Chapter Text
Poe had his moments. The times when things just “clicked,” and everything worked perfectly, or at least good enough. Times where Poe could predict, almost without fault, what could or would happen. He wasn’t stupid.
This was not one of those times.
He blinked. Demon Snow blinked back.
Alright, maybe Poe hadn’t been thinking, and maybe he could have been a bit more prepared, but what was he supposed to do when he was told Kyouka might be in danger!? Sit there and plan?
(Yes, actually. It wasn’t even a “she’s in danger!” It was, “she might be in danger.”)
In his defense, he didn’t know about the ability user. He didn’t know there was one, much less what their ability was. He just got to the warehouse she'd been assigned to, armed with some throwing knives and small guns, and ran in.
It wasn’t an empty warehouse, so he still had some cover behind boxes and crates. Enough cover to remain hidden as he watched Kyouka stumble, and (whom he assumed to be the) target shove her to the side, light flashing as he made contact with her skin. Poe rushed out then, realizing the target was going to make a break for the entrance closer to where he was, but they were in front of him before he knew it.
They were in front of them before they knew it too.
In a moment of shock, Poe remembered what little he knew of hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, like the hand-to-hand combatant he clearly was, he… slapped them. Right across the face.
Not his best move.
The second his palm made contact with their target’s cheek, there was another flash of light. Something was different about this one, though, and the look on their target’s face was one of pure shock.
“Poe!” He heard Kyouka shout from behind him, and Poe remembered that slapping them was probably not enough to successfully detain them.
As quickly as he could, he stuck his leg out behind their target, swiping towards him with enough force to send them falling to their knees. Poe was beginning to doubt they were trained. It was a little embarrassing. Not that he wasn't embarrassing himself at the same time.
He pinned them to the floor fast enough, holding their wrists (and making sure they were covered by the fabric of their shirt) before turning to look at Kyouka. Help would be coming any minute, but he was still grateful she didn’t look hurt. To be honest, he still wasn’t sure what the ability had done. It seemed to affect them both, so maybe they needed concentration to pull it off? Or it didn’t affect him for some reason?
Despite his worry, he sent Kyouka a faint smile. Her eyes softened, but quickly she straightened, alert, and glanced past him in the direction of the warehouse's entrance. There, Kunikida, not bothering to disguise himself at all, was basically waltzing into the warehouse with a… ah, that made sense. Dazai was right behind him. Kunikida always liked to get things done as fast as possible when the brunette was involved (which was often, seeing as they were work partners). Poor Kunikida.
“Did you apprehend him?” Kunikida yelled into the warehouse. Hopefully he was already fairly certain they had, or else Poe would be a little bit worried for the agency’s stealth abilities.
“Y-Yes! We’re over here,” Poe shouted back, cringing a bit when his voice cracked.
“I told you, Kunikida~” Dazai sang from the entrance, with that slightly threatening intonation (that probably wasn’t as threatening to most people as it was to Poe) that made him want to immediately bolt.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Dazai (as much as he really didn’t want to admit it, they’d grown a bit closer in the past months), but Poe hadn’t exactly… followed instructions. Actually, maybe Dazai would be proud of him for that. It didn’t seem like he ever did either.
Kunikida found them rather quickly, despite all of the crates separating them from the door, and the target made no effort to resist. Poe felt a little bad. At Kunikida’s signal, he stepped up, allowing the blonde to apprehend the criminal in a way that aligned with the law. ...His bad. Dazai followed soon after.
“Poe,” Kunikida began, but Poe was already bowing low.
“I’m so sorry, oh my god, I don’t know what I was thinking I just–”
“Poe, it’s fine,” Kunikida pinched the bridge of his nose. Poe was ready to apologize again when–
“What?”
He left the ADA immediately to follow Kyouka when he learned that there was a new danger. He hadn’t even stayed to find out what the danger was!
Kyouka moved to stand next to him, nervously curling herself into his side. (She was a lot more physically affectionate these days, and Poe always preened, just a bit, knowing she felt comfortable around him enough to show it.) And considering he may or may not have left Karl in the office, it was nice to have her at his side. He absentmindedly patted her head as he listened to Kunikida speak again.
“I understand why you did it, just in the future, please be more careful.”
