Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Operation Unsolved ❯ Case 1: Operation Unsolved 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Operation Unsolved
Author: Nekocin
Genres: Action, Mystery
Type: Alternative Universe, Continuation?
Warnings: possible OoC on everyone's part, OC, [frozen writing style], too much dialogues.
Pairings: Implied Oshitari-liking- Kikumaru, Saeki-possibly liking- Fuji
Rated: PG13 --> R, PG13 for now
Additional notes: strange twist?, implied "pairings"
Disclaimer: same as in the previous chapters.

3.

Both Tezuka and Kikumaru were on a short break on their night shift.
Kikumaru had persuaded his partner to eat at the local traditional restaurant by the name "Kawamura's corner", saying that as police officers they needed to eat healthy stuff in order to work efficient enough while on duty.

As soon as they had entered the restaurant Kikumaru had enthusiastically tied the restaurant owner in an almost endless, friendly talk while Tezuka scanned the new environment.

Like any traditional restaurant, "Kawamura's corner" had low tables on carefully-cleaned platform with scattered cushions round the tables on the left and a long counter on the right. The walls were plainly decorated with scrolls of zen proverbs... that's when Tezuka noticed a familiar person approaching them.

"What a coincidence!"

Kikumaru tensed up, recognizing the voice and looked wide-eyed at the smiling inspector.

"... ah... u... ho... e..." Kikumaru sputtered, uncomfortably shifting his weight to one foot then to the other. He gave up and sighed.

"Good evening, inspector"

The inspector smiled at Kikumaru and then at Tezuka. "Good evening. Come sit with us, darling"

"Us, nya?" Kikumaru wondered nervously, his eyes darting around for an escape [if there were any].

"Yes, superintendent Oishi and Echizen Ryoma" Oshitari explained and ushered Kikumaru towards the table at the corner. He looked over his shoulder to find Tezuka still hovering near the counter.

"Are you coming, Tezuka?" He sent Tezuka a dazzling smile, but received no intended reaction from the other. The officer just followed them without much twitching at the inspector playful attitude towards him.

Upon meeting up with the inspector's companions, Oishi was surprised to see Tezuka while Echizen's bored expression betrayed his uninterested attitude towards the two officers.

Right on cue, the inspector started to tease Kikumaru mercilessly with his... not-so-subtle flirting. The teasing had gone so out of hand that Kikumaru removed himself from standing nearby the [perverted] inspector and attached himself on to Echizen out of sheer curiosity [Really! He was curious about Ryoma!].

~XXX Operation Unsolved part 3 XXX~

"Now I see what's wrong" Inui mumbled to himself and pushed his glasses back into place. He closed his notebook and smirked at no one in particular. He'd finally found the hole!

"Kaido, it's time we pay a visit to our presumably, possible killer"

Kaido, his apprentice, looked up from his writing work, questioningly, but nodded obediently instead. How could his teacher know who might be the killer? The killer who had tried to frame him no less! His teacher was really one eccentric man who knew how to gain all sorts of information he wanted just by merely observing and doing eerily freaky stuff with his grin, or eyebrows, or glasses...

Kaido shivered lightly, despite the fact that he was actually sweating from the sheer closeness of the fire, which was currently heating up some -new liquid invention-.

"SHHHHH... Do I have to contact Fuji-sempai?" he responded.

"Hm. He probably has an idea of who it might be. But call him anyway"

Kaido hissed obediently and left the laboratory.

Inui checked on the notes he'd just written in his notebook and compared them with the notes his apprentice had just taken. "... I might be wrong, if not correct, that this is really a complex formula..."

"It seems like they're having fun, ne Taka-san" Fuji smiled at the owner of the restaurant. He looked subtly over his shoulder to the table in the corner where one excited officer was enthusiastically trying to get the younger member, Echizen, to respond to his loud chatter.

"Mhm. Here, Fujiko-chan" the owner had just served Fuji's favorite dish, wasabi sushi.

"Thank you" Fuji picked up the pair of chopsticks between his fingers, ready to dig in.

"Echizen doesn't look like he's enjoying being there" Kawamura Takashi picked up a cloth and started scrubbing the counter slowly, all the while keeping a subtle eye on Echizen's table.

"Aa. At least he got resources for whatever he wanted to gain" A wasabi sushi disappeared into his mouth.

