July 21st x777

12:30 PM

Margaret City

Once the ambulance and first responders took Yusaku to the nearest hospital, a detective appeared to get an understanding of the situation. Sting had placed Taurus's key in the blood of the victim's blood. Detective Saisuke had us take our original seats while the two workers placed at the bar. Yukiko still appeared to be shaken by the whole ordeal, but Souchi tried his best to comfort his girlfriend.

"Well, this should've been straightforward," The detective sighed as he eyed the everyone who witnessed the crime. "Whoever stabbed him should be covered in some blood, but the two people who barely know the victim was splattered with blood. Why?"

"You think one of us did it?!" Sting raised an eyebrow.

"...No, you shouldn't have a motive...Unless you knew the victim." Detective Saisuke eyed us.

"I don't think that's possible. We all introduced ourselves, and Yusaku didn't seem to know either of them." Heiji interjected.

Lucy stood up from the table. The whole situation reeked of premeditation. She knew that crime could only be committed by one of Yusaku's three friends. The waiter was busy finding the breaker, and the waitress was hiding in the corner which left Souchi, Yukiko, and Heiji. Each one had a motive and a chance to strike. No, Souchi exited the bathroom after the power turn back on.

"Which leaves you three as the potential attackers!" The detective deducted. "How did the attacker avoid the blood splatter? Wiess and Rebecca's table was caught in the crossfire so that only solidify their alibi."

"Since we can't answer that question, what if we focus on how the crime was committed?" Lucy suggested before turning to the trio. "Did Yusaku have any enemies or any trouble in the past?"

"Yeah, he had a lot of enemies. Yusaku frequently got into trouble since he tends to hit on people's girlfriends." Souchi mentioned before nudging Yukiko's shoulder. "He even tried to flirt with my Yuki."

"It's not like that! We're childhood friends," Yukiko pleaded. "I told you it's a joke!"

"So, that means each of them had a motive?" Sting folded his arms. "Like, I think Heiji had the best position to stab Yusaku since they were sitting right next to each other."

"Which leads us to the same unanswered question," Lucy groaned. "Can't you sniff out the culprit and make this easy on everyone?"

Sting shot her an unimpressed stare before yawning into his hand. "Can't, we all reek of blood. I can't distinguish between the attacker and someone who was on the side. With Yukiko and the waitress screaming, I couldn't hear much. I'm just blind as the rest of ya."

"Interesting, then I would like to review the likelihood of our three suspects committing the crime." Detective Saisuke eyed each of them carefully before stopping on Souchi. "You were in the bathroom the entire time, correct?"

"Well yeah, I had an upset stomach all morning. Think I had some bad fish last night or something." He patted his stomach.

"Which means you also had the chance to wash the blood off!" He declared.

"Ho-Hold on, Souchi arrived first, so he couldn't have known where Yusaku was gonna sit!" Yukiko quickly countered. "I came with Yusaku at the same time, and we sat across from each other. Heiji came last and was forced to sit in the chair closest to the bathroom since Souchi's bag and I sat in the booth."

"Besides Detective Saisuke, the restroom has a window peephole, but it's made of frosted glass." The waitress explained. "Even if Mr. Souchi peeked through the whole, there's no way he could see anything. It is possible to hear a muffled version of their conversation, but I doubt he could use the sound to location."

"With Souchi occupied in the bathroom, there's no chance for the culprit to wash the blood off," Lucy concluded with a heavy sigh. "Which means the culprit managed to stay clear of the blood without washing anything off."

"I'm telling ya. It gotta be Heiji." Sting stated firmly. "Yusaku had his back to Heiji when the room went dark, that's the perfect position for him to strike."

"HOLD ON, you can't pin this one on me!" He retorted.

"Heiji is right. Out of everyone here, Heiji is wearing the least amount of clothes, so it would be hard to conceal such a large weapon when he was only carrying his gift for Yukiko." The detective refuted Sting's claim. "After searching through everyone's belongings, there was nothing suspicious or out of place. Each of the guys wrapped their gift with different wrapping paper."

"But, there was something in Wiess's statement I want to focus on. Why did the room go dark when it's noon outside?" Yukiko eyed the group. "Could it be someone's runes?"

Lucy removed a key from her holder and examined it carefully. "Probably...I tried to summon Virgo, but something was preventing me from finishing the spell,"

"So, it wasn't just me?" Sting exclaimed. "I thought something was wrong with me. You know me being a Light Mage and all, but I couldn't shine a light during the whole blackout."

"That...actually makes sense." The waiter paused to think. "The lights turned on before I could check the breaker, so the runes might have been interfering with the lacrima underneath the cafe."

"Then, the runes were on a timer, canceled out any magic, and prevented any light from entering the cafe." The detective concluded. "According to everyone's records, that means any of the college students could've set up the runes."

