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Ranpo was running out of time, the situation was dire and there were still many pieces missing. He could read many things, but even Super Deduction couldn’t read Fyodor without observing him up close.
That bothered him.
Everything was in Dazai’s hands, and as clever as that guy is, he’s not that smart. Not in Ranpo’s opinion at least.
He hated running, he didn’t like exercise either, why should he when he has people to carry him? He regretted that he never took exercising seriously at this moment because right now he was running out of time. He could only make it if he ran across the airport as fast as he could and got to that place to talk to that man.
He panted as he saw the man he was looking for, the sunlight and blue sky behind him as he wished for just a bit more time to calculate. He needed more time to think, the man was dressed in a black coat and his hair was as silver as Fukuzawa’s. That thought caused his heart to ache, Fukuzawa was currently in Poe’s novel with that man, and he was dreading seeing Fukuzawa’s face after he found out about Fukuchi’s motives.
Ranpo was dreading that conversation and this one, he knew it was going to cost him. He could only hope that the price wouldn’t be high.
“Hey, Vampire king,” Ranpo called out to the man, red eyes bore into him as they stared at each other from across the way. He boldly took a few steps closer as the man stared, sizing him up.
“Your name?” The vampire asked him, standing high and proud like the royalty he was.
Ranpo knelt, acting humble for once in his life, he may be the smartest man on the planet, but he was only human, he didn’t hold the power that an ability user did no matter how bright he is.
“Edogawa Ranpo, I’m the world’s greatest detective and smartest man you’re ever going to meet.” He extended his bleeding hand toward the vampire. “And I’ve come to make you a deal.”
Those red eyes fixated on the drops of blood spilling from his hands, Ranpo could tell he was hungry, starving even. The vampire likely hadn’t fed on anything properly since before he was trapped by that holy sword.
“I see, I presume you already know who I am.” The man asked as he shifted his gaze from the blood back to his face. Their eyes met as Ranpo got off his knees to stand in front of him. “What kind of deal are you offering to me, human?”
Ranpo took a deep breath. “You’re hungry, aren’t you? You can have my blood if you want, but I’m going to need you to stop the vampires and kill Fyodor.”
The Vampire’s eyebrows furrowed, and his lips turned downward into a frown. “I will not, I know that man’s ability all too well.” He looked as if he was considering turning around and walking away but, the iron-like smell of blood permeated the air, he couldn’t so easily turn it down.
Ranpo took out his glasses, this man knew Fyodor’s ability. It was a link, something he could analyze and deduce using his skills. The other watched him intently as he slipped the frame on his face and thought deep into the reason.
Ah, so that’s it.
“Fyodor’s ability activates when he dies, right? He’ll take over your body and all the vampires if you were to kill him right?” Ranpo watched as the man’s eyes widened slightly, finally, he was taking his deduction skills seriously.
“My skills are the real deal, there’s not a mystery I can’t solve. I wasn’t lying when I told you I was the world's greatest detective after all.” Ranpo took a step closer, it was a bold move but he needed to tempt him. He needed to induce his hunger, he needed to close this deal no matter the cost.
Fukuzawa’s crying face played in his mind, it was going to happen whether he liked it or not, but he could make it easier on him. And for that, Ranpo would pay any price.
“If you understand the dangers of his ability, then why would you ask me to kill him? It would be dooming us all.” The vampire spoke back as if he was talking to a child. Perhaps in his eyes, Ranpo was one. This was a man who’d lived hundreds of years, he was a king, a father, and one of the most dangerous ability users on the planet.
“Because it’s the best way to stop him once and for all. If we let him escape, he’ll cause us all a lot more problems down the road.” Ranpo moved in a bit closer, they were so close that they were almost touching. He moved his hand up to Bram, making his intentions clear while he explained.
“He’ll just find a way to get one of your vampires to kill him eventually, he’ll take on another form, he’ll find a way and get you in the end. I’m not offering this for my sake, I’m offering it for yours. I can save you if you listen to me.”
Fangs extended from Bram's lips, reacting to the sight of blood. He was hungry after all, Ranpo put his hand down and took a step back now that he had his interest.
“Join my detective agency, if you do you’ll have complete control over your ability. That is the ability of Fukuzawa Yukichi, the ability for any of his subordinates to control their own abilities fully.” The wind was cold, his hand stung, and Ranpo was tired. But he had to push on. The man in front of him was finally taking his words seriously.
“Save me? And what will you do human? How do you intend to get Fyodor out of my body after he’s taken me over?” Bram turned to look at the sun as it got closer to sunset, time was ticking and they both knew it.
“There’s a way, all I need is for my colleague Dazai Osamu to touch your body, he can nullify ability users. The moment that he does, Fyodor will be kicked out from your body. Anyways, you being in the agency should create a singularity on it’s own.” Ranpo held up his hand again as another drop of blood hit the pavement, no doubt the sight was driving the starving man mad.
It must look like such a waste.
Those red eyes glowed as he turned to face him, analyzing Ranpo with years of wisdom that not even he could match. Bram took a step closer and grabbed the detective's arm, rolling down his sleeve to see the trail of blood that was drying on his arm. “I believe your words Edogawa Ranpo”
“I’ll accept your request under one condition.”
