Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Detective School Q Tantei Gakuen Q Fan Fiction ❯ Codename: Athena ❯ The Pretty-Boy Detective! He Appears at Last! ( Chapter 1 )

SailorStar9: The prologue goes up. This is Chapter 1.

 

Disclaimers: I own nothing.

 

Chapter 1: The Pretty-Boy Detective! He Appears at Last!

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

Kyu stretched his arms as he walked out of the cabin.

 

“Oh, Katagiri-sensei.” he greeted the female teacher.

 

“Kyu-kun are you bored?” the teacher asked.

 

“No, I'm so excited that I can't sit still.” Kyu replied.

 

“I see.” Miss Katagiri smiled.

 

“Do your best.” she added and walked off.

 

“Yes!” Kyu exclaimed.

 

Then, his attention shifted to the deck.

 

“Someone's standing there.” he noted the two blue-haired older teenagers on the deck.

 

Kyu laughed, “They're probably the same age as I am.”

 

Running towards the pair, he waved.

 

“Hey, you there! Are you two students of Class A?” he asked.

 

“A storm is coming.” Ryu commented.

 

“A storm?” Kyu echoed.

 

“I'm sorry to bother you like this, but…” Kyu started.

 

“I'm Kyu, from Class Q. How about you?” he asked.

 

Ryu turned back and replied, “I'm Ryu. Amakusa Ryu.”

 

“And you?” the ever-genki Kyu asked the girl.

 

“Mizuno Ami.” came her soft reply.

 

“Ryu-kun and Ami-chan huh?” Kyu smiled.

 

“Nice to meet the two of you.”

 

Then, his attention was turned towards their approaching destination.

 

“Ah, there's an island!” he exclaimed.

 

“We're approaching the island!” he whooped as the ship neared their destination.

 

“That's the island where we're going to have the camp. I'm so excited.” he mused.

 

Ryu begun, “Don't you know anything about that island?”

 

“Nope, not at all.” Kyu replied.

 

“Do you know, Ryu-kun?” he asked.

 

“It's called Kirisaki Island.” Ryu answered.

 

“Kirisaki…” Kyu echoed.

 

A mental image flashed across his eyes.

 

“You mean like slashing at something with a sword?” he blinked.

 

“No.” Ryu replied.

 

“It's characters are `fog' and `bloom', and pronounced Kirisaki.” he supplied.

 

“It's an inhabited island that's always surrounded by fog, and is only two kilometers in circumference.” he added.

 

“Of course, people seem to have lived there a long time ago.”

 

“Kirisaki Island.” Kyu breathed in wonder.

 

Finally, the ship docked and Kyu jumped onto dry land.

 

“I'm number one!” he declared.

 

“I've finally come to Kirisaki Island.”

 

“You have too much energy man.” Kinta commented.

 

“As I thought, I'm out of range here. I can't connect to the Internet.” Kazuma complained.

 

“You rely on that too much.” Kinta remarked.

 

“Huh?” Megumi blinked as Ryu walked by.

 

“Excuse me?” she begun.

 

“What is it?” Ryu asked, stopping in his tracks.

 

Caught, Megumi stammered, “Umm… well, nothing.”

 

“What's wrong, Megu?” Kyu asked.

 

“No, nothing.” Megumi shook her head.

 

“Maybe I'm a little tired.” she added, as Ryu walked off.

 

After walking through the forest, Miss Katagiri announced, “We're going to camp here.”

 

“Wow.” Megumi awed.

 

“What the heck is this?” Kinta asked.

 

“It's looks like an asylum.” Megumi agreed.

 

“Hey who is that guy?” Kyuosuke asked, his eyes turning to Ryu.

 

“I don't know. He doesn't seem to be an outsider, but I've never seen him.” Shishido replied.

 

“Then who is he?” Hayato asked.

 

“Hey you!” Saburomaru called out, causing Ryu to turn to him.

 

“Right you! Who on earth are you? You don't look at a student from Class Q. I don't know who you are or where you're from, but if you're not in Class A, the you're also just an extra. Make sure you don't bother us Class A students. All right?” he mocked.

 

Saburomaru's mockery was answered by a stony glare from Ryu.

 

“Wha?” Saburomaru blinked.

 

Ignoring him plainly, Ryu walked off.

 

On the building, the group walked past a hallway with three portraits on the wall.

 

“I wonder what these portraits are.” Kyu wondered aloud.

 

“This is Holmes! It says, `His Last Bow.” he exclaimed, noting the picture in the middle.

