The last Chapter for the Nine Circles of Hell! I hope you enjoyed the adventure, no matter how long it took. Heheh.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DETECTIVE SCHOOL Q.
Chapter 16: The Grand Finale
"How dramatic," smirked Satoshi, getting up from his position on one of the music room couches. He stood with a cocky grin on his face. "You may all be from DDS but you're still a bunch of kids. If you've got something on these murders, why don't you spit it out now?"
Minoru gave him a look of annoyance. "Satoshi, just sit down. Whether they're kids or not, I want to hear what they have to say. Besides, they've done a lot more than any of us have when it came to the case."
Satoshi didn't look too happy about being told off, but he sat back down. "What's to explain, anyway? The entire thing was done by some wacko."
"That's not it," Kyu said, shaking his head. "What surprised me most about this case was the great care that the criminal took to plan out these things, but some of his plans went wrong at the last minute. He also failed to cover up his tracks at some point. And that's what we focused on."
The teen's gold eyes stared them all down as he raised his first finger. "I'll start with hint number one: The Nine Circles of Hell."
"When we first arrived at the music school," continued Meg, picking up from right were Kyu left off, "We came just in time to hear the reading of the will of Maestro Maeda. The fact that there was a second will intrigued us. Everyone assumed that it was something hidden, something that we had to look for, but we were wrong…in fact…
"The Nine Circles of Hell, the final work of the Maestro, was actually a coded message wherein the will was concealed."
The violin students were all in shock at the announcement.
"It all comes together," added Ryuu. "It was said that Maestro Maeda had made his decision a few months ago, as to who would inherit his violin. Another detail is that he was also very interested in codes and ciphers. It led us to believe that he may have left his will in an obvious, but not an easily determined manner. The timeline when he made his apparent decision and when he started composing the piece all fall into the right places."
"Also," said Kyu, "Putting his will in something like a violin composition would make it last. There was no chance for it to get lost in the garbage or to get destroyed or altered. He knew that his life's last work was going to be treasured."
"How is that supposed to be a clue?" snapped Satoshi. "All that tells us is that we can stop searching for that will and we'll know once and for all who is going to inherit this school."
"It tells us a lot," answered Kyu vehemently. "Like the fact that the killer didn't know who was the heir. It also tells us that even those he's found the will, he has no idea how to crack it. and it also tells us that he's desperate to keep people away from it…"
"…by killing each and every person who comes into contact with it," Ryuu put in. "The purpose was to discourage anyone from being interested in it any further, but it backfired. When it was played in public by Daisuke, the killer knew he had to make his kill quick before anyone else could figure out anything he'd missed."
"Which brings us to hint number two," resumed Kyu. "The details surrounding Daisuke's death. Kazuma?" he said, inviting the young computer genius to step up.
Kazuma nodded. "I managed to get information on the poison that killed him. It was Strychnine, a deadly poison that was often used in arrow poisons, but it can also kill someone in other ways, by inhalation, ingestion, et cetera. it comes from the Strychnine tree, and it's native to Asia. By the way, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of species were around here somewhere."
"It produces some of the most painful symptoms imaginable," added Kyu. "After you're exposed, you convulse unstoppably, starting with the head and neck, and if anything tried to touch you, it'd only get worse…and you die."
"Pretty bad way to die," remarked Kazuma. "But the killer didn't really care. After all, we were all in the comfort and safety of the music room, where we couldn't even hear him screaming, if he tried. The music room is completely soundproof."
"Speaking of sound, it's been pretty integral to this case, hasn't it?" Kyu pressed on. "It was even used by the killer to trick someone, in order to provide himself with an alibi for Ayame's death, and possibly for many others as well. That was the third clue."
Meg continued. "During the police interrogation, Minoru told us plainly about who had been doing what at the time that Ayame died. But since we can't always take a secondary source when it comes to alibis, we'd like to hear it all from you once again. Please repeat what you told the police."
"This is a waste of time," grumbled Satoshi. "I already told them that I was playing the violin in my room."
