Disclaimer: I do not own TANTEI GAKUEN Q or none of you would ever known Amakusa Ryu and Kerberos as I would keep them for myself.
A/N: This is my first TANTEI GAKUEN Q fic, a one-shot for the upcoming Christmas and contains some spoilers for the manga series. R&R please...
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Title: A Christmas's Wish
In the past…
A teenage Dan Morihiko clenched his fist, "It's all your doing, right?" and then he glared angrily towards a lad that stood in front of him.
"Why do you say so?" the lad asked innocently but a flicker of amusement was shown in his emotionless eyes.
"We all know those guys are always smoking in the restroom and by some accidents, you threw all the flammable chemicals that we had used in the lab into the toilets saying that you did not know there would be people smoking in the restroom and it wasn't your fault they nearly burnt alive. Teachers believe you straightaway and put all the blames onto them for smoking in the school compounds but I find it hard for me to do the same thing as the teachers," Dan clenched his fist tighter, "I know you just can't forgive those guys for revealing your darkest secret to everyone but your doing is like…is like a…"
"A criminal?" the lad said in a mocking tone, "Now, you are beginning to think me as a criminal just like everybody else, aren't you?"
"I-I don't mean that! It's just…just… It's just simply wrong!" Dan exclaimed.
"A wrong thing to do, eh? It is still making me a criminal, isn't it?" the lad's cold eyes fixed onto Dan, "I really hope that we could be best friends but it seems that I can't trust you anymore as just as you do. So, farewell, Dan Morihiko…," and he hastily walked away, leaving Dan stood with a long face.
Dan gritted his teeth, "Hoshihiko…"
Present time in DDS…
"Dan-sensei!"
Dan startled into the present and found ten pairs of eager eyes staring at him, "Yes, Class Q?"
"Are you okay, Dan-sensei?" Kyu asked.
"You didn't respond when we call your name several times," Megu said in a concern tone. Both Kinta and Kazuma nodded in agreement.
"I-I'm perfectly fine, thank you," Dan said.
"Are you sure, Dan-sensei?" Ryu asked and stared straight towards Dan.
Seeing the lad's face, Dan immediately remembered about his 'lost' friend, Kokuo Hoshihiko or now rather known as King Hades. Since Ryu revealed about his true identity, Dan found it was hard not to think about Hades or not to remember about their past friendship every time he looked Ryu's face. Even until now, Dan still wished there would be some hopes to patch their relationship and eventually ended the long war. Deep down in his heart, he still regarded Hades as his friend…
"We're going to be the best partners in the whole universe!"
"Dan-sensei, why are you staring at me like that?"
"Huh?" Dan blinked his eyes and realized that he was staring deeply into the confused Ryu, "N-nothing. It's just… Nothing at all," and he left the five sleuths with a confused look on each of their faces. They remained silent until he was out of sight.
"Mina…," Megu started, "Do any of you realized Dan-sensei…"
"Yes, I do. And it's kind of…intriguing," Ryu said.
"Me too," Kazuma nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and it's strange…," Kinta said.
"I find it's hard to believe too… But then all of us could swear there are tears in Dan-sensei's eyes just now...," Kyu said slowly, "Wonder what's in his mind?"
Present time in a secluded building somewhere in Japan…
"King Hades!"
King Hades startled into the present and found a half-masked man staring at him, "Yes, Sir Karon?"
"Is there something bothering you, King Hades? You seem to be in…a dilemma," Karon pronounced the last bit of his words carefully, afraid that it would be taken as an insult.
"I-Iie… It's just…," King Hades lost of words and again, he drifted into the past. For some reasons, recently he just often remembered of his past relationship with Dan Morihiko. Yes, Dan was an enemy of his but the word 'enemy' sounded strange to his ears. He always had to remind himself that their friendship was over for good every time he somehow forgot who Dan was for him. Dan's voice rang in his ears as well as his…
"We're going to be the best partners in the whole universe!"
"King Hades!" Karon's concern voice startled him again.
