Prey and Predator [Ranpo x Reader] + Bonus ✓

15. Found you

'Do you know what you've just done?!' Kunikida cried out, shutting his book with a single motion of his hand and furrowing his eyebrows in what I imagined to be disrelish. 'You've just put dozens of people in danger elsewhere!'

'Calm down,' the brunette returned, holding his hands out defensively and speaking in a low, calm tone. 'We were careful to appoint who was in what carriage. Things won't last even a minute.' Despite the agent trying to placate the blond male, the subject did not seem to be willing to pacify the nerves but chose to remain quiet for the time being. 'He gets worked up a lot whenever lives are put at stake.'

I rested my phone on my lap and looked at the time: there was still half an hour worth of journey before we reached Tokyo.

It would be convenient and uplifting to believe she wasn't the culprit, but the more I thought about it the more pieces seemed to fit together: not only was she the potential culprit for today's case, but also the mastermind behind all other crimes - only if I assumed without having much evidence for such.

The poet killer copycat, the deformed necrophile stunt and the most recent male who reenacted the burying of his own daughter all had one thing in common (besides the father and son relationship of both Ki criminals): they all wanted to bring back a male which they held dear.

Eiji Ki: the victim of medical malpractice.

The loss of loved ones often leaves those remaining behind stuck in a continuous cycle of mourning and traumatic reminiscence. In that case, Eiji was very much still alive in their minds. But could it be possible that these criminals had been the ones to taunt mum out of her job as a nurse, and now she was coming back for them? Does that even add up?

There was an alarm rung.

The four agents present in the same carriage turned to look towards the direction which I had come from before sitting among them, alerted by the belief that the culprit had let loose and someone had managed to press the emergency button in that carriage.

I stood up ready to head down that path towards the door to show myself to my mum and have her stop if that were the case, but my wrist was held with a firm grip.

'If I don't go there will be more victims than there need to be. One is too many!' I stated, turning back to look at my wrist being held by Ranpo's own hand. 'Let go! I doubt you'll be able to defend yourself too if she comes here! Let -'

'The first thing you need to learn about working as a detective is that you must trust a plan has already begun being carried out.' he responded, loosening the grip on my wrist until he eventually let go. 'I know you want to be a detective like your father was. Pretend you are one already.'

'I always thought whatever came out of your mouth was nonsense and blabber since the first day I saw you. Now I'm certain of it.' I paused and looked at him directly in the eyes. 'Trust is the foundation of deception and betrayal. It can cause more harm than comfort.'

But I hesitated in leaving. I did not leave in fact.

My legs felt frail when all the events which had taken place during the last month came biting at me. I blamed myself more than anything and anyone. It all began when I believed whatever I read or was told about regarding any of my dad's cases would take place within a few days, and I hadn't done much to stop them until my father himself was a victim.

'[Y/N]!'

I was introduced to a thin pair of arms revealed under the crimson fabric of a kimono as these reached out to me by the floor; I had fallen due to the weakness which my body had encountered. I was not helped up but instead allowed to let out all I had been suppressing all that time: I had lost my father for life, my brother, temporarily, and life threatened to take my mother, too. If that weren't enough, I'd been fed with accusations too quickly, those testifying my mother was a victim of an unreported sexual assault which got her a positive pregnancy test, and also that due to such she turned to homicide to escape the perpetrator of the offence.