Minoru cut in, "When Daisuke and Yui were still alive, their alibis were like I told you: Daisuke was watching TV while Yui had been asleep. I was on my way to the kitchen at the time and I could hear Daisuke with his TV on, and Satshi with his violin."
"I was sleeping that time too, I told the police," stated Yamato in a confident tone.
"Same here," mumbled Kazumi.
"So far all you've done is confirm our theory again," Meg said, picking up from where they had left off. "We just needed to hear it from a more direct source, and now we know it for sure—one of you lied at the interrogation, and you're still lying about it now. Everything is in place."
"What do you mean?" asked Ms. Minamoto, trembling. "You can't be suggesting that someone among us here in this room is a murderer…"
"That's exactly what we're suggesting, ma'am," answered Kyu. "No, let me correct myself: that's exactly what we believe. And that person, the one who's been lying all this time…" Kyu raised a finger to point.
Everyone in the room
waited with bated breath.
Kyu directed his index finger
unswervingly at…
"…is you…Satoshi!" he finished, the edge of drama apparent in his tone.
The pale-haired boy looked shocked for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. "Do you realize what you're saying, kid? You're accusing me of a serious crime here!"
Satoshi stood up, a cocky grin lighting up his twisted features. "Everything you just told us is based on theory, and besides, anyone here could have done it. Anyone here could have lied to the police. Look at Minoru—he's the one who doesn't have a firm alibi for Ayame's murder! Who can say he was going to the kitchen like he said? He could have easily killed the girl by then!"
Ryuu, who had stayed in the background for a short while as Kyu took the spotlight, suddenly gave off a sardonic chuckle, causing Satoshi to glare at him in annoyance. "Got something you want to say, blue boy?" he spat, the anger apparent in his tone. "Don't tell me that this is all you DDS students have to present to the authorities. You haven't even showed us any proof that I did anything!"
"Au contraire, my friend," Ryuu pronounced in his usual calm manner, "We do have evidence to support our theory."
"So show it, you little brat or I'll—"
Satoshi stopped short as something suddenly came over everyone.
Strains of violin music reached the ears of every person in the room. The door had been open for all this time…and now music was streaming through it from outside.
Shizuko stepped into the room, carrying a small black box in her gloved hand. Satoshi looked as though he didn't know whether to be furious, scared, or wary.
The dark-haired girl held out the object she had in her hand. "Does this look familiar, Satoshi?"
"Never seen it before," he muttered defensively.
"No? Well, allow me to refresh your memory, you little liar," she said, seething. "This is what you attacked me for yesterday afternoon! And in case you don't remember that either, I suppose it's just mere coincidence that this tape"—she jiggled the recorder closer to his face—"happens to play music that you play on your violin!"
She turned off the tape abruptly, causing a ripping sound to emanate harshly from the speaker. "Every player's style is unique. Surely, living in this school has taught you that. Therefore you couldn't just use any random recording to cover your tracks—you had to record a true sample of your own music. And if you still deny the fact that this recorder is yours, I'm sure that the forensic analysts will be glad to lift your fingerprints from it."
Satoshi could do nothing but glower at her.
"That takes care of the alibi," said Ryuu, taking over. "If I were you, Satoshi, I think it would be better if you watch what you say. Because this is only the beginning of the trail of clues leading to you."
Kyu began again. "If this isn't enough, well, there's also the case of Daisuke's murder. We discovered during our trip into town yesterday that someone had ordered a flower arrangement to be delivered to the violin school—but it wasn't addressed to Daisuke at all."
"You mean those flowers weren't supposed to be for him?" asked Yamato, a little tense. "Was it targeting anyone else? Was it all just a big mistake?"
"To be honest, yes, it was a big mistake, bit on the killer's part," Kyu explained. "He had forgotten that the flower shop keeps records of the person who was requesting and also the person it was to be delivered to. Even if it didn't have a card, no doubt the person who sent it would be in the flower shop's records.
"The killer…sent the flowers to himself! Satoshi's name had been listed as the receiver and also as the sender. He probably received them ahead of time, just enough to prepare them for his plan and apply the poison on the thorns. And as soon as everyone was downstairs, with the media and everything after the performance, the poison worked its way into his system and killed him."
