xDISCLAIMER: I don't own I don't own some of characters in the story. The characters that will appear in this fic are owned by their respective owners. There are also OCs that are owned by their respective authors.
-/-
"At daylight, you are safe, but at nighttime, you are in danger.
The night is where people known as Summoners obtain mysterious beings known as the Tsukumogami spirits. They are ordinary people during the day, but they are Summoners at night. Every night, they engage in a war among themselves for a certain 'gift' that might change their life forever. The winner will stay in the war while the loser will be disqualified from the war.
However, it is said that a Summoner does not kill an ordinary person that is not involve in the war. That soon change when a string of mysterious murders begin to take place during the war.
The murders soon haunt the city where the war takes place.
What truth lies within the shadows of the night?
The answer lies within the war of the Summoners.
This war is known as…
The Tsukumogami War"
-/-
Tokyo, Japan
It has been two days since the Nighttime Murders.
The case was closed with the apprehension of the serial killer. Even though the authority never learned of the mysterious Tsukumogami War, they assumed that with the killer in custody, the city would be safe again. However, ever since that gruesome event, the street seemed much more frightening than usual.
People have started to say that they heard strange noises at night.
Some have also said that they saw shadowy figures roaming throughout the street.
Some even claimed that some people have disappeared during the night, but they have shown up during daylight.
Of course, not all people believed them.
However, later that night in the 2nd day after the case's resolution, something had happened.
Street
12:10 AM
A pair of thugs is hiding underneath a bridge. Each of them wears a mask to avoid recognition from any witnesses.
These thugs are actually part of a criminal group that has been smuggling drugs for two months. Apparently, they were called by one of their friends to this area for a meeting in secret. "Alright, what's keeping him so long? We've been here for an hour," one of the thugs grumbles, "That bastard better had a good excuse for dragging us here this late."
The two thugs wait impatiently for their comrade.
The cold night is giving the chills for these hooligans and the darkness makes the atmosphere even more frightening.
Eventually, they hear someone running through the bridge's ground and lands near the thugs' location. The thugs instantly recognize the person as their comrade. The man is covered in sweats with a fearful look on his face. The thugs immediately know that something isn't right.
"Hey, man. What's wrong with ya?" one of the thugs asks.
"S-Someone's after us," the man said to the thugs with a terrified expression much to the confusion of the thugs, "H-He already killed our pals! Now he's after me!"
"W-What? Who?" the thugs quickly ask their friend until they hear sounds of what appears to be an electrical charge. The men are startled by the electrical sound as they quickly look above the bridge. They find two shadows of human and a large, robot-like figure respectively. The shadowy human glares at the thugs and said, "I've already killed all of your buddies."
The thugs quickly recognize the man's face as they sprint backward from the shadowy human, "Y-You! But I thought you're dead!" one of the thugs yells.
The shadowy man glares at the yelling thug, "I came back for only one, simple thing," the shadowy figure said when the two thugs draw their guns out. "…Revenge," the shadowy figure raises his hand signaling the robot-like figure to do its part; it raises its hands emitting a strange magnetic field! Since the guns are made of metal, the guns are pulled onto the figure's hands!
The shadowy man suddenly casts a storm of lightning bolts onto the two thugs and their scared comrade killing them in an instant!
"…Justice has been served…" the figure utters with a monotone voice… This clearly shows that the unknown figure is another Summoner.
-/-
The mysterious man tosses the bodies of the thugs into the river.
It appears that the unknown figure has been killing a certain criminal group with the three thugs as his latest victims. The shadowy human has already killed the entire criminals in one night thanks to his Summoner spells and his yet-to-be-revealed Tsukumogami.
However, there's only one criminal left that he wants to kill, but the Summoner is unable to find the criminal anywhere. The shadowy Summoner is upset that he can't locate the final member of the criminal group until another shadowy figure that looked like a large dragon appears next to the metallic figure.
"Having trouble finding your man?" the shadowy dragon asks.
"Hmph… You think?" the Summoner retorts.
The unknown Summoner tells his Tsukumogamis that they're going home now. As the Summoner walks his way back home, he takes out a certain paper from his pocket: a DDS entrance form.
-x-
Opening Theme: Wild Fang (by Janne De Arc)
(Opening instrumental)
[Scenes of Kyuu Renjo and a mysterious boy named Yomi in the streets at night; a close-up view of Tokyo with Summoners spreading all over the city]
Togisumasareta tsume wo tate
Ima kagayaku tame ni sono
kiba wo muke
[Enemy Summoners surround Kyuu and Yomi as Kyuu suddenly raises a card to summon Dark Magician Girl into battle and attacks the enemies]
Shiren wa norikoerarenai
Hito ni osoikakari wa shinai
-/Tsukumogami War\-
XXXXXXX
[Dark Magician Girl stands behind Kyuu as Kyuu look at her who is smiling back him; Yomi watches the city at night as a crow lands on his left shoulder]
Tsukuri warai… Sono mama na no?
Shiawase na no? Uso wa nai?
[Shadowy images of Megumi Minami, Kazumi Asakura, Fuyuki Hinata, Rin Tohsaka, Kyon, Haruhi Suzumiya, Yuki Nagato, Nina Sakura, Tamaki, Suoh, and an unknown boy]
Tojikomete shimau koto ga
Kashikoku ikiru koto ja nai
[Dark Magician Girl is alone in a mysterious sanctuary as she sees a ghostly figure of her previous 'master' until she suddenly snaps back to reality and finds herself in Kyuu's house]
Migi ni narae… Sore de ii no?
Sore ja tada no kikai ja nai?
[Close-up views of Konoka Konoe, Tamaki, Rin Tohsaka, Kyon, and Yomi]
Tsumetai karada no naka no
atsui tamashii wo yobisamase
[A Summoner summons White Night Dragon and orders it to attack another Summoner]
Daremo mina mune no oku ni
[Located in the city at night, Konoka summons Head Huntress while Fuyuki summons Abe no Seimei, Kazumi summons Justimon while Yuki summons Deoxys, Tamaki summons Baldr while Nina summons Mystical Elf, an unknown boy summons Blackwing Armor Master while a man with an eye patch summons Tigrex]
nemuru "yasei" wo yadoshiteru
Toki ni wa kusari hazushite
[Kyuu summons Dark Magician Girl while Yomi summons Bahamut]
Chi wo nagase!
