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Fukuzawa sighs quietly. He’s finally done with all of the preparations and the party to celebrate the starting of the Armed Detective Agency is ready to happen tomorrow. It’s a little after five a.m.
Fukuchi can come, so he can finally meet Ranpo. Speaking of which, he’s been unusually quiet.
Fukuzawa gets up and walks over to Ranpo’s door. He can’t hear him moving around, so he opens the door. Ranpo’s asleep at his desk. The desk light is on and papers are scattered around. Ranpo’s head is resting on a manila folder. Fukuzawa walks over and picks up one of the papers. It’s one of the cases that he gave Ranpo to work on while he was getting the office ready for the party yesterday.
Wasn’t he dealing with these yesterday?
Fukuzawa lightly shakes Ranpo.
Ranpo picks his head up and blinks sleepily at Fukuzawa. “What? Is it time to get up?”
“It’s time for you to switch over to your bed,” Fukuzawa answers.
Ranpo looks at his desk, then starts blinking at it.
“Do you not remember going to sleep?” Fukuzawa asks.
Ranpo shrugs,” I remember working, but I don’t remember stopping.” He gets up and stumbles.
Fukuzawa grabs his shoulder to steady him. “You alright?”
“My foot’s asleep,” Ranpo mumbles, nodding,” Carry me.”
Fukuzawa picks Ranpo up and carefully puts him back in bed. After covering him up, he walks over and turns the desk light off.
“Thanks, Dad,” Ranpo says, then buries his face in his pillow.
Fukuzawa freezes in the doorway.
Dad? Does he really think of me that way? I’ll have to ask him at a later point.
He walks out and shuts Ranpo’s door. Fukuzawa picks up the telegram that he got from Fukuchi.
You started an Agency for ability users? Wow, look at you. Of course I’ll come to your party. I’ve probably got a ton of off days stored up, so I can take two or three days to come see you. And you’ve got a kid now, so I get to meet him. That sounds like a bunch of fun. We sure have changed a lot. Can’t wait to see you.
There’s “urgent” stamped onto it and it’s dated from yesterday, when he received it.
Fukuzawa sighs. He misses being able to talk to his friend more often.
After a couple hours, Ranpo gets up. “Hi, Fukuzawa,” he says as he walks into the kitchen.
Fukuzawa hears the fridge open and then shut almost immediately.
“We don’t have milk.” Ranpo pokes his head into the living room.
“Weird,” Fukuzawa says,” I thought we just bought some. We can get some when we go out.”
“Why are we going out?” Ranpo asks,” I just wanna stay in.”
“We have a few things to check on,” Fukuzawa answers,” Go get ready and we can pick up breakfast on the way.”
Ranpo runs into his room and shuts the door. After Ranpo gets ready, they walk to the store and get muffins. They walk to the police station and Fukuzawa walks over to Commissioner Tanaka’s desk.
“Fukuzawa,” he says,” What a surprise. What do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m having a party to celebrate the starting of the agency,” Fukuzawa answers,” and I’d like you to come.”
“It’s been a month since it started,” Commissioner Tanaka reminds him.
“Yes, but someone is giving us a specialized name plate as thanks for helping them and I thought we might as well,” Fukuzawa replies, sitting down across from him.
Commissioner Tanaka nods,” I see. Well, I don’t know if I’ll be able to come. My family is used to having me at home so things have been hectic since I started work back.”
“And how is your heart?” Fukuzawa asks.
“Fine.”
He’s obviously avoiding an actual answer, so Fukuzawa moves on. “Well, Ranpo’s been very well behaved lately.”
“We talking about the same kid?”
Fukuzawa nods,” I’ve been giving him plenty to do.”
Commissioner Tanaka’s turn to nod,” I see. At least he’s doing well. My son got in another fight yesterday and got suspended for a week.”
