"Don't worry, Rika. You're going to love Inaba!"

Even now she could still hear her parents' voices vividly in her head as they waved good-bye to her at the airport.

"You're going to make so many new friends there! Who knows? You may even find a boyfriend! Either way, you're going to have the time of your life! Cherish every moment."

They had no idea just how wrong they'd be.

Although originally born in Japan, Rika Azura had been living in London for most of her life until her parents thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for her go back to her roots during her senior year of high school and transfer to a school in Japan. Initially, Rika had been thrilled over the idea of studying abroad in Japan! After all, she had a passion for cooking Japanese-style meals, she loved reading manga, and her clothing style often mimicked that of gothic lolitas. However, when she found out she wasn't going to be studying abroad in Tokyo or Osaka, she became a little discouraged. Her father had grown up in a small town called Inaba and often dreamed of moving back there; however, his current contract with his job in London prevented him from moving for at least another year. Either way, Inaba was the cheapest option for students who wanted to study abroad in Japan so her parents settled on Rika spending her last year of high school in Inaba by herself until her father's contract in London expired and her parents could join her.

The culture shock hadn't been too bad, at first. Growing up with two Japanese parents that spoke mostly Japanese at home had made her pretty much fluent in the language so at least she didn't struggle with that. However, she learned rather quickly that people living in small towns often had strange accents and used unique dialects that she wasn't used to. But the hardest part about living in Inaba was having to adjust from dwelling in a large city like London to a tiny town in the middle of the nowhere. There wasn't a need for things like buses or subways in Inaba because everything was within walking distance, including her school. Luckily, although the school had only a handful of students, she had already made quite a few friends that had almost immediately invited her into their group. People in small towns were very hospitable and welcoming; Rika didn't have a hard time fitting in with them unlike she had in London. There was also the fact that she was hired for a part-time position at the Junes Department Store during her first week of living there. Life in Inaba wasn't bad at first, Rika had to admit, but never in a million years did she expect to be sitting at the police station, being interrogated about a murder.

"My name is Detective Ryotaro Dojima. I'm here to ask you a few questions regarding Saki Konishi."

Rika's mouth had gone completely dry as she stared down at her lap, too nervous to look the detective in the eye. Her coworker and classmate, Saki Konishi, had disappeared several days ago. Yesterday morning, her body was found hanging upside on an antenna on the roof of a building. This has been the second murder in Inaba in the past two weeks, and it was needless to say that all of the town's locals were a little on edge. Because she had worked with her and was presumably the last person that had seen Saki alive, Rika had been called into the police station for questioning.

"So were you and Saki close friends?" the detective asked. He was a middle aged man who possibly could have been considered attractive if it weren't for the angry, terrifying scowl on his face. She couldn't tell if he was wearing such a hard expression on his face to intimidate her, or if that was just how he normally looked.

Shaking her head, Rika answered him quietly, "I've only been living in Inaba for about a month now. Saki and I went to the same school, but we never talked. I worked with her a lot at Junes, but she was always so busy and never really paid any attention to me unless there was a task she wanted me to do."

"So you were coworkers but never really spoke to each other? I see, I see…." Dojima said as he scribbled down some notes onto his notepad. Rika swallowed down a dry lump in her throat and nervously tucked a few strands of black hair behind her ears. Even though she and Saki saw each other almost every day, they were hardly considered friends. Saki was always super friendly to their other coworker, Yosuke Hanamura, but whenever Rika passed her by, Saki would give her mean looks and would even roughly bump into her on purpose if they were ever walking down the hallway together. Rika wasn't sure what she had done to make Saki feel such disdain towards her, but she was used to that kind of treatment, honestly. Many of her peers back in London had found her gothic clothing to be "tasteless" and she was often mocked for being so quiet at school.

"You may have been the last person to see Saki Konishi alive. What were you two doing the night before she disappeared?"

All these questions made her wonder if the authorities believed she was a suspect in the killing of Saki Konishi. After all, Rika was the "new kid" in town and she mostly kept to herself while always wearing dark clothing so it was only natural that she might be suspected of being a juvenile delinquent, but did they actually think she was capable of hurting someone else? Her palms began to grow sweaty. Naturally, she had no involvement with Saki's murder but it did make her wonder if maybe things could have played out differently for Saki if Rika had done something differently.

"Saki and I were closing up the shop together that night. It was kind of late so I asked if she wanted to walk with her home so she didn't have to go home by herself. She kind of laughed and told me I shouldn't bother and that I should instead focus on sweeping and mopping the floor since she was too tired to do it herself even though it was her turn to clean up the place at closing. I told her I didn't mind cleaning it by myself but that I also wasn't comfortable walking alone at night, but she laughed again and told me to not be a coward. She grabbed her purse and left. That was the last time I saw her," Rika answered honestly as she vividly recalled everything that had happened that night.

Dojima scrunched up his face as he jotted down a few more notes. "I didn't realize Saki was kind of bossy… " he mumbled under his breath.