"Hmm? How was the crime committed, and where did Taurus come from?" Lucy pondered. There must be a trick to how this could've been executed. Yusaku couldn't have stabbed himself. With a knife that large, the death should have been instant. Yet, the knife only had an inch or two of blood on it.

"Princess, if I may interject." Virgo appeared next to Lucy and whispered in her ear. "Instead of searching for what happened, I suggest searching for what did not happen."

"What kind of cryptic message is that?" Lucy backed away with a confused expression on her face. "There are already several things that did not happen. Wait-"

"What? Did you figure something out?" Sting stuffed his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall.

"Yes, and I think I know how the crime was committed," Lucy turned to stare at the potential attackers. "There's only one person who could've committed such a specific crime."

"Really?! Well, spill it, woman!"

"First, I need some glass plates, a roll of toilet paper, and a packet of blood."


July 21st, x777

1:30 PM

Margaret City

In Lucy's recreation of the scene, she had Yukiko, Heiji, and Souchi sitting at the bar. The waitress acted as Lucy. Detective Saisuke stayed in the bathroom, the same way Souchi did. The waiter sat in Sting's chair which was close to the restroom. Sting acted as the waiter while Virgo carried a stack of dishes similar to the ones the waitress had. Lucy, herself, played the victim and had a blood pack taped to her back. To each of her participants, Lucy gave them, individually, a special act to perform when the moment called for it.

"To begin, we need to focus on the moment, the light went out," Lucy turned to the laptop in Yusaku's bag. "Now, we know Yusaku's laptop did not cause a temporary blackout. Someone used it as an excuse to use runes to momentarily cut all the magic flowing through the cafe, including the magic of everyone inside. Shocked by the sudden power loss, both the waitress and Yukiko both screamed. Immediately after that, we all heard the waitress drop Wiess's finished plates."

"Kyahhhhh," Virgo monotony screamed as she purposefully dropped the plates onto the floor.

The waitress warily eyed the maiden before playing her minor secondary role of Yukiko. "AHHHHH!"

"Now, this is where the killer struck but not before Yusaku made his move," Lucy dug around the bag for a moment before pulling out Taurus's key. "I theorized that Yuksaku found the Golden Bull's key at some point and wanted to give him to Yukiko as a gift since she's a Celestial Spirit Mage, and Taurus would be her first golden key. However, when the lights went out, Yusaku tried to use the light from summoning a spirit as a guide, but the runes canceled out his spell. Thus, when he fell to the ground, Taurus's key landed in the pool of blood."

"It makes sense." Heiji shrugged. "I know I didn't bring that key, and Souchi didn't have a chance to drop it."

"But, that doesn't explain how Yusaku got stabbed, just what he was doing beforehand." Sting rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting to that. Anyways, while each of Yusaku's friends had a motive, only one of them could have committed such a crime." Lucy shouted her declaration while pointing directly at the culprit. "AND YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE, SOUCHI!"

"Wh-What? You're kidding, right?" He stammered out as all eyes fell on him. "It's like the waiter said. I couldn't have committed the crime. There's no way for me to know where Yusaku would sit."

Lucy smirked as she knew he would try to hide behind that excuse. "What if I said it's possible? In fact, you anticipated where Yusaku would sit."

"That's not possible! Souchi never saw where Yusaku and I sat down," Yukiko countered with a developing tear in her left eye.

"But, he knew his girlfriend would naturally sit next to him. Therefore, there are only two spots where Yusaku could sit!"

"Then, you're suggesting that he relied on luck? Come on, that's a bit of a stretch." Sting raised a brow.

Virgo turned to the group with a frost glass plate in her hand and roll of tape. Wordless, the maiden began placing strips of tape onto the glass. Handing the frosted glass off the hesitant four, the maiden began to explain "But, it is not a stretch for this to occur. Normally, when one looks through frost glass, it is impossible to see anything on the other side of the glass. It is because the scratches on the glass will make light passing through scatters. However, when the tape covers the scratches, the person can see through the glass."

"Bu-But where would I even find a piece of tape that can work with a peephole that small?" He countered.

"Yukiko's gift," Sting realized. "That detective said all the gifts were wrapped in wrapping paper, so you did have scotch tape at some point. Being a Requip mage as well, you could easily hide tape with that brand of spatial magic."

"That's right. Since the four of you performed in a similar setting, it's not unusual for a floorplan to be documented," Lucy suggested. "The cafe's layout is simple, so you can practice all you want in the comfort of your home."

"Excellent deduction Princess," Virgo nodded in approval. "According to the Princess's recreation, Mr. Yusaku had his back to Mr. Heiji as well as the bathroom. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Mr. Yusaku had his back to them since the plug was running in between the gaps of the tables." The waitress answered. "But, how did Mr. Souchi avoid the blood splatter? Even Mr. Wiess and Ms. Rebecca couldn't avoid it."

