Toyama Jones??
By: Stormie
~~This was a writing assignment for a class I took about a month ago. It didn't start out as a Ronin fic, but hey it turned into one. I would have to say I liked writing this story more than any of the other assignments. ^_^brI don't actually have a title for it. That whole Toayama Jones thing is just there to take up space and make it look better. I hate the title "Untitled".~~
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Plain and simple.
"Priceless Statue Missing." That was the headline in the paper this morning; I hate newspapers. Whenever there are headlines like that, it's always bad news for me. I'm the guy who has to solve all the "Missing Insert
Priceless Thing" cases.
I'm Cale Night, tall, athletic build with wild midnight hair and blue eyes. I have a cross-shaped scar under my left eye; it adds to my intimidation factor. With my cowboy boots, beat-up leather jacket, and motorcycle, people probably think I jumped out of some cop show from the '70's.
Usually you can find me in the dark places where I go for information or at my favorite club, The Pink Elephant; but right now I was at my desk in the Toyama Police Department, staring at the newspaper headline.
My boss spotted me. He's a tall red-headed kid, way too young to be Commissioner. We hate each other.
"Night, what are you doing sitting around? Go up to the Koji place and find that rabbit!"
I burst out laughing. "Rabbit? Don't you mean 'Hartfordshire Hare'?"
He scowled and narrowed his teal eyes. "Don't get cute with me, Night. Just do your job."
"Sure thing." He turned to leave. I couldn't resist a parting shot. "Hey Commish, have you seen my snares? Wabbits can be wascally."
"Night! Get out or you're fired!" It was hilarious that his face could turn the same shade as his hair.
Twenty minutes later I parked my motorcycle in front of a mansion. We're talking mansion with a capital M. It was a huge white building with an annex on the east and west sides. There were fountains, statues, and shaped bushes in every direction.
I heard a horse whinny; I hadn't seen a barn and couldn't figure out where the noise had come from. Thinking I had imagined the whinny, I nearly shot a groom, leading a horse, who had suddenly appeared off to my left. They had come up through a hole in the ground that apparently led to an underground stable.
The groom told me there were dozens of underground passages and entrances across the property. I noticed a strange symbol by the entrance and mentally catalogued it. Apologizing again to the man, I walked into the house.
Uniformed police were roaming everywhere. A man with puffy blond hair and a dark suit noticed me first.
"What are you doing here? Can't you see this is a police investigation? Leave before I have you arrested."
I flashed my badge. "Cale Night, TPD Special Divsion. I thought this was my case."
He shook my hand. "Sage Date, TPD. It is yours...now. It didn't seem like we needed a Special at the time."
"Regulars trying to show off huh? You screwed up like usual and need me to save you." The blond glared at me with one sharp, blue eye; the other was covered by his mop of hair. I was on a roll today. It wasn't even 10:00 and I had already really irritated two people.
Sage took a deep breath and ignored my comment. I hate people who can do that. "Let me get you up to speed, Cale."
I frowned; I hate my name. Blondey took one look at my face an knew it. He smiled slightly and continued on.
"Last night around 8:00, the owner of the Hartfordshire Hare, Dr. Koji-"
"Koji? As in Koji Chocolate?"
"Yes, CALE, that Koji. He was displaying the Hare to a dinner party when the lights went out. Dr. Koji said he felt someone brush by him. After the lights came back on, the Hare was missing."
"So they called you."
"Yes. We searched the house, took statements, found the Hare, and arrested the suspected thief."
"And you need me because?"
"The Hare we found was a fake."
I snorted. "Typical. Okay. Who was here?"
"Dr. Koji, his grand daughter Mia Koji, Dais Chevalier, Ryo Sanada, Rowen Hashiba, Cye Mouri, and Kento Rei Faun. We have Mr. Chevalier is custody for the theft."
I started to pace. "Why him?"
"We found one of his cuff links near Dr. Koji's seat at the table, and the fake Hare was in his belongings."
"How did it get there?"
