Chapter 12: Superdeduction
There had been two guarantees in Ranpo's life:
#1: He could solve any and all mysteries, that was super-deduction.
#2: He would always have a family to come back to, that was the Armed Detective Agency
His first guarantee was being tested, his second guarantee was being destroyed. Sitting on the back of a black car it occurred to him that maybe knowing wasn't the same as solving.
He knew everything: about the Mafia, about the traitor, about their search for the unnamed brothers; but that brought him no closer to solving the problem. He also knew Atsushi was being used, as orphans could easily be, that's why the Mafia took them in, but as a new, terrible certainty sank into him he couldn't help but hate him. Maybe it wasn't Atsushi's fault, but Ranpo knew deep inside him that Yosano-sensei was dead by now.
What he did not know is who the black car belonged to. Or what was going to happen to him. His glasses had fallen off when he'd been pulled into the car and his thoughts were occupied entirely by the late doctor.
I hope it was quick at least
Oh how the mighty fall. He truly was in no condition to play detective now. To pretend he too had an ability and was not only useful but necessary to the Agency.
This was the truth Ranpo denied but knew: There was no superdeduction, no special ability. He was only a man with a good head. He was maybe helpful to the Agency, but they could get by without him.
The car surely belonged to the Mafia. It was weird because, even though he could swear somebody had pulled him in ,there was nobody with him in the Mafia.
The car kept going and kept going and kept going for what felt like a really long time, and Ranpo was getting sleepy. He soon found that his grief and his worries were rapidly diminishing.
Did someone die?
No, someone was dying.
His head was spinning and his clothes looked different somehow. He hadn't been wearing a suit when he got into the car, had he? When has he gotten into the car? What was his name?
He felt his face, trying to regain control of his mind. Had he always had that beard?
Yes, that's why people called him King Thrushbeard.
He remembered clearly now. His daughter was sick. Poor darling Akiko had fallen ill, and no doctor had been able to cure her. His wife was waiting for him to get back. His men were working on finding that mischievous Rumplestiltskin.
The door to the car was opened and King Thrushbeard descended.
"Edogawa-sama" one of the guards approached him. "A boy claims to have apples that can cure the princess."
Ranpo's heart skipped.
He had been absorbed by the story. A tale masterfully spinned by the brothers Grimm to occupy the greatest detective's mind completely.
"The Unnamed Brothers, or should I call them the brother Grimm now? Contacted us shortly before your visit." Said Mori-san. "The situation is not ideal but we seem to have an agreement for now." "You and little Kyouka have your own roles to play in this as well."
"What do you mean?" I was vaguely aware of raising my voice to the leader of the Port Mafia, and the consequences this might have, but my mind was spinning with adrenaline and fear, a strange cocktail of recklessness and anxiety cursing through my veins. "What was Kyouka-chan sent to do? Where is she now?"
Nakahara-san looked at me with reprehension, cautioning restraint, but Mori-san appeared unbothered.
"She's doing her job." He answered calmly, as will you. "As will you." Something about his polite manner and his easy eyes was unnerving. He had the appearance one would expect of a school principal or maybe a young government official, but certainly not the leader of a criminal organization. Not of a killer "Go to the Agency, tell them Yosano-san managed to set you free. Tell them of her heroic demise, and wait for instructions."
With shaky legs, I followed Nakahara-san out of the room.
"I understand why the Armed Detective Agency would make you waver" Nakahara-san said "But remember who saved you from the streets, remember what we've done for you."
My chest tightened with shame. They'd saved me, they had given me so much and I had been ready to betray them. "I do remember. And I am extremely grateful, Nakahara-san."
"Then show me." He answered. "Prove you weren't a mistake."
We parted ways after that. He headed back to the heart of the Mafia and I headed back to enemy territory.
How and why the Mafia had reached an agreement with the Grimms escaped me. But my job had never been to know.
Everyone in the Armed Detective Agency snapped their heads towards the door as the little bell announced a visitor.
They were waiting for three members to come back. Only one walked through the door.
There was happiness and grief and fear.
Nakajima Atsushi was no storyteller but he brought tears to the eyes of the audience as he told of the last heroic deeds and the last drawn breath of Yosano Akiko.
He did not tell of betrayal or severed heads. He did not tell of the Grimms or Kyouka chan, but somehow it slipped in between words and tears. A clue and a tiny step towards his undoing.
He told them the Mafia was looking for a book.
They knew what he was talking about. They'd heard the same rumors and stories.
Atsushi found that while his loyalties were with his savior, with the Mafia, a little, or maybe not so little, part of him wanted to be found out and destroyed.
He wanted the Armed Detective Agency to find the book first.
The funeral was simple but elegant. That same day, everyone dressed in black and buried an empty box.
Despite Yosano-sensei's death and the fact that Ranpo has gone missing, nobody at the Agency thought they could spare a day's work. The grieving would be done overnight and we would have to go on. Yosano-sensei might have died but we could still save Ranpo-san; at least that's what they thought.
The next morning, from the corner of my eye I saw a blur of red, just outside the window.
Kyouka-chan
The door burst open and a set of skinny, strong arms wrapped around me.
"Found you" she said. It was Kyouka-chan. Then she whispered on my ear. "Go with it. I'm your instructions."
Kunikida-san was the first to speak.
"Atsushi-kun" He asked. "Do you know this girl?"
"I-I do" I'm blabbering again. "Yes"
Kyouka-chan bowed politely and introduced herself. "Nice to meet you. My name is Izumi Kyouka, Atsushi and I lived on the same orphanage. I was recently adopted by a family in the area and heard that this is were he'd run off to."
Sorry Internet!!!!
I've been on vacation and finding internet and time to write has been hard. Finally here's the next part.
Thank you for reading and please give me some feedback.
-Shikkaku
