AUTHOR
No one, not even Natsume and Mikan, knew where this tale was going.
Especially by the fact that someone was following Natsume's tracks so easily without him even noticing.
HYUUGA NATSUME
"What? An organisation?"
"Yeah. I tried to overhear their conversation, but I was nearly caught, so I only got a bit from it. It's pretty useful, though."
"What did you hear?"
"They're like dedicated followers to the Quartz Ghost. They called themselves the 'Quartz Society'. Apparently they support the Quartz Ghost's goal or something. Hey, what is the thief's goal anyway?" I hesitated - I knew nothing about her goal. I never got any information about it at all.
"...I don't know." Great. I need to talk to the force. "Any thing else?"
"Nope- hey, don't pull my hair, you brat! Owww! Stop it you b-" I snapped the phone shut, not wanting to hear any more of her colourful language towards a child that was laughing in the background. I immediately dialled the familiar number of the man who kept me up to date with the Quartz Ghost case. He was indeed the officer in charge. He immediately picked up after one ring.
"Tonouichi Akira speaking." He yawned from the other side.
"You sound retarded, acting all formal. And you're tired at this hour?"
"Oh, hey Natsume. I've been working on the Quartz Ghost case all day- hey, wait… you're calling because of-"
"Spill the beans, Tono."
"Jeez… I'm the one who does all the work for you, and what do you give me? Two failed attempts at catching them. I think I should let the police handle the next one coming up."
"Hn. Like your officers can handle shit. And there's a new notice? Send me the info. Pronto." I heard him sigh, and then the light sound of a keyboard commenced. It reminded me of Imai's technology addiction.
"Fine, but next time I'm coming too."
"Whatever." I turned to my computer, waiting for the data. Within a minute, the research appeared on the screen.
"Well, you know the letter that was directed to you?" The one that told me that someone knew my identity? Couldn't forget it.
"Yeah."
"I have a photo scan of it sent to you. We took some tests - we couldn't find any fingerprints, but we found out that the ink used in the writing was from a fountain pen. Actually, we looked deeper, and we saw that it's a new type of ink that hasn't been released yet. And it really resembles perfect calligraphy." I raised an eyebrow at the picture of the note.
"Are you serious? All that effort? I can't say that you haven't been working hard, you bastard."
"I do my best. Anyway, the formula of the ink matches the formula of only one company's product." This was getting interesting.
"What?"
"AirScript. It's owned by Ogasawara Chiaki." I grabbed a pen and wrote the details down hastily.
"'Kay. What else?"
"At the scene of the crime - the Akatsuki Dome - I found something. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the case, so I kept it a secret. It's some sort of coin." A picture of a hexagonal brass coin appeared on my screen. On one side there was an oddly designed Q, and on the other side there were some words in some foreign language.
"Yeah, so I'm going to let you decide what you want to do."
"You're not a very good chief, are you?" I asked my senior in disbelief, and he chuckled awkwardly.
"Well, well, my love is waiting. I'm going to have to drop out on you." He immediately hung up, and I rolled my eyes. Love? More like new sex buddy.
I refocused my attention to the back of the coin and read the words.
Vicus tractus societatem
Et frustra clamat qui negant
I recognised the words as Latin, and I immediately translated it.
"The Quartz Society… those who deny shall cry in vain…" Shit. Looks like the Quartz Ghost isn't the only case I'm dealing with.
The next morning, I found myself standing behind an unknowing Harada, who was washing her hands in the outdoor sink. No-one else was around, so I decided to confront the third-year about last nights events. I was slightly bothered by the fact that my thoughts matched the ones of a pervert, but I was a detective. Confronting people was what I did.
"Harada." She jumped at my sudden voice, and turned swiftly towards me. She exhaled as soon as she recognised me.
"Oh, it's you… Hyuuga, right? Did you need anything?" I wasn't going to waste a second.
"Where did you go last night at seven o'clock?" I watched as her eyes widened in shock at my question.
"I-I didn't go anywhere. I stayed home." That fear in your eyes and that almost inconspicuous stutter tells otherwise.
"Bullshit. I know you went somewhere." Harada recovered, then she stood straight with her arms crossed.
"Who are you to tell me what to do, huh? That's a clear invasion of privacy." Great, now I have to use that.I reluctantly pulled out my wallet with my police force I.D..
"Unless it's relating to a criminal case." I held up the I.D. close to her face. Her expression morphed to one of disbelief.
"...You're in the force? But you're only-"
"A high school student? Well, I'm not the average joe, am I?" She gulped, and she tried to walk away. I held an arm in her way, blocking all means of escape. "I'm not letting you leave until you answer some of my questions. You do understand that I have the power to put you into custody if you don't listen to me, right?"
"Goddamnit! Fine! Just give me some freaking space, will you?" She spat, holding her hands up in surrender. I pulled myself back, satisfied with the outcome at this very moment.
"Now, tell me where you went, Harada."
"I came here." She simply replied, and I stared at her expectantly.
"I know that."
"Then why are you asking me?"
"I want to know why - and I mean every single detail behind it." I sneered, making her sigh in remorse.
"Just… don't tell anyone about this."
"And don't tell anyone about my affiliations." I retorted back, and she nodded silently.
"The reason I went, was because two days ago someone - I couldn't see their face - came up to me and said that there was this group that was affiliated with the notorious thief, the Quartz Ghost. They also told me about her ulterior motive. I was interested, so I went to their meeting yesterday evening.
