Archive of Our Own ^beta

The morning sun shines into the main room of the ADA, showering its warm light onto the few members in the agency. Currently, in the main room of the agency, there were only three people Ranpo, Kunikida, and Dazai, Ranpo was sitting in his usual seat as Kunikida talked about the case at hand that Ranpo was going to investigate, though to Ranpo he wasn't really listening to Kunikida as he was looking at the paperwork in front of him as the phrase "THE SUZUHITO NAIL MURDERER STRIKES AGAIN!" stands out to him from the tabloid article he was reading it from. He had the usual police reports in front of him but also multiple articles from this one magazine which featured all of the current murderers, they had information on all of the victims of the murderer and gave impressive details about the case that could only be seen as if you were standing right next to the body. The murders themself were done by a single individual by Ranpo's deduction, they went around the Suzuhito area in East Yokohama and struck randomly at individuals, with the only piece of consistent evidence being a dull nail being struck into the victim with some little details that only a master detective that Ranpo can notice. The tabloid article is placed back down on the table and an actual police file was picked up, Ranpo could still hear Kunikida talking at him so he decided to tune in, "...the current theory passed around the police department is that it is a young man around 18 - 30 from the description of a witness from the third murder, the witness said that the perpetrator was of average height and build and wore a grey hoodie, so they couldn't identify any features of the man. At that crime scene the only piece of evidence was left, as it seems that the murderer was surprised at the witness and left, dropping a black ballpoint pen..." Ranpo deduced that the man was of a few occupations from that lead that he just read up on as Kunikida said it, one where the individual needs to be carrying a pen day to day like a police officer or an office working for instance, another idea the need for a pen is the tabloid article that was on his desk, as the murderer could've written down all of his details and sold it off to the magazine for some money, as the writer for the article Ranpo had just read also wrote information for all of the other instances of the murders in that magazine. 'Or...' Ranpo thought 'It could be like that...' a grin erupted on Ranpo's face as a more plausible idea formed in his mind.

"Anyhow," Dazai says as casually as he usually does "We got a phone call earlier saying that another victim has been found just an hour ago." Ranpo heard that and knew he had to get down there, if so he will be able to see his own prime suspect, "So who's taking me?" Ranpo said, as from how Dazai is talking, he knows that Dazai and Kunikida hopes that he will go to the crime scene now and get the murders solved, which he decides to do. Kunikida begins "Well we've just been given another case to quickly sort out, which we will be leaving to go deal with in ten minutes so unfortunately we can't take you. I believe Yasano has her day off today so she can't take you..." Kunikida begins drifting in thought as he tries to think about the others though it wasn't long before Dazai says "Atsushi-kun and Kyouka-chan will be getting back soon from the police station so you can have Atsushi-kun take you." He said in his oddly cheery voice. Ranpo quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion of Atsushi, the younger man had taken him on a few cases before and the two do get along well so it wasn't an odd suggestion all in all, but that made Ranpo realise that he had noticed a detail about Atsushi that neither of the two in front of him figured out, the master detective leaned back on his chair as he said "Should Atsushi-kun come with me?" he said in a rhetorical tone, Kunikida and Dazai looked eyes in confusion which cemented the Ranpo's theory. A sigh emanated from Kunikida as he decided to ask "Is there a reason why Atsushi shouldn't go with you?" "Mmmm... yeah a pretty good reason." Ranpo said not giving anything away as he was having a little fun teasing the other detective, Kunikida gave another sigh as he said "Would a pack of sweets let you tell us why?" a smile graced his face as he heard the bribe "Yep." After walking to his desk and back, Kunikida handed Ranpo a pack of bonbons, which Ranpo took and popped one in his mouth.

A rust dull nail was now between Ranpo's fingers as he decided to explain "Atsushi-kun has a fear of nails." He says as bluntly as ever, the two in front of the detective are surprised at this detail and Ranpo just kept explaining his deduction "Although he's never said it, it's obvious to see when you two have been discussing the case over the past few days, he's uncomfortable and has looked sick a few times, once when you-" Ranpo was looking at Dazai "- were discussing about how the nail was forced into the victim's throat, he had to leave the office and went out for a walk outside." The dull nail was placed back onto the table as the two in front of Ranpo had two different trains of thought, "Maybe Atsushi shouldn't take you... maybe Tanazaki will be free?" Kunikida mumbled as Dazai just said "Oh yeah he acted oddly when Kenji-kun was putting up that picture we got a few weeks ago," He said referencing a plain framed picture now hanging on the wall. They got it from a client who was happy at a case they solved and gave it as a little extra, after a few days of it being moved around the agency, they decided to put it up on the wall to Ranpo's left, initially, Atsushi was going to put it up he was stammering and looked a bit sick, this is when Ranpo figured out about Atsushi's fear, the fear he held when looking at the sharp though small needles really just proved Ranpo's point. Though Kenji decided to put it up instead, the look on Atsushi's face, when Kenji began digging the nail into the wall, was one he thinks about a lot, the fear encapsulated in his eyes, the memories seemingly playing through his mind like a broken CD, the quivering of his lips...Why does such a face, such a useless detail, stick in Ranpo's mind like glue?

Returning back to the current situation, Ranpo just keeps looking at Dazai and Kunikida, Kunikida with a conflicted look on his face, as if he should've noticed it before but couldn't for a reason he couldn't fathom, and Dazai with a distinguishly more bored look on his face as he just says "Though he should be fine, he's faced other issues from his past fairly well. I guess it's now time for him to sort out another one." A beat passes after what Dazai says before Kunikida, with a mortified look on his face begins to go off on Dazai, which Ranpo really doesn't blame him for. "He can't just get over it from just one day! Fears and phobias are from trauma and can't be cured from a simple talk or experience" "Well it's a start, also if he can get over it then he can help with renovating the Agency" "Don't joke about this it's serious!..." Ranpo tunes them out as they continue arguing, Ranpo thinks about how Dazai talked about Atsushi, and it bugs him, but Ranpo can't think about why exactly it bugs him.