[Kyuu's Tsukumogami Spirits (Dark Magician Girl and two shadowy figures) attack enemy Summoners' spirits as Yomi orders Bahamut attack a Summoner that summons Godzilla]
Togisumasareta tsume wo tate
Ima kagayaku tame ni sono
kiba wo muke
[Kyuu (Dark Magician Girl) and Yomi (Haseo) face two unknown Summoners with their Tsukumogami Spirits, Predator and Dark Necrofear]
Hadaka ni natte tokihanateba
Kanashimi mo keseru
[Kyuu and Yomi use their respective Spell Cards to obtain their 'weapons' as they fight other with their Tsukumogami Spirits by their side]
Sukoshi hamidashitemo kamawanai
Kimi wa kimi no tame ni
gamushara ni nare
[Close-up view of Kyuu and his Tsukumogami Spirits (Dark Magician Girl and two unknown Tsukumogamis) with Yomi and his Tsukumogami Spirits (Haseo, Yatagarasu, and Bahamut) before it changes to the view of the city]
Shiren wa norikoerarenai
Hito ni osoikakari wa shinai
-x-
Later that morning…
Kyuu's Home
Ever since the day Dark Magician Girl appeared, the house appeared to be much livelier than before. Under the name, Minako (wears a modern silk dress with a pendant that has a blue-colored crystal to fit in with society rather than her signature magician dress), Dark Magician Girl has been helping with the house a lot.
Over the past two days, Kyuu and Dark Magician Girl have slowly become close as friends with the Tsukumogami girl manages to familiarize with the Modern world.
At times, she had cleaned up the kitchen and prepared breakfast for Kyuu and his mother.
That morning, Minako has just finished prepare breakfast. She's wearing her apron and holding a ladle.
The table has been filled with your traditional Japanese cuisine: rice, seafood, and fermented foods. Dark Magician Girl/Minako was rather a skillful cook since most of her foods were always delicious. "Well, that takes care of it~" Minako cheerfully said.
"Minako-chan, you're awake?" Kyuu's mother enters the room in her pajamas.
Minako cheerfully nods as she puts her ladle on the kitchen's sink and places her apron on her chair.
Over the past days, Minako and Kyuu's mother have been close as the young, cute Tsukumogami looks up to her Master's mother as her own surrogate mother. Kyuu's mother has even scolded her for a mistake she has done yesterday so Minako learned from her mistake and became even better.
"Eh? Where's Kyuu-san?" Minako asks her Master's mother.
It turns out that her Master, Kyuu, is still sleeping in his room. The boy has always been lazy if it comes to wake up from sleeping, so someone always has to wake him up for him. We can see that the boy enjoys sleeping on his futon.
Minako/Dark Magician Girl unexpectedly appears next to the boy's futon.
"Master… Wake up," Minako quietly said to Kyuu in a kind tone. She gently pushes the boy by his arm, but the boy is still asleep. When she pushes the boy's arm a little hard though gently, the boy starts to wake up with his eyes slowly open. "Come on, Master, it's already 6 o'clock, it's time to wake up," Minako said to Kyuu.
"…Five more minutes," the boy yawns as he goes back to sleep.
"Moouu… Again?" Dark Magician Girl/Minako groans while she twitches her forehead. The blonde-haired girl stands up as she suddenly grabs a bucket of cold water! "I'm so sorry, Master," Minako bows her head, "But you ask for it!"
Minako immediately splashes the cold water on her Master!
Kyuu screams aloud echoing throughout the house.
Chapter 4: The Beginning of Fate
-/-
"G-Geez!" Kyuu and Minako are at the table with Kyuu's mother.
The boy is clearly annoyed by Minako's method of wakeup calls though his mother rather likes it since her own son is pretty much a sleepyhead, not to mention an early bath.
"I told you, you left me no choice, Kyuu-san. If I didn't wake you up sooner, you would've overslept again," Minako kindly said as a response to Kyuu.
"But Minako!" Kyuu moves closer to his Tsukumogami in irritation, "That was too cold! Are you trying to give me the fever?"
"Actually, it's the opposite way. Cold water makes you feel more relaxed and healthier," Minako/Dark Magician Girl calmly explains to her Master, Kyuu, despite his negative reaction towards her action, "Besides, that's the only way to wake you up."
Kyuu sighs while twitching his eye while Kyuu's mother chuckles to see the two kids arguing.
"Glad to see you two getting along," Kyuu's mother said to her son and their new friend.
The family soon enjoys their breakfast until they're done.
Apparently, Kyuu's mother has to go now because she has a job interview and it starts in an hour. Kyuu and Minako are left in charge with the house, but Kyuu still has school today so he has to go sooner. School's hour starts in an hour in a half, so Kyuu doesn't have to worry about being late thanks to Minako's wakeup call.
Kyuu then turns his attention to his 'partner,' Dark Magician Girl/Minako, who is currently cleaning up the table.
"Here, let me help," Kyuu said to Minako as he starts to pick up the plates.
Street
Kyuu and Minako/Dark Magician Girl are on their way to school.
The young boy still has school until his graduation next month though he's not planning to go to any high schools. As they walk through the street, the two partners have a conversation with each other. Dark Magician Girl learns most of the Modern world from Kyuu though she tends to hear her Master's stories of the detective genre.
They have been talking for the entire walk until they stumble across a TV store where one of the televisions shows the recent news report of bizarre murders that took place last night. The news attracts both Kyuu and Minako's attentions.
The news shows various locations of the murders, which includes an apartment, the alley, and the river. The police report that the cause of death is almost the same with each victim: electrocution. To add more disturbances into the murder case, there are no witnesses during the time of deaths. Now people begin to think that the new murder case is connected to the Nighttime Murder case.
Like the Nighttime Murder case, the identity of the killer is unknown for the time being.
"…Another one," Kyuu mutters as Minako nods. They both suspect that another Summoner is behind this murder. As Kyuu had promised earlier, he's willing to stop anyone from using the 'Tsukumogami War' for evil intentions. "Well then," Kyuu happily said as he quickly looks at his Tsukumogami, Dark Magician Girl, "Shall we investigate the case immediately?"
With a smile, Minako place her hand on Kyuu's shoulder.
