Archive of Our Own

It was a rather cold afternoon, much colder than you would expect from summer midday in Yokohama. Poe observed the passersby from the inside of a coffee shop, seeing all kinds of people walk past. It was a calming sight, and he was glad to be safely inside, free of having to interact and be in the presence of strangers. He already struggled enough in finding the right words to say to the barista when ordering his drink, despite having planned out exactly what he wanted hours in advance.

Karl was resting on Poe’s lap, which was unlike his usual self, as he would normally cradle himself on Poe’s nape instead. The noise of customers speaking to each other and coffee being brewed made it difficult for him to concentrate. It was bothersome, enough to make Poe want to return home and crawl back into bed, but he already got involved in having to hang out with Ranpo on the weekends, and the last thing he would want is to disappoint the one person he considers a friend.

He nervously tapped the finial of his fountain pen on the table, thinking of ways to make the mystery more complex, but his thoughts were cut off abruptly when he heard the sound of wind chimes ringing from the entrance, along with a familiar voice. “Poe-kun! What a coincidence! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Ranpo said cheerily, running over to Poe who had sheltered himself in the corner of the cafe.

Poe looked at him strangely, but Ranpo didn’t seem to acknowledge it. “Coincidence? You’re the one who told me to meet up with you here. Did you forget.. again?” Poe didn’t bother concealing that it depressed him, not that Ranpo ever noticed. For a man blessed with unparalleled intellect in problem-solving and critical thinking, he left much to be desired in his social skills, but then again, Poe wasn’t much different in that sense.

“Oh right! I was wondering why I was going here, I don’t even like coffee. Come on, there’s this new candy shop that opened a few blocks down but Yosano-san doesn’t wanna take me!” Ranpo’s constantly animated nature never ceased to surprise. It was difficult to deal with at times, but it was also refreshing almost, Poe always found comfort in his bright smile.

Poe scooted over to stand up from the booth chair and packed his notebook and pen into his satchel, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt so the strap of the bag wouldn’t create marks on his skin. The bag was made of expensive leather; it had gold buckles engraved with unique patterns and a raccoon pin that seemed out-of-place on it. Before he could savor the last few ounces of coffee left in his cup, Ranpo held him by the wrist and tugged on it lightly. “Hurry up already!” Ranpo said, dragging him along.

They arrived at the candy shop in a surprisingly short amount of time, though at the cost of Poe being completely exhausted—bent over and gasping for air. Karl seemed to have no problems, having remained perched upon Poe’s shoulder the entire sprint. He was a sweaty and tired mess, regretting ever having come outside of his mansion.

He took a seat on a bench near the candy shop so that he could rest, letting Ranpo go ahead inside without him. The candy shop was full of young children and their parents, but that didn’t stop the 26-year-old detective from shamelessly entering and searching through all their products. He looked as if he was exactly where he belonged, his gaze so intently examining every piece of candy inside; he looked even more excited to be there than most of the children were.

Poe found it inspiring almost, how carefree and simple Ranpo could be in a world full of conflict, and how strange it was for him to even become friends with the man in the first place. They were opposites, and yet, very much the same. “The genius detective and the capricious author, who would’ve thought,” he said fondly, a soft smile lighting up his gloomy expression.

Ranpo rushed outside the store, a bag filled with candy in each hand; the disappointed expression on his face became more evident the closer he got. “They didn’t have what I wanted, but that’s fine, it can’t be helped I guess,” he said defeatedly. Poe was worried for him, how could he have purchased so much candy without getting what he wanted, and why did he buy so much if what he wanted to get wasn’t there, to begin with? Ranpo’s spontaneity was worrying at times. If he didn’t have such a well-paying job he would lose all his savings in a week; whether or not he even has savings was a whole other question entirely.

The taxi ride to Poe’s home was completely silent, which Poe gladly took advantage of by continuing to write on his notebook. Ranpo was sulking, his head rested on the interior of the car’s window. He slowly took out candy from the bags that were previously full of them, throwing the wrappers back in when he was finished. Ranpo being sad was a rare sight, but Poe felt too guilty to try cheering him up. The detective was always so childishly lively that he thought it would be nice for Ranpo to feel something for once, something other than joy at least, like a normal person.

