Disclaimer: Characters from PoT were created by Konomi Takeshi. Gil Grissom belongs to CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer, or whoever else might have come up with the idea of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation".

First in a possible series of semi-independent stories involving the Seigaku regulars as night-shift crime scene investigators. No actual sleuthing in this episode, I'm afraid -- just introductions (to lay the groundwork for any future episodes that might come up). I haven't had much time to polish up this chapter though, so I might find it necessary to replace it with an updated version at some future date. Reviews are appreciated.

On relative ages: I'm sorry if I've left everyone in the dark as to how old the characters are. In my head, I've kept them just as they appear in the anime, with only slight modifications. One could say that Ryoma and other ichinen characters are in their early twenties, the second-years (Momo, Kaidoh) are twenty-seven or thereabouts, and the junior third-year officers (Kikumaru, Kawamura, Inui and Fuji) are in their early thirties. Tezuka and Oishi should be approximately thirty-five years old.

A quick preview for one of the reviewers: Ryoma might have a brief encounter with Sakuno in the next chapter, and I've got her lined up for a prominent role in one of the future episodes.

To my sister (if she's reading this): Don't worry, your favourite blue-eyed prodigy will be in either Chapter Four or Five. Let's see if you'll like the role I've assigned him to play, though . . . (heh, heh)

As before, no shounen-ai is intended or implied.

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Chapter III: Two Minutes with the Captain

From the main entrance, Captain Tachibana led Ryoma down a brightly-lit hallway with doors on either side. Most of the walls that bordered the corridor were nothing more than large floor-to-ceiling windows of tinted plate glass, held in place by stout metal frames. "That's A-section on your left," he explained as they walked, "where you'll find the reception desk and Superintendent Ryuzaki's office. Through here is the lounge, where the officers and staff members go on breaks or for meetings. They've installed a vending machine and coffee maker so you needn't burden yourself with beverages when you come to work . . ."

"Do they have Ponta?" Ryoma asked without thinking.

"Sorry?"

"Never mind."

"Hmm. Well, adjacent to that are the washrooms and storage lockers. I'd advise you to leave your backpack there after visiting Captain Tezuka's office."

Ryoma turned to look through the open doors of the lounge. Inside, he saw a young officer with spiny black hair sitting at one end of a long table, happily working his way through a massive pile of hamburgers. The man looked up and waved at Captain Tachibana.

"Oi, Captain!" he bellowed, wiping ketchup off his mouth and waving a half-eaten bun in the air. "Care for a hamburger? Lieutenant Kikumaru's treat!"

"No thanks, Sergeant Momoshiro. I need to run off in a few minutes, after I show this new recruit to Tezuka's office."

"Okay, more for me then!" the junior officer exclaimed as he unwrapped another sandwich. "Hey, and if you see that other day-shift captain whose name I shall not speak, tell him that I'm not paying for the damage to his bicycle. I was pursuing a thief in the line of duty! He can charge it to Superintendent Ryuzaki, or better yet . . ."

"Right, I'll be sure to give him the message. Let's carry on, shall we?" Captain Tachibana whispered to Ryoma as he guided him away from the lounge.

". . . and for his information, that so-called 'date' was all An-chan's idea! She called me!"

The captain gestured to his right. "This is B-section. The first door we passed on our way from the foyer is mine, and the one after that leads into Captain Kamio Akira's office. He's the assistant day-shift supervisor. Lieutenant Ibu Shinji, my head field agent . . ."

"Is he the one who mumbles a lot?" enquired Ryoma, remembering the insignia on the long-haired officer's collar.

"Er, yes. That's the one. He uses the next room. Junior field agents like yourself are assigned cubicles in a single large office, through those double-doors marked B-4."

They arrived at an intersection and turned right. "These rooms are allotted to the night shift officers," explained Captain Tachibana. "B-5 – that's Lieutenant Kikumaru Eiji's office. Mark it well; he's the head field agent and your immediate superior. Captain Oishi Syuichiroh, the assistant supervisor, works in B-6. Ah, here we are."

