If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes let me know so I can fix those. As always constructive criticism is welcomed and greatly appreciated. If you feel the need to flame then go ahead but I'm just going to laugh at you and probably end up calling you an idiot.

I have Kyuu calling his father, who he doesn't know is his father, Oji-san. In the Anime Kyuu called him Oji-san because it was a respectful title kids use for grownup. It's roughly the English equivalent of Mister. I just felt that Oji-san fit better for the story than Mister.

Also Kyuu's mom calls Satorou anata once in this story. It a term used between husband and wife in Japan. I couldn't think of a good English word for that spot of the story so I went with anata.

Thanks to Mask Rider Boy for telling me Kyuu's mom name is Mizue.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Tantei Gakuen Q/Detective Academy Q/ Detective School Q. However Akira is my character that I don't mind sharing as long as you ask.

In the Shadows

A little boy of seven sat on a swing dragging the toes of his green and white tennis shoes through the dirt. A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to move his toes through the dirt making the white toes of the tennis shoes become browner and browner.

A shadow fell over the boy making his dark green hair seem black as the swing next to him gave out a creak as someone sat down in the swing. The boy continued to drag the tips of his sneakers through the dirt as though admiring the lines he had created.

"What's wrong Kyuu?" The man sitting on the swing next to the boy asked.

Kyuu brought his head up from looking at his tennis shoes and the dirt under the swing to see who it was that was talking to him. When his saffron eyes fell upon the man's face they lit up in recognition and a smile broke across his face in surprise and happiness.

"Oji-san!" Kyuu cried out happily upon seeing his favorite person. The sad little boy from earlier seemed to be replaced with that of an energetic seven-year-old simply because this man had showed up.

"Tell my Kyuu what made so sad? I've never seen you sad before. I always thought you were a happy little boy that nothing could get you down." The man teasingly started to tickle Kyuu watching the boy as he squirmed and kick, all the while hiding his true emotions of concern and fear deep in his heart. It had only been a month earlier that he had almost lost the little boy in front of him for good. On that day he swore never to let it happen again.

"Oji-san!" the boy drew out the titled into what would sound like exasperation to anyone who was strolling by. "If you don't stop tickling me I'm gonna fall of the swing." The boy said in between laughs as he struggled to get away from the tickling hands while at the same time trying to keep his bottom on the swing.

"I don't know if I can stop." The man replied with a teasing voice. "If I stop tickling you then you will stop laughing, and if you stop laughing you'll stop smiling, and if you stop smiling then you'll be sad and I won't know why you're sad." The man kept tickling the boy the whole time he was talking.

"Ok! Ok! I'll tell you just stop tick- Ouch." Kyuu had fallen off the swing after all the tickling. His bottom fell into the dirt crushing all the lines he had made earlier with the tips of his shoes. His legs where resting in the yellow swing. The man swung back a bit in his swing and picked up the seven-yea- old and plopped him in his lap.

"I have you now." The man cried wrapping his arms around the boy to prove he couldn't escape. "I guess now I can tickle you all I want and not even have to worry about you escaping." The man was getting ready to tickle Kyuu when he spoke up, "I wouldn't do that Oji-san." Kyuu said with serious expression on his face and an attempt to cross his arms across his chest. But the man's arms were doing a good job at preventing that.

"Why not?" He asked

"Because if you tickle me I'll keep what you want to know a secret and never tell you it." One look into the boys saffron eyes told the man this was no joking matter.

"Well something as serious as this will have to be discussed over ice cream."

"Okay!" Kyuu cried but then he took on that serious look once again. "You have to promise not to tell Mommy or else she'll be really mad. She says it will spoil my dinner."

"I won't tell her as long as you don't tell her." The man replied with just as a serious expression as Kyuu.

"Okay let's go." The boy replied as he dragged the man out of the park, until the reached the street. He slipped his tiny hand into the man's big hand and let him lead him across the busy street safely and to the ice cream shop.

When they got there Kyuu broke away from the man's hand and rushed inside. His eye lit up as he spotted two red stools, and rushed over to them calling over his shoulder, "Look Oji-san they have stools and the spin!" The man chuckled as he watched the boy's antics to scramble up and then proceed to spin in circles on the stool kicking off the side of the counter when ever he slowed down. The man came over and sat on the empty stool by the boy and gently stopped him.