When they had arrived at his mansion, Ranpo was already fast asleep. There was a candy wrapper still in his tensed-up hand, yet to be eaten by him. Poe gave instructions to the cab driver to take him to Cafe Uzumaki, which was located on the first floor of the same building as the Armed Detective Agency and watched as the taxi drove off past the grove and out of sight.

He walked through the empty halls of his mansion with Karl on his shoulder, every footstep cutting the silence as it echoed through the corridor. Being a former member of the Guild had its benefits, it allowed Poe to finally have his mansion built, one that he wouldn’t have a reason to leave so often. Having such a large mansion all to himself never made Poe feel lonely, not that being alone was ever something he found to be negative. However, thanks to Ranpo, Poe found that he wasn’t as lonely as he used to be. No matter how much he wished against it, he’d always end up caught in another of the detective’s escapades, only to receive no acknowledgment or praise for it.

It was only through Ranpo’s reliance on him that he met Oguri, who now lived in one of the mansion’s many guest rooms. He was much more composed than Ranpo was, despite having been through so much; it felt good to care for another person, but he didn’t know if he could consider Oguri a friend yet. He wasn’t always used to seeing another person roam the halls of the mansion, other than the guards who did their daily rounds, but it was a welcomed sight.

As he arrived in his bedroom, he sat down on his desk and pulled out the notebook and pen from his tote bag, setting them all down gently in front of him. “Finally, back to work,” he sighed.

Hey Ranpo-kun, do you wanna meet up at

“Wait.. what?” Poe muttered out of disbelief. For the first time since becoming friends with Ranpo he had gone out of his way to message him—when normally he would always wait for Ranpo to text first—and yet, he was denied anyways? It was humiliating, and though he knew humiliation was unavoidable if he wanted to continue being friends with Ranpo, he didn’t expect it to happen now.

Oh uh yeah, that’s fine, don’t worry about me

He was still offended that Ranpo rejected him so casually after he spent an hour working up the courage to text him, but he knew better than to get angry with him for something out of his control. “There’s no reason I can't go outside without Ranpo, right? I should probably take Karl on a walk anyways,” he convinced himself, finding the courage to leave his mansion for an extended period alone.

He’d indulge himself in short strolls now and then, but rarely would he ever leave the mansion for longer than that alone. It almost didn’t feel right, being outside with no purpose or company simply made no sense to Poe, but it was something he thought would be worth a try anyway.

After he put on the black thigh-length coat that he hung on a coat rack by his door, he walked out into his garden with Karl rested on his shoulders. The sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves left Poe at ease, it was a comforting sound, and it paired perfectly with the feeling of the sun against his skin. Contrary to what his peers in the Guild believed, Poe wasn't a night person, there was a beauty held in early mornings that couldn't be matched by any midnight scenery.

It wasn't a long walk, but it was enough to make Poe feel like he needed a break. He decided to stop by a coffee shop that had recently opened, he would visit the same cafes so often; visiting a new one would be nice for a change. Although he wasn't able to plan what he wanted in advance, he'd heard reviews of the place online, so he decided to get what most critics recommended.

As he made his way to the corner of the room after receiving his drink, he noticed a man in a familiar suit in the seat he wanted to be in. Strange, he looks just like Oguri-kun, Poe thought, his build is similar too, and so is his hair. Wait a minute. Is that Oguri-kun!?

As far as Poe had been told from Ranpo, Oguri was to remain safely hidden in his mansion as he was being searched for by the Decay of Angels, why would he be in a coffee shop in the most populated district of Yokohama?

Poe stood there for a while, nervous to approach in case it wasn't Oguri, but he ended up not needing to as the man in the suit turned his head and met Poe's gaze. He suddenly jerked up from his previously relaxed position, facial expression distressed. "U-uh, Poe-kun? What are you doing here?" he stuttered.