"Kyuu-san… Have you forgotten about your school?" she kindly asks.
"Eh? OH NO!" Kyuu quickly yelps afterwards. The boy looks at the time on his watch and notices that he's almost late for school. "W-We'll do it later after school!" Kyuu yells again in stressed tone as he quickly runs toward school with Dark Magician Girl/Minako follows from behind.
-/-
Thankfully, they're already close to the school so Kyuu isn't late at all.
Tons of junior high students are already in the school with some doing their morning activities and hang out with their other friends before school time. Many students especially Kyuu's class are excited that they're going to be graduated at Friday; everyone (except for Kyuu) has already got plans for their graduations and know which high schools they're going to sign up.
Kyuu and Dark Magician Girl/Minako are hiding behind a building next to the school.
"Alright," Kyuu turns his attention to Minako, "Remember. Please don't do anything funny, Dark Magician Girl. I mean it or people will think I'm crazy."
Since he watches a lot of movies with similar situation he's currently in, the detective fanatic fears that his Tsukumogami would do something very stupid such as talking to him causing everyone around him to think he's talking to himself.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Master," Dark Magician Girl said to Kyuu with a cheerful smile, "I won't cause any trouble. I'll just stay in my artifact until school's over."
Kyuu sighs in relief as he has hoped that Dark Magician Girl understands him.
A voice suddenly calls out Kyuu's name much to their surprises. Minako/Dark Magician Girl quickly transforms herself into a pink light and dives into Kyuu's pocket. Inside the pocket lies her artifact, the blank card with silver lines.
The boy quickly turns around and sees one of his classmates, Mizuki, the short black-haired girl who has a slightly tomboyish personality.
Mizuki happened to pass by the building until she heard Kyuu's voice, so she has decided to check it out and found the detective fanatic. Luckily, she didn't see his Tsukumogami.
"Kyuu, what're you doing here? And who're you talking to?" Mizuki asks while raising her left eyebrow.
The boy chuckles nervously as he approaches Mizuki, "N-Nothing! I was just talking to myself. You know, to support myself," Kyuu nervously said as he quickly pushes Mizuki to the school's area.
"H-Hey, stop pushing me!" Mizuki angrily said.
"J-Just hurry or we'll be late for class!" Kyuu nervously yelps as they reach the school's gate.
"Geez… This feels just like one of those animes…"
-/-
Meanwhile on a lone apartment, a girl with a pink, pigtail-hairstyle girl dressed in pink middle school watches a TV. The TV's program shows the current news of the horrific murders that took place last night. The pink haired girl is clearly disgusted to see the murders.
"Oh my God… Another one?"
The dreadful scenes of the murders clearly disgust the pink-haired girl that she decides to change the channel. The recent murders (including the Nighttime Murders) have scared the girl that she can't relax even if she hears a quiet, calm music.
As she flips the channels to find something interesting on TV, her cell phone suddenly rings.
The girl answers her cell phone.
"Hey, Megumi-chan. It's me."
"Nee-chan!" The girl shouts with a joyful tone as she lowers the TV's volume down.
"I'd thought I should give you a call. Sorry I didn't call recently, been pretty busy lately in Jakarta. How're you doing now? You're not feeling lonely, are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Nee-chan. I'm finally getting used to it," the girl said to her sister on the phone, "But Tokyo's been a bit creepy lately. Have you heard the news?"
"Yeah, I couldn't imagine how creepy it was. It's just like one of those thriller movies."
The girl nods in agreement, she looks outside the window. She sees numerous police cars racing throughout the street, so she thinks that the police are on their way to the other scenes of the murder case.
She hopes that her sister will come home sooner since she is not feeling more comfortable living alone, not with the recent murder.
"Nee-chan, how long are you going to be at Jakarta?" The girl decides to ask her sister straight out.
"I'm not really sure… I'll probably be back next week if they lay off the work on me. In the mean time, you should lock all doors every night."
"Okay then," the girl replies with a relieved tone.
The girl wants to talk with her sister a little longer, but her sister tells her that she has to go immediately.
"I'm really sorry that I have to go soon, but I promise that we'll talk a bit longer when I got enough time. You take yourself, okay?"
"Okay, nee-chan. Take care too."
The pink-haired girl puts her phone down after the call.
The girl feels a bit more relaxed since she's able to her sister who's currently at Indonesia, Jakarta.
After she watches the television for thirty minutes, she decides to go outside hoping that she can get feel more relaxed.
School
Few hours have passed and school is finally over.
The students are overjoyed since they have numerous plans for today.
The entire students leave their classes and prepare to return homes, but some students decide to hang out at other places. Among the students are Kyuu's best friends, Satoru, Yusuke, and Daisuke. Those boys decide to go to their usual place at a nearby mall.
Kyuu, on the other hand, isn't planning to go with his friends. The boy has to shop at his mother's favorite grocery store for dinner. While Dark Magician Girl makes breakfast, the boy's mom is in charge with dinner.
The boy is at the second floor's hallway when his classmates have left the class.
"Alright," Kyuu quietly said to himself with a smile as he takes out a small note that contains the grocery list. He's rather excited because he, as a detective fanatic, deduces tonight's dinner, which happens to be one of his favorites.
"Master Kyuu," a Dark Magician Girl's voice suddenly calls the boy's name. The Tsukumogami girl is able to talk to her Master telepathically from her artifact. That way, no one else can hear her voice but Kyuu.
"Do you always sleep in classes? I thought that's against the school rules," the girl said to her master, but the detective fanatic just shrugs, "Hehe, I'm kinda bored and tired, so I thought I should take a nap for awhile," Kyuu chuckles with a goofy smile.
"Master, that's really not good for you. If I didn't wake you up sooner, your teacher will catch you," Dark Magician Girl begins to lecture her Master about morality and duty as a fellow student.
"Oh boy… Here we go again," Kyuu sighs with his head lowered.
Dark Magician Girl will lecture him whenever he does something wrong as if she's his own mother. Her lectures are usually long and boring.
The boy continues walk while Dark Magician Girl lectures him even longer to respect his teacher and his school before he graduates. It doesn't take long when Dark Magician Girl suddenly appears next to him! "Master Kyuu, are you even listening?" she quietly asks with an infuriated tone.
Kyuu yelps when he sees his Tsukumogami appears before his very own eyes as he quickly looks around. Thankfully, there's no one around in the hallway.
