Edogawa Ranpo rattled off the identity of the thief in a single breath, as if the answer had been obvious all along.
And so, Nakahara Chuuya helped him recover the stolen bicycle. He clearly had something he wanted to say, yet the words stuck in his throat and never came out. Ranpo mounted the bike without sparing the little orange-haired "kitten" a glance, and, like a gust of wind, sped off down the street—there were still letters left undelivered, after all.
Chuuya's shoulders slumped. Dejected and drained, he trudged back to the territory of the Sheep, immediately drawing the concerned attention of his companions.
"We didn't see you just now—where'd you run off to?" Shirase jogged over and bumped Chuuya lightly on the shoulder.
"Helping someone find their way…" Chuuya's emotions were in complete disarray. Acting on instinct, he concealed his own troubles and replied with childlike awkwardness, "Sorry… I want to be alone for a bit. You don't have to wait for me for lunch." He made his way to a corner, sat down hugging his knees, and used the little lamb plushie Asou Akiya had once donated to them to cover his face, sinking into his gloom all by himself.
Shirase looked utterly bewildered. He turned to the others and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
One by one, the companions shook their heads.
One of them spoke up in a hushed voice. "Chuuya's personality is like a little sun. As long as nothing's happened to us, the only things that could make him this down… should be just two, right?" One was the search for information about his family and origins; the other was Asou Akiya, his teacher. Both had long since woven themselves into the fabric of Nakahara Chuuya's everyday life, second only to his determination to protect his companions.
Shirase jumped at the thought, worry flashing across his face. "Don't tell me—Mr. Asou isn't coming anymore?!"
That single sentence stirred a faint ripple of unrest within the Sheep.
Every time Asou Akiya came to teach inside the orphan group, allowing them all to study together, it brought about visible, positive changes, no matter how small. In Japan, you might smoke and get into fights out on the streets, but sooner or later you would still come to understand the meaning of respecting one's teacher and valuing the path of learning.
Chuuya snapped out of his daze when he heard their murmurs and quickly said, "No, it's not that—don't overthink it!"
"Then what is it?" Shirase pressed anxiously.
Chuuya bit down on his lower lip. Looking pitiful in a way that was three parts vulnerable, he rubbed the little lamb plushie in his hands and curled deeper into the corner.
"I…"
"Do you think… if… Mr. Asou were my father…"
Before he could even finish the sentence, the others burst out laughing. One after another, they spoke to Nakahara Chuuya without restraint.
"Don't drag us into your fantasies—what nonsense are you imagining on your own? Mr. Asou looks nothing like you at all!" It was a single sentence, but it stabbed straight through his heart.
"Chuuya's mom must have been a great beauty—maybe even a foreigner. You really look mixed-race."
"Chuuya, if you were Mr. Asou's son, he would've taken you home ages ago. How could he let you wander around on your own?"
The barrage of remarks landed in rapid succession, each one a critical hit. Nakahara Chuuya grew dizzy, gave up on thinking altogether, and retreated into silence.
This "vacation" with no homework to do suddenly felt unbearably long.
Nakahara Chuuya realized that he was, in fact, a little pitiful.
He didn't even have a phone number…
[If you really were my father… my current father (…?)…]
[Is the mother who gave birth to this body of mine still by your side?]
Having taken a wrong turn in his thoughts, Chuuya's heart began to pound violently as he completely misunderstood the gender of Asou Akiya's lover.
The very next second—
He deflated like a punctured balloon.
The orange-haired boy hugged himself tightly, feeling the cruelty of the world seep into his bones. His eyes went unfocused as he gloomily realized something else.
"Mr. Asou said that his lover doesn't like children."
Which, roughly speaking, meant that his mother didn't like him either—and therefore had no intention of taking him back?
Being born human was just too tragic.
Setting aside all the unscientific powers, this was nothing more than a miserable story of biological parents who had children on a whim and then abandoned them.
…
The following afternoon, during the after-work rush hour.
On his way back, Asou Akiya's car was stopped, and he was handed a letter addressed specifically to him.
The driver, Tanaka, already recognized the black-haired boy, so he stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a halt. Before the window could even be rolled down, the young postman tugged the door open, grinning with undisguised pride as he spoke to Asou Akiya. "Uncle, we meet again! Someone asked me to deliver a letter to you! I'm doing this delivery for free!"
Asou Akiya raised an eyebrow and took the letter, replying casually, "You've been working pretty hard lately, haven't you?"
"I'm going to work the full two months," Edogawa Ranpo declared, pulling a face at him. "Uncle, don't forget to prepare the food I like! And I like little yellow ducks, okay? My pajamas have to have colorful patterns—no Nordic minimalist style!" With that, he darted away in a flash. After wasting a bit of money searching for the recipient, his wages were barely enough to keep him alive; he had no intention of delaying the other man's trip home to see his boyfriend.
Ranpo's words made Asou Akiya laugh, an unbidden warmth blooming in his chest.
This little brat was brimming with confidence.
A cat begging for adoption to this extent—if he still pretended not to notice, he'd probably get clawed sooner or later. He thought to himself that if two months passed and Ranpo still hadn't found Fukuzawa Yukichi, he would have to seriously consider taking him in for a while.