Sage flipped through his notes. "Apparently, when the lights were out, Chevalier spilled soup on his suit. After we were called, he was not with the others for five to ten minutes while he changed. That is plenty of time to hide the statue."
"But why would he hide it in his stuff? And why would he steal a fake?"
"Obviously, he thought it was real, CALE."
I narrowed my eyes, feeling my scar pucker. "Don't patronize me. I want to re-interview the other suspects and your officers."
Sage raised his visible eyebrow. "Other suspects?"
"Yes, everyone is suspect until we find the real Hare."
After talking to all the suspects and officers personally, I still wasn't close to finding the Hare. Everything was just like that Date guy had told me. Mia Koji seemed to be holding something back, but I didn't have proof and couldn't do anything about it.
I decided to examine the dining room where the Hare had disappeared. I didn't expect to find anything, not after the Regulars had been through. I strolled over to one of the large windows that lined the north side of the room. From there I could see more of the grounds and, in the distance, one of the Koji factories.
While I was standing there, I heard the click of the door handle turning. The door opened silently, and Mia Koji slipped in. She walked to the table and slid her hand along its underside, looking for something. She hadn't noticed me yet so I cleared my throat.
"Removing evidence from a crime scene is a crime you know."
She jumped and looked at me with huge green eyes. "M-Mr. Night, I didn't see you there."
I smiled. "What are you doing, Miss Koji?"
She sank into the nearest chair and started sobbing. Her long red hair slid across her face, covering it. Now why did she have to do that? I hate to see women cry, especially when it's because of me. I moved towards her but stopped. I didn't know what to do.
She eventually controlled herself enough to speak. "I'm sorry Mr. Night. I shouldn't have cried, but I'm afraid for him."
"For Mr. Chevalier?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked up at me and smiled the way angles must smile. "We're engaged! At least I think we are; he was giving me the ring when the lights went out. I was so afraid my grandfather had found out that I don't think I answered Dais."
"Your grandfather doesn't like him?"
"Oh no! Not at all. I think Grandpapa despises Dais."
"Really? And why- oof!" I had started pacing again and had tripped over something. I grabbed a chair to catch my balance.
"Mr. Night, are you all right?" Mia inquired anxiously.
"I'm fine." Looking down, I found what had tripped me. It was a button imbedded in the floor; the button had the same comma-shaped design that on the entrance to the underground stable.
"Oh! They must have moved the table. This is usually under it."
"What is it?"
"It opens a passage to the factory."
I cocked an eyebrow. "Can I push it?"
She shrugged. "Go ahead. It's not going to work though. We always keep it-" I pushed the button and it soundlessly opened a panel in the floor. "-locked. How on earth?"
"Do you mind if I-?" I pointed to the hole. She nodded. "Thank you, Miss Koji. You've been most helpful." I kissed her hand. "Congratulations on your engagement." She blushed and murmured a thank you while I hopped through the hole.
The underground tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, but I eventually ended up in the factory. It was a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic, but I decided to walk above the ground on the way back.
So, I was in Koji's Chocolate Factory. I glanced around and saw all kinds of spinning, whirling, and shaking machinery. It made me dizzy. You'd think that the chocolate would have smelled good, but there was too much of it; the stench was overpowering.
A deep, menacing voice growled from somewhere in the maze of machines. "Visitors are not allowed in the factory. Get out!"
I pulled out my badge. "I'm Cale Night from the police department."
"Police huh?" The body attached to the voice appeared. "What do you want?"
I did a double take. The man was very scary, not in a physically intimidating way, but in a weird way. He was slender with sallow skin and green hair. His eyes were the oddest part about him; they were almost...reptilian. Either that or he was on crack. He cleared his throat impatiently. I had been staring.
"Uh, yes. I was just wondering if you had information about the Hartfordshire Hare, Mr.-?"
"Sekhmet. Just call me Sekhmet."
"All right, Sekhmet. Did you see anything strange last night?" Other than your own reflection, I thought.