"I should be asking you that, Mushitaro-kun. Why didn't you tell me you were going to leave the mansion?" There was a silent panic in his tone; as if he was an older brother trying to get their sibling out of trouble. His job was to keep Oguri safe in his home so Fyodor and his peers wouldn't be able to find him, Ranpo would be extremely disappointed in him if he failed to do so.

"Ranpo trusted that I would be able to protect you, we need to get back before Fyodor finds out where you are! They have eyes everywhere," he said, grabbing Oguri by the wrist. They swiftly exited the coffee shop, but before Poe could take him anywhere else, Oguri released himself from his grip so that he could reason with him. "Wait a minute! Please hear me out."

Poe was panicking. He didn't have the time to be standing around outside a coffee shop when the Devil wanted his companion dead, and that was why it was all the more ridiculous when he decided to stop and listen to what Oguri had to say. "With your ability, you can transfer us to any novel that I'm reading, right? So if anyone tries to kill us then all you need to do is to activate it! And I-I can just keep reading the book you've been writing, so there's no need to worry." Oguri tried desperately to ease Poe's worry, looking for any reason he would be allowed to stay.

"Why would you want to stay outside anyway?" Poe said, "It's not safe here! Your life is at risk!" Oguri's fists were clenched, he refused to look Poe in the eye anymore. His lips trembled as if words were begging to be said but were being forced back. "I... I've been having nightmares. The memories of that day refused to let me have my peace, and every time I think of him I lose my mind. I couldn't continue writing, even the sight of a pen and paper made me sick to my stomach, I just couldn't be in that place anymore."

Mushitaro Oguri is a man who was often too prideful to allow himself to cry, but the death of his dearest friend carved an irreparable tear in his heart. Tears rolled down his cheek and dripped onto the concrete beneath him, and Poe could no longer bring himself to take him back home; the thought that Ranpo might've done the same reassured him that it was for the best.

"I understand, we could stay here for a while then," he replied, his voice softer than it normally was. Poe thought to place his hand on Oguri's shoulder as a gesture of comfort and reassurance, but he was interrupted by the voice of a man yelling down the street. "STOP THAT MAN! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!!"

Two men were running down the sidewalk opposite to them, one of which appeared to be from the Armed Detective Agency. The man wearing black was steadily outpacing the blonde agent behind him, and there was no sign of him losing momentum. Before Poe could even think to act, a white tiger emerged from an alleyway nearby them and leaped across the street in a single bound. "What the hell is going on," Oguri mumbled out of confusion. Just as he said that the tiger pinned the man down to the ground, allowing his partner to catch up. "They're from the Armed Detective Agency," Poe said to Oguri.

"Armed Detective Agency? The agency that Ranpo-kun works at?" Oguri said to Poe, his eyes still fixed on the scene taking place away from them. It was an entertaining sight, but one that wasn't uncommon in Yokohama. The tiger glowed brightly, suddenly turning into a boy that appeared to be of high school age. "Yeah, pretty crazy right? A normal person like him working alongside such terrifying ability users." Poe replied, chuckling at the thought of it.

The two agents pulled out a paper from the man's pocket. From afar, it appeared to be discolored and crumpled, possibly torn in some parts of it as well. They analyzed it carefully, their expressions denoting that they didn't understand its contents.

"Oh please, we've both experienced firsthand that Ranpo is no ordinary man, ability or not." There was an obvious annoyance in Oguri's visage, perhaps he was reliving the day he was effortlessly caught by Ranpo.

Poe found his companion's expression hilarious enough to make him burst out in laughter, which caught the attention of Kunikida and Atsushi. They both looked at him and mumbled something to one another, which caught Poe by surprise. What made the situation worse was that they began walking over to him uninvited and unprompted. "What are they coming over here for?" Poe mumbled, worried that he may have gotten in trouble despite having done nothing wrong.