“That’s a shame. As much as I’d like to sit around boasting about how my child is better behaved than yours, I have more errands to run,” Fukuzawa says,” So I hope to see you at the party.”
“I’ll try to make it,” Commissioner Tanaka replies,” I’m coming home to it being a mess because my kids are giving my wife a hard time.”
“I wish you luck,” Fukuzawa says with a slight bow.
Commissioner Tanaka gives him a nod,” Thank you, I need it.”
Fukuzawa turns to see Ranpo sitting with a female officer, a lollipop in his mouth. “Come now, Ranpo.”
Ranpo thanks the officer with a bow, then runs over to Fukuzawa. “I’m here.”
The two walk out of the station and head down the street.
“Can I get a cake pop when we go to the bakery?” Ranpo asks, sticking close to Fukuzawa.
“If you behave,” Fukuzawa answers.
“How many stops before the bakery?” Ranpo asks.
“Two,” Fukuzawa answers.
They walk into an electronics store. Fukuzawa walks over to the front desk and after a small conversation, is given a box. He pays for it, then leaves with Ranpo. He hands the box to Ranpo.
Ranpo excitedly opens it. “A phone?”
“You need one now that the Agency is started,” Fukuzawa says.
Ranpo smiles,” Thank you, but it’s also because bad things keep happening to me, right?”
Fukuzawa nods. “That too.”
They walk to the telegram store and Ranpo scrunches up his nose. “Who still uses these?”
“The military with bases that can’t get normal calls,” Fukuzawa answers,” and I need to send a message to my friend.”
“The one that promised to come to the party?”
“Yes, that one. I need to remind him of the time and that he should come early if he can. I’d rather you two meet before he gets some alcohol in him.”
They walk in and Fukuzawa notices that no one’s at the counter. There’s a small sign on near the register.
Be back in an hour. If you have a tab with us, write down what you want and what the name on the tab is. Leave the envelope in the mailbox on the counter and I’ll get back to it when I come back.
The timestamp is from ten minutes before they came in.
Fukuzawa grabs an envelope and writes his name on it. He grabs one of the pieces of paper and writes Fukuchi’s full name and rank, along with where he’s stationed.
Fukuchi, the party is at 3:00 pm. If you could come a little earlier, that would be appreciated. I want you to meet Ranpo before the party starts. He’ll either hate the party and want to go home, or he’ll be too absorbed in the people paying attention to him to interact with you much. Don’t drink anything before coming, I’m serious. You’re not yourself when you’re drinking and I want Ranpo to meet you, not drunk you. Thank you.
He puts the pen down and slips the piece of paper in the envelope. After sealing it, he looks for Ranpo.
Ranpo watches the fish swimming around the fish tank near the back corner of the store.
“Come on, Ranpo. We have a cake to check on,” Fukuzawa says.
Ranpo runs over and trips on his own two feet.
Fukuzawa catches Ranpo by the arm and puts him upright again. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
Ranpo follows Fukuzawa out of the store, looking at the features of his new phone.
“How expensive was this?”
“Don’t worry about losing it, Ranpo.”
Fukuzawa holds out his arm and Ranpo grabs it. While hanging off of Fukuzawa’s arm, he continues looking at the features on the phone.
“Ranpo, look where you’re going.”
Ranpo looks up in enough time to sidestep the dog running full force at him. He presses himself against Fukuzawa’s side to avoid any more possible disasters.
“Hand me your phone, please.”
Ranpo hands Fukuzawa the phone and Fukuzawa punches his number in, then hands it back. “Label it as you please and remember to ask the commissioner for his number tomorrow,” Fukuzawa says.
Ranpo nods,” I will.”
He labels Fukuzawa’s number as “Dad”, then clicks off of it. He creates a contact and puts Commissioner Tanaka’s number in, which he read off of some paperwork for a case last week.
They make it to the bakery and walk inside.