The gold-eyed young detective stared down Satoshi. "That's another piece of evidence against you. And of course, we can't forget those threatening notes that you sent to Shizuko—they can be processed for fingerprints, to prove that you wrote them."
"But then…" Satoshi finally spoke, "Can you prove that I made the poison that killed Daisuke?"
As if on cue, Kinta broke through the half-opened music room doors, wearing what appeared to be a face mask and a pair of gloves. "Sorry Satoshi, the jig is up," the martial arts expert said, his voice muffled underneath the mask. "After we went to the police with our story, they immediately sent over a team to search for traces of the poison."
Kinta held out a sealed plastic bag marked EVIDENCE. "These sure look like the fruits from the poison tree, don't they? And guess what? Footprints are being lifted from the soil around a certain tree a short distance off campus. Wanna bet they're yours?"
There was no escaping it. After a long accusation and a pile of evidence building up against him, there was nothing for it. Satoshi's knees gave way, and he fell to the floor, his hands propping him up weakly.
"Fine…I admit it...it was me…" he whispered. "It was all me…I killed Fumika…and Yui as well…"
He broke down. "It was all me…" he repeated.
Kyu stepped forward. "Only one question remains unanswered, Satoshi. Why did you do it? Was it all because of the inheritance? Did you know what the will contained?"
Satoshi shook his head. "No. I never finished deciphering it. But I knew. I knew that that piece, the Nine Circles of Hell, was really a will. Even before Mr. Sakata read what was called the 'first' will.
"The only annoyance I was having was with Fumika. She didn't know that it was a will, but she was convinced that it was something special, or it had something. I didn't believe her at first—she was so naïve and didn't even know what she was dealing with."
"But the day came, didn't it?" asked Kyu. "She figured out what it meant."
"Yes," Satoshi confessed. "She came to me all excited that evening…"
"Satoshi! Satoshi, come quick!"
"What is it now, Fumika? Everyone else is asleep, you—"
"I've figured it out, Satoshi! Come to the music room! Listen!"
"That piece is nothing, you idiotic girl, leave me alone to get my sleep—"
"I'll drag you if I have to! Just listen! Come with me!"
"She played part of the piece for me, but I didn't let her finish. I didn't want to know what the will contained…no, rather, I didn't want anyone else but me to know what it contained. If it was in my favor, I would let it be discovered eventually. But if it wasn't…well, you know the rest.
"Minoru would never give up trying to figure out what happened to Fumika, and even though Daisuke was concerned as well, the guy kept his mouth shut. However, I didn't know that Minoru would turn to DDS for help…heh. You've practically explained everything. But the will, now…if anyone should figure it out…I'll just have to accept it, since I won't be a factor anymore…"
"One more question," Shizuko interrupted. "Why didn't you kill me right away? You went through warning messages, et cetera—why didn't you just do it right away? I mean, of course I'm glad to be alive now, but I wonder why you didn't follow your pattern."
Satoshi chuckled. "You don't know, do you? Minoru might have seen it in you as well, although I'll never understand why—heh. I'll tell you why, it's because you look so much like Fumika."
The entire Class Q looked surprised. "What?!" Kinta exclaimed.
Satoshi continued to laugh quietly. "You won't really understand it, but killing you right away was like killing someone who I knew had already died. It was like Fumika refused to leave me, being my first victim and all…and as much as I hate to admit it, I was scared."
Shizuko stole a glance at Minoru, uncertain how she would take this news. The green-eyed violinist nodded in reply. "It's true. I've never mentioned it, but you do look a lot like her. Her hair was longer though, and she was a bit taller, but the likeness is there."
Kazuma coughed behind them. "Excuse me, but I think we're all forgetting something." He opened his laptop, revealing several diagrams and a scanned image of the music sheets of The Nine Circles of Hell.
"The will," said Yamato nervously.
"Yes, the will," said Kazuma, nodding. "If someone would please play it…"
"I will," volunteered Shizuko, rushing to pick up her violin from the corridor outside.