"Hey Kunikida-Kun~ what time is it?" Dazai sing songs, with a smile on his face, "Don't change the subject! We still have..." Kunikida opens his phone to check, his eyes opening wide giving Ranpo all the information he needs. "We need to go you waste of bandages! Otherwise, we'll be late" He runs to his desk grabs a file, and grabs the back of Dazai's coat as he pulls his out of the office, before Dazai is out the door he gives Ranpo a smile and says "Have a nice time in Suzuhito with Atsushi-kun, Ranpo-san!". Ranpo just looks at the door as it closes, the room feels more empty as the loud duo is gone, though Kunikida's voice can still be heard in the hallway. The sunlight still lighting the room and the cool breeze outside being the only sound that can be heard. Ranpo just sits there for a bit before having another bonbon, Ranpo knows that Atsushi is his only way to get to Suzuhito before the murderer leaves, Tanazaki and Naomi will be busy, Kenji doesn't know how to use the trains, Kyouka needs supervision by another member of staff, usually Atsushi, and Fukuzawa is busy doing important paperwork currently. Ranpo looks up to the ceiling as he just listens to the voices out of the window, from a couple being lovey dovey to four men already drinking before 10 am to a father and daughter planning on going to an amusement park. "... Do you want me to carry those files Atsushi-kun?" A familiar monotone female voice that Ranpo recognises and decides to focus in on. "No it's fine, we're nearly there anyway. Though I may need the doors to be being opened for me." Ranpo can tell from the slight strain in Atsushi's voice that it is quite heavy though Atsushi doesn't want to burden them with Kyouka. "Okay... Oh you remember that Yasano-sensei, Noami-san, and I are having a girl's night tonight?" "Yep, don't worry I haven't forgotten. Do you need something for it?" "Sweets." "Hm... We can get some after work today before we go back to the dorms if that's okay." "Yes, it is. Thank you". The door opens downstairs signalling that they've entered the building, as well as their voices fading into muffles.

Two pairs of footsteps can be heard descending the staircase into the underground subway, the natural light slowly leaving the pair as the mechanical light of the underground greets them, Atsushi and Ranpo get to the bottom of the staircase and Atsushi walks forward to go to the ticket machine with Ranpo following behind. The subway that they went into was very quiet, it wasn't one that most would go on, it went to Suzuhito and more residential areas around Yokohama, not like it went downtown or uptown, so Ranpo could see everyone who walks down those stairs which he was keeping an eye on. After a few unnoteworthy people walked down the stairs he heard Atsushi say his name so he turned to look, Atsushi was holding his ticket and to which Ranpo took "I just need to get my ticket, so give me a second" Atsushi says as he turns back to the screen. Back at the office, after Atsushi arrived Ranpo did ask Atsushi if he could take him to Suzuhito, Ranpo really didn't want to ask Atsushi due to his fear though Ranpo needed to stop the murderer, before he hurts anyone else, mainly the ADA members as Ranpo could see that being a possibility in the future. Ranpo gave Atsushi the details of the case and gave him multiple opportunities to decline the trip, from the flinch that Atsushi gave when he mentioned the case, Atsushi didn't want to go through Ranpo could see that Atsushi wanted to be helpful to the ADA as if every mention of a favour was a job but also Atsushi wanted to be better, mentally speaking, he wanted to get better with his fears and triggers. Ranpo knew that it wasn't going to improve overnight but through baby steps, this being one of them.

Coming back to the present Ranpo could see that Atsushi was still uncomfortable with the case, his hand shook slightly and his posture was straight as an arrow, after this observation, Ranpo looked back at the staircase as he heard a pair of shoes coming their way. The man was one that Ranpo recognised, he was the reporter for the tabloid magazine, as his picture was in the article he wrote. The man paid little to no attention to the detectives and just walked straight through the gate with his ticket, his blue ticket, Ranpo looked down at his yellow ticket, he turned it over, and read the information on the back "RETURN TICKET FROM SUZUHITO" was written, he looks at the turn gate and decided to ask Atsushi about the colours "Ne Atsushi-kun, I just saw someone with a different ticket colour, what does that mean?" Ranpo really didn't know anything about Trains or traversal, it was the one area he didn't seek information for, if he needed it for a case then he would just remember it for that case. Atsushi turns around and faces Ranpo with his ticket, also yellow "Each ticket is for a different trip, so yellow for a two-way trip, red for a one-way trip, and blue for a day ticket for example." Atsushi explained "Day ticket?" Ranpo asked, "It means you can use that ticket all day for however many trips you need to make." Atsushi explained as they started going through the gate.

Having a day ticket would be useful on most other lines but not on the Narita line to Suzuhito, as it only stops at residential areas and where the two detectives got on at. Ranpo thinks about this new information as Ranpo follows Atsushi to their platform, it's as empty as the gate area with only three other people, one being the reporter. The reporter is in his early twenties, twenty-two if Ranpo had to be more precise, he wore a camera on one shoulder and a messenger bag on another, the reporter was currently looking at a notepad, from Ranpo's angle he couldn't see what he was reading but Ranpo could easily guess that it was about the murder they were about to go to, probably the time and location scribbled down at the magazine's office. Now that was interesting, the reporter knew about the crime so soon after it happened, Ranpo knew of the crime thirty minutes after Dazai knew, who was working on the case, so he would be their first call about any developments in the case. It then took Atsushi and Ranpo around thirty minutes to get to the correct Subway, so around an hour since the police knew about the crime, Ranpo looked at the reporter with a smile.

