A bowl of tea over rice.

Pickled plums; dried, shredded seaweed; and leftover chicken from dinner—all submerged in a bowl of hot water with salted kelp sprinkled on top.

“I can still taste that delicious bowl of tea rice I had to sneak into the kitchen to steal…,” Atsushi muttered.

It felt like only yesterday when the aroma of kelp-scented steam reached his nose.

There wasn’t another soul in sight that evening along the riverbank. Both the sky and the gently flowing river were wrapped in a vermilion glow. All he could hear was the faint rattling of a train crossing the nearby bridge.

Atsushi listened to that sound and tottered down the path until his legs suddenly gave out, and then he dropped to his knees, sending his face straight onto the pavement.

Owww…

But he didn’t even have the energy anymore to lift his head back up. Who knew how much time had gone by since he’d begun aimlessly wandering the streets? Not even a morsel of actual food had touched his lips these past few days. He had genuinely reached his breaking point.

“Geh…”

Atsushi groaned lifelessly, unable to move.

“It’s over… I’m gonna die of hunger…”

Due to a few unavoidable circumstances…

…Atsushi was on the verge of starving to death.

The train passed over the bridge and slowly began to blend in with the skyscrapers on the other side of the river. Atsushi half-consciously listened to the noise in the background.

“Kicked out of the orphanage, no food, no shelter, and not even a single yen to my name, which probably goes without saying…and now I’m lying facedown in the dirt.”

But no one was there to listen to his story, for Atsushi was the only person at the riverbank. Once the train in the background faded into the distance, all that was left were the evening glow and utter silence. Atsushi clenched his teeth and punched the ground.

“Still…!”

His arms shaking, he slowly began pushing himself up with every last bit of energy he had.

“I’m out of options—if I want to live, I’m gonna need to steal!”

He fixed the sky with a glare, his voice hardened with determination.

However…

“Get out!”

He suddenly heard voices in his head, and his expression tensed.

“You are not welcome here!”

They were the voices of adults, looking down at Atsushi and yelling at him.

“Shut up…!” he demanded, but the voices continued to play on repeat in his mind with no end in sight. He staggered to his feet, then firmly stood in place.

“Shut up… Shut up… Shut…uuuup!!”

Atsushi clenched his fists so tightly that they began to hurt. His voice echoed down the river, slowly fading until only silence remained once again. His stomach was empty to the point that he started to feel nauseated.

“…I’m not gonna die. I’m going to live…no matter what it takes!”

He clenched his fist with a grim expression.

“All right…,” he muttered. “I’m gonna rob the next person I see of everything they’ve got!”

He didn’t have a choice. Atsushi lowered his gaze, sharpening his senses as he waited for someone to get close enough. A cold breeze brushed against his skin. The river splashed; maybe a fish had leaped into the air.

…Someone’s coming!

Hearing the faint sound of a vehicle approaching, Atsushi immediately turned around.

Whoa—!

It was a motorcycle.

Vrooom! The large motorcycle roared as it blasted down the street. It passed him in the blink of an eye. Even the echoes were soon nothing but a fading memory.

Atsushi, who had been watching in a daze with his mouth agape, suddenly came to his senses.

“…Ugh! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” He looked down at the ground in frustration. “There’s no way I’d be able to catch up with that on an empty stomach!”

Even a little food in my stomach wouldn’t help me catch up with a motorcycle.

I’m just having a little bad luck. Yeah, that’s all this is. Only an idiot would expect everything to go well on the first try.

“…Next one!”

Atsushi lowered his gaze once more and waited with bated breath for the next target to appear.

He could hear a voice in the distance. It was most likely someone selling grilled sweet potatoes, but it sounded like it was really far away. Plus, what he needed right now wasn’t a grilled sweet potato. If only someone would walk by…

That was when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the pathway that edged the riverbank. Finally.

Now’s my chance!!

Firing himself up, Atsushi spun around, but right as he was about to courageously take his first step forward…

“One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four!”

…he heard the spirited yelling of the military police in the middle of a training drill.

“Urk…!”

Atsushi froze in place with his fists still clenched, ready to attack.

The military police specialized in fighting the most violent criminals. These trainees were heavily armed, so they could easily stop a bank robbery or a carjacking, at the very least. Perhaps they were training to get themselves used to actual combat.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t only one or two people. There were multiple soldiers—dozens, even. The lines of marching military police seemed almost endless.

So then…

No, there’s no point…

Atsushi took a few steps back. The crease in his brow deepened.

“…I doubt any of them would be carrying a wallet during training!”

The only things the soldiers were probably carrying were a baton and a gun. Neither of those would satisfy what Atsushi’s stomach was craving right now, and he didn’t have the money for a dentist if he ended up sinking his teeth into those inedible items.

“Next person I see, though… I’m gonna do it…”

He once again clenched his fists tightly.

Yes, bad luck. That was what this was. Just a little bad luck. It wasn’t like the military police always trained around here.

After pulling himself together, Atsushi lay in wait once more for his next target. He strained his ears so that not even the faintest of footsteps would go unnoticed.

Someone was coming.

Atsushi’s fingers began to tremble from nerves. Somebody was nearby, no doubt about it.

“You’re mine!!”

He swiftly turned around in the direction of the river.

“…Uh…”

And his eyes automatically locked on the first thing he saw.

…A-are those…legs?

But no matter how long he stared, he couldn’t deny what he was seeing. It was a pair of legs—spread out wide and bent at the knees—floating in the sparkling river under the evening sun. Atsushi cautiously stepped back, his cheek now twitching.

Blub-blub, blub-blub, blub-blub…!