Kazuma bobbed his head in approval. "Whenever you're ready."
It took a few moments, but Shizuko was finally ready. Taking a deep breath, she drew the bow across the strings expertly.
Kazuma, on the other hand, flashed another few diagrams on his computer screen. "As you can see by the way that Shizuko is playing it, the notes form a pattern that's hard to spot. Each bar of music actually creates a letter of the alphabet across the fingerboard."
"Unbelievable!" cried out Satoshi. "I couldn't figure it out…but even then it would have taken me ages to figure out the entire piece…"
"To make it short, I scanned in diagrams of a violinist's positions on the fingerboard, for every note. My computer did the rest," Kazuma went on. He typed out another series of combinations on the keyboard. "The decoded message is right here."
Class Q looked at each other tensely. As Shizuko continued to play, Kazuma dictated the words that everyone in the room had been waiting to hear for so long.
"I know that I do not have long to last, so to ensure that my will shall forever be kept, I leave you my final work, my masterpiece. Do not be deceived by its threatening name. It is my final message, and I wish to address you all when I say that I am proud to have you all as my protégés. My dear students, you have been the greatest joys of my life, and as much as I hate to distinguish one's greatness from the other, there is only one violin, and one school. I hope that the one I have chosen will take on the responsibility like the strong person that I believe he is. As for the others who have not been chosen, please respect him and be willing to work hand-in-hand with him. I love you all, my dear students, and I know you all wish to be the one. I want all of you to inherit my school, but be united under one leader…I chose you, Minoru, my most promising student, to take on this duty."
By the time Kazuma ended the speech, and Shizuko had stopped playing, every single one of the violin students had broken down in tears. Even Satoshi, who had simply remained in his kneeling position for the entire duration of the piece, had tears running down his cheeks.
"I…killed them…" he whispered, lowering himself on his hands. The police, having been motioned into the room by Kinta, stepped forward and handcuffed him securely. He was led away, head bowed down in shame.
The very next morning, the DDS members began saying their good-byes to the remaining violin students.
"Thank you so much for helping us out," Ms. Minamoto said with a bow. "You finally caught the murderer and put a stop to all the killings."
"I only wish we'd solved it faster," said Meg softly. "We could have prevented more deaths, and more of you could be here to keep the school running."
Kazumi shook her head. "No time for regrets now. And we can't afford to keep dwelling on the past. Now that Minoru has stepped up, Yamato and I will continue to work with him." She bowed her head. "It's what Maestro Maeda would have wanted."
Yamato nodded in agreement, his hand around Kazumi's shoulder. "As sad as it is for us to have our friends killed, we're going to do our best to keep this school running."
Minoru, who had taken longer to appear in the living room, suddenly came forward. "Thank you so much," he said, bowing. "If it hadn't been for all of you, I would never have claimed the inheritance—and the killings wouldn't have stopped."
"It was nothing," said Kyu. "We wish you luck with the school, Minoru."
"Yeah, I hope you get to train more talented violinists," said Kinta.
"Everything rests in your hands now," said Ryuu. "As well as Kazumi's and Yamato's. I hope you take on the responsibility well."
"Thanks. I realize that too," Minoru answered. He looked at Kazumi and Yamato with a smile. "We'll do our best. We'll train harder to hone our craft and become more professional."
"That's good to hear," Shizuko said, smiling at him.
"Yeah, invite us to a concert sometime!" said Kyu, making everyone else laugh lightly.
"We'll be expecting that," added Kazuma with a grin.
They all turned around to leave, but Minoru suddenly called out, "Shizuko, may I have a few words with you, alone?"
Shizuko was startled by the suggestion, and Ryuu looked less than wiling to let her hang around the violin school longer, but their other classmates shrugged and told her to go. She told Ryuu and the others, "This won't take long."
Minoru took her aside as soon as she came up to him. "Shizuko, I know that you were busy for the short time that you were here, and we didn't have enough time to get to know each other. While I know you're dedicated to being in DDS and all, I wonder if you would ever consider staying here at the school with me, working on our musical talents together."