"Momoshiro had mentioned that Echizen's found a lead" Kawamura's voice betrayed his amazement to what he'd just stated.

"I see-" Fuji paused as he carefully choose his words. "Echizen is a very inter-"

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Fuji immediately reached for his pager, which was attached against the back of his belt, he read the message and let out a sigh afterwards.

"I don't like it when someone interrupts my lunch break. Ne, Taka-san, could you put these in a bento for me? I'll come back after this" He placed the chopsticks on the counter, grabbed a sheet of paper towel and wiped his mouth automatically.

"Sure. Just don't get into trouble" Kawamura sent the other a worried look as he picked up Fuji's plate of wasabi sushi.

Fuji smiled mildly, turned in his seat and stepped down from it. He headed to the exit.
"I'll see you" he had whispered lightly and waved once, before closing the screen door.

Kawamura shook his head lightly as he gathered Fuji's lunch in a lunchbox. He caught two people staring at his direction [which was pretty unnerving]. Echizen Ryoma and Oshitari Yuushi. Neither one of the two flinched nor looked nervous when Kawamura confronted them with a -look- of his own, clearly saying that he knew they were watching his exchange with Fuji.

Not knowing what to do about the awkward situation he'd gotten himself into, Kawamura sent them a small, timid smile and placed the lid on top of the lunchbox, closing it. He resumed his daily business as the friendly restaurant owner of Kawamura's corner.

Fuji watched someone exiting a hotel building and waving for passing taxis. He acted immediately -ready to pounce his prey, in a sense. It was his cue.

The anonymous man had hauled a cab successfully and stepped into the car.

"Take me to Narita airport" The man ordered the driver and slid on the seatbelt.

With pleasure...

Fuji smirked lightly, pulled his black driver's cap down and let the shadows cover his eyes. He switched gears and drove up the main street. Paying the actual cab owner a certain amount of money, was really worth it. If not, there were a lot of possibilities to get his money back...

His azure eyes glinted as he looked at the mirror hanging strategically above his head. His prey would never knew what hit him.

XX

"What did you do to him, Fuji?"

"He's indisposed... for a while"

"SHHHHH... you didn't kill him, right Fuji-sempai?"

"Saa... let's find out... after tomorrow"

"It seems like the concoction is working quite well"

"Heh~ you must be talking about the first stage"

"SHHHHH~"

"Ii data. We'll see what will happen to him tomorrow"

Saturday, 9:05 AM

Oshitari had deliberately asked for this case when he'd met up with Oishi. Not only did he want to tease the officers, but he wanted to be the one to solve this case as well.

There's a big chance that Echizen's son might know more about this murder than he lets on. He could tell from Echizen's thoughtful expression, last night when they had lunched together with Oishi.

He would have to dig deeper besides fitting puzzles with a bunch of photos. It explained why he was entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, and requested for a small meeting with the Minister. His request was granted instantly.

"I apologize for interrupting your day, sir" Inspector Oshitari put up a mild apologetic look on his face as he bowed lightly in greeting and apology.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs waved off the apology, lightly, and looked up expectantly at Oshitari, from his seat behind the desk. Oshitari observed the Minister.

The face looked familiar: oval chin, slightly rounded cheeks, primed dark-red hair, deep indigo eyes... but Oshitari couldn't place a name to familiarity, which was an understatement.

"I already know from the start that you'll come to me sooner or later..." Even the voice sounded familiar.

Oshitari raised an interested eyebrow. "Oh? Are you uncomfortable in my presence, sir?"

"Not at all. So, what can I do for you?" There's a fleeting look of hurt on the minister's face, but it quickly disappeared before Oshitari could blink twice; perhaps his eyes were playing tricks with him.

"I like to ask you a few questions-"

"Regarding?" the minister cut in.

"Regarding the late Herr Schwarzgerald"

"I can tell that much," The minister nodded absently. "So what do you want to know, inspector?" He raised his eyes to meet the inspector's, expectantly yet again.

Oishi smiled. "What's your relationship with Herr Schwarzgerald?"

"Just business" the answer came out immediate. Oshitari would like to bet the answer came out without thought, because their relationship probably was 'just business'.

"Would that be good or bad?" Oshitari continued.

"I suppose, it's good, since we had a certain mutual agreement" Mutual agreement?