Muffled sounds were coming from the depths of the river. To make matters worse, the disembodied legs started spinning and slowly floating toward Atsushi.

Some nearby crows began pecking at them as if to say, “Can we eat these?” before angrily cawing at how awful the legs must have tasted.

Atsushi anxiously followed the disembodied legs with his eyes. Whoever they belonged to must have been quite a curious individual, seeing as their upper body remained completely submerged while their lower body protruded from the water.

A brand-new way to catch fish…? No, that wasn’t it. Perhaps this person was in the middle of a swimming routine? But that didn’t appear to be the case, either. Maybe hunger was simply causing Atsushi to see things… That would have been preferable, but the mysterious legs gradually getting closer were most certainly real.

The legs were still twitching, which meant that their owner could very well be alive, albeit barely. Bubbles were making their way to the water’s surface as well; that was somewhat of a relief. But…that would mean that this person…was Atsushi’s next target.

“Nooope!” He frantically shook his head. “This guy doesn’t count…”

There was something extremely off-putting about robbing this person.

“Please don’t make me do it! I—I don’t wanna do it…!”

He was about to collapse from hunger. He didn’t have the energy to worry about anyone else. So…what if I just pretend like I didn’t see anything?

Atsushi closed his eyes and clenched his fists once more. The legs were still making their slow approach downstream. The bubbles surrounding them gradually decreased, and the legs seemed to be sinking as well. At this rate, whoever this was really was going to—

“Rahhh!!”

Atsushi shouted as if to rid himself of any doubt and began running toward the river. He dived straight into the water as it glittered in the evening sun. A loud splash followed.

Nobody would have blamed him or have even known if he’d pretended not to see those legs. He knew that, and yet—

“Pant… Pant… Pant…”

After dumping the person onto dry land, Atsushi dropped to the ground, gasping for air and struggling to catch his breath. The whole point was to rob someone out of desperation, but he ended up using the last bit of what little energy he had left to save someone. He was going to pass out for certain now.

Atsushi wiped the droplets of water running down his chin with the back of his hand and then glanced at the person lying on the ground at his side. He seemed to be a man in his early twenties, wearing a white open-collared shirt under a sand-colored coat and bandages wrapped around his hands and neck. Atsushi slowly leaned forward to see if he was all right when suddenly the stranger opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

“Whoa…!!” Atsushi yelped, his face tensing. He got ready to flee.

This man—who was going to give Atsushi a heart attack for more than one reason—simply stared idly into space as if he didn’t even understand the situation that he was in. The wet hair stuck to his forehead and cheeks was unruly, but his face was rather handsome.

“You were underwater for a while there… Are you okay?” Atsushi timidly asked.

“I’m alive…,” the nameless man muttered in a daze. “Tch.” He suddenly scowled.

Atsushi jerked back and stared at the man in disbelief.

What the…?! Did he just click his tongue?!

“Once again, I am denied the sweet release of death. Was it you? Did you do this to me?”

The man sluggishly got to his feet, drenching the ground with the water dripping from his coat and hair.

“I was just trying to help you…” Atsushi pouted when it suddenly hit him midsentence. “Wait, what?! ‘Sweet release’?!” he shouted in astonishment.

The stranger swiftly turned around. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”

Of course, Atsushi knew exactly what the man had meant.

“I don’t want to be alive anymore,” the man said outright, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets.

“Y-you what?!”

Atsushi’s voice cracked. He understood that normal people wouldn’t be floating in a river with their heads underwater and legs in the air, but…

“I was trying to kill myself!” the man boldly announced. “But you ruined everything…” He frowned.

“Huh…?” Atsushi said in bewilderment, his eyebrow twitching.

Why’s he mad at me?

Why am I getting scolded for saving someone’s life…?

“Still,” the man began, “it is my belief that suicide should be clean, pure—not a bother or burden to anyone. The mistake I made here was imposing on you. There must be some way I can make it up to you…”

He sank deep into thought.

Atsushi staggered to his feet.

I saved him. I did my part. Now I need to find something to eat.

But his legs were wobbling. He no longer had the strength to stay upright.

That was when his stomach let out a deafening GROOOOOOWL!!

I-it’s over…for me…

“Hmm?” The man curiously looked over at Atsushi, who was struggling to stand. “Are you hungry, kid?”

“I actually…haven’t eaten…in days…,” Atsushi confessed in almost a whisper while he clutched his stomach.

GROOOOOOOOOWL!!!

An even louder roar caused Atsushi to almost fall over backward. Was that my stomach? he wondered, but it didn’t sound like it was coming from him. Since there were only two people here, that meant just one thing: It was this stranger’s stomach that was rumbling.

“What a coincidence,” the man said. “I’m hungry, too.”

But he expressed no signs of embarrassment. If anything, he seemed proud.

“Then…!”

Atsushi’s face lit up. If they were both hungry, then the solution was obvious. They needed to go somewhere with amazing food. That was the only reasonable thing to do.

“I appear to have lost my wallet in the river, though.”

The man turned his coat pockets inside out, revealing only some water and a small frog that must have hopped inside when he was floating down the river.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…!”

Atsushi’s head sank in disappointment. Now there were two hungry people without a single yen between them.

Why isn’t anything going my way today?

But right when he lifelessly let out a sigh…

“There you are, you stupid oaf!”

An angry voice suddenly echoed up from the riverbank, causing Atsushi and the nameless man to shift their gazes in that direction.

Standing on the other side of the river was an aggravated-looking man with his arms crossed. He wore a serious expression behind his glasses and a clean, well-ironed vest over a black collared shirt paired with a red ribbon tie. His long hair was in a low ponytail.

