Prey and Predator [Ranpo x Reader] + Bonus ✓

Bonus: Corpse lover

The rich aroma of fresh coffee seeped through sheets of translucent filter paper, boiling water poured down on it to fill the glass container underneath with the hickory-brown elixir. Leaning in subconsciously, I watched the veteran barista's fingers curl around the handle of the pot and trickle the freshly-brewed coffee onto an elegant china cup.

Full up to the rim, the elderly male warned me against the beverage's temperature as I thanked him, his tired eyes watching as I returned to the table while supporting the cup with the saucer. I was cautious to avoid spilling a single droplet on my way from the counter and smiled triumphantly at my companion as they sighed at my success.

Already sitting opposite me was a male whose silver strands of thinning hair were parted evenly over a black haori weighing down on his already stiff shoulders.

On Ranpo's absence to a job request on the outskirts of the city, the Armed Detective Agency's director found a vacant hour on his schedule, every other detective busy at their assigned posts and thus requiring no supervision. The absence of assignments and reports to complete by my own agency allowed me to visit Café Uzumaki, where the older male knew he could settle with a warm cup of jasmine tea.

'I bet that if the children were here, they'd be playing with your hair,' I began, resting my cheek on my palm and as I gestured towards his platinum hair. 'Every now and then, I catch Tarō plaiting Ranpo's hair, you know, while Roze hands him the hairpins we bought her when she was younger.'

Fukuzawa failed to conceal an amused smile as he constructed the image in his mind, and reclined back on his seat while bringing the tea to his lips and sipping on it elegantly.

'You trained your children to bother Ranpo.'

'Not at all – not intentionally, at least,' I returned immediately, lifting my cheek from my hand as I smiled eagerly. 'I usually brush Roze's hair in the morning and plait it, so surely, after watching it continuously, Tarō's found Ranpo to be the closest victim to try the methods himself. Roze generally prospers in bickering with Ranpo, so she solemnly joined in for fun.' – I ran my finger against the rim of the cup and judged the coffee still too hot to drink. 'I'm sure you'll be the best next victim, mark my words!'

Letting out a faint chuckle, Fukuzawa rested his palms on his lap calmly and smiled at the ends of his hair. He curled several strands around his finger hesitantly, before claiming that the children would only find his hair entertaining for a short amount of time for his hair was thinning with every passing year. Silently, he attempted to plait the strands himself as demonstration, subconsciously smiling as his shoulders eased to the motion.

While he weaved his hair, I sipped from my coffee as when I saw the steam lift and disperse between my fingers. Looking around the café to avoid making prolonged eye contact with the male, I watched the entrance door flutter open as the bell above it chimed, announcing a new customer that caught my particular interest.

Dressed in an oversized jumper that'd been tucked into a knee-length skirt, the hesitant figure of a woman plodded into the café and halted before the closed door. Her grip was tight around the twisted straps of a bag, that seemed to have been hurriedly flung over her shoulder – if arranged into a public street, one could judge such stance to be the result of fear of robbery.

An evenly-cut fringe fell over her forehead and curled softly over her eyebrows, leaving only her upper-eyelids visible behind a surgical mask she used to cover the lower half of her face. It seemed impossible for anyone to be able to recognise her from this distance.

The woman glanced around the café hastily, scanning every seated customer as though in search of an individual. When her eyes met mine, I looked away rapidly to play it smooth, however, felt my hand clutch onto the handle of my cup tightly as she strode towards me in a hurry.