Chapter Text
Ranpo was leaning back in his chair with a lollipop in his mouth, ripping a page of his newspaper into shreds when Kunikida approached him.
“Is it interesting?” he asked before Kunikida had a chance to speak. His voice was muffled around the lollipop which puffed up one of his cheeks like a hamster.
Kunikida put a document on the desk. “It entails the Port Mafia – some low level grunts attacked what appeared to be an innocent. He disappeared in the scuffle and they dispersed, but the local who called it in was concerned. Said he completely vanished, wasn’t with the mafia or anywhere on the street afterwards, and he couldn’t have run away because it was a dead end and the caller’s apartment oversaw the entire area.”
“There’s no further information?” asked Ranpo, and the fact he was engaging at all meant he was interested.
“None. The police checked it out, found nothing, the client wasn’t satisfied and came to us. Nobody but you has the ability to solve this, Ranpo.”
“Well, if you insist!” Ranpo said loudly, jumping up and throwing his lollipop in the trash can atop a heap of candy wrappers. Halfway to the door he paused and looked over his shoulder.
“There’s a taxi waiting for you outside,” said Kunikida, anticipating his question.
Ranpo grinned and waved, letting the door slam behind him.
When he arrived, the client was waiting there, a worried looking old woman who sounded like she was on the verge of tears over having seen the mafia so close to her apartment.
Ranpo asked her to point out where the events took place, having her describe every detail she could remember. Even without using his ability, the order of events was pretty obvious – it was more impressive that the police had managed to miss it.
Still, he figured there was no harm in using his ability for the details – maybe the old woman would be so impressed with him it’d distract her from being upset and she’d give him some candy or something.
He quickly took his glasses out and slid them on, and the few areas that hadn’t already been, became clear at once in his mind. He smiled at the lady, seeing she was impressed.
“The mafia had been following the victim for some time, and found their opportunity to approach him outside your apartment due to the dead end leaving him cornered and the time – around 11:45pm – ensuring the area was shrouded in darkness. He had not met them before but was aware he was being followed. They wanted him to join them due to his animal transformation ability, which, luckily for him, enabled him to slip away when they attacked him.”
“Oh!” cried the old woman, taking Ranpo’s hand gratefully. “What an intelligent, kind young man you are! Thank you so much, I was afraid the poor boy had been kidnapped or hurt by those terrible people.”
Ranpo pulled his hand away. “He’s fine, don’t worry. He’s hiding down the alleyway, afraid to change back to his human form, but I’ll take him back to my office where he’s safe.” He eyed her hopefully until she rummaged in her handbag and took out a boiled sweet, placing it in his hand with a smile.
It was easy to find the cat – a pair of frightened purple eyes peered out from underneath a dumpster, exactly as he had seen with his ability.
“Come here,” he said bluntly, and the cat didn’t move. He sighed, and thought about how Fukuzawa usually spoke to the neighbourhood cats.
Kneeling down, he patted his knee. “Pspspsps! It’s safe, come on, good boy!”
Still nothing.
“Huh. Well, I guess you’re a guy, so maybe you’d rather I talked normally, even though it’s kinda weird when you’re a cat right now.”
The cat let out a cautious little meow, though he continued to cower in his hiding spot.
“Alright then, well, I’m Edogawa Ranpo – a master detective – and I’m here to take you to the Armed Detective Agency where you’ll be safe from the bad guys who’ve been pursuing you.”
He beamed when he saw a little black paw emerge, then another, until the cat was sitting right in front of him. It had a glossy black coat without a hint of colour. It meowed again and cocked its head at him.
“Hey, what is it? You’re still afraid to turn back, or are you just shy? Whatever, I guess the taxi driver’ll have to get okay about having pets in his car. Unless you’d fit in my satchel?”
He opened it and looked from the bag to the cat to the bag again. Even without the piles of snacks that filled it up, it probably wouldn’t be very comfortable for the cat to sit in for a whole car ride. He shrugged and closed it again, throwing it back over his shoulder.
