Honestly, I'm dreading school…

Anyway, this is my next chapter, I hope you enjoy…this is pretty long.

NOTE! This chapter has been re-uploaded because of a typographical error and wrong word usage.

Some credit goes to the site "Kotae Wa Hitotsu" for some information regarding Ryuu's past, as well as some other in-depth info about the characters…I think…anyway, thanks, zephy!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DETECTIVE SCHOOL Q.

Chapter 11: A Victory for DDS

Kyu and Meg walked along the underground hallways of the headquarters. They were able to sneak glances into the rooms without being caught, miraculously. Each laboratory, or whatever it really was, looked wildly futuristic.

One room was stark white; with chrome-plated pillars that were reminiscent of Stonehenge, holding up glass canisters that were filled with bubbling liquid, one glowing an eerie red and another, an acid green…another room was bounded on all sides by computer screens, showing strange charts, tables, and graphs of oddities….another was plastered with diagrams of skulls, optic lenses, and what seemed to be strands of DNA. Microscopes, computers, and other odds and ends gave the overall effect of a present-day Frankenstein laboratory. And Meg once caught sight of a bunch of bloody scalpels next to what, horribly, seemed to be a human face, without a skull. A mask made of human skin.

"Kyu, let's get out of here," she whispered in fear, grabbing his arm.

Kyu, who had just seen a cut-off human hand next to a bloody eyeball in the room across the hall, gulped and nodded, indicating his agreement.

They hurried through that particular hall hastily.

Kinta and Kazuma, meanwhile, were trying to gain access to a high security door.

First, Kinta had beaten up the Pluto members at the door with his martial arts. Now, he merely waited impatiently for Kazuma to break the encrypted password to get in.

"Why'd you get me here, anyway?" asked Kinta with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Because this is the quickest way to the underground headquarters, and it would be a whole lot easier to get through here than to waste time looking all over this place for secret passageways," said Kazuma as his software did all the work.

The light in the door flashed green, and the words "Access granted!" appeared on the screen of his laptop.

"Told you so," said Kazuma, grinning proudly.

"Know-it-all," muttered Kinta as he followed the young techno genius.

Kazuma rolled his eyes at the flippant remark. They descended the flight of stairs leading into the heart of the Pluto headquarters.

Nanami carefully looked around the corner of a turn, then motioned to Hongou to follow him.

Narrowing his eyes dangerously, the dark-clad instructor followed his extravagantly white-suited "partner".

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the bombs to the students?" asked Hongou skeptically.

"Look, Mr. Dan told us to take these kids with us, and whether we like it or not, we have to respect the fact that they are pretty capable students," said Nanami as they slunk down another corridor.

"Are you sure that Pluto didn't get to Mr. Dan the last time they captured him?" asked Hongou with an edge of suspicion in his voice.

"You heard what he said before," replied Nanami. "He assured us that the hypnosis didn't take effect."

"But how sure are we that Mr. Dan is in his right mind as of now? How do we know that he didn't just send his two best classes and the both of us here just to lead us into a trap?"

"That's something we're going to have to risk. Think about this, Mr. Conspiracy. Don't you think he would have killed his own niece for finding the Pluto headquarters if he wasn't in his right mind and working for Pluto?"

"Unless he avoided killing one for the sake of reeling in an even bigger catch," Hongou countered.

Nanami fell silent.

"Don't have a clever answer for that one, Nanami?"

"Why do you doubt the very person who got you back into the business, Hongou?" asked Nanami pointedly.

"I'm not in doubt about Mr. Dan, it's just that this plan is too simple to work, and sending the two classes here could pose a threat to them as well."

"Since when do you care about the students?"

"Whoever said I cared about them? The two best classes are the greatest assets of DDS, and sending them on a mission this dangerous puts them in peril."

Nanami smirked, reading between the lines of Hongou's words. Tough guy doesn't want his students to get hurt.

"Your ancestor should have made an easier maze," said Shizuko as they finally escaped the labyrinth.