"D-Dark Magician Girl, w-what're you doing?" Kyuu nervously asks with a whisper as he quickly clinches on her forcing her to turn into a light again. She quickly returns to her artifact, the blank card in Kyuu's pocket.
"Hello, is someone there?" A feminine voice suddenly calls out.
Kyuu gasps when he hears the voice. He looks around the hallway nervously hoping that no one has seen Dark Magician Girl transforms into a light and zaps back to her artifact. He eventually notices one of his female classmates, Yumi, the long blonde-haired wearing glasses.
"Oh, it's you, Kyuu-san. You're going home already?" Yumi kindly asks.
To Kyuu's relief, Yumi doesn't seem to see Dark Magician Girl or her light, so his secret is still safe.
"N-Not really, I got some shopping to do for my mom, so I gotta get to the grocery store," Kyuu said back with a nervous look on his face.
"Kyuu-san, are you okay? You looked rather… Stressed," Yumi said while raising her right eyebrow, but the detective boy reassures the glasses-wearing girl that he's okay.
"…Kyuu-san…" the girl utters the boy's name with a befuddled look written on her face while lowering her head.
"…Are you sure that you don't want to continue your high school? What you said before had been bothering me lately," Yumi said to Kyuu as she focuses her eyes on the detective fanatic.
"Well, I am serious about it. I really am not going to any high school, none of them seem to interest me," the boy freely admits it to the glasses-wearing girl. As he had stated before, his only interest is detective. "Detective, huh? You're still on with that detective stuff?" Yumi asks again.
"Yup!" Kyuu cheerfully answers with a goofy smile, "If there was a high school for detectives, I would definitely join in."
Yumi giggles when the boy mentions a detective school. She does find Kyuu funny even though he can be weird at times, which is why some students seem to like him despite his weirdness and childish antics. However, things will get quiet once they're graduated since they're going to different high schools, which is quite sad as Yumi hopes that she and the rest of her friends can go to the same high school.
"Still… It's not gonna be the same with you, Mizuki-san, or the others," Yumi sadly said as she lowers her head again.
Though shy to admit it, Kyuu has the exact feeling with Yumi; he is going to miss his classmates. "Well, we're bound to go our separate ways," Kyuu scratches the back of his head, "I guess we all have different dreams. But even so, we might meet again in the future."
"I guess you're right," Yumi quietly said with a smile.
"Well, I gotta go now. I'll see you tomorrow," Kyuu bids his friend farewell. He walks down the stairs to the first floor as Yumi watches him leave the second floor.
The boy eventually exits the school building.
Street
"G-Geez, that's a close one," Kyuu sighs whilst walking throughout the street.
Next to the boy with the weird black-white hair is Dark Magician Girl in her guise as Minako.
"Sorry about it, Master, I guess I didn't think carefully," Minako apologetically said to her Master.
"Nah, I should be the one who say sorry. If I didn't pay much attention to you, it wouldn't ever happen," Kyuu also apologetically said to her.
"But that girl… She's your classmate, right?" Minako asks relating to Yumi. The boy explains that he had known Yumi ever since he started middle school.
According to Kyuu, Yumi is a sweet, caring girl who's quite feminine and a sensible one although she's prone to laugh at something she considers funny just like how she likes to giggle on Kyuu's antics. She's incredibly smart with her main focus on biology. She dreams to be a biologist like her parents. Not to mention, she really likes cute stuff.
Minako can see that Yumi is emotional from the looks of her face when she's going to be separated from her best friends. "You really sure you're not going to any high school at all?" Dark Magician Girl asks her Master again, "I felt sorry for her and… I think you should at least try one out starting with Yumi's high school, maybe you'll like it."
"I already told you, I made up my mind. I ain't goin' to any high schools, but I'm sure that we'll meet again someday," Kyuu optimistically said.
Minako/Dark Magician Girl starts to ask her Master about his other friends, but before Kyuu can tell his Tsukumogami girl about the rest of his classmates, the boy accidentally bumps toward an old man who appears to be in his late fifties carrying a wallet and an umbrella. Upon the impact, the old man accidentally drops some of his money bills from his wallet while Kyuu is pushed backwards and it causes the blank card from his pocket to drop out from the boy's pocket.
"S-Sorry!" Kyuu yelps as he quickly picks up the bills for the old man while Minako picks up her blank card.
The commotion also attracts the attention of people that are passing by the street. The boy successfully picks up all the money on the ground and gives them back to the old man. "Be careful next time, kid," the old man said as he starts to count his money.
"…Huh? HEY!" The old man suddenly grabs the boy by his collar much to Minako's surprise! "There's ten thousand yen missing!"
"E-Eeehh?" Minako yelps when the old man accuses Kyuu for stealing his money.
"W-Wait, I wouldn't do that-"
"Don't lie to me!"
The people watch the commotion as they commenting about how bad teenagers today. The boy, supported by his Tsukumogami, tries to convince the old man that he does not stole his money until an officer arrives at the scene. "What's going on here?" the cop asks.
"Officer, this brat took my money!" The old man angrily tells the cop.
"W-We told you, I really didn't," Kyuu said back as Minako approaches the cop, "Really, sir. He really didn't do it," she said to the cop.
"Then why is it missing, huh!" The old man angrily retorts at the two, "Or maybe you're part of this!"
"M-Me?" Minako yelps with teary eyes, "B-But I'm not…"
"Don't play dumb me!"
The old man becomes even more hostile towards the two as the cop tries to calm the old man down with little success.
Just when the situation can get any worse, one of the people that watch the commotion steps out from the crowd and said, "118 thousand yen."
Kyuu, Minako, the old man, and the cop notice a girl with a pink, pigtail-hairstyle girl dressed in pink middle school in front of the crowd.
"118 thousand yen, that's the amount that was scattered on the ground. To be exact, 9 ten thousand bills, 5 five thousand bills, and 3 one thousand bills," the pink-haired girl calmly explains to the four people. She then asks the officer to count the money, so the cop does what she requests.
"…That's right! That's exactly right!" The cop is astonished that the girl guesses it right; the numbers of each bill are exactly what she had said much to the surprise of everyone in the commotion even Kyuu and Minako are surprised.
"That means he didn't steal it."