“Come on then, time to go. I think the taxi was this way…”
The cat followed closely by his ankles as they found their way to the taxi. Ranpo opened the door and sat down without hesitation, watching and holding the door as the cat crouched in preparation to jump in.
“Hey, no animals!” exclaimed the driver, and the cat took a step back and looked from side-to-side nervously.
“Well, you have to take me back, and I have to take him back, so you have to take us both!”
The driver opened his mouth to argue, but catching Ranpo’s determined gaze in the rear view mirror was enough to make him sigh and give in.
“Fine. But at least put it on your lap so it doesn’t get the seats hairy, alright?”
Ranpo shrugged and looked down at the cat. “Come on then, it’s this or walk, and I’m not walking. You don’t look very heavy, anyway.”
The cat jumped up and Ranpo closed the door while he settled himself on his lap. He almost forgot it was a person as he looked out of the window, comfortable with its little furry form warming his lap.
He thought about how cute Fukuzawa would find this, and so he pulled out his phone and took a quick photo to send him – it was probably for the best to give some warning that he was bringing an animal/human back with him, anyway.
He sent the picture and just as he did so, the cat started purring, distracting him so thoroughly that he forgot to add any explanation after the photo.
He wasn’t sure exactly why he was purring, but he guessed it meant he felt safer with him than hiding outdoors, so that was good. Probably his lap was comfy, too. If he ignored the fact that the cat was actually a random stranger, it was a very warm and relaxing taxi ride back to the office.
When he stepped inside, the little black cat at his heels, he was immediately swarmed by Dazai, Kyouka, Naomi, and Kenji. Fukuzawa was talking to Junichiro by the window but Ranpo knew him well enough to see his longing gaze flicking towards the cat at every possible moment. Kunikida had his back to them, at his desk writing at top speed.
The sight of the crowd, all firing questions at Ranpo and fawning over the cat, was enough to make it cower, pressing itself fearfully against Ranpo’s heels.
“He’s shy,” said Ranpo, trying to sound commanding, “you’ve got to give him space or he’ll run away ‘cause you’re being too loud.”
“That’s no fun,” said Dazai, sticking out his bottom lip. One stern glance from Ranpo was enough to make him give in and go back to his desk.
“Kyouka and Kenji, he might let you pet him later, or at least look at him properly. You’re the closest to his size!”
Naomi crossed her arms and pouted. “What about my poor Junichiro? He’ll feel so left out!”
“I dunno, hasn’t he seen a cat before?” Everyone was beginning to get too much for Ranpo, and he could feel the cat trembling against his leg.
Without thinking twice about it, he bent down and picked up the cat, bolting out of the room and into Yosano’s office where he plopped it down on the desk.
“Sorry for picking you up,” he said, shrugging at it.
Yosano put down a metal thing and spun her chair to face him with a frown. “What? Oh, I thought you were talking to me.” She gestured at the cat. “It’s not ill, why’s it here?”
Ranpo let out a long-suffering sigh. “He’s an ability user, but everyone was too overwhelming and I think he’s scared to change back.”
The cat let out a quiet meow in Ranpo’s direction and Yosano raised an eyebrow.
“Why don’t you take him back to your apartment? As long as you’re sure he’s not dangerous, perhaps he’ll feel braver when it’s just you two, since you already seem kind of attached to each other.”
“No we’re not!” snapped Ranpo indignantly. “He’s probably just a fan of my ability ‘cause I used it to save him. Oh! Maybe I should use it again and he’ll be so impressed he’ll change back just to applaud me and–“
“Right,” said Yosano with a grimace. “Alternatively, you could just bring him home and see if he wants to turn back then.”
With a shrug, Ranpo gestured for the cat to follow him and headed for the door. “Alright, but I’m not sharing my snacks with him!”
The odd pair made their way to Ranpo’s apartment, and as soon as he was done fumbling with his key, the creature trotted inside and meowed, louder than it had before.
“What?” said Ranpo, shutting the door behind him and staring at the little cat. “Sooo, are you gonna turn back, or still too shy?”
The cat blinked at him, and he took that as a ‘too shy’.
