BSD SECRET SANTA GIFT
Of Mysteries and Romance Novels
"Ranpo-san we are one week behind the ideal schedule..."
Kunikida had a dejected look on his face and inside he was panicking badly. Bad enough to want to shred papers for stress relief.
Ranpo pouted. "It's okay Kunikida kun, I am the best detective story writer in the whole Japan. But I need inspiration...."
Kunikida knew that the situation was worse than he originally thought. What Ranpo said could never indicate something good. Kunikida knew it first hand. This time Kunikida didn't have anyone to blame either.
The last year was harsh on the agency. After the fight with the rats, there was a huge collateral damage. And the agency was partly responsible for that. Therefore they had to contribute to the repairs. It was easier said than done. All of the agency workers had to endure arduous tasks along with the side jobs. Except Dazai, because right now he was taking all the cases that Ranpo couldn't, due to his side job. Even the lazy bum, was doing his best.
It was his idea to have Ranpo submitting to one of the novel competitions. He knew that Ranpo was talented, but he didn't predict that it would be an easy win to secure the first place. After that, Ranpo had three novels published in a short time all became best sellers.
But the path to success was a thorny one at best. The company Ranpo signed with provided him the best editors they had. The longest that could last had a record of 6 days 5 hours 17 minutes exact. During that time Kunikida was doing part time tutoring jobs. It was Ranpo's idea to offer the company to make Kunikida his editor. They gladly accepted after running out of editors.
Kunikida hated Ranpo's writer's block for valid reasons. First of all when that happened Ranpo went out, seeking inspiration, and getting himself into trouble at the best cases. Once he was out of ideas he either tried to create a mysterious situation by meddling with people, or worse he got out to find the mysteries that he shouldn't even have found out about.
There was a time when he found out the affairs of a businessman, nearly getting killed in the process. Another time, he was about to get arrested for intruding a politician's privacy. Good thing that the scandal was big enough and related to public affairs that the prosecutor found it justifiable. After all the work Kunikida put in actually. Waiting for Ranpo to be released was the worst part, he worried himself to death. In the worst case, one time, his actions caused a crossfire between mafia and a local gang. Kunikida was still bewildered to this day, wondering how that could ever happen.
Kunikida understood the poor souls who went through the ordeal of being Ranpo's editor. Ranpo was high maintenance proportional to his brilliance. He got lost easily, figuratively and literally. He never cared for his nutrition as long as he got his candies and snacks, so it was his editor's duty to feed him properly. He needed to be looked after. Finding the candies that suited his tastes was also terrifyingly difficult task, for Ranpo didn't like anything other than his favourites which were not really popular. He also insisted on them being his source of inspiration so they were a must. But the worst of all was the part where he had to push him to meet his deadlines. He had to be spartan sometimes, denying him candies and threaten him with physical pain. Desperate times called for desperate measures. The whining never stopped at such times.
Considering that this was one of such occasions, it felt odd. Ranpo was trying to be productive for once and he seemed puzzled. The genius. With a puzzled expression. Well, that was news for Kunikida.
"Kunikida, may I use your ideas for some reference?"
Yes, his day was getting weirder by the second. Ranpo never asked him such questions. "What kind of reference exactly?" he had to ask. Because Ranpo right now, was working on a romance novel. The company insisted on such a thing, noting that the growing fandom was demanding it and Ranpo accepted the challenge on the spot. Without even asking him. Sometimes the work wasn't worth the payment. This was one of those times.
"The main character is the world's greatest detective." he told pondering. "He could even find legendary lost items,or his way into impenetrable places. But he can't find his way to his beloved girl's heart. I feel lost for the first time. It's like I can't come up with anything. I don't even know where to start and what kind of scene it should be. Tell me your honest opinion, I could use your experience."
Kunikida rubbed his temples before starting. "Actually I think your main girl is way too strict for the tastes of your audience, not that I would complain but she's too responsible for her own good. It will wear her out before anything happens between them." he explained flatly.
"You know, since the main character is the greatest detective ever, he will be able to find every single charming thing about her and show it to reader. He is going to show everyone how special she is. That is not the issue here. Go on."
"How to make her fall for him? Why would you think that I would have any ideas?" Kunikida questioned with a blank expression.
"Exacly that. Maybe I need some real life experience for this one. Since I am out of ideas I thought I might as well ask you." Ranpo said with a smile. "Not even my glasses help me with such a mystery." he shrugged.
"In my opinion, the detective seems cold on the outside. He has to show his warm side to her. Besides he has to demonstrate that he considers her as a love interest seriously because she is not into short term relationships. She has to know that she is not another fling. Also I think she would appreciate seeing him hardworking for a change. He is so talented that he doesn't have to work a lot. But you might make it that this time he has to. And they would work together. That's all I can think of, even if it's not much helpful." Kunikida told.
Ranpo was taking notes. Yes, his behaviour wasn't the usual one. Maybe he should go out and buy him his favourite candies.
"Thank you Kunikida, you were a great helper as always." Ranpo beamed cheerfully. "I think I found the missing piece I was looking for. According to my calculations I can finish two more chapters in the span of five days. But we might have to pull a few all nighters for that. Would you mind staying at my place and helping me with the work during that time? I would appreciate your help, you are a great problem solver. Would you mind being there for me, as you have always been?" He asked. After all, it was a sound advice that could even work in real life situations. They had to work together for Ranpo to let Kunikida know about it.