"W-Wait a minute!" The old man shouts again, "I just withdrew 100 thousand yen. There can't only be 9 ten thousand yen bills!"
Suddenly, Kyuu takes the old man's umbrella.
"W-What're you doing?" Minako nervously asks.
"What, you wanna fight?" The man viciously said as he poses his defensive stance, boxing style to be exact.
The black-white-haired boy just smiles as he opens the umbrella.
Surprisingly, a 10 thousand yen bill falls from within the umbrella much to everyone's surprise!
"Here you go," Kyuu picks up the money bill and hands it over to the old man.
"Glad that you didn't lose it."
-/-
"Geez, I'm really sorry. I blew my top," the old man takes the three kids, Kyuu, Dark Magician Girl/Minako, and the pink-haired girl at a nearby restaurant.
The old man wants to apologize to the three kids for the misunderstanding, so he wants to treat them at the restaurant where the prices are cheap but the food is great. "This is on me, order whatever you want," the man said to the kids.
"Really?" The pink-haired girl is surprised, but she kindly accepts the old man's offer, "Okay, I'll have a chocolate parfait."
"How about you two?" the old man asks Kyuu and Minako.
"W-Well… We're having dinner at home, so…" Kyuu shyly said, but the man tells the boy that it's okay. The old man said that dinner is just dinner, so he can just order a snack for once.
Kyuu looks at his blonde-haired friend as they both nod.
"Okay, we'll have chocolate parfaits too."
"There you go," the old man is satisfied with smile.
The old man pays the parfaits, but he has to leave soon since he has to run to the station to get a ticket or else it will sell out. His daughter is going to marry in Hokkaido tomorrow. The money that he had withdrawn was actually presents for his daughter. The old man looks at his wristwatch and notices that it's almost time, so he has to go now.
"Well, sorry about earlier. I've already pay those, so enjoy them," the old man waves goodbye to the three kids as he leaves the restaurant.
"…He left," the pink-haired girl utters when the waitress arrives at their seats with their parfaits.
"Well, since he had paid for it, let's eat," Dark Magician Girl/Minako said as the pink-haired girl nods in agreement.
"Oh, by the way," Minako turns her attention to the pink-haired girl, "I'm Minako."
"K-Kyuu… I'm Kyuu and I'm a senior in junior high," Minako's Master also introduces himself to the girl.
"I'm Megumi Minami, I'm also a senior in junior high," the girl, Megumi, also introduces herself to the boy and the blonde girl.
"Oh, so we're the same age!" Kyuu cheerfully said, "I thought you were older than me!"
"…Do I look that old?" Megumi asks while sweat dropping, Minako is also sweat dropping since her Master is embarrassing himself in front of another girl.
6:30 PM
It's almost nighttime, the lights in the street are turn on one by one and some people start to go out.
Kyuu walks around the lone street with the girls, Minako and Megumi. Their paths to their respective homes are the same though at the last checkpoint, they have to separate to get to their homes. In fact, they have some fun spending time together as Kyuu finds Megumi attractive.
While on their way back, Kyuu explains to the girls about his solution earlier.
The boy explains that the old man didn't look like he was lying and, yet, no one else could have taken the money. That could mean the money must have disappeared somewhere before it hit the ground and the only thing he could think of was the old man's umbrella.
"Ooh, you're awesome as ever, Kyuu-san!" Minako praises Kyuu's deductive ability. Megumi, on the other hand, is silent. At first, Minako thinks that the pink girl is bored, but on the contrary, Megumi is genuinely impressed. She calls Kyuu's deductive skills 'Amazing.'
"T-That's the second time I've ever heard a girl say that!" Kyuu excitedly said referring the first time to Dark Magician Girl/Minako.
"Oh, speaking of which," Minako turns her attention to Megumi, "How did you know how much was scattered on the ground?"
"Yeah, how did you? I've been wondering about that," Kyuu adds.
"That's because…" Megumi pauses for a while as she looks above the night sky.
"I remembered it."
"Eh?" Both Kyuu and Minako said simultaneously with blank faces.
"Do you know what a 'photographic memory' is?" Megumi asks but the two doesn't know what it means. She explains that it's the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision even if it's just for a second. Megumi Minami was born with that gift.
"Wow…" Both Kyuu and Minako also said simultaneously. They're both amazed to learn about Megumi's photographic memory.
Megumi looks at the two and asks, "Oh, by the way. Are you two related?"
"U-Us?" Kyuu points his index finger beneath his chin while Minako remains silent. "Well, we're not really family, we're just friends," Minako kindly replies to Megumi.
"Oh, sorry about it," Megumi apologetically said while she bows her head, "It's just that you two act a bit similar." The boy just shrugs while looking at Megumi.
"So you live alone by yourself?" Kyuu asks.
"Yeah, my sister went to Jakarta, but she'll be back next week. But…" Megu looks down with an anxious expression, "Have you heard about those gruesome murders? Tokyo's been getting dangerous lately; I'm a bit scared alone."
"Mur… Ders?" Kyuu realizes that Megumi is talking about the Nighttime Murders and the recent murders.
Before Kyuu can react with Megumi's fear of the gruesome murders, Minako sees something over at a building that is under construction. The blonde-haired girl points at the crane on top of the building. It is a figure of a man waving his hand while holding a flashlight, the kids notice that the way man waves his arm is as if he's waving goodbye.
The figure suddenly drops itself plummeting to the ground below!
"H-He jumped!"
"No way!"
The girls and the boy are shocked to see the man-like figure seemingly commit suicide.
Kyuu doesn't waste much time as he rushes toward to the building as the girls follow him.
The three kids run across the streets while avoiding the cars.
As they run through the streets, Kyuu almost is hit by a large man with ponytailed hair and slanted eyes that's riding a bicycle. The man manages to halt his bicycle in time, "S-Sorry about it!" Kyuu yells as he and the girls head toward the construction site.
"H-Hey!" The man with the slanted eyes angrily yells back.
"What the hell are they doing?" the man wonders as he decides to follow the three kids.
Construction Site
Kyuu, Dark Magician Girl/Minako, and Megumi arrive at the front yard where the figure lands.
"There he is!" Minako yells when she points at someone lying on the ground. The ponytailed man soon arrives at the scene too demanding to know why the three kids are in such a hurry. Kyuu explains to the ponytailed man that someone jumped off the building.
