章 44: Chapter 67&68
Chapter 67: Bandage No. 3's Current Situation
After temporarily handling things with Ogai Mori, Tokisaki Kurumi submerged herself into the Shadow Realm.
Within the crimson hued space, her summoned clones gathered in groups of twos and threes, killing time.
Aside from the clones assigned to patrols, time collection, and the infiltration of the Armed Detective Agency as "Bandage No. 3," roughly three hundred clones remained in the Shadow Realm.
Some were playing cards with intense enthusiasm, others were watching anime on their phones, and even a few were tinkering with a newly purchased saxophone and piano, hoping to recruit others to form a band. When the main body entered, Clone No. 1, who managed the others, flew over to her.
"You didn't seem to talk much with Ogai Mori; you're back so quickly," Clone No. 1 inquired. "Did anything happen?"
"Don't even start. Ogai Mori already knows I've been stalling, and he even figured out why." Kurumi massaged her temples, feeling the strain. "He even brought Nakahara Chuuya along. When I saw him, I briefly regretted not sending a clone instead."
"Nakahara Chuuya was there? That does sound dangerous. It looks like Ogai Mori was prepared to break things off if needed," Clone No. 1 replied, a hint of doubt in her tone. "But couldn't you have just switched places with me? No one would have noticed."
"Well, I was a little tense in the moment, so I didn't think of it," Kurumi coughed, embarrassed. "I had to consider how to handle Ogai Mori, stay wary of Nakahara Chuuya, and then, out of nowhere, the system popped up with a task. There wasn't any room left to think of alternatives."
"The system?" Clone No. 1 blinked. "What happened?"
"It issued a random task defeat Nakahara Chuuya." Kurumi grimaced. "The difficulty of that task is harder than the main storyline. I don't know what it was thinking."
"As long as you don't engage him head-on, catching him off guard should make it easy enough to win, right?" Clone No. 1 reasoned.
"Although his ability is troublesome, if you hit him with Bullet No. 7 before he activates Corruption, freezing his time, you could probably beat him halfway to incapacitation, right?"
"If I defeat Nakahara Chuuya through a sneak attack, it'd ruin our ties with the Port Mafia.
Fighting the locals isn't wise. If we make enemies of the Port Mafia, it'll make things difficult."
"True. We should at least keep good terms with them until the Guild arrives," Clone No. 1 nodded in agreement. "If an ambush isn't an option, maybe a sparring invitation would work... though a fair fight wouldn't favor us."
Defeating Nakahara Chuuya was both easy and difficult. If she could weaken him before he entered a battle-ready state, Kurumi could dispatch him easily enough.
But Kurumi couldn't simply lurk in shadows and ambush him, as her alliance with the Port Mafia was still necessary on the surface.
On the other hand, if she challenged him openly, once he activated his ability, her chances would be nonexistent.
Corruption gave Nakahara Chuuya full control over gravity for anything that touched his body.
Even if his reaction time wasn't as fast as a bullet's speed, as long as his ability was active, any projectile touching his clothes or body would stop in its tracks.
Against him, any physical attacks were essentially useless.
"Forget it; I'll leave this task to luck. It won't impact the final evaluation anyway."
Setting aside the random task, Kurumi continued, "Ogai Mori gave me an ultimatum to capture Atsushi Nakajima by the day after tomorrow, so we'll need to visit the Armed Detective Agency tomorrow."
"Are you actually planning on capturing him?"
"I've stretched things out as far as I can; there's no choice."
"Alright, I'll gather twenty clones to go with you tomorrow."
"Good."
After assigning this task to Clone No. 1, Kurumi prepared to leave. But just as she was about to exit, something came to her mind, and she turned back. "By the way, how is Bandage No. 3 holding up?"
"Oh… about her…"
Hearing Kurumi's question, Clone No. 1's expression turned somewhat complicated.
As the one managing the clones, she not only handled the rotation of patrolling and stationed personnel but also kept watch on Bandage No. 3. Monitoring might be a bit of an overstatement perhaps it was more like guarding.
After all, no one could say if the Armed Detective Agency might discover her identity and act against her.
So, five clones were always on standby to retrieve her if necessary.
These past few days, the clones tasked with protecting Bandage No. 3 had reported some concerning changes in her behavior.
"Bandage No. 3… seems to be having some mental issues."
"Huh?" Kurumi was baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Just as it sounds." Clone No. 1 shrugged. "The five clones watching her say that she's acting as if she's lost her mind."
"Lost her mind? Gone insane?"
"When we're talking, we don't stay in character as Tokisaki Kurumi since it's just us; role-playing is pointless, right?" Clone No. 1 explained. "But Bandage No. 3, even when she's alone, stays in character. It's making the others uneasy."
"That's dedication! You could all learn from that."
"Well… if that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal," Clone No. 1 continued, looking conflicted. "But even when she's by herself, she's still role-playing, like she actually thinks she's Bandage No. 3. It's creeping the other clones out."
"Staying in character even when alone?" Kurumi blinked. "That's taking dedication a bit far, don't you think?"
"We suspect the pressure at the Armed Detective Agency might have gotten to her. These days, Dazai's constantly trying to fish information from her, so she's been on edge for too long. Then... well, she seems to have cracked." Clone No. 1 traced a cross over her chest. "Yesterday, I went to check on her condition, but as soon as I showed up, she chased me off, calling me 'Hound of the Nightmare.'"
"Considering she's earned the Agency's trust, that might actually be… good?"
