Marble || Edogawa Ranpo

Case 9

Ranpo rests his head on his chair and sprawled his legs over his desk as he placed his hat neatly near him. His raven locks were left dishevel after he combs his hair in irksome. Though, he pays no mind to it for now as he was engrossed with his marble once again. He inspects it closely then distance it from him between his index finger and thumb as he tried to decipher the vortex of his own emotions, as if looking through the lustrous glass ball could give him the answer he seeks for.

All he can see is its multihued color, the exact vibrancy that reflects his world.

But what is this raging feeling incessantly tug at the string of his heart?

In that labyrinth of deciphering of his mind, all engine corresponds with each other to provide a logical explanation. Not giving him the cliché of rhetoric conclusion, the kind of narrative soap drama that he detests to watch for how simple it was.

He kicks his legs on his desk to vent the unknown cause of his infuriation. The way he acts is no different than how a five years old boy expressed their tantrum after not getting the right toy inside of their happy meal. He didn't care what other employees are thinking about him or how they view him right now. Their secondary opinion does not matter to him in the slightest. But why does he feel so irritated anyway?

Ughh...

Why can't he get rid of you from his head? That's the mysteries he can't solve, even to himself. The moment he meets you, he thought you were just like any other girl, a brat, or someone not important enough for him to remember by. Someone who he wouldn't waste his time thinking over, someone who he will forget the face and name by the next morning or by the time he took ten steps away from you after that day.

But no, you stood before him and bold enough to challenge a great and famous detective like himself. He, the only Edogawa Ranpo! What incites him more was the fact that you are an ability user. There's no way he wants to lose to some amateur like you. That's what he initially thought but his expectation was skewed on how ridiculous you display. And then, when he offers you to become his disciple to teach you the proper way of deduction instead of summarizing everything like a monkey, you have the gal to slap him! Boy, no one has ever done that, not even his deceased parents- with the exception of the President.

Well, he doesn't want to recall the memory of his younger self right now.

He should be angry, yes, but then he feels excited when you call for him and ask for his help today. Even more so when you earnestly appeal him from the call and then how you would request him the way you did in the court. Why would he waste his time like this, getting all work up from your request alone? He should be dealing with a more difficult and mysteries homicide case that needs great detective like him to solve.

Just what is it, that you have done to him?

Why can't a great detective like him solve this problem in a mere second? The thing that bugged him since he laid his eyes on you? His mind is reeling to search for the answer with his brain that he had so much faith in, but he found none!

You are the cause of this riddle.

Or perhaps... maybe he does have the answer already.

"Ranpo-san is looking really at lost..." Atsushi commented from behind the divider of the reception area. "He was like that ever since he leaves the court... As expected, he can see right through Dazai-san's plan, huh..." In a lower octave, he speaks in a whisper.

"Well... Dazai said we better leave him alone for now. He said he has plan something else better, and whatever it is, I know it's nothing good, again." Kunikida commented and adjusted his glasses. Somehow, they are all waiting in the reception area instead of their workplace.