Ryuu shook his head. "Well, he was an unusual guy. He never made more than ten of a particular thing…"

"That's why he was called 'The Nine-Headed Dragon'?"

"Yes," replied Ryuu. "Hn…"

"What?"

"Have you ever heard of the 'Testa del Drago'?" asked Ryuu as they made their way through a cluster of chrome-plated hallways. Their shoes made no noise on the marble floor.

"Wait, that sounds familiar," said Shizuko, racking her brain. "Are you talking about that dragon-headed violin?"

"Yes," said Ryuu, surprised that she knew. But then, of course, she is a violinist, she would have encountered it somewhere…

"Oh no, don't tell me," said Shizuko. "Your ancestor crafted that famous violin? The one that's been coveted along with it's eight other brothers?"
Ryuu stared at her in disbelief. (Oh, that would be such a cute expression.)

Shizuko gave him a look that said, "What, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."
Suddenly her gaze went past him, into a door behind him. Her eyes widened in shock.

"What is it?" asked Ryuu.

In answer, she pointed a finger at the room behind him.

He turned around, and his eyes widened in alarm.

It was a dismembered human hand, sitting next to an eyeball.

"Please tell me that's not real," she told him desperately.

"Aa…" Ryuu trailed off. "That can't be good…"

Shizuko tugged at his arm, "Let's just get out of here."

Ryuu nodded, and they picked up their pace again.

At that moment, Nanami and Hongou had found a way to the underground headquarters.

"Those thugs were practically begging to be beaten up and you hardly hit them," muttered Nanami.

"I knocked over more of them than you did," snarled Hongou.

"But I finished them off," Nanami retorted.

"Shut up," said Hongou.

The two teachers made their way through the complexity of corridors easily. How they knew where to go, well, heaven only knows.

They came up to a dead end, where a single door stood, waiting to be opened.

The two teachers looked at each other apprehensively, then, they both placed a hand on the doorknob and pulled it open.

What they saw was unexpected.

They entered a vast, cavernous room, circular in shape. The walls were a harsh white, almost blinding them. The high ceiling and bright lights made them feel as though they were in some kind of huge arena.

As they continued their entry, they realized that the room wasn't white at all…The circular walls were mirrors.

"What the heck is this?" said Hongou.

"They've been expecting us," said Nanami, looking over his shoulder, reducing his eyes to slits in a threatening manner.

"Welcome, sirs. Your presence is most welcome here," said a deep, raspy voice.

"Damn," muttered Hongou. "Spare us the welcome and come down here," he called out, his harsh voice echoing off the cylindrical room.

Another door opened, and a man, with unnatural blond hair and a pallid complexion entered the room, coat hanging off his shoulders.

He stood at one end of the room, keeping his distance from the two instructors.

"Who are you?" demanded Nanami.

"Why, forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Anubis, the current leader of Pluto."

"So you're the guy we've been looking for, then," said Hongou.

"Of course. After all, that's what you are always after, correct? I'll repeat what I once said to your principal once before. We are Light and Dark, you and I. Without DDS, Pluto would never be as great as it is now, and in the same way, without the darkness the light would have no meaning. I merely come here to pay my compliments, and my thanks to your organization for making Pluto stronger than ever."

Hongou scoffed at Anubis's statement. "If you think that we came here to make small talk, you're mistaken."

"We've come here to settle the score, once and for all," said Nanami.

"Really. Then we've encountered each other in exactly the right place."

"What's this place for?" asked Nanami, gesturing to the circular room.

"Oh, this? Why, it's the ideal place for battle in this entire headquarters. The circular shape provides no way to get cornered. And its sheer size offers a wide range of ways to attack your opponent."

"Your meeting us here can only mean one thing. You're challenging us to battle, aren't you?" said Hongou.

"Not necessarily. However, since you seem completely intent on this 'battle', as you call it, then, we fight," said Anubis, an evil smile curling his lips. "You may start attacking me in any way you wish. Fair warning: I won't hold back on my skills."