Shizuko looked at him, confused, and Minoru added, "You're a wonderfully gifted violinist, Shizuko, and I'd like to see more of that talent—as well as get to know you more. What do you say?"
Shizuko sighed and looked at the ground. "Minoru…I can't accept your offer."
"Why not?" he asked, suddenly taking hold of her hands. "You have such great talent! With some training here, you could become world-class—"
"You already know why, Minoru. I'm dedicated to DDS. It was always more of my dream to become a detective, and that calling is more powerful for me than trying to become world-class in my music. I acknowledge my talent in music, and it's something I love. But if I stayed here with you to work on my music, I'd feel terrible every day because I gave up my dream for something else. No matter how great I become, something else will be missing from my heart."
She looked up at him. "That's why I can't accept your offer, Minoru. I'm sorry. I know you're disappointed."
He sighed heavily. "It's all right. I should have expected it anyway." He smiled at her. "Your dedication to the world of crime is amazing, Shizuko. But in any case, I hope that our paths cross again."
Shizuko simply nodded, and he unexpectedly gave her a kiss on the hand before letting her leave.
"So what did he want?" Meg asked some time later, when Class Q began trekking through the woods to get to town. They would have to take some other transportation back into Tokyo later.
Kazuma looked up. "Yeah, I've been wondering that too. What did Minoru ask you?"
Shizuko shrugged indifferently. "He was offering that I stay at the violin school and undergo further training as a violinist."
"He asked you WHAT?" Kinta suddenly exclaimed, sounding outraged. Ryuu looked rather stunned, staring at Shizuko.
"Stay at the school? But that'd mean you'd move out of DDS! And Tokyo!" Kyu cried out, joining in Kinta's panic.
"Calm down, you two, I didn't accept his offer," Shizuko snapped impatiently. Kinta and Kyu stumbled all over each other in another state of shock and fell face first on the ground.
Meg grinned. "It sounds to me like he wanted something more, Shizuko."
"Most likely he did," Shizuko replied grimly. "But he was asking for too much, asking me to leave DDS and my life just to be a world-class violinist. I had to turn him down."
"But I have to say, you've got talent," Kazuma put in. "Didn't you think that your talent might be wasted if you didn't hone it? And besides, that school's pretty top-class, there's no doubt that you'd get really good if you trained there."
"And give up fooling around with you guys and taking on all these cases?" Shizuko asked him, giving the pint-sized programmer a look. "Are you kidding me, you little squirt?"
"Hey, it was just a thought," Kazuma said, raising his hands in defense.
"But the kid's got a point," added Kinta. "Why are you so willing to give up the chance to study at a really good violin school when you've got talent?"
Shizuko turned on the three boys, looking incredulous. "Are you guys trying to get rid of me?" she asked in disbelief.
"NO!" chorused Kyu, Kinta and Kazuma. Meg burst into giggles.
"We were just curious, that's all," said Kyu meekly.
"And you're about to find out why there's a saying called 'curiosity killed the cat'," she muttered, crossing her arms.
"Oh come on, it was just an innocent question!" protested Kinta.
"Fine. I'll tell you why, I turned down his offer because I'm way too dedicated to DDS. And aside from that, do you really think I'd give up becoming a detective just for a few really good violin lessons?"
She snorted. "Besides, I came way too far already, just getting into DDS and actually getting into a class, I've worked too hard for this opportunity. And to throw it all away for a violin school…I wouldn't feel very good thinking about a dream that I've abandoned."
"Oh," said Kyu, blinking in understanding. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then broke into a happy smile and turned to Ryuu, who had been walking silently behind the rest of them for the past few moments. "What do you think, Ryuu?" he asked cheerfully.
"Uh?" he said, looking surprised at being addressed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really listening."
"Well, Shizuko turned down Minoru's offer to stay at the violin school. What do you think about it?"
Kyu always was the innocent one, not even thinking about the implications that his statement would have on others. However, if Ryuu was affected by the announcement, he didn't show it on his face, but said simply, "I'm glad that you didn't abandon DDS, then. Although his offer seemed to come out of the blue."