Atsushi didn’t know this man…which could only mean one thing: He must be an acquaintance of the eccentric stranger.

“Oh, Kunikida! About time you got here!”

The stranger waved and offered a friendly smile.

“‘About time’?! It’s about time you stopped wasting my time, you suicidal maniac!” the man called Kunikida yelled back with a furious crease in his brow. Despite how obviously upset he was, the target of his anger didn’t seem to have a care in the world. “Does ruining my plans bring you some sort of twisted pleasure?!”

“Oh, hey!” said target suddenly exclaimed.

He cheerfully shifted his gaze toward Atsushi, completely ignoring the anguished shouting coming from the other side of the river.

“I just had a good idea. That guy over there’s my coworker, so we could have him take us out to dinner!”

“Listen to me when I’m talking to you, for crying out loud!!”

Kunikida immediately hurled another shout across the river, his scowl twisting in even more disgust. He crossed his arms and started tapping his foot. Perhaps he was in a hurry to be somewhere.

Atsushi began worrying, and he meekly looked back at the man to his side.

“What’s your name?” the man asked.

Atsushi jerked in surprise at the sudden question.

“Atsushi…Nakajima…,” he timidly answered.

The man’s gaze relaxed ever so slightly under the evening sun’s warm glow.

“Then follow me, Atsushi!” he instructed gleefully. “By the way, what are you in the mood for?”

“…”

What do I want…to eat…?

Atsushi lowered his gaze where he was met with his own helpless shadow on the ground.

“Well…if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…,” he mumbled as he stared at his shadow.

“Come on, spit it out. Anything you want.”

“I would really like…some tea over rice right now.”

Embarrassment faintly dyed his cheeks crimson. It was the only thing he could come up with, after all.

“Hmm?”

The man stared wide-eyed for a few moments until…

“Pfft… Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

…he burst into laughter, and his face glowed with a friendly warmth, although Atsushi had no idea what was so funny.

“This kid’s on the verge of starving to death, and all he wants is tea over rice? Very well. Kunikida can treat you to at least thirty bowls of the stuff!” the man said cheerfully. He seemed to be implying that Atsushi was in good hands now.

The man’s colleague immediately chimed in, clearly irritated: “Stop being so generous with my money, Dazai!”

“…‘Dazai’?” said Atsushi.

“Yep, that’s my name.”

The man looked down at Atsushi with both hands in his pockets. Before Atsushi had even realized it, the breeze had picked up; the stranger’s sand-colored coattail was now fluttering in the wind.

“I’m Dazai.”

He squinted slightly under the darkening crimson sky.

When he turned around, his lips were curled into a vaguely mysterious smile.

“Osamu Dazai.”

Osamu Dazai and his colleague, Doppo Kunikida, ended up bringing Atsushi to a small teahouse. It was near the wharf, so steam whistles could be faintly heard in the background. Half of the seats in the cozy establishment were cushions on tatami mats while the other half were modern chairs and tables. It was almost empty inside, perhaps because the teahouse had just opened for the night. The lights were dim.

*   *   *

The only customers were Atsushi and the two men who brought him there. The smell of broth slowly wafted through the air from the kitchen; the owner must have been in the middle of cooking something. All the food on the menu was listed on one wall.

Atsushi faced the table, hastily shoveling a bowl of tea over rice into his mouth. Stacked next to him were numerous already-empty bowls on the verge of collapsing. There had to be at least ten.

Dazai and Kunikida were seated across from him with just their teacups since they had already finished their meals. The tea, however, had been cold for a while now.

“Tsk. Unbelievable. What kind of fool says, ‘Gee, that looks like a nice river,’ and dives right into it?! And during the middle of work, to boot! Just look at what you’ve done! Now we’re way behind schedule.”

Kunikida, notebook in hand, had been complaining like this the entire time. Meanwhile, Dazai was resting both elbows on the table with his fingers interlaced, but his bored expression made it obvious that he was hardly listening.

“You sure love your little schedule book, Kunikida.”

“This isn’t a schedule. They’re my ideals! My guiding light in life!”

Kunikida promptly stood to give an impassioned speech while tapping the cover of his notebook. Written on it with skillful penmanship was the word IDEALS.

“And nowhere in this book does it advise partnering with a suicide aficionado!”

Atsushi, cheeks stuffed with tea over rice, looked up at Kunikida. The roars of his stomach had finally died down, so he started listening to the conversation.

“Mfh nh mnrrginian frnmn?!” he asked, still chewing with his mouth full.

“Silence!” Kunikida immediately replied with a deep crease in his brow. He then dropped down into his chair, crossed his legs, and leaned back. “And my financial ledger says nothing about me paying for someone else’s endless supply of tea over rice!”

“Hngh rmmh?!” Atsushi leaned forward and joined the conversation.

“Like I said: We are working!”

“Mmmngh?” Atsushi asked, curiously tilting his head.

“‘What kind of work?’” Kunikida repeated before adding, clearly irritated, “Let’s just say it’s military related.”

Meanwhile, Dazai looked back and forth between the two of them in wonder.

“How are you two…communicating right now?” he asked.

That put a stop to Atsushi and Kunikida’s conversation. They were both visibly surprised. Kunikida’s exasperated face implied that Dazai’s question was ridiculous; Atsushi nodded, then audibly swallowed the last bit of tea over rice in his mouth, his chopsticks still in hand.

“Phew! I’m stuffed! I don’t want to see another bowl of tea over rice for ten more years at least!” Atsushi declared with indisputable satisfaction after finally finishing his last bowl. He tenderly patted his swollen belly.

