Bungo Stray Dogs: Becoming Ranpo's Little Brother

What if Zhongye had been picked up by Teacher Natsume from the start and given to Ranpo as a little brother? I think that plot could work. Ranpo stared in shock. "I have a little brother?!" What a huge leap forward! The boy who called himself Edogawa Ranpo ate bowl after bowl of rice cakes in sweet red bean soup, paid for with Fukuzawa's money. In the wooden bowls Ranpo finished, every white rice cake was left untouched. He had eaten only the bean paste. Fukuzawa: "You really are amazing, eating the bean paste from nine bowls in a row. By the way, you said earlier that you have a little brother..." Ranpo: "My little brother is so cute." The irresistible power of changing your mind after the fact never disappoints. Ranpo goes into full-on little-brother-praising mode. After the 'Angel Murder Case,' Fukuzawa finally thinks: Maybe I should just throw him into the sea to feed the sharks. At fifteen, Zhongye is still working with Dazai. Oda Sakunosuke, a low-ranking Port Mafia member, and Ango, an accountant (not an intelligence agent in the early part), are badly injured while investigating V, an underground organization that operated in secret five years ago and tried to destroy the country's ability users. Verlaine sneaks into Yokohama to steal his little brother away. All five male members of the Flags must be there, not one missing! H.G. Wells is the one holding the script. She was never meant to exist in this timeline. Ayatsuji Yukito and Edogawa Ranpo meet for the first time (to indulge my long-held wish to write a classic mystery). N: "Hello, Zhongye." In the end, what becomes of Zhongye and Verlaine...? [Reading Notes] 1. This story focuses on plot and classic mystery, so the story may be convoluted or hard to follow. If you miss some details, don't worry about it (maybe my writing just isn't good enough to make them clear). The plot may feel dull, and the logic may be a bit messy. 2. I focus on keeping the characters in character (though they do end up somewhat out of character). I studied the characters using all the printed Chinese novels I bought, as well as the Japanese TXT versions. (Waaah, I've always wanted to imitate Asagiri's writing style. I even used that old fox Asagiri's approach to 'shifting perspectives' before Oda Sakunosuke appeared.) Sorry if you're looking for out-of-character portrayals. orz 3. Updates are irregular. I'll update when I have an idea. 4. I really want to write this story well and finish it. I know my writing is poor and I don't express my train of thought or logic clearly, so please bear with me. Theme: A different kind of train of thought