A/N: This fanfic is based off the manga version of Deka Wanko. But the drama is pretty interesting too so check it out, yo!

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are Usako and people involved in the mystery. Everyone else originated from the mind of Morimoto Kozueko.

The young woman hurried along in the dark night, trying to get home as soon as possible. Walking alone at night in Tokyo could be especially dangerous for women, so she gripped a bottle of pepper spray in her hand as her weapon, in case she was attacked. She pulled her hood even lower, hiding her attractive features. As she neared her apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.

Suddenly, rough hands jerked her from behind and spun her around. She panicked, attempting to scream, but a cloth was shoved in front of her mouth and nose. She struggled to breathe, but when she did, she realized that she had made a fatal mistake. Her bottle of pepper spray fell out of her hand, forgotten, as she sunk into unconsciousness.

"Gather round everyone, we've got a new case on our hands!" Hanchou bellowed, dropping the background files onto his desk.

The officers of crime investigation division one squad six abandoned their current tasks to check out the new case. Squad six was known for their excellent work...but they were even more infamous for their penchant for violence and scary appearances.

Hanchou frowned. "Where's Wanko?"

"Sick," Yanagi answered, already looking through the files. He held up a collection of pictures of young women from the file. "I take it our case involves the women that keep disappearing recently?"

Komatsubara whistled appreciatively. "Whoa, they're all beauties. I can understand why the criminal attacked them." That comment earned him a smack on the head from the guys near him.

Ignoring the antics, Hanchou explained, "We don't have any information about where the women are or whether they're alive or not, but it's probable that this is all the work of one party. My hunch is that there's more than one person involved in this. From what we know, there have been more than twenty women who have gone missing."

"Twenty? I thought there were less than ten victims," Shige commented.

Hanchou growled, his hand crushing the cigarette that he had been smoking. "Results of the recent investigation just came in. It seems like the disappearances began more than half a year ago."

Yanagi had already finished his perusing of the information in the file. "The disappearances are becoming more frequent. Perhaps the criminal is getting impatient or careless. If it keeps going at this rate, the number of disappearances will have doubled by the end of next month."

"The criminal is looking down on the police," Hanchou exclaimed, his expression becoming terrifying. "Let's nab him and teach him how we treat those that look down on us! Oh, and Wada, you should tell your wife to be careful. The victims have all been attractive women."

Wada gasped, looking horrified. "You're right! Ami might be attacked!"

"No, that probably won't happen," Yanagi told him. At Wada's offended look, he elaborated, "All of the victims have been poor and most of them were living on their own. The perpetrator probably didn't want their disappearances to be noticed by many people."

Kirishima spoke up, holding a piece of paper. "This is the only suspect, right? Should I go beat the truth out of him?" Koma nodded in agreement.

"Idiot! We don't even know if he's involved or not!" Hanchou growled. "Apparently there was an anonymous letter sent to the headquarters accusing him, but it might have been the criminal trying to accuse someone else."

Suddenly, a CSI member ran into the room. "Squad six, someone just died," he yelled, gasping for breath.

"We already have a case," Koma told the guy. "Go find another squad."

The guy shook his head furiously, strode up to Kirishima, and snatched the paper out of his hand. He pointed to the suspect. "Your suspect has just committed suicide."

Abeshima Makoto was the CEO of a booming business. Though he was suspected to be a criminal, his friends and employees all liked and respected him. His death hit them really hard and they felt guilty that they hadn't noticed any signs of Abeshima wanting to commit suicide.

Squad six arrived at the scene shortly after they received the news of Abeshima's death. Abeshima had stabbed himself in the stomach with a dagger and was lying, curled up, in his office. Both his hands clutched the knife that was lying next to his body and his blood had made a small stain in the carpet. CSI agents had already taken pictures and samples and were currently waiting for permission to move the body from the scene.

Hanchou searched the dead man's body and didn't find anything suspicious. He stood up and dusted off his hands. "It looks like a suicide to me. Let's see if we can get a search warrant to check for any connection with our case."