"That's what I thought," Meg added. "Was there anything else he wanted?"
"He said something about wanting to get to know me better as well, since we didn't have time to socialize while I was on the case," Shizuko finally admitted.
"A-ha!" Kinta cried. "I knew there had to be a hidden agenda!"
"Shut it, Kinta, don't make things more complicated than they already are," Shizuko said edgily.
"Is that why you didn't want to stay?" asked Meg. "You didn't want to get involved?"
"Not really, I just couldn't accept his offer, period. I already told you, what he was offering would make me give up way too much. And that's it."
"Well, that's good," Ryuu suddenly cut in. "I'd hate to see Mr. Hongou's reaction if he finds out that you're leaving class Q for a couple of violin lessons."
"That old plank of wood?" Kinta sneered. "I'm sure he'd be glad to have one less student."
"But he'd be furious at Shizuko's lack of dedication to DDS," Ryuu pointed out.
"Exactly," said Kyu. "Mr. Hongou may be a grump, but he's a good teacher who'd be disappointed if he finds out that one of his students isn't dedicated."
"Yeah, well, I've passed the test then," Shizuko muttered. "Let's head back to the city, everyone. DDS, you'd better be ready for our arrival."
"Yeah!" cried out Kyu, an extra bounce in his step.
With a few laughs, Class Q picked up their pace, eager to get back home.
"Oi, Shizuko!"
A dark-haired, older boy was calling from across DDS's front yard. "Shizuko!"
Class Q turned immediately in the direction of the voice. "Who's that?" asked Kyu.
Ryuu wrinkled his brow. The guy was familiar, but he couldn't place where he remembered him.
Kinta tapped Shizuko on the shoulder. "Hey, some random guy's calling you."
Shizuko finally looked up, a dark look suddenly crossing her features. "Katsuhiko…" she muttered under her breath, looking a little steamed.
"Who is that, a friend of yours?" asked Kazuma.
"Oi, sis! When are you ever going to come when I call you?" the tall boy called again.
"Sis?" Kyu exclaimed, shocked.
"He's your brother?" Meg asked, looking thoroughly surprised.
"No, he's the old, annoying pet monkey that I wish I never got," Shizuko muttered sarcastically. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." She waved goodbye to all of them and ran across the yard to deal with her brother.
Of course. Her brother, Ryuu thought, finally remembering. He answered the door when I came to tell Shizuko about Pluto. No wonder he was familiar.
"You don't seem very surprised about this, Ryuu," commented Kyu.
"No, I'm not," he replied. "I've seen her brother before; he answered the door when I came to Shizuko's house to talk to her about some things."
"Oh," said Kyu, still looking clueless.
"Katsuhiko, why are you here?" Shizuko demanded of her brother, punching him in the arm. "You know that you're supposed to be at home handling dinner or something of the sort!"
"Is it wrong for me to pick up my little sister from her little detective school?" he answered cheekily, bending over and grinning at her mischievously. His blue eyes were slightly closed from smiling, and Shizuko scowled. "Nii-san, look all over the campus and you'll see that it isn't little. And anyway, who died and made you my fetcher? I haven't been picked up since I was eleven!"
"Oh come on, this is just for old time's sake," Katsuhiko said, running a hand through his dark hair. "Don't you remember when you were little, I used to pick you up all the time from the elementary school and I'd carry you on my shoulders all the way home?"
"That was until I grew too big for you to carry on your shoulders, genius."
"Who's to say I can't still carry you now?" he retorted.
"I am fourteen, you can't carry me—WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU MONKEY?"
Without further ado, Katsuhiko had lifted Shizuko and set her on his broad shoulders. "Who did you say was too big to be carried?"
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"No way, this is fun," he said, grinning.
"KATSUHIKO IF YOU DO NOT PUT ME DOWN I'M GOING TO—AAAH!"
Katsuhiko had decided to trot off without warning, and Shizuko swung off balance on his shoulders. "You little monster," she muttered in annoyance. "First you embarrass me in front of my friends, and now you just decide to carry me off! What's the big idea?"