After a minute, the train arrives and they all get on, Atsushi goes on first out of the pair and walks into an empty carriage, the three others were all over the train with each having their own carriage to themselves, Ranpo doesn't follow the man in his carriage as to not arouse suspicion but also due to the fact that Ranpo has gotten all of the information he can out of the man. When Ranpo steps onto the train he sits next to Atsushi who was looking behind himself looking at the map, double-checking where they need to get off. The doors close and the train sets off, the carriage is in silence for a bit before Atsushi decides to spark some conversation, "Say Ranpo-san, I know that you don't know how to use trains but do you think you'll eventually figure out how to use them, from just being around people?" Ranpo looks to his companion, the soft smile on his face tells Ranpo that this isn't backhanded in any way and is out of pure curiosity, "Nah." Ranpo says eloquently, he doesn't see the use in learning when people around him can do it for him. Atsushi hums and his face softens "Well I don't mind taking you around Ranpo-san, I enjoy our time together like this." The master detective doesn't know what to do at that kind gesture, though Ranpo remembers that Atsushi likes to hear his deductions for cases, he remembers the look of awe Atsushi has when Ranpo explains his deductions for a different case, a energetic smile appears on Ranpo's face as he decides to ask "Atsushi-kun! Do you want to hear about the Black Quarts theft that I solved?" Ranpo took notice that Atsushi's hand didn't shake and he was more comfortable, though sitting as he usually does, trying to make himself smaller. "I didn't know you solved that Ranpo-san, When I read it it sounded straight out of a detective novel!" Atsushi's eyes now sparkles at the news, Atsushi was a big reader, he'd noticed Atsushi read good few detective novels from time to time either on break or during a slow day. Ranpo took Atsushi's answer as a yes and began to go through it "Well... It all started a week before the theft..."

The victim was how Ranpo expected him to be, dead with a blunt rusty nail in his neck, the victim died due to blood loss from the blood coming from the nail which went through both sides of his neck, making the victim's death prolonged and painful. Ranpo glances an eye at Atsushi, who was looking over the victim similarly to Ranpo, though he looks a bit sick and only looked at the nail once but is now looking at the man's clothing, the way that Atsushi had stopped like a deer in headlights at first sight of the victim, the way colour left his body. Maybe Atsushi shouldn't have come, the master detective thinks, though after some time Atsushi was doing better by Ranpo's deduction, though before they arrived he informed Atsushi that if he needed to leave for whatever reason, he can. The victim has a handkerchief as a gag which is why he, and the other victims, didn't cry out for help and as Ranpo investigates, some of the man's fingers and one of his kneecaps have been broken and almost crushed, which is why he also didn't escape. Ranpo looks at how the victim's kneecaps were broken, by blunt force obviously but which blunt force? A piece of equipment like a hammer or the natural surroundings? The victim was found in an alley by a pedestrian doing her morning walk, which is mostly empty except for some bin bags as it is bin day today so the houses and stores nearby mostly put it in the alley for the bin collectors, this means that the murderer could've either picked the nail from the bin bag or the blunt force object for that matter and put it back. Though Ranpo had already figured out at the ADA that that wasn't a possibility-

"How come this criminal always uses a blunt nail? They must just pick it up from nearby." A nearby inexperienced police officer mentions to his equally inexperienced though more timid police officer, breaking Ranpo's concentration, "Eh? You think that all of these murders are from a spur-of-the-moment crime?" "Yeah, everyone has a handkerchief on them and the murderer could've just found a sledgehammer from a nearby construction side as well as a nail." The oddly confident one explained, Ranpo was impressed at the stupidity of the officer, and he decided to educate the officers but before he does he notices Atsushi stand up from his own little investigation and looks in the direction of the two officers "Excuse me," He says to the two, who look to him "Y-yes, is there anything we can help you?" the more timid one asks. White hair blocks Ranpo's view of Atsushi's face though he can imagine it, stern and neutral, a rare expression for the young man, as Atsushi educates the officers instead of Ranpo, who decides to watch. "I don't mean to be rude but your speculation is quite far from the case." He says bluntly, the confident detective stiffens and focuses on Atsushi as he explains "The nail used in all of the crimes... They aren't used in construction, most people can see this, they are blunt so they aren't as easy to hammer into place and the rust shows their age, they aren't new which would be weird for a construction crew to buy." Atsushi removes his gaze from the detectives and instead focuses on the victim and the nail embedded in his neck, his eyes seem to show a memory from his youth as he swallows and says quieter "...a nail like that to be embedded into your skin, It would need extreme force from a hammer for instance... a nail embedded like that would be used to make someone suffer, the rust going into your skin and under, shattering your bones and destroying everything in it's way as it's nailed further and further..." Atsushi moves his left foot slightly as he finishes this, the master detective catches this and decides to try and make Atsushi feel better, he makes his way over to the younger man and slings an arm around his neck, in which he can feel Atsushi jolt before he feels more comfortable in Ranpo's presence. "That's right Atsushi-kun! Which means that you two," he uses his hand on Atsushi's shoulder to point to the two officers "Are very wrong and that this is, in fact, premeditated murder, and that this murder," Ranpo can see the reporter out of the corner of his eye as he is at the opening of the alleyway behind the yellow police tape, "is about to be solved."

At Ranpo's announcement, all of the police officers get ready for his deduction show, including the main detective on the scene, Ranpo whispers in Atsushi's ear before he unhooks his arm from his neck and starts to give his deduction, "As you probably heard earlier, I stated that this is premeditated murder, which it is to a certain extent, the murder weapons were ready beforehand but the victim wasn't picked beforehand, as Atsushi-kun said earlier, the nails are in poor condition and are identical to the ones used in the previous murders, and a hammer of some sort needs to be used to dig it into the skin, the human body can't dig it in normally." The officer's attention went to Atsushi for a second who was surprised at the detective's mention of him, his cheeks blush at the attention. "So what the murder did was he would get his weapons, and stroll the streets of Suzuhito until he found someone or until someone found him, as seeing a man with a sledgehammer at 2am in a suburban neighbourhood isn't a normal site, isn't that right..." The master detective turns the face the mouth of the alley "Reporter-kun?". The officers shift to look at the reporter behind the yellow tape, who looks like a deer in headlights, "W...what, who me?" he says in a shocked voice, one hand pointing to himself while the other holds his notepad which he has been messing around with but not reading or writing down notes on it. "Yep" Ranpo says, popping the p, "It's obvious you're behind the murders, it only took me a minute after reading your article in that magazine to suspect you, and if you want, I can give you three easy reasons as to why it's you." the master detective's right hand is brought up and three fingers are shown, "I... You know what sure, I bet I can disprove your points, you haven't even asked the person who found the body nor do you know who the victim is do you?" the reporter says frantically, before a strait face Ranpo says "You didn't who the victim was either." his eyes pierce the fake innocence of the murderer.

