Prey and Predator [Ranpo x Reader] + Bonus ✓

Bonus: Wedding dress

The professional sound of laptop keys clicking fought against the morning silence that filled the Armed Detective Agency's office. A couple of desks had been left vacant early in the morning, for selected individuals had ventured on their first assignment of the day:

Ranpo had been summoned by the police to investigate a scene several miles away, and due to his lack of confidence about travelling around the city, someone had to submit themselves to the task of accompanying him. It did not take a genius to assume that such silence was produced by Dazai's absence, for his work partner (Uncle Doppo) was smiling peacefully at his monitor as he was able to follow his schedule for the day.

To fill in for these detectives' absence, I had been offered the throne behind Ranpo's desk, while Tarō and Roze warmed Dazai's office chair beside the albino boy; as the oldest of the children was currently on a school break, I'd taken time off work too to look after them – but had found the confinement of home frustratingly dull and so followed Ranpo to work every day regardless.

Though I was on holiday myself, I couldn't help but revisit old reports and acquaint myself with cases I'd closed years prior, enjoying the words peacefully as the two kids mumbled under their breaths while perusing the day's newspapers for entertainment.

Roze and Tarō got along well... for the most part, anyway; despite both being sweethearts as individuals and always willing to listen and fix all reprimand directed at them, somehow, the two together brought out the worst in each other, for they bickered nonstop and fought for Ranpo's and mine's preference daily; it did not help that the boy had now enhanced his speaking skills with almost four years of experience...

'Mama!' Tarō called out suddenly, immediately snapping my gaze from the monitor as he hopped off the office chair, several eyes watching as he rushed over to my side with a torn section from the newspapers in his hand; as he reached my side, he held his arms up so that I sat him on my lap, and once he'd adjusted to the height, he slammed the ripped paper down on the desk and pointed. 'What does this say, Mama?'

I leaned in and took the boy's tiny hand in mine, holding it away from the paper as I analysed the advertisement he'd brought to me; layers of white organza – a material I recognised to be often used for wedding dresses (such as this one) – cascaded from the elegant waist of a young woman's figure, her hands hovering over a fine flower pattern embezzling the body-tight piece that shaped her torso. Besides such image, a phone number was printed on the small piece of paper, along with a cut-out email address and a few lines of text stating that –

'Someone is trying to sell their wedding dress, sweetheart,' I told him softly, smiling as he looked back at the paper and gasped, eyes brightly lit as he focused on the dress again. 'Here's a phone number that people can call if they're interested in buying it.'

'Can I buy it?'

'Eh?'

Though no one else had verbally expressed their surprise at his question, Tarō's confidence certainly made the heads of the detectives turn over in confusion, their fingers no longer typing as they watched the infant take the paper back into his hands and look at the piece closely.

'You want to buy a wedding dress? You don't need it, sweetheart...'

'It's not for me, Mama. I want to buy it for you,' he answered with a large smile, his emerald eyes – those that resembled his father's – looking up at me with hopeful innocence and eagerness. 'If I buy this dress, Mama and Papa can bring me to their wedding – I wasn't invited last time!'

I pondered on his reply for a while, I furrowed my eyebrows in temporary shock as the Agency's staff chuckled when they realised that Tarō did not come to the wedding because he wasn't born yet... he missed out on that ceremony because he was still developing in the womb...