"There's no dinner at home since there weren't any groceries in the pantry, genius," Katsuhiko offhandedly explained. "I came to take my little sister out to dinner instead. How does fried rice sound to you?"
"You're so cheap, nii-san."
"How about going to the nearest ramen house?"
"Don't be so stingy! If you're going to treat me out, make sure it's enough for me to withstand the humiliation that you put me through in front of my friends," she pouted, looking backwards at Class Q, who were standing and waving at her from a distance. She waved back, managing to keep her balance this time.
"All right, all right, I was just kidding. Let's get you one of those meal platter things at that restaurant near the house."
"That's more like it," she said, laughing. "How are you treating me out, anyway? Did you get your pay at your part-time job?"
"Yeah, the boss decided to give it to us early. I have enough to treat you out and then buy groceries to restock the pantry."
"All right, your reasons have been justified as good enough for me to suffer humiliation."
"They always are, sis," he said, grinning widely.
"They seem pretty close," Kyu grinning, watching along with the rest of Class Q as Shizuko was carried off by the older teen, who they now found out was her brother.
"Yeah. He messes around with her, but he's pretty nice, I guess," said Meg. "My sister and I get along pretty well too, but sometimes she can be such a pain."
"Older siblings are like that, I guess," said Kazuma. "I don't have any, but my classmates are always complaining about their older brothers and sisters and say that they're really bossy."
Kinta looked at his watch. "Well, I've got to go to work now," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"See ya, big boy," Meg grinned, waving.
Kyu beamed, looking pretty happy. "I guess it is kinda late now, we'd all better get going."
An elegant-looking car suddenly drove up next to them, beeping its horn. Kazuma gave them a wave. "My ride's here. I'll see you guys next time!"
That just left Ryu, Kyu and Meg standing in the front yard. Meg smiled at them both, saying, "I have to get home now and help my sister with dinner. Bye for now…"
Kyu suddenly stepped forward. "Hey, Meg, do you want me to walk you home?"
Meg suddenly flushed, looking startled. "Uhhm," she began shyly. "Okay…"
Kyu certainly looked happy. "I'll just see you at home later, eh, Ryu?"
The other boy gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah."
They all went their own ways, Kyu walking with Meg, and Ryu striding off to Kyu's house as he was accustomed to.
On his way there, though, he came across Shizuko and her older brother, looking like they were bickering. Shizuko was still sitting atop her brother's shoulders, practically tearing out his hair by the roots. "Nii-saaaaaaaan, you are so stingy!"
"Don't pull at my hair like that; do you know how long it took me to get it fixed today?"
"Do you call this fixed? I'll show you fixed—"
Ryuu unexpectedly let out a snort of laughter, and Shizuko and her brother turned to look in his direction, looking slightly embarrassed. Shizuko did not relinquish her grasp on her brother's locks, however, and merely grinned down at where Ryu was standing. "Hi."
"Hi," he said nonchalantly, nodding in greeting. "I thought the two of you had gone home."
"We were supposed to be eating out, but this brother of mine refuses to take me to anyplace other than the nearest ramen house or take-out fried rice," she said with a pout.
"Well, it saves us more money," Her brother retorted, getting a tug on his hair in response.
"Nii-saaaan…"
"Be thankful I'm even treating you out, you shouldn't be eating too much anyway, and you're getting to heavy for me to lift."
"I am NOT heavy! And YOU were the one who decided to carry me, suffer for it, then."
Ryuu coughed to get their attention, and the siblings looked at him again sheepishly.
"Are just the two of you eating out?" he asked, curious. "Where're your parents?"
Shizuko shook her head. "Mom and Dad both hold jobs overseas; they don't come home all that often. So it's just Katsuhiko and me at home."
"Ah, I see. With only the two of you there, I guess that's why you're pretty close."
"Hah, nii-san here is barely home anyway, he's too busy at his college to come home and do some bonding or whatever."
