Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Xenosaga. I merely shape its ideas and use its characters to create a story.

First Case: Death of a Child

"Man! When am I ever going to get a case to solve? A burglary, a murder, a missing whale anything!" A young girl slams a book down onto her desk forcefully and dust starts flying everywhere. The girl coughs and quickly opens a window to let some air in. "It's so boring around here without the excitement and thrill of a case! How am I supposed to earn money to pay for this rundown shack? I need to clean this filthy place up else someone will be investigating MY death!" She turns to the mirror and notices someone there.

Hello! It's nice to meet you. My name's Miyuki Itsumi and I am a detective of my own agency: Miyuki's Wonder Solver! I used to work for Vector Industries but when I learned that they were going to make E.S. into fashion models, I couldn't take it anymore! That's when I decided to go out on my own and use any of my inventions that work to solve mysteries which had been showing up quite often recently in the latest U.M.N news! I have no idea why but I know that it's up to me to solve the unexplainable!

However…the only bad thing about solving mysteries is actually getting cases to solve. I put up all sorts of flyers yesterday all over town as well as the U.M.N to try and spread the news of my agency but it looks like they didn't work. Maybe I should've actually use digital enhancements instead of penciled work…I thought it would be original and attract people. But I guess my deductions were wrong. Blasted crayons!

I was about to go read one of my favorite mystery books when I heard someone knocking on the door. A case maybe? Yes! It has to be! The person collecting rent was here yesterday so who else could it be? I quickly got into my detective clothes and started smoking from a bubble pipe. I went to the door and opened it. To my surprise, a cute little girl with orange hair was crying and sniffling outside. She looked really bad.

"What's wrong?" I put my arms on her shoulders to calm her down.

"My bro…broth…brother…he's not…waking up…"

A murder? No way! Here comes the scent of mysteries and money! Green frogs and trees! Sorry, I should be a little more serious that her brother might have died. May we all have a moment of silence…

"Can you take me to him?"

"Yes…"

I grabbed my coat and we were off. We walked down to the church at the end of my street and entered. I saw the body of her dead brother on the altar. The picture before me seemed strange because it looked like a religious sacrifice…or at least something to that effect. But I wonder why she went to me? I saw three people standing beside her: one was a man with a somewhat purplish hawk-styled hair in monk clothes, a short blonde-haired woman who was dressed in a designer's outfit, a bit odd I might add, and lastly, a man with jet black hair who I assumed was a priest due to his robes. See? I've got excellent eyes!

"Detective Miyuki, right?" asked the jet-blacked hair man. "My name is Jin…Jin Uzuki. I am a priest of this church and I was the one who sent Nephilim for you to investigate on the death of Abel, her brother."

"I see," I answered, making sure to take notes of anything suspicious out of these three characters. Most likely, one of these three killed Nephilim's brother. Firstly, there weren't any people nearby. I'm pretty sure cops would've been here if it was during a church procession. Plus people are bound to curiosity of situations like these so they would stay to find out what was going on.

"Do you have the time when he died?" I walked around the body and pulled out my notebook to take down details. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No misplaced objects, everything seemed to be in the right place, the entire room was devoid of blood which the kid was in a pool in…which was quite odd. I kept that detail in mind as I examined the body for anything suspicious.

"I cannot say for certain…I believe he was killed about 15 minutes ago," Jin recalled. "I was in the prayer room meditating when I heard his cries for help…I noticed that he was coughing up a lot of blood into his hands…so I put him on the altar and left to get a couple of med kits from the first aid kit. However, when I returned, it was too late…"

So he bled to death…but there was still something off. I could sense it. I just couldn't figure out what. "So where were the two of you…and why was he here?" I indicated to the purple-haired man and the blonde woman.

"I was up in the choir loft cleaning up some books. When I heard his screaming, I rushed to help but fell down the stairs…" The purple-haired man admitted. "But I do know that he was here to get a small treat from Ms. Pellegri here. It's become a sort of a daily routine for both of them."

I jotted that information down and took a look at the purple-haired man. His scar seemed to make me think that he had been in a couple of fights or two…gang fights maybe…but hard to believe he was actually working in a church…or so I guessed. Not that I didn't say it was possible…I just thought it was strange for someone like him. "And you are…?"

"I am Margulis, a deacon that works alongside with Jin here."

I turned to the woman. "And Ms. Pellegri…what about you?"

"I work here as a lector. I was at the restroom by the entrance when I heard Abel's screaming of pain." Ms. Pellegri choked. I could tell that Abel's death affected her greatly.

"Then how did he get the candy?"

"I…left it out on the altar." She suddenly burst out in tears and they started to flow down her cheeks. I could tell that she tried her best to remain strong. She ran into Margulis' arms and proceeded to cry on his chest. Margulis tried his best to comfort her while Jin moved over to the body to perform some kind of ritual.

Hm…so if I've got the facts down straight…Abel and Nephilim came here everyday to get candy from Ms. Pellegri. But today was different seeing that he died. The priest Jin Uzuki and deacon Margulis were preparing for a church session while Ms. Pellegri set up for the procession and then went to the bathroom. Before that, she left his sweet on the altar. Abel must've come during this time to get his usual candy but instead of getting a delicious sweet...if Ms. Pellegri was in the bathroom when Abel died, then it was possible to rule her out. Plus the death seemed to affect her a lot. However, seeing that there were no wounds in his body, it must've been poison…but from whom? This meant that I couldn't rule her out just yet. It could all just be an act. I pulled out my analyzer and did a full analysis of the body.

My suspicions were confirmed about the poison. I didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet but I had my suspicions on which person the killer was. I still needed a little more information…

"So…what do you usually do when you set up for the church procession?" I asked nonchalantly.

Jin took a seat. "I usually make sure that everything's in the right place. I make sure that the Eucharist is stocked up so that we have enough for the entire day. I check to see if we have the right materials and I also switch out the holy water so that it doesn't become dirty."

I jotted this down while Ms. Pellegri explained what she did. "Well, I check all the rows to make sure we all have the right materials. Sometimes, I place a book holder on the altar so that the priest can read from it easier. Other than that, I practice saying the readings from up there." She pointed at the podium and the book was open. I went over to the microphone and tapped it. It made the echo noise when it was on. It wasn't an alibi...seeing that it would only take about 5 minutes to actually turn on the sound system as well as open a book.

"So, what did you read?"

"Some things from Genesis, Paul, and the Gospel of Mark." She replied, sounding a bit more relaxed after crying. I took a quick glance at the book and turns out she was right. She must've read this before she went to the bathroom. I then looked at Margulis.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I set up the chalices and wine bottles for the gifts. The gifts are down on that table near the entrance of the rows while the chalices, glasses, and bowls are over there by the altar. We usually set them up before church and put them away after church so people don't steal it."

I turned to see the gifts placed near the altar. There was a wine glass next to Abel's body and it still had some wine left inside. Abel might have drunken from the wine glass and gotten the poison from there…Margulis could've just left it there and went up to the choir loft to make sure that he wasn't near Abel when he died to rule him out as a suspect. Pretty smart. I analyzed the wine bottle and it came up with poison. But it was missing something. Something very specific that leads me straight to the killer.

The pieces were all starting to align bringing clarity to the fogged up glass picture. I know who killed Abel. And if I'm right, the evidence should still be there. I think I also know why they did as well. It's about time to bust this case! My inventions always show me the truth!