Chapter Text
After such a meeting with his captor the detective felt himself calm down fully. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime Ranpo was not overrun with boredom, he was truly looking forward to the challenge of defeating such a mysterious and alluring man.
Falling asleep strangely was not a challenge, and he slept far better than ever. The environment surrounding him seemed to have been built specifically for him which felt comforting and somehow sweet. The room was not completely dark, as if the captor knew he had trouble sleeping in complete darkness.
It was hard, quite impossible even to figure out the current time or weather to measure just how long he had slept for, yet it was certainly more than six hours.
He woke up to a soft sound of knocking on the wooden door, followed by his captor walking inside. It was quite strange how he knocked despite obviously not respecting his privacy at all but complaining was useless. Poe walked in slowly, placing a tray with some food and water on a small chair.
"Thanks."
—The detective mumbled and sat up straight, looking at Poe, analyzing everything about him; his expression, clothing, movement. After a moment he reached for the tray and cautiously started eating the food. The author sat next to him.
"So, Ranpo-Kun.. How about you try solving this novel I wrote? I'm truly fascinated by your ability and it would be a great pleasure to see it in action!"
—Poe said almost yelling, his stoic and mysterious expression from before completely quickly broke and was replaced by almost childish excitement. His eyes sparkling with amazement as he leaned closer to the detective.
Nothing different from a kid meeting someone he idolizes.
Ranpo was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in behavior, he tilted his head in confusion. Did he really believe that his "ability" truly existed or did he just word it in such a way to suit him?
"Eh, a novel? Do you want me to fall asleep or what?"
—The detective said seemingly uninterested, backing away slowly to gain back his personal space. In reality although the prospect of a novel to solve piqued his interest he decided not to become too excited just yet. For Ranpo solving cases became somewhat mundane and mechanical recently, he did not even need to think much as the answers came almost automatically. Will this novel written by his captor be the same?
"I am glad you asked. It is an elaborate tale of fantasy, set in London, year 1809. The direct setting is a closed room with neither windows nor doors. It might seem incredibly simple but brace yourself as I kindly suspect it will cause you trouble."
—Poe said as his lips twisted into a dark smirk, letting out an amused chuckle, seemingly proud of his own genius.
"Tale of fantasy, hm.?"
—Ranpo mumbled to himself. Those were his solid favorites to solve as even tho they were predictable it was interesting to see the creative input of the author. His eyes lit up slightly as he looked up to face his rival with a cocky smile.
In reply, instead of words Poe handed him the unbinded manuscript that he was holding. The author's expression was one that could not hide the joy and excitement behind it.
As the detective slowly read through the manuscript he felt eyes on him, a gaze that simply could not bare the curiosity that Poe held as his masterpiece was being apprised by the only person whose opinion he held dear. For the author minutes felt like hours as he carefully analyzed his rival's every expression in hopes of catching anything that could give away his first impression.
The detective was absolutely mind-blown, with every word he carefully read he could feel subtle memories of what happened six years ago come back to him. This novel was like nothing he read before, the style was distinctly unique and the plot intriguing. Despite all that he managed to keep up his careless facade, only a twinkle in his eyes betraying him.
Yet all Poe could see was that after some time Ranpo finished reading and slowly with utmost care placed the manuscript back into his rival's hands.
Ranpo took a few minutes to think about the solution and then spoke up calmly but his voice showed that he was impressed.
"The murderer was the main character themselves."
Poe's eyes widened in shock as he heard his rival figure out the answer that quickly. How could that be possible?
"Impossible.. Six years of my life.. "
—He mumbled to himself in complete shock and fell on his knees.
It was as if the ground stumbled beneath his feet, no longer as kind as to hold him. Contrary to his usual knack for dramaticism, his reaction was far less than what was truly happening inside of his mind. The words inside his head were dwelling in such a way he could not withstand it. The embarrassment and despair he felt were beyond imagination. All those sleepless nights robbed of their dreams now felt wasted.
How was this possible?
What sort of intellect did his rival even possess?
Did he truly have an ability, despite what the records said?
The obsessive train of thoughts was slowly muffled with each word the detective said.
"The intellectual devices were much more beautiful than before. But I think you've met your match."
His voice was calm yet was accompanied by a little chuckle.
Those words added even more to the emotional rollercoaster the author was undergoing.
"So you do remember?"
—He asked quickly, not even bothering to hide any sort of emotions to act mysterious.
He felt himself breathless as if in this very moment, the words that Ranpo was about to say were much more important than oxygen to him.
"How could I forget about a mystery I cracked open? It must have been what, roughly six years from now.. and yet it feels as if it had been just yesterday. Our minds pitting against eachother in a battle of wits. It was the first time another detective gave me chills.. the last one too."
Those were the words the detective said calmly, as if reminiscing about what happened yet Poe could never in a million years expect such a thing. Did he truly not only remember but also regard him as a worthy rival? He could feel his heart start to race as he was unable to render any proper sentence, so he just stared at his rival in utter disbelief, his eyes full of adoration.
"I'm looking forward to another novel you come up with so make sure you work hard, 'kay?"
—The detective said with a chuckle yet he was completely serious, he could not wait for the day he could read another one of his novels once again.
If he wanted, Ranpo could easily come up with a way to leave, or persuade his rival to let him go as it was clear he didn't want to keep him there with force. He doubted the agency really thought he was dead either, it was quite obvious Dazai knew from the beginning but simply decided to leave him to solve it alone. Or perhaps he was busy with something, who knows?
Some time has passed, the two rivals just sitting there in silence, both immersed in their own thoughts.
"Hey, Poe? You never really technically kidnapped me, did you?
As he heard those words Poe avoided his gaze just for a second in embarrassment at being found out so easily.
"Ah.. I've been found out.."
He mumbled to himself and let out a sigh of annoyance.
Ranpo continued speaking, now fully confident in his claims.
"We are currently inside of your novel, the one you sent to me in secret as to avoid suspicion. That is why when I read through the novel you gave me your ability did not work, because I was already inside of it. That also roughly explains why the agency believed something so unlikely; me taking my own life as easily."
After he finished his sentence the room started glowing a golden light, the walls looked somewhat transparent as if nothing than a mirage. Everything around them started flying around the room, engulfed in golden light.
The Poe of this room let a smirk paint his face as he calmly said—
"Very well my dear rival, very well."
Soon he started glowing as well, only to dissapear into thin air short afterwards.
Before Ranpo could notice he was back inside of his office in the Armed Detective Agency headquarters. It seems no one around him even noticed he was gone so no more than an hour must have passed in the real world. The detective let out a sigh of relief and satisfaction. A smile painted his face as he walked back to his desk and sat down, only to fall asleep short after.
The author who was sitting in his own office the whole time noticed how the manuscript returned on his desk, meaning that Ranpo successfully made it out. He felt slightly dissapointed that the detective managed to best him once again but let out a sigh of relief that his dear rival wouldn't stay there forever.