“What happened?” Kyouka asked quietly, and Kunikida just sighed again. Not at her, but at their situation. They were all used to Kunikida’s various sighs. Dazai usually tried to make a guessing game out of them.
“We received information about an extra threat in the area, which wasn’t included in the briefing. It was a possible trap, which we mentioned to Poe as we were deciding a way to come get you, but he left before we could say anything else.”
Poe smiled nervously. He would probably overthink it later, but that was a problem for future him. Right?
“But,” Poe frowned, “What was so dangerous?”
Kunikida froze, and Dazai grinned widely from next to him, “The ability user?”
...Oh. Considering the previous flashes of light, that did make sense.
Another sigh (the unfortunately-Dazai-is-right-but-probably-coming-from-a-place-of-mischief-sigh), and then Kunikida pointed to the apprehended criminal, “You didn’t come into contact with him, did you?”
Poe winced, “We both did. I, uh, slapped him.”
Kyouka nodded next to him, “I did too, but I feel fine. I’m not hurt.”
Kunikida grimaced, looking about two minutes away from needing a break and a very, very long nap, “Poe, would you activate your ability?”
“My ability? I have a book on me, but is there a reason–”
“Don’t take the book out,” Dazai grinned, “Just act like you were going to use it.”
That didn’t make any sense, but they probably had a reason for asking for it. Well, Dazai might have been pranking him, but if Kunikida was involved, there was probably an actual reason. Poe closed his eyes and activated his ability, though it was definitely an odd sensation. Almost akin to trying to turn on a machine without looking at it. But it worked, and he looked up to find–
Demon Snow, staring back at him.
He turned to Kyouka, who looked just as confused as he felt, “Did you do that?”
She shook her head.
“Did I do that?” he asked next, and to his defense, he did later admit it was a stupid question. Who else would have done it?
Demon Snow nodded.
Dazai leaned down without much fanfare and tapped on the captured ability user, who had… passed out? Demon Snow didn’t disappear.
Alright, not his best moment.
***
They made their way back to the agency as a group, handing off the target to the police, and Poe took the opportunity to think to himself. There was only one logical conclusion, no matter how unlikely it sounded. Really, was anything that unlikely when it came to ability users?
An ability–swapping ability.
The user didn’t look experienced. If they were, they didn’t fight like it. They seemed just as surprised that it happened as he did. Given that the light only flashed when they made contact, it was likely it was an uncontrollable ability that was activated through touch. And Poe and Kyouka had just been there, a complete coincidence.
Given that their original abilities weren’t back, even though Dazai touched the user, it was safe to assume it wasn’t a conscious ability. Once it happened, it stayed like that.
So either they had a timer, or it would never–
They had a timer.
Not that he didn’t like Demon Snow! He enjoyed her company, and she seemed to enjoy his. But Demon Snow was Kyouka’s ability, someone who was extremely important and special to her. He couldn’t take her away from Kyouka. And even then, what about his own ability? Not nearly as important, but still critical to his identity as an author.
No. He took a deep breath, urging his thoughts to not immediately run to the worst possible option. He was working on that, at least. He learned breathing exercises at the agency from Atsushi for his anxiety, who apparently learned them from Yosano. He supposed it made sense, she was a doctor, even if she was an unorthodox one. They helped a lot, if he could remember to do them.
Kyouka squeezed his hand from where she stood, walking silently. Oh. It was likely she was as stuck in her head as he was in his. That wouldn’t do.
“We’ll get this fixed,” he promised, and was slightly relieved to see her relax. While most people might not be able to tell, Poe spent enough time with her to notice when she was upset. “Do you want me to summon her?”
Kyouka nodded, and Poe looked up to where Dazai and Kunikida were walking ahead of them. Making no signs of stopping until they reached their destination, he activated that same somewhat familiar feeling, like reaching for something in the dark, except that thing was just as eager to come to you as you were to it. He was sure some abilities were harder to control, but it matched up to what Kyouka said about Demon Snow being the one to protect her. It was likely she was easier to summon because she knew when she was needed it was an emergency.