"I should have insisted that she and I walk home together. Maybe if I had cleaned up the shop faster, I could have been with her and maybe nothing bad would have happened to her…" Rika continued to stare down at her lap, biting her lower lip. Dojima asked her a few more questions after that, such as if she knew if Saki had any enemies or if any strangers had been lurking around Junes in hopes of stalking Saki, but Rika found it difficult to answer those since she didn't know Saki that well. After what had felt like an eternity, he finally permitted her to leave.

She had been in the interrogation room for a long time, and the clock on the wall read that it was fifteen past ten o'clock in the evening. Rika let out a defeated sigh as she gathered up her bag, preparing herself for the long tread back home. Although the town was small, the police station was a good thirty minute walk back to her apartment in the central shopping district. She lived by herself in an apartment near the town's main shrine, and although she felt safe walking around the town in broad daylight, nighttime was a completely different story. Especially after what just happened to Saki…

Dojima watched the petite girl as she made her way towards the door. From the start, he knew she wasn't involved with Saki's death. He didn't like to boast, but he had a pretty good eye for criminals. With just one look, he could tell if someone was hiding something or if they were just as innocent as they appeared to be. Of course, it was still standard procedure for him to be hard on her during the interrogation in case she was hiding something that could be of value to the investigation, and yet this girl just seemed to be more upset over the fact that she didn't walk Saki home that night than anything. She somehow believed that maybe this incident wouldn't have happened if Saki hadn't been alone.

Someone like that was definitely not a murderer. But who was?

"Hey! Dojima!" chimed out an overly chipper voice from behind him. Dojima rolled his eyes, not even bothering to turn around to see who it was.

"What do you want, Adachi?" he groaned out. It had been a long day of investigation and the last thing he wanted to do was deal with his partner and obnoxiously perky personality.

The tall young man simply beamed brightly at his fellow detective before running a hand through his thin, brown hair. "How did the interrogation go? Do we have any leads as to who was behind the incident?"

"I interviewed several people today, but there's not a single ounce of evidence pointing towards any of them. I just got done interviewing a high school student who looked like she was about to bust out into tears at any moment. She looked pretty nervous, but not in the "I-Just-Killed-Someone" kind of way, but more in the "Why-Couldn't-I-Do-Something-To-Prevent-This" kind of way," Dojima replied, rubbing his temples. His brain felt pretty much fried after today's excitement and he wanted nothing more than to run home to his daughter and see her smiling face. He always felt bad leaving Nanako at home by herself so late at night, especially after two mysterious murders occurring in Inaba, but luckily his nephew had recently started living with them so Nanako no longer had to eat dinner alone.

Adachi's face softened as he scratched the back of his head. "Man, that's rough. It must be awful to find out that one of your friends was brutally killed and then suddenly you're called in for questioning…"

Dojima shrugged his shoulders and threw his coat over his shoulder, making his way towards the door. "As soon as we find the real culprit—and the guy who killed Mayumi Yamano, if they're not the same person—then everyone can finally sleep in their beds without worry. In the meantime, I'm going back home to make sure my daughter knows there's nothing to fear because her old man is looking out for her!"

Chuckling, Adachi followed Dojima out the door before the two partners parted ways. He hopped into his car, started up the engine, and began to cruise down the street. As he was driving, a figure of a young girl walking down the sidewalk caught his attention. She was a pretty girl with a slender figure and her short, black hair fell right at her shoulders. Her high school uniform lead him to believe that she was the girl Dojima had just finished up interrogating, and he slowed down the speed of his car just a bit to match the pace of her stride.

Rolling down his windows, Adachi called out her. "Hey! Excuse me, miss! It's kind of late. Would you like a ride back home?"

Rika glanced at the man leaning out of his car's window and panic began to rise in her chest. She had always been taught not to talk to strangers, let alone hop in a car with them. As her heart thumped wildly in her chest, she contemplated on making a run for it back to the police station. What kind of nerve did this man have trying to pick up a high schooler so late at night, right next to the police station?!

Seeing the girl suddenly tense up at his offer, Adachi immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, uh, sorry! I'm not a creeper or anything! My name is Detective Toru Adachi! Dojima told me he just got done interrogating you. I could show you my badge, if you don't believe me…"

The rapid pace of her heart began to slow down as Rika took a deep breath. Another detective? Boy, he really had her worried there for a second! This whole "murder" thing had her extremely anxious and she had been rather frantic enough walking back home by herself this late at night. The streetlights had been guiding her path, but who knew what kind of dangers lurked behind every corner in Inaba?

"I live on the opposite side of town," she said softly to him, averting her eyes from his gaze. "It'd be troublesome for you to drive me home."

Dojima was right. This girl did have a rather solemn look to her, as if she was feeling incredibly distraught over her classmate's death and somehow felt responsible. Of course, that would have been impossible. After all, Adachi knew very well who the real culprit was, despite his naïve demeanor.

"If I cared how far of a drive it was, I wouldn't have offered in the first place," the brunette said to her, a goofy grin playing upon his handsome features. "It's not safe for a pretty girl to be wandering around at night by herself. I'd be beside myself if I learned something happened to an innocent girl and I wasn't able to prevent it because I didn't insist on driving her home."

