Chapter Text
Ranpo had been 14 when he first encountered Francis. Of course, they hadn’t been called Francis back then, but it was still the same bird.
He had been sitting on a bench on the boardwalk, happily eating from the bento box he had bought. He had an interview in an hour so he was trying to use his time as efficiently as possible. Still, he had hurried in the morning so he actually had time to sit and enjoy his meal instead of rushing through it.
Eventually he got through almost all of the food inside. There was only one thing left. He grinned to himself as he gazed down at the rice balls still in the container. Normally he ate anything sweet first, but he had managed some self-control this time and got to save it for last!
He took one of them out and held it up to the sky, admiring it. It looked so delicious . What was he doing, sitting around here and looking at it? He should be eating it!
He brought it closer to his mouth, preparing to bite into it when—
There was no other way to describe it. A monster dove out from the sky and stole his rice ball from his hand. Ranpo stared at his empty hand for a second, dumbfounded, before finally processing what had just happened.
“Hey!” Ranpo yelled, jumping up while looking up to the sky, trying to see what had stolen his rice ball, “Jerk! Reveal yourself! I will not stand for this injustice!”
He was still looking at the sky when he heard it. Laughing .
Whipping around, Ranpo saw a seagull standing on the bench he had been sitting on. It held a rice ball in its beak. And it was getting very close to his bento box and the remaining rice balls.
Ranpo lunged at the bird. He didn’t know if he was trying to grab it or chase it away, he just wanted it away from his food.
As it took off into the sky, its wing knocked into the bento box, pushing it off the bench. Ranpo was forced to give up his charge for the seagull, as he dived to rescue his food instead.
Thankfully, he managed to catch it in time and none of the rice balls had fallen out. Looking around for the bird, Ranpo spotted it not that far away in the middle of the boardwalk.
“You,” Ranpo growled as he approached it. As soon as he got close, it flapped its wings and moved further away.
This continued for a while, Ranpo running after it and then the bird moving away. A never ending cycle. Except it wasn’t never ending because Ranpo eventually ended it.
He looked at the sky and realized how late it had gotten. He was going to be late for his interview! He had to go now!
He turned to run, when the seagull landed right in front of him. It stared at him. Stared into his soul. Ranpo shuddered as he gazed into the seagull’s eyes. What laid there was true insanity and a need for chaos.
It still had his rice ball in its beak.
Ranpo wanted to continue to chase it, but he needed to get to his interview in time.
“Fine,” he spat out, “you win this time bird .”
He marched towards the seagull and it had the audacity to just look at him. Not taking off like before. Just looking at him. Mocking him. Taunting him like it knew Ranpo couldn’t afford the time to chase it.
He got past the seagull, his back to it, when he heard the noise again. The noise that would haunt him forever, for the rest of his life.
The seagull laughed at him. A hideous, mocking laugh .
Ranpo forced himself to ignore it, even when it wouldn’t stop .
You still have two remaining rice balls. Don’t waste time on this stupid bird. It doesn’t deserve your attention .
It was very hard to ignore when the bird continued to follow him. It flew just above his head, out of reach. Still, Ranpo showed a high level of self-control and didn’t pay the bird any attention.
Eventually after a few minutes of walking, the seagull left him alone. Ranpo sighed in relief as the laughing slowly faded out into silence.
He quickly ate his remaining rice balls. Sure , he got some strange looks for eating while walking, but he would rather do this than risk them getting stolen by that seagull .
Seagulls… what nasty creatures. They must exist solely to inflict as much suffering on people as possible, Ranpo decided.
Eventually, Ranpo got to the building where the interview would take place. How should he make his entrance? Probably would be best to make his presence known right away.
“Greetings!” He called as he opened the door. He was met with the sight of both what he presumed to be the secretary and some sort of bodyguard staring at him.
Hmmm… interesting . It appears he wouldn’t be getting a productive interview today, but what would happen now would be so much more interesting .