Hongou and Nanami glared at each other for a moment, then, turning to Anubis as one, they ran across the room and set off a chain of attacks in collaboration.

As Hongou threw a punch that Anubis avoided easily, Nanami gave a well-placed kick aiming for Anubis's ankles. However, Anubis leaped into the air to evade Nanami's kick, and the sleeves of his coat narrowly missed hitting both Nanami and Hongou.

The two teachers were stunned at Anubis's skill, but continued attacking. For once, neither one complained about the arrogance of the other. Fighting in cooperation seemed to be their only chance against defeating this guy.

Kyu suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway they were in.

"What is it, Kyu?" asked Meg.

"I heard something," he said, turning around.

Voices, soft but distinct, could be heard from one end of the hall. A pair of shadows seemed to be making the turn that led into the hallway they were in.

Meg came closer to Kyu and gripped his arm nervously. Subconsciously, Kyu put his arm around her, watching as the shadows came closer. He stepped backward cautiously, pulling Meg along with him carefully.

"You sure it's this way?" one of the voices said.

"Of course I'm sure, it's in the plan," said another voice, slightly irritated.

"How can you be sure that that plan isn't out of date?"

"Because I just pulled it up from the control room we were in earlier, ya big bonehead," said the irritated voice.

"What did you call me?"
The two bickering silhouettes came into view. Kyu and Meg sighed in relief as Kinta and Kazuma appeared around the corner.

"Hey, it's Kyu and Meg," said Kinta, interrupting whatever sarcastic comment Kazuma was about to say.

"Finally we found you guys," said Kyu, grinning.

"Hi, you two," said Kazuma.

"We're trying to get to the main power source like Kazuma said earlier," said Kinta. "Any of you seen something that looks like it's easy to blow up?"

Kyu grinned sheepishly. "Not really."

"But it's somewhere down this hallway," said Kazuma, pointing. "Let's just all go together, then."
Kyu and Meg looked at each other, then followed Kinta and Kazuma as they debated again over the quickest way to get there.

Ryuu and Shizuko made a couple of turns through the headquarters.

"Do you think Mr. Nanami and Mr. Hongou have found the Pluto leader yet?" asked Shizuko.

"Anubis? I don't know…but I have this weird feeling that they found their way down here, somehow…" said Ryuu.

"The more important question, Ryuu…Do you think the two of them will stand a chance against this Anubis guy?"

Ryuu's expression clouded. "Anubis has skills, that's all I know…and as for Yurie…"
Shizuko rubbed the back of her neck where the tranquilizer dart had been before. "She's a pretty sharp shooter."

"If Anubis doesn't get rid of the teachers, Yurie might," said Ryuu in worry. "Those two probably have something up their sleeves."

"Sneaky little creeps as usual, then?"

"Hn."
She pointed to a door at the end of the hall they were in. "What's that?"
Ryuu stared at it. "I'm not sure…"

"There's no other way from here…unless we go all the way back and start at another intersection."

"Let's just go forward."
Shizuko opened the door cautiously and peeked in. With her free hand, she motioned to Ryuu to follow.

The two of them peeked through the door.

A red-headed woman stood inside, looking at a bunch of glass panels…and inside the glass panels were…

Shizuko gasped softly. "It's the teachers," she whispered.

"And Anubis," muttered Ryuu.

"They don't seem to see her looking at them," said Shizuko.

"It's a bunch of two-way mirrors…they can't see her but she can see them," said Ryuu.

Yurie was holding something in her hand. Shizuko focused on it, and her eyes widened when she realized what it was. "It's a gun…"

"I see," said Ryuu. "If Anubis is close to losing…"

"She'll get rid of the teachers with a couple of bullets," finished Shizuko.

She began to move forward to the woman, but Ryuu grabbed her by the arm, restraining her. "No, don't."

"Why not?" she whispered to him. "The teachers are gonna be in trouble if we don't stop her."

"They're not in trouble yet," said Ryuu. "Look, as you can see with their fight, they seem pretty evenly matched right now, no one's losing, yet. When the scales tip in our favor, and Yurie realizes it, she'll raise the gun…but we won't gain anything yet by attacking her now."
Shizuko sighed, realizing that Ryuu was right. "So what now? We watch while our two teachers battle it out and do nothing?"
Ryuu loosened his grip on her arm. "That's all we can do now…we have no choice."

Kyu, Meg and Kinta stared at the sight in front of them.

"That's what's powering this place?"

"Yep," said Kazuma, unfazed.

"It's…huge," said Meg, taking in the sight.

"Uh-huh," said Kazuma, not caring.

Kinta fished out the miniature bombs that Nanami had handed them earlier. "So where do we put these things?"

"Just put them into the surrounding areas, Kinta, then we dump the rest of these things on our way out…"

"Why was this thing our target, anyway?" asked Kyu as he helped Kinta lay out the explosives.

"Simple," said Kazuma in a know-it-all tone. "This power source powers everything in this place, right?"

"Right," said Kyu.

"So this thing is, obviously, connected to basically everything in this place. All the technology depends on this power. So if we take out the power source, we take out everything in this place…and if we get to scatter the rest of our bombs in this place, voila! Instant recipe for destroyed Pluto!"

"Ooooohhh…" said Kinta and Kyu.

"Well, let's get to work, then," said Kazuma, shutting his laptop.

"We've got a lot of power source to cover before we finish…"

Nanami fell to the ground, panting.

This guy…How can he be this strong?

He watched as Hongou released another series of attacks at the blond.

The next thing he knew, Hongou was sprawled on the floor, clutching his stomach where he'd been hit.

Nanami, finding his strength, got up and kicked Anubis in the face, following it with a well-aimed punch to the solar plexus.

Anubis staggered, then countered Nanami with a blow to the chest…Nanami stepped aside, and Hongou appeared behind him, stopping Anubis's punch with one of his hands. Then using Anubis's force against him, Hongou twisted Anubis's wrist and pushed him, hard.

Nanami was waiting for that moment…He quickly lashed out with his foot, sweeping Anubis right off his feet and making him fall to the ground.

Unknown to the teachers, Yurie was standing behind the mirrors, watching the scene unfold.

She saw Anubis fall to the ground, looking as though he was defeated. The weakened blond raised his arm…

At the same time, Yurie raised her automatic pistol. She took careful aim, focusing on the white-suited one first.

She slowly squeezed the trigger….

"NO!" someone screamed.

Ryuu made a move to stop Shizuko, but too late.

She had run, with a yell towards his former caretaker and delivered a kick towards the firearm.

The pistol clattered to the marble floor, spinning towards Ryuu's feet.

Yurie only seemed mildly surprised.

Shizuko faced her, glaring angrily.

"So, it's the prodigy," said Yurie.

"I'm not your prodigy. I never was," said Shizuko.

"So the master has told you all about it."

"I'd heard enough."

Yurie stepped to one side, trying to circle her, but Shizuko, eyes narrowed in suspicion, stepped in the opposite direction, so the two females remained the same distance, circling each other warily.

"It's such a shame, someone with your skill. And intelligence. Wasted in a place like DDS."

"It's not a waste," said Shizuko. "Using brains for an organization like yours is an even bigger misuse."

"From your point of view."

Ryuu stood at one side, not sure of what to do. The pistol lay uselessly at his feet.

As he watched, Yurie and Shizuko circled each other like vultures ready for a meal. Through the glass panes, Anubis, Nanami and Hongou were having another battle, as Anubis had recovered some strength and began attacking again.

Suddenly, the sound of bone against flesh brought him back to his senses.

Yurie and Shizuko were having a fight of their own.

"Shizuko!"

"No, Ryuu, I'll handle this!" she yelled back.

Yurie was trained well, Shizuko had to admit. Even her few years in Kung fu practice couldn't compete against this….but she managed, miraculously. Cartwheeling, her foot made contact with Yurie's chin, sending the redhead reeling. Recovering, though, Yurie delivered a blow that Shizuko barely managed to avoid. The fist grazed her right cheek.

As the girl got flung backward a bit, she braced her feet against the marble floor, sliding to a stop. She raced towards Yurie again, with a new series of attacks.

Punch, block, punch, block, kick, punch, block…

Suddenly an unexpected pain tore through Shizuko's shoulder.

"Ow," she cried, looking at her shoulder. The sleeve had torn, revealing a deep cut.

Looking back at Yurie in surprise, Shizuko saw that she had a small knife in her hand.

How did she get that without my noticing?

Ignoring the pain spreading from her shoulder, she launched towards Yurie, kicking the knife out of the woman's hand.

The knife soared through the air, embedding itself in a nearby wall. It quivered there ominously.

A rush of adrenaline rushed through her limbs again, temporarily masking the pain from her bleeding shoulder.

However, the woman had no intention of giving in to a teenager so easily. She delivered a sharp kick to Shizuko's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to a wall nearby.

Ryuu's eyes widened in shock and started to come toward her, but Shizuko raised an arm to stop him. She was breathing heavily.

Yurie stood in front of her with raised eyebrows. "Pity. You know that with this organization you could have gone far. That DDS just had to taint your extraordinary mind. But then again, you were a good prodigy…"

Something suddenly flew through the air towards her face.
Yurie suddenly groaned. Shizuko seemed to have recovered.

"I…"

She delivered another punch.

"Am not…"

She kicked Yurie squarely across her face.

"Your PRODIGY!"

Yurie, taken aback by the sudden strength, collapsed on the floor. She lay there, unmoving.

A shot was heard.

She was gone.

Gasping for air, Shizuko fell to her knees. The adrenaline rush had worn off, and the pain in her shoulder returned at full force.

Nanami and Hongou, however, were turning out to be a different story.

Anubis recovered unbelievably from their attacks and was now fighting with a vengeance.

Unexpectedly, Anubis's foot came out of nowhere and hit Nanami directly in the stomach.

"Nanami!" Hongou yelled, but he too, got struck in the face, and fell to the ground next to his partner.

"Hongou," Nanami groaned weakly.

"Shizuko, are you all right?"

Ryuu came up to her, Yurie's pistol in his hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Shizuko said. Her gaze fell to the pistol in his hand. "Did you do that?"

"I didn't even hit her," said Ryuu, pointing to a bullet in the wall and a scorch mark. "It was an accident."

"Oh. So she's just knocked out."

"You did that."

The two of them stared at the fight going on behind the glass.

"They're in trouble," said Shizuko worriedly. She gazed back at the pistol in Ryuu's hand, then at him.

"I can't do it. Can you?" he asked her.

"Probably…but I can't, I'll risk hitting the teachers…"

"They're down right now, Anubis is in plain view."

"You do it. You deserve to stop the Pluto leader. You show them that you really don't want to be part of this place."

"I know I should, but I'm no good with this…"

"So…only one way to do it," said Shizuko, getting up. "We have to get in there and get the gun to one of them."
Ryuu nodded, then looked again at her bleeding shoulder. "You sure you can manage with that shoulder?"

"Yes, I can barely feel it," Shizuko said.

Ryuu nodded, and they both rushed to the door into the battle room.

Anubis stood over the two instructors, a solemn grin on his face. "Didn't I tell you that it was useless?"
Nanami and Hongou seemed wasted, tired, and even worse, defeated.

Anubis shook his head. "I gave you fair warning. You underestimated me. If this isn't proof that Pluto is the greater one against DDS, then, I don't know what is…"

"Mr. Hongou!" a voice yelled.

Anubis turned at the noise. "What—?"

Something metallic flashed through the air, then landed right next to Mr. Hongou's fist.

As Anubis turned back to his two opponents, a shot echoed through the circular room, and one of the glass panels shattered.

Blood began to blossom over Anubis's shirt. It spread quickly.

Anubis stared, dumbfounded, at Mr. Hongou, who held a smoking pistol.

The blond turned to the grave-looking figure of Ryuu by the door. "M-Master…" he choked out softly.

Then he collapsed on the floor, never to breathe again.

Ryuu and Shizuko sighed in relief as the two teachers rose to their feet.

"Good work, you two," said Hongou, in his usual gruff manner.

"The next person that stands in our way is mine," said Nanami, brushing some dirt off his white suit.

"Whatever," said Hongou.

As the four of them exited the room through the glass panel that Mr. Hongou shattered, someone kicked Nanami in the face painfully.

"This isn't over," said Yurie, who stood before them.

"Oh, yes it is," said Nanami, raising the pistol which he took from Hongou.

Another shot was heard.

The group exited the room, then ran down the corridors.

"Mr. Hongou!" a familiar voice called. "Ryuu!"
They turned around.

"Kyu!" Ryuu said in surprise.

Kyu, Kinta, Meg and Kazuma ran over to them. "We've taken care of the main power source, the bombs have been planted," said Kazuma.

"Good work," said Hongou. Turning to Nanami, he asked, "What about your class?"

"They stayed aboveground, I think, taking care of the Pluto members on the surface."

"Fine," said Hongou. "Class Q. Let's go!"

Above ground, however, Class A wasn't having too much luck...

"Aaah!" Saburamarou screamed as a Pluto member almost got him.

"Don't be such a baby, Saburamarou," said Yuki, knocking out the Pluto member.

"We're surrounded!" said Gouda, stepping backwards with the rest of Class A.

The thugs circled them threateningly.

"All right, then, but before you kill us…" said Hayato mysteriously, "How about a game of cards!"
Snapping his fingers, cards flew everywhere, hitting the Pluto members, who were caught off guard.

"What the heck!"

"Gah!"

"Go!" cried Yuki, pushing through the crowd of ruffians.

Saburamarou, in fright and terror, overtook them in running, looking incredibly ridiculous.

"I'm definitely going to switch schools next year….maybe I'll be an accountant instead!" he wailed as he scampered out of there.

The rest of the Class A members looked embarrassed and confused. (Again, sweatdrops.)

As the Pluto members recovered from the shock of having cards suddenly appear and attack them, Class A took the advantage and began attacking them.

Gouda, Shishido, and Hayato took on as many as 5 members at once, aided and abetted once in a while by Hayato's magic tricks.

Yuki and Kuniko worked as a team, surprisingly, and took down almost as many thugs as the boys did.

Soon, all that was left was a bunch of moaning and knocked-out ruffians.

Class Q and the two teachers came out of the mansion's main entrance.

"Class A! Excellent work!" yelled out Mr. Nanami, running towards them. "Now let's go!"
Everyone looked at each other for a split second before running off the mansion's immense grounds and going out the high, elaborately welded gate.

Kinta shut the gate after them, and ran for cover.

Nanami fished out what seemed to be a small remote control from out of his white jacket. He pressed the button firmly.

The ground shook beneath them, causing some of them to lose their balance. Kyu caught Meg in his arms before she could fall.

Under their feet, a major explosion was taking place deep in the heart of the Pluto headquarters. The bombs around the main reactor detonated at the same time, collapsing it, making it fall in on itself. The force and intensity of the blast wiped out everything: the laboratories, the technology, the whole lot.

Finally, with a huge groan, the mansion, that beautifully built mansion, fell in on itself, since the ground underneath it, its foundation, had been destroyed.

The DDS members stared at it, the result of their work.

Then, slowly, deliberately, a big cheer rose from them as they realized….

Pluto was gone! Destroyed!

Class Q celebrated with Class A, screaming in delight as they jumped up and down, looking a bit ridiculous, but then, who cared?

Kinta ruffled Kyu's hair, a big grin on his face.

Meg was hugging Kyu, laughing out loud as Kinta gathered all of Class Q into a group hug.

