Kage (SHADOW)
By: nikki hiiragizawa
Anime : Card Captor Sakura
Genre : drama, detective, romance
Rating : PG
Pairings : Eriol x Tomoyo, Syaoran x Sakura, Touya x Yukito (implied)
Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura and its constituents belong to CLAMP. The author is in no way affiliated with the said company.
Notes: This fanfic had been in my head for ages, even before "BloodLine" and "Caress of Venus" came to me. The reason I wasn't able to write it sooner was because I had no idea about ninjas and Japanese mythology at that time. It took me months of research to come up with an agreeable setting and plot and other stuff. For those waiting endlessly for "Songs Without Words", which I am still afraid to post, and is undergoing massive editing, please accept this offer of apology. Thanks!
PROLOGUE :
The fog was still thick by the time the young man's car screeched to a halt in front of one of the biggest museums in the town. Voices could be heard shouting here and there, and police sirens blared through the night. However, all these seemed useless as the target of all the 50 officers in the field had cunningly escaped through their fingers.
The young man walked up the officer standing nearest to his car. As soon as he spoke, the officer straightened his posture and saluted. The highest-ranking officer in the area was then searched immediately, and soon, the young man who went by car was comfortably away from the cold inside the museum.
"Another cup?" Inspector Hiyama was especially kind today, as what his subordinates thought. He was never as jovial as this, talking nonstop and offering another a cup of tea. This is such a curious event.
However, the young man sitting opposite the inspector was ever more peculiar. He was dressed in what all grown-men should be dressed in, but he is merely a child. Well, eighteen years old, to be exact. Yet no matter how old he is, the inspector's subordinates wanted to know how this meek-looking bespectacled person could make the inspector almost lap at his heels.
"I am very sorry that my father was unable to come," the young man spoke at last. "He has some very urgent business to attend to, yet he cannot leave such an interesting case alone, so he had me go here. I truly hope I am not being a bother."
The Inspector wiped his brow, seemingly nervous. "No, of course not. Your presence had both awed and comforted us all. We did not even knew if your father was going to answer to our requests."
The young man pushed up his glasses up to his nose and nodded. "If there's anything I can do to help, I will be glad. But before that, may I request that you repeat the story again. It would be much nicer to hear it rather than read short details."
"Well," the Inspector started. "You know very well that this town is one of the cleanest towns in this place. We hardly report serious crimes. However, two weeks ago, the cat burglar Murasaki Chou started ruining our peace."
The young man looked up from his cup. "Murasaki Chou…means purple butterfly, right?"
"Yes. He or she first stole a prized sword from a very well-known government official, and the second one was a very expensive vase in this very museum."
The young man interlaced his fingers together, as he always do when in deep thought. "You were warned of the thieving beforehand, am I right?"
The Inspector nodded. "There will be a letter posted to us telling when and where the next stealing will occur. However, although we have been warned twice, we were still unable to catch the thief." He took a deep breath and sipped from his teacup. "Your father once mentioned he's interested in these kinds of crimes, so we called him the moment the first theft occurred."
"Hmm…" Eriol thought for a while. "What kind of burglar would inform the officers about the crime that will be committed?" He sipped the last of the steaming liquid in the cup.
Inspector Hiyama frowned as he thought of a seemingly correct answer. As expected of the son of Chief Inspector Hiiragizawa, known for their cleverness in terms of investigating, he managed to observe all sides of the case thoroughly. "Maybe, they wanted attention, from the public?"
The young man with glasses pondered momentarily before springing to his feet and asking for permission to view the crime scene. The policemen gladly escorted him to the second floor of the museum, where a room specially decorated for the stolen artifact was.
The second floor of the town museum was entirely carpeted. The reason for this, the Inspector said, was that the curator did not want to stain the expensive polished wood which entirely covers the second floor. The corridors in this area were intricately panted with Oriental images. Japanese pottery and sculpture scattered here and there. Even the arches were carved with decorations. Eriol, awed, glanced at everything, until the policemen announced that they have reached the crime scene.
The crime scene surprised Eriol mainly because it did not look like a crime scene. There were no smashed glass, no upturned tables and exhibits, no shredded curtains or anything that might tell someone that a crime had taken place. Everything was in its place, clean and untouched.
"Did you check for fingerprints?" Eriol asked as he approached the glass case where the vase, about six inches in height, was placed before it was stolen.
"Err, we did it here as well as in the scene of the first crime," the Inspector replied. "There were none except ours."
The young man nodded before leaning in closer to study the glass case. There were no cut marks on the glass. There were also no cuts on the cloth that covered the case. Eriol bent down to check the case's glass pedestal.
"Can you tell me something about this case?" he asked the Inspector.
The Inspector asked for the notebook containing the data and coughed before speaking. "The glass case is around a foot high and a foot wide, largely encasing the little vase beneath. The pedestal is made of oak and is a hollow cylinder also a foot and a half high and a foot wide."
"Heh…" Eriol tapped the wood before standing up and smiling at everyone. "So, how did you think this crime was committed?" he asked no one in particular.