"It was pretty strange there, because there were only four members of this organization, and they were all wearing masks that concealed every personal detail about them, so I couldn't recognise any of them. They called themselves the Quartz Society, and they were hoping to make me a member."
"So you weren't a member? Did you join?"
"No way. They were talking about protecting the thief in every possible way, including murder and kidnapping. And there was this one person who knew everything relating to the government's thoughts and plans, and maybe even the thief herself. Sure, I admire the Quartz Ghost, but doing that was just… I didn't want to get involved." What she told me was really taking a turn.
"That's good. So… what is the Quartz Ghost's ulterior motive?" I asked her the question I was internally craving to know.
"She's… taking vengeance. On someone in the government. She doesn't know who, though."
During lunch that day, I found myself leaning on the smooth bark of a lone sakura tree nearby, thinking to myself. What did she mean, she doesn't know who?
This case was far stranger than all the other cases I had solved in the past, due to the Influential situation mixing in with it. A part of me was telling me that the two separate cases were indeed linked in some way. The Phantom H wasn't one who would discard possibilities, so I made a mental note to examine it a bit more.
"Hyuuga? What are you doing here?" I recognised the silky voice immediately, and I found Sakura Mikan staring at me with eyes full of confusion, awe and anger. I knew she was still unhappy with me, since she was addressing me with my surname.
"Can't a man simply rest wherever they want?" The wind suddenly blew to the side, and I watched as it combed through Mikan's chestnut brown locks, making her hand snap up to hold the strands down. Light pink petals left their temporary location in the grass, and I stared in amusement when one entered her mouth.
"Uuuurgh!" She dropped down on her knees, choking on the petal. Noticing that she needed assistance, I got up from my comfortable place on the ground and crouched by her. I firmly patted her back as she coughed frantically. After a while, her choking finally stopped, leaving Mikan breathing roughly. I smirked at this rather strange turn of events.
"You're the only person I know who would choke on a mere petal, Mikan." She turned to me with a playful glare.
"I'm still mad at you, you know." Really? Cause that hint of amusement in your eyes say otherwise. "But… I guess I overreacted a little. So I forgive you." I hadn't expected that.
"Who said I was asking for forgiveness?" Mikan grinned at something on my face, and I arched an eyebrow at her odd actions.
"I can see it in your eyes, Natsume." That smile… it's freaking tempting me. I unintentionally leaned closer, staring straight into her deep, chestnut brown orbs. I noticed that they really looked like her eyes.
"What do you see?" I whispered, aware of the close proximity between our faces.
"Um…" Her face started to redden slightly. "I see longing… with a hint of humor." Wait… what am I doing? I pulled away immediately, realising where my body was taking me. I pinched the bridge of my nose anxiously.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"It's fine." She choked, and I took the opportunity to stand up. As I looked at her one last time, I noticed something.
"Polka dots again?" I commented with a smirk.
Three.
Two.
One.
"Ahhhhhh! Natsume, you pervert!" Back to first-names, huh.
I walked away with one thought in my mind - what exactly do I feel for her?
"So, here is the evidence that we found." Tono showed me the letter and the coin up close on the table. I picked up the small piece of parchment.
"So the creator of this ink is called 'Ogasawara'?" The chief nodded in return, and I took out my smartphone to look up the name. Only one name popped up.
Ogasawara Nonoko
I recognised her to be a girl in my class who was quite close to Mikan.
"I think this person may have some relation to the Quartz Alliance, huh?"
"Hn."
"Oh, yeah. Natsume," Tono picked up a dusty cardboard box full of files. "I found these abandoned cases in the storage room the other day. Sad to say there's quite a full." He wasn't lying, the box was pretty much packed. I exhaled at his hopeful face.
"Tono, I'm already working on this case. You know I can't work on another one at the same time."
"Oh please. Like I don't know about your focus on that case at your school."
"What case?" I asked in confusion as I fingered the coin.
"I'm a detective as well, I know what you've been doing. Anyway, my dad was in charge of the Koizumi case years ago." My fingers stopped at a thin line on the edge of the coin. With my nail, I started picking at it.
"Huh. Really. So did you get anything from Masachika?" Unexpectedly, the coin split apart, revealing a small but detailed contraption I knew all too well.
"Oh, yeah! Apparently his lover's name was Az-" I quickly leapt forward and covered his mouth with haste.
"Shut up! We've been-" I tore the wire apart with my fingers. "-bugged."
UNKNOWN
"We've been-" Then silence. Aw crap. He found out. What do you expect from a master detective? Heh.
"We have to stop him somehow." Quartz Two next to me murmured with distaste.
"He's a threat. But Hyuuga Natsume seems like the type that you can't bother with false rumours." Quartz Four sighed.
"Well, why don't we use his good looks to our advantage?" Quartz Three offered with pure optimism. Quartz Four clicked her tongue at his comment.
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Hey, we could just get help from our friend Koizumi Luna." I spoke, and the others nodded understandingly. None of them could see, but I was smiling.
A/N: So many revelations in this chapter! Okay, this chapter was kinda hard to write, especially with the little MikanxNatsume moment in the middle (oh my god, I actually put one in), and the revelation of a third party. I love my readers, but I'd like a little help - this is my first time writing a mystery, so I'd like your thoughts and views on it. And if you remember the mystery person from a few chapters back, we will know who he/she is... very soon! You'll be surprised. This person has already been introduced, so review to tell me who you think it is! :DDD
