Story 3: The Bagel Bandit

Shuichi Saihara laid in his bed, on his back, looking up at the dorm room's creamy-white ceiling. He let out a shaky sigh. The past week had been… rough, to say the least. Being in a new school, filled with unfamiliar people… it was torture. Shuichi wasn't the biggest fan of strangers, especially after the… incident. His first murder case, to be exact.

The hatred in the culprit's eyes. It was the reason Shuichi could barely look anyone in the eye anymore. He was so shaken by the experience that it had affected him on a traumatic level. He didn't like his title of Ultimate Detective. He wasn't proud of it, and he never would be.

Shuichi's cell phone vibrated, shaking his unstable bedside table. Startled, he caught the phone before it fell off, then opened it to check the notification. It was a text message, from an unknown phone number.

? Hey there. You're Shuichi Saihara, yeah?

Shuichi paused, his fingers poised over the keyboard. The cursor blinked in the text field expectantly. Should I… answer it? he thought. The phone's screen dimmed, and he tapped it so it brightened again. He read the message again and again. Hey there. You're Shuichi Saihara, yeah? He let out another wavering breath, then typed:

S that's me

After a minute or so, another message arrived.

? From the amount of time it took you to respond, you're definitely wary. A good trait to have in a detective. I'm friendly, though, if that's what you're wondering.

S so… what's your name?

S y'know, so i can put you in my contacts

The messages ceased again, this time for a little bit longer. Though eventually, the mysterious number responded.

? I'm Kyoko Kirigiri. I also hold the title of Ultimate Detective.

Kirigiri… Shuichi had heard that name before. Was she…?

S you're the headmaster's daughter?

? You're sharp, and good at remembering details.

? Yes, I'm Headmaster Kirigiri's daughter.

Shuichi took this moment to input the fellow detective's number into his contacts list, then responded:

S how did you get this number, kyoko?

K My father gave it to me. He said we needed two detectives for this case, so he asked me to contact you.

S what case

K I suppose I should explain, lol.

K I'll keep it brief. Someone's been stealing bagels from the school cafeteria.

S ...bagels?

K Yes. They disappeared this morning, and I found a trail of crumbs leading up to the dormitories. We have a whole hallway of suspects, though I think I've narrowed it down to just three. I'd like you to come with me to help interrogate.

S good cop bad cop?

K Bingo. You'll be the bad cop, I'll be the good cop.

S but i'm no good at talking to people…

K That's why I've assigned you to be the bad cop. No offense, but you look quite intimidating in the black uniform jacket.

K And the hat.

S i'm gonna pretend you didn't say that

K Sorry…

S no need to apologize

Shuichi sighed. Did he want to take another case? It had been a few years since he'd been out doing detective work, and he'd sworn he wouldn't. But it was just a harmless petty theft case, so maybe it wouldn't be all that bad…

S alright

S i'll help

K Thank you!

S who are the suspects?

K Right now, they're Kokichi Ouma, Aoi Asahina and Angie Yonaga. Their dorm rooms are the closest to where the trail of bagel crumbs ends.

S so we start with those three?

K Precisely. Meet me on the second floor of dorm rooms in exactly one hour, Shuichi.

S will do, kyoko

K :-)

S :)

One hour. Shuichi had one hour to prepare a case file. He whipped out his E-Handbook given to him on his first day at Hope's Peak and flicked through the numerous names, searching for the three suspects on Kyoko's list. It wasn't too hard to find Aoi's information, as it was near the top of the alphabetical list. Kokichi's and Angie's information, however, was a bit further down. Eventually, he had made a comprehensible case file for the "bagel bandit," describing the likes and dislikes of each of the three students and conjecture as to how they could have acquired all of those bagels and why they had reason to do so. Though, they were merely educated guesses, and that information would most likely change drastically once questioning began. He glanced at his phone again and saw that he only had about five minutes to get to the second floor to meet Kyoko, so he grabbed the case file and dashed up the stairs to the rendezvous point.

Waiting at the top of the stairs was a fair-skinned girl with lavender hair, a bow decorating a thin, braided section. She wore a plum leather jacket and an orange tie, and her hands were covered by black gloves. "Thanks for coming, Shuichi," she said. "I like a guy who's punctual."

"You're Kyoko, yes?" Shuichi asked.

"Yep. Nice to meet you." Shuichi stuck out his hand, hoping to shake Kyoko's, but she shrank back. He jumped, surprised, but the fear in her eyes told him not to pursue it further.

"Are you…?" he trailed off in a low mumble.

"I don't… I'm not fond of handshakes..." Kyoko shoved her hands awkwardly into her jacket pockets, her cheeks pink. She then regained her more calm composure as Shuichi handed her the case file he'd prepared. "Good work. Though next time? Keep the conjecture to yourself," she said as she thumbed through it. "You ready for the interrogation?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. Then we'll start with Kokichi. He's the first room on the right."

Kyoko rapped on the wooden door, and within a minute or so, it opened. Out stepped a chipper, short young man wearing a white uniform, a checkerboard bandana around his neck. His violet eyes locked on to Shuichi's, and the shy detective immediately pulled his hat over them to avert his gaze. The boy snickered and lifted Shuichi's hat up.

"You're cute," he said. "Come to interrogate me? Two detectives just isn't fair."

"S-so do you admit to the crime?" Shuichi asked.

The boy, Kokichi, stepped back. "Yup!"

"That was… faster than I expected," Kyoko said.

"Hold on, Kyoko," Shuichi warned. "Kokichi, what crime are you talking about?"

"What crime are you guys talking about?" Kokichi replied.

"The bagels, Mr. Ouma," Kyoko said. "Where are they?"