Ranpo, who’s successfully hidden himself with Fukuzawa’s sleeve and standing mostly behind him, starts bouncing on his toes. He loves the smell of bakeries, especially when cakes are baking.
“Hello, Fukuzawa,” Chika, the owner of the bakery, says,” Where’s little Ranpo?”
Ranpo pops out from beside Fukuzawa,” Hi, Chika!”
She smiles,” Hi, Ranpo dear. How have you been? Is Fukuzawa feeding you enough?”
Ranpo nods. “I’ve been good, solving plenty of cases. And I only eat when I want to.” He gives a small huff.
Chika laughs. “Of course, darling. We’re on track to finish the cake by morning.”
Fukuzawa nods and gives her a slight bow,” Thank you very much.”
After looking at Fukuzawa, Ranpo mirrors the motion.
Chika laughs again,” Do you want something to eat, Ranpo?”
Ranpo turn to look at Fukuzawa, who nods once. “I’d like a cake pop.”
“What’s the magic word?” Fukuzawa asks.
Ranpo’s cheeks flush a little, then he bows,” I’d like a cake pop, please.”
“You two are so cute,” Chika says,” What kind of cake pop?”
“Chocolate raspberry,” Ranpo answers excitedly.
“You always want that one,” she replies, grabbing it out,” Why do I even ask anymore?”
She hands it to him and he takes it.
“Thank you,” he says, bowing his head slightly.
“What do I owe you?” Fukuzawa asks.
“Payment can be that Ranpo becomes my taste tester for all of my new treats. Sound fair?”
Ranpo nods, then turns to Fukuzawa for approval.
“You can call whenever you need him,” Fukuzawa says.
Ranpo smiles and hugs Fukuzawa.
“We’ll see you in the morning, Chika,” Fukuzawa says.
“See you two tomorrow,” Chika replies.
The two walk out of the bakery and head for the store. Ranpo walks close to Fukuzawa again, but quietly thinking about Chika and how nice she is. The two walk into the grocery store and Ranpo immediately wanders off.
Fukuzawa grabs his wrist and he turns. “Don’t wander off, Ranpo,” Fukuzawa instructs gently.
Ranpo sticks by Fukuzawa’s side as they walk through the store getting what they need until Ranpo runs to get the milk so Fukuzawa doesn’t forget it.
Ranpo holds the milk above his head triumphantly, so Fukuzawa shakes his head but he’s got a small smile on his face. Ranpo’s face lights up at the small smile on Fukuzawa’s face and he runs over to him. He offers Fukuzawa the milk, which he takes and puts into the basket.
“Do you want something as a treat for the party tomorrow?” Fukuzawa asks and he starts walking again.
Ranpo shrugs, then nods,” I want cookies.”
“Store bought?”
Ranpo shrugs,” Either way, I like cookies.”
Fukuzawa nods,” We can just get some at the bakery tomorrow when we pick up the cake. Any kind in specific?”
Ranpo shakes his head.
They walk towards the register and Fukuzawa asks,” Do you want to pay today?”
Ranpo’s face lights up again and he nods.
Nobody’s ever let me do that before.
They walk up to the register and Ranpo takes all of the things out of the basket and puts them on the belt for the lady to scan.
She smiles at the two as she scans the items and says,” You and your son are so cute.”
Ranpo smiles,” Thanks.”
He feels Fukuzawa’s eyes on him, so he shifts slightly so he can see him.
Fukuzawa’s got a small smile on his face. He hands Ranpo money, so Ranpo turns back to the cashier and hands her the money.
After counting it, she puts it in the register. “Have a nice day, you two,” she says sweetly.
Ranpo nods,” You too.”
The two walk out of the grocery store and Fukuzawa asks,” Why didn’t you correct her?”
“You stopped correcting the commissioner, so I figured we were both tired of correcting everyone so we were giving up,” Ranpo answers.
Fukuzawa nods,” Sounds fine to me.”
