Just My Luck {bungo stray dogs x oc}

Chapter 15

"You seem to praise your ability so much. Let's see it in action" Minoura threatened, death glaring Ranpo with a smirk on his face.

"Thought you'd never ask" Ranpo matched the detectives expression.

"Would you like me to count to sixty for you? Or have little miss cat girl set a timer?" Minoura teased. I really didn't like him. People underestimating others always got on my nerves.

"He won't even need half that time" I informed the wannabe detective, petting a purring Lucky in my arms. Ranpo just put on a shit eating grin and reached inside his cape to pull out a pair of rectangular, half rimmed glasses.

Dazai explained the situation to Atsushi, who just stood there in awe as he watched his superior in action for the first time.

"Watch closely Atsushi. Once Ranpo puts on those glasses, his Ultra-deduction ability is active. All the details of the case are revealed to him. It might seem surreal, but it's as real as it gets" he smirked, slowly yet surely inching towards Ranpo. Dazai had been talking about testing Ranpo's 'ability' for ages, and now he finally had the chance. While Atsushi was mesmerized by Ranpo slowly yet dramatically placing his glasses on his nose, Dazai reached out and grasped a piece of hair peaking out under the detective's hat, quietly activating his own ability. 

After a moment of dead silence and Ranpo being the dramatic 26-year-old he is, he straightened up and muttered two simple words. 

"I see"

"Ha! Sure you see, do you mean you know who the killer is? Because we all know that's a lie. A fucking lie" Minoura seethed at him. He was fuming at the fact that Ranpo had wasted his time and made a mockery of the police department. 

He was really getting on my nerves right now. I took a step forward and opened my mouth to say something to this stuck-up detective but Dazai appeared behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked back at him and he gave me a stern look, sending me a silent message to back down. I quietly obeyed, mentally cursing him and myself a bit. I was mad at him yet he was still looking out for me. 

"Of course I know who the killer is, that's what my ability is," Ranpo stated as if it were obvious, which it kinda was, as it was literally the topic of the conversation for the past ten minutes. 

"The enlighten us, Oh almighty detective," Minoura rolled his eyes, waiting for this to be over so he could get back to his 'actual' investigation "Who is the killer?"

"The killer is none other," Ranpo paused for a second before turning around and pointing at someone in a blue and navy uniform, "than you"

Sergeant Sugimoto stared at the long, boney finger being pointed at him. "What, me!?"

Minoura jumped to his subordinate's defense. "Sergeant Sugimoto!? That's impossible! He's in the police force for Christ's sake! Are you stupid?"

"You want proof?" Ranpo smirked at them, "the victim has three bullet holes in her chest, get this so-called policeman to show us his gun. If all his bullets are there, then I'll shut my mouth, go home and admit defeat. But if there are three missing..."

"You see ammunition is hard to come across in Yokohama, in a legal way I mean. It's even harder if it's a government owned weapon as the police need a report of how the ammunition was used in order to be supplied with more. Bet you didn't think of that mister sergeant" I informed the group, letting Lucky down and he just started to circle around the scene, sniffing everything like a puppy. "Show the gun"

Minoura just agreed with us, leaving poor Sugimoto at a loss. "Just show them the gun and prove your innocence. No harm and then they can leave"

There was dead silence as Sugimoto clenched his fists and stared at the floor.

"Sergeant...? Sergeant, show them the gun. That's an order from your commander!"

The silence returned and Minoura's face turned from annoyance to worry.

"Sugimoto...why won't you...?"

"He's thinking long and hard about how he's going to explain the absence of the three bullets in his gun" Ranpo said, finally turning serious and staring at Sugimoto, waiting for him to confess and also watching his every move. "This can't be," Minoura muttered. Sugimoto finally reached for the holster and started retrieving his gun, slowly but surely. But as he was taking it out, he cocked it and pointed it right at Ranpo. The dead silence returned again as everyone waited for someone else to move. Minoura's look of disappointment was devastating, even if it wasn't directed at me. "Sugimoto...Don't. You. Dare."

Sugimoto held a shaking hand directed at Ranpo, he took a long gulp and finally did it. He pulled the trigger. It was a split second but next thing I know the sound of metal hitting metal filled the air as the bullet fell to the floor, after hitting Atsushi's tiger arm that was now in front of Ranpo's face. The bullet had given him zero damage and how he'd gotten in front of Ranpo so quickly, I'll never know. He'd just saved Ranpo's life.

Sugimoto took the moment of shock we all had and made a break for it away from the docks. He was surprisingly fast, but, unlucky for him, not faster than a shadow. As I was the first one to shake off the shock, I melted into a shadow and time seemed to slow. It was always the weirdest feeling as I became part of the floor. Everything became distorted and tinted a dark shade of purple, but I could still make out what and where everyone was. I moved along the floor, and I imagined this is what a snake must feel like, slithering parallel to the ground, and passed the sergeant who looked as if he was running in slow motion.

Getting out of the shadow is definitely what feels the weirdest for sure. I just feel myself slowly reappearing and emerging from the ground, headfirst. Time seems to resume as normal as the policeman/murderer crashes into me, obviously not seeing me magically 'teleport' in front of him. We tumbled to the floor and I manage to wrestle the gun out of his hand, using a pair of transformed panther arms. We separate and stand up, but now the tables have turned, as now I held him at gunpoint. I change my arms back to normal to get a better grip on the gun. I shakily place my index finger on the cold, hard trigger. I wasn't going to shoot and break my promise to Oda, but I could scare him. I look back and realize that the others are a good two hundred meters behind. This man really did run fast. I guess fleeing from murder charges can do that to you.

"Shoot," he said, near a whisper "Do it." 

I looked back and realize the others have started running towards us, I just had to buy time. 

"You're gonna be okay" I said. I had no idea what to say. This man was a murderer but wanted to be killed himself, what was I supposed to say?

"She was your girlfriend, wasn't she?" I asked gently, "I could tell by your matching watches" I glanced to the right again. Just a little more. I doubted Sugimoto would notice them approaching. He seemed so out of it as his gaze softened and he nodded.

 "I bought them for us on our three month anniversary. I-I loved-"

He was cut off by a boy with tiger limbs tackling him to the ground. 

"YES ATSUSHI-KUN!" Dazai yelled running up with an out of breath Minoura and a seemingly fine Ranpo behind him.

"Holy shit," I gasped slumping over and breathing a sigh of relief, all while resisting the urge to plop down on the floor. "That sure was something."

Atsushi had the murderer pinned to the floor with his arms behind his back. Saved a detective's life and caught a murderer. Not bad for his first real case.

"Hey Atsushi?"

"Yes, Kawa- I mean Nekori-chan?"

"High paw" I smirk at him, holding up my now transformed left paw out for a high five.

He seemed taken aback for a moment, but smiled warmly and used his free right paw to slap mine.

"High paw"