Sou always thought that the color red suited her well. It fit perfectly with her ginger locks and her copper-colored iris.

But Sou didn't mean this kind of red.

There she was, laying lifelessly on pool of red. The crimson flowed seamlessly from her head, stained her unusual messy hair. Her eyes lost their usual gleam, coldly reflecting the moon.

Sou felt like he forgot how to breathe, how to think. With sudden urge, he strode forward, to her unmoving body. He quickly checked all her vital sign.

But he didn't find any fact which could support the important theory that he clung dear: her live.

Her body was cold, losing all her familiar warmness. He couldn't feel any pulse or breathe rhythm of her. The usual scent of sakaki flower from her—which he secretly fond of, was gone, replaced by sickening iron-like scent. Her face was as white as her shirt, too pale for his liking.

Mizuhara Kana never wounded herself, no matter who the opponent was. She could defeat entire yakuza group if she wanted to without letting anyone made a single scratch on her body. She could bravely face fully-armed gang with only her usual shinai.

But how come did this thing happen?

Future

A Q.E.D. Fanfiction by Mizumori Fumaira

Q.E.D. © Motohiro Katou

Warning : typos, maybe OOCness

A (super) belated gift for my best partner in crime's birthday

Kana woke up with a jolt. After shouting to her mom—blaming her for not wake her up, she quickly went to the bathroom to get ready, carefully to not accidentally step on the remaining of her newest alarm clock. She would deal with it later, or maybe let her mom cleaned after her mess as usual.

Tying her hair in her usual ponytail, she looked at her reflection on the mirror. Giving herself a smile, she quickly grabbed her bag and went downstairs. There, her mom placed a plate for her in the table.

"It's really hard to wake you up, Kana! And I won't ever do it again. Now finish your breakfast, there's still much time for you before the opening ceremonial."

Kana glanced at the clock wall and sighed. It still forty five minutes before the briefing, so she enjoyed her breakfast fully.

"Gochisousama," Kana mumbled as she finished her breakfast, grabbing her lunchbox which had already placed beside her. Saying she would be leaving to her parents, Kana made her way to the door.

She hoped today would also be a good day.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

Kana moved her shinai with no mercy. Even though she clearly remembered that it was only for club demonstration, Kana would never make it easy to her opponent.

She just need a small opening...

TAK!

"Men! Ippon, Mizuhara!"

Thunderous clap filled the Sakisaka Gakuen Auditorium. Kana wore off her head protector, smiling proudly to the students, especially to the freshmen. This way, maybe the kendo club would get many new recruits.

Before long, her eyes met a certain sapphire-colored eyes. She gave a peace-sign to him, smiled wide.

But he just looked back at her, no annoyed expression, no smile.

Still, she didn't miss a spark of worry on his blue eyes. Nor those dark bags under them.

"Hee... so you will take college entrance exam, Madoka?" Kana said while she popped an octopus-shaped sausage to her mouth. The bob-haired girl nodded,

"yeah. My old man even have registered me to that cram school. You know, the one which filled by Meiyo students?"

"Eehhh, not fun!" Kana exclaimed.

"At least she's got the chance to date Meiyo bocchan," Umemiya commented, "better than training at your father's company, I think."

"Sheesh, this ungrateful girl," Madoka sighed. She then glanced to a seat beside Kana, "how about you, Touma-kun?"

The dark haired boy, who secretly glanced all the way and listened to the three girls beside him, was caught off guard. His yakisoba bread dropped to his desk.

"Meh, he can be whatever he want to be," Kana shrugged her shoulder, tried to sound like she didn't care at all.

"Sheesh, Kana! Madoka just wonder if he'll back to America or what... actually I'm kinda curious, too."

So did Kana. Umemiya practically asked a certain question that kept bugging her mind ever since the closing ceremony one month ago.

Kana didn't want to admit it, but the idea of not having the genius boy around was... not good. Really not good, after all.

"I'm still thinking about it too, actually," Sou said in a smooth voice as always, smiled awkwardly while opened the bread's warp.

That answer, however, didn't help at all.

Kana completely forgot how she usually spent her time before she met him. Maybe practicing kendo. Maybe hanging out in cafe with her friends. Maybe once or twice picking some fight with delinquents.

But she often overheard her father's cases. And all she could do was wondering, never finding an answer of any of them. Her father of course would never tell his precious daughter anything, hoped that she wouldn't come across any harm.

But since she met him, her world became wider. He always found an answer of all her queries—even he often should be pushed to answer them. He broadened her horizons, she who once just an ordinary girl with ordinary life, now could befriend many people around the world, who were as great as he was.

Most importantly, he never betrayed her hopes.

"...hara-san... Mizuhara-san?"

His voice snapped her out of her mind, "y... yes? What?"

"Touma-kun still didn't believe that you'll be like your father," Umemiya said. Kana looked at him, flashed a grin,

"eh, but it's true, though. I won't tell tou-san this, but he's kinda cool—"

"Don't," Sou cut her off. Kana furrowed her eyebrows, narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"You won't be any good," Sou replied coldly, grimaced.

"Wait, what the he-"

"Ka-Kana, sensei's here!" Madoka pulled the ponytail girl blazer' hem to distract her. Seeing one of strict teacher had already stood in front of class, she had no other choice than sat on her chair.

"Alright everyone, I will teach your mathematics for this year..." the woman teacher's eyes scanned the room and completely stopped her sentence when she looked at Kana's direction. She suddenly gave an awkward smile to the boy next the orange-haired girl.

