When Ranpo Picked Up a Gin

[Pre-publication: Raising Ranpo Through the Police Academy Group Chat, No CP. Thanks for adding it to your favorites QvQ] (Romance starts in Chapter 39) Blurb: After Ranpo gets kicked out of the police academy, he happens upon an explosion near a hospital. With the roads blocked, he takes a detour through an alley, only to catch the strong smell of blood at its shadowy entrance. A silver-haired man in surgical scrubs and a black coat lies on the ground. His faint breathing proves he is still alive. Blood seeps from a large wound in his shoulder, and several bullet grazes mark his deathly pale face. Ranpo has absolutely no interest in gang wars. But the man before him has clearly escaped from the hospital, and will die here before long. The first thing the silver-haired man does after regaining consciousness is open his eyes and assess his situation. A cramped, shabby room, clothes strewn all over the floor, and the cloyingly sweet smell of sugary snacks. He instinctively reaches for the gun at his waist, but finds nothing. “I wouldn’t move if I were you. Make any big movements and your wound will tear open.” A cool voice comes from nearby. The man warily turns to look, and the movement sends a ripping pain through his injury. The black-haired boy has a red bean rice cake in his mouth, his cheeks puffing in and out like a hamster’s. “Who sets their bank card PIN to their gun model? What a weirdo.” He waves the bank card in his hand. “But since you helped Ranpo-sama with his meals, I’ll reluctantly take you in for a while!” “Tsk, tsk, how pitiful. Did the explosion hit your head and give you patchy amnesia?” “But that’s all right. Your past has nothing to do with me.” “It’s perfectly normal to share a place in the slums.” A bewildered Gin: ...? “Hey, I’m Ranpo! What’s your name?” “...” “You have silver hair, so I’ll call you Little Silver!” A rumor has been circulating in the organization: Gin, the moody and merciless Top Killer, has a beauty hidden away somewhere outside. Even Rum was met with a gun-wielding warning from the Top Killer when he tried to find out who this beauty was. No one knows what the person looks like. The only time they were ever exposed was during a meeting, when Gin’s phone kept ringing. Faintly audible through the calls were the words “red bean soup” and “cheap sweets.” Gin had an unguarded smile on his face, his expression so tender that everyone present was left staring blankly. One day, after finishing a mission debrief, Scotland and Bourbon happened to run into someone storming out of the Top Killer’s room. The person was muttering that Little Silver was an idiot. The two men, someone’s senior schoolmates and fellow undercover agents: ... Ranpo: Oh, it’s you guys. GIN: ??? [Please note] *Note: HagiMatsu, ReiKei, and Double Black make brief appearances. They’re included for plot reasons. This does not involve any top/bottom dynamics, just a few subtle crushes. 1. All five members of the Police Academy group survive. [The academy program is two years in this version] 2. Ranpo is neither on the Black side nor the Red side. He acts according to his own wishes. 3. At the start, Ranpo is fourteen, before meeting the President. Gin and the Police Academy group are twenty-two. 4. The author’s logic is dead, so please go easy on me. No supernatural abilities appear at first; they only show up in the last few chapters. 5. Bungou Stray Dogs characters appear, with their identities changed. Don’t read if that bothers you. 6. Characterization may be out of character, as is inevitable with fanfiction. No romance involving minors. 8. Raising the kid in the first half, romance in the second half [Please take note!] Theme: Even if you are born in darkness, you can still long for the light