Here it was, Ranpo remained tense but he nodded. “Yeah, name it.”
Bram brought his hand up to his lips, licking the open wound with his tongue causing Ranpo to shiver. His tongue felt soft as if it had some sort of numbing agent in his saliva to alleviate the pain.
“You, I’ll take you. I will not turn you, but I will leave my mark on you.” The man said as he looked down at Ranpo, his blood staining his lips a crimson red.
“Your blood will be mine, and mine alone.”
Ranpo contemplated it, he knew it was going to come down to something like this, but it seemed that Bram liked his blood after all. He looked towards the sky, the sun was already lowering itself in the sky. He didn’t have any time for hesitation, he could deal with these consequences later, for now, this was the only way.
“Fine, I’ll take that deal,” Ranpo spoke with determination, watching as the vampire’s fangs grew out even longer. Large hands grabbed him and held him in place and he felt his collar being loosened, his shoulder was quickly exposed to air as Bram unbuttoned his shirt just enough to reveal the skin.
He closed his eyes, not looking forward to this in the slightest. Ranpo hated pain and he’d already had far too much of it today, although his hand was slowly starting to hurt less and less thanks to the numbing agent in the vampire’s saliva.
Bram took a breath before lunging at the man, his fangs piercing Ranpo’s shoulder as the smaller man let out a soft yelp from the sudden sting. Emerald eyes fluttered open, his vision going blurry as the vampire sucked the blood from his body. But besides that, it felt odd, it felt warm.
He could feel the force of Bram’s ability, a soft red glow appearing as the bite took effect. Ranpo could feel the energy draining from him, he panted and allowed his arms to drop to his side as his head lulled.
It felt good, the pain was dissipating and Ranpo closed his eyes. Whatever Bram was doing, he didn’t want it to stop, he couldn’t explain it in any other way than that as the vampire continued to feed on him. Once the vampire had his fill, Ranpo felt his legs collapse under him.
But he didn’t fall, the man had caught him in his arms and Ranpo had never felt so complete. It was surely the work of the ability, but he didn’t have enough brain power to think about it right now.
“You taste sweet. Sweeter than any human I’ve drank from before.” Bram said as he traced his mark on Ranpo’s skin with his long fingernails. Ranpo looked at him with dazed eyes, honestly, he wasn’t surprised by that, Bram wasn’t used to feeding on modern-day humans, and even in today’s day and age Ranpo ate a lot more sugar than the average person.
He saw that look on the vampire, Bram knew he shouldn’t draw more than what was necessary from this human given his smaller stature. But he couldn’t help it, after all, Ranpo was a sucker for praise and even if it came in as weird of a way as this, he was somewhat flattered.
Ranpo flinched as the man cut his cheek with the swipe of his nail, the vampire leaned in and licked the droplets off with his tongue, the minuscule cut healing up at the king's will. He didn’t have time to react, those fangs were coming at him again, this time biting his plump lip, sucking the blood that leaked from the bottom one as the motion turned into a kiss.
He panted, stumbling backward but Bram used a hand to hold him in place as he pressed his lips fully against Ranpo’s, kissing him before biting down on the human tongue. The kiss tasted like blood, Ranpo could feel Bram's tongue lapping against the walls of his mouth and tongue to get every last drop of blood he could.
It made him dizzy, but it felt so good. Ranpo had never experienced a kiss like this before, he didn’t even know if it was natural or the work of Bram's saliva but he wanted more. He didn’t care if he couldn’t breathe, he just wanted more of the king he’d submitted himself to.
Bram pulled away and licked his lips, savoring the last of the detective's blood as the bite mark on Ranpo’s shoulder glowed and burned a mark into his skin. A red rose, as dark as the blood around it, a symbol from today until the day he died who Ranpo now belonged to
Ranpo breathed heavily, but the moment he was able to stand on his own he fixed his collar and hid the mark away from sight. His legs wobbled as he adjusted to the drained feeling he knew he was going to have to get used to from now on.
The two stop across from each other, staring now that the pack has been sealed. “I’ve claimed you as my own, that mark on your shoulders serves as protection. No vampire under my control can harm you. I am the only one who can feed from your blood.” Bram kept his distance, but Ranpo could see that energy was flowing through his veins, the strength from a good meal replenishing him fully.
“But, it also binds you to me. If you fail to uphold your part of this deal and remove Fyodor from my body, you will also suffer. Do you understand, Edogawa Ranpo?” The Vampire said as the sunset started to dye them both in orange. It was almost time, and Ranpo had somewhere else he needed to be.
“I get it, you’ve got nothing to worry about, not even Fyodor can beat my super deduction.” Ranpo weakly smiled, even though he wanted nothing more than to pass out at this very moment.
“I’ll leave the rest in your hand, Edogawa Ranpo, my only consort.”
If Ranpo wasn’t missing all that blood, he probably would have turned red from that. But a deal was a deal, his eyes locked one last time with Bram before he stumbled away to find Atsushi.