The large man sees the body on the ground, so he runs toward to the body.
As you expect it, the man is already dead. His heart has stopped beating and there are no life signs in his body. Kyuu, Minako, and Megumi decide to look at the body. To their surprise, the dead person is actually the old man whom they met earlier!
"H-Hey, it's that…"
"N-No way…"
"I-It's him…"
The three is stunned to see the old man's body as the tall man tells the boy and the girls to calm down and call the police. However, before they can do so, a woman with long, brown hair wearing glasses approaches the body. The woman has already called the police using her cell phone.
"Did you four see it too?" the woman asks.
The spotlights are suddenly turned on.
The rest of the employees arrive at the scene of the crime. "I knew it! Someone fell!" One of the workers yells as they quickly approach the body. The workers instantly recognize the old man calling him by his name: Nakajima.
-/-
The police arrive at the scene of the crime.
Some of the police are investigating the body and the building while the rest are questioning the witnesses. Among them are Kyuu, his Tsukumogami in disguise, Megumi, the long brown-haired woman, and the slanted eyes man who is actually Kinta.
"Yes, I saw a figure jump off the crane, so I rushed over to the office to call the staff," one of the witnesses, the Construction Superintendent Hitoshi Shinoda, explains to the police.
"Yeah, I happened to drop by the office on the way home," a Construction worker named Masao Kizaki also explains.
"Me too, I'm assisting with the interior design. I came to make a preliminary inspection today," the long brown-haired woman who is actually a Designer named Misao Kurihara.
With all the testimonies from the witnesses and no further evidences, the police decide that confirm it as suicide. Kyuu can't believe that the old man has committed suicide as he hears some of the workers gossiping.
"Suicide, huh? Great, he just had to do it on our site!"
"Nakajima was always complaining, maybe he got tired of living."
The boy is silent.
When the police is about to dismiss the witnesses, Minako suddenly tells them to wait.
"Sirs… I'm afraid I can't believe that this was a suicide," Minako said to the police much to everyone's surprise. Kyuu, on the other hand, isn't surprise at all but he has a feeling that she is going to say it. The Tsukumogami girl soon turns her head around to look at Kyuu and Megumi. Both Kyuu and Megumi nod in response.
"Huh? What do you mean?" the detective asks.
Minako holds both Kyuu and Megumi by their arms and said, "You see, the three of us… We met him not an hour ago."
"It was by accident," Megumi adds.
"He said that his daughter was getting married in Hokkaido tomorrow. He went to go buy a ticket. I… I just don't think that he'd go and kill himself!" Minako explains to the detective.
The detective calls one of his men and tells his subordinate to check it.
"But if it wasn't suicide… Was it murder?" The chief thought.
The slightly thought of murder causes all the witnesses to become anxious as they think that one of them is a murderer. Shinoda thinks that Kizaki might be a primary suspect since the worker had a fight with the victim this morning. Shinoda even heard that Kizaki yelled 'You'll pay for this!' The construction worker claims that it's because the old man was complaining about his style of work.
Kizaki thinks that Shinoda is the primary suspect since the Superintendent actually has a motive. Shinoda always want to fire the old man, but the Superintendent defends himself by saying that he thought that the work was too rough for Nakajima due to his age, so Shinoda suggested that the old man should find another job that's suitable for him in his age.
The detective then turns his attention to the female designer, Kurihara, and asks her about her reasons to come to the site at this late. As she had said earlier, she wanted to make a preliminary inspection.
"Listen, detective. It must have taken 4 or 5 minutes after Nakajima-san fell for us to get here," Kizaki said to the detective as he looks above the building, "This building has no stairs yet, so you have to use the elevator but it's really slow. It takes at least 10 minutes to get to the roof in the elevator."
"Hehe, that means it was impossible for us to have killed him," Kizaki smirks.
"It takes… At least 10 minutes…" Kyuu thought in his mind while looking at the top of the building.
The detective's subordinate eventually arrives and reports that a train ticket to Hokkaido is found in the victim's pocket.
"Huh, so it's not going to be ruled a suicide?" Kizaki asks.
"Well, I saw it. He pointed the flashlight at the sky and waved it in a circle. It must have been suicide!" Shinoda said to the police.
"W-What?" Kyuu stares at the Superintendent. Something that Shinoda has said bothers the boy.
The detective will look at this case as an accident or a murder, but the police need the witnesses' contact information in case they need them to solve the case.
As everyone writes down their contact information, Minako, who is writing down her contact information with Megumi and Kinta next to her, pays close attention to the three staffs and notice that Kurihara and Kizaki are rather calm in writing theirs while Shinoda is closing his left eye."It takes 10 minutes to get down from the roof… That means they all have an alibi, right?" Minako asks as Megumi nods.
"So what do you think, Kyuu?" Megumi asks until she realizes that the detective fanatic isn't among them!
"H-Hey, look! Over there!" Kinta shouts when he sees Kyuu is at the elevator! The boy is using the elevator to get to the rooftop of the constructed building! "Detective, sorry, but I'm borrowing this for a little bit!" Kyuu yells with a cheerful tone while waving his arm.
Minako sighs in shame as the others stare wide-eyes at the boy.
10 minutes later…
The elevator finally made it to the rooftop much to Kyuu's chagrin.
"…This is really slow…" Kyuu mutters in annoyance.
The boy makes his way to the crane as the people below watch him. They're getting even more worried for Kyuu's safety when he walks on the crane. "H-Hey! That's dangerous! Get down from there!" the detective shouts, but Kyuu ignores the police as he lowers his body and crawls through the crane.
The boy eventually reaches the near end of the crane and he discovers something tied up on the crane. It appears to some kind of rope, but for some reason, the boy can tell that it's not really a rope upon further inspection. "…This is it! I see!" Kyuu yells in excitement as he quickly makes his way back to the elevator.
"Everyone! This case is neither a suicide nor an accident! It's a murder!" Kyuu shouts which surprises everyone below especially Kinta. "The perpetrator is here among us!" Kyuu shouts again.
"W-What? What kind of bullshit is that brat talking about?" Kizaki asks with a nervous glance.
"Y-Yeah, I don't get it at all," Shinoda adds with a terrified expression.