The two teachers looked at each other, still annoyed, still hating each other's guts…but, startlingly, Nanami extended his hand to shake Hongou's.

Hongou shook his hand, gruffly.

Class A could hardly keep their excitement inside either. They cheered along with Class Q.

When they returned to DDS, Principal Dan was there to welcome them, smiling proudly.

"Well done, Class Q, Class A. You have all made DDS proud today. At last, one of our greatest enemies, Pluto, has been destroyed forever…."

Later that evening, there was an official ceremony in the auditorium, for the recognition of both Class Q and Class A in the most challenging mission that they had. Principal Dan himself pinned medals on them, each bearing the symbol of DDS: a pair of scales, symbolizing justice...

"This is to show everyone how you have done DDS a great deed, probably the greatest deed you have ever done. Thank you both, Class Q,..and Class A."

The whole of the DDS community clapped and cheered for them.

Then, Mr. Nanami and Mr. Hongou were called up to the stage for their medals, and for once, they weren't glaring daggers at each other. In fact, they seemed to be…getting along?

Principal Dan pinned their medals on, and they glinted in the stage lights.

"These two teachers have proven that even the most polar of opposites can, under a single cause, be untied to form a strong team. Congratulations, Koutarou Nanami, and Hongou Tatsumi!"

Everyone, including Class Q and Class A, applauded them enthusiastically, Kinta putting a wolf-whistle for good measure.

Taken a bit aback by Mr. Dan's statement, the two teachers stared at each other, then laughed.

The next day, Kyu was still glowing from the events of last night.

"The ceremony was great, wasn't it, Ryuu?" asked Kyu as they walked along the corridor of Class Q's old school building.

"Yeah, it was," replied the blue-haired boy as he opened the door to their classroom.

The first thing that both of them saw were Kinta and Kazuma, having their usual debate about old-fashioned versus technology…

And Shizuko was there, her shoulder in bandages, reading another mystery novel.

Meg grinned at the two boys as they entered the room.

"Hi, you two," Meg greeted them cheerfully.

"Hi," said Ryuu.

"Hey, Meg," said Kyu, grinning at her happily.

As Kyu and Meg got into a conversation about their past cases, Ryuu came over to Shizuko.

"Hey, how's the shoulder healing?"

"It's fine," said Shizuko, putting down her book.

"Yeah, well, at least it wasn't serious."
She nodded.

"Are you going to tell anyone yet?" asked Shizuko in an undertone.

"Maybe, someday, but since Pluto isn't a threat anymore, I guess there's no harm in not telling anymore…"

"True, true…" agreed Shizuko. "But you do know that you will have to admit it sometime."

"Yes."

Kyu turned around to see Mr. Hongou standing in the doorway, looking like his usual old grumpy self.

"Here we go again…" mumbled Kyu as he took his seat.

"Settle down, Class Q, the lessons have begun," said Mr. Hongou.

Apparently, the ceremony last night hadn't done much to change his personality…

"Kinta! What do you do when you want to lift fingerprints from oil-absorbing objects like paper!" Mr. Hongou shot at the martial artist.

"Huh! Uhhh…Dust them for it?"

"WRONG!"

…Or his teaching techniques.

The rest of Class Q looked desperately at each other, with the exception of Ryuu.

This is gonna be a looooong lesson… thought Kyu with a sheepish grin.

-:OWARI:-

rants: AND THAT'S IT!

this is the real ending! And did you all like the turnout?

PLEASE REVIEW!

And by the way, the answer to Mr. Hongou's question, how to lift fingerprints from oil-absorbing surfaces like paper….

There's no point in dusting paper for prints, because prints left on smoother, nonporous surfaces are made up of the oily sweat of the fingers… on paper, the oil will have been absorbed by the paper, making it untraceable by dusting.

Instead, you should spray the paper with a chemical called ninhydrin. Then, steam iron the paper and wait for the prints to appear.

Kinta: awww, I knew that, really, I did!

Kazuma: -scoffing- Yeah, right.

Anyway….PLEASE REVIEW!