all. I'll make sure that we both get out of here."

Brown eyes narrowed as they flicked through the papers in front of them. Dazai didn't acknowledge Atsushi-kun setting down a cup of coffee, focused as he was on the information that he'd forced out of Ango.

He'd discovered Chuuya's disappearance the day before yesterday when he'd dropped by the chibi's apartment to apologize. Akutagawa-kun had been having a silent breakdown in the middle of the living room, panicked grey eyes meeting narrowed brown when Dazai pushed the suspiciously unlocked door open. It took him a quick scan of the surroundings and of Chuuya's phone in Akutagawa-kun's shaking hands to figure out what had happened, before he'd started making calls to Mori-san, Fukuzawa-shacho, and Ango. Mori-san had been sharply worried, asking for details in clipped sentences before hanging up on Dazai, while Fukuzawa-shacho listened to Dazai's hurried requests, allowing him the time off he'd requested and Atsushi-kun's help.

Ango had been the hardest to get to, the government worker evasive and unwilling to speak. Fortunately, Atsushi-kun had arrived at the apartment by the time he'd made up his mind to force answers out of Ango in person, so the weretiger was left to take care of Akutagawa-kun while Dazai went off to chase Ango down.

His eyes darkened as he processed the information in front of him. An offshore facility, only known to a certain few individuals in the government. Human experiments. Ability experiments. A program so secret that even Ango hadn't heard concrete details about it, only rumors. Assassinations of numerous people, both in Japan and outside it. Scientists known to be dealing with Ability and Quirk studies disappearing.

It all boiled down to a picture that Dazai didn't like. Especially with the short conversation he'd had with Ango yesterday evening after he'd threatened the government worker.

"He has a sister," Ango muttered, spectacles flashing as he looked surreptitiously to the side. "She's the government's Assassin."

Dazai paused at that, his mind whirling. Chibi had a sister? He tried pressing further, but Ango simply shook his head.

"Look, Dazai, this is really, really classified information. I had to pull a few strings to even get this much, and I'm already getting suspicious looks for even asking about it. Whatever Nakahara's caught up in now, and his sister, it's bigger than just Yokohama – I'm talking about Japan's government, possibly international relations as well. I've looked through some of the information in there, and the things it talks about… there's a reason why Ability users and the Quirked are normally kept separate. Just, be careful with this, Dazai."

He suddenly stood, chair skidding back to hit the wall. The Agency turned to look at him, eyes wary, but he ignored them, approaching Ranpo-kun. The detective looked up at him, green eyes lidded like a snake's, unflinching even as Dazai slammed the documents down on the desk.

"I need your help, Ranpo-kun," Dazai gritted out, aware of the shocked gasps from his colleagues. The detective's eyes locked on his, assessing, then flicked over to meet Fukuzawa-shacho's. The president gave a sharp nod, and Ranpo-kun acquiesced, putting on his spectacles with little fanfare.

The Agency waited with bated breath, watching the detective work through the papers quietly. Then Ranpo-san snapped his head up, glasses flashing.

"Get me a map."

Atsushi hurriedly moved forward, pulling out the paper map of Japan he'd gotten from Kunikida-san earlier. Dazai-san moved to give him space, leaning forward to watch Ranpo-san point at a spot on the map.

"I've narrowed down the location of the facility to this general location," Ranpo-san's finger slid in a circle on the map. "It's harder to deduce this, mainly because of this guy," a hand slapped down on a profile. Atsushi shifted to look at it, purple-gold eyes taking in the smoky form that filled the picture. His eyes slid down to read the rest of the profile, and he frowned.

"He doesn't have an Ability?"

Ranpo-san shook his head, eyes flashing.

"He has a Quirk." Yosano-sensei stepped forward at that, frowning.

"I've heard of those before. It's not classified as an Ability, because of its nature. Abilities are brought about by random chance, with no clear sign of how it is transmitted between individuals, with the exception of a select few who manage to pass it down to their children," here she nodded to Kyouka-chan, who gripped her phone silently, "whereas Quirks are more straightforward. They're brought about by genetic mutations, and most children have powers that are related in some way to their parents'. There's another distinction between the two, though, since only Ability users have described having visions of their Abilities having physical forms, as we've experienced during the Dead Apple incident." Everyone winced at that.

"Yokohama is unique in that most of the people who live here either have an Ability or not. Those who don't have Abilities are regarded as normal, but outside Yokohama and a select few places in the world, 4 in 5 people have a Quirk, while 1 in 100 people have an Ability. The rest of the population are regarded as 'Quirkless', which is now more of a slur than anything else," Kunikida-san pitched in, pushing up his glasses and frowning.

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand," Ranpo-san interrupted, his brows furrowed as he tapped on the picture of the smoky figure. "This person here has a warping Quirk, which means that they can move anywhere. Normally, this would mean that Nakahara could be anywhere, maybe even the other side of the world. However," he nods to the rest of the papers, "the information that Dazai has gathered here is thorough enough for me to narrow it down.

The part of the government that is involved in this wouldn't want to cause an international incident, so they need to keep it within Japan borders. They wouldn't want to continuously use the warping Quirk, and because of the amount of supplies needed to support a facility like this… they'd need daily supplies, rather than weekly. That'd take a toll on the warping Quirk person, and they need it to transport their people to the next assassination. Hence, this area here." Ranpo-san finished, sitting back. He continued wearing his glasses, though, green eyes watching Dazai-san.

"I know this area," Dazai-san spoke after a while, brown eyes darkened. "Mori-sensei considered buying it up and using it as another base for Port Mafia, but he decided it was too far out to be effective for anything other than an outpost." He stared at the spot for a while, then turned to Atsushi, who jumped. "Get Akutagawa on the line and update him on the situation. I need time to think."

"Wait," Kunikida-san stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "Dazai, you can't just –"

"What?" The brunet whirled on the blond, glaring. Atsushi could see the bespectacled man falter but stand his ground, nevertheless. "I can't do what? I can't go retrieve one of the most dangerous people on the planet from an unknown group, a group that we know is involved in human experimentation, Ability and Quirk experimentation, and the assassination of political figures? I can't use the Armed Detective Agency's resources to ensure that one of the Port Mafia's wildest cards is no longer under a foreign group's control? I can't save the person that I, that I," Dazai-san faltered, then pressed on, "that used to be my partner, from uncertain danger?"

"No."

Dazai-san froze, then started to clam up. Kunikida-san held up a hand, stalling him.

"No, you can't do that, not alone. You've been working yourself to the bone these past few days, and regardless of how much you annoy me and the rest of the agency at times, you're one of us now. And that means that whenever one of us is in trouble, everyone helps. I don't know how it was like for you in the mafia, and I can't say that I understand why you still hold on to your connections. But," Kunikida-san pushed up his glasses, "I can safely say that everyone here is worried about you. You aren't going to be alone in this rescue mission. We're helping you."

Fukuzawa-shacho stepped forward, drawing eyes. "Kunikida-san is correct. The creation of the Armed Detective Agency was to help save people. By allowing you to take time off and have Atsushi-kun's help earlier, I have already approved of your decision to find and rescue Nakahara-san."

Kyouka-chan appeared next to Atsushi, making him jump. "I've called Akutagawa-san." Her blue eyes were trained on Dazai-san. "He's on his way, with Kouyou-san and Higuchi-san. What are your orders, Dazai-san?"

The man blinked, stunned into silence. But slowly, Atsushi could see a smile work its way across that face.

"We find the chibi in the haystack and get him out. Then," brown eyes glinted in the light, "we burn the haystack."

Author's Notes:

First of all, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME AND PUTTING UP WITH MY SPORADIC UPDATING

I am really really incredibly sorry for not updating on time.

I am also sort of half-dead right now (recovering from a cold), so I'm not sure whether what I've written follows my plan of trying to finish this story within five chapters or less (preferably less. I've been dragging this out for more than a year, I want to get it done, dammit!)

Also, I have no idea how to write a smart character.

And I have possibly doomed myself by making this into a crossover. Because it opens up an avenue to further plot development.

What do you think? Would you want to read a continuation which branches into Boku no Hero Academia? (and possibly Katekyo Hitman Reborn... I had a phase last year when I just recently discovered it) Because I've technically got the idea, just need more inspiration (and strength) to flesh it out.

Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time, and I hope you liked the chapter!