Thanks for the reviews, D C JoKeR H S and desamontello12!
To my readers: Please read and review! I'd like to hear your thoughts about this story, and I appreciate any feedback you give (except flames).
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective School Q. Amagi Seimaru, Sato Fumiya, and Animax do.
Strangely enough, for Kyuu, the next couple of weeks following the last case were surprisingly peaceful. At first, the nightmares came and went as usual. However, before they would get too bad, he would be woken by Ryuu. The mystery otaku had felt bad, and apologized every time it occurred. However, the blue-haired boy waved it off, assuring him that he wasn't bothering him-the blue-haired boy normally slept very little anyway. Then, Ryuu would return to his bed, falling asleep almost instantly, while Kyuu would try and calm his thoughts, which were usually hovering among Odin, Pluto, and his classmates (especially Megu, whose actions he was still puzzling over).
Eventually, three months after his return, Kyuu was starting to be able to sleep normally for at least six hours a night. He had finished sparring with Ryuu, and they had found themselves evenly matched-Hongou-sensei had to declare a tie after half an hour had gone by, and neither boy looked winded. He had finally caught up on all of the homework he had missed (which almost resulted in a severe case of tunnel vision and hand cramps), and he was beginning to smile more with his friends, causing everyone around him to relax. Megu even stopped blushing and darting away at the sight of him…
Of course, just when things were starting to become normal (at least for a high school detective, anyway) for him, that was when life threw him and his classmates a curveball. Or several.
It started when Ryuu and Kyuu were called into Dan-sensei's office. Shrugging at the puzzled looks that Megu and Kazuma sent their way, and ignoring Kinta's jeer (seriously, how could he be the oldest out of them?), they made their way into the main building and into the office. Inwardly, Kyuu was nervous-did something happen to his mother? Is that why both of them had been called in? However, his fears were unfounded when he saw that Dan-sensei was facing them, with a calm expression. After getting past the traditional greetings, Dan-sensei motioned for them to sit down.
The headmaster of DDS directed his attention to Kyuu first. "Kyuu-kun, Hongou-sensei tells me that you and Ryuu-kun were evenly matched in the battle. Is this statement true?"
"Yes," Kyuu replied after some hesitation. Was this why they had been called down?
"And you did so using your…training…with Pluto? Your demonstrations showed that your physical abilities have improved tremendously since before you were kidnapped."
Kyuu's mind had no problem following the train of thought. There was only one reason Ryuu had been called in with him. His blood ran cold, and he and Ryuu exchanged looks of panic. They held a silent conversation with their eyes, and they both turned to Dan-sensei. However, before they could make up an excuse, Dan-sensei held his hand up.
"Before you say anything, I thought that you should know that I have always known about your relationship with Pluto, Ryuu-kun."
"WHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!"
Both boys exclaimed. Dan-sensei was glad that his door had been closed during that loud question. And that his office was soundproof.
Ryuu recovered first, since he had been mentally preparing himself for this day ever since he had joined the academy. "How did you find out?"
"I'm not the headmaster of the top detective school in the country for nothing, you know," replied Dan-sensei, calm as ever.
"What's going to happen to Ryuu?" demanded Kyuu, who had regained his bearings by now. "Are you going to arrest him? Or send him away?"
"No, Kyuu-kun. Holding someone responsible for his grandparents' actions is illogical. And as far as I know, Ryuu-kun hasn't done anything to warrant jail time," Dan-sensei said, shooting Kyuu a stern look. Kyuu looked down at himself, surprised at his half-sitting, half-standing position. He had unconsciously leapt out of his chair in indignation. Sheepishly, he sat down.
"Are you going to send me away?" Ryuu asked in resignation.
"No," Ryuu's head snapped up in surprise as Dan-sensei continued speaking. "Even if the head of Pluto is my enemy, I have no reason to kick you out of my school. Like I said before, you didn't do anything wrong, even if you had been sent to infiltrate it. You had to follow orders, or else you would have been disowned and left out on the streets. I hold no grudge against you because of those reasons."
Ryuu was looking at Dan-sensei in awe. How could the enemy of his grandfather be so forgiving? It was more than he deserved. Meanwhile, Kyuu was smirking at him. Despite Kyuu's reaction just now, he had been the one to say that Dan-sensei wouldn't have kicked him out or arrested him, just because he was the adopted grandson of the head of Pluto. "Thank you for your kindness, Dan-sensei," he murmured as he bowed and kept his head down.
He then felt Kyuu's comforting hand on his back, and then he heard the smile in his classmate's voice as he spoke next. "Yes, thank you, Dan-sensei. So, was that all you wanted to discuss with us?"
"I'm asking you to keep this a secret, unless there are special circumstances that make it necessary to share it."
Both boys nodded, and Dan-sensei continued on. "And the other reason I called you here was because I wanted you to keep an eye on Kintaro-kun."
"Kinta?" both Class Q detectives questioned. Ryuu asked, "Why Kinta?"
"I have a new case that must be solved. You are the only class available to assist the police in solving it. However, Kinta may be reluctant once he sees the case file." After handing the two detectives the case files for Class Q, the headmaster of DDS concluded, "You are dismissed."
When the two reached the classroom, their classmates looked up in relief.
"Kyuu, Ryuu! What took you so long?" Megu questioned, her eyes worried.
"Did you get in trouble for something?" Kazuma asked, with Kinta waggling his eyebrows in the background.
After sharing a look, Kyuu said, "No, Dan-sensei wanted us to pick up some new files for our newest case. Here you go."
"Hmm, so Enoki Yoshi, the 27-year-old soon-to-be president of a major company specializing in creating technology, was found dead two days ago in a hotel lobby," Megu said, finishing the reading first.
"So according to the secretary, Enoki-san walked in and sat in the lobby, as if he were waiting for someone. Some time passed as she answered some phone calls, and when she looked up again, he appeared to be asleep," Ryuu continued.
"However, near closing time, when no one appeared, and she tried to wake him up, she discovered that he wasn't breathing, and that he had no pulse. She then called the police," Kyuu concluded.
"Cause and time of death to be determined," Kazuma mused. "How have they not found those by now? What do you think, Kinta?"
At the lack of response, Kazuma looked up. His eyes widened at his classmate's expression. It was as if the older boy's normal cheerful demeanor had been replaced by a dark jumble of emotions, some of them negative.
"Kinta?" asked Kazuma, putting the file down and stepping closer to him. By now, everyone else had noticed the strange reaction, and were now looking at him as well. "What's wrong?"
After a long moment, Kinta loosened his jaw from its clenched position, and said, "Take a look at the name of the officer we'll be working with."
"Toyama Osamu?" Kyuu wondered. "Wait, you don't mean…!"
"Yes. It's my father."