 

“This one's the `And There Were None,' by Agatha Christen.” Kazuma added.

 

“This is Andrew Ban, from `The Egyptian Cross Mystery,' by Ellery Queen.” Megumi remarked about the picture on the left.

 

“I'll show you around the building now.” Miss Katagiri announced.

 

“This is the kitchen.” she declared, once entering the room.

 

“The building is old, but all of the cooking utensils are usable.” she added as she opened the cabinet.

 

“Wow, there's food too!” Megumi exclaimed, when the refrigerator was opened.

 

“I'll appreciate it if the two of you could help me with the cooking.” Miss Katagiri requested.

 

“I can do that.” Megumi nodded.

 

All Miss Katagiri received from Ami was a simple nod and a small smile.

 

“So can I! If it's cup ramen…” Kyu offered.

 

“Cup ramen doesn't require much cooking.” Kinta objected.

 

Megumi looked down at her feet and let out a scream.

 

“What's the matter?” Kinta asked.

 

“A mouse! There's a mouse!” Megumi squeaked.

 

“Just a mouse?” Hayato echoed.

 

“It's normal that there are mice here. This building was built before the wars.” Kyuosuke rebuked.

 

“You're a detective school student. Don't be scared by a mouse.” Sakurako chided.

 

“I'm sorry.” Megumi apologized.

 

“I'll take you to your rooms now. After you put your stuff away, please come to the seminar room.” Miss Katagiri offered, trying to diffuse the tense situation.

 

“Oh, that surprised me.” Megumi muttered.

 

“It's scary huh?” Sakurako giggled.

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

After some time, everyone was assembled in the seminar room, where Shintarou was addressing the students.

 

“This camping seminar is going to be conducted by the principal, Morihiko Dan-sensei. I'm his assistant, Shintarou Maki. I'm an inspector at the detective school.” he introduced himself.

 

Then, turning to the wheel-chaired bound principal, he added, “Now then, Dan-sensei, please.”

 

“Thank you.” Dan-sensei nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“There are students at this camp for the first time, so I'll tell you the purpose of this seminar. The objective of this camping seminar is to go the actual scene of an unsolved crime, investigate, use reasoning and solve it. This is the DDS special extracurricular class.” Dan-sensei begun.

 

“First of all, do you know who `Kirisaki Jack' is?” he asked.

 

“`Kirisaki Jack?'” Saburomaru gasped in horror.

 

“A horrible murderer who lived in England a long time ago, right?” Megumi questioned.

“Exactly. In 1888, he committed several murders in the slums of the East End of London. He's the most famous and mysterious murderer in history. He wore a long coat and a derby hat, and called himself `Jack The Ripper'. Just as the name implies, he cut many of his victims to pieces and kept sending letters to the police at the crime scene, as if he was mocking them. To date, these crimes remain unsolved, and are shrouded in mystery. About fifty years ago, a murder occurred inside the building we're in right now and the victim was cut into pieces.” Dan-sensei revealed.

 

“Inside this building?” Megumi gasped.

 

“They were dismembered…” Saburomaru muttered.

 

“That's right. During the war, a serial killer also called himself `Jack The Ripper'. After killing three people with a knife, he left the only key inside a room and disappeared.

Inside an absolutely sealed room, behind two locked doors.” Dan-sensei added.

 

“Behind two locked doors.” Kyu echoed.

 

Thunder cracked across the sky and Megumi screamed.

 

Dan-sensei crackled and replied, “You all must be tired after the long trip. I'll tell you the details tomorrow when we do the scene inspection.”

 

“All right everyone, please get some rest.” Shintarou concluded.

 

“It's a terrible storm.” Ryu suddenly commented.

 

Kyu blinked and turned back.

 

“We can't get off this island for a while. No matter what happens…” Ryu added.

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

“What's up with that Amakusa Ryu? He makes me so nervous.” Kinta complained.

 

“Huh?” Kyu blinked and turned to Megumi.

 

“What's wrong, Megu?” he asked.

 

“I feel like I've seen Amakusa-san somewhere. But I have a photographic memory and it's impossible for me to forget someone, even if I've met them once. I usually can't forget things, even if I try to forget them.” Megumi confessed.

 

Turning serious, Kyu posted a question.

 

“Megu, does that mean…”

 

Megumi blinked.

 

“Do you have a crush on him?”

 

Megumi fumed, “Don't say weird things like that!”

 

“Why are you blushing?” Kyu asked.

 

“Idiot!” Megumi scolded.

