Blood dripped all over the floor. Kyu watched them flow. He had a lot of experience with blood by now but the sight made him lose all control. The blood was coming out of a body of a dead girl. Kyu didn't know why but the girl made him hurt. It hurt him to see her lifeless body lying on the ground. As if she was someone dear. He tried to take control and look at the scene of the crime but what he saw made him jolt.
She was holding a knife in one hand and the other hand had managed to scribble something down. He read, his eyes fighting not to close or wince. Written on the tiled floor was this message, "Save me Kyu…" it said.
Kyu didn't know why. But he started crying. Crying over a girl he never even knew. Crying over a person he might never see…
OOOOO
Kyu got out of his bed and stretched. He scratched his messy green hair and looked outside. The dim light suggests that it was still too early but judging by the time, he had a bet that it is raining.
"Great," he said. "What a wonderful way to start the day." Before he could stop himself, he laughed. He wasn't actually poetic and all but that rhymed.
He looked at the mattress over at the far side of the room. Ryu had already woken up. Meaning that he was late…again.
He groaned and went inside the shower. He turned it on and relaxed. The warm water splashing across his face did him wonders. But he let his mind stray to that dream he had. More like a nightmare I'd say. Who was that girl, he thought. She's not anybody I know.
But the more he thought about it. The more his memory of it was fogged. After he got dressed, he couldn't even recall what his dream was about.
He took his bag and went downstairs to find Ryu drinking a cup of cocoa. "Good morning Kyu." He said in his normal melancholy voice. "I heard a storm was coming."
Kyu nodded. "Yeah." He replied while biting off a piece of toast. He didn't actually care what the weather was unless it was raining fireballs.
He gobbled up his toast and drank his milk, straight out of the carton, quickly. He didn't want to be late. A quick check on the shoulder showed that Ryu was already preparing to go. It was only 25 more minutes before they were late. Their house measures up a good distance from the school but it would only take 15 minutes to walk there. The extra ten minutes was to their advantage because the wind might push them back.
Kyu kissed his mother goodbye and put on his jacket.
"See 'ya later mom!" he said waving goodbye. Ryu followed suit. He waved politely as a gesture of saying 'take care.'
It turns out that the rain wasn't that strong. It was only a passing. After three days, it would be headed somewhere else.
They were both a tad wet when they got to the school but their faces brightened when they saw everyone was already there. Except of course, Mr. Dan.
"Hey Kyu!" he heard Kinta call out. "Ryu! I can't believe you guys are early for once." He said as they walked over.
Kazuma chuckled causing his glasses to slip down his nose. Meg smiled. "Well, I'm glad you two thought of doing things a little differently." She said her nose held up high. She was sitting on the windows ledge to get a better view of the front porch. Everyone else was behind Kazuma. They were asking on how their ongoing case was coming.
Kazuma smiled. "Don't worry. I've tracked them and called the police. They wanted to thank me for the work I've done." He smiled a small twinkle of mischief was seen flash his eyes. It was small, because the time he finished saying it, Kinta had him a headlock. "What do you mean thank you?" he said. "You don't do anything but sit behind that piece of junk all day." He finished the scene with one of his special nuggies.
They started to laugh until they heard Meg whisper something. "That's odd…" they left what they were doing and looked at the window. A girl with bright red hair was in the front door. Her green eyes showed a little bit of hesitation as if she was afraid to come inside. The simple little school girl outfit meant she was from a wealthy family. But one thing was not certain. They didn't know why she was there.
Kinta pushed his face in the mirror to get a better view. He blushed. "She looks kinda young don't you think. But she's absolutely gorgeous." True enough, they thought. Her hair shined and her face looked as if it was glowing. Her green eyes showed the jewel that lie beneath it. Her schoolgirl uniform even enhanced her features as someone so simple.