The duo head home and Ranpo gets back to the cases he was working on the night before. He opens up the final file and feels his chest tighten up.
Pictures of a car accident where two victims were killed. The parents of a little girl with an illness. They were on the way to the doctor when another car hit them and knocked them off of the road. The car drove away and they still haven’t figured out who hit them.
This looks deliberate.
Ranpo looks through the pictures and instantly regrets doing it.
Fukuzawa never gives me cases like this. What made him give this one to me?
He picks his glasses up off of the desk and puts them on.
Police informant with information about the mafia. Something that was actually the PM.
Ranpo puts the file back together and writes that the PM did it on the folder. This emptiness washes over Ranpo and he turns the lamp off and climbs into bed to escape it. After fully covering himself in a blanket, he eventually falls asleep.
Fukuzawa wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on the front door. He gets up and pulls a robe on. He opens the door and a man in the military’s uniform is standing at the door. Dread fills him.
Did something happen to Fukuchi?
“Are you Fukuzawa?” he asks.
“Yes, did something happen?” Fukuzawa answers.
“You sent Fukuchi something and I’m returning it,” he says,” Fukuchi took leave and left without telling anyone in command where he was going. I was sent to look for him and I thought that you would want to know if you’re important enough for your mail to be issued as a priority.”
“Thank you,” Fukuzawa sighs,” Should I contact someone if I find him?”
“Just have him call Command if you do happen to find him,” he answers,” I’m sorry to wake you so early and I hope you have a good day.” He hands Fukuzawa the telegram, then walks away.
Fukuzawa closes the door and sighs.
Fukuchi is too much sometimes.
He puts the telegram on the kitchen counter and starts making coffee. His alarm goes off in his room, so he walks in to turn it off. Six o’clock.
He goes through his morning routine and at seven, he hears Ranpo’s alarm go off. He puts bread in the toaster for the two of them. The alarm is still going by the time the toast is done, so he walks to Ranpo’s room and opens the door.
Ranpo’s eyes are open and looking in his direction, but the look is dark and blank.
“Ranpo!” He takes two long strides and makes it to Ranpo’s bedside.
Ranpo’s eyes lose the blankness and he looks at Fukuzawa.
“Are you alright?” Fukuzawa asks.
Ranpo nods once, then pulls his hand out of his blanket to grab Fukzuawa’s kimono.
Fukuzawa starts checking Ranpo for injury.
Ranpo has more than once hit his head on the bedframe and given himself a concussion.
Ranpo jerks on Fukuzawa’s kimono and pulls him closer, then puts his head on Fukuzawa’s chest.
He’s looking for comfort, he’s not injured. Thank God he’s not injured today of all days.
Fukuzawa moves Ranpo’s head and sits on the edge of his bed, then hugs him.
“What happened?” Fukuzawa asks after a minute.
Ranpo shakes his head, his body shaking.
“Okay.” He stays there for a few minutes, until the phone rings.
Ranpo lets Fukuzawa go and curls back up in his blanket.
Fukuzawa gets up and answers the phone.
“Hey, it’s me,” Commissioner Tanaka says.
“What can I do for you?” Fukuzawa asks curtly, a little annoyed.
“In the cases that I gave you, one of my cases slipped in,” he answers, clearly choosing to ignore the tone,” You probably won’t want Ranpo to see it. It’s a nasty car crash where this girl’s parents died. One of them was one of our informants on the Port Mafia, so they’re the most likely suspects. Also, I’ll be able to come for some of the party, but I’ll be bringing my youngest daughter. She’ll probably love Ranpo.”
“Alright, thank you.” Fukuzawa flips the phone closed and walks over to Ranpo’s desk.
He looks through the folders until he finds one with PM in bold letters. That’s the only thing written on the folder. He opens it and is greeted by gory photos of car crash injuries and the terrible condition that the car was in.
He closes the folder and walks back over to Ranpo’s bed. He sits on it again and asks,” Do we need to reschedule the party?”