Two of Ranpo's fingers go down, "One, time. I'm surprised that you got here so fast Reporter-kun, seeing that it's only been an hour and a half since the victim was found, we were alerted by the police as soon as it was found, but how do you know? So fast as well?" Ranpo explains, the reporter seems shocked at this as he explains "As a reporter, I have a lot of ties, a source let me know of the murder, as a reporter we have a lot of various different sources." "Do your sources also give you day tickets to residential lines as well?" Ranpo retorted, the reporter's eyes widened at that ticket, he holds his messenger bag as if it was going to be stolen. One of Ranpo's fingers lifts up, "Two, motive, obviously the motive wasn't revenge as there is no connection from victim to victim, this one-" Ranpo says referring to the victim behind him "- an office worker at a data company, the other a high school science teacher, another a young construction worker, and the first an old Ramen shop waiter, there can be no connection from victim to victim. So that can't be the motive so it has to be something else, something that you yourself must profit off in some way, whether that be the thrill or recognition, but it is monetary gain." The reporter and most others at the crime scene look at Ranpo with his odd motive, the confident officer from before spoke up "He did it for the money? How? Was he a hitman of sorts?" "Nope" Ranpo replied, popping his p again, "The money he gets from..." A folded sheet of paper comes out of the detective's pocket and he unfolds it, which shows the article that the reporter wrote with the loud headline of "THE SUZUHITO NAIL MURDERER STRIKES AGAIN!" printed on it, he shows it to the officers in front of him as he explains "This! You get paid on how many copies of the magazine sells, don't you?" A sweat appears on the man's forehead, as he slowly starts to open his messenger bag and put his hand in, Ranpo continues "Your articles give a lot of details about the crimes and how brutal they have, including some parts of the crime scene, ergo more people who are curious pick it up and they tell their friends who then go pick it up. The sales of the magazine have been on the increase, have they? so you've been paid more." Ranpo gives a knowing smile at the man, telling him to give in and act out like Ranpo knows he will. Though instead the reporter just tries to cover himself, "Y-you think I would go to something as brutal and barbaric as murder to get money? that's absurd! I feel sick just looking at the body!" "That's a lie," Ranpo says, finding the contradiction that can break the murderer's façade.

Ranpo's third finger springs back up finally as he says "In your articles, you explain in excruciating detail how the victim was found, how madly their body was crushed and how the blood escapes their body, you love the details of the murders a lot, you could be an eroguro writer if you wanted. Though that does bring to light how you know these details, of course going to a crime scene can enlighten you to some details but not many as the officers do guard the scene from the public and reporters though on this article here, you mention the freckles on the victim's face which couldn't be seen at such a distance." The murderer grips something in his bag, Ranpo looks to Atsushi behind him, he has his sleeve pushed up, ready. "Though I do find it interesting that you haven't written any details about this case down on your notepad, yet you've been reading through it since you got on the train," The grip on the object is tighter and his face looks angry, about to attack, and he just needs that little push. Ranpo begins pulling something out of his other pocket "Perhaps it's because you don't have this?" He shows the black pen that was found at the previous murder scene, it was in a bag for evidence which he got from the agency with the magazine before he left.

A second goes by as the officers, detective, and the present ADA members all see that this man is the murderer, if the evidence doesn't show this, then the malicious look on the murderer's face does, though before his face can be studied further, he lunges at Ranpo. Ranpo stays in place as he observes the man sprinting at him with a long and sharp nail in his hand, he had run under the police tape and past the officers, those by Ranpo had unknowingly left a pathway to Ranpo who just stayed there and smile as the man was getting closer and closer to Ranpo. Pulling his nail back to thrust into the detective he prepares before he pushes his arm and his extension forward at the detective's heart who still smiles at him, the weapon was a few centimetres away from the detective as the murderer feels a large hand on his wrist which stops his arm from moving forward, he snaps his face to the hand as he sees the white fur and black stripes on it. He looks up only to see an angry weretiger looking back, who's grabbing the man's wrist with enough force for his hand to open and the nail to fall on the floor with an audible "clang". The murderer then snaps his eyes to the detective who looks back at him with his eyes open slightly and his smile now replaced with a grin, the detective then moves to the side as Atsushi puts the man on the floor quickly, holding the murderer's hands behind his back.

It takes a few seconds for the officers to realize what happened before they're by Atsushi's side and put the man in handcuffs and they take him away, Atsushi hasn't moved from where the murderer was except that he's now standing though still looking at the murderer. The audible sound of the nail being picked up alerted the young man as he looks to the origin of the sound only to see Ranpo holding it between his fingers in his handkerchief "Well that went well," Ranpo says, he had whispered in Atsushi's ear earlier that the man will attack once Ranpo prodded the murderer enough, which he did, the murderer had gripped onto the clean sharp nail in his bag, the sharp nail was in his possession so that the murderer could get away if he needed to, by using it against anyone who gets in his way.

The Master detective's eyes see that Atsushi's arm had gone back to human and that for once his shirt wasn't ripped in the process, which was why he pushed his sleeve up earlier, though there was still one thing that was ripped in the process, "You always rip the gloves I give you." Ranpo said as he looks to the floor and sees the remains of Atsushi's gloves, Atsushi had already gone through a few pairs by now due to his transformation, Ranpo remembers when he gave his gloves to Atsushi when all of the other ADA members chipped in for the boy's outfit he had made sure to give him a few pairs as he expected them to be ripped and torn to shreds to due the use of his transformation, which a good few were, and after a while, Ranpo just gave all of his old fingerless gloves to Atsushi as the detective hadn't worn them in a few years. Atsushi joins the detective in looking at the ground below as he replies "Ah... Sorry Ranpo-san, they're not easy to take off before transforming, and most of the time when I transform I don't have time to prepare" as he blushes in the shade of embarrassment at the fact being pointed out. Ranpo decided to point out the obvious answer "You know you can just not wear them Atsushi-kun, I'm not going to be upset or anything." he says completely straight face, Atsushi looks at Ranpo before looking to his glove-less hand, which Ranpo's eyes also goes to he can see very very feint scars on his palm, 'That's probably why he wears it.' Ranpo thinks as he looks at Atsushi's face as the other looks back at him and says "No I like wearing them, they're a gift from someone I care about of course I'm going to wear them, there's a sense of warmth in them that feels comfortable." With a soft smile on his face as his checks redden slightly, Ranpo doesn't know how to respond to this, except just looking at Atsushi as his own checks redden slightly against his will. The master detective doesn't know why he can feel his heartbeat.