Demon Snow floated next to Kyouka, tapping her lightly on the nose as they fell into a comfortable pace. Kyouka scrunched up her face in response, and Poe stifled his laughter. Clearly not enough, because she gave a glare from his side, and Demon Snow patted her shoulder placatingly.
Poe didn’t know much about Demon Snow. She was, to his surprise, fairly helpful outside of battle. She woke up Kyouka in the mornings, and Poe knew she sometimes turned off the lights when Kyouka was too tired to at night. It was really sweet, honestly.
He also knew Kyouka was on a quest to make her feel included, not only like an ability to be used and discarded. She nervously explained to Poe that she wanted Demon Snow to be comfortable, not just useful, and Poe had agreed immediately. So, more often than not, she floated next to Kyouka as she read her books, or helped reach things off of shelves when they all cooked together. He had no idea what the logistics of Demon Snow’s abilities were (could she be far away from Kyouka? Could she “learn” or acquire new talents?) but eventually, he resolved to treat her like another roommate. Karl was a bit nervous around her at first, but by now he would curl up on her lap whenever she was summoned. (Did she have a lap if she didn’t have a lower body? He’d given up on questioning it.)
For that reason, he’d become rather comfortable in her presence. The same could not be said for the rest of the agency. Granted, Demon Snow was weary around Dazai (and Poe couldn’t fault her judgment), but her brooding nature (and probably her sword) led many of the agency’s members to avoid her. Kenji, however, was a saint and immediately included Demon Snow in his and Kyouka’s card games. Demon Snow became somewhat of a “babysitter” as a result, which Poe found to be a little funny. However, he was also technically a babysitter, so he couldn’t say too much on the matter.
Ranpo got used to her pretty quickly too, his deduction abilities being useful with the whole Demon Snow can’t talk issue. Of course, Poe was plenty used to people who preferred to stay silent, but Ranpo and Demon Snow sometimes had full conversations through gestures and nods. It was fun to watch, and Kyouka would sit next to him while they tried to figure out what Demon Snow they were "talking" about.
When they got to the cafe, Poe was immediately pushed aside so Lucy could check Kyouka for injuries. She'd gotten a lot closer to Kyouka over the months, which was nice to see, and she only giggled when Lucy prodded her cheek.
“I’m doing just fine, thanks,” he muttered, a fake annoyance in his voice. Lucy rolled her eyes.
“Good for you. Except I don’t care,” Kyouka smiled again at his gasp of mock-offense. She always found them entertaining, for some reason. “Karl tried to break into the kitchen while you were gone. He’s upstairs in raccoon-jail now.”
Poe winced. Karl had a tendency, like Poe’s boyfriend, to go for anything sweet. Unfortunately, unlike his boyfriend, Karl wasn’t very smart about it. He ended up in raccoon-jail a good portion of the time now. They had a little red basket in the agency specifically for him, and Karl would always huff and puff until someone (usually either Poe or Kyouka, but sometimes Atsushi or Ranpo) snuck him out.
Lucy patted Kyouka’s head one last time before going back behind the counter, and Poe and Kyouka made their way upstairs. The moment they entered the Agency, they were met with the sight of a very concerned Atsushi, an excited Kenji, and one Ranpo who happened to be laughing so hard his lungs probably hurt. Nice to see he cared for their well-being.
“Kyouka!” Kenji jumped off the desk and skipped towards them, “Did you really get Poe’s ability? Can you make a book?”
Kyouka nodded, and Poe left them to talk while he walked over to Ranpo. Kenji always had a way of making Kyouka feel better. He, in the meantime, had to check in with everyone else. Demon Snow reappeared as he walked. She didn’t like the cramped feeling of the cafe, so she usually opted to reappear in the agency if they were just passing through.
“Poe?” Atsushi looked concerned (although that wasn’t exactly uncommon), “Are you alright?”
Poe nodded, hoping to ease some of his worry, “I’m fine, thank you. It doesn’t hurt, and Demon Snow is content to stay with Kyouka.”
Atsushi smiled back in relief, “That’s good. I was worried when you just disappeared!”
He blushed, “Oh, um, sorry about that.”
“Well, I knew you were going to, so I just think this is funny,” Ranpo cut in. Poe sighed in a fake exasperation (he would never get tired of Ranpo’s deductions) as the detective leaned up to kiss him on the cheek placatingly. Dazai made a dramatic gagging gesture in response.
