Prey and Predator [Ranpo x Reader] + Bonus ✓

18. Untitled

Yosano led me towards the cafe when she had returned from the infirmary, after having treated Tanizaki, she said. 'He suffered some minor injuries. Nothing to be concerned about.'

'But what kind of injuries? With what?'

She had me sitting down and sat opposite me after placing two cups of coffee on the tabletop which separated us. 'She had a scalpel strapped to the inner leather of her belt,' she told me - 'By plan, Tanizaki deactivated his ability so she'd realise you were no longer there. Maternal nature made her charge towards him, of course. She managed to stab him but nothing untreatable.'

'Stabbed?! Nowhere fatal, yes?'

'The more fatal it is, the easier to treat.' She brought the cup towards her pursed lips and took a couple of sips. 'Her original plan was to hurt more people, no one from the agency. We disturbed her plan by bringing you along and using you as the trigger.' She smiled as she analysed the confusion on my face. 'Maternal instincts kicked in; she wasn't the good guy, but definitely not the bad one either.'

'How can someone good attempt murder? - no, commit murder, on multiple occasions!' I protested, though I wish I could've asserted her innocence and she had always been the victim after all. 'A child, her manager, and -'

'Your father, too.' she interrupted.

I sat dumbfounded for a while. She, my mother, killed my father also? How - why would she do that? What was the reason?

'She's pleading guilty in court later. We won't have you attend, that's the best for you, but we asked if she wanted to leave something behind for you,' she continued, then set her half-drank cup back on the table. She pointed at the flash drive I had rested on the table and gave it a small nudge. 'That's it. What she wanted to tell you: all stored in that tiny little device.'

She pushed herself up despite not having finished her coffee and fixed her collar. 'I'll bring a laptop down for you to have a listen. Want to do that alone or would you like some company?'

I didn't answer. I didn't know.

A few minutes went by and she returned with a laptop; she set it up for me and handed me a pair of earphones, then sat down and finished her coffee.

I plugged the drive in and its device page came up. In it was a single .MP4 file, untitled, like its name was still pending. I placed the earphones over my ears and opened the file.

My mother showed up on the screen; she looked exhausted and her sclera showed faint hues of red as it showed on anyone else in the aftermath of crying.

A male voice I did not recognize spoke behind the camera, telling her she could start at any time and speak comfortably as if no one else was there except me.

She wasn't sure where to begin, she said, but eventually came to address and confess all she may have previously told the interrogator:

'I'm sure you already know about Eiji Ki. Those detectives knew a lot more than they should've perhaps, and you seemed well acquainted with that shorter one; he seems like a smart guy, he must've found a way into that box you've been trying to get your hands on since you were little - it was missing the day your brother was arrested.

'I did kill a boy younger than you, I did. And his uncle, too, my ex-manager.' She took a breath and looked down. 'I don't expect you to understand, and I don't want you to understand either. This has done this to me, so I was afraid it'd do the same to you.

'I met your father when he was assigned to investigate both deaths at the hospital. He was calmly inquisitive and carried youth in his eyes. I was scared he'd figure me out, so took advantage of the liking he took of me to distract him from the case. I kept him away from it long enough I reckon.