“You little… How can you be so shameless after eating on someone else’s dime?!”

Kunikida’s eyebrow began to twitch.

Atsushi lowered his gaze.

“…I really appreciate what you did for me,” he muttered softly. Kunikida’s expression turned serious once more. “I’ve been starving and homeless ever since I came here to Yokohama from the orphanage. I probably would’ve died if it wasn’t for you guys.”

Atsushi smiled uncomfortably. What would have happened to him if he hadn’t saved Dazai? If anything, perhaps it was Dazai who saved him.

“…You grew up in an orphanage?” Dazai asked.

“Well…I did, but then I got kicked out” was Atsushi’s honest reply. His mouth filled with a bitter taste.

“Wow… That’s coldhearted,” Dazai said while shifting his gaze to the teacup in his hand.

“We’re not a charity, Dazai,” Kunikida sternly cut in, quickly dampening the mood. “We don’t have time to go around helping everyone in need. Come on. It’s time to get back to work.”

“That reminds me…” Atsushi lifted his head up and looked at the two men across the table. “You said your job was military related, right? What kind of work do you do?”

“Heh… We’re detectives,” Dazai suggestively replied, holding up his index finger.

“…Detectives?”

Sure, neither of them seemed like they worked in a cubicle, but they didn’t exactly fit the look of a detective, either.

“We don’t hunt down lost pets or cheating spouses or anything like that, however. Have you heard of the Armed Detective Agency? We’re a group of detectives, each with unusual abilities,” said Kunikida, his eyes sharpening behind his glasses.

“Oh…”

Atsushi started tensing despite himself, and his face stiffened.

I’ve heard rumors about them before…

The Armed Detective Agency: a detective company specializing in dangerous work too dicey for the military or police to handle. An armed organization standing on the twilight, ruling over the threshold between the worlds of night and day.

And supposedly most of their members possess some type of special, otherworldly “skill.” So then…do these two also…?

Atsushi stared at them with bewilderment when suddenly Dazai let out a small yelp and perked up his head in realization of something. “Ooooh!” he squealed with delight, his eyes glittering. “I never noticed before, but there’s a really nice-looking lintel right there!”

When Atsushi looked up, he noticed a very thick, sturdy-looking slab of wood hanging horizontally, but he had no idea why Dazai’s bouncing eyes were passionately locked onto this beam-like piece of wood.

“Stop gauging opportunities to kill yourself everywhere we go!”

Kunikida, who had been checking the schedule in his notebook, fiercely glared at his partner. It was as if he saw right through the suicide-obsessed detective and knew exactly what he was thinking. He scowled, annoyed that he couldn’t let his guard down for even a second.

“I’m not! I was just thinking about how I could do neck extensions with it!”

Dazai pouted, apparently shocked that Kunikida would even suggest such a thing.

“…And what on earth is a neck extension?” Kunikida asked with a quizzical stare.

“Huh?! You’ve never heard of it?!” Dazai immediately replied, his eyes wide in astonishment. “It’s really good for stiff shoulders!”

“What…? It can do that?!”

“Hurry, Kunikida! Jot that down before you forget!” Dazai urged him.

Kunikida wasted no time opening his notebook, then began taking notes while muttering “Neck…extensions…” to himself.

“I made all that up, by the way. ” Dazai turned his head in the other direction with a mischievous, catlike grin.

“Rrrrgh!!”

Kunikida’s eyebrows furiously narrowed as he clenched his fists, mercilessly snapping his poor fountain pen in two.

Wham! He promptly slammed his notebook onto the table, then grabbed Dazai.

“Gwaaahhhehhh!”

He was so furious that he couldn’t even enunciate his words, wringing Dazai’s neck like an old damp rag. There was no need for some wooden lintel; Kunikida’s grip had more than enough force to send Dazai to the afterlife—yet Dazai showed no signs of struggle as he goofily smiled.

“Curses! I’ve got a partner who throws himself into bodies of water, a street urchin who treats himself to a buffet at my expense, and now my entire perfect schedule is ruined!” Kunikida tightened his grip around Dazai’s neck.

That certainly did sound like a rough day. All Atsushi could do was make himself as small as possible, since he did actually feel guilty for ruining Kunikida’s perfect schedule.

But there was still one question on Atsushi’s mind:

Do these guys really work for the Armed Detective Agency?

“We are going to finish today’s case exactly as planned. You got that, you blithering buffoon?!” Kunikida hollered, squeezing so tightly that he was about to snap Dazai’s head right off.

Today’s case…

Curiosity suddenly got the best of Atsushi.

“So, uh… What kind of case are you on today anyway?” he asked.

“What?!”

“Eek?!” Atsushi shrank under Kunikida’s threatening glare. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked! Y-you’re detectives! I should have known there was some sort of client confidentiality!”

After all, this job of theirs was military related. In other words, it wasn’t something you could tell just anyone.

Kunikida eventually let go of Dazai, got back in his seat, and then cleared his throat.

“Today’s case doesn’t require secrecy of any kind, actually. The military asked us to locate a tiger.”

“……A tiger?”

Atsushi’s eyes opened wide. Even he could tell that he was turning pale. He wasn’t hearing things, that much he knew. Kunikida made it sound like they were searching for a lost kitten, but he’d clearly said:

A tiger.

The tips of Atsushi’s fingers started going numb. He unconsciously clenched his fists.

“There’s talk of a man-eating tiger that’s been terrorizing the city as of late,” said Dazai. “Granted, I don’t know if it’s actually eaten anyone, but it sure hasn’t been shy about ravaging storehouses and devouring crops. And there have been numerous sightings of the beast around here lately…”

He shrugged as if to say that this tiger was being a real pain in the neck.