The chime of a bell by the door alters the sweet shop owner of the consumer, she gives a quick look to the door only to be seen with the sight of a very familiar consumer, who she gives a quick greeting before getting back onto her work at the till. The smell of sweets invades Ranpo and Atsushi's noses as they step in, Ranpo flings himself at the wall of goods as Atsushi closes the door quietly before having a look around. The pair had gotten on and off the Narita line and had finally ended up back in Yokohama, they were initially going to go straight to the agency but Ranpo saw a familiar sweet shop and had to go in. Picking up a packet of sweets off one of the shelves, Ranpo looks at it before adding it to his basket as he moves to another as he looks at the goods there, the detective has been running out of his supply and needs more, with a case all done and dusted it was a good opportunity for him to get a little bit more than he usually does. He keeps on going from shelf to shelf and picking up what looks interesting until he gets to the lollipop section, just as he was about to pick up a pack of cherry and orange flavoured ones before he sees a pack of apple and strawberry and cream ones. Now Ranpo likes all sweet flavours and he often just picks up what looks interesting though he does remember that Atsushi likes strawberry and cream, he remembers it so well as Atsushi said it was his first sweet ever.

A few months back, Atsushi had just finished an exhausting case and was getting all of the paperwork sorted, which was a lot, and with pieces of Dazai's casework slid in here and there, Atsushi looked exhausted at the pile of work, after getting through a good amount of the paperwork the inexperienced detective had his head on his desk as he looked like he was about to go to sleep though the look in his eye said he didn't want to fall asleep. After observing Atsushi on and off for the past thirty minutes Ranpo got off his chair and offered Atsushi a sweet, he had worked hard and deserved a treat in Ranpo's eyes. He was usually very protective of his sweets but seeing Atsushi work his butt off for the past two weeks made Ranpo want to reward the effort Atsushi had given towards his work. Some of the other members of the ADA especially Dazai, Kunikida, and Yasano were shocked by his gift though he was inclined to ignore them as he offers a lollipop to his tired co-worker, Atsushi looks at the assortment of lollipops that Ranpo shows him and asked which one Ranpo liked the most, to which Ranpo recommended the strawberry and cream flavoured ones, to which Atsushi took said flavour and thanked Ranpo for giving him his first sweet ever. The rest of the ADA, Ranpo included was shocked at this, Dazai double-checked what Atsushi said to which he said that, yes that was his sweet, the orphanage never gave him any, as he was a "bad kid" though he never mentioned that part, and that he didn't know if he would like any so he never bought any in Yokohama and that the closest he had to having a sweet was crêpes with Kyouka. The ADA then watched as Atsushi slowly opened the wrapper and put it in his mouth and started sucking on it, the tired dull eyes that Atsushi had were swiftly replaced with more energetic ones which Ranpo could almost see sparkle. He takes it out of his mouth and thanks Ranpo for the tasty sweet with a big smile on his face.

Ranpo escapes his memory as he looks at the pack of lollipops and puts it in his pile without a second thought, he decides to see how Atsushi is getting on and scans the small shop for him, only to see him ringing up his items. Ranpo could see a few packs of sweets and a bottle of Ramune, he easily knows that the sweets are for Kyouka and her, Naomi's, and Yasano's girls' night though he looks at the Ramune for a bit before deducing that it was for a bribe for Ranpo in the future, in case Atsushi needed Ranpo's help in a future case. The sweets were quickly paid for and put in a bag before Atsushi thanks the shop owner before turning around and looking around the shop until he locks eyes with Ranpo, "I'm just going to stand outside until you're finished." he says as Ranpo just gives a carefree "Okay~". The doors chime goes off again as Ranpo watches Atsushi walk outside before he spied the large pile in his basket that he knows he had to carry home so he decided to stop there, he had enough for the next few days, though Fukuzawa would argue that it would last a family of four for two weeks. He walks up to the owner and puts his goods on her desk ready for purchase, after they are all packed into an almost full bag he pays and takes the heavy carrier bag outside, ringing the chime again. He looks left and right until he can see Atsushi on his right looking down at his flip phone, "Something happened?" Ranpo asks as Atsushi just shakes his head and answers "It's just Dazai complaining." with a sigh.

With sweets in hand the pair start to go back to the agency and it wasn't long til Ranpo had to have a sweet, he gets out the lollipops he got before and opens the bag before grabbing an apple-flavoured lollipop. Just as he was about to put the bag back in his carrier bag, he decides to offer one to Atsushi, "You want one?" he asks holding the bag in Atsushi's general direction, he's shocked that Ranpo offered him one, and decides to ask the detective "Are you sure Ranpo-san?", a muffled "un." comes from Ranpo, who has the lollipop in his mouth, he also says around the lollipop "You did a good job on the case today so it's a reward, just take one though." It took a few seconds before he takes the bag from Ranpo and picks out a strawberry and cream-flavoured one before handing the bag back to Ranpo, "Thank you Ranpo-san." Atsushi says with a smile, the bag of sweets is put back into the bag that Ranpo is carrying as they carry on their walk. "Oh yeah," Atsushi says as if remembering something, as he digs into his own bag, in which he pulls out the Ramune and hands it in Ranpo's direction as he explains "This is for you Ranpo-san, you did a good job on the case today so I thought I'd get it for you." The drink is grabbed greedily as Ranpo asks Atsushi to open it now, though Atsushi asks for the master detective to wait as he needs a hard surface to pop the marble, as the two talk Ranpo can see another reason Atsushi got the Ramune just by looking at Atsushi's body language, it was a thanks for looking out for him with the nails. Ranpo had told him he didn't need to take him to Suzuhito today and gave him multiple chances to back out and he told him at the murder scene that if he needed to step out at any time he could, the detective thought he was doing the bare minimum at the time to do with his fear as Ranpo knows he's not really good with people due to his lack of common sense, though it seems he did the best he could do then.

