Our Twisted Fate

Ch.4 His Capture: Our Mistake

~~~~Shiori's P.O.V.~~~~

Day 72 of the Dragon Head Feud.

The sunshine always follows the rain. Dawn follows the night. This too shall pass. That's what everyone keeps telling themselves. I don't see the point  on why they think this.

Destroyed by the feud, the streets were filled with bullet holes. Explosions have taken a toll on the vicinity as well. The place is mostly barren, though not completely empty.

I was sitting on the edge of a fountain in a small square. I watched a small scattering of students, housewives, and office workers pass by. As I do, someone stops in front of me. I look up to see the man with the long white hair. It was the Pale Qilin.

"So you survived. I wasn't expecting to run into you again. Where's your father?"

"Father?" I tilt my head.

"The man you were with the night we met."

"That wasn't my father. He's...a friend."

"I see. So why is a child in a dangerous place like this?"

"I wanted to see the streets myself."

The man sits next to me.

"What were you doing with your friend the night we met?"

"What were you doing the night we met?"

The man lightly chuckles.

"Answering a question with another question, I see. How come you look bored?"

"I do?"

"Yes... Your eyes. They're lifeless. You look so bored. You and I are the same then. I'm bored too."

"That can't be."

"Why is that?"

With swift movements, I pull out my gun and aim it at him.

"Because I feel nothing."

In a flash, everyone in the square follows suit. They take out their weapons and take aim at the Pale Qilin.

"Did you have fun, Mr. Pale Qilin?" a mysterious voice asks.

"Who are you?"

Walking towards us, with an evil grin, was Dazai.

"Just a bit of entertainment before the show. I don't recommend trying to fight back. You're completely surrounded by the Port Mafia's best. Plus, that "child" next to you is trained to kill twenty men in three seconds."

Mr. Qilin smiles to himself.

"Such an impressive setup... I see. You must be that Port Mafia executive candidate, Dazai. And this child is your assistant, Shiori."

Dazai smiles.

"Well you see, I'm on thin ice with my partner for sleeping throughout this feud. So will you come with me?"

"Oh? What happens if I say no?"

I push the barrel of my gun right against his head.

"Go right ahead. Just that I thought you'd like to choose your place of death. So you'd be putting my kind offer to waste."

The man grins at me from the corner of his eye.

"Aren't you a loyal puppy."

Dazai's smile disappears as he become serious, dangerously so.

"You made two miscalculations. It doesn't matter how strong your ability is. Against me, you're powerless. I am the mafia's Anit-Unit. In other words, their neutralizer. What's more, you underestimated the power found in organizations. Humans are stronger in groups than they are as individuals. That's just the undeniable truth, Mr. One-Man-Army."

"...Stronger in groups, huh? Is that why you joined the mafia?"

"Correct."

"That's unfortunate. But I'm sure you feel the same way..."

"..."

"Certainly, organized efforts are valuable. You can't make cloth out of a single thread. However, if there is even one black thread in a white cloth, the whole thing becomes unsightly, nothing more than trash. That is another truth we must all live with."

"So you're worried about me? I appreciate it, but I have no intention of going easy on you, you know."

Suddenly, Dazai's face in fill with dark rage.

"You kill The Colonel. You've gone too far. And I'm not nice enough to let his death go unpunished..."

"Fine by me." the man coldly grins. "But you'll regret it."

Dazai couldn't help but grin back.

"Me? Regret?"

"All of you, of course. Once you get rid of me, you'll lose your only chance of ending this feud."

"Haha. Interesting way of putting it."

"This feud will continue until every last person has been added to the pile of bodies. There's only one way to stop that from happening. And that's...with another feud."

Dazai plainly looks at him with boredom in his face.

"What?"

"Do you know how they put out fires on oil rigs? They extinguish the flames using a large bomb."

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoes throughout the area.

"An explosion? Where was is from?" Dazai looks around.

"Today I will end this feud. This feud will be known as another name. From this moment on, it's an all-out war. To all of you criminal organizations who had a part in this battle, my declaration was just delivered."

A large shadow loomed over the area. Wait. I look up to see one of the Port Mafia Headquarters.

It's getting bigger? ...No.

"To begin this war, I will destroy and reduce all of your bases to rubble."

It's falling... On top of us!

"Allow me to repeat after you. 'You made two miscalculations'. One was expecting me to not notice your little ambush. And the second," The man's grin disappears, he looked serious. "Was assuming I was alone."

"Ah!!"

"Ugh!!"

Members of the Port Mafia were dropping one by one. They were getting hit by abilities left and right. Countless supernatural ability based attacks rain down as if the area is completely surrounded.

"You were right. The strength found in numbers is splendid indeed. Which is why I decided to found my own group. I though it might distract me from my boredom."

"Ah!"

I suddenly feel a striking pain in my back. I fall to the ground it pain.

"Shiori!"

Dazai was instantly by my side. The large shadow gets darker and darker as the headquarters continues to plummet towards us. I look up at Dazai, who's watching the building.

"...Who would of thought the Pale Qilin would be this powerful...?"

The man stood up.

"I've grown tired of that name. I'm Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, the explosion that will end this war. The bringer of death who'll end all of the massacres. This is the grand final. I beg you, don't leave me yearning for more..."

"Hahaha..."

I think Dazai lost his mind.

"This is getting interesting. Oh, I see... You too, huh? Well then, let's have fun, shall we?" he smiles.

And with that, the building crashes on top of the square.

~~~~Third Person P.O.V.~~~~

That day, every warring criminal organization watched as their center of business was destroyed. And they learned the name of their true enemy.

In the ensuing days, a search party rummaged through the wreckage of the building. Shiori's body was found badly injured but, Dazai's body was nowhere to be found...