Chapter Text
Ranpo ran as fast as his legs could carry him; he'd dropped his drink a couple minutes ago, but he wasn't at all worried about that right now. Instead, he was focused on getting as far away as possible from the man in the café.
He panted heavily when he reached the café below the Agency. Pushing open the door, he waved at the waitress before heading upstairs, still attempting to catch his breath.
He calmed himself a bit before opening the door to the Armed Detective Agency. Atsushi looked up from his desk before smiling at him and waving; Kunikida gave no acknowledgement, focused on his work as usual; Dazai was laying on the couch, playing with a paper airplane that looked like it had been made of some important paperwork that he didn't give two shits about. Ranpo sighed. The day at the Agency seemed so unsettlingly.. normal, considering what had just happened in the restaurant a few blocks away.
Reaching into his pocket, Ranpo pulled out a single lollipop, unwrapping it and sticking it into his mouth as he walked over to his desk. He acted as natural as possible; although it wasn't easy, his coworkers seemed to be fooled by his facade. He sat down at his desk, propping his feet up on it and pulling out his phone to play a rhythm game.
No sooner than his phone had dinged 'Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!' , did a door slam open. Yosano's infirmary door, no less.
Ranpo jumped at the sudden noise, looking up from his phone. Yosano was standing over him.
"Ranpo," she muttered, "Fukuzawa wants you in his office."
Ranpo raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why?"
Yosano sighed. "To discuss what happened today," she said a-matter-of-factly.
Ranpo let out a silent 'ohhhh.'
"Okay, I guess I have to," he sighed, getting up from his seat and putting his phone in his pocket before making his way over to Fukuzawa's office.
He opened the door gingerly, looking into the room. Fukuzawa was sat at his desk, looking at something on his laptop, but he glanced up as soon as the door opened.
"Ranpo, come in," he invited, waving to the couch he'd put in his office.
Ranpo obeyed, stepping into the room, closing the door and sitting down on the sofa.
"So," Fukuzawa began, clasping his hands together with furrowed eyebrows, "I've been informed that there is someone.. stalking you."
Ranpo nodded, looking down at his feet. "I'm not sure how I hadn't noticed it until today. I think.. I saw the guy in the café I went to today, but I'm not sure."
Fukuzawa quirked up one of his eyebrows. "What makes you say that?" he queried.
Ranpo looked up at him, fear shining in his eyes. "He was staring at me. Right at me. He had this.. creepy aura about him, too. It felt like he had.." Ranpo took a shaky breath. "It felt like he had intentions with me that weren't good. He also had a raccoon with him.. the raccoon was staring at me too." His hands started to tremble. "If it's not him.. I'm not sure who it could be. I don't think I've ever been so sure of something in my entire life."
Fukuzawa nodded, taking a notebook out from under his desk and opening it. He held a pen in his right hand. "Okay. Could you please tell me the appearance of this man? And, his name, if you were able to pick it up?"
Ranpo nodded shakily. "Yeah.. I think his name was, umm.. Poe?" Fukuzawa wrote it down quickly. "He doesn't look like he's from around here.. he's freakishly tall, like, six feet. And he wears heels. As if he wasn't tall and creepy enough already.." he muttered.
Fukuzawa nodded and hummed. "Go on. More about his appearance, please."
Ranpo put a hand to his chin. "Uhh.. he was pretty skinny, like, skinnier than the Port Mafia's black dog skinny. He had dark hair, kind of a blend of brown and purple, that fell over his eyes and covered them completely. He also wore a black cape. Super pale, too, like a vampire," he responded.
Fukuzawa nodded again, writing everything Ranpo said down. "Anything else?" he asked, looking up at Ranpo.
Ranpo shook his head. "No, that's all," he replied.
Fukuzawa nodded once more. "Alright. You're dismissed for the day," he told him. "Make sure you keep your phone on you at all times, alright? If anything happens, we need to know."
Ranpo nodded agreement. "Okay. I, um.." he swallowed nervously. "I'll.. go home later. I'd rather not go alone right now."
Fukuzawa smiled at him. "That's fine. You can stay until we close for the day," he replied. "Since you and Yosano live relatively close to each other, I'd recommend going home when she does and having her walk you there."
"Yeah, I'll do that," Ranpo responded, smiling back at Fukuzawa. "Thank you."
Fukuzawa got up from his desk, heading over to where Ranpo was sat before he kneeled down and wrapped him in a hug. "Any time you need to talk, I'm here," he murmured. "Don't leave anything out. I need to know what's going on so we can handle this situation, alright?"
Ranpo nodded, returning the hug. "Ya know, you act a lot like a dad sometimes. Is that intentional, or is it just.. you?"
Fukuzawa broke the hug, shrugging. "I'm not sure. I suppose I'm protective over you and Yosano the most; you were both so young when we founded the Agency."
Ranpo nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense," he agreed. He sighed, leaning his head back on the sofa. "I'll stay in here until it's time to go. Hope that's okay."
Fukuzawa got back onto his feet. "Of course. Just make sure your games don't make too much noise while I'm working."
Ranpo groaned sarcastically. "Fineee," he muttered.
Fukuzawa huffed in amusement. He sat back down at his desk, looking back at his computer and continuing his paperwork. Ranpo pulled out his phone again, this time with the earbuds he'd stuffed into his pocket, and booted up Colorful Stage again.
Poe sat on a bench outside the Agency building, reading a book called The Place of No Stars. It was by an author he'd been a fan of for several years, so much so that he'd collected over forty books by them.
He looked up from his book at Karl. "I wonder when his work day is over," he whispered. "I'd like to follow him home." He smiled unsettlingly, excitement building in his chest. Karl chirped in reply.
He looked back down at his book, giggling silently to himself. The sun was beginning to go down; he knew Ranpo's work day was bound to end soon, and he felt almost giddy at the thought of following him home undetected.
The bell on the door to the building rang, indicating that someone was leaving. He hid his face in his book, peeking over it ever-so-slightly to see who it was. His smile widened with his eyes as he saw Ranpo. He was with a girl, but that was no problem... he would follow them anyway.
He waited a few moments before getting up and following them, making sure to hide himself in the shadows nearby to avoid being detected.
A shiver of excitement ran up his spine. He'd get Ranpo soon enough.