Golden eyes coldly glowing in the darkness.

The deep roar of a starving beast echoing through the night.

That tiger…

“…!”

Atsushi tried to stand, staggering to his feet, but he immediately tripped and fell back down onto his rear.

Thud! Rattle!

The chair hit the floor, bringing life to the silent teahouse.

“What’s wrong, Atsushi?”

Dazai gave him a puzzled stare.

“I—I…! I have to go! G-good-bye!” Atsushi yelped, his expression contorting slightly.

What a coincidence it was for these two people to be looking for that tiger. Atsushi couldn’t help but shut his eyes tightly.

I have to get out of here.

He tried getting up, but his legs felt like two wobbly noodles, so he began crawling as quickly as he could toward the entrance.

“Not so fast!” Kunikida yelled sharply, grabbing Atsushi by the collar and dragging him back. “You know something, don’t you?”

“Ah…! Ahhh!”

Atsushi wildly swung his arms and legs, struggling to escape Kunikida’s grasp.

“Y-you can’t…,” he whispered before swiftly looking back at the detective. “Nobody can defeat that thing!”

His voice was faintly trembling.

“You’ve seen the man-eating tiger?”

Kunikida furrowed his brow and fixed Atsushi with a quizzical gaze. “Suspicious” would be the best way to describe his expression.

“It’s after me! That beast almost killed me! And if it’s nearby, then I have to get out of here!” Atsushi desperately cried as his face continued to stiffen.

Out of nowhere, Kunikida released his collar.

Thud. Atsushi hit the floor.

Then Kunikida quickly grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

“Gaaah!” Atsushi groaned, face to the floor.

No matter how much it hurt, Kunikida wasn’t going to go easy on him. In fact, he was slowly twisting Atsushi’s arm with even greater force.

“You can pay for your meal with an arm—or by telling us everything you know!”

Kunikida’s intense shouting echoed throughout the empty teahouse. Atsushi clenched his teeth, squeezing his eyes as tears began to well up.

I should have never come here—I should have never gotten involved with these two.

“Come on, Kunikida. Relax. Whenever you want information out of someone, it turns into an interrogation. The boss himself has warned you time and again about this.”

Dazai stepped forward and tried to pacify his partner and then shot him an exasperated look. Kunikida scowled but realized he’d gone a bit too far; he let go of Atsushi’s arm and stood back up. Atsushi lifted himself off the floor before placing a hand on his throbbing shoulder.

“Now, then… What do you know about the tiger?” Dazai calmly asked, his gaze quietly fixed on Atsushi.

Atsushi couldn’t possibly talk his way out of this or deceive a man who could see right through him. That much was clear by the quiet, intense glow in Dazai’s eyes. After coming to that conclusion, Atsushi looked at his feet and hesitantly muttered:

“…That tiger destroyed my orphanage.”

He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to tremble.

“It ravaged our crops, destroyed our chicken coop… Tore up the storehouse, too.”

I know that tiger all too well…

Fields with every last crop devoured… A chicken coop splattered with blood and feathers… The storehouse on the verge of collapsing… All this made it clear how vicious the tiger must have been.

“Nobody was killed…but the orphanage was too cash-strapped to recover…so they kicked me out.”

“Get out!”

“You do not belong in this world!”

“Just go! Leave, you filthy freeloader!”

“But why? I didn’t do anything…”

Why were they being like this? The adults at the orphanage coldly looked down at Atsushi as he slowly drowned in confusion. That icy look in their eyes would never leave him.

With only a single, small bag, Atsushi had been forced out of the one place he ever felt like he belonged. Never would he forget how it felt to stand in front of the tall iron-rail gate in a daze as it closed behind him.

A heavy silence fell. Atsushi sat on the edge of the elevated tatami floors, biting his lip and looking down.

The silence lingered for some time…

Dazai then offered some words of sympathy: “Wow, sounds like you had a real stroke of bad luck.”

Bad luck…

Was that really all this was? Then again, there was no other way to describe it.

“Tell me about how the tiger almost killed you,” Kunikida demanded. His voice was void of emotion, causing Atsushi to tense up.

“No matter where I go…the man-eating tiger is there…like it’s chasing me. Even the other day, when I was by the Tsurumi River…”

Right…

If there was a source to all this misfortune, then it would have to be that tiger. That monster was the sole reason Atsushi was kicked out of the orphanage, and it was still causing trouble for him.

It happened a few days ago. Atsushi was tiredly hobbling down the road with the cold night breeze brushing against his cheeks. There were no streetlights. Only the wintry glow of the moon illuminated the path below.

Suddenly, a passerby shrieked: “A tiger… That’s a tiger!!”

Atsushi slowly lifted his head to find an old, rusty convex safety mirror on the roadside.

Reflected in the mirror were large golden eyes staring right back at Atsushi.

The beast growled and bared its fangs. Every hair on Atsushi’s body instantly stood up, and he ran for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs.

That wasn’t the only time something like this had happened, either.

“I’ve seen the beast’s shadow more times than I can count these past two weeks since I got kicked out of the orphanage…”

And each time, he would run and hide until dawn. Day after day of fleeing had gone by in an exhausted blur until he eventually ran into Dazai and Kunikida at the riverbank.

“It’s probably in this city now because of me, too…,” Atsushi muttered, his voice trembling.

There was no way that more than one tiger was roaming the streets of Yokohama. If anything, it wasn’t normal for even a single tiger to be in the city. So where did it come from? No one had mentioned any tigers escaping the zoo, because if something like that really had happened, it would be all over the news.

