Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume SS - Chapter 1.4

Looking the Gift Tiger in the Mouth - 4

Dazai faced Atsushi—what used to be Atsushi—with both hands in his coat pockets, watching the light radiate from his body as he gradually transformed. But Dazai was neither surprised nor panicked. His eyes were simply calm.

The boy before him was now a beast with four long limbs and snow-white fur with black stripes. Sharp claws extended from its paws, tearing into the floor and ripping up the concrete.

* * *

Nevertheless, Dazai continued to speak as if this was nothing important.

“While some are able to control these powers, others are destroyed by them…”

The tiger’s fiery golden eyes were locked on Dazai. Its fur stood on end with murderous rage; the beast looked ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

Its deep growl echoed through the warehouse.

“The orphanage most likely knew who the tiger was all along; they just never told you. You were the only one who didn’t know.”

Atsushi surely could no longer comprehend what Dazai was saying.

The moonlight peeked through the windows and illuminated the white tiger—the tiger that the Armed Detective Agency was looking for.

“You are one such person who possesses a unique skill…”

But perhaps he no longer possessed the rational mind of a human or even a sense of self once he transformed into a beast. The tiger’s tail swayed while it slowly approached, growling as its elongated shadow stretched all the way to Dazai’s feet.

“One that transforms you into a ravenous beast beneath the moonlight.”

The tiger gradually leaned forward, and then in an instant, it leaped into the air as if its colossal frame were weightless before instantly landing right in front of Dazai.

“GRRRRRRRRRAAAAA!”

The beast roared, bared its fangs, and charged.

Any attempts to talk some sense into Atsushi would most likely be a lost cause, for there was no sign of Atsushi in the tiger’s eyes—there was only a ravenous beast staring at its prey.

Dazai leaped out of the way right as the tiger swung its claws. The beast crashed into a wooden crate before immediately spinning around and charging at Dazai again, now even more enraged. Dazai effortlessly hopped from crate to crate, just barely dodging each swipe of the tiger’s sharp claws. He smiled faintly.

“Incredible. You could effortlessly snap someone’s neck with that much power.”

There was a note of admiration in his voice. After all, the tiger’s otherworldly physical abilities were beyond incredible. This beast was no different than an actual tiger, consumed by its urge to destroy.

It rampaged through the warehouse, turning the wooden crates into splinters, which Dazai leaped to avoid. He landed with both hands still in his pockets, sliding backward before stopping right in front of a wall.

“…Uh-oh.”

There was nowhere left to run. One swing of the tiger’s claws, and his life would be over. Nevertheless, Dazai’s confident smirk was unchanged.

“Death at the jaws of a man-eating beast does have a certain appeal, but…”

Only at this moment did he finally take a hand out of his coat pocket.

The tiger jumped off a wooden crate and landed right in front of him with a heavy thud. Dazai, however, stared fixedly back at the beast and slowly stepped forward.

“GRRR…”

The famished tiger’s deep growl pierced the cold air.

Step by step, the beast approached until it broke into a run in the blink of an eye, the tips of its claws carving up the floor.

After softly exhaling, Dazai stared straight back at the tiger.

“You cannot kill me.”

The chilling light of the pale moon glowed in his eyes.

“Unique skill…”

His dignified voice reverberated throughout the warehouse as he took a step forward. Right as the tiger was about to sink its teeth into its prey’s neck, Dazai’s expression turned momentarily still.

“No Longer Human!”

He extended his left arm.

“My skill allows me to nullify the powers of others simply by touching them.”

His hand tapped the lunging tiger’s forehead.

Immediately, a blinding ray of light radiated from the tiger’s body, swiftly expanding in every direction, and a howl resounded while the outline of the tiger gradually lost form.

Dazai watched with a still gaze while slowly lowering his arm. Once the howling and light faded, the tiger was no more, and in the beast’s place now stood Atsushi with his eyes closed in the silent darkness.

He collapsed, completely unconscious. Dazai held him upright in his arms, then slightly narrowed his gaze.

After a brief moment of thought, Dazai’s usual blithe expression resurfaced. “I’m not into hugging other men!” he said before tossing Atsushi aside.

Atsushi hit the ground with a thud and whimpered. Being unconscious didn’t mean that he was immune to pain, after all. Dazai stuffed his hands back in his pockets with a sigh.

“Dazai!”

Kunikida suddenly came running into the warehouse as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment. He observed the wreckage while he made his way over to Dazai.

“Oh, Kunikida. What took you so long?” Dazai gave a carefree wave. “I caught the tiger,” he announced with a smile.

