This fic is the result of an IF on Gatchamania. Unlike a regular fic, each chapter represents a change in authors/posting. Although the primary authors were myself and Hinotori (in fact the whole setup was all Hinotori's idea) there were other contributors. Clouddancer and Firebird each added their own pieces, and Ebony Swanne contributed the biggest plot twist this side of Utoland. The result may be slightly disjointed, but we all had fun putting this together.

So with that in mind, grab some popcorn, turn the lights down low, and enjoy a Murder at the Snack J

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Chapter 1

Ken walked into the Snack J and saw Joe and Ryu sitting at the counter, both with food and beverages in front of them. Ken sat on the barstool next to Joe and looked at Joe's food, famished.

"You can't have it." Joe refused before Ken even asked the question.

"I wasn't going to ask." Ken responded and looked at Jinpei.

"Oh, no, Aniki. Not after last time. My ears still hurt from Onechan yelling at me! No food until you pay your tab!"

"Come on, Jinpei. I promise this will be the last time." Jinpei looked at Ken skeptically while Ken gave Jinpei his best look of sincerity.

"Ok, fine. But if Onechan catches you, you're the one taking the beating this time!" Jinpei bargained.

"Deal. I can handle the Swan." Ken agreed, and ignored Joe's snort next to him. "Now how about some food?"

"So does anyone know why has Jun asked us to come here?" Ryu asked.

"No idea," Ken answered.

"I'm not sure either," Jinpei replied, returning with a burger and some fries for Ken, "but I saw a bunch of envelopes on the counter this morning."

"Envelopes?" Joe looked up alarmed. What month was this? It couldn't be time for Jun's annual Christmas dinner already!

"Were they red?" Ken asked anxiously.

"Or green?" Ryu added.

The Eagle, Condor, and Owl didn't have much time to dwell on this though, because at that moment, the Swan entered the Snack J.

"Hi guys," she greeted them with said envelopes in hand. Ken tried to hide his plate of food. "I'll bet you're wondering why I asked you to come here."

"The question did cross our minds..." Joe responded sarcastically as he tried to eye the envelopes.

"I thought we would do something a little fun." Jun began.

"More fun than cracking Galactor skulls?" Jinpei asked.

"Jinpei, be nice. And yes, more fun than destroying Galactor. I thought we could have a Murder Mystery party here at the Snack J tomorrow night!"

Four confused faces looked back at her. Jun continued, ignoring every last one of them.

"In these envelopes are your invitations, the characters, and the mystery. You can tell people which character you are, but you can't discuss anything else until the party." Jun explained as she handed out the envelopes. "Make sure you come dressed up and in character! And remember, the only person who can lie is the murderer!"

The four ninja's opened their respective envelopes and started reading.

The Setting

You are cordially invited to the exclusive Grand Re-Opening celebration of Juli's Place, a popular restaurant in Utoland. A new chef has been hired at the restaurant and the proprietor, Juli Enne, would like a few of her most loyal customers to meet him before his first day. Bring your appetite, as Chef Sous has quite the reputation for his culinary arts, along with a few other things.

The Mystery

The night of the celebration is a stormy one, but the food and the company make it an enjoyable occasion. Chef Sous has just gone into the kitchen to refill the salad bowl, when there is a loud clap of thunder and the lights go out. When the lights come back on a few seconds later, the Chef is laying on the floor, dead, by the kitchen door. You need to find out who had the motive to attack the chef, the weapon and who was in the kitchen when the lights went out.

The Characters

Juli Enne - young, sweet Juli has owned Juli's Place for the past 2 years. Recently she's been receiving letters that a rival restaurant wants to buy her out. Although she has passed this offer off as nothing but a nuisance, there is a definite fire under her pleasant exterior.

Dee Jonnaise - a waitress at the restaurant. She's worked with Juli since Juli's Place first opened and is loyal to her boss. Juli has mentioned the potential buy-out to Dee, but Dee has followed Juli's lead and does not seem to be overly concerned.

Hy Ssop - a quiet young man, Hy is a frequent visitor to JP's and Dee believes that he may have a crush on Juli. Hy has heard rumors that another restaurant wants to buy Juli out and isn't too pleased.

Vin Aigrette - is just the opposite of Hy. He is loud, obnoxious, and sarcastic. He was also Juli's business partner when the restaurant first opened. Though they parted ways soon after JP's opened, Juli and Vin have remained friends. Vin has also heard about the buy-out and has been asking both Juli and Dee about it every time he comes in.

Cal Zone - is a good friend of Juli's and helps her at the restaurant with everything from bussing tables to maintenance work to acting as a bouncer. Cal is a big guy with a soft heart and considers Juli one of his closest friends.

Al A. Mode - is a distinguished businessman in the area who likes to come to Juli's Place for the drinks and atmosphere. He is a man of money and is always looking for the next big thing."

"Dee Jonnaise?" Jinpei yelled out when he got to the bottom of his invitation. "A girl? Onechan, how come I have to play a girl?" he complained.

"Because I'm the only girl and there are two in the story." Jun explained.

"So it had to be me? Onneecchhaaannn!" Jinpei whined.

"Ok, so we know that Jinpei is Dee Jonnaise and Jun is obviously Juli Enne. Who are the rest?" Joe asked.

"I'm Cal Zone." Ryu offered.

"Ken? What about you?" Joe queried.

"You first."

"Just say who you are." Joe saw Ken's eyes narrow at this and Commander mode setting in.

"Ok, fine," Joe conceded. Anything to avoid yet another lecture... "I'm Vin Aigrette."

"A little type-casting there, huh?" Ken scoffed.

There were only two characters left and Joe had a good idea which one was Ken's. "So who are you?" he pressed.

"Hy Ssop." Ken replied, a little embarrassed.

"Talk about type-casting..." Joe smirked.

"Hey, Onechan, there's one character left. Who's playing Al A. Mode?" Jinpei asked.

"Hakase."

"Hakase?" the other four repeated in unison.

"Yes, Hakase. I told him what I was doing and that I was one person short. I asked if he'd be interested and he said yes. Now all of you please leave - I have a lot that needs to be done before tomorrow night!"

The Eagle, the Condor, and the Owl all stood up to leave, with the latter two dropping money on the counter.

"Uh, Ken..." Jun called.

"Put it on my tab??" Ken asked as Jinpei ran out of the room.