“…When was the last time you saw the tiger?” asked Dazai, who had been quietly listening the entire time. It seemed like something was on his mind.

Atsushi lifted his chin ever so slightly and apprehensively met his gaze.

“It was around…four days ago by the Tsurumi River.”

“Yes, the attacks began roughly two weeks ago, and we have eyewitness accounts of the beast by the Tsurumi River four days ago,” said Kunikida.

He double-checked his notes and shot Dazai an urging glance.

“Hmm…” Dazai closed his eyes in thought and grumbled. A few moments later, he opened his eyes as if an amazing idea had just struck him. He grinned.

“Atsushi, you free tonight?”

“Huh?!”

Atsushi’s shoulders jumped in shock. Although Dazai was smiling, he looked like he was plotting something.

I’ve got a really bad feeling about this…! thought Atsushi.

“If the tiger is pursuing you, that actually works to our advantage.”

Dazai promptly turned back to face the table and began writing something on a sheet of paper.

“Uh…?”

Atsushi stared at him with utmost suspicion. What did Dazai mean that they could use it to their “advantage”? Whatever this was, it wasn’t going to be pretty. That much was for sure.

“You’ll help us find the tiger!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Dazai spun back around in his chair to face Atsushi.

“No way!” Atsushi jumped to his feet.

Is this some kind of joke? I never want to see that savage beast again, no matter what. If that thing finds me, I’m a goner.

“Here, Kunikida. Deliver this to the boss for me.”

Dazai wore a serious expression while he held out a slip of paper between his fingers to Kunikida.

“What? Are you seriously planning on capturing that tiger with him? Just the two of you? We need to verify this intel first, and—” Kunikida frowned, clearly not happy about Dazai’s decision.

“Just do it.”

Dazai spoke gently but decisively. After staring hard into his partner’s eyes, Kunikida let out a deep sigh, then grabbed the slip of paper.

He unfolded it and scanned the writing, but only his eyebrows slightly rose before he silently slipped the message into his pocket. Meanwhile, Dazai was still full of smiles.

“I’m not going to help you catch that thing!!” Atsushi had his hands balled into fists.

Dazai didn’t merely want help searching the streets for this tiger…

“You’re asking me to be its dinner! No one in their right mind would want to be used as tiger bait!”

Atsushi owed these two for treating him to all the tea over rice he could eat, but repaying them by luring out a man-eating tiger was asking too much. It was unthinkable. That would mean his last meal was thirty bowls of tea over rice, and although he didn’t keep an obsessive schedule like Kunikida, dying that night was not on Atsushi’s agenda.

“We’ll pay you,” Dazai said softly.

“…Wait. You’ll…pay me…?” Atsushi’s ears perked up at those words. “Do you mean…?”

He almost turned around…but then he suddenly came to his senses.

“No, no, no! No way! I’m not sacrificing myself for a little cash!”

Atsushi didn’t have a single yen to his name, and he still didn’t have any income. He was at a loss. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to let money blind him. He wasn’t foolish enough to become tiger bait just so that he could have a meal tomorrow, so he turned his head away from Dazai with his back still facing him. Human life was more valuable than money. Everyone knew that…and yet…

“Just out of curiosity, though… How much were you willing to pay?” Atsushi hesitantly asked, looking partway back at Dazai. There was no harm in asking, after all. He was only asking. Nothing more.

“Hmm…” Dazai pondered while punching numbers into a calculator. “How does this sound?”

He then held out the calculator.

The moment Atsushi looked at the numbers displayed, his eyes lit up. He immediately began counting all the zeros.

One zero, two zeros, three…four…five…?!

He couldn’t stop himself from yelling:

“…Oooh?!”

Why me…?

Seated atop a wooden crate with his arms wrapped around his knees, Atsushi was at a loss. They were inside a warehouse on the corner of the wharf. Moonlight peeked in through the window, illuminating dust as it floated through the filthy air. A departing freight vessel’s steam whistle dully hummed in the background, slowly blending in with the waves until it could be heard no more. The breeze blowing through an opening in the building carried the soft scent of the ocean with it.

Dazai was also seated on a wooden crate a few feet away with his legs crossed while reading a book. He must have been really into whatever he was reading; he hadn’t said a word since they arrived. Meanwhile, Kunikida was nowhere in sight; he was most likely still on his way back to the Armed Detective Agency.

Dazai had brought Atsushi to this warehouse over an hour ago. Long gone was any sunlight. Apparently, Dazai was planning on ambushing and capturing the tiger here. Whatever he was trying to do, it was extremely reckless. Atsushi honestly didn’t think it was going to work. How exactly does someone catch a tiger anyway?

The only people here were Dazai and Atsushi. Dazai, a member of the Armed Detective Agency, may have been able to do something, but Atsushi couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Nevertheless, Dazai seemed to believe that the two of them alone could pull this off. Obviously, Atsushi wasn’t planning on ever going along with such a reckless, spur-of-the-moment idea, and yet…

He wasn’t blinded by money. Well, okay, maybe he was sort of blinded by money, but only a little bit.

Even if he ran away, the tiger would eventually find him. Furthermore, maybe Dazai and the agency really would be able to capture the tiger if Atsushi used himself as bait.

It was that glimpse of hope that led him here.

Dazai didn’t seem to be preparing to capture the tiger, though. He’d been sitting on that wooden crate and reading ever since they’d arrived. There was no way that book could be his weapon, although it did seem thick enough to maybe hurt somewhat if you hit someone on the head with it…

“…Dazai, what are you reading?” Atsushi hesitantly asked, feeling that talking would somewhat ease the fear and anxiety weighing him down. The silence was giving him too much time to think about the what-ifs.

