Disclaimer: I do not own Tantei Gakuen Q (Detective School Q), anime, manga, or drama adaptation, nor am I profiting from it any way. This fiction was written solely for my own pleasure.
Characters: Toyama Kintaro, Amakusa Ryuu, Renjou Kyuu
Fandom: Tantei Gakuen Q (Detective School Q). Dramaverse. Canon.
Summary: "What lies behind the slumbering dragon's eyes?" Ten reflections, from friends and foes, on Amakusa Ryuu.
Chapter Note: Set after episode 3.
Dragon's Mirror
Shard 2: Reflex
"You call that a punch, Kyuu?"
Kintaro watched in bemusement as Kyuu fell to the floor for the umpteenth time, sent by mere recoil of his mediocre punch. Even without the kickboxing pads, Kintaro doubted the boy could even hurt him. It was cute to watch him try though.
"Let's—try…again," Kyuu said in between pants. His small hands curled into fists. "I'll try running towards you a little faster."
Kintaro's lips widened into a grin.
"Give me your best shot."
The "best shot" never actually happened. Inexplicably, Kyuu tripped over himself and his face smashed into the foam pads Kintaro held out in front of him.
Ryuu, curled up in his chair, suppressed a soft snort.
Kyuu pouted as he pulled his body into a sitting position.
"Ryuu!"
Ryuu turned the page.
Kintaro watched the scene with shrewd mirth. The two boys might have been the same age but one couldn't find two people more different. If Kyuu's sunny disposition was the sun, Ryuu's quiet demeanor was the night's moon. Ryuu even dressed in monochrome—a neat button down shirt with a pressed tie, sleek black pants and polished white shoes.
He dresses like a cram school kid, Kintaro thought. A well-dressed one.
Kintaro watched Ryuu turn another page. The boy, for his cold bluster, was so small in Kintaro's eyes. He was even smaller than Kyuu. Curled up in the armchair, the boy seemed smaller, and delicate like a porcelain doll.
I'd never even seen him fight before. A lesson or two could do him some good.
"Wanna learn, Ryuu? 'Cause you sure look like you need it."
Ryuu closed the book he was reading and placed it back on the shelf.
"No thanks."
"Scared of getting hurt?" Kintaro did not usually provoke Ryuu, but he was growing irritated of the young teenager's standoffish attitude. He might be part of Q class, but he sometimes didn't act like it. Maybe the others didn't notice, but Kinta caught Ryuu disappearing briefly during the Internet God case, only reappearing when they confronted Makino Daisuke. And while everyone (with the exception of Kyuu) investigated alone, it was really only with Ryuu that they had no idea what he was up to.
Ryuu glared, eyes smoldering as they burned at Kintaro.
"Tch." Sliding his hands into his pockets, Ryuu turned and left the room, shoulder bag flapping from his sudden pivot.
"You shouldn't have gone that far," Kyuu chided.
"He's a sensitive brat."
"Kinta…"
A sigh.
"Fine, fine, I'll apologize."
Kintaro was wondering where Ryuu had disappeared off to when he heard the familiar sounds of a struggle. And then a cry.
Ryuu! The worn soles of his sneakers whisked over the ground. As he bolted around the corner, he stopped at the sight of a white shoulder bag on the ground.
"Get your hands off him!" Kintaro roared and pulled one of the men off a thrashing Ryuu. Judging from their unbuttoned gakuran tops and wild hairstyles, they were nothing more than the neighborhood juvenile delinquents. With an experienced punch, Kintaro knocked the guy unconscious and reached for the other man. Ryuu slipped free from the scuffle, hair ruffled, a light bruise forming on his wrist where one of the yankees had grabbed him.
"Ryuu, run! I'll take them!"
"That so?" Kintaro choked as an arm closed around his neck. The unconscious guy wasn't quite so unconscious after all. Kintaro scrabbled at the arm, thick and hard, like fleshy steel. "You'll pay for that—"
Suddenly, the man howled in pain and released Kintaro, who staggered a little, dizzily gulping air. Spinning around, Kintaro was shocked when his captor was screaming, weeping in agony over his forearm, which had been stabbed by a thrown knife.
"Hurry!" Kintaro felt Ryuu's small hand slide and grasp his large, callused one. They ran and while Kintaro's strides were bigger, the younger boy easily compensated by quickening his steps. After passing several blocks, they slowed to catch their breaths.
Kintaro watched Ryuu's chest rise and fall as he breathed. Aside from the slight messiness of his hair, the bruise on the wrist, and the wrinkled collar, the boy's attire was absolutely pristine. Even his bag was clean.
"The knife—was that you?" Kintaro asked, though he already knew the answer. He had seen the knife leave the thrower's hands. "Where did you get such a thing?"
"From the police officer who attacked Kazuma."
Too calm, too practiced.
"You're good with throwing knives, Ryuu."
Where on earth would you have learned such a thing? Self-defense was not the focus of the Q class curriculum, let alone weaponry use. Kintaro knew judo and karate but even he did not know how to fight with knives.
Ryuu shrugged.
"Beginner's luck, I didn't stop to think about it," he said. "So I just did it."
You could have killed me, but you knew it wouldn't happen, did you?
"Reflex, eh?" Kintaro said, watching Ryuu smooth the shirt collar and straighten the white bag.
"You can say that."
Kintaro watched Ryuu go. As usual, he was nowhere close to unraveling the web that was Amakusa Ryuu. This time, though, he had at least learned one thing.
He definitely doesn't need any fighting tips from me.
Next Time- Shard 3: Recreation