Hearing Ranpo's parting declaration, Tanaka asked in surprise, "Mr. Asou, are you planning to adopt him?"
"He's very cute, isn't he?" Asou Akiya replied.
With the feeling of being latched onto by a green-eyed kitten still lingering in his heart, Asou Akiya lowered his head and looked at the letter.
The smile on his face froze, as though sealed in amber.
Sender: Nakahara Chuuya.
Asou Akiya's vision went dark. His sixth sense blared an alarm of danger. He tore the envelope open at once, and the words inside made his heart clench tightly, a taut string in his mind letting out the sound of something on the verge of snapping.
[Mr. Asou, are you the father who gave me the "longevity lock"?]
[I want to meet you.]
[At the place where you gave me the gift back then.]
The black-haired young man stood frozen for several seconds, his expression mirroring Nakahara Chuuya's when he had learned the "truth." Amid the violent upheaval in his heart, he completely lost his composure and let out a roar, "Edogawa Ranpo——! ! ! Get back here right now! ! !"
Edogawa Ranpo hadn't ridden very far. At the shout, his whole body shuddered, and he twisted around to look, only to realize that reality had veered sharply away from his imagination.
The man he had picked as his prospective adoptive parent now had a face so dark it looked ready to drip ink, thunder and lightning practically crackling above his head.
This is bad.
Did I mess things up?
The adult world is way too hard to understand—why make something so simple this complicated? Wouldn't it be great if father and son could just love each other peacefully? Ahhh—this is awful! I can't stop, Uncle looks like he wants to dump me into the sea!
Having instantly transformed into a full-fledged coward, Edogawa Ranpo pedaled his bicycle like his life depended on it, fleeing the scene at top speed.
The driver, Tanaka, was just as terrified. It was the first time he had ever seen Mr. Asou lose control like this, the murderous aura around him surging wildly.
"Go back!" Asou Akiya barked, abandoning the driver as he leapt out of the car and broke into a run in pursuit.
He was going to tear the scriptwriters apart with his bare hands!
He was furious—completely beside himself!
Edogawa Ranpo had taken the initiative to approach Nakahara Chuuya and had even leaked his secret!
After half an hour of frantic chasing, on the Yokohama shoreline, Edogawa Ranpo let out pitiful, kitten-like sobs, clutching his backside as tears pattered down one after another.
Under normal circumstances, Asou Akiya would have softened at the sight.
But he realized that, true enough, he was a Mafia man with a heart as cold as numb frost.
"Ranpo," he said flatly, "repeat exactly what you said to Chuuya. Otherwise, I will not forgive you."
"Waaah, you horrible uncle!"
Edogawa Ranpo squatted down, sobbing and sniffling, deliberately ignoring him.
Asou Akiya stood beside him, his mood churning with irritation. He wanted to light a cigarette, but forcibly restrained the inappropriate craving.
He drew in a deep breath, then lowered his head and spoke to Ranpo, who was still just a child.
"Ranpo, do you want that child to die?"
"...?"
"If he appears in front of my lover, there will only be one outcome—death. You have underestimated the conflict between them."
"…Isn't he his child?"
Edogawa Ranpo forgot his overwhelming sense of grievance and looked up at him with reddened eyes.
Asou Akiya let out a bitter laugh. "The reason Randou broke up with his former lover was because that former lover stabbed him."
"And you overlooked one crucial detail."
"The one who brought that child into this world was not Randou's former lover—it was Randou himself. He paid an enormous price for it… he almost died… nearly died at that child's hands."
"This world isn't as simple as you think," he said quietly. "It is far more fantastical—and far crueler—than you can imagine."
"Ranpo."
Chuuya was his trump card—one that had been flipped over far too early.
Once Randou was stimulated and his memories returned, both he and Chuuya would end up reaching a very cheerful, very final "game over" amid laughter and bloodshed.
"…You can't beat your boyfriend?" Edogawa Ranpo finally realized how serious the situation was.
"..." Asou Akiya slumped, utterly dispirited. "You're still young. You don't understand how complicated relationships between adults are. It's not as simple as whoever's on top can automatically suppress the one beneath. Have you already forgotten about your own parents?"
Edogawa Ranpo fell silent, choking on his words.
—In the end, isn't it just that you, uncle, are useless?! Not only afraid of your partner, but also incapable of protecting your son!
"Then how did you even manage to land such a terrifyingly strong boyfriend?" Ranpo asked bluntly.
"Ranpo," Asou Akiya said, "use your brain."
He took out his phone, glanced at the missed calls on the screen, and spoke with a blank expression.
"Obviously, I scammed him into it."
Click.
He closed the phone.
"Now talk," he said calmly. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't sink you into the sea."
"..."
Edogawa Ranpo immediately stretched out his arms and hugged Asou Akiya's leg, smearing snot and tears all over it as he wailed, "I know I was wrong! Don't throw me into the ocean! I want red bean mochi—! I want little yellow duckies—! Uncle, waaahhh—!"
Cat collapses in tears infront of a fierce tiger.jpg
…So this is the adult world?
I don't want to grow up anymore!