◣ ranpo-san ◥ :

   Time and time again, Ranpo is forced to face his reality that is his past no matter how much he buries it. Be it by the hand of a hopeful man-tiger he wishes would DISAPPEAR or as he admits it not before a girl he sees as a younger sister in some attempt to help her understand.

   An eccentric individual to the very center of his core, it wasn’t surprising that Ranpo couldn’t convey his words as clearly as he did in any murder case. Not many people could understand his way of thinking or how he saw the world around him, hence his connections had always been limited to those he worked with inside the agency.  ( before them, there was nothing. no one. this world is absolutely unforgiving to adult and child alike. )

   He feels the pressure of her hand gripping at his own, the chipping away at his heart in the face of such familiar fear and DESPERATION.

   _{i don’t want to lose anyone. i want to protect them. i want to be useful.}

   Ranpo wanted those things too. 

    ❛ you get stronger, i suppose. ❜  A vague answer, but that was all the detective could say. That was his own thought process when he decided he didn’t want such a thing either.

    ❛ you do your best, everything in your power so you can protect the things you care about and prevent them from happening. but you don’t have to do it alone on your own – you have people who want that for you too, for their own reasons. you can only do so much by yourself, kyouka; don’t forget you’re not alone. ❜

◣ ✿ ◥ Listening to Ranpo’s words was oddly soothing, and even though her grip on him didn’t relent, her breathing leveled out over the course of his small speech. In some odd way, despite the fact that she didn’t want her newfound family to suffer, knowing that they suffered too provided more comfort than the idea of them not–like he said, she wasn’t alone.

She nodded a bit before she rubbed her face against his clothing to get rid of any stray tears that may have escaped in the course of her near-panic. Another minute and she decided that his hands had suffered enough, so she released them, instead moving her arms to wrap around his torso instead. It felt like it’d been years (and that may be the case) since she’d given or received any affection that lasted longer than a few seconds; as such, if Ranpo didn’t protest, she didn’t plan on letting go anytime soon.

“I’ll do that then.” She drew her head away a few inches to make it easier to speak (and breathe). And yeah, getting stronger and overcoming what had been drilled into her head until then had always been the intention, but hearing it from someone else only made it seem that much more realistic, like it wasn’t just a child’s useless pipe dream. “Thank you.”

Hopefully her efforts wouldn’t be in vain. She wasn’t sure if she could handle losing her family again, let alone blaming herself for it again. So she’d do her best, no matter what it took.