Dazai, however, didn’t appear to be worried one bit.

“A good book” was all he said before instantly absorbing himself in his reading once more.

“I’m surprised you can read in the dark like this.”

Despite being used to the darkness, Atsushi could hardly see Dazai. He couldn’t even make out his expression.

*   *   *

“I have good eyesight. Besides, I can basically recite this book from memory by now.”

“…Then why are you even reading it?” Atsushi said with a wry smile.

“Good books are still good, no matter how many times you read them.”

Yet another dead-end reply followed by a long stream of silence.

“…Is the tiger really going to come all the way here?” Atsushi wondered aloud.

He stared at the floor and curled into himself even further. The tiger had been appearing wherever he went as if it was stalking him, but he wasn’t fully convinced it would conveniently show up tonight at this warehouse. Plus, there was a part of him that hoped nothing would happen, although it made him feel a little guilty since Dazai was earnestly trying to catch the tiger. However…

“It will,” Dazai insisted.

Atsushi twitched and let out a small yelp. He then lifted his head and slowly shifted his gaze toward the darkness; it felt like something was hiding there. His heart started to beat even louder and louder as if it were an alarm bell going off, warning him of danger.

I want to get out of here.

The feeling was overwhelming. Being in the darkness made him remember all the things he was trying to forget. He buried his face in his knees and shut his eyes.

I should’ve never agreed to do this.

“There’s nothing to worry about… The tiger won’t be able to get past me. I’m a member of the Armed Detective Agency for a reason,” Dazai assured him, nose still in his book as if he had too much free time on his hands.

How could he be so calm? This was a man-eating tiger they were up against. Although Dazai claimed he didn’t know if the tiger really had ever eaten anyone, it still seemed very likely that such a beast eventually would. Plus, it could be anywhere that very moment, lurking in the darkness and waiting for its chance to strike.

“I wish I could be as confident as you,” said Atsushi. “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…”

“Get out!”

“You do not belong in this world!”

The voices seared into his memory whispered into his ear. Atsushi lowered his gaze and clenched his knees even closer to his body with his trembling hands.

“I guess they were right. Nobody cares what happens to me. I might as well just let that tiger eat me…”

Nothing good has ever happened to me. That’s probably—no, that’s definitely not going to change, no matter how hard I try. Nothing ever goes right. Things just keep getting worse for me. Why am I—?

“All right, then… Should be any minute now.”

Atsushi jumped, startled by Dazai’s voice. Dazai looked up from his book for the first time since they arrived and stared into the darkness behind Atsushi. The cold wind eerily howled as it crept through the warehouse.

Dazai’s gaze was fixed on a large window. Atsushi timidly turned to look.

Clang! Something suddenly fell onto the ground.

“Huh?!” Atsushi yelped. “I j-just heard a noise back there!” he nervously stammered while frantically trying to get off the crate, only to tumble over and fall.

After hitting the floor, he rolled over onto his feet, then promptly turned his terrified gaze toward a corner of the warehouse. Faintly visible within the darkness were bags and crates stacked all the way to the ceiling, but there were no signs of anything moving. Only a chilling silence reigned over the ever-growing darkness.

“Yep…”

“It’s here, Dazai! I just know it!” Atsushi insisted. His face was tense, and his voice was cracking.

“…The wind probably knocked something over.”

“That man-eating tiger is gonna eat me alive!” he shouted, borderline hysterical. His eyes were frantically darting in every direction. He felt as if sweat were dripping out of every pore.

Dazai slammed his book shut, making Atsushi jump and instantly close his mouth.

“Relax, Atsushi. The tiger isn’t going to randomly emerge from the shadows.”

Dazai faintly sighed. He was still calm even now.

“How do you know that?!” shouted an irritated Atsushi.

It was Dazai himself who clearly said the tiger would be here, and it was most likely already in the warehouse somewhere. Plus, it always seemed to appear randomly from the shadows without Atsushi ever noticing. And yet…

“It didn’t make any sense to start with,” said Dazai.

“…Huh?”

Atsushi, his face stiff, looked up at Dazai, who was still sitting on the crate. But before he could ask him to clarify, Dazai continued in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

“Poor finances or not, would an orphanage really dump its charges on the street, like a family of starving farmers from times past? Besides, kicking out a couple of children would hardly help their financial situation. They’d have to send at least half of their charges to another facility if things were truly that bad.”

He gently hopped off the wooden crate with the book in his hand.

“Wh-what are you trying to say, Dazai…?” Atsushi asked, clearly bewildered.

We have to run.

We have to get out of here.

The tiger’s gonna kill us both at this rate. There’s nowhere to hide inside this cramped warehouse.

Dazai faced Atsushi with a cold glow in his eyes, his expression unmoving. Atsushi flinched and took a small step back.

Clatter.

He stepped on something and froze, then slowly lowered his frightened gaze. Stretching across the floor were the shadows of the window frame behind him and of himself. Maybe his shadow looked as dark and as tall as it did because of the intense moonlight peeking in through the glass.

“You arrived in this city two weeks ago. The tiger first appeared in this city two weeks ago as well,” Dazai quietly explained. His voice sounded like a distant dream to Atsushi, who was slowly looking back at the light as if it was drawing him in.

“You were by the Tsurumi River four days ago, which is exactly when the tiger was seen there.”

Only the pale glow of the moon reflected in his eyes.