The familiar sound of the Ramune marble hitting the glass can be heard as Fukuzawa looks to Ranpo who lounges on one of his couches as he complains to his boss. "It's really weird that I've started to remember weird stuff about Atsushi-kun, I can remember his favourite type of lollipop but I can't remember what colour Kyouka's Kimono is." The complaining detective stops slouching and walks to Fukuzawa's desk as he just keeps complaining "I can remember his favourite type of lollipop, his favourite conversation topic, his fear of nails-" Fukuzawa's eyebrow quirks at that last one, having heard nothing about Atsushi never having a fear of something before, "- His favourite type of food. Just- just random pieces of information that would never help me on a case, and I don't know what to do about it." The detective sound dejected towards the end, seemingly fed up about remembering "Useless" things about someone he trusts, Fukuzawa just looks at the master detective for a second as he realises that Ranpo is serious and actually doesn't know what's going on, so he decides to explain "It sounds like you have a crush Ranpo, or at least the beginning of it." Ranpo looks shocked at what Fukuzawa says as he retorts "No I don't! I don't have a crush on Atsushi-kun. I don't like him more than any of the other agency members, in any case, he only helps me get to case." Fukusawa thinks of Ranpo as a seven-year-old child explaining to a teacher why he put mud in his crush's hair, Fukuzawa sighs as he decides to explain Ranpo's crush "One of the reasons that you could like Atsushi is how easy he is to work with, it's easy for him to agree to take you on a case and get all of the transport issues sorted. From what I've heard you say and from what I've observed, Atsushi enjoys taking you on the trains and hearing your stories." A confused expression appears on Ranpo's face as he seemingly wants to agree with Fukuzawa though can't.

Fukuzawa's eyes look to the Ramune in Ranpo's hand and asks "Did Atsushi get you that Ramune?" as he didn't see it on the detective's desk before when the detective and his crush were gone, Ranpo only nods as he thinks. Fukuzawa decides to try and explain more about the feelings that Ranpo may be feeling "Another reason that you may like Atsushi is his thoughtfulness, he got you a Ramune even though you got that mountain's worth of sweets, though also you were thoughtful also thoughtful and gave him a sweet." Fukuzawa had a look of confusion at Atsushi, seeing him enter the office with a lollipop in his mouth, after the initial greetings Fukuzawa asked about the sweet as Atsushi explained that Ranpo gave it to him as the kid opens up the Ramune in his hand and puts it on Ranpo's desk, as the detective was currently in the toilet. He also remembers how a few months back Ranpo came into his office to explain that Atsushi had never had a sweet before and phrased it like a crime. Current day and time Fukuzawa still observes Ranpo as he just looks puzzled trying to figure out the new and mysterious case of his emotions, Fukuzawa is about to get back to work as Ranpo asks "What about what I mentioned before?" his eyes swimming in confusion, common sense escaping him in this situation as it ever was.

The "What I mentioned before" that Ranpo mentioned must be the four things he brought up before, Atsushi's: favourite flavour of lollipop, favourite conversation topics, his fear of nails, and favourite food. After a moment of thinking Fukuzawa decides to explain to the best of his abilities "You remembering Atsushi's favourite flavour of lollipop and food is nothing new in liking someone, even as a friend, seeing their favourite food on a menu and thinking of them, maybe inviting them to the place in the future. For his favourite conversation topics, it is a sign of how well you know Atsushi and that you two like to talk to each other. And for his fear-" Fukuzawa makes a mental note to ask Ranpo about that later "- It could be a sign of care, that you don't want Atsushi to experience negative emotions or him to be affected negatively by them." The confusion on Ranpo's face is increased as he thinks, it makes sense to the detective, it was why he enjoyed his day out today as well as in the past when he was paired with Atsushi, it was why he analysed him carefully today and gave him a heads up about what case they were going to, it was probably why Ranpo face flushed and how today felt easier than most days. "Though you may call it "Useless" Information Ranpo," Fukazawa addresses that confused detective who looks up and looks Fukazawa in the eye "I think that information is valuable and important to you as an individual. Not for any cases nor for any ADA related events in the future, but for your growing relationship with Atsushi."

After a few seconds of silence, Ranpo sits down on the sofa opposite Fukuzawa's chair, which wasn't the one he was lounging on previously, Fukuzawa looks at him as his mind seemingly races faster than on any cases yet. "What should I do?" Ranpo asks, his more carefree and childish manner of speaking had disappeared for the time being. A second passes as Fukuzawa evaluates Ranpo as he decides to ask "Do you truly love Atsushi?" it was plain and the groundwork for this type of relationship, it was something that he could work on and help Ranpo with. Though Fukuzawa didn't get a response, as Ranpo's eyes seem to swim, he almost lets out a sigh though keeps it in, this was important to Ranpo and hearing Fukuzawa sigh at his current situation isn't what he needs to hear. A minute passes and Fukuzawa thinks about what he could do, no one at the agency was in a relationship so he couldn't ask any of them for help, nor would Ranpo do it if Fukuzawa told him to, though an idea thankfully comes to him, "If you're unsure about your emotions, perhaps read some romance books? They tend to lay out why a character is in love with another perhaps they may help." It wasn't the best answer but it was the best for Ranpo and his situation, who wouldn't ask anyone in the ADA for help with such a personal subject.