"Huh?" King Hades blinked his eyes, feeling like he had just awoken from a dream.
"King Hades, is there something bothering you?" Karon asked again, "I hope you would not take this as an insult but recently, you always seem to be lost in thoughts. Is there a problem?"
King Hades shook his head slightly and then faced the window, looking over the vast quiet evergreen woods, "N-nothing. You may excuse yourself."
Karon was about to insist on asking but then when he saw his superior's face, he turned his heels and mumbled excuses. When he was sure that he was out of King Hades' hearing, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. Kerberos who happened to be there approached him and asked, "What are you feeling surprise for, Sir Karon?"
Karon looked at Kerberos for a moment before turning away and wore a surprise expression, "Believe it or not, but I just have seen tears are welling up in King Hades' eyes."
Now, it's Kerberos' turn to feel surprise, "Haime? Wonder if there is something wrong…"
Both of them looked at each other and then sighed; they could only guess.
On Christmas day at an isolated park somewhere in Japan…
Dan slowly directed his wheelchair towards a huge bare sakura tree. Then, he gently ran his fingers at the trunk and stopped at a carved sentence. The carving read 'Morihiko and Hoshihiko, the best partners in the whole universe!'. Below it, a carved drawing of two hands shaking with each other marked visibly.
Seeing the carving, Dan's eyes saddened; there was a melancholic feeling about the carvings. He ran his fingers at the carvings several times, "I was the one that wrote this… And the one who drew this was-"
"Me."
A familiar voice appeared behind him startled him. He didn't have to turn around as the owner of the voice then took his stand beside Dan and, too, touched the carvings. Dan stared at the unexpected visitor with disbelief, "King Hades…"
"Hoshihiko," King Hades simply said.
"Huh?"
"Just for this once, call me Hoshihiko like you've used to…," he felt a bit uncertain to continue his words, "…Morihiko."
Dan didn't know how to respond to his words; he was in a state of believing and disbelieving. And he knew he had heard it right; King Hades just called him 'Morihiko'. He felt like he was dreaming but the sound of King Hades' steady breaths immediately denied the theory, "This…"
"It might sound crazy but…I just can't help but to constantly remember of our times…. So, I really hope you could…," King Hades let his words trailed off. He himself was surprised with every word that he poured out. He reasoned that this was all because of the cold weather or anything else but deep down in his heart, he knew this was his true self, his true self that wanted nothing but a sincere friendship…
A thought suddenly struck him; there was no way Dan Morihiko would ever forgive him for what he had done to him. He somehow feeling depressed because of this but hid it carefully, "I'm talking nonsense, aren't I? I think I should take my leave- What the-"
To his shock, Dan forced himself to stand up and immediately hugged him, "Hoshihiko, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings back then… I know I should have trusted you more… Please forgive me, Hoshihiko…"
King Hades didn't expect this; he was half-expecting Dan would take out his gun and instantly called for the authorities to catch him. He remained still for a while and then, slowly, he made Dan sat on his wheelchair and shushed him when he tried to say something. He stared deeply into Dan's eyes, his friend's eyes, "Let's forget everything about the past right now. Let us enjoy this reunion; it might be brief but at least, we would remember it to the last of our days."
"Hoshihiko…"
"It's snowing."
Both of them looked up and saw pure white snow-flakes descend slowly, like a silk curtain that marked the ending of a long wait for a reunion. Both of them then looked at each other and to their own surprise, they smiled and then grinned happily just like they had used to. And somehow, they knew one of their wish would soon come true…
"We're going to be the best partners in the whole universe!"
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A/N: What do you think? And THIS IS NOT A YAOI FIC OR ANYTHING RELATED TO IT to no one's offence. I like both of these characters, Dan and King Hades, and are somehow excited to know that both of them used to be friends when I read the manga. And since I'm still dreaming – and really hoping – that both of them would eventually ended their bitter fight, so I've decided to write this fic. Feel free to leave a review… And Merry Christmas!
