Prey and Predator [Ranpo x Reader] + Bonus ✓

Epilogue

It marked today four years since father's homicide, a date which I often dreaded more than anything but had learned to accept after years of working out some stoicism. Neither brother nor I had managed to find a will left in his name - only a forgery from mother, but badly done so - so no personal words were tailored on his tombstone. Only his name and years he had lived for, and nothing else.

Mother had not lived for much longer either, the subject being sentenced with the death penalty after serving a short sentence the same year she was administered to prison. I was reluctant to visit her grave at times, but chose to let go of any grudge I may have held against her in order to free myself.

It was only once a year in this particular day that I arranged on meeting with Miss Chie Ki, the subject having been released after serving a short sentence of two years after an appeal we made to have her sentence shortened, and contacted her first to bring her peace of mind when she was released; I forgave her, and crossed my heart that I would not use her the same way - or in any way - that my mother had done so earlier.

"Perhaps you didn't make good choices all your life, but if we blame ourselves for all lives lost around us we will never move forward." - I remember telling her when I proposed we met to pay our respects to my father (and her family if she felt comfortable to do so).

Now, more than ever, I adopted that same philosophy: I acknowledged disasters around me, but did not dig my own grave with the help of guilt; I knew that would only anchor me and make me unable to move forward. And I needed to hold this belief strongly for my job, too.

I wasn't working in the Armed Detective Agency as I had perhaps wished I could, but found out that the agency my father had worked for was still up and running, recruiting staff, and I seized the opportunity to begin my career as detective. Officially, I worked for this organisation, but my acquaintances and coworkers were truly those in the Armed Detective Agency.

I met those in the gifted organisation more than was expected, I reckon, sometimes running into one of them while on duty myself, and sometimes being summoned to investigate the same case.

Ranpo and I contested at times to reach the scene first, the last to arrive owing lunch or dinner to the other as the time of day seemed appropriate; my athletic skills surpassed his, but he was more strategic than I was and managed to arrive before me a great majority of the time. But at least he was easy to satisfy with simple meals and quick grocery store desserts, plus, time spent with him was quality time, so the situation was a win-win.

Speaking of grocery stores: we still had ours up and running (brother worked there full-time now), but we no longer lived upstairs. We moved to a smaller flat a walking distance from the store, sharing bills and expenses as deemed fair. The house upstairs was stripped of its domestic qualities and given a remodel project to turn it into an open-living rental unit for small parties or events.

I was interrupted off my thoughts when my phone started ringing, and I smiled when looking at the caller ID, answering the call while pushing myself off my desk and dismissing myself from a finished day of paperwork. 'Yosano -'

'Wrong!' The familiar childish voice came from the other side of the call, mimicking a small ring of a xylophone as teachers often hit whenever children got a question incorrect at nursery or primary school.

'Should've guessed, detective Diabetes. What a lovely surprise to have you call. Am I in trouble?'

I could almost see his legs swinging excitedly under his desk as he often did whenever on the phone with me (I was told by his co-workers he did so), and thought this situation to be no different.

'Is Ranpo bored out of his mind right now? Is that why you called?' I teased, throwing my jacket over my shoulders and grabbing my belongings with my free hand.