“What if I turn around? Look, I’ll go search for snacks in the cupboard ‘cause I’m starving, and maybe you can transform while my back’s turned.”
He paused for a moment, considering. “I’ll give you a lollipop if you do.”
He spent longer than necessary with his back turned, filling a big bowl with a selection of sweets and piling more boxes and wrappers on top of it. He had almost forgotten about his guest until he turned around and startled at the sight of a man watching him with familiar purple eyes.
“Sorry,” he said quietly, looking at the floor.
His hair was the same jet black as when he was a cat, but with a purple streak through the section that drooped over his left eye. Fluffy ears protruded from his head and a long tail swayed nervously from side to side.
Even without his chunky heeled black boots and cowering stance, he would have been taller than Ranpo by a fair few centimetres. Dressed in a purple shirt that matched his eyes, a black waistcoat not dissimilar to Ranpo’s own but adorned with intricate black stitched patterns, and a tight black pair of trousers with thin white stripes, the man seemed afraid to do much except stare at his own feet and wring his hands together.
Ranpo blinked at him, suddenly feeling nervous himself. Something about this person being in his house made his tummy feel weird, and brought a blush to his cheeks.
“Um, I’m Maxwell,” he said softly. “Or Max. Thank you so much for saving me. Those men – the mafia, I think – said if I went to the police they’d kill me. I thought I’d have to stay in my cat form forever, I was so certain they’d catch me the moment I turned back.”
“Well, you’re safe with the agency!” said Ranpo confidently. “And I’m the very best of them, so you’re extra safe with me!”
Max smiled, and Ranpo smiled back, and they both laughed nervously.
“It was really amazing how you found me,” said Max, and Ranpo could hear the awe in his voice. “Did you already know about my ability somehow?”
Ranpo felt pride swell in his chest, and was eager for the opportunity to show off his ability. “Nuh uh! It was allllll my ability, so you have my Super Deduction to thank!”
“Thank you, Super Deduction,” said Max.
Ranpo grinned. “You’re welcome. Your ability’s pretty cool too. Obviously not as good as mine, but nobody’s is! Here, I owe you a lollipop.”
He looked down at the bowl and realised he didn’t have a chance of extracting one while holding it with both hands, so he manoeuvred carefully to the coffee table and placed it there, rummaging around until he found one.
“There’s apple, grape, cherry, or peach. Wait!” He threw his hand up, then reached for his pocket and pulled out his glasses. With a cocky grin, he slid them on, and his eyes narrowed as he scanned Max, and the bowl, and Max again, before snapping his fingers and grinning.
“Your ability…” murmured Max, wide-eyed.
“Yep! Thanks to my ability, I’ve deduced that you want a cherry lollipop, and I’m not even gonna bother asking if that’s correct ‘cause I’m always right!”
He leaned over the bowl and rustled around, pulling out a lollipop with a red wrapper and handing it to Max, whose ears twitched as he stared at it in his hands, holding it like something precious.
“The president will love you,” said Ranpo, pointing at Max’s ears. “‘Cause he loves cute things. So you don’t have to worry about that, he’ll let you stay.”
A blush spread rapidly across Max’s face and his tail curled shyly around his leg. “Oh,” was all he could muster.
Ranpo nodded enthusiastically and continued. “Yeah, and I hope the others didn’t scare you too much. They’re kind of loud and weird sometimes but they mean well.”
“They seemed nice,” said Max with a small smile.
“Uh-huh. Oh! He’s out on a case today so you didn’t see him, but one of them, Atsushi, can turn into a tiger. It’s not cute like your cat but maybe you’d get along – you can be cats and touch noses or whatever they do.” He shrugged and laughed, popping a sweet into his mouth and sucking it thoughtfully.
“You can meet them properly tomorrow,” said Ranpo, his voice muffled by the sweet in his mouth. “I’ll tell you their names and abilities and stuff first so you’re prepared, and I’ll be there the whole time.”
“Thank you, Ranpo,” said Max sincerely. “You’re really amazing.”
“Yeah, I know!” he said, but a smile crossed his face nonetheless.