Oh yeah, thought Atsushi as he recalled that night. The moon was quietly peering out from the darkness that evening as well. He’d looked up at its pale light in a daze. He had nowhere to go. He didn’t know what to do. All he felt was loneliness and anxiety.

That was when the tiger appeared.

“Do you remember what Kunikida said? The Armed Detective Agency is made up of people with unusual abilities.”

Unusual abilities.

Atsushi’s heartbeat grew louder, his pulse got faster, and he could no longer even move. His eyes opened wide.

The storehouse ravaged by the tiger…

The blood and feathers scattered about the chicken coop…

The remains of devoured crops…

His mind flashed back to the memories of his final days at the orphanage. He could still see the staff’s cold gazes and hear their furious shouting.

“Ah… Ahhh…!!”

Atsushi groaned and leaned forward slightly.

The golden eyes reflected in that rusty mirror suddenly crossed his mind. Then he was reminded of when he saw the tiger in the river’s reflection.

No, this had to be some sort of mistake. That was—

“Ahhhhhh!!”

A powerful roar escaped the depths of his throat as he covered his face with both hands.

“Though hardly public knowledge,” Dazai continued, still staring right into Atsushi’s eyes, “some people in this world possess otherworldly skills.”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!”

Atsushi hunched over and roared with every fiber of his being, shaking the glass windows.

Fissures ran down his body as a pale light began to escape from within him. It instantly lit up the warehouse, flickering while it engulfed Atsushi.

“GAAAOOOOO!!”

However, Atsushi himself didn’t notice that his echoing roars were no longer human but that of a beast. Unbeknownst to him, the last vestiges of his awareness were being dragged into the abyss of darkness.

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…

“Huh…?” Atsushi mumbled absent-mindedly as he got up. “I…”

After blinking several times, he slowly surveyed his surroundings. Although it took him a few moments, he soon remembered that he was in a warehouse at the wharf. Looking down at him were Dazai, Kunikida, and…a teenage boy he had never seen before, squatting by his side and staring at him with curiosity. He also noticed an unfamiliar woman and a man wearing a newsboy cap next to Dazai and Kunikida.

When Atsushi looked around in bewilderment, he noticed wooden crates and boxes that had been viciously shredded and scattered about. There were claw marks on the floor and walls as well. The sight was startling, to say the least.

This had to be the work of that tiger. That was the only explanation.

But when did all this happen? How long was I unconscious? The last thing I remember was waiting for the tiger while Dazai was reading a book in the dark, and he and I talked for a bit. That’s about it. I can’t even remember what we were talking about… I think it was just some random chitchat. What happened after that, though?

Dazai suddenly approached Atsushi in the midst of his bewilderment.

“Atsushi, do you remember anything about when you transformed?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Oh, hey. Your right hand still hasn’t changed back yet.” Dazai pointed at Atsushi’s arm.

“…My right hand?”

Atsushi shifted his gaze to his soft, fluffy hand. He moved it around a bit, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Wait… Fluffy…?

“Whaaaaaa—?!”

Atsushi couldn’t stop himself from shouting as he threw his head back.

For some reason, his right hand was covered in soft, snow-white fur with black stripes, and he even had squishy pink “beans” where his palm should be. It was as if he was wearing some sort of glove.

“Ahhhhhh! What is this?! What’s going on?!”

Atsushi shook his right hand in a fluster, but no matter how hard he tugged on it, all he felt was the intense pain of his hand about to be ripped off. It was clearly a feline paw, no matter how you looked at it…although it was far too big to belong to a regular house cat. Not to mention, no ordinary house cat’s claws would look this sharp.

It was a tiger’s paw. That much was obvious.

“Wh-wh-what the heck is happening?!”

Atsushi was distraught. Was his hand going to be like this for the rest of his life? Was he going to have to live with this fluffy, soft hand?

Th-this can’t be real!

“Atsushi Nakajima!”

He jumped when someone suddenly called his name, then timidly shifted his tear-filled eyes to Dazai. And Dazai wasn’t the only person staring at Atsushi—everyone there was looking at him.

Dazai flashed a brazen smile at Atsushi’s puzzled expression and declared:

“From today forward, you’re one of us!”

Atsushi stared in bewilderment.

“You’re a member of the Armed Detective Agency,” Dazai added. His tone had somewhat mellowed, and there was a warmth in his eyes.

A member of the Armed Detective Agency…

Kenji was grinning, Kunikida was scratching his head in annoyance, and Yosano and Ranpo both looked like they wanted to roll their eyes.

“………Sorry?”

Atsushi cocked his head all the way to one side and knitted his brow.

What in the world is going on?

Only one thing was clear: Whatever had happened, it had already ended by the time he woke up.

I honestly thought I was going to starve to death until I found Dazai floating down the river. Next thing I know, I was being treated to all the tea over rice I could eat. Then Dazai and Kunikida turned out to be members of the Armed Detective Agency, and they coerced me into helping them find that tiger.

And yet I went to that warehouse fully prepared to be tiger bait.

Life is nothing more than a series of unforeseen occurrences. You might think you had it bad only to realize later that it was actually a stroke of good fortune. On the other hand, something might seem like a blessing at first but end up turning into a nightmare. It’s reminiscent of the parable “The Old Man Who Lost His Horse” or the saying “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”—although tiger would be more fitting in this case. You can’t always tell how things will shake out.

But perhaps this particular series of coincidences was actually calculated and all part of somebody’s plan.

The pale moonlight from the window illuminated Dazai’s face, his hands still in his pockets, while he looked down at Atsushi’s uneasy expression. The detective curled his lips into a cryptic smile, just like he had back at the riverbank.