"I thought I was the bad cop," Shuichi remarked.

"Abandon that idea, it doesn't even work in movies," Kyoko spat. "Answer me, Kokichi."

"Woah, woah, pretty girl! I don't know anything about bagels!" Kokichi yelped. Shuichi had to physically hold Kyoko back before she could lunge toward the guy. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Then what crime are you talking about?" Shuichi asked calmly.

Kokichi burst out laughing. "That was just a lie, you idiots! God, detectives are so serious."

"Because everything you say could be evidence," Kyoko said. "Lying to us isn't helpful."

"Who said I was going to cooperate?" Kokichi blew a raspberry, pulled Shuichi's hat down again, retreated into his dorm room and locked the door.

Kyoko groaned. "That went nowhere."

"Calm down, Kyoko," Shuichi replied. "He seemed genuinely surprised when we mentioned the bagels. Judging by his expression, I think he was telling the truth when he said he didn't know anything."

"You're right. I… guess I got caught up in the moment."

"Let's go to the next suspect."

"Agreed."

Next up was Angie Yonaga, whose room was just across from Kokichi's. This time Shuichi knocked, and the young woman stepped outside. Her white hair rippled down past her navel, which was studded with earrings. She wore a long, yellow coat over a white… bikini? Odd choice of clothing, but somehow, it suited her. She held a paintbrush in her hand, and she pursed her lips, which were covered in crumbs, as she laid eyes on the detectives.

"Hello, you two!" she said cheerily. She had a strange dialect Shuichi couldn't quite pinpoint. "Has Atua's light shined down on you today?"

"Who?" Shuichi asked.

"Atua! The great and mighty god."

"We don't have time for this, Miss Yonaga," Kyoko said.

"Just Angie is fine, Miss Detective."

"Okay, Angie. Do you know anything about the bagel stealing incident?"

Angie's cheeks grew red, and she wiped the crumbs from her face. "N-no, I don't…"

Another girl stepped out of the room, one with brown hair, a white tank top and a red jacket. "Angie, what's going on?" she asked. "Is this about the deal you made earlier?" The girl studied the detectives and narrowed her eyes. "She's innocent, you guys. She doesn't know anything about the bagels."

"And do you, miss?" Shuichi asked. He was gaining confidence.

"A… a little," the other girl admitted. "I'm Aoi Asahina. Just Hina is fine. Angie and I were in the kitchen earlier because she and I were gonna sneak some donuts upstairs, when we saw a guy with white hair in there stealing bagels!"

"I'll start making a list of white-haired people," Shuichi whispered to Kyoko, but she held out her hand. Shuichi backed down and let Hina continue.

"The guy noticed us," Angie said, taking over the story. "I… lied when I said I didn't know anything. He gave me some bagels in exchange for my silence. He's a few rooms down from here. Komaeda is his name, I think."

"Thanks for your cooperation, you two," Kyoko said. "And the information."

"Happy to help!" Hina said. "Good luck!"

Kyoko and Shuichi said their goodbyes to Angie and Hina, then hunted down Komaeda's room. On the plaque next to his door, it said "Nagito Komaeda." So Komaeda isn't his first name, Shuichi thought. He looked at Kyoko, and she gestured for him to knock on the door. He obliged, and there was silence. Just silence for a good five minutes. Shuichi raised his fist to knock again, but before he could, the door swung open.

"Sorry for the wait, you two," said the boy who stepped out. He shut the door behind him. His smile was… off. It looked normal, but there was something almost sinister behind it. Shuichi could feel the boy's eyes boring into his skull. He looked away. "What do you need?" the boy continued.

"We got tipped off by a couple of girls that you were behind the bagel stealing," Kyoko said bluntly. Shuichi gasped quietly. She must have been getting impatient if she was being so up-front with the guy. "You're Nagito Komaeda, yes?"

"The one and only," he said. "Though, I'm nothing special." He cursed under his breath, then chuckled. "It's just my luck that Miss Yonaga would rat me out."

"So you're behind the missing bagels?" Shuichi asked. He glanced back toward Nagito.

Nagito nodded, running a hand through his wavy white hair. "Yup, you've got me."

He opened his door again, and sure enough, bags and bags of bagels were strewn around the room. Some were open, and bagels and bagel crumbs were scattered about. "Truly sorry about the trouble, detectives. I'll return the unopened packages to the kitchen, and I'll pay for anything I opened…"

"No need, Nagito," Kyoko said. "We'll take it from here. Thanks for your honesty."

Shuichi and Kyoko helped Nagito clean up the bagel-y mess he had made. Shuichi smiled to himself. This case wasn't that bad. Lots of questioning, but finding the culprit was more straightforward than he had thought it would be. After saying farewell to Nagito, Shuichi and Kyoko made their way back out into the hallway.

"Thanks for your help, Shuichi," Kyoko said. She stuck out her hand.

Shuichi flinched, taken aback by the sudden gesture. "I uh… I thought you didn't like handshakes…?" he said meekly.

"I trust you, Shuichi. We're partners now, aren't we? Us detectives have to stick together, even in the toughest situations."

Warmth rushed to Shuichi's cheeks. "Y-yeah. I guess so." He took her hand and shook it firmly. Kyoko let out a shaky breath as she returned the handshake, though she was more comfortable as it continued.

"Well then, I have to go," Kyoko said. "I have to let my dad know the results of the investigation. I hope to have the pleasure of working with you again!" She bowed, then took off down the hall.

Shuichi exhaled and melted against the wall. "That's enough social interaction for one day…" he whispered to himself before picking himself back up and returning to his dorm.

Though… despite the complaint, he did enjoy that. He chuckled. "Maybe my talent isn't a bad thing after all."