Katsuhiko frowned, almost bothered by what she said, and Shizuko quickly added, "but bah, he's five years older than me and I understand that he's got other things on his mind. Other than that, we're close enough, as far as siblings go," she said, ruffling Katsuhiko's hair for emphasis. Katsuhiko rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Ryuu sensed a little guilt in Katsuhiko for not being there often enough for his little sister, but he couldn't really tell. But if what Shizuko said was true, and her brother wasn't always home, then that explained why she was so stubborn and independent at times. He remembered how awkward Shizuko seemed to be when it came to asking for help, and thanking people for it, particularly when he'd come after her and her SOS signal.
Shizuko's voice broke into his thoughts. "Well, Ryuu, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school. Katsuhiko and I still have dinner to settle, and trust me, you don't want to witness any of our antics." She gave him a grin. "See you around!"
"Ah. Yes, I have to get going as well. I'll see you tomorrow. Good bye, then."
Katsuhiko gave him a joking salute in farewell, and marched off with Shizuko in tow. Ryuu watched them for a while, smiling at the relationship that the siblings had. With a sigh, he continued his way down the streets until he reached Kyu's house.
He probably wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly envious of the fact that Shizuko had a sibling—at least she still had a family member to hold on to while her parents weren't around. He didn't have family at all anymore, or at least blood relatives. He was alone, now.
But as he entered the house and Kyu's mother greeted him warmly, like he was her son as well, it gave him a feeling of comfort that rarely ever came to him. And as Kyu finally came home and they all had dinner together, even exchanging a few laughs at the table, Ryuu finally realized something. Being part of a family didn't mean you had to be related by blood—all you needed was for them to accept you for what you were, and to be comfortable around them. He smiled. He wasn't alone in the world after all.
"Shizuko?"
"Hmm?" she asked, sounding groggy. She and her brother had finally stopped arguing and gotten dinner at a restaurant they could both agree on—not terribly expensive, but the menu was acceptable as well. Katsuhiko was carrying her on his back now, since she was getting too much for his shoulders to handle. She propped her head on his shoulder so she could see him. "What is it?"
"That Ryuu guy we met earlier, he's one of your DDS classmates, right?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"So, what does he see in a hot-tempered girl like you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, he didn't have to take notice of you earlier, and her certainly didn't have to give you such an elaborate good-bye, so what kind of thing have you guys got? And by the way, don't think that I've forgotten about his visit to our house when you guys were on your last case."
"Are you suggesting that Ryuu and I are in some kind of relationship?" she asked in astonishment.
"Gee, you're the detective, what do you think I'm suggesting?" he asked slyly.
"Nii-saaaaaaaan," she said in a warning tone.
"What, he seems to be your type."
"He is so not my type!"
"Your face is growing warm."
"It is not!"
"I knew it! Time for a confession, little sis."
"I do not like Ryuu!"
"So you say."
"Nii-san!"
And they were bickering again, all the way down the street and into their home. They the kept at it until finally, Shizuko tossed her sneaker directly at his head, and that shut him up for the time being. That is, until bedtime came and he began teasing her again as he popped his head through her bedroom door in for his usual good-night.
Shizuko tossed her pillow at him, but it bounced harmlessly against the door and fell to the floor. She grumbled as her brother laughed down the hallway, and then it faded away as well as he reached his room and shut the door.
She got out of bed and picked up the pillow she'd been attempting to use as a weapon. Fluffing it a little, she placed it under her head and closed her eyes for a well-deserved sleep.
"Stupid brothers," she muttered before dropping off into slumber.
-:owari:-
rants: God, I'm so sorry it took me almost a year to finish this fanfic. I solemnly swear that the next time I write one, it will not take this long. (I hope.)
How'd you like the way I ended it? Did the person you suspect before turn out to be the culprit? Heheheh. Thanks so much for putting up with me and my slow work. And any suggestion you can make so I can improve my style of writing? (aside from my being slow of course) I'd appreciate any comment.
FINALLY the Nine Circles of Hell is over! You can all move on with your lives now.
Don't forget: PLEASE REVIEW!