Kyuu explains that there are two hints in the following:
- the flashlight the victim was waving
- the 'rope' that's tied to the crane
Unfortunately, Kyuu doesn't have enough evidence to prove his theory yet. Therefore, the boy asks the police if he can have a little time to investigate for the evidence. The detective doesn't agree with the boy's demand and he orders Kyuu to get down now and leave it to the police.
Minako can only watch her Master in amazement.
The Dark Magician Girl has no idea that her Master's deductive skills are much sharper than she thought. The blonde-haired girl relieves that the old man didn't commit suicide, but the murderer is still at large. From the way the crime is committed, it surely isn't the work of a Summoner.
Dark Magician Girl/Minako decides to help her Master to solve this new murder case.
-/-
The police dismiss the rest of the witnesses until further notice.
Kyuu and Minako, on the other hand, want to stay at the construction site to search for the evidence.
Much to the detective's chagrin, the two kids are too stubborn to leave the scene of the crime especially Kyuu. With no other choice, the detective allows them to search for the evidence, but if they haven't find it until midnight, they will have to leave.
It has been nearly an hour and the two are still searching on the front yard where they found the body. The detective watches the two kids as one of his subordinates asks his superior if he really believes what the boy had said. The detective denies it, but he said that there's something about the kid's eyes that make him different that other kids he'd met.
"…Kyuu-san," Minako calls her Master while she's searching on the left side of Kyuu's position, "It's something small, isn't it?" Kyuu nods in response.
When the police finally leave the site, Megumi enters the site and finds both Kyuu and Minako searching around the front yard. Luckily, Megumi has brought a flashlight with her. She approaches the two and points her flashlight on the right side of Kyuu's position, which catches the attention of both Kyuu and Minako.
"M-Megumi-san," Minako is rather surprised to see the pink-haired girl again.
"I don't know what you're looking for, but it'll be hard to find it by yourselves," Megumi said to the two.
"So let me help you," Megumi approaches the two until they hear someone else's voice.
"This looks fun," the voice calls out who turns out to be Kinta.
"Oh, it's the slanted eyes man," Minako points out toward the tall man, Kinta.
"O-Oi, M-Minako-san! Don't call me that!" Kinta nervously yells at the blonde girl while both Kyuu and Megumi chuckle.
"Thank you, both of you," Kyuu gratefully said to Megumi and Kinta for their help.
"Huh? Hey, what happened to the detective?" the detective fanatic notices that the police detective isn't there watching them. "I didn't see him," Kinta explains to the boy, "Anyway, let's do it!"
With Megumi's flashlight, their search will get even easier.
The group begins to search for any evidence that might support Kyuu's theory to uncover the identity of the murderer. Unknown to them, the mysterious woman Misao Kurihara is watching them from the shadows of the building…
For ten minutes, they still haven't found it.
As Kyuu searches to the right, he eventually finds something shining in the ground!
"I found it!"
All the sudden, a water hose is turned on! The hose sprays water on the four teens and the ground. "N-No! The water's gonna wash away the evidence!" Minako quickly dashes to the area where Kyuu was pointing. The blonde-haired girl manages to get the thing on the ground and she moves closer to Kyuu showing it to him.
"…Yeah, this is it," Kyuu whispers at the Tsukumogami girl just as Kinta turns off the hose.
"Why's this hose…" Kinta utters before a sudden silence.
"…Why don't you come out?" Kyuu suddenly said as he stands up with Minako. Megumi is also behind the two.
"I know you're there," Kyuu turns his attention on a dark corner of the constructed building. Both Kinta and Minako notice a shadowy figure of a human hiding within the shadows. "He waved the flashlight in circles from the top of the building. He got people's attention and jumped off. Of course, anyone watching would think it was suicide, wouldn't they? Besides, once you mingled with the witnesses that ran to the site even if it's investigated as a murder, the slow elevator gives you a perfect way out."
"It was a nice trick to establish an alibi… The murderer is you…"
Kyuu points at the shadowy figure…
"Hitoshi Shinoda!"
The shadowy figure, who is actually the Superintendent, Shinoda, emerges from the shadows. There's something different with him, the Superintendent is now wearing glasses. "Wait a minute, I don't know what you're talking about, but I didn't want the employees to see the blood on the ground so I was going to wash it away. I didn't know you guys were still here," Shinoda explains to the four teens.
"And besides, you kids saw how Nakajima jumped off, right? He pointed the flashlight toward the sky and waved it in circles. And then…" Before Shinoda finishes his explanation, Kyuu cuts off his dialogue and points out that the Superintendent has said it again.
"How do you know that he pointed the flashlight toward the sky and waved it in circles?" Kyuu asks Shinoda.
This definitely raises the question since the old man, Nakajima, was on the top of the building. It was rather far too. From Kyuu's point of view when he saw the victim on the top, it looked like the victim was swinging it side-to-side.
Now how does Shinoda knows that the victim pointed it toward the sky and waved it in circles?
The only conclusion that Shinoda knows that the victim pointed it toward the sky and waved it in circles is Shinoda himself was the one doing it.
Shinoda is shocked as an anxious look is written all over his face.
Kyuu explains about the rope that he'd found tied on the crane. It's not just a rope at all, but there's also a rubber cord tied on rope as well. It other words, what they saw was not just a jump, but a bungee jump made to look like a jump to one's death!
To make it simple: Shinoda called Nakajima to the roof and pushed off from the building. The Superintendent then climbed up on the crane and waved the flashlight, so people who were down on the ground would know that he was going to jump. When Shinoda did jump down to the ground, the rubber cord that was tied on his leg saved him from the fall and he used the extra rope to get down on the ground safely. When the cord lost his weight, it snapped back to the top of the crane. Even if the rope were hanging from the crane, no one would figure it out.
Kyuu's theory surprises his Tsukumogami and the other two humans.
"…I see! That does make sense!" Minako holds her hand that contains the 'evidence' more tight.
"…That's an interesting story," the Superintendent said as he slowly walks backward, "But it's all based on conjecture."
"Yes, but a little while ago, when you heard what I said, you remembered the evidence you left at the site and tried to get rid of it by washing it away," Kyuu said again to the suspect as he points at the hose.
"E-Evidence?" Shinoda nervously chuckles as Minako suddenly steps forward.
"Yes… I managed to get this on time!" Minako opens her hand revealing the solid evidence: a contact lens!