The detective exited the bathroom with his left sleeve rolled up since his arm was heavily wrapped in toilet paper. He wielded a plastic knife that had the toilet paper roll wrapped around it. "Ahh, it's all coming together."

"I'm ready, Detective Saisuke," Lucy smirked as she saw the horror in Souchi's eyes grow.

The detective stabbed into the blood packet whilst firmly holding the paper roll against Lucy's back. Quickly taking the blade, we all noticed how the paper roll absorbed most of the blood, but some of the excesses splattered away from Yusaku's table and onto Sting's original table. Letting out a deep sigh, Detective Saisuke glared at the culprit. "That's the truth behind this crime, isn't it? Did Ms. Rebecca get anything wrong?"

"Ho-How? What tipped you off?" He crumbled onto the floor as he stares aimlessly at the ground.

"Easy, it's like Virgo said. Look for what didn't happen." Lucy answered as she removed the bloody mess from her back. "When Yukiko first screamed, you didn't say anything, and then I thought about. Why didn't her boyfriend come rushing out of the bathroom as soon as possible? Why? It's because he didn't want to give away his position. If Souchi said something, we all would have noticed how close he truly was to Yusaku, and the victim might have shifted his position due to this. Once I had that figured out, I began to build my case around that."

"I see...Yuki, the girl I loved and wanted to protect was ultimately my downfall...I deserved it."

"Protect me? I told you countless times that we're just childhood friend, nothing more nothing less!" She tearfully explained. "Why didn't you believe me?!"

"Childhood friends my ass! Something is going on between you two," He snapped with hatred burning in his eyes. "He's probably some ex, and you're still sleeping with him, aren't you?"

"Gross dude," Sting cringed at the thought. "That's just disgusting."

"I can't believe how much of a hypocrite you are, Weiss." Lucy sweatdropped. "This is coming from another player."

"Yeah, I know I'm a player, but at least I never accused my girl of fucking her brother!" He growled while pointing at Souchi. "God, incest is weird!"

...

...

... What?

"Bro-Brother?!" Lucy and Heiji shouted in horror.

"Ho-How did you know that?!" Yukiko stepped out as she gasped. "We never met before today, so there's no way you-"

"Did you all seriously forget I have enhanced senses?! You and Yusaku smell damn near the same, so of course, I knew y'all were related somehow!" Sting dramatically rolled his eyes. "Besides, it's rare for two left-handed people to be as close as you are, so there's that."

"N-No, that can't be right." Souchi clutched the side of his head.

Heiji made his way through the chaos to Yukiko. "Why did hide this from us? I thought we were friends."

"We are, and Yusaku and I thought you two deserved to know. That's why Yusaku went through the trouble of putting that announcement in my birthday video." She rubbed her arm. "My mother was his father's mistress. When we were children, I thought nothing of it, but I realized how big of a secret it truly was. Yusaku's mother has a weak heart, so we all knew the secret could kill her. So, Yusaku and I hid our family connection from the world, and we kept the secret between everyone who was originally involved."

"Geez, haven't you heard of sitting down and talking with the dude?" Sting glared at the selfish man.

"Wiess, once again, you are the last person who can say that." Lucy shook her head. "You think charging into a fight is the answer to everything!"

"And, with that the case is closed," The detective frowned as he dumped the wasted paper into the toilet. "A senseless incident comes to an end. The only thing left to do is decide what happens with the golden key."

"That's right. Yusaku never signed a contract with the bull," Heiji recalled. "It was meant for Yukiko as a gift."

"I want Rebecca to have it. After all, none of this would have been resolved without her." Yukiko stated as she offered the bull to the Celestial Wizard. "Here, something tells me you need Taurus more than me."

"Th-Thank you. I'll treasure this exchange for the rest of my life." Lucy bowed repeatedly. Yukiko smiled as she waved goodbye with Heiji by her side. Shortly after their departure, Sting and Lucy made their exit, leaving Detective Saisuke and the staff to handle the hollow man known as Souchi. "That makes five! There's only seven left to collect!"

Sting smirked as they made their way back to their hotel room. "You're welcome, by the way,"

"What are you talking about? I earned this key on my own," Lucy held the key defensively against her chest.

"Yeah, but I'm the one who suggested taking a break at the cafe, in the first place." Sting shot back.

"You would have gone in there with or without me," She said with narrowed eyes. "If anything, I should be thanking Virgo. She's the one who gave me the hint."

"You're hard to satisfy. You know that, right?"

"Much like your appetite."


Keys Obtained: Cancer, Aquarius, Capricorn, Crux, Virgo, and Taurus

Keys Needed: Leo, Aries, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Gemini, Libra, and Pisces

A/N: I figured I would take a break from the usual quest archetype and have a little diversity in how they collect the keys.