Hello everyone.

Welcome to my first Professor Layton FanFiction! :D

Well, I've played the game for quite some time now but I never actually considered writing my own FanFiction about it though. But enough of my rubbish introduction, here's the story!

P.S. Just a little preface… (Spoilers)

This takes place a couple years after "The Unwound Future"

Luke left for "New York" at the end of the game [since we weren't told where he left to]

Luke is 19, Layton is 40, Flora is 19 -(for the sake of the story)

Everything else will be explained in the story.

Enjoy :)


Half an Inch Away


Luke Triton was half an inch away from Professor Layton's office door. He had a conflicting problem in his head, and he needed somebody to talk to. And of course, he knew that he always had the professor to talk to when something was troubling him in his life.

Luke had enrolled in London's Grassheller University just over a year ago. Now at the age of 19 and after graduating from his school in New York, he had his eyes set on Grassheller University – the same university where his mentor, Professor Hershel Layton, was teaching at. He had begun to save up money from the day he arrived in New York, in the hopes of meeting the Professor again in London after enrolling at the school. Of course, with his straight 'A' marks and readily-prepared tuition, the university couldn't turn him down. And therefore he had been able to enroll at the University and be reacquainted with the professor.

But that wasn't the problem that he was facing right now. He was doing fine in all of his courses, but something had been on his mind, and this was something that he needed help with.

He knocked on the door three times, and a voice called from inside.

"Who is it?" Professor Layton asked from behind the door.

"It's me professor, can I come in?" Luke asked in his usual voice.

"Ah Luke! Come in my boy!… that is if you can solve this puzzle."

Luke groaned. "Professor! Can't I solve it later?"

"Now, now Luke, you mustn't forget. 'A true gentleman never leaves a puzzle unsolved'."

Luke paused for a brief moment before replying.

"Alright professor, let's hear it."

"Now that's my boy! Give it your best shot."


Puzzle 001: School Library Theft 1

After a library book theft, five suspects were being interviewed by the librarian. Below is a summary of their statements. The librarian knows that each of them told the truth in one of the statements and lied in the other. From this information can you tell who committed the theft?

Brian:
It wasn't Charles
It was Alan

Derek said:
It was Charles
It wasn't Alan

Charles said:
It was Brian
It wasn't Eric

Alan said:
It was Eric
It wasn't Brian

Eric said:
It was Derek
It was Alan

Who stole from the library?

*To view the answer, go to the Answers Chapter


"Ah, I guess I can't fool you Luke, now can I?"

Luke smiled at his success. "Well professor, it'll take more than a puzzle to stop your number one apprentice!" Luke stated, displaying a hint of his childhood ambition.

Professor Layton gave another laugh before telling Luke to come in. Luke opened the door slowly and found Professor Layton sitting at his desk, his head turned to greet his long-time friend (and apprentice). The professor swung around in his chair and came face to face with Luke.

"So my boy, how have you been?" he asked.

"Good professor, how about you?" Luke asked back.

"Very good, very good indeed. But I presume you're not here just to ask about my day?" the professor asked with a smile.

"Of course not professor."

Luke moved to the couch in the corner of Layton's office to take a seat. He looked down and focused on the floor, trying to get all of his thoughts together before bringing them to the professor.

"You see professor, there's something I need your help with…" he started.

Layton placed his hand over his chin, trying to guess at what the matter was. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment before quickly opening them up again, with a smile.

"Well Luke, you seem to be doing fine in my archeology class, so it can't be about that." the professor stated, still keeping his smile. "Does this have something to do with love, perhaps?" the professor asked.

Luke would've been stunned if this person had been someone else, but knowing the professor, he knew he would've guessed correct on the first try.

"Yes professor… and I presume you know who it is as well?" Luke asked.

The professor still had his signature smile on him.

"Well, if my guess is correct, I'm presuming it's the same girl that made me the fish and meat cake last year for my birthday."

Layton gave a smile to Luke, and this time he gave one back.

"As always professor, you're right. It's Flora." Luke stated.

The professor leaned back on his chair and began to think again. But thinking about love had brought back the sorrowful memories of Claire, and he shook away the thought in a heartbeat.

"Professor? What are you thinking about?" Luke asked curiously.

Layton leaned back towards Luke again before smiling.

"I think you should go meet somebody Luke. It's very peculiar that the same person that we're talking about came by my office just yesterday to ask about a very similar question."

Luke knew to expect the unexpected, but this really rocked his world.

"No way… so that means…"

"Yes Luke, she also-"

Before the professor got the chance to finish the sentence, Luke bolted out the door.

"I got to go professor! Bye!" he yelled before dashing down the halls of the university.

"Wait Luke! You need to hear the… oh dear, I hope I didn't make a mistake." Layton concluded.

He leaned backwards on his chair again.

"Still… there's one piece that still doesn't seem to fit here…" Layton concluded.

"That is unless…" Layton thought.

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Come in Luke." Professor Layton called.

"Actually Professor, it's me." said a slightly lower-toned voice.

"Ah Clive! It's been awhile." Professor Layton said without looking.

Clive stepped into Professor Layton's office, wearing his usual blue blazer and beret.

"So Clive," the professor started, "what brings you here?"

Clive paused for a moment.

"Actually professor, I was on my way to the ink cartridge shop, but Flora asked me to run a little errand for her since I was passing by here anyways."

Clive took out a letter from his inner breast pocket and handed it to Professor Layton.

"By the way, I saw Luke rush out of your office just a moment ago, did something happen?" Clive asked.

"Oh, it's not a problem. He told me that he had to go meet someone, that's all." Professor Layton said. "And Clive, if it isn't too much of a bother to you, would you mind kindly stopping by my office later in the evening to pick up my reply letter?" Professor Layton asked.

Clive gave him a positive smile.

"Why of course Professor. It'd be a pleasure."

Clive left the room shortly after saying good-bye to the professor. Layton opened the letter and took a quick glance before reading it attentively.

"Hm… interesting." The professor said while grabbing his chin. "It seems as though you have passed my expectations Flora."


Puzzle 002: The Encoded Message 1

Below is Flora's letter to Professor Layton. Can you find out what it means? (Every number shown below is used to decode the overall message).

'23'8120 – 494 – 85 – '19''1''25'


I'll post the answer to the second puzzle tomorrow… hopefully. But until then, here's one hint…

1. The apostrophes (') were inserted to "break" the numbers so that they would not get mixed with each other.

2. If you're still confused… here's one last hint: NUMBER THE ALPHABETS!

3. If you're STILL confused… LAST HINT! The last segment of the message reads, "SAY"

And yes, EVERY SINGLE number must be used.

Alright, if this is a stupid puzzle, please let me know on the review page. (I made it so I might as well take the blame).

Hope you enjoyed the overall story though. I'll publish the next section once I get some feedback.