Kurumi clasped her hands together, praying silently. "Here's hoping she's alright."
Chapter 68: There's Only One Truth!
The next day, at the Armed Detective Agency.
In the dimly lit conference room, an old projector sat at the center of the square table, casting images onto a white screen.
On the screen were materials that Ango Sakaguchi had obtained from the bandaged "Number Three" about the entity known as Nightmare.
The projected documents showed photographs of Nightmare from various angles, details on her shadow abilities, the effects of the City of Devouring Time, and a thorough breakdown of abilities from Bullet One to Bullet Ten.
Most agency members were gathered, seated on either side of the table, silently examining the projected data.
"This is the latest intelligence from the Special Ability Department," declared a middle aged man at the head of the table. His appearance was striking: messy white hair like a wolf's fur, dressed in a dark green traditional kimono, with a black cape draped over his shoulders and a face as firm as steel.
This man was none other than the agency's president, Yukichi Fukuzawa.
Fukuzawa scanned the faces of his subordinates, his calm, weighty voice breaking the silence, "What are your thoughts?"
"President, can we really trust this information?" Doppo Kunikida asked skeptically. "A person with ten separate time-related abilities, in addition to shadow manipulation and the ability to force people to sleep could such a person even exist?"
"Determining the authenticity of this information is precisely the task assigned to us by the Special Ability Department," Fukuzawa replied. "The report was delivered to Ango Sakaguchi yesterday noon by a girl calling herself 'Tokisaki Kurumi.' All we know about her is that she's connected to both the Port Mafia and Nightmare."
"Sorry, President, but I'll need to investigate further before I can offer any conclusions," Kunikida admitted, feeling somewhat apologetic.
Fukuzawa turned his gaze to the remaining members of the agency.
Dazai Osamu, Atsushi Nakajima, and Junichiro Tanizaki shook their heads in silence.
Despite his subordinates' lack of answers, Fukuzawa did not appear disappointed; he merely nodded, understanding. After all, detectives were not clairvoyants; they needed more evidence to arrive at any reliable conclusions.
Finally, Fukuzawa's eyes settled on a man sitting in the corner: "Ranpo, what about you?"
With conventional detectives unable to reach a conclusion, the weight of expectation fell on their unconventional detective Edogawa Ranpo. With his ability Ultra Deduction, Ranpo could discern the truth of any matter, needing only a brief look to unravel mysteries that would stump other detectives for days.
Ranpo, the self-proclaimed "Greatest Detective of the Century," had certainly proven his worth; at just twenty-six, he had solved countless mysteries, some of which had left the police completely baffled. Within the agency, if anyone could call themselves the best detective, it was Ranpo. Not even Dazai would dispute that.
In the corner, Ranpo removed the hat covering his face with a heavy sigh.
"Is this information trustworthy? Of course, it is. Since it's from a Nightmare clone, there's no way it could be false."
"Clone?" A ripple of surprise and skepticism passed through the room.
"Correct," Ranpo nodded. "That girl calling herself 'Tokisaki Kurumi' is undoubtedly a clone of Nightmare specifically, one created by her Eighth Bullet, if we're to trust the data provided."
Understanding began to dawn in the agency members' eyes as Ranpo spoke, though it quickly brought forth even more questions.
"But can a Nightmare clone betray its original?" Kunikida frowned, still doubtful.
"We have a perfect example of that right here in our agency, don't we?" Ranpo smirked cryptically.
Confusion spread among the others, except for Dazai, whose eyes flashed with sudden recognition as he murmured, "It's her…"
"Bingo!" Ranpo laughed, pleased. "The bandaged girl you rescued a few days ago the one who's got even more bandages than Dazai she's a clone of Nightmare."
"A Nightmare clone?" Atsushi, who had been holding back from speaking, looked stunned. "That must be a mistake. She's nothing like Nightmare…"
But as he spoke, realization began to dawn on him, and his voice trailed off.
"Yes, her personality and aura don't match Nightmare's at all," Dazai agreed thoughtfully. "But if we believe that clones are pulled from different points in Nightmare's timeline, she could be from a much earlier time, before Nightmare became the person she is now."
Atsushi stared at the images projected on the screen, comparing them with the memories of Tokisaki's face in his mind. Apart from her expression and demeanor, her face was unmistakably identical to Nightmare's.
"So, she really is a Nightmare clone…" Atsushi muttered in disbelief. "But why would she come to our agency?"
"Hey, newbie, you've got it all wrong," Ranpo corrected him with a smirk. "It wasn't her idea to come to the agency you all persuaded her, didn't you?"
Several days earlier, though Ranpo had been occupied with another case, he'd later heard about the agency's encounter with Nightmare and the rescue of the bandaged "Number Three." Dazai, Atsushi, Kunikida, and Tanizaki had saved her from Nightmare, allowing Yosano to heal her when she was at death's door.
When she recovered, the bandaged girl had wanted to leave, but they had stopped her.
They couldn't let a potential threat like her wander freely around Yokohama, especially with Nightmare after her.
After much persuasion, mostly on Dazai's part, she had reluctantly agreed to stay.
In the days that followed, the agency members had taken every opportunity to question her and secretly investigate her background, though she'd remained tight lipped about her past and even refused to give her name.
"It's quite the coincidence that we've stumbled upon her true identity," Dazai admitted with a wry smile.
"Indeed, Ranpo's assessment seems irrefutable," he said. "It's reassuring to know we have concrete evidence of a clone defying its origin."
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