Before they could go search, Yanagi called everyone's attention to the entrance of the office, where someone was trying to get through. That someone turned out to be five people, all of whom were working for Abeshima.

"He was murdered!"

"Abeshima-san didn't have any reason to commit suicide!"

"He never showed any signs of depression or anxiety!"

"He was really looking forward to the release of our new product! He even told us that he wanted to host a party for all of us the day after the release!"

"Right, right, he had to have been murdered!"

"So annoying!" Hanchou bellowed. "Can't you see that he killed himself? The proof's right in front of you."

The employees refused to give up. "The murderer set it up to look like a suicide!"

"Yeah, yeah, it could have been that girl!"

"Which girl?"

"You know, the one that visited him yesterday. I've never seen her before and she's too old to be his daughter."

"He doesn't have a daughter."

"Oh, that's right. So she's even more suspicious!"

Hanchou seemed close to blowing up. "Alright, we'll investigate it! Just shut up and tell us what the girl looks like. Komatsubara, take care of it."

"What? Why me?" Koma protested.

"Just do it," Hanchou replied, already opening the cabinets to check for anything suspicious.

Satisfied that they were being listened to, the employees racked their memories for what the girl was like. "She was tall and skinny."

"Long black hair, looked around twenty years old."

"She was really pretty..."

"Give useful information!"

"That was useful!"

"Stop bickering. I remember that she had ear buds on and was listening to music. When she talked to me she didn't even take them out (so rude!) but she heard everything I said."

"Maybe she wasn't listening to music," Koma mused. "What did you talk about?"

"She asked me where she could find Abeshima-san. I told her she should make an appointment but she said Abeshima-san was expecting her."

"Hm, that does seem suspicious," Koma replied, already bored.

"Yeah, she is! In fact, she looks a lot like that girl over there!"

"They're like exactly the same!"

"Wait..."

"It's her!"

Koma spun around to see who the employees were gaping at. A girl stood in the doorway, ear buds in her ears, staring at the scene before her. She was extremely pretty and Koma sauntered up to her, completely forgetting the accusations the employees had been throwing at her. "Miss, I'm sorry, but there has been a death. Would you like me to escort you out?"

The girl ignored him and stared at the body on the floor in horror. "A-Abeshima-san...no...this can't be happening!"

The employees had recovered from their initial shock and were now badgering the officers to arrest the girl. When Hanchou approached the new arrival, she snapped out of her daze and yanked her ear buds out. "What happened?"

"Unauthorized persons shouldn't be here," Hanchou informed her before pushing her toward the door. "What is the guard doing?"

"Sorry sir, I didn't notice her," the guard claimed. "She might have slipped in when I went to investigate the strange noise I heard."

"That's completely irrelevant right now," the girl snapped. "Did anyone inform his brother yet?"

"Brother?" Yanagi asked while Hanchou was lecturing the guard. "Do you mean Abeshima's brother?"

The employees interjected while glaring suspiciously at the girl. "Abeshima-san doesn't have any brothers!"

The girl sighed exasperatedly and said to Yanagi. "Why are they even here? They're interfering with the investigation, not that you guys will find anything. And Abeshima-san does have a brother. His name's Abeshima Michio."

Yanagi reported the information to Hanchou, who ordered someone to contact the dead man's brother. Afterwards, Yanagi asked the girl, "Who are you?"

Yanagi could have asked that question to hundreds of girls and have them swooning at his feet, but the girl in front of him just smirked. "Good looks come with a degree of danger. Your looks are going to get you in trouble sooner or later, but you're probably capable of defending yourself. Plenty of people weren't."

Yanagi's sixth sense was telling him that the girl was involved in both the suicide and the mysterious disappearances. As a person who never ignores his sixth sense, Yanagi grabbed the girl's wrist so she couldn't leave. "You-"

"Arresting me won't get you anywhere, Mr. Handsome. The police are half a year too slow," the girl said, putting her ear buds back on. "It seems that Abeshima-san's brother is already here."

By now, they were drawing other people's attention as well, but Yanagi didn't loosen his grip on her wrist. "Your name?"

"People call me Usako," the girl replied. "But I don't really live up to that name, not after I decided to come here today."

The office door opened and a man stepped in. "Abeshima Michio-san is here," the guard announced before going back outside.

The man rushed toward his brother's body and wailed. "Makoto, why did you do this?"

Hanchou tapped the newcomer's shoulder. "Abeshima-san, I'm sorry but could you come to the station with us for a bit? We have a few questions we want to ask you."

The man wiped off his eyes and stood up. "Please call me Michio. If you refer to me as Abeshima-san, I keep thinking you're talking to my brother. Are you suspecting that this is a murder?"

"Of course not, Michio-san. We just want to know about some things that might be related to a case we're working on," Hanchou replied.

As he closed the investigation and led Michio outside, Yanagi asked, "May I question this girl as well?"

Hanchou glanced over at Usako and then at Yanagi. "Do what you see fit. I trust your judgment."

Yanagi nodded curtly and gently pulled her arm, indicating for her to follow. He suddenly felt her shudder and when he looked up, he saw Michio glare vehemently at the girl before following Hanchou out of the room.

"Maybe you should call me Sakiko," the girl muttered quietly.

Yanagi raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sure you didn't lose the right to be called Usako because, what was it? You didn't live up to the name?"

"When you fail at the only thing you're good at, where does that leave you?" Usako asked as the emerged outside and headed toward the police car.

"It leaves you with experience," Yanagi replied simply. "And hopefully, a motivation to succeed."

Usako stared at the handsome officer for a moment and then smiled, "Hm, call me Usako then. And hope for my success, because both you and I will need it."

Hanchou had conducted a questioning for Michio without any useful information turning up. According to Michio, Makoto was usually a cheerful person, but at home he would become tired and stressed. "I should have seen it coming," Michio claimed regretfully. "But ever since we were young, he had worn a cheerful mask away from home. I've come to think of it as part of his personality. I never thought he would actually commit suicide." He took out his cellphone and then he continued, "Makoto sent me this. As soon as I received it, I hurried over to his office."

There was a message left on his phone by his brother, explaining that he was committing suicide. Michio started crying as he heard the message and had to be calmed down by Shige.

During Michio's questioning, Usako was sitting in the next room, waiting for the officers to come interrogate her. Though the walls were soundproof, she could hear every word of the questioning as if they were talking right next to her.

Usako was very special, in a way similar to Wanko. However, whereas Wanko has a super strong sense of smell, Usako has exceptional hearing.

Though it was hard to hear things when sounds from two rooms away or even two blocks away were jumbling together, Usako had trained herself to focus on conversations or pick out key words. This way, she could use her hearing effectively, much like Wanko can act as a police dog.

Before closing the interrogation, Shige asked Michio if the police could keep his cellphone for investigation purposes. Michio hesitantly agreed, but Usako could hear the wariness in his voice

When Michio's questioning session ended, Usako could hear him being sent away. The officers separated, two of them headed for the room she was in and the rest went into an adjacent room. She glanced in that direction and noticed a mirror. It's probably a mirror, she thought, and was proven right when she heard the guys begin to comment about her interrogation and someone, probably Koma, began to gush how she looked pretty even when she was sitting in the interrogation room. Oh, was that a smack?

The door opened and in walked Yanagi and Shige. "Sorry for making you wait, Usako," Yanagi greeted with a dazzling smile.

For some reason, the smile really irked Usako. Feeling petulant, Usako decided to play with them for a bit. "So, how was Michio-san's interrogation?"

Yanagi looked at her questioningly. "It was fine, but we're not here to talk about Michio, we're here to talk about Makoto."

Usako let out a bitter laugh. "I'm afraid that's not possible Mr. Handsome."

Yanagi leaned forward intently, "What do you mean?"

Usako frowned. She didn't want to give the police too much information because they've proven to be useless these past few months. Any police intervention would probably hinder her personal investigation. But perhaps dropping a few hints wouldn't hurt...

"Yanagi-san, Shigemura-san," she acknowledged, using the names that she had heard other people call them outside. "Let's play a game."

Yanagi shot Shige a look before nodding his head in acquiescence.

Usako mused over what silent message passed between the two of them, but there were too many possibilities so she continued. "It's one of my favorite games. I call it: five lies and a truth."

Shige finally spoke up. "It sounds hard, but I like playing games. What are the rules, Usako-san?"

Usako smirked. "It's quite simple actually. I'll say six things, among which only one is true. It's your job to figure out which one is true."

"Alright," Shige nodded, his pencil poised above his paper. "Sounds easy enough."

For a while now, Yanagi had been staring intently at Usako, trying to make heads or tails out of the girl. He was sure she was hiding something, and her proposal of the game pretty much confirmed his hunch.

Usako thought a bit before starting the game, picking out which lies to use. This was a game she played often, and she had picked up many methods to make it harder for her opponent. Through practice, she had almost perfected the ability to say all six statements without giving away the truth with her body language or expressions.

Having prepared, she began:

"Shige sucks at interrogation." She had gathered from the officers' conversations outside that Shige was considered to be one of the best interrogator in Tokyo. It was her policy to always give a freebie to a beginner. It helped that their reactions were usually extremely funny to watch.

"Makoto was a member of a large underground organization and committed suicide because he felt guilty kidnapping young women."

"The case that you guys recently received has no connection with the suicide."

"Michio cared deeply for his brother, but opposed him in some political matters."

"Michio was responsible for his brother's murder and faked the message on the phone in order to cover for himself."

For the last one, Usako couldn't help but say, "Yanagi-san doesn't irritate me at all."

Yanagi blinked, not expecting the last statement. Apparently the guys watching through the mirror disguised window also found this surprising considering the thumps that Usako heard of heads hitting the ground. "I'm sorry if I irritate you," Yanagi replied, smiling mysteriously.

Damn him for being so hot, Usako thought. Not that she was affected. She had unintentionally eavesdropped on way too many guys (and girls) whose attitudes had completely changed when they were alone.

Usako just replied, "It's for you to decide whether it's true or not. But," she added. "I'm willing to turn it into a game of one truth and one lie if you listen to a request of mine."

"It depends on what the request is," Yanagi replied.

There was no way they were going to refuse this request. "My request is there be no females working on the most recent case you guys received." The organization usually targeted attractive and poor young women, but if there was any way to slight the police without being caught, they would probably do it.

Yanagi narrowed his eyes at her. "And how do you know what case that is?"

"I hear things," Usako replied breezily. "It's how I can succeed."

A familiar voice had been approaching for a while now and Usako was trying to ignore it. But as it got closer, Usako realized who it was and her blood ran cold.

She leaped out of her chair and grabbed a fistful of Yanagi's collar. "If you don't drop her from the case, you'll regret it." Urgency laced Usako's voice as she heard the familiar voice approach the room.

Shige and Yanagi managed to pry her trembling fingers off Yanagi's collar. Yanagi cupped her face in his hands, a move that usually turned the victim into putty in his hands. Unfortunately for him, she just brushed him off and took a deep breath, calming herself. He had no idea why it bugged him so much that she wasn't affected by his charm. He never really asked for women to trip over themselves to please him, but it just sort of happened. All the time. And plus, Wanko had never bugged him, but that was probably due to her naïveté.

The door flung open and a panting Wanko came charging inside. "I'm sorry I'm late!"

Shige sighed, shaking his head. "Wanko, would you please leave us alone for a bit? We're in the middle of an interrogation."

Usako buried her head in her arms, hoping Wanko wouldn't notice her.

"Sorry Shige-san! I'll be going right away!" Wanko turned and was about to barrel out of the room when she paused. Her nostrils flared and she approached Usako, wondering why the smell was so familiar. Wanko stopped when her face was centimeters away from Usako's and her eyes widened. "Ooooh! Usako!"

Usako smiled weakly. "Yo Wanko."

"There's no way Usako killed anyone!" Wanko insisted. She had been briefed on the events that had occurred. Now, she stood between Usako and the rest of squad six, trying to defend the girl. "Usako isn't like that!"

"I thought you were sick," Koma said. "Why are you here?"

"No, it's my brother who got sick," Wanko replied, but her stubborn personality wouldn't let her drop the issue at hand. "Like I said, Usako is really nice and wouldn't hurt anyone."

Behind her, Usako muttered, "No, that's you Wanko."

Wanko turned around and hissed in a comically loud whisper, "I'm trying to help you here!"

Usako ignored the rest of the officers and focused on Wanko, her steely gaze unwavering. "Wanko, I think it's best if you don't get involved in this case."

"What? Why not?" Wanko asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's dangerous," Usako told her, knowing that she probably won't listen to the advice. "Especially for someone who doesn't know any form of self-defense and who goes around looking clueless all the time."

"I know self-defense!" Wanko insisted. "Wada-san taught me, look!" Wanko suddenly crouched down and started screaming. She shot upwards but when she encountered nothing, she collapsed to the ground, dizzy.

Usako deadpanned. "Wanko, that's not self-defense. That's basically giving yourself to the enemy. Promise me that you'll never do that when you have no reinforcements."

Lying on the ground, Wanko nodded. "You're usually right so I'll listen to you, but I'm not leaving this case."

Usako groaned, realizing that she only had one option left. Her gaze swept across the guys in Wanko's squad. "Which of you is Wanko's partner?"

A guy with blonde hair responded. "Me. What about it?"

From his voice, Usako quickly identified him. "Kirishima-san, you do realize that her safety is your responsibility?" She received a curt nod from the boy. "So, you must understand the need to drop her from this case."

Scowling, Kirishima said, "Wanko is part of our team and if she doesn't want to drop it, then we won't force her to drop. Plus, we need that nose of hers."

Hanchou added, "I don't know what your relation to her is, but we've been working with her for quite a while and we're quite capable of taking care of her."

The rest of squad six affirmed and Usako groaned again. "God, I really wish I didn't have to do this."

At this ominous phrase, the officers snapped to attention, all of them taking on fighting stances. Kirishima hauled Wanko up and placed her behind him protectively.

"Relax, relax," Usako waved her hand, smiling at their obvious affection for her friend. "If Wanko's going to be involved in this, then I have no choice but to help as well."

Before anyone could say anything, Wanko jumped out from behind Kirishima and glomped onto Usako. "Awesome! With you, we can solve it in no time! Why don't you just join our squad?" Wanko looked at Usako with her large puppy eyes.

Usako covered her ringing ears. "Ouch, Wanko, not so close to my ears. You know how sensitive I am."

Wanko blushed and whispered. "Sorry, I forgot. Where are your ear buds?"

"They confiscated my ear buds and mp3 when I arrived here. I believe its in Shigemura-san's possession right now." Not that she was supposed to know that. But if she was going to work together with the police, they should know her strengths and weaknesses and she should know theirs.

Shige took out the ear buds from his pocket and handed it to her. "Right, here you go."

Usako stuck the ear buds in her ears and turned on the music, waiting for someone to notice her intentional slip-up. If they couldn't catch this, how would they be able to stand up against them? She had just begun to give up on them when Yanagi frowned and asked, "How did you know Shige-san had them? I don't think we ever told you that."

Finally someone intelligent, even though I dislike him, Usako thought, opening her mouth to answer. But before she could say anything, Wanko gleefully exclaimed, "She's like me! She has super hearing!"

"EEEEEEEH?" Everyone in the room shouted in surprise. "Another Wanko?"

Usako facepalmed. That's not something that should be announced to everyone...

"Now that you think about it," Koma contemplated, nodding his head sagaciously. "Wanko and Usako rhyme."

Wada snorted. "No, you idiot. They just share the same last syllable."

"Calm down, it's not anything to freak out about," Usako sighed. Then she pulled up a chair and sat down. Wanko, still glomped on her, ended up sitting on her lap. "Make yourselves comfortable, there's a lot to cover."

Ok, so this is it for the first chapter. Sorry about the anticlimactic ending, the exciting parts have yet to come.

This story hasn't been beta-ed and it's still rough around the edges, so please bear with me!

Reviews are always welcome! Feel free to comment on good things, bad things, or anything in between. Thanks for reading!