 

“Let's go make dinner.” she stormed off.

 

“Wait up!” Kyu called after her.

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

“The knives disappeared?” Kyu asked.

 

“Yes, when I was here last time, there were three knives right here. I`m sure of it.” Megumi nodded.

 

“I wonder who took them. All three of them.” Kyu mused.

 

“Gomen minna. I lost track of time.” Ami apologized when she entered the room.

 

“Ami-chan!” Kyu blinked at the older girl.

 

“Doushida Kyu?” she asked.

 

“The knives disappeared.” Megumi reported.

 

“Nani?” Ami frowned.

 

“I have a bad feeling about this. This might be the worst thing that ever happened to us.” Kinta confessed.

 

“The worst thing?” Kazuma echoed.

 

“You mean, there's going to be a crime?” Megumi asked.

 

“No. If there're no knives we may not be able to cook dinner.” Kinta replied.

 

Ami sighed, trust Kinta to point out such a straight-forward aspect.

 

“No way! Are we going to starve?” Kyu protested.

 

“What was that?” Megumi argued.

 

“Shut up! It's important to me!” Kinta objected.

 

“Absolutely.” Kyu agreed.

 

Just then, the door opened and Miss Katagiri stepped in.

 

“You guys!” Miss Katagiri scolded.

 

“Oh sensei.” Kyu greeted the teacher.

 

“What's the matter?” he asked.

 

“Who did that to the portraits by the entrance?” she asked.

 

“The portraits?” Megumi echoed.

 

When the six reached the three portraits, Kyu gasped.

 

“Holmes' portrait was cut into half.” Kinta exclaimed.

 

“How dare they!” Kyu objected.

 

“That knife was one of the three from the kitchen.” Megumi realized.

 

“This is a bad joke.” Miss Katagiri remarked and she pulled out the knife.

 

“You guys didn't do it?” she confirmed.

 

“Of course not!” the four younger teenagers protested.

 

“But who else would have done something like this?” Miss Katagiri asked.

 

“You don't trust us?” Kinta pressed.

 

“You think you're just kids?” Kyu demanded.

 

“No, I didn't mean that.” Miss Katagiri replied sheepishly.

 

“Katagiri-sensei, do you know where the key to the rooftop is?” Shintarou asked.

 

“Huh?” Megumi blinked.

 

“It was in the control room, but I can't find it anywhere. We need to go there for the scene inspection, so I`m in trouble.” Shintarou confessed.

 

Shrugging, he added, “Oh well, I'll contract the detective school and get a copy.”

 

“But Maki-sensei, it's impossible in this weather.” Miss Katagiri objected.

 

“If we contract them right away, it should be fine. According to the weather forecast, the storm isn`t coming until tomorrow afternoon, so we should be able to get it before that.” Shintarou replied and he walked off.

 

Vandalizing the portraits, two missing knives and a missing key. Who did this and why? Megumi wondered.

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

After some time, a helicopter came and deposited a box to Shintarou.

 

“I'm sorry I'm late.” he apologized. “The wind's a little stronger than I expected.”

 

Holding out the key, he added, “Katagiri-sensei, please hold on to this key.”

 

“Okay.” Miss Katagiri nodded and took the offered key.

 

Turning around, Shintarou muttered, “But I wonder who took the key.”

 

“Okay, we're behind schedule. So before it starts raining, let's go to the crime scene. Starting now, the mystery of this special extracurricular class is the `Jack the Ripper' crime which occurred in the asylum in this solitary island. We'll start investigating the mystery of the locked room.” Dan-sensei declared.

 

“During the war, this island was a prison camp for the Japanese army and mostly British people were imprisoned. However, right before the war ended, while the tide of the war was turning, the guards abandoned their duties and left the island with the prisoners. At that time, ten prisoners couldn't get on the ship and was left here. As they waited for a ship to come and pick them up, the ten prisoners shared the small amount of food left and encouraged one another. But as the days went by, their hopelessness started to control them. One day, one of the prisoners found a boat that was washed up on shore, but it was badly damaged. The prisoners started to have hope and started to fix the boat. But as the boat as fixed, they realized a fearful thing. There were ten people, but at most only seven people could fit in the boat.” Dan-sensei begun his tale as the group walked along the hallway.

 

“That means three people will have to remain on the island.” Kyu realized.

