A/N
It's been awhile since I wrote something that wasn't NSFW for RanPoe, so you get this part 1 thats all cutesy and part 2 will be that good ol' NSFW content.
Fluffy stuff makes me sick fr /j
Third Person POV
Ranpo sat, tapping his feet together in his seat. He could feel several eyes on him which he'd usually be a fan of such attention, this wasn't any kind of attention he wanted.
He was just 19 and already in his last year of college in a foreign country. Most of his time spent here he was belittled by bullies for being younger than everyone else as well as the occasional racist remark, all of which he ignored for the most part.
He wasn't paying attention to the lecture though, instead he was glancing at the door, then the clock, and then back at the door again.
'When is he coming? There's so many questions I have for him! I wanna see if this guy actually deserves his ranking-' Ranpo had managed to learn of the top ranking student of four years and what his schedule was, luckily finding out they shared several of the same classes. He wanted to test his knowledge, assuming if he could best him in some sort of test most would give up on their attempts to belittle him.
The middle door opened first, the tall and almost brooding looking goth walked in, looking for a seat away from everyone. Ranpo waved his hand ecstatically at him while patting the empty seat beside him.
Poe looked behind himself and on either side, realizing no one was next to him and pointed to himself.
Ranpo nodded and continued to wave him over until Poe finally started to slowly walk over, at first attempting to take a seat that was close but not directly next to him, only for Ranpo to move over one to sit next to him.
"Hey! You are the number one of this school right?" Ranpo half-whispered.
Poe leaned slightly back from him. "Umm… yes… Look I don't accept money for homework so-"
Ranpo frowned immediately. "What? I'm not some idiot."
Poe blushed slightly, becoming flustered. "I-I didn't say you were! I just-"
Ranpo put a hand on his shoulder. "I wanna compete against you!"
Poe stopped. "Compete against me..?"
Ranpo nodded. "Yup, I wanna see how smart you really are."
Poe gave a quick up and down look over Ranpo. "Uh, how old are you? Are you even old enough to be in these classes?"
"I'm 19! I would have been here at 16 if the government would have allowed it-" Ranpo frowned. "I hate waiting, three years has been BORING, I want some ACTION." He tapped on Poe's desk. "Say I hear you got some sort of ability, I bet I could beat that too."
Poe looked away. "I guess I could do a competition… I'd have to find some sort of test, or maybe we both make a test for each other?" Poe muttered to himself before Ranpo got his attention again at the mention of his ability. "Ah, I do, but I think it would be too unfair… I wouldn't want to risk hurting anyone."
Ranpo laid his head on his own desk and looked at Poe. "Tell me about it, I bet I can if it's not like, a fighting ability, I'm super smart but like, that doesn't help against uhh fire balls or something-"
Poe sighed. "Perhaps I'll tell you if you beat me."
Ranpo's eyes lit up. "When, I beat you."
Poe had a slight grin. "If."
Ranpo narrowed his eyes at him before turning to face the front of the class, looking down at the large projected screen and professor talking about things Ranpo had already known. He leaned back in a bored sigh and rummaged through his bag for something to snack on.
While looking through his bag he heard a small chattering sound which made him look up and and towards where he heard it.
Poe's face was bright red as he was looking in his own bag.
Ranpo looked confused and asked. "What was that?"
Poe shushed him and pulled down the one side of his bag so Ranpo could get a better look.
Inside was a tiny raccoon, its ears wiggling around as Poe fed it something.
Ranpo looked stunned and stared up at Poe who still looked embarrassed.
"I... I found him outside a week ago… I tried to find his mom but I think he was abandoned." Poe quietly said while rubbing the raccoon's head with his thumb.
"That's a raccoon-"
"His name is Karl…"
"You have a raccoon, in your bag..?"
Poe partially closed the bag. "they need fed every so often, so I couldn't leave him in my dorm all day-"
Ranpo stares at him for a little bit longer before pulling out a piece of candy and popping it into his mouth, turning away again and acting like he saw nothing.