Ranpo shakes his head, then sits up. “I’m fine now.”
Even though he’s skeptical, he nods.
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
Fukuzawa nods again, then gets up and walks out of Ranpo’s room, shutting the door on the way out. He walks into the kitchen and puts the toast on plates and puts them on the table.
Ranpo comes out of his room in his old school uniform without a word about it.
Fukuzawa doesn’t press, just motions for him to eat his breakfast.
He pokes at his toast for a while, then nibbles on it. It takes him half of an hour to finish the single piece of toast. He gets up and walks into the kitchen.
Fukuzawa, who’s been reading the paper since he started nibbling on his toast, looks up to see what he’s doing.
He’s looking around the drink cabinet. “What are you looking for?” Fukuzawa asks.
Ranpo pulls a ramune out of the cabinet and holds it for Fukuzawa to see.
Fukuzawa nods, then gets up. “We have to pick up the cake and cookies. Do you want to stay here?”
Ranpo shakes his head,” I want to see Chika.”
“Alright.”
Chika smiles and chats with them as Ranpo picks out cookies to go to the party.
He seems happier than when he woke up, so that’s what matters.
Fukuzawa and Ranpo head back and get everything set up. Once they’re done, Ranpo starts running around.
Probably trying to exert some energy before the party.
Once people start showing up, Fukuzawa loses sight of Ranpo. Knowing that he’ll hear the door open if Ranpo tries to leave, he allows himself to relax. Fukuzawa walks around the room, chatting with whoever comes up to talk to him. He notices a small crowd gathered in a corner of the room and he walks over to see what’s going on.
Ranpo’s sitting on one of the small couches, wearing the glasses Fukuzawa gave him.
He must be using his “ability”.
“How could he know that without an ability?” one of the men asks,” I only suspected, but never had enough evidence.”
“Well, I didn’t really need my ability that much,” Ranpo says,” Most of the evidence is in the photos she was sending you. He’s hiding in plain sight in every one of them.” He grabs a marker,” Do you have copies of these?”
“Several.”
He circles things on each photo, then hands them back,” Ultra Deduction makes solving impossible crimes easy, so this was a piece of cake.”
Fukuzawa laughs, then returns his attention to the other guests.
Ranpo smiles as the guests are in awe of his ability.
“Ultra Deduction is amazing,” one person says.
“Of course it is,” he says,” It’s the greatest ability of all time.”
“Hey, kid,” Commissioner Tanaka says.
Ranpo looks away from the small crowd that’s gathered around him and waves.
“This is my little girl, Ayame,” he says, motioning to the little girl that’s firmly attached to his leg,” She’s a little shy, but she loves hearing about you solving cases.”
“Well, then you have good taste,” Ranpo says,” Got a case in specific that you liked better?”
She nods,” The one where JT got shot at.”
“Who?” Ranpo asks.
“That’s my oldest boy,” Commissioner Tanaka says.
“Oh, so Tanaka,” Ranpo replies,” Yeah, that one was not fun. Any other one?”
She shrugs,” I don’t know any more specifically.”
“Well… Me neither. Cases run together. Oh, there was this case where I told the police everything they needed to know and then the criminal tracked me down to the theater I was watching some play at with Da… Fukuzawa. Yeah, that wasn’t cool because he had a gun.”
Her eyes widen,” How did you escape?”
“Fukuzawa.”
“He sure seems awesome,” Ayame says.
“He’s the best,” Ranpo agrees,” Other than me, of course.”
Commissioner Tanaka laughs,” I’m gonna go find him and talk to him. I’ll see you two in a bit.”
Ranpo talks with Ayame and the others for a while, talking about cases he’s solved and places he’s gotten to visit around town.
“Come on, Ayame,” Commissioner Tanaka says,” Mom wants us back at the house because JT tried to light the house on fire while making food.”
