Disclaimer: This is my first Detective School Q fic and my first attempt at a thriller/ mystery. Any OOC-ness, weirdness etc. is my fault. May have a slight AU-ness. All the DDS characters belong to their creator.
This is rated for dark themes and violence. No lemons expected. This story begins after the end of the manga series. Character deaths will be expected. I have lowered the rating to a T for now. May up the rating later if the story warrants it.
Prologue
Kerberos played with his cards as he waited outside the Tokyo International Airport. After Hades' death, Pluto fell apart. Some were arrested. Others disappeared into the shady criminal underworld. He had done well for himself, going solo as a crime consultant. He still kept to the rules Hades had set so long ago out of respect for his deceased mentor. How old would their young master be now? Sixteen? He had not expected to encounter the name Pluto again. Yet it has risen from the ashes like a phoenix from its pyre the morning he found that letter in his mail. He apologetically turned down a tourist, indicating the 'On Call' sign on his vehicle.
A young woman wearing large sunglasses and a large sunhat was approaching him. She cuddled a Disney's Pluto soft toy. Kerberos drew the queen of spades from his deck of cards and held it up. It was an obvious gesture. He had recognized her the moment she stepped out of the terminal. It had been a while since they had last met and he did not know if she recognized him in his disguise. She did not show any outwards sign of acknowledging him, until she drew alongside him.
"Please take me to Styx." The words were delivered in a low voice, more an order than request. Kerberos opened the door of his vehicle. They did not exchange further words until they were cruising on the highway at a steady sixty kilometres per hour.
"Do you mean what you wrote?" Kerberos nonchalantly discarded his mask and cap. The woman in the back seat placed her sunhat on her lap. "Hades had his reasons for sending you away… He will not approve…" His passenger rolled up her sleeve with slow deliberateness. "I understand how you feel, though I can't agree… Hel." The young man sighed. He never really cared much for most of the other members. She was an exception.
"It is still kind of you to receive me, Kero. Is Ryu well?" She lowered her sunglasses. Any word of protest died on Kerberos' lips. Her eyes were just like Hades'. No, more like the legendary criminal Kokuo Urika's, the woman who birthed their late leader and mentor.
"When you have lost everything you hold dear, Kero, nothing matters. Nothing is left for me, except…" she paused with a smile and leaned forward, placing a slender hand on his shoulder. "So, will you indulge me, Kero?" Her touch was cold enough to make him gasp.
"At your service, Lady Hel," Kerberos replied. Whatever Hel had in mind, Kerberos was sure it would be a masterpiece. Let the dance begin…
Amakusa Ryu woke up in a cold sweat. Another nightmare, his mind registered. Relieved, he padded out of bed. It was almost two years since that fire. It had been a difficult time for him. Counselling had helped a little, but still the nightmares came with a regular frequency. He pondered if he should call up his best friend. Looking at the clock, he decided against it. Even Kyu would not like being awakened at 3 am in the morning. He was home alone. His father was away on a business trip in L.A. The elder Amakusa had recovered well enough from his long imprisonment to go back into business. It probably helped that he was in a semi-hypnotized state for much of that time.
What if Kyu had been wrong? What if they had been trapped in the fire? What if the great detective Dan had been killed by Hades?
Nonsense! Ryu let the water run and splashed water over his face. Kyu had trusted him to keep their promise. His friends escaped unscathed from the fire. Dan escaped death that day. The bullet shattered his badge, but that was sufficient to absorb the impact. The great detective died peacefully six months later, finally losing his fight against a long illness. The one to perish in the fire was Hades, whose charred body was removed from the ruins…
Could he have done something differently? Even if Hades weren't his real grandfather, he had brought him up in the absence of his father. A form of Stockholm syndrome? Ryu mused. He still thought of Kokuo Hoshihiko as a stern grandfather. And they did share the same bloodline descended from the genius Kuzuryu. Ryu stared at the mirror. There would be no way he could get any sleep that night.
