~⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡☆⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡~
~two days later~
Y/n POV:
Me and Atsushi are currently listening in on the conversation between Ranpo and Osamu about how we're going to defeat the Guild, after receiving information from one of the Guild members.
"This is some amazing intel, though. It's worth its weight in gold. How would we make use of this to take down the Guild at its core? Infiltrate with a bomb?" Osamu asks Ranpo.
"No good. Our communications will give us away, and we'll get shot down," Ranpo says.
"Oh, you're right. How about Kenji-kun from the Gifted Special Operations Divisions?" Osamu asks.
"Nope. Leads to a stalemate in a ground battle, and we'll be fighting overtime," Ranpo says
"That's true. Atsushi-kun, then?" Osamu asks.
"It could work with Light Snow," Ranpo says.
"True. I'll get right on it. Do we end in the mountains?" Osamu asks.
"The sea," Ranpo says.
"Roger," Osamu says.
"Sounds like you're up, Atsushi," I say with a smile on my face.
Atsushi just gave me a look that said 'Seriously?' to which I lightly chuckled at.
"Oh! Y/n, you're here too! Can I ask you to do something?" Ranpo asks, catching my attention.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Can you go get me snacks? I'm running out," he requests.
"Uh... sure? Do you want something in particular?" I ask, wondering why he asked me that, since last time he went with me.
"Surprise me! You can go to the same sweets shop that I showed you before!" he exclaims.
"Okay... I'll get going then," I say, making my way over to the exit.
~
As I open the door to the sweets shop, I'm hit with the familiar scent that I smelled the first time.
'This smell is heavenly.'
The cashier greets me to which I slightly nod my head as I head towards the aisle that I knew Ranpo went to last time, after grabbing a basket from the front. Scanning all the sweets, I chose a few that I remembered seeing Ranpo buy, adding in a few of my own recommendations based on what I assumed that he would like. After obtaining all of the sweets that I wanted to buy, I make my way over to the register when a person in a hood brushes past me.
"Oh, sorry—" I say but when I turned around, they were gone.
'That was weird. I'm just gonna get the snacks and get out of here.'
I paid for my stuff and thanked the cashier, exiting the shop with my bag of snacks.
The walk back seemed to take longer than it actually was. That feeling of being watched kept returning to me every now and then, which made me stop and look around whenever the feeling arose.
Every time I would stop. And every time I would find nothing.
It was almost like the moment I sensed something, it would disappear; vanishing without a trace.
'It's okay. You're okay. Just keep walking. Just get back to the Agency. You'll be safe there. You'll be—'
Out of the corners of my eyes, I notice two hands reaching out from behind me, dragging me into a nearby alleyway. One of the hands went to cover my mouth while the other wrapped around my arms, limiting my upper body's movements. I dropped the bag and tried to pry my way out of the person's grip, but I couldn't. Using the heel of my shoe, I stepped on one of the person's feet which resulted in their grip loosening, giving me the chance to break free.
I turned around to find out who the person was but they had a mask covering their entire face.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I ask, pushing them against the alley wall with my left arm while my hidden dagger is held to their throat by my right hand.
The person doesn't say anything, only slowly taking out a folded piece of paper from their coat pocket, wanting me to take it. I look down at their hand, debating on if I should take the paper or not. In the end, I decided to put away my dagger and grab the paper, keeping my arm on them.
Unfolding the paper, I read the contents of the note.
~
My dear Y/n, you can't run from me forever. You may have been able to get your brother back, but I will have you. One way or another.
It's fate.
~
'Fate? What's that supposed to mean?'
.
.
.
'Wait... I think I know who sent me this note.'
I folded up the paper and shoved it in my pocket. At the same time, the person in front of me had set off a smoke bomb, causing me to cough and back away. I covered my mouth with my arm as I leaned against the opposite wall, shutting my eyes.
Once the smoke began to clear, the person was nowhere to be seen.
~
After rushing back to the Agency with the bag of snacks in hand, I finally made it to the front door, opening it rather quickly and closing it behind me. I leaned my back against the door to catch my breath since I was walking faster than normal.
Ranpo takes notice of my heavy breathing and rushes over to me. "Are you alright? What's wrong? What happened?" he asks me, bringing his hands to my face to examine me.
*badump*
I wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying. I was only focused on our close proximity, his hands on my face, his emerald eyes that bore concern, and my ever rising temperature reddening my face.
"I... I brought your snacks," I say, lifting up the bag of snacks in my right hand.
"I don't care about that right now. I just want to know if you're alright," he says.
That caught me off guard, like everyone else in the office.
I explained to Ranpo what happened, taking out the paper I received and handing it to him. My gaze lowered from his eyes to his hands that were now holding the unfolded paper.
It wasn't a long note, but he seemed to be staring at it for a while, longer than I would expect him to. His eyes weren't moving, which meant that he was looking at a particular word or sentence.
"Ranpo?" I question, wondering what he's been staring at.
"Your mother didn't send you this, did she?" Ranpo asks.
My eyes slightly widened at how fast he figured that out. "Yeah, that's right. It was probably someone from long ago. Someone I had nearly forgotten about."
~Flashback (roughly 8 years ago)~
Today's the day I met him.
My mother told me the day prior that I would be meeting her boss and his son, since I was allowed to attend her office building for once. And only once.
We arrived at her work place, Haru holding onto the sleeve of my jacket. We walked through the front door, the cold breeze tickling my neck and arms. Walking further into the lobby made me realize that I didn't actually know what it was that my parents did for a living. I never bothered to ask since it didn't matter to me all that much.
As I stood there, shivering from the coldness of the building, a coat was placed atop my shoulders. I turned to my side and looked up to see who put the coat on me, spotting a tall, dark-haired man with pale skin. His hair was roughly shoulder length and his eyes were a deep purple.