 

“Right. Once they set sail, the boat would only drift to Japan, the land of their enemy. It would be impossible to come back. Sooner or later, the remaining people would end up becoming rat food. While the tension was building up among them, the crime occurred. Among them, one person was slashed mercilessly and killed. There were words written in blood near the victim's body. The name' Jack the Ripper' a well-known murderer in Britain. The crimes that horrified the prisoners continued. The next day, a second person was found horribly mutilated. Around the time they finished fixing the boat, just as they said, the third crime occurred, as a body was hacked to pieces in a sealed room.” he continued.

 

Arriving at the lift, he added, “Please use the stairs everyone. I'll be waiting by the elevator on the rooftop.

 

With that, the lift shut.

 

Minutes later, Dan-sensei arrived in the rooftop.

 

“Here we are. The warehouse is where the sealed-room murder took place.” he noted.

 

A scream from Megumi and Sakurako was heard.

 

“No!” Sakurako yelled.

 

“Wait!” Megumi added.

 

“Huh?” Kinta blinked.

 

“Purple and pink rabbits.” Kyu remarked.

 

He was immediately hit by Megumi.

 

“Ouch…” Kyu complained.

 

“You don't have to describe the design.” Megumi protested.

 

“I don't intend to scare you, but the story I'm telling you is the truth. Our detective school staff recreated the crime scene as best as they could, so you could collect information. With this information and based on the crime scene that we're going to see, I'd like you to solve the crime and unravel the mystery of the sealed room. All right?” Dan-sensei remarked.

 

“Yes, sir!” Kyu replied.

 

“He's the only one so energetic.” Kinta remarked.

 

“The wooden warehouse which was built on this rooftop is the doubly sealed room.

Please take out the floor plan we gave you earlier.” Dan-sensei requested.

 

Everyone retrieved the floor plan as instructed.

 

“The inside of the warehouse is just as you see it. The condition of the interior was also recreated to the best of out ability. And this door was locked at the time the crime occurred.” Dan-sensei explained.

 

Miss Katagiri handed him the spare key.

 

“This is the key. This morning, we took the trouble of ordering a duplicate key. The master key, which was in the control room, unfortunately disappeared, so …” Dan-sensei added.

 

At this point, Ryu interjected.

 

“Sensei.” he spoke.

 

“What is it, Amakusa-kun?” Dan-sensei asked.

 

“You said that the crime occurred in the warehouse, but isn't it possible for the criminal to have duplicated the key to make it look like a sealed room?” Ryu asked.

 

“That's a good question.” Dan-sensei agreed. “But this building was used for weapon storage back then. This key is an elaborate one, which was made by an army craftsman so the prisoners wouldn't steal the weapons. It took many days for our detective school's best technology group to create this duplicate. At that time, it would be impossible for British prisoners to duplicate this key.”

 

“I see.” Ryu nodded.

 

“Okay, now let's go into the warehouse.” Dan-sensei said and opened the door.

 

“The placement of these wooden boxes is also the same as it was back then.” Dan-sensei remarked.

 

The group then entered the warehouse.

 

Walking past the crates, they reached the second door.

 

“And that's the second door. That door is also opened by the same key.” Dan-sensei said as it came into view.

 

With the second door opened, Kyu and the others looked around.

 

“In the sealed room, there's only one window.” Kyu noted.

 

“It looks like an adult could get out through here.” Megumi added.

 

“Even if you got out, there's only a precipitous cliff below.” Dan-sensei pointed out.

 

“Hey, look at this.” Shishido called out.

 

“Wow, that's elaborate. They even recreated the bloody words, 'Jack the Ripper'.” Kyuosuke noted.

 

“What?” Dan-sensei questioned, turning around.

 

“Katagiri-kun, did you have that recreated too?” he asked.

 

“No, I don't know about this.” Miss Katagiri replied.

 

“What?” Dan-sensei frowned.

 

“What is this?” Megumi asked, as she walked towards an object covered with a white cloth.

 

Then, she gasped.

 

“Kyu…”

 

Kyu's eyes widened in realization.

 

“This is…” he wondered.

 

Stepping forward, he knelt down and removed the cloth.

 

There on a straw mat, laid Saburomaru's half-sawn body.

 

Megumi screamed in horror.

 

“Saburomaru-san.” Kyu breathed.

 

Megumi's voice was heard next.

 

“The sudden appearance of the left half of Saburomaru-san's body appeared to be a reproduction of the same horrifying tragedy that happened half a century ago. And we had no answers for the mystery of the two locks and the missing right half.”

 

***************************************************************** *********************

 

SailorStar9: Wow, this is the 1st chapter. Just be lucky I found the clips on Youtube.