Work Text:
Was it the plan?
Of course not.
But he wasn’t stupid. Far from it, in fact.
The possibility was always there, laying asleep with perked ears. Ranpo had hoped its head would never rear. Yet there he sat, watching its head rise with a grin.
God, he hated that damn smile…
Mori raised a glass, the room igniting with clinks of glasses and pops of bottles. Ranpo, too, lifted his hand, regardless of his own feelings. Those weren’t to matter anyhow.
“To my promising executives,” Mori trilled. “In the wake of such devastation, we still arose and came out as victors.” The room gave a roar, mafiosi celebrating living another day amongst the lowlives. “And we have our Double Black to thank for our success.”
Ranpo glanced at the two teenagers taking hold of everyone’s attention, watching their masks take hold and cover.
Dazai raised a glass. Chuuya gave a nod.
Their thoughts were all too clear to Ranpo, but no other would be reading those. The position being offered to the two most successful mafiosi was no surprise, and, as the events of the Dragon Head conflict played out, it became the expectation. One doesn’t do away with multiple organizations in one night quietly.
Whether they were elated at such promotions, he’d leave that to their discretion (he knew that answer too). His own feelings on it…
Ranpo sipped his champagne, not with his usual gusto, of course. His eyes were searching, looking for his fellow spectator. Kouyou stood quite a ways away from him, but he had found her.
Her eyes were sharpened with a doleful cut. She switched from one of her boys to the other; not closely in time, not too far apart in seconds, and not enough anyone else would notice in moments.
Ranpo didn’t walk to her, but he waited. Her eyes left the two, giving Ranpo the glance he asked for. With that, he left the room, the fanfare his cover.
He trailed aimlessly, and he found himself in a cove of stained glass and solitude. A hunger he had never been able to satisfy during these “parties” kept his senses more honed than he usually liked. Mori enjoyed him this way. He’d told Ranpo in the past he had fun toying with this special non-ability. Too bad for his dear boss, he rather enjoyed food and understimulation in the senses department.
Kouyou’s heels clicked against the marbled floors, his solidarity coming to a close. And he knew what came next. He would have rathered continued playing with masks at the ostentatious gathering, but this needed to happen.
“Tell me, did you plan for this?” she idly broke the silence, ire coveted by quietude.
He didn’t want to confess. He hadn’t wanted her to know. Ranpo might have hoped she would have just figured it out herself, but he knew better than to hang onto that. “The possibility was always there,” Ranpo returned, taking another sip.
Kouyou scoffed, her presence falling closer. “Do not speak to me like that,” she sneered.
Ranpo didn’t turn. He didn’t face her. He didn’t want her eyes on his anymore than she wanted his upon hers.
The possibility was there, but…
“Don’t act as if this was the intention,” she quietly spat. So it was purposeful blinding. Ranpo should stop underestimating her, but he may have had a small bit of joy in the annoyance it brought her. Kouyou took a breath in. “You and I both know-”
“Speaking things aloud is a stupid move, Kou,” Ranpo said. “Would be grounds for treason if I were anyone else.”
Kouyou tired of speaking to his back. She grabbed his shoulder, pulling until he could only face her. “Ranpo, what is the plan?” she growled. Ranpo eyed her, looking her in the eye just as she wanted from him. Truths came to light from that very space between the iris and the pupil, so she said. Of course, that didn’t apply to Ranpo, whose eyes could relay whatever he so wanted.
“Kouyou, don’t play the optimist card with me, huh,” Ranpo clicked his tongue. “You want an answer that neatly places the pieces where you want them to go, but that isn’t how this is gonna play out.”
Kouyou’s scowl creased further, her eyes hardening. “I’m no fool, Ranpo.” He knew that.
“So don’t speak like one. You should know where this goes next,” he voiced. There was no playing around this one.
Kouyou shut her eyes, her hands squeezing at her sides. Ranpo took note of this, without much mind yet not without thought. Her vulnerability was a rarity, but it never was for Ranpo. Yes, nothing got past him, but Kouyou wasn’t without her strengths. She could make lies into reality; and she could take her reality and make it into what she needed it to be. Without this, Ranpo was certain he wouldn’t have reached this age with her still breathing.
They were young in the eyes of life itself. 20 and too much to do; too much to have seen.
The kids were only 16…and their fates were being sealed before their two elders.
Ranpo turned his eyes to the ground. The following words were never his favorite. It gave his own power away, and to the woman he least wanted to be aware of it (she always was). “We can’t stop this from happening, Kou. It’s out of our hands now.”
Kouyou’s breath caught in her throat. She’d heard the words before he spoke them, he could see that. She cleared her airways; her back straightened; her fists unclenched. “Well…nothing is said easily with us, is it?” she breathed.
“And yet, I’ve never once lied,” Ranpo whispered. The truth was laid out because it had to be. Their unity formed in the face of a kid and their companion, and any misunderstandings couldn’t exist within the spaces and cracks of this allyship. Ranpo spoke, and Kouyou always listened whether she liked what he said or not.
The boys were to become executives. They were to bleed and kill for the mafia, and any way out for them was even more improbable now. Perhaps what they planned was too lofty to hold up, too against the real world they persisted in.
Kouyou glanced at Ranpo from the corner of her eye. Ranpo heard the plea. He offered over his glass. The contents inside were nowhere near strong enough, but they could pretend.
They would play pretend, making their reality what it seemingly couldn’t be.
But they excelled in playing pretend, didn’t they?