"So what kind of ice cream do you want Kyuu?"

"Can I have cookie dough?" the boy asked with pleading look.

"Of course."

As the man walked to the counter to order the ice cream Kyuu gave the counter a mighty push with his legs and went round and round in circles. The man came back with the ice cream and once again had to gently stop the boy's personal carnival ride.

"One cookie dough ice cream." He said placing the bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cubes of cookie dough in front of the boy. The man himself had opted for a small Oreo blizzard in order to join the boy in ritual of eating ice cream when something has you down.

"Thanks Oji-san" The boy with a red spoon in hand attacked his ice cream like someone who hadn't eaten in days.

"Slow down their buddy. If you eat at that pace you're going to get brain freeze and mostly likely ice cream on your shirt. Ice cream on you shirt will be pretty hard to hide from your mom."

Kyuu shot a reluctant look at the ice cream but slowed down eating it anyway. Whether it was because he liked the man and would do what ever he told him or if he was scared of his mother wrath, we will never know.

Pleased that the boy had slowed down the man got down to the real reason they were here. "So Kyuu I believe you promised to tell me what happened now." The child's face lost a bit the happiness as he remember why this all started.

"Well." Kyuu began, "It all started towards the end of class today when Kiyoshi-sensei announced her big surprise." The child stopped in his narrative to eat some more of his ice cream before it melted while the man wondered what the surprise possible could have been to make the normal happy child so sad.

"Kiyoshi-sensei said we were all to bring our dads to school with us on Friday so they could tell us what there job is and what its like. I don't have a dad or at least I don't know my dad. I asked Mommy once but she got so said that I've never asked her again. That's why I'm sad." The boy started picking at his ice cream trying to forget about today and what was too come Friday.

The man felt like he had been punched in the gut, but hid it from the child.

"Kyuu I know I'm not you dad, but what if I take his place on Friday? I bet Kiyoshi-sensei wouldn't mind. In fact I'm sure she would love to have a detective come." The man said trying to bring a smile to the boy's face.

"Would you really do that Oji-san?" the boy asked his saffron eyes silently pleading.

"Of course." The man replied ruffling the boy's hair. The man then looked at his watch and realized the time.

"Looks like we best get you home Kyuu. Its supper time and your moms probably worried sick."

"You promise to meet me outside my school gate on Friday right?" the boy questioned.

"Of course." The man replied as he took the child's hand and led him back to his house and a worried mother.

The man started to ring the doorbell of the little boy's house but before his finger touched it the door was wrenched opened by frazzled women with cinnamon hair hanging haphazardly around her face. Once glance at the boy standing by the man's side brought relief to her face for a second which then turned to scolding.

"Kyuu! Where have you been young man?" she stared down at the boy before impatiently tapping her foot while her hands rested on her hips.

"It was my fault Miss." The man broke in. The woman's gaze traveled to him only just now realizing he was here. An undistinguishable look came about her face as she stared at the man. "I saw Kyuu at the park and started to talk to him and I guess time just escaped us. I hadn't noticed the time till a few minutes ago and we hightailed it over here."

"Kyuu why don't you head in side and wash-up while I thank, Excuse me I never did catch your name?"

"That's Oji-san, remember Mommy." Kyuu broke in before the man could answer. "He's coming to school with me on Friday." Kyuu had a huge grin on his face as he gave the man a quick hug and walked past his mother to go inside. Once Kyuu was inside the house his mother quietly shut the door and began talking to the man in a hushed voice.

"Sorry about this Mizue. He looked so sad in the park this afternoon I had to cheer him up. I guess eating ice cream took longer than I expected." The man had an apologetic look on his face while the woman, Mizue, could only roll her eyes and suppress a chuckle.

"You never change Satorou. What had him so down, and is it connected to Friday?"

"Yes, it seems Kiyoshi-sensei was having everyone bring there dads to school to talk about their jobs. Kyuu was sad because he doesn't know his dad and couldn't talk to you about it because he was afraid you would cry. I offered as Oji-san to take the place of his father Sarorou. It seemed to have cheered him up immensely."