•••
It had been a few days since Ranpo officially met the #1 student. The two eventually exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up in the library during slow hours so that they could be relatively undisturbed when planning how they would properly test each other's abilities.
They decided on a specific subject and small series of tests they could give each other. They both missed a few classes as their competition took longer than both had intended, ending with Poe completely stumped and Ranpo with the biggest grin on his face and an unhumble attitude towards winning.
Ranpo patted Poe's shoulder. "You weren't the best BUT you weren't the worst!"
Poe had a blank look on his face. "Uh.."
Ranpo grinned. "Now let me know when we can meet up again for you to show me that ability of yours!" He grabbed his things and quickly left the library.
Poe looked down at all the papers still scattered on the table. '...How?' he huffed and crumpled them all up. 'I'll show him my ability… that's what he wanted right? well he definitely couldn't beat it! He'd have no outside knowledge of my works inside of a novel. It had to be some sort of ability… and abilities don't work in my novels! he'd be stuck and stumped! He'd have to beg me to be let out- ' He thought to himself with a bit of a smirk on his face only for his thoughts to be cut off as he heard squeaking from his bag again. "Ah! Karl!" He pulled out the small raccoon. "Are you hungry again?"
•••
Nearly a month later, and a month obsessing over the creation of a book for his ability to fully stump the cocky young senior, Poe told Ranpo to meet him at his dorm this time, not comfortable using his ability in any sort of public area like the library.
Ranpo quickly arrived, excited to see what ability the other had.
Poe let him inside, his dorm was kept dark, there was a trashcan full of crumpled up paper and some scattered on the floor. There was candle wax that had dried after running down the side of his desk.
"Here you go." Poe handed Ranpo the book he had finished.
Ranpo stared at the book and then at Poe. "Your dorm is so dark, and what's this book for?"
Poe smiled. "It's my ability."
"Your ability is making books?" Ranpo looked confused.
Poe frowned. "Just read it-"
Ranpo opened the book and began to read the first page before he was blinded by a bright light coming from the book he held. In the next few moments he was opening his eyes in an entirely different world.
Poe picked the book off the floor and looked at his work. "Ah, how long will this take you? any longer than a day and I'll have to let you out."
Poe sat the book down on his desk and yawned. He had stayed up for so long now, maybe an hour nap here or there, skipping classes and drinking an ungodly amount of coffee. He sat down on his bed and was asleep in the next few minutes.
He wasn't asleep for long though, maybe an hour or so passed before he jolted awake to wind blowing around his room and that bright light coming from his book once again.
He jumped up. "What!?" He walked towards the book but suddenly felt Ranpo crash into him as the two landed on the floor.
Poe's face was red in embarrassment. "HOW DID YOU-"
Ranpo looked down at him, sitting on top of him. "That is an AWESOME ability!." he hopped up and pulled Poe to his feet, making the other yelp in surprise. "Do you have other books you can do that with? can you do it with any book??"
Poe still looked bewildered and grabbed Ranpo's shoulders, shaking him. "How did you figure it out that fast!?"
Ranpo started. "Huh? oh! You mean the mystery? I mean it was a bit tricky would have taken way less time if I was just reading it regularly but being IN it was just too cool, I had to experience it!"
Poe looked drained, slumping down and resting his head on Ranpo's shoulder. "Ughh.."
Ranpo frowned. "Are you okay?"
Poe sighed. "Yes… I am fine…, and no, I can't do it with any book, just… just ones I write myself."
Ranpo gasped. "You write your own books? That's even MORE awesome! Do you have more? Can I do that again?"
Poe defeatedly walked towards his desk again, pulling out a drawer and handing Ranpo a small pile of books. "Yes."
Ranpo's eyes were sparkling in excitement. "WOO! Again!" He opens the first book and begins to read as Poe tiredly activates his ability again, trapping Ranpo inside for the time being. He sits back on his bed before flopping back and staring up at his ceiling.
'He likes my ability at least… He thinks it's cool…' Poe thought to himself before closing his eyes. 'He is… so painfully adorable…'