Chapter 87

Hero vs. Criminal, Part 4 (HERO VS CRIMINAL 其の肆,) is the 87th chapter of the Bungo Stray Dogs manga.

Summary
After trying to convince Akutagawa to join forces with him, Fukuchi compliments him for apparently accepting his offer, remarking how they are indeed quite similar to each other. Atsushi chides Akutagawa for choosing such option, as if placing his own life over their mission. Akutagawa tells him that he does not fear death itself but dying without earning Dazai's acknowledgement. Especially because he does not have long left due to his lung disease, Akutagawa asserts that he shall use such time not to disappoint Dazai. Atsushi understands his situation and readies himself to fight Akutagawa.

As Akutagawa subtly apologizes to him, they both run toward each other, which turns out to be a feint against Fukuchi. They switch positions, and Akutagawa clads Atsushi with Rashomon to enhance his tiger claws. Launching a perfect surprise attack on Fukuchi, Atsushi severs both of Fukuchi's arms and kills him. Atsushi implores him not to die yet, but rather to announce the Agency's innocence to the public.

In his dying breath, Fukuchi wonders when the heavens shall finally let him end his mission. Atsushi leans towards Fukuchi and realizes that he is now dead. He then retrieves the page from Fukuchi's pocket, and Akutagawa states that their mission has now been finished. Akutagawa notices that Atsushi seems cross after defeating their enemy; Atsushi merely recalls Fukuchi's final words. He suddenly remembers Fukuchi's space–time sword and wonders what it was slashing when he launched his earlier attack on Fukuchi at the last minute.

As he ponders on Fukuchi's very unlikely character of letting the two of them leave unscathed and unwounded, time reverts back from when Atsushi and Akutagawa were running toward each other. Despite getting caught up in a supposedly perfect surprise attack, Fukuchi severs Atsushi's right arm and slashes Akutagawa. Shocked as to how their seamless collaborative attack has been seemingly anticipated easily, Atsushi questions Fukuchi on what he did at such a critical moment.

Fukuchi retorts that he has long been in the battlefield for countless times and has helped avert numerous crises in the past all thanks to Shintō Amenogozen. Even in the presence of powerful ability users and fiends, his space–time sword allows him not only to cross dimensions in space but also in time. In other words, as long as Fukuchi has Shintō Amenogozen, no manner of defeat shall possibly befall him, since he can easily have Shintō Amenogozen cut into the past from the future of his defeat and rewrite it into inevitable victory in the "new" past. Atsushi and Akutagawa finally realize the tenacity of the enemy they have attempted to fight, on whom no tactics nor military forces – not even possibly Ranpo's nor Dazai's strategic intellects – might prevail against.

Fukuchi asks them to state their final words before killing them, to which Akutagawa responds that he now finally knows what to say in the face of death: he merely needs to choose action rather than words. Manifesting Rashōmon using his shirt, he forces out the ship's fire extinguisher from below and hurls it towards Fukuchi, enabling him and Atsushi to escape. However, Fukuchi cuts through time once again with Shintō Amenogozen, letting him anticipate Akutagawa's misdirection attack prior to their escape and slashes the fire extinguisher. Approaching the defenseless Akutagawa, Fukuchi commends him for choosing action over words in such a critical moment, after which he slashes Akutagawa by the neck.

Abilities

 * Mirror Lion
 * Rashomon
 * Beast Beneath the Moonlight

Battles

 * Atsushi Nakajima and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa vs. Ōchi Fukuchi (continuation)

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
 * Atsushi Nakajima
 * Ōchi Fukuchi
 * Osamu Dazai (cameo)
 * Ranpo Edogawa (mentioned)