Have you figured out who's who in the last chapter? Well, let's find out, shall we?
Please read and review! Natsu from Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail will swallow any flames.
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective School Q. Amagi Seimaru, Sato Fumiya, and Animax do.
As the group of four ventured inside the house, they saw that its interior was even crazier than its exterior's appearance had implied. In some places, the ceiling hung low. In other places, it was raised high, or it sloped off. Hidden trap doors and winding staircases covered almost every square foot of the area, and different colored doors seemed to lead off to never ending hallways.
"I don't think splitting up would be a wise idea," said Amakusa Ryuu. Using one of the flashlights provided by DDS, he scanned their surroundings as he made a mental note of their relative location within the house. "We would most likely get lost if we tried to navigate around by ourselves."
Everyone agreed, and Minami Megumi spoke up. "Kazuma, is there a way you can create a map of this house?"
The computer genius, Narusawa Kazuma, shook his head. "Without a network to connect to, I can't."
"Then we'll have to rely on my memory, I guess," Megu decided, with an uneasy tone. It wasn't because she wasn't confident of her ability, but she knew that if she made a mistake, they may not make it out of the house with their memories or their lives intact.
"You can do it, Megu," said Toyama Kintaro reassuringly, the last of the four. "All of us believe in you." The others nodded, indicating that they shared the same sentiment.
"Okay, let's go," the pinkette decided. Before I lose my nerve again.
In between the never ending cycle of trying out a path, finding dead ends, and retracing their steps with the help of Megu's ability, the group couldn't help but recall a memory from 6 months ago.
On a warm summer evening, the sun was setting as Class Q arrived back at their classroom in DDS from their most recent case. A woman had drowned in her car inside a nearby lake. At first, it appeared as if it were a suicide, but Kyuu, with Ryuu's help, had figured out that it had been a murder. Apparently, she had just broken up with her abusive boyfriend, and in a fit of rage, he had hit her in the head with a nearby vase, and killed her. Panicking, he then placed her in the car, turned on the ignition, set a large block of ice onto the gas pedals, and let the car drive itself into the lake.
However, a quick look at her diary didn't show any signs of her contemplating suicide, and the coroner's report showed no water in her lungs, meaning that she had been dead before she hit the water. After pointing this out, they had extracted a confession full of swearing and insults from the abusive boyfriend. He was unrepentant about what he had done, and the members of Class Q had left in disgust, eager to make it home by the end of the day. Dan-sensei had picked up on their mood during their briefing over the phone, and told them that they were allowed to go home upon their return to the school.
Upon arriving at his seat, Kyuu noticed a note on his desk. It was from Dan-sensei, telling Kyuu to meet him at his office in the main building.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kyuu wondered why the headmaster hadn't mentioned the meeting in the phone call. However, apprehension soon set in and he was distracted from the thought as he wondered if he had done something wrong. He rifled through all of the cases he had stored in his mind, which, surprisingly, was a lot.
What? All cases were interesting, so they were easier and more fun to memorize than unfamiliar Japanese or English words and phrases.
He was soon cut off from his thoughts as Class Q began to leave.
"Well, I'm off," Kinta said cheerfully as he hopped on his bike. Everyone knew he was going to one of his many part-time jobs that he had undertaken in order to support himself financially. "See you tomorrow!" They watched as he turned his attention back on the sidewalk, barely avoiding a collision with a lamppost.
Kazuma rolled his eyes as he headed off into the opposite direction, towards the parking lot where his chauffeur sat waiting in a Rolls-Royce. "I have to go too. After dinner, I have to catch up on designing my newest game. Good night, everyone."
"Good night, Kazuma," Megu yelled after him, as she waved him goodbye. "I have to leave, too. My sister's expecting me to be home for dinner. Have a safe trip home, Ryuu, Kyuu."
"Shouldn't we be the ones to tell you that?" Ryuu asked. "The buses don't run this late at night."
Megu smirked. "Don't worry," she assured them. "Hongou-sensei did teach me a little bit of judo, after all." Recently, DDS, the only school that gave its students the right to bear arms, had decided to teach its students some forms of martial arts so that they would be able to defend themselves before they reached the age when they would be legally able to carry guns.
"Ah. Well, have a safe trip home, Megu," said Kyuu, repeating the words she had told them earlier.
Meg gave them a smile as she left.
"Ready to go, Kyuu?" asked Ryuu.
Kyuu hesitated. "Actually, it looks like Dan-sensei wanted to talk to me." He showed Ryuu the note that was left on his desk.
"Oh," said Ryuu, now understanding why Kyuu looked worried. He would be too if the principal called him into his office…even if his reasons for being afraid were slightly different from Kyuu's. "…Would you like me to wait for you, then?"
Kyuu considered the offer and shook his head. "No, okaasan is probably worried about us right now. Why don't you go home and tell her that I'll take a little longer to get home?"
Ryuu felt a prickle of unease. "Are you sure?" When Kyuu nodded, he turned and started on the way to Kyuu's house. As he turned and glanced back at Kyuu, who was still smiling as he waved at him, he wondered why he felt as if he wouldn't see his friend for a long time.