Hello everyone!

I decided to give this entire story a rewrite, since I felt that the base idea merited a second try. My writing style has decidedly improved in my 3 year hiatus, so hopefully you will find this a better read. FTLD still has a hold on my imagination, so I'm happy to give it another try.

Thank you all so much for your kind reviews and alerts, having hope in me despite my long and unannounced hiatus. I really appreciate it. (: enjoy!

"Team Seishun 6-count reporting for duty."

"Ah, Tezuka. It's good to see you. You see, Tokyo Police Department has been having a problem. A problem called Prince."

Her carefully chosen words were met with silence. Always so hard to get a reaction from this one, so disappointing. She leaned back in her chair, smiling brightly as the silence dragged on. Maybe a direct question would get better results.

"Are you familiar with the name?"

"Yes. He's a thief that has so far eluded capture despite tightened security and increased watch. As of now, the list of stolen items has reached a record high of forty high-value objects in the span of two weeks."

His words were exactly what she was expecting. She opened her mouth to continue, "I'm glad to hear you know. Because-"

"So our next assignment is to apprehend Prince."

She twitched, careful not to let her smile slip. No matter what anyone said, Tezuka of Team Seishun was definitely a brat.

Calmly taking a breath, she continued, "Good, good. I'm glad you understand. This warrant will take you off of Major Crime Response Team duties for a year. As of now, your team has been assigned to the Prince case. We will reassess the situation and warrant every six months or as needed."

"Understood."

Time to drop some breadcrumbs, perhaps? She added, "Make sure to investigate exactly why we got this warrant so easily. Normally, the department hates to mess with the MCRT. Despite the high value, these objects are not exactly government treasures or historical relics. I wouldn't rule out a power play in the higher-ups."

There was no reply. Well, she tried.

"Hmm…so our next job is to catch this prince?" asked Fuji, draped lazily over the sofa.

"Yes, Fuji. That is the fifth time you've asked. As far as Cel said, it's just a matter of prioritizing." Tezuka replied from where he sat in a chair, reading case files.

"Well, forgive me for trying to make sure."

He didn't grace that with a response. Fuji was one of his moods, and there was nothing he could do about it. Better to let it pass with as little note as possible, and with luck, it would be over sooner.

"By the way, how much data does Inui have on him?" As if summoned, a shadow appeared behind Fuji, glasses glinting in the dark.

"Prince, real name unknown. First appearance, five months ago. Average statistics unknown. Item of highest value stolen, government seal. Primary client, unknown. Average strike time, two days," his monotone voice rattled off the statistics, "However, these are all preliminary data. With this warrant, I'll be able to focus my efforts on delving deeper into his history. Hopefully, we will be able to discern his motive and apprehend him from there."

"Why, hello Inui. How kind of you to join us."

"However, the fact that Yukimura gave us an open-ended warrant of one year to capture him indicates that the percentage of us catching him in that time is only 76.674. Not even Sanada's team could catch him."

"Saa…looks like this Prince is a tough one."

Tezuka shook his head and stood up before saying, "It doesn't matter how tough he is. As long as we have our guard up and proceed calmly, we will find him. Let's go, it's time to meet at the station."

Although why they always ended up at his apartment was a mystery to him.

As they walked down the street, none of them could seem to shake off the apprehensive cloud floating around them. Who could blame them? Their record was the best one in Tokyo Police-all missions completed. But here was this thief named Prince, threatening to put a blemish on that perfect record.

"Inui, is that all the data you have?" Fuji asked, eyes still closed, frowning gently.

Inui adjusted his glasses as he hesitantly cleared his throat. "..Hem...well. The preliminary data was what I had obtained through initial data screens. However, there was one part I have neglected to mention."

"What is it? What is it?" the two most excitable of the Seishun squad demanded.

Inui looked uncomfortable. He fiddled around with his notebook once he reached the page on Prince, and adjusted his glasses far more times than necessary. Finally, he looked up. "I am not comfortable citing this as evidence. According to my calculations, my estimate is only 62.45 percent reliable in this case. Not to mention that it seems incredibly strange, from a commonsense point of view."

Tezuka stared steadily at Inui before saying, "I don't care about the reliability factor, Inui. The fact that you have information that could help the case is what matters. I want to hear it, now."

Grimacing, Inui looked down at his notebook.

"According to the data I have gathered, Prince supposedly shows himself to the team assigned to catch him. However, this unusual event occurs only once in each team's investigation period. Sanada mentioned something about seeing Prince, but he did not seem entirely certain of his observation. The fact that Genichirou would doubt his own senses raised a red flag to me."

Tezuka frowned. If this Prince showed himself to enough people for this rumor to be caught by Inui, shouldn't they have more reliable statistics on him by now? The fact that Sanada was uncertain in his observation could be explained by a number of factors, but it didn't rule out the possibility of a hallucinogenic attack, as absurd as it might have sounded.

The others were similarly lost in their thoughts, but were jolted out by another nervous cough from Inui.

"In addition to this unusual habit, some rumors have crossed my path that seems to link the Prince with our own Kaidoh. After some in-depth research, however, I can find no single reliable evidence that the rumor is true. Kaidoh himself has spoken with me regarding this matter."

Everyone was stunned momentarily by this announcement. Kaidoh, connected with the elusive Prince? The most quiet and introverted of their team, somehow connected to a mastermind thief?

Kaidoh himself was puzzled regarding the issue. Out of the Seishun squad, only Tezuka and Inui knew about his criminal past, and only Inui knew that Kaidoh made use of his criminal knowledge to help solve cases. But who was Prince? He had never run across such a person. Unless...could it be?

Team Seishun continued walking in silence.

Thank you, all of my previous readers, for not giving me a vicious verbal whipping as I clearly deserved, for my previous emo and self-pitying Author's Notes. I hope my new updates will not disappoint. My story writing skills still need a bit of work, but..well..hope you like it? (: