Thanks for reviewing, D C Joker H S and Kaitou!

Kaitou: The first part of your comment about coming up with a case being difficult is so true! It's part of the reason why there was a long period of time between Kyuu finishing his story and Kyuu coming back to DDS when I didn't update. But thanks for your encouragement. I hope this arc turns out okay…

To my readers: Please read and review! I'd like to hear your thoughts, and I appreciate any feedback. But be warned: Lucy from Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail will summon Aquarius to drown any flames.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective School Q. Amagi Seimaru, Sato Fumiya, and Animax do.

Class Q formed a group huddle, and decided to question the suspects separately, in places that would make them more comfortable and more likely to open up. Kinta said, "Kazuma and I'll talk to Sugase Takeo, the personal trainer, in the weightlifting room," as he dragged the boy to his side. Kazuma sighed, knowing that even if he tried to argue, Kinta wouldn't listen.

Ryuu nodded. "I'll talk to the lifeguard, Kanegawa Mayumi, by the pool."

Kyuu's head perked up. "I'll go with you!" He wanted to talk to Ryuu about Pluto…

"Um, Kyuu, why don't you come with me? It's just…I'd feel more comfortable having someone with me when I question the victim's boyfriend" Megu said quickly.

Kyuu nodded, oblivious to the real reason why Megu asked him to come with her. "Okay, sure. We'll talk to Minabuchi Teruyo at the lounge, since he's already there anyway."

Kinta and Kazuma hid their smirks. They, and Megu and Ryuu, very well knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to let Kyuu near the pool. After all, if he fell in, it would be a problem because he couldn't swim, as they had seen in a few of their previous cases and in the DDS entrance exam.

With nods of the head, they split up to get their chosen suspects to the decided locations.

Kanegawa-san and Ryuu stood by the bleachers next to the pool. Ryuu wondered if it had been a good idea to bring her in such close proximity to the crime scene, but she didn't seem bothered by it. He wondered why…

Ryuu cleared his throat. "Kanegawa-san, you were the one who found the body, is that correct?"

The 19-year-old lifeguard, a brunette with gray eyes, gave him a flirtatious smile, which he pretended to not see. "Yeah. I was preparing for the early swimmers by doing things like checking the pool's temperature and pouring in some chlorine. When I went to check the concentration at the deep end, I saw the body of Yamaguchi-san, one of the pool's most frequent attendees, floating on the surface."

Yamaguchi-san? It sounds like they weren't on friendly terms, despite the fact that they must see each other on a regular basis, due to their occupations. "I take it that you didn't get along with Misao-san?"

Kanegawa-san snorted. "With that princess? I don't think anyone got along with her. In fact, I feel sorry for Teruyo-san. Even though he was her boyfriend, she would still flirt with any men she found attractive."

"Is there a specific reason as to why you disliked her?"

At this, Kanegawa Mayumi's lips pressed in a hard line. Realizing that she would not say anything on that matter, Ryuu decided to get in one last question. "I understand that you were one of the last people at the gym last night. What were you doing?"

Kanegawa-san started to stiffen, but apparently decided that it wasn't worth the effort to get angry and sighed instead. "After the last swimmer left at 9, I cleaned the pool, picked up towels, that sort of thing. Then I went to the locker room that's at the other end of that hallway so I could take a shower and leave. When I got into my car, I saw that it was 10."

"Was the door to the pool locked?"

The lifeguard shook her head. "The doors inside the gym aren't locked, except for the front door that you had to enter in order to get to the building."

Ryuu smiled and said, "Thank you for your time. Please head back to the lounge, in case we have any more questions." As he watched Kanegawa-san walk away, he made a mental note to get the exact time and cause of death, and to see if he could unearth why Kanegawa seemed to hold a grudge against the victim.

Meanwhile, Kinta and Kazuma found out that Sugase Takeo had already headed to the weightlifting room, since he complained that he had trouble sitting still. When they went in, they saw that the muscular 21-year-old personal trainer was on his back, bench-pressing 45 kilograms (about 100 pounds), grunting due to the effort each time. When he finished his set, Kinta was behind him and helped him lift the bar to the rack where it rested.

Sitting up, Sugase-san, who had black hair and brown eyes, turned to them and gave them both a friendly smile. "Hey, thanks for the help. Do you lift weights?" He asked Kinta.

Kinta shook his head. "I'm more into judo, kendo, and karate."

Sugase-san nodded respectfully. "So, how can I help you two?"

"We'd like you to answer some questions about the recent death of Yamaguchi Misao," Kazuma answered as he flashed his DDS badge to the personal trainer. "Did you know her?"

"Yes, we went to the same high school, but we weren't really friends. I was surprised to find out that she swam in the pool here regularly. I don't swim, so I don't go to that area of the gym often," Sugase-san explained.

"So we hear that you were here late last night. Trying to get more exercise done?" questioned Kinta.

The trainer laughed. "No, I'm in charge of cleaning and powering down the equipment after all of our visitors leave. I was here until 10:30."

"So no one can confirm your alibi?" Kinta asked.

A flash of annoyance came and went on Sugase-san's face before his expression smoothed out into friendliness once more. "I'm afraid not."

"Okay, thanks for answering our questions," said Kazuma, as he wondered about the sudden mood change.

Kinta, who had also noticed it, added, "If you're done using up your excess energy, can you go back to the lounge? Just in case we have anything else to ask you."

Sugase-san nodded as he went back, not noticing Kinta and Kazuma staring after him curiously.

Megu and Kyuu were sitting in the lounge with Minabuchi Teruyo. The two DDS students noticed that the 22-year-old marine biologist was full of grief, his eyes red from crying as he clutched a handkerchief.

Megu laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, and asked, "Minabuchi-san, would you mind if we asked you about Yamaguchi-san?"

Minabuchi-san nodded. "Go…go ahead."

"How did you and Yamaguchi-san meet?" Megu asked.

"We met a few months ago, during the spring semester at Kyoto University. Yamaguchi-san was a student of a class in which I was a teaching assistant, and I fell in love at first sight. She was beautiful, and headstrong. Whatever she set her mind to, she would accomplish. I asked her out, and we went on a few dates since." Minabuchi-san seemed to calm down as he talked, and Kyuu decided that it was safe to move forward with questioning.

"You were here last night, is that right?" He asked with a sympathetic tone.

"Yes. We were going to go on a date, a late night movie."

"And did you?"

"No," the marine biologist frowned. "I waited and waited until 9:30, and when I went in to search for her, there was no one in the pool. I texted her, because I thought she could have been in the locker room, but she didn't respond. So I thought she might have forgotten about our date, and went home early to take a nap. She had been getting pretty tired lately…Then, I got a phone call from the police this morning, saying that she…she…"

At this point, he broke down again, and Kyuu and Megu looked at him with sympathy. It was clear that he was really in love with Yamaguchi-san. With some encouraging words that he didn't seem to hear, and a few pats on the shoulder, they left him with the policeman guarding the room.