"Are you cold, little one?" the man asked me in a strange accent.
Before I could say anything, Haru pulled me away from the man and began walking towards where our parents had gone. They were talking to a man that loosely resembled the man from before, but not really though. My mother introduced him as her boss.
"Where's your son, sir?" my mother asked.
"He's right here," her boss said, gesturing to the person who stood behind me.
We all turned around and I was met with the same man from before.
"Pleasure to meet you," he said to all of us, keeping his gaze on me.
Haru tugged on my sleeve, looking uncomfortable with this interaction. I asked my mother if there was anywhere we could go to get food and she sent us off to the kitchen, later telling us to stay in the 'kids area.'
The kids area was just a large room where the children of the employees would hang out. There were a variety of age groups there, with different sections for each of them. Me and Haru weren't in the same age group but he stayed by my side anyway.
~
About two hours had passed before our parents came back to pick us up, but they weren't alone. Her boss and his son were also there, stating that they had decided to walk us out. My parents and their boss walked in front of us while the boss's son walked beside me and Haru, with me being in between the two.
The man didn't utter a single word to me, the awkward silence making me more and more nervous by the second. When I turned to look at him, he was already staring straight at me so I quickly turned my head to face ahead of me.
The devastatingly long walk was finally over as my parents bid their goodbyes to their boss and his son. As we were making our way out the lobby, the son pulled me back and whispered, "Fate must've brought us together today. And it'll bring us together again some day," letting go of my arm after he finished talking.
~End of Flashback~
"It was definitely him," I say.
"Who is 'him?'" Ranpo asks me, walking me over to one of the booths.
"The son of my parents boss. I remember meeting him just once, a long time ago. I thought he was rather odd so I tried to forget about him, but that note brought up some memories buried deep in my mind," I explain, taking a seat beside Ranpo.
"Do you remember his name?" Kunikida asks me, walking up to us and sitting on the other side of the table.
"No. He never said it and my parents never told me," I state.
"Do you remember what he looked like?" Kunikida asks me.
"He had pale skin and dark, shoulder length hair. His eyes were a deep purple," I recall. "Something I don't understand is how they keep finding me. First, my mom, and now, him. I feel like everyone's watching me. I hate it."
Ranpo looked like he was in deep thought, his hand being placed under his chin. What specifically he was thinking about, I don't know.
"Kunikida. They can't track her phone anymore, right?" Ranpo asks.
"That's right. Dazai tinkered with it after she was abducted the first time," Kunikida answers.
"Did you check her car for any trackers?" Ranpo asks.
"Yup. I already got rid of them," Kunikida says.
"Someone must be physically watching you from afar then. I'll make sure that someone is with you at all times next time. Sorry for making you leave by yourself," Ranpo says to me.
Ranpo POV:
"No, it's alright. It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for something you had no control over," Y/n says, placing one of her hands on mine.
'But I still feel guilty. I left her by herself. She was all alone in a dangerous situation. I know she wasn't hurt but she might've been. Why do I feel like this? Why am I so angry? Why does the thought of her being hurt scare me?'
"In any case, we're just glad that you're okay. Right, Ranpo?" Kunikida says.
"Y-Yeah," I say, turning my head away.
"Ranpo-san? Is everything alright? Your face looks a little red," Kunikida asks.
"Really? Do you have a fever?" Y/n says, touching the side of my neck with the back of her hand. "Yeah, you're pretty warm. Do you want me to take you to see Dr. Yosano?"
*badump*
"N-No. No, it's fine. I'm fine. It's just... a little warm in here. That's all," I say, getting up from my seat.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to end up getting sick," Y/n says.
Y/n POV:
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll just go step outside to cool myself down," Ranpo says, speeding out of the office.
"This is honestly hilarious," I hear Yosano laugh.
"Yosano-san? When did you get here?" I ask, wondering where she came from.
"Not too long ago. I got here just in time for the good part," Yosano says.
"What are you talking about?" I ask, confused by what she meant by the 'good part.'
"Nothing. Just two oblivious babies being oblivious," she says.
~
Ranpo POV:
'Aghhhh, what is wrong with me?!'
I decided to go to the terrace to try to cool myself down. I still don't know why I feel so nervous and sweaty. It's weird.
'I want this foreign feeling to go away. But... why does it feel so good?'
Leaning against the parapet of the terrace, I stare off into the sky and watch the birds fly, feeling the wind dance along my skin. The cool touch of the wind begins to return my body temperature to normal, allowing my heartbeat to slow down as well.
Ambient noise can be heard throughout the bustling streets below: cars driving, idle chatter, shuffling feet, dogs barking, birds chirping.
"It's pretty peaceful up here."
Without even having to turn around, I knew that the voice belonged to Y/n. That same feeling from earlier is slowly returning, rendering my previous attempts at calming down useless.
"Yeah, it is. The president likes to come up here when he needs a break or just some fresh air so I thought I'd come up here," I say, staring out into the horizon.
I hear her footsteps behind me, the sound growing closer until she reaches my side.
She didn't say anything, and neither did I. We both stood there in comfortable silence, the only sound audible to me being my own heartbeat. I had hoped that it wasn't loud enough for her to hear it, even though I knew that that was impossible. I had prayed that she didn't notice my staggered breathing and the redness of my fairly visible ears.
"Are you feeling better now?" she asks me, breaking the silence.
"Uh, yeah. I am," I say.
"That's good. I'm glad," she says, turning to face me with a bright smile plastered on her face.
I stared at her in astonishment. I never knew that such a simple gesture could spark such intense feelings; feelings of warmth, comfort, endearment, adoration, desire, passion, and yearning.
.
.
.
'Is this... love?'
~⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡☆⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡~