Chapter Text
Ranpo and Chuuya got out of the cab as it pulled up to Shinko Pier. The sun beat down on them, shining in Ranpo’s eyes. Ranpo took the lead, walking with certainty to a small building located near the water. A small bell jingled when he pushed open the door.
An old man sat on a stool behind the counter. He was reading a newspaper…a newspaper about the recent events. His eyes flickered up at the sound of the bell and landed on Ranpo. Recognition flashed across his face. The old man looked down at the paper, then quickly looked back up.
“Can I get the list of ships that have docked here in the last month?”
“Y-yes. Of course, one second,” the man said, opening a drawer and flipping through a few files before grabbing one and handing it over. “Here you are.”
His eyes cracked open a bit while he flipped through the pages.
Hmm, not these; they’re too small. Not these either; they have a government-registered company. On one of the pages, he paused. Registered under a casino company was a large cruise ship, located at the last docking terminal. Its location was also further away, making it less likely for people to investigate. Plus Ace was a gambler, so maybe… Ranpo closed the file and handed it back to the old man.
“Let’s go,” Ranpo said to Chuuya as he walked to the door once again.
“WHAT? Care to explain first?” Chuuya questioned.
“Nope, too much work. Just follow along and do what you usually do,” Ranpo dismissed.
Chuuya looked as if he wanted to say something back, but instead clamped his mouth shut, only giving Ranpo a glare, which he promptly ignored.
The smell of the sea was sickening. The sun was too bright. The wind was too loud. It felt like his senses were getting assaulted. Ranpo exhaled a long sigh and started walking towards the docking area.
The walk to the ship was silent; not a word was exchanged between the two. Ranpo noticed multiple small ships with storage containers. They had a faint smell of illegal drugs, but it wasn’t his problem. When they finally stopped at the looming ship, they looked up. The ship looked almost peaceful, but something didn’t sit right with Ranpo. It was too peaceful. Too quiet… Shouldn’t there be people maintaining the ship regularly? If not, would Fyodor really just abandon a ship?
“This should be it. Can I go back now?” Ranpo asked, a little annoyed. His eyes once again cracked open, scanning for signs of danger.
“I guess…just give me a minute while I contact Mori to send someone to ge-” Once again, Chuuya was interrupted. By a bullet landing at his feet.
“That was a warning. I suggest you leave this ship alone. If you don’t…well, I wouldn’t mind having a bit of fun,” a man said, jumping off the ship, followed by a small group, all pointing their weapons at Ranpo and Chuuya. “Or actually, maybe I’ll kill you anyway. I’m quite bored today, anyway. Fyodor-sama hasn’t sent any instructions in a while.”
But before the man could say anything else, a loud bang sounded, and the man dropped to his knees, unmoving. The group behind the fallen man stood frozen in shock. Chuuya spun around to see Ranpo pointing a still-smoking gun at where the man once stood. His expression was the same blankness as before. Not a trace of remorse could be found in the young detective’s eyes. Ranpo fired another shot, and another person dropped at his feet. It reminded Chuuya of a certain somebody from four years ago. But he couldn’t worry about that. After the second person dropped, everyone else fired at the detective.
But the detective simply stood there, lifting his gun and pointing at another person.
The ginger mafioso quickly jumped into the fight, his ability activating and the air around him slightly condensed.
“ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?” Chuuya yelled, moving to stop the bullets from reaching Ranpo. He swiftly kicked the bullets back at the people who fired. Blood splattered everywhere, landing on Ranpo’s clothes.
“Does it matter? You stopped them anyway,” Ranpo responded, looking down at his clothing that was turning crimson as the blood soaked in.
“YES! IT DOES! What if I didn’t stop them? What is going on?”
Before Ranpo could say something snappy back, a familiar sound of clicking heels caught his attention. Ranpo turned to see Yosano, followed by Kunikida, standing behind them, staring at the pool of blood beneath Ranpo’s feet and the gun he still held in his hands.
Looks of horror were written on both of their faces. They would’ve never expected to see their cheerful detective kill.
Cracks formed in Ranpo’s mask once again as he looked at his old colleagues, but the expression on his face remained the same. He could feel a piece inside him trying to push out and yell that he had to, that this was not his wish but the Port Mafia’s. But deep down he also knew that the mafia never actually did tell him to kill anyone.
“Ranpo-san…what…why?” Kunikida asked.
Yosano remained motionless, still staring at the blood. Her expression was full of questions and fear.
Don’t they understand? The mafia requires killing. HE was in the mafia now. He’s doing things for them! It wasn’t his fault! So why are they looking at him as if he were a monster? Why? Why? WHY! Why could no one understand it?
A single tear fell from Ranpo’s eyes. He wanted to hug Yosano, to say that he missed her, but his expression remained blank. He wondered: what if…he just jumped into the water at that moment? He didn’t want to see their horrified faces any longer.
Just then, Dazai ran out from behind them. He glanced at the scene and immediately understood what had happened. He gave Ranpo a knowing look before whispering something to Yosano and Kunikida. With a bit of hesitation, the two turned around, glancing back every once in a while as they walked away.
“We’re here to investigate some smuggling routes. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Fukuzawa won’t hear about this,” Dazai said.
Ranpo nodded. At least someone knew what was going on.
“The smuggling ships you’re looking for are on the second dock,” Ranpo stated, absently turning back to a concerned Chuuya.