Before he could properly compose himself, they had already crossed the street and were only a few feet away from them. They caught dozens of side-eyes and glares because of how Kunikida casually dragged the criminal behind him by the collar of his shirt. "Are you Edgar Allan Poe, ability user and former member of the Guild?" His voice was deep and slightly shaky, probably from the chasing.

"Wh- You remember who I am? Even if I only showed up briefly for the party the agency held a few months ago?" His eyes lit up with joy, although no one noticed them from behind his long bangs. He was deeply moved, Even if their attention was on Karl the for the entire duration of my stay, they still remembered me! he thought to himself.

"Oh, you were? Sorry, I guess we didn't see you," the boy with white hair said unassumingly. Those words pierced Poe's heart, but he said it so innocently that Poe couldn't bring himself to be upset about it. "Anyways, we found this paper crumpled up in this guy's pocket, but we have no idea what it says, we were hoping you could decipher it for us.” Kunikida handed him the paper he saw them retrieve earlier; it had 8 letters separated into pairs of two.

It was a familiar cipher, one that Poe memorized a few years ago so he could include it in his mystery novels. “Oh, this one’s simple actually, it’s a digraph cipher. Each letter pairing corresponds to another letter pairing in the alphabet. In this case, it would spell out…er, Lupinbar? I’m not sure what that means,” Poe mentioned pedantically, not realizing how long he rambled on for. Everyone was silent for a moment, which didn’t help with Poe’s anxiety. The two detectives looked at him with wide eyes, leaving Poe to speculate for what reason it could be for.

“That was impressive,” Atsushi said genuinely, “No wonder Ranpo considers you as his rival.” Kunikida continued examining the paper, which Poe found odd for there was no content left to analyze or decipher. “Maybe it means Lupin Bar? I’ve never heard of that place before.”

“If anyone knew where it is, I bet Dazai would. We should ask him before we continue our search.” Kunikida said, eyes still glued to the paper. He finally lifted his head to look Poe in the eye after a moment. He was tall and well-built, taller than Poe even, and his eyes were somewhat sharp when he was angry. “What I’m confused about is what would they have to do with some bar? This could be a trap.”

“Maybe it’s a place that they’ve set bombs in or a place with sentimental value to someone in the agency? They seem to love tormenting their targets.” Poe was suddenly comfortable speaking thanks to the confidence boost he gained from impressing the two detectives, you’d find it hard to believe he was the same anxious guy mere minutes ago. “That could be right,” Kunikida said, “but let’s not speculate too much before consulting Dazai first. Come on, Atsushi.” Although he wouldn’t say it out loud, he was sad they were leaving so soon, he wondered if he could be of more assistance to them.

“Hey! What was your name again?” Atsushi said, turning his body halfway to be able to look at him properly. It didn’t seem to mean much to Atsushi, but it was enough to send a flush to his cheeks. Few people ever asked for his name and even less remembered it when he told them what it was, but it was a thoughtful sentiment regardless. “I’m Poe! Rival to the greatest detective! Don’t you forget it,” he said enthusiastically, like a little kid announcing his superhero persona to his parents.

“Atsushi! Hurry up!” Kunikida yelled, having already crossed the street without realizing Atsushi wasn’t following him. The man-tiger jumped at the sound of his name being yelled so loudly, suddenly turning frantic. “U-uh, coming!” He hurriedly raced across the street, managing to catch up to his partner without issue.

“They’re an odd bunch, huh,” Oguri said, glad he remained silent that entire exchange. Poe couldn’t help but chuckle at the remark. They truly were odd, but they were a family at least, even Poe could tell. They just belonged to one another, and it felt nice to belong sometimes. Would I too belong in their agency? Or am I destined to be the one they only ever remember as Ranpo’s friend? he thought. But, there was no point in worrying about it now. He had friends of his own now; not acquaintances; not colleagues, but friends. That was more than he could’ve hoped for if he was honest with himself.

He said in his head, knowing he wouldn’t get a response. “Hey, you ok?” Oguri said, “Why are you just staring at that wall?” He hadn’t realized he was so deep in thought he grew unaware of his surroundings. “Yeah, let’s… let’s just go home.”