They stood there watching her in silence. Ryu finally broke the silence. "Didn't Mr. Dan say that this was only reserved for the class Q?" he said. They nodded in agreement. "Maybe she was just looking for somewhere to dry. She doesn't want to get her notes wet now does she?" Kazuma suggested. They nodded and went back to place. Even Meg joined in to chat with them. Only Kyu was left alone standing there in the window ledge. She had seen that girl before, but he didn't know where.
Her facial features seemed unfamiliar but when he looked at her hair, a realization struck him. Blood. Her hair was blood red. That was the only way of describing it. It was the girl he saw in his dream last night.
He clutched the ledge until his knuckles turned white. Was it all a coincidence, he thought. Maybe she's not the one I saw in my dream really. He calmed down when he saw Mr. Dan coming. He was sure he'd send her on her way. But after a quick nod, he sent her inside. The girl was going to stay.
Soon, everyone realized that as Mr. Dan entered the room with the girl in tow. She had her head bowed low. Afraid what might their reactions be like?
Mr. Dan seemed not to notice. He smiled and made them sit down. They did as they were told. The room was silent except for the sound off the wind banging in the window.
After a little while, Mr. Dan coughed slightly preparing to talk. They all listened intently. They knew it had something to do with the girl.
"Class Q," he said. "I want to congratulate you for the case you solved again. I knew you could do it. After all you kids are the best." His encouraging words hung in the air. They already know they were great in the matter of fact. What they wanted to know was about the girl.
They heard Mr. Dan sigh. "Fine." He said. "I want you to meet Ms. Umilyin Takahashi. She was lucky enough to pass and be a part of this class." He gave her an encouraging push towards the empty seat on Kyu's left. "So that's why there were six chairs now…" he heard Kinta grumble. He didn't even notice the difference.
Reiko bowed to them as a polite but silent way of saying hello and sat at her seat. Kyu looked at her. She had her eyes glued forward. She didn't even look at Mr. Dan. She just looked blankly into space or straight at the board at least.
Mr. Dan continued. "You should thank her." he said. "It's because of her that I'm giving you the rest of the day-off. I want you to get to know her better. Be her…friends." Kyu wondered why he stretched the word friends. He looked at Umi and realized she wasn't looking at the board anymore. Instead, she was looking at her desk. Kyu could see a light tint of pink covered her cheek.
Mr. Dan nodded to Ms. Katagiri and they left. Not even looking back. The other four stood up and walked over to the far side of the room. Kazuma was gesturing he follow. Kyu stood up and stole a look at Reiko. She still had her eyes glued to the desk.
Kyu walked quickly toward the rest of the group.
"What is it?" he asked quickly. Kazuma looked at him as if he was stupid. Which, ever so slightly, he was.
"Don't you know who that girl is?" Kazuma hissed. Kyu shook his head. He saw her in his dream but that doesn't mean he knew her.
"That's the daughter of Sokka Ijuoa-Takahashi…" he whispered trying to keep his voice down. Surprisingly, Kyu didn't get the message. To be quiet.
"What?!!" he exclaimed, "She's the daughter of Japan's most wanted murderer!!"
Kinta hit him on the head. "Kyu! You idiot!" he yelled emphasizing idiot.Kyu finally understood the reason they were whispering. He cupped his mouth with his hands. He slowly turned around to see Umi's school skirt disappearing in the door.
He felt Meg's hand slap across his face. "What did you do that for?" he said rubbing his poor stinging cheek.
"Estupido Kyu!" Meg yelled. Those Spanish lessons she was taking was sure letting her use different languages. Except, easily translated languages.
"We were supposed to be friends with her not scare her half to death!" Meg yelled. She then straightened her skirt and ran to the door, hoping to find a trace of the girl.
He looked at the guys and saw they too were giving him accusing looks. "What?" he said. Ryu touched his shoulder. "Don't feel bad Kyu." He said, "Anyone can make mistakes."