"The contact lens that fell out during the bungee jump!"
"Thanks to Kyuu-san, now I realize who the culprit is," Minako points her other hand at Shinoda, "I notice when you were writing down your information, you closed your left eye and you seemed have a hard time reading! Without one of your contact lens, it's going to be hard to write!"
"Yup, and if the police examine this contact lens, a DNA test will prove that it's yours," Kyuu said to the real culprit, Shinoda.
"…It was a mistake to think of you as just another kid. I underestimated you," Shinoda utters with a grin as he suddenly takes out a knife from his pocket! "Now give it back to me!"
Just before Shinoda can attack Minako to retrieve his contact lens, Kinta suddenly moves toward the culprit and disarms the knife from the culprit's hand followed by a punch on his hand. The Superintendent quickly backs away from the tall man.
"Kendo… Judo… Karate… 10 dan in all!" Kinta suddenly poses a fighter's defensive stance… In style!
"DON'T UNDERRESTIMATE TOUYAMA KINTARO-SAMA!"
"D-Dammit!" Shinoda attempts to flee from them. To everyone's surprise, Minako is right in front of him! The blonde-haired girl places her index finger on the man's abdomen and it paralyzes the culprit. Minako then performs an over-the-shoulder arm throw sending the culprit crashing to the ground.
Kinta is clearly surprised to see that Minako is unexpectedly strong that she easily throws Shinoda to the ground. "…Wow, you go, girl," Kinta said as a compliment to Minako, which she finds it flattering.
As both Kinta and Minako apprehend the killer, Kurihara eventually approaches them from out nowhere. The mysterious woman moves toward Shinoda. "Oh, Kurihara-san," Megumi calls the woman's name as the woman bows her head, "Thank you for capturing him. You can leave it to us," The woman said to the four teens as she turns her attention on Shinoda.
"Shinoda-san, you are accused of using your position as site superintendent to divert money and embezzle funds."
"Nakajima was the one who told the owner the truth, wasn't he?" Kurihara asks.
"I couldn't forgive him!" Shinoda angrily retorts as he struggles to break free, but Kinta's and Minako's strengths are too much for him to handle, "He acted all righteous and ratted me out!"
"…You killed him… Because of that?" Kyuu utters before a sudden silence take over the scene…
"Detective Arai, I'll leave the rest to you," the woman suddenly calls out the police detective and his subordinates that are also with Kurihara. The detective's subordinates immediately apprehend Shinoda even though he's still paralyzed. "Shinoda Hitoshi, you're under arrest for the murder of Yoshio Nakajima-san. Take him away," the detective orders his men to handcuff the culprit and take him to the station.
The detective turns his attention to Misao Kurihara and salutes her, "I appreciate your help with the investigation."
"Good work, Detective Arai," the woman responds with a smile.
The detective excuses himself as he walks his way out of the site and joins up with the rest of his subordinates.
"All of you," Kurihara turns her attention to the four teenagers Kyuu, Minako, Megumi, and Kinta, "Thanks to all of you, the investigation is complete. Thank you very much."
"Umm… Who are you?" Megumi asks.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a detective hired by the owner to conduct a top-secret investigation," the woman kindly replies. Misao Kurihara is actually Katagiri Shino, a teacher from DDS.
D-DDS!"
"That's why the police were…"
Both Kinta and Megumi are shocked to learn Kurihara's identity though Kyuu and Minako have no idea about 'DDS.'
Megumi explains to the two that DDS stands for 'Dan Detective School,' a real detective school in Japan where students are allowed to carry a gun. It was founded by a famous detective named Dan Morihiko.
"W-Whoa! A detective school?" Kyuu asks with a shocked, yet happy expression.
"The police trust DDS completely. Its students sometimes help solve important cases," Kinta explains to Kyuu and Minako.
"Wait a minute… How did you two know so much about it?" Minako kindly asks.
"Because I want to go to DDS," Megumi and Kinta simultaneously answer.
Now Kyuu is truly speechless…
He always dreams that of something about detectives including a detective school and now it is a reality. Kyuu eagerly wants to join DDS too, but it's not going to be easy to get into DDS since many people that try to enter the detective school have failed and only a few have entered.
The woman Shino Katagiri, feeling grateful toward the kids for their help, decides to give them a guide for the enrollment exams that will be held next week. She encourages the kids to try to take the exams as she has a strong feeling that they may do well in the enrollment exams.
Kyuu, Megumi, and Kinta decide that they will take the exams.
Dark Magician Girl/Minako is rather reluctant about it because of the Tsukumogami War and the real dangers of becoming a detective. When Megumi asks if Minako is going to take the exams too, she kindly said that she needs time to think about it.
"…Master…"
-/-
At the other side of the Construction Site is a large building.
The shadowy figure and the large robot-like figure (the same figures that killed both thugs at the bridge last night) stand at the rooftop. They're both watching the Construction Site and observe the entire scenario.
"Huh, a culprit that got captured by four teenagers. What a joke," the robotic figure said in a mocking fashion.
The shadowy human watches the group using a telescope. The unknown Summoner's main focus is Kyuu and Minako. Not to mention, the guide paper that Kyuu is holding. He notices that something is different with those two from their skills, the boy's amazing deductive skills and the girl's unusual strength and ability to 'paralyze' the culprit.
"…Well, this should be interesting," the unknown Summoner said as he puts down his telescope, "I think that kid's a Summoner… And that cute little girl's probably his Tsukumogami in disguise."
"So?" The robotic figure asks.
"It looks like they want to enter DDS. And here, I thought I would find 'him' and I find a Summoner kid instead," the shadowy man said as a witty remark.
"Well… Looks like we're going to have some fun at the Enrollment Exams."
To be continued…
A/N: The end of the second arc's first chapter. This chapter is mostly based on the first episode of Tantei Gakuen Q's anime although I add some new scenes as well.
After learning the existence of a detective school, Kyuu wants to enter the school with Dark Magician Girl who actually wants to enter so she can keep her eyes on her 'Master.' However, how will his mother respond to this?
The characters Megumi Minami, Kintaro Touyama, and Shino Katagiri are from Tantei Gakuen Q while the other characters Yoshio Nakajima, Detective Arai, Hitoshi Shinoda,andMasao Kizaki appear only in the anime.