"And, for Touma-kun... do you mind to do some self-study in library on my period? You can take care of yourself, can't you?"

Kana furrowed her eyebrows disapprovingly. This one even worse than their last year' teacher. At least the grasshopper still let him sit on his class even he would tell Sou to get out if that boy decided to be annoying.

"Sure, Tanaka-sensei," Sou just nodded and brought a book and pencil with him and leave the classroom.

It was the right time to ask him about earlier, Kana thought.

"Ta... Tanaka...sensei..." Kana gripped her stomach strongly, a deep agony on her face, "I...I think...I've got a stomach...ache..."

The math teacher looked at her in narrow eyes. Completely fooled by her act, she just sighed, "alright, Mizuhara-san. You could rest on the infirmary. Someone please escort her and quickly come back here so I can begin our class."

Umemiya beated Madoka with a mere second and rushed to Kana' side, helped her leaving the classroom. Once they were far enough from their class, Umemiya slapped Kana' back, "now, off you go, Juliet!"

"Wha-"

"Shh, I bet he's in the rooftop as always. You know very well that he wouldn't say mean things without reason, right?"

Kana's pout became a giggly smile, "yeah you right. Thanks as always, Miya-chan."

"Don't mention it," the dark haired girl winked. Kana took a stride to the stairs, made her way to the rooftop.

She, as always, would demand an answer to him. Whether he liked it or not.

"I'm sorry."

... was not the words she had been expecting. In fact, Kana was sure as hell he wouldn't open his mouth before she threatened him one way or another.

Alas, she just let out a long sigh before took a seat in front of him. The boy just wrote something nonsense-for her at least, on his notebook, his head down.

"I demand an explanation, though," Kana said, folding her hands on her chest, "just a week of spring break really made you much weirder than usual."

Sou finally lifted his head, looked her right into her eyes. Kana felt a little uncomfortable, but she pushed that feeling aside.

She wanted to know.

"Become a detective would increase your risk dying," he finally spoke with grim. Kana narrowed her eyes,

"Oh yeah? Now tell me what kind of job which has zero probability of making someone die."

... it took him long enough before he said, "other job besides detective."

Kana let a bitter, sarcastic laugh escaped her lips, "nice try, gen—"

"Look, you don't understand!" Sou cut her off with loud, sharp voice—the sharpest that Kana ever heard. Kana looked at him with serious look,

"then explain it like usual."

If it wasn't Sou, she would have sent him flying with her fist since they were in the class. Or beating him into pulp right after he cut her off.

But since it was Sou, she was willing to be patient.

She wanted to understand.

So when the dark haired boy just rested his head on her shoulder, she just jerked her body slightly, afraid him realized it. It was strange, though. It was both uncomfortable but felt so right. She felt the feel of his proximity both strange but she could use to it.

"I... I've been having... this dream," he began slowly, "now, I know this is really irrational, but... I'm having it everyday, since the spring break."

Kana felt all the blood rushed to her face as she felt Sou took a deep breath. All she could do was clenching her fist tightly to keep her focus.

"I saw your body, Mizuhara-san...pool of your bloods... you were cold, unmoving... bullet hole on your head... In my dreams you were dead, everyday."

Kana felt something flowed on her cheeks. She didn't know since when she had cried. But seeing him so vulnerable like that ...

Even Kana didn't want to admit it openly, she knew that Sou was always a strong person. He always stick to the truth, no matter how bitter it was.

Seeing him like that made her hurt.

"I... I know that something like that could be happened to me, but..." Kana lifted up her face, looked at the clear blue spring sky, "I promise I won't die that easily."

Sou finally lifted his head. With his hand he touched Kana's cheek, made her look right to his eyes.

"Don't make irrational promise like that," he replied sharply.

Kana felt her cheeks warmed. She felt all the blood in her body rushed to her face.

Since when the awkward boy whom she'd saved at the arcade... had become a young man with mesmerizing eyes?

Kana mentally slapped herself to ward off those strange thought. What the hell she was thinking about?

"If... If you don't believe it, why don't you just keep looking after me? That I won't die no matter what?" Kana tried to look at anywhere but his eyes, "b... but it doesn't mean I don't want you to go America, tho-"

Before she finished her words, Sou started to chuckle. Furrowing her eyebrows, Kana looked at him confused.

"Mizuhara-san's mind is really simple, isn't it?" seeing her readied her fist, Sou' hands waved furiously, "no...now, I don't mean to offend you. It's a compliment!"

Kana sighed, a proud smile on her face. She would just let it slide this time, "as I always say, Touma-kun, thinking things too much will make you bald faster."

Kana felt her heart a lot lighter when she saw him laughing. She found her laugh resonating with his…

… secretly hoping that their laugh would be echoed through the sky to the future.

(A/N) finally I've finished this story~~~ I wrote this to fulfil my promise to urisa to wrote a SouKa pairing in this new fandom and as a belated birthday gift for my best partner in crime who was born on March 3rd xx years ago XD I'm sorry if this story really awkward, cause it's been a while since I wrote in English. I hope I can convey the feelings through these messed jumble of words.

… or should I make another fic in Bahasa Indonesia? XD

(if you're Indonesian, please feel free to review this in Bahasa Indonesia lololol)

I hope many people will also contributed to this fandom AND LETS MAKE THIS SHIP SAILING (at least, unofficially)

Thank you for reading~