But Kunikida, being the cold man that he was, ignored his colleague’s boasting.

“Wait,” Kunikida said. “Does that mean that he…?”

He looked down at Atsushi and faintly furrowed his brow. The detective clearly hadn’t seen any of this coming. Dazai’s smile faded as he shifted his gaze back to Atsushi.

“The kid’s a skill user. He can transform into a tiger.”

“Hmph…” Kunikida heaved a sigh.

“Hmm?” said Dazai.

“What on earth were you trying to accomplish with this message?!” Kunikida held out the note that Dazai gave him at the teahouse.

“‘The tiger will appear in the western warehouse in District Fifteen. Secure the perimeter to ensure that it doesn’t escape.’ Looks like a very simple and concise message to me.” Dazai grinned with evident satisfaction.

“It’s missing the most important part! Next time, explain things to me before you do something like this!” The crease in Kunikida’s brow deepened. “…We even scared up some off-duty staff for backup. You’d better treat them to a drink or something later to make it up to them.”

Kunikida must have been talking about the shadowy figures slowly approaching from the darkness, their footsteps echoing throughout the warehouse. Dazai glanced in their direction; he seemed to think there was no reason to bring this many people just to catch a little tiger.

Kunikida worries way too much…

His lips faintly curled into a smile.

“What? No casualties? Well, that’s disappointing.”

The clicking high heels belonged to a woman with a shoulder-length bob and a golden butterfly hair clip on the left side of her head. Other than her white collared shirt, which was perfectly fitted to her figure, everything she wore was black: her tie, skirt, and even her gloves.

Akiko Yosano, unique skill Thou Shalt Not Die.

With her was a young man whose newsboy cap, inverness coat, and very loose tie made him look like an archetypal detective.

Ranpo Edogawa, unique skill Super Deduction.

“You’re really getting good at this, Dazai. Still nowhere near as good as me, though,” he proudly claimed, pushing up the bill of his cap with a finger.

“So what are we going to do with him? He didn’t know he was the tiger, right?”

A small-framed teenage boy wearing a straw hat and old, beat-up overalls was crouched down by Atsushi’s side. The bridge of his nose was dotted with freckles; he seemed like a very simple, friendly person.

Kenji Miyazawa, unique skill Undefeated by the Rain.

Each one of them was a member of the Armed Detective Agency and possessed their own unique ability. That included Kunikida and Dazai as well.

“Hmm… What do you think, Dazai? The military now considers him a threat,” Kunikida said while he looked down at his notebook and frowned.

“Heh… Ha-ha.”

Dazai’s laugh was sinister, as if he was plotting something. He had his arms crossed and his index finger held up.

“I’ve actually already made a decision.”

Atsushi must have been completely worn out after rampaging to his heart’s content. He seemed so comfortable where he was lying on the floor, unconscious. If anything, it looked like he was sleeping.

“Everyone’s always told me that I was worthless…and look at me now. I have no idea where my next meal will come from…or my next bed… I guess they were right. Nobody cares what happens to me. I might as well just let that tiger eat me…”

Atsushi had muttered those words earlier while tightly hugging his knees on top of a wooden crate in the dark warehouse. His hands had been trembling, and he’d sounded like he wanted to cry. Dazai cracked a smile as he recalled that moment.

The mission had been to capture the tiger, and that was what they did, so the right thing would be to turn Atsushi over to the ward as planned. But the situation was different now that they learned that this tiger was actually a young man with a special ability. Which meant…

“We’ll hire him!” Dazai proudly declared with a subtle but confident quirk of his chin. A cheerful smile played on his lips.

“Wow!”

Kenji’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Seriously?”

Yosano rolled her eyes with a hand on her hip.

“I always knew you were an idiot, Dazai, but this clinches it.”

Ranpo shrugged. He’d seen this coming from miles away.

“Whaaaaat?!”

It was Kunikida, struck dumb with astonishment, who yelled the loudest before taking a step toward Dazai.

“What makes you think you have the authority to do that?!”

Dazai didn’t have the power to hire new detectives. There was only one person who had that right, and that was the president of the Armed Detective Agency. And who knew how he was going to handle this?

Dazai squinted and turned to Atsushi.

“Wake up, kid!”

His cheerful cry roused Atsushi, who groaned sleepily and faintly opened his eyes. The vacant look on Atsushi’s face made it evident that he still had no idea what was going on.

So began a bizarre tale: the story of an eccentric detective agency in a city teeming with mysteries.

This was a sign—an omen…

Dazai lowered his gaze and smirked.

Now, then…