Kyu nodded and sighed, "Except those mistakes don't involve scaring a girl. It's just that I can't believe it. I mean, even Mr. Dan couldn't catch him. It's a surprise a murderer's daughter wanted to be a detective."
Kazuma started to clean his glassed. "Kyu," he said softly, "Do you know what happened to her mother?" he asked. Kyu didn't seem to catch the connection. "What?" he asked. Kazuma put his glasses on and his eyes shined brightly.
"She was butchered. Cut into pieces by the very person she thought loved her." Kyu gasped. How could anyone be so heartless? Kazuma continued, "Their child was found hiding in one of the closets of the room. She saw the whole thing. And when her father wasn't looking, she fled calling the police. But when they got there, he was gone. The girl was brought to America to be sheltered from her own father…"
Kazuma didn't need to finish because Ryu finished it for him, "And from then on, she was dedicated to find people like her father and bring them to justice."
Kyu's breath was stuck in his throat. Why didn't he know these things? He ran to the door to find her. He saw Meg still looking through the bushes. He was going to find her first. And he did.
He heard sobbing at the storage room. He knew she was there. He opened the door slowly to find her knees tightly pressed to her chest. Her eyes were red and her face was stained with tears. But she still looked beautiful.
As he came in, she looked up. She looked away and turned her back on him. "Why are you here?" she asked. Her voice sounded like a bell, though it sounded cold. Kyu sat at the opposite side of the storage room and stared at the wall.
"I wanted to apologize." He said. "I'm sorry I said that. It was stupid of me." He stopped and continued, not sure what to say, "I understand how you feel. I mean, I would feel the same way if that ever happened to me..." he stopped again and stood up. "Anyhow, My name's Kyu. Nice meeting you." But before he could get out, he felt a hand at his sleeve.
He turned around to find Umi holding unto him, her head bowed. But it was obvious she wanted to tell him something. "I accept you're apology. Can you…maybe…introduce me to the others?"
Kyu smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. She gasped and relaxed. Kyu led her inside the building. Everyone gaped at him when they entered.
"What?" he said and laughed. Umi hid behind him. Afraid of what they might think. Kyu held on to her hand as he led her across the floor. He could feel her heart thumping through her wrists.
Meg, having given up, stared at them. Her mouth was open slightly. Obvious from the shock.
Umi kept her head down. Her eyes darting off the sides. She was nervous for some reasons. Maybe because Kyu's hands held unto her tightly, or it was because the boy with the lavender hair looked at her intently.
"Guys," she heard Kyu say, "This is Umi. You should know her by, you-know…" Umi felt herself stiffen but Kyu's encouraging smile made her relax.
She tried to smile, she really did. But it turned to be a badly made grimaced.
She saw the other's faces soften. Even Meg closed her gaping mouth and smiled. This time, she gave them a sincere smile.
Meg walked up to her and raised a hand. Reiko reached to it and shook hands with her. Meg had other ideas. She guided her hands to a secret handshake class Q had made for them. The others nodded their approval.
Meg smiled at her warmly. "Hi. Welcome to class Q. I'm Meg and this" she said, pointing to the tall man. He looked to be about a college student. He had squinty eyes and was a bulky man. But not that bulky. "Is Kinta." Meg continued. He flashed her a hand and so did she.
The next one to be introduced was a boy. A young one, but incredibly smart. She'd been observing them for a little while when she entered the room. She saw how smart this boy can be. He was thin and had messy brown hair, only to be covered by a cap. His glasses almost fell of when he nodded to her. They acknowledged him as Kazuma.
The last one was the lavender haired boy. He was blemish free. And he was also calm, fiercely calm. He nodded at her and she did as well.
Kyu of course, she knew. So there was no need for the introductions. Well, kinda. She counted how many are they and counted the names she could remember and gave them to the right owners. When she finished, she smiled broadly.
"I'd hope you could all be my friends…" she said. Kyu made her face him and held her shoulders firmly. He smiled and said, "We are…"