Dusk's sunlight brightens the agency as it begins to go down, most of the ADA workers had done home for the night, Naomi, Yasano, and Kyouka were having their girls' night and all left together, Dazai left fairly soon after them with Kenji and Tanizaki leaving not soon after, the office staff like Haruno left soon after their departure, leaving Kunikida, Atsushi, Ranpo and Fukuzawa being the last people in the office. Fukuzawa was doing work in his office, only coming out occasionally for either tea or checking information with Kunikida, looking at Ranpo and Atsushi slightly when he came out, Atsushi and Kunikida were both doing work in the main room, Atsushi and Kunikida were both writing up the nail case, are were both at Kunikida's desk going over the information and making sure it's written up correctly. That leaves Ranpo, who was sitting on his chair playing video games and eating some of the snacks he got with Atsushi earlier, he would've left earlier but he realised that he didn't have any dinner for tonight and that most of the shops he could get dinner from were closed, and he didn't want to out for dinner tonight, he sighs at this fact as he has been doing the rest of the late afternoon. "Ranpo-san." Atsushi says, catching the detective's attention who looks at Atsushi next to Kunikida, who looks at Ranpo as well, Atsushi continues "Sorry to disturb you but you've been sighing all afternoon, is there something wrong?" "Yeah..." The detective moans "I don't have anything for dinner tonight..." he sighs again, the two younger detectives look at the mountain of snacks on Ranpo's desk before looking back to him, "I mean a proper meal, I promised the boss that I would eat at least one proper meal a day but I forgot to get a meal for today." Ranpo explains, the two detectives look surprised at this information before Kunikida asks "Can't you get something from a convenience store?" "Nope, that's not a proper meal, also it tastes cheap," Ranpo responds "What about dinner at a soba shop for instance?" "I don't feel like it." If Ranpo wanted to tell the truth he just wanted to eat something nice and try to think about his emotions, especially about Atsushi as it made him feel weird when he looked at the other.

"Why don't you eat dinner at mine Ranpo-san?" Atsushi said, the two other detectives look at Atsushias he explains "I usually make for two though due to the girls' night, Kyouka-chan won't be having dinner." Ranpo asks "Won't you need more food?" "No, I have enough at home, when I got dinner out to defrost this morning I forgot that Kyouka wasn't going to be there tonight, I only remembered when I set out for the agency for the day," Atsushi answers, the senior detective's eyes look at Atsushi's body language and deduced that Atsushi was telling the truth, that Ranpo coming for dinner won't be a strain but Ranpo could also see that Atsushi was a bit nervous about being alone tonight, in fights Atsushi needed someone with him to fight and that also goes for everyday tasks, though now that Ranpo thinks about it. "You sure you want me for dinner?" Ranpo says, "I'm sure, Ranpo-san" Atsushi replies, he wanted that verbal clarification, it was nicer for some reason, being told that he's allowed to come to Atsushi's. "Alright!" Ranpo says, standing up as he starts to put his snacks away, he wanted dinner now and was going to drag Atsushi out by his belt if he needed to though Atsushi started putting stuff away as well as he says "I guess I'm going home now Kunikida-san, I'll be in early tomorrow so I'll try and fill in most other documents then." Kunikida nods as he says "I'll put any relevant documents on your desk, be sure to finish them before the end of tomorrow." he gets a nod back from Atsushi as he's about to leave, "Goodbye Kunikida-san." "Goodbye Kunikida-kun!" the duo says as they open the door to leave they hear a "Goodbye Atsushi-kun, Ranpo-san." as they leave and the door closes behind them.

The duo had been walking for a few minutes, Ranpo realises that it was a bit weird being alone with Atsushi, he couldn't explain the feeling and was trying to understand it, it felt kind of nice but also a bit lonley, like a barrier was between them. They had been talking about nothing since they left the agency, with Atsushi getting Ranpo to converse with him, it had been a bit quiet and an uncomfortable feeling swelled in the air, so Atsushi decided to ask about the girls' night "What are they planning on doing at the girls night? play games or... what?" "Have you ever had a sleepover?" Ranpo said bluntly, to which Atsushi shook his head "No... I didn't have any friends in the orphanage to have one, have you Ranpo-san?" "Yeah like once, we watched TV, read magazines, ate snacks y'know the works." Well from Atsushi's question, he didn't know "the works" but he got a general idea, "Oh so it's like a party?" "Yeah basically." Ranpo noticed that Atsushi didn't need to go with Kyouka earlier to get sweets, so the sweets he got earlier at the sweet shop were enough for the night. Speaking of food, Ranpo was hungry "Ne Atsushi-kun, what's for dinner?" he asks, he knew the kid likes ochazuke as Dazai has mentioned taking him out a few times to eat it, and he wouldn't mind eating it as he's heard from Kyouka that Atsushi is a good cook and wouldn't mind testing that. "Oh, we're having omurice. You don't mind do you?" Atsushi asks, "Nope, sounds good!" Ranpo says, 'the dish to remind someone of their childhood' he heard it being called that once and tries to remember if he had it in his childhood, he probably had though he wonders if Atsushi ever had it in his childhood.

They get back to the dorms and Atsushi opens up his door and lets Ranpo in, it was how the detective expected it with Atsushi and Kyouka there, fairly empty tough with touches of personality here and there. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll get dinner on," Atsushi says, walking to the kitchenette and getting food out of his fridge. Atsushi and Kyouka's space wasn't the biggest but was enough for them, it has a kitchenette, table and chairs, and a small lounge, which was an old sofa with a side table, in one room and then the bathroom and the bedroom, where Kyouka mainly slept with Atsushi in the closet. Ranpo makes his way to the sofa and sits down as he looks to the side table as he can hear the sound of onions sizzling, the coffee table is filled with a pile of books, some from bookstores and others from libraries, "If you're unsure about your emotions, perhaps read some romance books? They tend to lay out why a character is in love with another perhaps they may help." Fukuzawa's words from earlier in the day come to Ranpo's mind, he could ask Atsushi for some recommendations, he knew Atsushi read before looking at the pile, he's read a variety of genres from crime to historical to fantasy and Ranpo wonders if he's read any romance. 'It's that a bit weird?' Ranpo thinks, asking his coworker for romance novel suggestions. He sighs as he can hear more sizzling from the pan Atsushi has in his hand.

