A Series of Mysteries ~ Ranpo x Reader

⟡ 1) Missing ⟡

~⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡☆⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡~

~Flashback~

"Mom. I'm adopted, aren't I?"

"Whatever do you mean, dear?"

"I mean, look at me. I don't look like you or Dad."

"...I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this so soon but, yes, you are adopted."

"What happened to my real parents? Why did they give me away? Did they not love me? Do you know where they are or what happened to them?"

"I don't know what happened to them nor do I know why they gave you away. You were left on our doorstep with a note stating your name and birthday, nothing more. What I do know is that you being brought here was the greatest blessing we could have ever been given"

~End of Flashback~

Y/n POV:
'What...? Why...? How...?'

'...He's gone...?!'

~

I had just arrived at my parent's house to visit them while I'm on a break when they told me that my younger brother, Haru, had run away. I would've dropped everything in my hands had I not been frozen from shock, resulting in my grip tightening. I bombarded them with questions like "why would he leave," "where did/would he go," "is someone out looking for him," "how long has he been gone," and many others. They didn't seem the least bit concerned about his whereabouts or the reason for his disappearance. Like me, he was also adopted but, looking back, his adoption felt sort of forced; almost like my parents had no other choice. They didn't seem as excited to have him in our family as they did with me. I never understood why I thought that they felt differently towards me than him but I eventually brushed those thoughts aside, hoping that my parents had genuinely wanted and loved him as much as they wanted and loved me, and that I was just overthinking the situation. But this one single moment shattered that hope into pieces. I realized that they had only been pretending to care about Haru while I was there; who knows what they did or said to him when I was gone.

After getting over my initial shock and realization, I turned around and headed for the door, beginning my search for Haru, since they obviously wouldn't be of any help. They tried to stop me, saying that I wouldn't be able to find him and that I would be wasting my time, but I just kept on pushing forward.

I entered my car and just drove, not wanting to go home because they could possibly show up there to try to convince me to give up again. I ended up at a restaurant I've never been to before, wanting to try it out. The place was roughly empty, aside from a few customers. As I sit in my seat, I turn my head to the window, resting my chin on my arm and staring out the window, thinking of how I was going to find my brother.

My concentration was broken when three men walked in, one of them wearing old, torn up clothes, and the other two wearing what I would assume to be business casual clothes. The young man with torn up clothes had silvery hair with a single streak of black, although his haircut looked like something a child had done. One of the other two men had brown hair, his bangs being sectioned off to either side of his face and a section in the middle. The last man had short blond hair on top with longer hair on the bottom that was tied back in a low ponytail. They sat a few tables over from me, with me being seated closer to the front of the restaurant.

I turned my attention to the menu I hadn't even looked at since arriving, not wanting to be rude and eavesdrop. I quickly decided what I was going to eat and relayed my order to the waiter. As I'm about to turn my head to look towards the window once again, a particular group caught my attention once again.

'So much for not wanting eavesdropping. Stupid chismosa ears.'

I heard one of them say that they were looking for a tiger. I couldn't tell who said it since I can't listen to them AND stare at them, that's pushing it. As soon as the word "tiger" was mentioned, I heard one of them stumble backwards out of their seat, causing me to turn my head in confusion and slight concern. The silver-haired man was the one that had fallen and then attempts to escape but the blond guy pins him to the ground.

'Should I be watching this?'

The brunette then tells the blond that he can relax and refrain from immobilizing the young man below him. Reluctantly, he agrees to release the guy, standing up from his previous crouching position to allow the boy to get up. At that moment, my food had arrived, effectively switching my focus. Before I realized it, they had left to capture the tiger, I presume. I wasn't really paying attention since I was too busy enjoying my food, which was actually really good.

After finishing my meal, I decided to go to a nearby police station and report my brother's disappearance since I don't think my parents did. They informed me that they would be working on locating him as soon as possible, seeing as how they had plenty of other cases to deal with. I gave them my thanks and decided to drive home to get some rest, since I had already decided that I was also going to search for him myself as well.

As I'm approaching home, I notice that neither of my parents' cars are parked at my house, causing me to sigh in relief that I wouldn't have to deal with their nonsense about how I'm wasting my time. I park my car on the driveway and head towards the front door, stopping when I notice a sheet of paper taped to my door. As I got closer, I could see my mother's handwriting and signature, meaning she had come to my house like I assumed and left a note when she realized that I wasn't home.

~
My dear Y/n,
I apologize if my words seemed a bit cold and harsh, but I'm just simply concerned that you're going to put so much effort into finding Haru just for it all to be wasted if you can't find him. If he left, there must've been a reason why and maybe he just wants to be alone and remain unfound. I don't want you to waste time hoping to find him only for that hope to be crushed when you can't. Please, come back home.
Love,
Mom <3
~

I finish reading the note, stunned by how my mother is twisting her words to make it seem like she's just concerned for me losing hope when she definitely has something to do with his disappearance. I don't know how he disappeared but I'm sure that she's behind it or is somehow related to it—and I'm going to figure out exactly what she did and find my brother.

~⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡☆⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡~