Case Closed

By: Liete

Disclaimer: I do not own Suikoden V or any of the characters mentioned.

A/N: Just a bit of an explanation…Since I couldn't find any fanworks related to the Oboro Detective Agency in the English speaking fandom, I had to resort to searching Japanese fansites. In my search, I found a list of twenty themes for the Oboro Detective Agency, and decided to translate the themes and write them myself. At some point I'll put up a list in my profile so you know what to expect. I do support the idea of Shigure and Sagiri as a couple, so there will be romantic interaction/implications between them to a certain degree.

Spoiler warning! If you have not at least recruited Sagiri, I guarantee there will be spoilers of any info or events up to that point. All other spoilers will be marked.

I hate long intros, so I'll get on with it.

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Theme #3: Investigator - Sagiri

When business was lacking, Oboro made it a point to take their cause into town and advertise. Oboro's tactic was smooth talking and a business card, neither of which garnered much interest usually. Though with the recent death of both Queen Arshtat and Ferid, there were many who had questions and suspicions, so that would more than likely spell an increase in cases they could take on. Shigure always complained, but Sagiri didn't mind, except for the inevitable comments about her constant smile.

The inn seemed a good place to start, and the innkeeper only watched Oboro and Shigure with narrow eyes before his gaze fell on Sagiri.

"It's so nice to see a smile in these troubling times," the man said with a weak smile of his own.

That was similar what they would say before she killed them. A man or woman who was a known enemy of the queen, paranoid and frightened, waiting for the inevitable assassin to come. They never expected Sagiri. There was no reason to be afraid of a young girl with such a nice smile, and they would always relax. They would smile, too and try to start up a friendly conversation.

They wouldn't even get the chance for their smile to fade before her blade was on their throat, warm blood staining her fingers.

A reflex that had been burned into her memory by Nether Gate, one that she would never really be able to get rid of, kicked in. 'Smile. Slit his throat. Destroy any evidence that you were there.' She reached for the knife she had long since stop carrying around with her, and panicked when her hand didn't close around the handle. 'I'm unarmed, retreat. Retreat...'

"Sagiri?" Shigure's voice snapped her back to attention, she must have backed up and bumped into him. Oboro placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile. There were no words exchanged, Oboro just nodded at Shigure and Sagiri found herself being led out of the room.

Even after eight years she couldn't so easily forget what she had been trained to do since before she could even walk. Smile and kill. That was life, and there was no room for anything else. That was meant to change when Nether Gate disbanded, and thanks to the efforts of Oboro she and Shigure had learned that there was more to life, but things weren't changed so easily. She could avoid battle and thus avoid killing anyone, she could tease Shigure and enjoy some small happiness, but she couldn't stop smiling. That was the first and most important step in truly improving her life.

Back on their boat, Shigure dozed lightly next to her (if she didn't know how much Shigure cared about her, she would have sworn that he'd taken her out of there as an excuse to avoid work) while she stared at the window. The cold of the rain outside mixed with the warmth of the boat's interior fogged up the windows.

She reached out and smeared the condensation on the window, so that her reflection was almost distorted into a frown.