The officer knocked three times on a door marked B-7. This office, like all the others, had walls of tinted glass – except that it was also equipped with white Venetian blinds for privacy. They were drawn shut.

A secretive sort of fellow, Ryoma mused.

Captain Tachibana opened the door a crack and thrust his head into the office.

"Tezuka, the new field agent is here."

"Thank you, Tachibana. You may show him in."

"Oh, and one other thing . . ."

"Yes?"

"He's had a long day. You might want to go easy on him."

Ryoma entered and stood in silence as Captain Tachibana closed the door behind him. The office was rather spacious, but plainly furnished: bookcases on the left wall, two filing cabinets on the right, a fully-equipped computer workstation by the door. Simple, dark grey carpeting with no visible decoration. In the middle of the room stood a desk fashioned out of glass and steel with edge trim of polished chrome. Everything was immaculately neat. Even the potted plants that peeked out of the corners of the room looked unusually well-behaved.

He turned his attention to the desk. One chair for visitors, rather than the usual two. Black telephone, black table lamp, silver pen, white notepad. A thick document folder bound in black leather. All arranged in perfectly straight lines, either parallel to or perpendicular to each other. Everything was in a distinct shade of black or white – almost nothing in between. This was the den of someone who didn't have the word "compromise" in his dictionary. There was one splash of colour though: a small framed photograph hanging on the back wall. Grandfather, parents, and an unsmiling young man in sensible clothes. Family portrait? Ryoma asked himself.

Behind the desk sat a man – or, at least, an extraordinarily realistic statue of one. No living person could possibly look so devoid of life. Wreathed in a halo of pale lilac light from an overhead lamp, the sculpted image of a bespectacled human being sat perfectly still, the only motion coming from the gentle swishing of its polished bronze hair in the disturbance caused by a nearby air-conditioning vent.

The statue blinked. Its finely chiselled features softened as a pair of dark brown eyes settled on Ryoma.

"Hn. You are a sorry sight."

"I know."

"And you're late."

"I know." Remembering who he was speaking to, Ryoma bowed and uttered a quick "Sumimasen."

"I don't tolerate tardiness," spoke the man in a level tone as he adjusted his glasses. "Neither do I enjoy seeing people leave wet footprints all over my office floor. Normally I'd ask you to run fifty laps around the station building, but since this is your first day I shall waive your punishment. Be warned: it isn't my habit to make exceptions, not even for new recruits."

"I understand."

The senior officer stood up and extended his left arm over the table. "Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu, night shift supervisor of Seigaku CSI."

"Echizen Ryoma." They shook hands and sat down.

"I've been examining the dossier that Inui-san forwarded to me prior to your arrival," Tezuka said as he opened the document folder on his desk and leafed through its contents. "Echizen Ryoma. Father Echizen Nanjiroh, mother Takeuchi Rinko. Birthday 24th December, left-handed, blood type O . . ." – he skipped a few lines, resuming with "Educational Record. High school diploma, Seishun Gakuen . . . hmm, everything from that point on takes place in the United States. Bachelor of Science in Criminology, UCLA. Master's degree in Criminal Justice, Rice University."

He turned several pages, then stopped. "So you've spent the last two years training at the Las Vegas Police Department's Crime Laboratory, under Gil Grissom. I know him well; he was my mentor during the five years I spent in America. Your LVPD performance assessments are all quite favourable – and Grissom-san is a man from whom it is difficult to win genuine praise – so I shall expect nothing but the best from you."

"Yes, sir."

"And I suppose you've familiarised yourself with our rules and regulations using the manual that was posted to you last week."

"Yes," Ryoma replied without hesitation. At least I tried to – but then I fell asleep after the first three pages, he thought with mischievous pleasure. Karupin tore everything else to shreds.

Captain Tezuka closed the dossier and pushed it aside. "Well, I suppose there is nothing left for us to discuss. I'll leave your orientation to Field Agent Momoshiro. He will show you around the crime lab and introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with. Meet him at the lounge in A-section. That is all."