“So,” Poe started, opting to ignore the display in front of him, “If you already knew, then that means it isn’t permanent, right?”
“Nope! It’ll barely take a few days for you both to go back to normal.”
“Ranpo,” Kunikida gave him a look, “Why can’t you be clear like that whenever we have cases to solve?”
“Because I don't care about cases.”
Atsushi just smiled awkwardly as Kunikida threw his hands in the air and walked back to his desk, where a pile of paperwork (that very clearly came from the now empty spot on Dazai’s desk) was beginning to teeter back and forth. He didn’t seem to notice the new documents and began to fill out the papers with vigor.
This was fine. As long as it was temporary, and Kyouka wasn’t upset, he could get through a few days without his ability.
It was just a few days. How bad could it be?
***
Bad, apparently.
Demon Snow was a protective ability, one that responded to its user’s emotions and thoughts. That was fine for Kyouka, who was rarely afraid, and only needed her during battles or for company.
It was not fine for Poe, who was known to startle from his own shadow.
As a result, Demon Snow made a variety of appearances in times where she probably should not have, including inside a grocery store, in a suspect’s house, in their kitchen at 3 in the morning, and most notably, in a veterinarian’s office. The last one almost got him arrested for unregistered ability use, and it was likely he would have been detained had Ranpo not showed up and sassed the woman for ten minutes straight before saying he was under ADA protection. He could have simply said that from the beginning, but Ranpo was Ranpo.
Unfortunately, they had to reschedule Karl’s appointment.
(Karl certainly wasn’t disappointed.)
***
In the end, while Kyouka was taken off of her field-cases, they didn’t really notice the change. Demon Snow appeared of her own volition more often than not, so he never really had to summon her. She came and went as she pleased. Kyouka tried his ability with that same adventure book they’d first read together, which was entertaining because they spent their time finding every literal plot hole in the story, appearing as little pockets of nothingness in the otherwise lush and green setting. Then, they remembered that time was warped under his ability, and figured they would be best spending their time in the real world while they waited for their abilities to return to their rightful users. It was probably safer, anyway. Even he couldn't claim to completely understand Black Cat in the Rue Morgue.
Ranpo bargained his way into their movie night with a new rabbit plushie, which was apparently all that Kyouka needed to decide he was alright after all. (At least, he hoped that was all the bribe was. He could never really know with them.) When she dug through their closet for blankets, she even gave Ranpo the nicer one. Honestly, he was shocked.
About half-way through their movie, Ranpo blinked and frowned before unceremoniously taking the remote and hitting the pause button.
Kyouka turned quickly, a (slightly worrying) malice in her eyes, because to her, that was a crime to surpass all crimes. Even Poe didn’t dare touch the remote when there was a movie on.
Ranpo didn’t seem to notice (though he obviously did, because he was Ranpo, so he was instead electing to ignore it). Bored, he announced, “Your abilities are back.”
The bloodlust behind Kyouka’s eyes instantly turned to excitement, her smile hesitant but anticipating as she immediately called for Demon Snow. The ability appeared instantly, patting her lightly on the head, and Kyouka gave a relieved laugh that seemed to surprise her as much as any of them.
“Sorry,” she said quickly, “Your ability isn’t bad. It’s just–”
“Not the same,” Poe finished, nodding. “I think that’s natural, honestly. It’s your ability, after all.”
She nodded, smiling softly, before jolting as Karl lept into her bowl of popcorn.
“Fuck,” she muttered, staring at the popcorn now scattered across the carpet. She fished Karl out of the bowl, where he'd been curled up and eating the kernels, before giving him a stern stare.
Poe, however, was focused on a different thing.
Did she just… swear?
“Who taught you that?” he asked, and Kyouka paused. After a moment, she seemed to remember what she'd said, and she flushed before averting her eyes guiltily. Ranpo cackled in response, and it clicked. Poe whipped his head towards him.
“Did you seriously teach my little sister to
swear?”
"She's fourteen!" Ranpo argued.
The movie was abandoned in the end, as Kyouka tried not to laugh at Poe hitting Ranpo with one of the throw pillows. It was far more entertaining, in her opinion.