"And what kind of mutual agreement would that be?"

The minister smiled, a small smile playing on his lips. "He's good in his field as in mine."

"That doesn't make sense. What kind of field?" Oshitari commented.

The small smile on the Minister's face widened.

"Sport" And the smile vanished.

Oshitari stared at the Minister's sudden neutral face. "... sport, you say?"

"Yes"

"What kind of sport?"

"Track racing and acrobatics"

"... I see" Oshitari couldn't see the link between the mutual agreement with the sport comment. He frowned lightly.

"When is the last time you saw Herr Schwarzgerald?"

"On Tuesday, this week. We had a lunch meeting"

"Where?"

"That fancy restaurant, some foreign name I couldn't read" The minister's eyebrows were knit together in a light frown as if trying to remember the name. It didn't seem like he could remember it any time soon.

"How long did this lunch meeting take?"

The minister paused again. "I'm not exactly sure. But I suppose it had taken roughly 3 hours"

"Was there a third party present?"

"...yes. Herr Schwarzgerald had brought his secretary along, claiming that he's too lazy to write down the important points"

"What about you? Did you bring your secretary along, too?"

The minister hesitated. "No. But I did bring two acquaintances along"

"And who would they be?" Intriguing.

"Ohtori Choutarou and Kaido Kaoru"

Oshitari nodded, looking interested at the minister. "Tell me something about them"

"Very well. Ohtori is currently aiming for the superintendent spot. I met him at the University during my college years. He had been my study partner in Music and Art"

"Music and Art?" Oshitari prodded politely, with raised eyebrows.

"He's an aptitude for creative fields"

"I see. Please continue"

"I met Kaido-san on the streets. Actually, I accidentally kicked him over while he was doing his routines" A slight blush of embarrassment appeared on the minister's face. How unusual. "I believe he works as an apprentice for some scientist; I've noticed he's very handy with handling self-brewed liquids"

"What kind of routines?"

"He loves to jog through town in the afternoons"

"Why's that?"

"He never told me the reason why. But I think it has something to do with the fact that being an apprentice, other parts of his body won't be so active as his brains, his eyes or his hands. After all, all he has to do is stand nearby, analyze stuff and mix the liquids."

"Aha. Did Herr Schwarzgerald know your companions beforehand?"

"Not that I know of. No. I don't think so... my companions didn't look really that impressed when Herr Schwarzgerald made his entrance"

"Aa. Did Herr Schwarzgerald leave something for you? A letter? A blank paper? A package? Or anything of that sort?"

The Minister frowned lightly. "... Hmmm... no, I don't think so"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm very sure"

Oshitari paused and looked over at the Minister. He sent the other a calculated look, nodded absently and straightened his shoulders.

"Do you know where your two companions live?"

"Is it necessary to bring them into this case too, inspector?"

"Of course" Oshitari smiled politely.
He watched the Minister rip out a piece of paper from a notebook and scribble something on it.

The inspector couldn't help but admire those hands... they're calloused... like his. The minister wordlessly gave him the piece of paper.

"Well, that's it for now. Have a nice day..." His eyes trailed towards the golden nameplate on the minister's desk. "... Gakuto-san..."

"Why were the results delayed?" Oishi wondered disapprovingly as he fixed a stern look on the messenger boy.
It's been 3 days since the blood test was taken and for some suspicious reason the results hadn't been immediately submitted to the superintendent until just recently. Usually, blood tests take up one day to only identify what had caused the Minister's death.

"I don't know. I'm just passing by when some guy gave me this folder" the messenger boy shrugged. He smiled for a moment and saluted with two fingers tapping his blue cap.

"At least you got the results, sir. Now, I'll be on my way. Good day"

The superintendent waved him off.

Looking down at the folder in his hands, Oishi silently wondered if someone else was meddling with his business. He shrugged absently and looked over the test results. The content made him raise his eyebrows up in confusion.

The researchers had discovered 3 blood types in the samples the investigators had gathered: A, B and O. Herr Schwarzgerald's blood was mixed up with 2 unidentified [possible] eyewitnesses their blood. Whether the two were the actual murderers... or not, was a bit of a possibility.

How did his blood mix with others? Was it because of the three different blood types together, Herr Schwarzgerald's dead? Argh! Where were the test results on the body? He should have been informed of the cause of the Minister's death.