"So Kyuu is bringing Oji-san with out actually know it's his father. This is something we will look back on and laugh at as a family when we are older."

"I best get going Mizue."

"Bye anata."

It was Friday morning. Kyuu was so happy he was up at six and ready to go to school. It took a lot of effort on his mother's part to detain the excited seven-year-old from wandering the streets before the sun had risen. After an hour of distraction it was finally time for him to leave.

"Bye Mom!" he called as he stood in the doorway of the house.

"Don't forget to thank Oji-san today Kyuu." She couldn't be sure if he heard her since she heard the door shut right after he said bye.

Out on the side walk the boy started running with one hand keeping the yellow hat atop his head. He would have knocked a raven haired girl over if her father had been right beside her to catch her.

"Kyuu!" she cried furiously, "Slow down you almost knocked me over."

"Sorry Akira." He apologized as the girl ran up to him her raven pigtails flying behind along with violet ribbons and a yellow hat tumbling off her head.

"My hat." She cried running back to pick it up.

"Akira. Kyuu. You know it dangerous to run near the road. That's why you have your yellow hats in the first place, because it dangerous." The man scolded the two and apologies were mumbled.

"Kyuu why were you running?" Akira asked as she walked beside him

"It's a secret." He proclaimed with a Cheshire grin.

"No fair." the raven haired girl said with a pout

"I'll give you one hint. It has to do with Kiyoshi-sensei's surprise."

Akira stopped in her tracks with a puzzled look on her face. She knew that Kyuu either didn't have dad or something had happened to his dad. Kiyoshi-sensei big surprise involved bring you dad to school hence her dad who had caught her a scolded her this morning. There also wasn't anyone walking with Kyuu that could be standing in for his father. It was all quite puzzling.

They had reached a brick wall and an iron wrung fence when Kyuu finally brought the girl out of her musings. "See you in class." He called as he stood outside the gate."

"Why aren't you going inside Kyuu?" she asked about ready to drag inside herself.

"I'm meeting someone here, and you can't meet him until later." He replied with another one of those Cheshire grins.

The grils gave a huff before repling, "Fine, but you better not be late, Kyuu."

Outside the school gates saffron eyes filled with fear scanned up and down the brick wall that separated the world from an elementary school. One little boy stood outside with desperation as other kids ran inside to beat the bell. Time seemed to stand still for the little boy. No more children were rushing frantically past, and most importantly the person who promised to be there wasn't. It was then that the school bell decided to ring, making the time move once again. Tears welled up in the saffron eyes and overflowed down pale cheeks. He sat with his back leaning against the wall while his arms wrapped around his knees bringing them as close as he could. He laid his head down and let loose everything that had been building in him. He just wanted to run away to that yellow swing from earlier that week, but he was unable to get up and move from this spot. He didn't really know it but his heart was yearning for his father to come along and comfort him, to make things all better. For him to banish the monsters from under his bed, and inside his closet instead of his mother. For him to teach him how to ride a bike, instead of Akira's father. For him to do all the fun things with him like he did with Oji-san. He just wanted his father like any seven-year-old would.

This was how the man, Satorou, found the boy outside the school. It hurt Satorou to see his son crying like this unable to comfort him like his father could. He would have to comfort him like Oji-san would. Maybe one day he could tell the boy that he was really his father. Maybe that day would be too late and his son would hate him forever. He would never know without crossing the bridge that he was scared to cross. He settled for the only thing he could do for the boy. He picked the boy up carefully and held him in his arms. Whispering comforting words until the sobs died down in to hiccups.

Over and over the man whispered, "I'm sorry Kyuu."

"Its okay." The boy responded as he looked up into the face of his Oji-san to find tears trickling down his face. "You don't need to cry." The boy said trying to help the man feel better in the only way he could think off.

The man set the boy back on the ground and took his tiny hand in his. "Looks like we're going to need to eat more ice cream."

The father and son walked away from the school and headed to eat ice cream to cure both their sadness. Unfortunately this would be the last time they had ice cream together, and the last time they saw each other. Soon the man was going to die saving his best friend and taking down a criminal organization. It was as if the man sensed it was coming because over ice cream he passed on his notebook to his son along with the rules of being a great detective.

-Owari