“Okay,” Ayame says, then hops up,” Thanks for talking to me, Ranpo.”
“It was a pleasure,” Ranpo replies.
The two leave, so Ranpo looks at his watch.
It’s getting late in the afternoon, so Ranpo feels sleep nagging at him. He definitely didn’t sleep enough last night, and what sleep he did get was riddled with nightmares of their death.
“Ranpo.”
Ranpo turns and Fukuzawa is standing behind him. “Yes?” Ranpo asks.
“There’s someone I’d like you to finally meet,” Fukuzawa answers.
Ranpo follows Fukuzawa over to a man that is clearly intoxicated.
“This is Ōchi Fukuchi,” Fukuzawa says.
Ranpo looks between Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. “This is him?” Ranpo asks,” I expected… something else.”
“Nice to meet you,” Fukuchi says, holding out his hand between Ranpo and Fukuzawa.
Fukuzawa gently moves his hand until it’s pointing at Ranpo.
Ranpo shakes his hand. His hand is sweaty and gross, so Ranpo wipes his hand on his pants.
Fukuzawa sighs and shakes his head. “You’re free to go back to the guests, Ranpo,” he says.
Ranpo nods, then heads back over to the couch he was sitting on. Everyone’s gone about their business, so he just grabs a book out of his bag.
After a couple of minutes, there’s a commotion over by the food table.
“You’re causing a scene, stop it!” Fukuzawa quietly demands.
Ranpo heads towards the commotion and sees Fukuchi knocking into everything he can reach.
“You stop it,” he says to Fukuzawa.
Fukuzawa sighs,” Let’s take you into the other room to sober up.” He grabs Fukuchi’s arm, but he pulls away.
After watching Fukuchi piss on the door-plate and Fukuzawa, obviously embarrassed, convincing him to stop, Ranpo snaps.
“What is your problem?” Ranpo shouts,” You’re supposed to be a war hero and you’re making a complete and total fool of yourself! You’re thirty-something years old! You should know how to behave!”
Fukuzawa turns to Ranpo, as does everybody else.
Ranpo covers his mouth with his hand and his face heats up.
“It’s all fine,” Fukuzawa says loud enough where everybody can hear it,” Just a small disagreement. Please, continue on with the party.”
Most of the people go back to what they were doing.
Ranpo hides behind Fukuzawa to avoid what stares are left.
Fukuzawa, avoiding the puddle of pee, drags Fukuchi into the other room and shuts the door. He turns to Ranpo, who’s looking at his shoes. “I’m not angry, Ranpo,” Fukuzawa says.
“I’m ashamed, not worried,” Ranpo replies quietly,” I don’t like to lose my temper.”
Fukuzawa kneels down and says,” It’s alright to lose your temper every once in a while, just make sure that you don’t hurt anybody.”
Ranpo nods, making eye contact with Fukuzawa, which is rare.
Fukuzawa gently ruffles Ranpo’s hair, then gets back to his feet. “Come on, let’s get back to the party,” he says.
“What about your friend?” Ranpo asks.
“When he gets this drunk, he doesn’t usually remember how to open doors,” Fukuzawa replies,” So he’ll be fine sobering up in there.”
The two walk back to the party and enjoy the rest of their celebration. Once the party is over, they clean up and take a passed out Fukuchi to the military building in the city.
After being thanked profusely, the two head home. Fukuzawa and Ranpo sit down on the couch together.
“Are you going to be fine by yourself tonight?” Fukuzawa asks.
Ranpo shakes his head, then leans against Fukuzawa. “I’m crashing from all of the peopling.”
He presses himself against Fukuzawa’s side, then closes his eyes. “Today was nice though. Except for having to take your crazy friend back to the military.”
Fukuzawa laughs,” He’s not normally like that, I promise. Hopefully you’ll see him when he’s acting normal.”
Ranpo shrugs, then focuses on his breathing so he doesn’t think about anything and ends up falling asleep.