With a sigh, he switched on the bedside lamp and picked up the book he had been reading before bed, The Works of Genius Kuzuryu. The book was a newly published compilation of his great-grandfather's masterpieces. His eyes danced over the words of the final chapter.
Kuzuryu displayed a rare talent for the piano as a child. Typical of the great master, he ceased playing the instrument in adulthood. However, rumours persist of a piano composition by Kuzuryu Takumi. This composition was never performed in public until two years ago when a rising pianist, Tatiana R. Kokuonova, introduced and performed the piece under the title "Elysium Illusion" in Carnegie Hall. The hauntingly beautiful piece attracted rave reviews.
Strangely, the rising pianist withdrew from the New York Conservatory of Music, taking the only known copy of the score with her. To date, evidence has been found to prove or disprove Kokuonova's allegations. Kokuonova's purse and identification papers were later found on the banks of a nearby river. Her body was never found. Rumours have circulated that the melody is cursed. An anecdote has it that it was composed by a teenaged Kuzuryu for a European noblewoman who later committed suicide in the same manner as Kokuonova…
"R. Kokuonova," Ryu frowned. That name was disturbingly familiar. He closed his eyes.
"Risa-neesan," he perched on the piano bench next to his older companion. He watched in fascination as her fingers danced across the keys, coaxing the most amazing music from the grand piano. The music shutting off the darkness and gloom around them the same way it had shut away her pain and illness.
"Bravo, Risa!" Hades clapped as he approached them. "It's time for Ryu to go to bed…" The girl bowed and took him by the hand. "Not you, Risa. I need to talk to you. Yurie! Get Ryu ready for bed." The grip on his hand reluctantly loosened. Yurie took him by the hand and hurried him away.
"The annual Class Q party is now in session!" Renjo Kyu exuberantly waved his party fan to and fro. For good measure, he stepped onto the low table. "No feet on the table, Kyu!" Megumi chided. Kintaro hooted in amusement.
"Excuse me, we're from Class A," Yukihira reminded him with a good-natured prod. Kuniko giggled shyly and glanced in the direction of Ryu. Distracted, Ryu did not notice. It had been Megumi's idea to extend the invitation to their Class A schoolmates. So far, only Kuniko and Yukihira had accepted. "Kinta! Pass the dip!" Kazuma called out. "It's 'please, Toyama sir', munchkin!" Kintaro ribbed his younger friend. "If you want it, come get it!"
"Kinta, Quit it!" Kazuma yelled as Kintaro held the dip bowl just out of Kazuma's outstretched hands. The pair started a light-hearted chase around the room. "You need exercise, Kazu-kun!" The younger boy was beginning to tire.
"Whoops!" Kintaro crashed into Kyu from behind. Kyu fell, smack on top of Ryu. "Sorry, guys," Kintaro apologized. "Is anyone hurt?" Kuniko called out.
"Nope," Kyu grinned as he wiped dip from his hair. "I'm okay, besides smelling like wasabi and soy sauce." Ryu muttered something under his breath that might have meant the same as he wiped the dip from his shirt. "Better get it washed out or it'll stain," Yukihira advised.
"Ryu, nightmare again?" Kyu wiped his dripping hair with a paper towel. They were both cleaning up in the restroom at the back of the restaurant.
"Uh-uh." Ryu looked a mess. Dark shadows were starting to show under his eyes. "Third one this week."
"The fire again? It's becoming more frequent, isn't it, Ryu? If you need to talk…" Kyu stuck his head under the hand dryer.
"I'm fine, Kyu. I don't think I'll never get this stain out…" he attacked the offending stain on his shirt with renewed vigour.
Author's Notes:
Stockholm syndrome – a psychological condition when kidnap victims develop a loyalty to their captors.
Neesan – big sister
Poor Ryu has been through a lot in the series. However, the possibility of Pluto's resurgence is too good to ignore. Or will it be something else more personal?