He crossed his arms. "Hmmmm. Yeah I did. See this machine." He patted a machine that was spitting out chocolate rabbits. "It was on last night."
"So?"
"We weren't making bunnys. When I shut it off, some of them had been boxed up all ready. Still haven't figured it out."
I looked at the boxed rabbits. One of the boxes had a comma-shaped spot on it. "What time did you say the machine was on?"
"It wasn't till around 1:00 this morning."
"Interesting." I picked up the marked box.
"Careful! Sometimes the boxes-" The rabbit inside slipped out and crashed onto the ground. "-aren't sealed shut." Sekhemt sighed.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right. Happens all the time. Keep the bunny."
"Really? Thanks!"
He sighed again. "No problem."
Now it was time to pay Mr. Dais a visit. When I finally got to the station, visiting hours were almost over. I had to do one thing before talking with Dais.
I couldn't believe that I hadn't checked out the found cuff link earlier. I had a hunch, and when I had a hunch I followed it. In the evidence room, I studied the cuff link. It was a small, silver spider with red eyes. I grabbed it and sprinted to the Prisoner Possessions Room. Digging through Dais's stuff, I found another cuff link. It also had a spider on it, but the spider was sitting on a web. Either Dais wore mismatched cuff links, or he was being set up.
I grabbed the other cuff link and ran to the visitation room. I had five minutes. The guard brought Dais in. Dais was tall with long, wavy, white-blond hair and one icy blue eye. The other eye was hidden by a black satin eye patch. He wasn't the man I pictured pretty little Miss Koji marrying, but who was I to judge.
"I'm Cale Night."
"You're the one investigating the theft. I don't think I want to talk. My lawyer's not here."
"I'm actually just a search dog. My job is to find the Hare."
"I don't know where it is. I didn't take it."
"I know."
"What?"
He was staring at me intensely. I felt as if his eye was burning into my skin. I shivered.
"Would you look at these cuff links? They were both worn last night, supposedly by the same man. But does the man wear two different links at the same time?"
"They both belong to me." He held up the red-eyed spider. "But this one I lost months ago. I was wearing the other set last night."
"And the mate to the one you were wearing is in the suit changed out of?"
"Either that or in the jewle-er..." he coughed.
"The jewelry box with a ring that you gave to Miss Koji."
"You know about that?" he whispered.
I grinned. "Congratulations. You're a lucky man. Now, the question is: Who set you up?"
"Mia's grandfather. He hates me. I don't know why; I've never done anything to him."
"Not yet you haven't, but you will the day you take his Mia away."
Dais scowled. "I never will from jail. You believe me, but all you are some theories and a couple of cuff links."
I grinned even wider. "Dais, do you like chocolate?" I took the chocolate rabbit out of my pocket. "Man, I hope it didn't get on my jacket." I picked off a piece and shoved the rest over to Dais.
He poked at it; another piece fell off, revealing something shiny. He looked sharply at me. "You've got to be kidding!" I just shook my head and munched on my candy. "But how?"
"The underground tunnel to the factory. There's an entrance through the dining room. All Dr. Koji had to do was push a button with his foot and drop the Hare into the tunnel. I found a pile of blankets at the bottom to cushion the fall and mute the noise."
"And the link and the fake?"
"He really wanted you out of the way. It was a pretty good idea. Original if nothing else."
Dais looked dazed. "But what now?"
I handed him a pen and some paper. "Care to make a confession?"
The good doctor confessed to everything after I showed up to arrest Mia the next morning. Dais's fake confession implicated her in the theft; Doc Koji wasn't about to let his precious grand daughter go to jail.
The Hartfordshire Hare was cleaned up and given to Mia and Dais as an engagement gift. Those two are getting married in the fall; I'm the best man.
Their engagement announcement should be in the paper today. I sit down at my office in the police department and prop my cowboy boots on my desk. "Jewel of the East Stolen from Museum." I sigh.
"Night! In my office now!"
I hate newspapers.
By: Stormie
~~This was a writing assignment for a class I took about a month ago. It didn't start out as a Ronin fic, but hey it turned into one. I would have to say I liked writing this story more than any of the other assignments. ^_^brI don't actually have a title for it. That whole Toayama Jones thing is just there to take up space and make it look better. I hate the title "Untitled".~~
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Plain and simple.
"Priceless Statue Missing." That was the headline in the paper this morning; I hate newspapers. Whenever there are headlines like that, it's always bad news for me. I'm the guy who has to solve all the "Missing Insert
Priceless Thing" cases.
I'm Cale Night, tall, athletic build with wild midnight hair and blue eyes. I have a cross-shaped scar under my left eye; it adds to my intimidation factor. With my cowboy boots, beat-up leather jacket, and motorcycle, people probably think I jumped out of some cop show from the '70's.
Usually you can find me in the dark places where I go for information or at my favorite club, The Pink Elephant; but right now I was at my desk in the Toyama Police Department, staring at the newspaper headline.
My boss spotted me. He's a tall red-headed kid, way too young to be Commissioner. We hate each other.
"Night, what are you doing sitting around? Go up to the Koji place and find that rabbit!"
I burst out laughing. "Rabbit? Don't you mean 'Hartfordshire Hare'?"
He scowled and narrowed his teal eyes. "Don't get cute with me, Night. Just do your job."
"Sure thing." He turned to leave. I couldn't resist a parting shot. "Hey Commish, have you seen my snares? Wabbits can be wascally."
"Night! Get out or you're fired!" It was hilarious that his face could turn the same shade as his hair.
Twenty minutes later I parked my motorcycle in front of a mansion. We're talking mansion with a capital M. It was a huge white building with an annex on the east and west sides. There were fountains, statues, and shaped bushes in every direction.
I heard a horse whinny; I hadn't seen a barn and couldn't figure out where the noise had come from. Thinking I had imagined the whinny, I nearly shot a groom, leading a horse, who had suddenly appeared off to my left. They had come up through a hole in the ground that apparently led to an underground stable.
The groom told me there were dozens of underground passages and entrances across the property. I noticed a strange symbol by the entrance and mentally catalogued it. Apologizing again to the man, I walked into the house.
Uniformed police were roaming everywhere. A man with puffy blond hair and a dark suit noticed me first.
"What are you doing here? Can't you see this is a police investigation? Leave before I have you arrested."
I flashed my badge. "Cale Night, TPD Special Divsion. I thought this was my case."
He shook my hand. "Sage Date, TPD. It is yours...now. It didn't seem like we needed a Special at the time."
"Regulars trying to show off huh? You screwed up like usual and need me to save you." The blond glared at me with one sharp, blue eye; the other was covered by his mop of hair. I was on a roll today. It wasn't even 10:00 and I had already really irritated two people.
Sage took a deep breath and ignored my comment. I hate people who can do that. "Let me get you up to speed, Cale."
I frowned; I hate my name. Blondey took one look at my face an knew it. He smiled slightly and continued on.
"Last night around 8:00, the owner of the Hartfordshire Hare, Dr. Koji-"
"Koji? As in Koji Chocolate?"
"Yes, CALE, that Koji. He was displaying the Hare to a dinner party when the lights went out. Dr. Koji said he felt someone brush by him. After the lights came back on, the Hare was missing."
"So they called you."
"Yes. We searched the house, took statements, found the Hare, and arrested the suspected thief."
"And you need me because?"
"The Hare we found was a fake."
I snorted. "Typical. Okay. Who was here?"
"Dr. Koji, his grand daughter Mia Koji, Dais Chevalier, Ryo Sanada, Rowen Hashiba, Cye Mouri, and Kento Rei Faun. We have Mr. Chevalier is custody for the theft."
I started to pace. "Why him?"
"We found one of his cuff links near Dr. Koji's seat at the table, and the fake Hare was in his belongings."
"How did it get there?"
