The things the mind conceals - Edogawa Ranpo x Reader

Chapter 12

Leaving the convenience store with Ranpo after he had grabbed a mass array of confectionaries, you both went your separate ways. You heading back to your apartment, and Ranpo in the other direction. Once you got back, you opened the door and left your shoes to the side by the door. You closed the door and made sure to lock it before heading over to your sofa.

You had managed to hide from the Agency that you had a run-in with the Port Mafia and had actually been attacked by one of their members. Sighing, you pulled out the first aid kit from underneath your sofa and started dressing your wounds.

The other thing you had hidden from the Agency was that you weren't always pure. When you were younger, you had fallen victim to gang violence and ended up spending a few years involved with a gang. It was nothing major in Yokohama, but it was still not something you had ever thought you would do.

Then, a thought came to the front of your mind. You remembered a box filled with old paperwork that you were given when you had become the ripe age of 13 years old. Being 24 years old now made you realise just how much you had ahead of you. After you'd dressed your wounds, you headed for your room and pulled out a box from underneath your bed.

Opening the box, you grabbed all of the folders and brought them back to the living room. You started flicking through them before one caught your attention.

Case #7 – The Okamoto Case
On May 1, 2006, five bodies were found in a one room apartment belonging to 35 year-old Kawahara Mamoru by Mamoru's mother. Mamoru was hanging from a loft opening, and his half-sister Sugihara Asami was lying on the futon. The wrapped remains of two babies and a young child were also found hidden inside two sealed carboard boxes. Police had no idea who the three children were, but suspected Kawahara might have killed Sugihara, then committed suicide. However, Asami's mother, Ryoko, was also suspected and arrested two days later.

Asami was determined to have been strangled back in October 2005, and Mamoru was believed to have died in March 2006. Ryoko claimed that Mamoru killed Asami and the three children, then hung himself. Eventually, she confessed to strangling Asami herself, but still denied knowing anything about the deaths of Mamoru and the three kids. The young boy might be Ryoko's son, Yuichi, who disappeared in 1984 when he was six years old. Yuichi has never been found and Ryoko insists that he was kidnapped by North Korean secret agents. On December 23, 2007, Ryoko was sentenced to prison for 12 years for Asami's murder. The bodies of the three children have still not been identified.

"Why would you supposedly strangle your own child?" You said aloud, slightly confused.

You read the case a few times before deciding to go to sleep for the night. You put all the folders away and the box under your bed before climbing into the bed and falling asleep the moment your head hit the pillow. You slept for what felt like hours before the sun shining through your open curtains woke you up. Peering over at the clock, you realised you had overslept.

Attempting to get out of bed, you realised you still had no energy after the attack two days ago. You hadn't been sleeping and eating much as you had been too focused on the cases. You had read one last night before falling asleep and intended on reading more before bringing the box into the Agency to share with them the cases the L/N family member could possibly use.

You were so focused on your thoughts that it took you a moment to register the fact that someone was knocking on your door. Getting up from your bed, you went over to open it.

"Dazai? Atsushi? What are you two doing here?" You asked.

"You didn't come into work this morning, so Kunikida asked us to stop by." Atsushi commented.

"Ah I see. Apologies for not mentioning anything. I was a bit tired." You lied.

"Mhm. You had a run-in with the Port Mafia. In fact, you fought Akutagawa, didn't you?" Dazai pointed out.

"Wha- how'd you figure that out?" You sigh.

"You told me you were going to negotiate with the Port Mafia. Assuming things didn't go well, you fought Akutagawa and then you were kidnapped." Dazai pointed out.

"Wait, when did this happen?" Atsushi asks.

"Two days ago." You reply.

"But you still came to work?" Atsushi asked.

"Well, yeah. I worked a case." You replied.

"Which reminds me, we're here to also tell you there's a new case. It looks like suicide." Dazai explains.

You sighed before replying. "Yeah I knew this was coming. I read about that case just last night. Lemme guess, a 35 year old was found hanging from a loft opening and his half sister found lying on a futon?" You asked.

"Yeah... how'd you know?" Atsushi asks, perplexed.

"I have a copy of the cases the L/N family member is reading out. That just so happened to catch my attention. So now we know they've attacked again." You sigh.

"Mhm. Atsushi, you head back. I need to talk with Y/N privately." Dazai said.

"Alright." Atsushi said, leaving.

"What exactly happened at the Port Mafia headquarters? How did you get out?" Dazai asked.

"They let me go when they realised I didn't know anything. Because I didn't. I wasn't aware of this ability nor was I aware of another family member possessing it. However, we have a slight issue." You said, shuffling on your feet.

"What?" Dazai asked.

"I need help covering up one of these cases. Like, I planned on bringing them to the Agency, but one of them I can't bring." You say.

"Why's that?" Dazai asks.

"Because... I was the one who committed it." You confessed.

"You committed a crime?" Dazai said, laughing.

"I'm being serious. I was in a gang when I was younger. I left though. But I killed someone. It was about 3 years ago now." You admit.

"Oh I see. So the Port Mafia have been after you for a while then. Quite a few years." Dazai commented.

"The Port Mafia didn't really like us. We stole from their armoury once or twice. Oh, and I may or may not have killed one of their executives." You sheepishly say.

"You killed an executive?" Dazai sweat dropped.

"Indeed I did. However, your partner- sorry, ex-partner isn't aware of it. Only the boss. He was a newb, and a temp. They were just trying to fill the void you left." You explain.

"So what exactly happened?" Dazai asked.

"That's a story for another day. Some day in the future, I'll tell you. But not right now. It's imperative we solve this mystery first." You reply, gazing out to the blue hue in the sky.

"Another day, huh?" Dazai said, catching you gazing at the sky.

Sksks sorry it's shorter than I hoped. I kinda wanted to end it there.