Ranpo decides to see if Atsushi would care if Ranpo asks him for suggestions, but not in a way a normal person would, he gets his glasses out of his pocket and places them on his face, he doesn't say anything as not to alert Atsushi. As the winds rises around him all of the information he needs enters his head, and his mind becomes clearer though more full, he looks at Atsushi and his body language, how he's holding his pan, how the books are stacked, what books are there and soon enough the winds die down and he takes his glasses off. 'Atsushi won't mind.' is the conclusion that came to his mind, Atsushi would be a bit confused by the question though tell Ranpo his recommendations, just what he needed to hear, though it was a second later that he had to ask himself why he had to use his 'ability' to know such useless information, it was needed to solve complex cases and to figure out murders not if someone would be weirded out at a simply question. The great detective doesn't know what's happening to him, he sighs as he puts his head back only for a few seconds to pass and for him to hear Atsushi's voice say "Ranpo-san, your dinner is ready." The detective snaps his head to Atsushi, who's standing in front of the table and chairs, the detective's eyes fix on the dinner by one of the seats, he jumps up and moves to the table, and quickly sits down, if Atsushi hadn't have seen the detective eat a huge portion of his snacks earlier today he would've thought Ranpo hadn't eaten anything all day with how he acted. "I just need to finish making mine, I'll be a minute or two." Atsushi says as Ranpo looks at the meal in front of him, it was a textbook definition of omurice, a thin omelette with a zig-zag pattern of tomato sauce on top, the omlette was in a oval shape that looks filled to the brim with rice, assorted vegetables, and chicken coated in soy sauce and tomato. The sound of Ranpo's growling stomach could be heard throughout the room as he just kept looking at it, which was the sight Atsushi saw when he turned around with his plate in his hand as he asks "Is everything okay Ranpo-san?" Ranpo then looks to Atsushi before he just says "Cook for me." as blunt as ever, the other gave a little laugh as he puts his plate down and sits down opposite Ranpo "You haven't even taken a bite yet." he says as he has his utensils in hand, he gives a thank you for the food as he digs in. After a second Ranpo grabs his own and and takes a bite.

The omelette is thin though has a nice taste it isn't burnt in any way but also not undercooked, there is a small taste of cheese in the omelette which is a bit unexpected but not unwelcomed, the tomato fried rice is lovely, a nice mix of the soy sauce which isn't overpowering and the tomato sauce adds to the overall flavour, the chicken and veg go together well the chicken doesn't taste dry and is amazing with the egg. After Ranpo swallows his bite he doesn't take another and just looks at Atsushi who notices his staring and looks up with a bit of rice by his mouth, he doesn't even get to ask Ranpo why he's staring as the detective just states "Cook for me." again, Atsushi flashes a smile as he says "I would love to but I have to cook for myself and Kyouka-chan," as he continues eating. The two eat in silence as Ranpo savours Atsushi's cooking and remembers not to doubt Kyouka again when it comes to Atsushi's cooking. Ranpo's plate is cleaned quickly and he thanks Atsushi for the meal, who, with a mouth full of rice and omelette, just nods with a smile on his face, after a minute or two Atsushi finishes as well, both of their plates are taken to the kitchenette and is placed in the sink as Atsushi goes back to Ranpo, and sits down again. 'This is the best time.' Ranpo says as he straightens his back as decides to ask Atsushi his question which is harder to get out than it should be, "Ne Atsushi-kun, I was wondering if you could recommend me some books." he says, his left fist tightened as Ranpo is a bit nervous, though he couldn't say way, Atsushi looks captivated and decides to ask Ranpo a question "Sure I can, is there any genre's in particular you want to read?" "I'm thinking about...well...romance..." The master detective says the last part a bit quieter than the rest as a blush arrives on his checks, perhaps it's the fact that Ranpo Edogawa, Master Detective, is asking Atsushi for something so weird that's making him blush, would someone else in love blush at asking that weird of a question?

"Romance?" Atsushi asks a bit confused, Ranpo feels a bit uncomfortable and feels the need to get up and leave Atsushi's dorm though the other's features changing from that of confusion to attentive is the reason he doesn't leave, as well as the next few words that leave "Sure I can give you a few recommendations." Ranpo's hand uncurls as he looks back to Atsushi as he takes a moment to think, the young man stands up and goes to the coffee table with the tower of books and removes some books to pick one up and places the rest back, he comes back with a white book which he puts on the table. It has a woman seemingly floating in mid-air in the middle of the cover with white casing everything else, the title of the book is below, 'Strange Weather in Tokyo'. "I mainly stick with more classical romance novels which aren't that romantic," Atsushi says as he looks at the book before pushing it to Ranpo, "Though this one is more on the romantic side all in all, you may like it you may not." Ranpo picks up the book and turns it around to read the blurb, which is about the developing relationship between the main lead and her former high school teacher, it sounds quite bland though seeing that he is used to Edgar's novels which are in the mystery genre. "I'll give it a go, thank you," Ranpo says as he moves his eyes to Atsushi, who was now looking at him, "I'll write down some more books if that's not really your taste, I don't have any of these as I read them in the library or at the orphanage." He stands up and goes to the coffee table again and opens the draw, he gets a piece of paper out and a pen before coming back to the table and writes down some more novels, five are written down before the paper is given to Ranpo who puts down his book and reads a few of the novels Atsushi wrote down, 'Kitchen' and 'Forbidden Colours' are a few on that list.

After a few minutes of talking, Ranpo can see that Atsushi is tired and decides to leave "Thank you for the meal it was nice!" he says flashing a smile which Atsushi meets with his own smile and slightly reddened face, "Thank you Ranpo-san, it was nice to have a quiet evening with you, even if it was brief." he says a yawn comes out which and Atsushi rubs his eyes, the detective keeps his next comment short "Thank you for the book recommendations, I'll look into them." he it hanging on to the doorframe as Atsushi sees him out, "Let me know if you like any of them." he responds. Ranpo leaves the doorway and into the dark night, he gives a goodbye to which Atsushi marries him with one as well and they wave to each other as Ranpo starts to leave Atsushi's door, Atsushi's soft smile and colourful checks make Ranpo's checks redden again, though this time he doesn't fight it and embraces it with a calm smile.