Rika's heart sank at the sound of his words. She knew he was trying to be sweet, especially considering the fact he had chosen to compliment her not just once but twice, but something about his last sentence made her chest feel heavy. The last night she saw Saki, she had tried to get the other girl to walk home with her. Maybe if she had been a little bit more pushy or if she put her put foot down and insisted Saki help her finish mopping then maybe Saki wouldn't have been murdered. Anything could happen at a moment's notice, and there was no denying that even Rika had been slightly worried about her own safety from the moment she stepped out of the station.

After a moment, she decided to accept the man's request. After all, he was a detective, too. There's no way he could be a suspicious individual. Nodding, Rika walked over to the passenger side of his car and scooted inside. Once her seatbelt had been fastened, Adachi began to set off the down the road once again.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment as Rika found herself a little too nervous to initiate any form of conversation. Luckily, Adachi spoke first. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a little paranoid for people's safety now," he said, a little embarrassed for being rather insistent that he give her a ride home. "Inaba used to be such a quiet, peaceful town. That's why I loved it so much. But I guess even things as terrifying as homicide can happen to the most wholesome of towns, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand. I'm from London and even though it's relatively safe over there, you still can never be too careful," she answered back, glancing at the man beside her. Adachi had given her a side glance as well and their gazes met for a brief second before he turned his attention back to the road.

For a high school student, this girl was cute. Really cute. She had a unique style with her black stockings and fancy additions to her Yasogami High School uniform such as the black lace at the hem of her skirt. She had a very elegant, mature look to her, unlike those brats that Dojima's nephew was always hanging around…

"Ah, my apologies! I should have asked before! Where do you live, miss?" he blurted out, just now realizing that he didn't have the faintest clue where he was driving to. He certainly had a way of making an ass of himself in front of pretty girls. She probably thought he was a complete and utter moron…

Giggling, Rika answered him with a smile. "It's no problem! I live near the temple where the cute little fox lives. Just on the other side of it."

"Oh! I know exactly where that is," he said, grinning, relieved that she didn't seem too bothered by his carelessness. "I often go to that temple to pray for guidance for our investigations!" It was a complete lie, of course. Adachi never prayed. He couldn't have cared less about that kind of stuff, but at least making a statement like that would make him appear to be more trustworthy and kindhearted.

Rika fidgeted with the bow of her sailor collar, pretending to adjust it as a means of occupying herself, before she shyly looked up at him again. Even though it was a little dark inside of his car, she could still make out the lines of his face. He looked a little bit younger than the other detective, Dojima, and he seemed a lot kinder. Adults were always pretty intimidating to her, Rika always found herself thinking, but this guy didn't really make her feel that uncomfortable at all. Well, despite the fact that he was extremely good-looking and his charming smile and warm eyes made her rather self-conscious.

Oh my gosh, what am I thinking?! He's a detective!

Her heart sped up just a bit as she caught herself staring up at him again. Ugh, she was no better than all her other female classmates that ogled all over the cute boys in her school. Rika hardly ever developed crushes on boys, mostly because she preferred to focus on things like her studies or her school's extracurricular activities, but also because it was rare for her to find guys her own age to be attractive.

As she was caught up in a whirlwind of her own thoughts, Adachi's voice brought her back down to reality. "I just realized that I never asked for your name."

"Oh, um, it's Rika. Rika Azura," she said, forcing her eyes to focus on the nighttime scenery outside of the passenger seat window so they wouldn't accidentally wander back over to the young man beside her.

"Rika's a really pretty name. My name is Toru Adachi!"

Rika giggled again, this time a bit harder. "You already said that, silly."

"Oh, oops…You're right… Sorry. Haha!"

He liked that she was the type of girl to smile and laugh easily. He was always surrounded by such stern, unfriendly coworkers that were always quick to make fun of him if he ever made mistakes. But Rika was simply smiling at the goofy things he said and didn't seem to be bothered by him at all. As they continued to drive down to her home, he purposely took the long way towards the shrine and went a rather slow speed. They exchanged light, casual conversation during the drive, and Adachi actually found himself enjoying her company. She was a lot more likeable than that bitchy Saki Konishi chick and even the actress, Mayumi Yamano.

Eventually, their conversation came to an end as the shrine came into view. "My apartment is just on the other side," Rika spoke up, clutching her backpack in her hands, "so I can walk from here."

"Are you sure? I don't mind walking you to your front door," Adachi suggested, trying not to sound too needy. He probably wasn't do a very good job of it.

Smiling sweetly, she bowed her head in gratitude and opened the door to let herself out. "That's okay. You've already done more than enough for me for one night. Thanks so much for driving me home, Adachi-san! I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"It was no trouble at all! Have a good night! Be sure to lock your door when you get inside."

She was touched by his concern for her safety and waved good-bye as he drove off moments later. Adachi had been the complete opposite of the other detective she had spoken with earlier, and secretly she hoped she would be able to see him again. Seeing as how this town was rather tiny, it wasn't unlikely that she would run into him again. He was fun to talk to and made her feel at ease. As she walked back to her one-bedroom apartment, Rika had almost forgotten about Saki Konishi or that she had a lot of homework that was due tomorrow.

All she could think about was the handsome man that had offered her a ride home.