One of the policeman shivered. "It's the work of the Devil, sir. There was no way a normal human being can do that!"
"Hush, Takizawa!" Inspector Hiyama growled. He then turned to Eriol. "It's true that we checked on the room before and after the vase was placed. We also placed heat sensors on the wall and floors, which will be triggered if anyone steps in the room for more than three seconds. We also have sensors on the roof, just in case the burglar tried to go through it. All windows and doors were secured and my men are watching the vicinity the whole time." He shook his head. "But…I do not believe something supernatural would go through the pain of writing a letter just to send his or her plans."
Eriol nodded. "My feelings exactly. Certainly, someone who is more cunning than the police have done this." He eyed the pedestal carefully. "Inspector Hiyama, what is underneath this floor?"
"A room for storing other artifacts to be prepared for exhibit, Hiiragizawa-san."
"And sensors…they were placed on the glass case, right? Also, all over the floor?"
The Inspector nodded. "The floor sensors were arranged in a lattice-like pattern. The sensors around the case were also lattice-like. No one from above or on the floor can approach it."
Eriol nodded once more, then kneeled down to peer underneath the pedestal. "This pedestal is fixed on the ground, right?" When the police nodded, he added, "So you were unable to put sensors underneath it?"
"What are you getting at, Hiiragizawa-san?" Inspector Hiyama asked. Would there be any explanation as to how the burglar entered?
The young man ordered one of the policemen to remove the glass case. As it was lifted up, Eriol felt the cloth covering the pedestal. "When the vase was placed on this cloth, were there sensors, too?"
"No. The curator did not want sensors inside the case. He forbade us from even touching the vase," one of the policemen who came to guard the room that night replied.
"Ah," Eriol smiled and tugged at the cloth. "There's your answer."
The policemen could hardly believe their eyes. The pedestal's surface beneath the cloth bore a hole large enough for a person to enter. The Inspector quickly commanded his men to unbolt the pedestal from its place on the floor.
Eriol smugly smiled to himself as a hole on the floor, about the size of the hole on the pedestal was seen as the pedestal was moved. "The thief entered the storage room below and bore a hole on the floor here," he pointed to the large hole on the floor. "He or she then shimmied up, probably with an accomplice, into the pedestal and bore a hole to the surface. He or she then dragged the cloth, with the vase, and replaced the cloth without the vase. The cloth gave us the illusion that it wasn't touched from underneath. Since the pedestal was glued to the floor, it did not give way or topple and the thief was able to rearrange the cloth and go down without ado."
"But…that's…" The Inspector could not believe what he is hearing.
"The large glass case was the advantage of the thief here. Since the curator placed a small vase inside a large case, it was easy for the thief to move around the case. And since there were sensors inside the case, he or she got it without alarming anyone." He nodded to the policemen who bore aghast faces. "I am sure you cannot accept that the thief went here without you noticing. I supposed that since you were expecting the thief to come from the doors, windows, floor and roof, you were all busy watching possible entrances and were not able to watch the exhibit. Since it was dark, except for the sensors, you were not able to notice movements inside the case."
The Inspector was unable to speak for a while. "Such tenacity and cunningness…who could have done this?"
Eriol shook his head. "I am afraid I cannot tell more than that. But since I am interested in the case, will you let me stay here in Tomoeda for a while and continue my investigation. I will be sure not to bother you in other cases."
"Of course, please do stay!" Inspector Hiyama thankfully gushed. "We are truly grateful that you were able to see through this damn trick. Please stay as long as you can. You assistance will truly be a lot helpful in the coming burglary."
Eriol thanked the man and bade goodbye to the force, saying that he had to arrange some papers regarding his prolonged stay in the town. The Inspector then ordered the officers to scour the storage below for probable evidences. As they went out, a policeman also asked to be relieved and hurriedly left the building.
"What? Someone discovered our trick?"
The young man bent his head so low that it touched the floor. "Yes, Okashira (1)."
The shadow behind the screen appeared to be in deep thought. "Will you research on the new detective and give me information as soon as possible?"
"Yes, gladly. The information will be ready in two days' time."
"Very well, you may go."
The young man quickly got up to his feet, bowed deeply and hurried out of the receiving room. He was glad to be of service to their superior, and he should work soon in order to investigate on the new inspector.
The shadow behind the screen moved and slid the screen open. The night sky was ominous, but so is the new inspector who will be watching their moves from now on.
"It has started…"
TBC…(1) Okashira : A term for leader or superior for clans, especially of ninja clans.
Nikki: Okay, so it's short………… It's a prologue, okay! O.o Anyway, please ignore the investigation stuff. I seriously suck at getting evidences and well..the likes. This is the first time I have written this kind of stuff (except for Tsumi, my Slam dunk fic, of course) and I hope it wasn't crappy. As for those who hate yaoi and has seen the Touya x Yukito thing on top… well…it's just a side story so please bear with it..hehehehe…
Anyway, thanks for reading up to this part and hope you will review. Arigatou gozaimasu!