Chapter 12

Rashomon and the Tiger (羅生門と虎,) is the 12th chapter of the Bungo Stray Dogs manga.

Summary
After making sure that Kyōka is safe, Atsushi tells Akutagawa that he will not let him get the bounty. Akutagawa replies that it doesn't bother him since he has no plans on giving Atsushi alive. Atsushi and Akutagawa begin their fierce battle. Atsushi tries to attack Akutagawa but manages to stop him using Rashomon. After successfully preventing Atsushi to attack him, Akutagawa restrains Atsushi and tells him that torture is not one of his hobbies, and therefore he can just take his head in one attack. Akutagawa then proceeds to tell Atsushi that he mistakingly assumed he was strong since he belongs to the detective agency but it was just mere coincidence and luck that brought them to him. Atsushi then agrees that he is weak but he has one talent which is to defeat Akutagawa

Atsushi frees himself from Akutagawa's restrain by making his arms go back to normal. He then begins to attack Akutagawa. Akutagawa manages to dodge Atsushi's attacks again. Atsushi tries to attack again but this time, Akutagawa floats himself in the air making it difficult for Atsushi to attack him. Akutagawa then begins to attack Atsushi from above. Atsushi tries to engage in a close range but ends up being thrown on the ground by Rashomon's force. After seeing the huge explosion from the attack, Akutagawa sees that the boat will sink and decided to deploy a lifeboat.

However, Atsushi manages to escape fast and able to sneak behind Akutagawa using debris from the explosion to get closer to Akutagawa. Atsushi landed a punch on Akutagawa's face which caused him to spit blood. A flashback is shown where Dazai is giving a lecture to Akutagwa when it comes to fighting. Back to the fight, after making Akutagawa lose consciousness, Atsushi suffering from too many wounds approached Kyoka and decides to get her back to Kunikida. Just as he was about to approach Kyoka, he was attacked by Akutagawa from behind and being angry at Atsushi. Akutagawa then asks Atsushi why does it have to be him saying that Atsushi's skill is just a decorative blade and his tactics are full of openings.

Akutagawa then rages that he doesn't want Dazai to say anything like "My new boy is far more talented than you ever were." to him ever again. Akutagawa continues to attack Atsushi and crushes him in the air. After the attack, Akutagawa ponders on what does killing Atsushi even do. Just as he was about to leave, Atsushi speaks and asks why he used Demon Snow since Akutagawa alone is strong. Akutagawa responds that Demon Snow is a skill for slaughter and he is not using her, he is giving her some value. Atsushi then stands up and tells Akutagawa that it is not up to him to decide who is worth living. Akutagawa attacks again Atsushi. Atsushi proceeds to ask why he doesn't talk to Kyoka in another way.

Atsushi grabs the Rashomon and tells Akutagawa that people can't live on unless they are told, "it's okay to go on." and asks Akutagawa why he cannot understand that. Atsushi attacks and Akutagawa evades. Akutagawa attacks again and Atsushi manages to stop it by tearing the Rashomon. Akutagawa attacks Atsushi using Rashomon Sawarabi. Atsushi manages to escape again but was attacked by Rashomon Gokumon Agito. Atsushi grabs Akutagawa using the tiger's tail and manages to punch Akutagawa repeatedly. Ultimately, Atsushi wins the battle and sends Akutagawa flying into the sea.

Kyoka assisted Atsushi in escaping the ship. Atsushi and Kyouka are then rescued by Kunikida. Meanwhile, Dazai goes into the Mafia archives and is shocked when he discovers who put the bounty on Atsushi's head: a group of American ability users called The Guild, who is working with two other ability user groups called the Order of the Clock Tower, led by Dame Agatha Christie, and the Rats in the House of the Dead, led by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Since their plan failed, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, leader of The Guild, decides to head to Japan and capture the man-tiger before anyone else does.

Chapter Notes

 * The Guild was introduced.
 * Rats in the House of the Dead was introduced.