There was a large man looming over the surprisingly tiny Ryoma. Correction, there was a large, muscular, intimidating, frightening, giant looming over the tiny, insignificant Ryoma. Scary.

He wore his black hair longer than necessary for his profession, and had a scar on his cheek giving him the impression of a pirate separated from his traditional clothes. Get a haircut. Please? The heavy black coat he wore despite of the heat didn't help either. It matched his hair. Shouldn't you have melted by now? Or are you on chemo(1 To top it off sufficiently, he wore a big, shining, noticeable, steel watch on him right hand. The glass had cracks in it, from God knows how many objects. Before, Ryoma was concentrating on making sure Dan-sensei recognized his skills. Now he was concentrating on keeping conscious and controlling the adrenaline and panic attack he was sure would come soon.

"Is there a bathroom near here?" Ryoma whispered timidly to Kyu to keep himself from fainting. Breath in, breath out, keep eyes open, don't let down facade.

"It's okay, he's like that on everybody at first, you'll get used to it, and he's not so bad. On the left." Kyu grinned (Is that all the boy does?) Ryoma, beyond hearing, took off in a rush, making his breathing harder to manage. When he was out of eyesight, he collapsed, his breath coming out in gasps with the sickly smell of adrenaline in his mouth and struggled for a paper bag he always kept handy in his shirt pocket.

His breath evened out as he steadily inflated and deflated the paper bag, without stopping for several seconds. He decided to go in the men's room anyway to wash his face; it wouldn't help his campaign if he looked peachy in front of his classmates. When he entered, what little breakfast he had revolted and decided to come back up. I really don't need this right now.

In the men's room, there was a mutilated body that looked like it had been… crushed. The entire torso was scattered all over the floor while the legs and arms were twisted in awkward ways. The neck was smashed flat and his head was decapitated. His pants were missing.

Ryoma swiftly took out a pair of clean rubber gloves that were a part of the DDS notebook before using the door to balance himself and took a couple of deep breaths. Can't you even go take a piss in Japan without finding a corpse?! He took out his cell phone and dialed texts quickly, 'mens room now'.

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"Sorry about that and on your first day too…" Megu looked at Ryoma sympathetically. Ryoma was sitting on the floor with his back to the concrete wall of the outside of the women's side with a paper cup filled with water in his hand.

"I'm fine, really, it's not like I can't handle it," Ryoma defended himself.

"It's not fair! Why am I the only person that doesn't get to see it!?" Kazuma cried indignantly. No one answered him, "I can't work properly without seeing the body with my own eyes." He complained again exasperatingly.

"What do you need to see a mutilated body for?!" yelled Kenta who was just coming back from the ambulance and investigators, "You want to be put in a loony bin before you get out of high school? Ryu and Kyu are still going to be back there for a while. Dan-sensei says we should go home and get some rest for today, especially you, Ryoma" –There we go with the first names again. Ugh.—"Katagiri-sensei will drive you home." 'So you don't collapse on the way.' Ryoma mentally added. This was all his fault for being so careless on his first day. Now, look at what an impression he made! Smart, statistical, down-to-earth when he needed to be, but can't handle work on field without throwing up. Damn that Hon-what's-his-name.

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"Tough day, Echizen-kun," Katagiri-sensei started. They were driving back to campus through Tokyo's winding roads. It's a good thing it was rush hour or the tension would have been too hard to bear. Ryoma was in the back seat staring indifferently out at the variety of cars frozen in place by their numbers. People cursing, cars honking, loud music that could be heard a quarter of a mile away, this tired him out. I just want to go to sleep. Karupin…

Ryoma felt his body ready to enter a deep sleep before Katagiri stopped it automatically, "So, Echizen-kun," she tried again, sweetly, "How long have you been with DDS?"

Ryoma's eyes body awoke with a jolt, "I've been training for as long as I can remember," he answered as calmly as he could, (which is pretty calm) trying his hardest not to take that fake, nosy, woman's head and throwing it out the window, "I've been taking regular classes along with martial arts and medical and detective training."

"I see…" she paused for a moment, "Have you considered anything else?"

That's it. His entire body was screaming Warning! Warning! This obaa-san (AN grandma. Really, she's not that old.) thought he was a wimp. Too fragile to handle anything! He must have made a miscalculation somewhere. Made too big a mistake. Damn.

"No." he replied through gritted teeth.

"Not even tennis."

"Not interested."

"Ever had the chance?"

Ryoma's heart skipped a bit. His father was the number one tennis champion in the world. So why didn't he aspire to be a pro like the rest of his father's side of the family. Simple. Careers that depend on physical strength are too unstable. One broken wrist, one hit on the head and his life would be over. Plus, protégé doctors have more respect and power. They treat pros that break their wrists and get concussions. "Yes."

"Maybe you should take some time to review your skills."

"Sensei, if you don't think I'm capable of standing my ground on the field, just say so. I shouldn't be out there anyway. I should be in a lab examining the body." Ryoma accused formally, but with a hint of arrogance.

"Hm… that's not it. It's just that you should try to explore your surroundings a bit better. Being a workaholic takes all the fun out of life, especially at your age. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be involved in the case, but leave it to us once in a while. Japan can stand her ground, too. You shouldn't push yourself so hard."

"But—"

"Join the tennis team like Inui-kun. Leave DDS classes early. Make friends. Keep yourself updated on the case. That's an order."

"Y-yes, Sensei." Ryoma answered before he knew what he was doing.

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Elsewhere,

"I'm coming for you, Kitten-san, you won't have to worry yourself anymore."

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(1) Patients on chemotherapy usually have to where jackets or coats even in warm weather because of their lack of white blood cells to keep them warm.

Gomen! Gomen! Gomen! School has started piling up and I need to finish Vanity Fair to secure my A in English. Sorry if anything sounds weird, I've been high on old British English for the past few weeks. .