XX

Not far from the frustrated superintendent, the messenger boy greeted Fuji with a mocking salute and a grin. The gesture wasn't taken as an insult when Fuji answered the other with a smile, however, more amused than mocking.

"You're playing a very dangerous game, Syusuke"

"Aa, what can I say? It makes life pretty interesting for a double player like me, won't you say so yourself, Kojirou?" Fuji responded, clearly looking interested at the taller messenger boy, Saeki Kojirou.

Saeki saw a flash of azure eyes before it disappeared. He grinned in response, pulled off his cap and brushed his hair lightly aside. He fixed Fuji a searching look with a pair of sharp blue-violet eyes, and leaned closer to the photographer's face.

He laid his hand against the Fuji's forehead and brushed the light brown bangs aside. "Why don't you worry about yourself? Your models must be waiting for you"

Fuji didn't seem to mind their proximity or the too-intimate brush of warm skin for he leaned into the friendly touch, willingly. Anyone passing by would have thought they were into some kind of relationship, which probably was, until a visible playful smirk appeared on Fuji's face.

"You keep on reminding me about my schedule and brushing my hair aside at the same time -not that I'm a forgetful person. If I hadn't known any better, I would say you are harboring secret feelings for me, Kojirou"

Saeki responded with a spontaneous smirk of his own, clearly not surprised or disgusted at the idea.

"So what if I am? What if I have hidden feelings for you all this time?" He made it more challengingly by leaning closer. "What would you do then?"

"I'd say, I would leave you hanging till you are ready enough to throw yourself at me" Fuji countered.

"What if I lose interest in you before I'm ready for it?" Saeki pressed on.

"Then I'll stalk you myself" The words came out blunt with a hint of earnest; Fuji probably would do that.
Saeki couldn't help but grin at the response. So spontaneous.

"Then I hope I get the privilege to witness you stalking me. It would be interesting"

Fuji let out an amused chuckle and distanced himself from Saeki, who didn't seem to mind the abrupt cease of playful bantering.

"Well, go on. Back to work, you!" Saeki shooed.

Grabbing hold of the camera tightly, Fuji nodded curtly to his companion and walked to the general direction to his photo-shooting agency, leaving Saeki behind.

Saeki watched Fuji's retreating back until the owner was round the corner. He chuckled to himself.

"I hope I'm lucky enough to witness that some day. Indeed" he commented into thin air and casually ran his fingers through his white hair.
Shaking his head ruefully, he put his cap back on and continued his way as an innocent commoner, a messenger, who had just found out how wonderful that day was.

Yes. It was a wonderful day.

Ohtori Choutarou

Oshitari read the in-gold graved placate on the sweet-smelling, red-brown cherry-wooden door. There was no title in front, but the reception officer insisted that 'Ohtori-san' was really an inspector -an inspector with such devotion for his work and a 'fine' heart for his subordinates [Oshitari had smirked, looking amused].

It would be very interesting to see who exactly is this inspector who had somehow attracted everyone of this division... truly intriguing.

He raised his fisted hand and knocked.

Maybe he'd found another prey to prey on. His glasses glinted...

End Operation Unsolved 3

- bento -- [wooden] lunchbox

TheNekoTalks:

1) There's not much of Echizen, Tezuka or Kikumaru here, because I'm actually trying to make place for all characters in this story.
2) I'm just playing around with Oshitari's character, so I guess he's so Out Of Character ~_~ even if he got a lot of parts.
3) Taka-san came out all right. I'm very glad he did :hugs character:
4) As for Saeki... :frowns: I can't say if I butchered his character or not, but I think he did come out all right. And by the way, I think he's very cute!
5) I'm sorry about using Outside Characters. More of them will come as this story progresses.

I like to thank those who'd reviewed the previous chapter: yoshikochan, Ying Fa19 and Yarrie .

Look at the new thing! :grins: I've been nosing around in old Detective books if you must know. Of course I've already planned out the first case, but after reading several good Mystery books I thought about making the whole case flip on its sides that it's just ironic in a way :smiles:

But sadly, I'm very bad at trying to pinpoint all my description [or the lack there of] which might result to the fact that the whole mysterious atmosphere must have vanished! And oh my gawd the major age difference! ~_~
And the chapter is too short. I'll lengthen the next chapter, though.

:Smiley face: cin