Sage flipped through his notes. "Apparently, when the lights were out, Chevalier spilled soup on his suit. After we were called, he was not with the others for five to ten minutes while he changed. That is plenty of time to hide the statue."
"But why would he hide it in his stuff? And why would he steal a fake?"
"Obviously, he thought it was real, CALE."
I narrowed my eyes, feeling my scar pucker. "Don't patronize me. I want to re-interview the other suspects and your officers."
Sage raised his visible eyebrow. "Other suspects?"
"Yes, everyone is suspect until we find the real Hare."
After talking to all the suspects and officers personally, I still wasn't close to finding the Hare. Everything was just like that Date guy had told me. Mia Koji seemed to be holding something back, but I didn't have proof and couldn't do anything about it.
I decided to examine the dining room where the Hare had disappeared. I didn't expect to find anything, not after the Regulars had been through. I strolled over to one of the large windows that lined the north side of the room. From there I could see more of the grounds and, in the distance, one of the Koji factories.
While I was standing there, I heard the click of the door handle turning. The door opened silently, and Mia Koji slipped in. She walked to the table and slid her hand along its underside, looking for something. She hadn't noticed me yet so I cleared my throat.
"Removing evidence from a crime scene is a crime you know."
She jumped and looked at me with huge green eyes. "M-Mr. Night, I didn't see you there."
I smiled. "What are you doing, Miss Koji?"
She sank into the nearest chair and started sobbing. Her long red hair slid across her face, covering it. Now why did she have to do that? I hate to see women cry, especially when it's because of me. I moved towards her but stopped. I didn't know what to do.
She eventually controlled herself enough to speak. "I'm sorry Mr. Night. I shouldn't have cried, but I'm afraid for him."
"For Mr. Chevalier?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked up at me and smiled the way angles must smile. "We're engaged! At least I think we are; he was giving me the ring when the lights went out. I was so afraid my grandfather had found out that I don't think I answered Dais."
"Your grandfather doesn't like him?"
"Oh no! Not at all. I think Grandpapa despises Dais."
"Really? And why- oof!" I had started pacing again and had tripped over something. I grabbed a chair to catch my balance.
"Mr. Night, are you all right?" Mia inquired anxiously.
"I'm fine." Looking down, I found what had tripped me. It was a button imbedded in the floor; the button had the same comma-shaped design that on the entrance to the underground stable.
"Oh! They must have moved the table. This is usually under it."
"What is it?"
"It opens a passage to the factory."
I cocked an eyebrow. "Can I push it?"
She shrugged. "Go ahead. It's not going to work though. We always keep it-" I pushed the button and it soundlessly opened a panel in the floor. "-locked. How on earth?"
"Do you mind if I-?" I pointed to the hole. She nodded. "Thank you, Miss Koji. You've been most helpful." I kissed her hand. "Congratulations on your engagement." She blushed and murmured a thank you while I hopped through the hole.
The underground tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, but I eventually ended up in the factory. It was a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic, but I decided to walk above the ground on the way back.
So, I was in Koji's Chocolate Factory. I glanced around and saw all kinds of spinning, whirling, and shaking machinery. It made me dizzy. You'd think that the chocolate would have smelled good, but there was too much of it; the stench was overpowering.
A deep, menacing voice growled from somewhere in the maze of machines. "Visitors are not allowed in the factory. Get out!"
I pulled out my badge. "I'm Cale Night from the police department."
"Police huh?" The body attached to the voice appeared. "What do you want?"
I did a double take. The man was very scary, not in a physically intimidating way, but in a weird way. He was slender with sallow skin and green hair. His eyes were the oddest part about him; they were almost...reptilian. Either that or he was on crack. He cleared his throat impatiently. I had been staring.
"Uh, yes. I was just wondering if you had information about the Hartfordshire Hare, Mr.-?"
"Sekhmet. Just call me Sekhmet."
"All right, Sekhmet. Did you see anything strange last night?" Other than your own reflection, I thought.
He crossed his arms. "Hmmmm. Yeah I did. See this machine." He patted a machine that was spitting out chocolate rabbits. "It was on last night."
"So?"
"We weren't making bunnys. When I shut it off, some of them had been boxed up all ready. Still haven't figured it out."
I looked at the boxed rabbits. One of the boxes had a comma-shaped spot on it. "What time did you say the machine was on?"
"It wasn't till around 1:00 this morning."
"Interesting." I picked up the marked box.
"Careful! Sometimes the boxes-" The rabbit inside slipped out and crashed onto the ground. "-aren't sealed shut." Sekhemt sighed.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right. Happens all the time. Keep the bunny."
"Really? Thanks!"
He sighed again. "No problem."
Now it was time to pay Mr. Dais a visit. When I finally got to the station, visiting hours were almost over. I had to do one thing before talking with Dais.
I couldn't believe that I hadn't checked out the found cuff link earlier. I had a hunch, and when I had a hunch I followed it. In the evidence room, I studied the cuff link. It was a small, silver spider with red eyes. I grabbed it and sprinted to the Prisoner Possessions Room. Digging through Dais's stuff, I found another cuff link. It also had a spider on it, but the spider was sitting on a web. Either Dais wore mismatched cuff links, or he was being set up.
I grabbed the other cuff link and ran to the visitation room. I had five minutes. The guard brought Dais in. Dais was tall with long, wavy, white-blond hair and one icy blue eye. The other eye was hidden by a black satin eye patch. He wasn't the man I pictured pretty little Miss Koji marrying, but who was I to judge.
"I'm Cale Night."
"You're the one investigating the theft. I don't think I want to talk. My lawyer's not here."
"I'm actually just a search dog. My job is to find the Hare."
"I don't know where it is. I didn't take it."
"I know."
"What?"
He was staring at me intensely. I felt as if his eye was burning into my skin. I shivered.
"Would you look at these cuff links? They were both worn last night, supposedly by the same man. But does the man wear two different links at the same time?"
"They both belong to me." He held up the red-eyed spider. "But this one I lost months ago. I was wearing the other set last night."
"And the mate to the one you were wearing is in the suit changed out of?"
"Either that or in the jewle-er..." he coughed.
"The jewelry box with a ring that you gave to Miss Koji."
"You know about that?" he whispered.
I grinned. "Congratulations. You're a lucky man. Now, the question is: Who set you up?"
"Mia's grandfather. He hates me. I don't know why; I've never done anything to him."
"Not yet you haven't, but you will the day you take his Mia away."
Dais scowled. "I never will from jail. You believe me, but all you are some theories and a couple of cuff links."
I grinned even wider. "Dais, do you like chocolate?" I took the chocolate rabbit out of my pocket. "Man, I hope it didn't get on my jacket." I picked off a piece and shoved the rest over to Dais.
He poked at it; another piece fell off, revealing something shiny. He looked sharply at me. "You've got to be kidding!" I just shook my head and munched on my candy. "But how?"
"The underground tunnel to the factory. There's an entrance through the dining room. All Dr. Koji had to do was push a button with his foot and drop the Hare into the tunnel. I found a pile of blankets at the bottom to cushion the fall and mute the noise."
"And the link and the fake?"
"He really wanted you out of the way. It was a pretty good idea. Original if nothing else."
Dais looked dazed. "But what now?"
I handed him a pen and some paper. "Care to make a confession?"
The good doctor confessed to everything after I showed up to arrest Mia the next morning. Dais's fake confession implicated her in the theft; Doc Koji wasn't about to let his precious grand daughter go to jail.
The Hartfordshire Hare was cleaned up and given to Mia and Dais as an engagement gift. Those two are getting married in the fall; I'm the best man.
Their engagement announcement should be in the paper today. I sit down at my office in the police department and prop my cowboy boots on my desk. "Jewel of the East Stolen from Museum." I sigh.
"Night! In my office now!"
I hate newspapers.