入学帝丹小学校

部一つ

Enrolling At Teitan Elementary

Part 1

Ai did not like this at all. Normally, she was able to keep her cool, but now, she was freaking out internally. She wanted her correct age back, and she wanted it now. It wasn't very hard when she had done it the first time, but now that she was going through Elementary again instead of her normal High School, it was understandable that she would be freaking out.

Elementary School kids could get physically vicious, punching and kicking others. Highschoolers could get mean as well, but they mostly used words and were, therefore, less dangerous.

The teacher, one Kobayashi-sansei, stood next to Ai at the front of the room. "Alright everybody, before we begin, I would like to introduce a new student. This here is Haibara Ai from right here in Tokyo. I hope you'll all make her feel welcomed."

She silently gulped, feeling a slight knot in her throat. Despite her worries, the students didn't look threatening in the slightest. In fact, almost all of them looked like they wanted to become her friend.

However, Ai really wasn't one who made many friends, as people often found her to be cold and unfriendly. That reputation of hers was also made clear by her sense of humor. Seeing all those murders gave her humor a bit of a snarky, sarcastic twist. Just as well, she couldn't get too attached to anyone in the class, because once she became Shiho again, she would have to leave this life behind.

Once it came time for her to pick as seat, she started wandering down the aisles, trying to find a good place to sit. "You can sit here if you want!"

Ai turned her attention to a girl her new age. She had short, brunette hair, and was wearing a pink headband. The girl smiled at her kindly. Figuring it couldn't hurt, Ai sat in the open spot on the table. "My name is Yoshida Ayumi. It's nice to meet you."

Ai's worries slowly started to dissipate as the girl held out her hand with a smile. So she took it. "Likewise. I'm My- er, Haibara Ai."

Smiling, the two looked back up at the front. However, it wasn't until a few seconds later that she felt someone poking her from behind. Sitting behind her, she found two very hopeful-looking boys smiling at her. They both held out their hands to her. "Welcome to Teitan Elementary, Haibara-san. I'm Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko."

"And I'm Kojima Genta." The other boy introduced.

Ai smiled slightly and shook both of their hands. "Pleasure to meet you both."

Well, it at least seemed as if things were going smoothly. Ai was okay with that for now.

The day was halfway over, and now came time for recess. That was incredibly childish in Ai's opinion. After all, it wasn't like she needed it anymore. She never really was one for sports. She always preferred to stay inside, reading books or practicing experiments. Unfortunately, due to her current situation, she would have to act like a kid. It was exhausting really. Especially in front of Akemi.

It was her first time getting caught up in the middle of the recess rush. That meant that Kobayashi-sensei would be asking students to get balls and other outdoor toys from the locker. Two students, a boy and a girl, both went to the lockers outside to get the supplies for their class. Ai sighed internally, as it seemed that recess preparations were taking longer than usual. "Um, excuse me, Haibara-san."

The bored girl looked up to find her table partner looking back at her with a hopeful expression. "Since you're new here and don't have any friends, would you like to play with us today?"

Knowing she wouldn't have anything better to do if she said no, Ai agreed. "Sure, why not."

She stood up from her desk and joined the Ayumi girl in walking out the classroom door. "Kyaaaaaa!"

The screaming immediately captured everyone's attention, and Ai's detective instincts kicked in, having her run out of the room and down the long hall. She arrived at the lockers, seeing the same boy and girl from before, standing in front of an empty class locker. The rest of the students were shocked to find their precious play items missing. Kobayashi-sensei didn't have a clue about any of it.

As she was looking though the empty locker, something caught her eye. She reached down and picked it up, observing it. "Rope fibers?"

They were a blue color, so she concluded that they came from a multi colored jump rope. She turned to the teacher. "Kobayashi-sensei, we need to do a perimeter search. Have some students search the classrooms and have another group search outside. We need to know if anyone was in these halls prior to the theft."

Kobayashi blinked. "U-Um, okay."

"I'll examine this locker to see if I can find any more clues to lead us toward the perpetrator."

"Um, Haibara-san,"

Ai found Ayumi looking at her a little curiously. "What is it?"

"It's just, why are you speaking like a grown-up?"

Ai paused immediately as she realized what she was doing. "U-U-Um, it's just something I saw on a crime show, heh, heh."

Nevertheless, Ai's advice was taken, and groups of two were sent to patrol different areas. No one managed to find anything, inside or out. Ai was curious as to what had happened, and was on the case. Her biggest problem would be hiding her true age. "Yoshida-san, what exactly was kept in the locker?"

Ayumi looked up at the ceiling and thought back. "Well, let's see, there were five soccer balls, three jump ropes, three baseballs, and two bats. Why do you want to know?"

Ai didn't answer, but instead she thought to herself. "One person carrying all those would be pretty easy to spot, even if they were carrying them in a bag. So I wonder how they could have done it..."

Kobayashi-sensei was able to provide Ai with the information that only three students had left the class during the allotted time. Ikeda Hayate, a boy who sat at the front of the class, claiming he left to get a drink of water. Matsuoka Hiroko, a shy girl who had left to go check out books. And finally, Saito Kouki, who had received a call from the principal.

Each of them had the opportunity to take the supplies, and now Ai had tasked herself with interviewing them. "Ikeda-kun, you say you only went to get a drink of water. How long were you gone?"

The boy looked to the ground and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe, five minutes."

Ai turned to her teacher. "Is this correct, Kobayashi-sensei?"

She nodded, still going along with Ai's investigation. Having finished, she moved on to the next suspect. "Matsuoka-san, can you confirm that you were at the library?"

Slowly, the girl nodded. "Yes, I can. The librarian can tell you."

Ai made a clear mental note to go to the library and ask. "And what about you, Saito-kun?"

He raised his hands defensively. "I really did get called to the principal's office! you heard the announcement yourself!"

Knowing that was true, Ai dismissed her interviews. The three from earlier, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, were watching her as she handled the case in such a professional manner. "Haibara-san is really amazing isn't she?"

Ayumi nodded. "Yeah. It's her first day and she already seems so confident."

Genta sighed. "I wish we could be as cool as that."

Mitsuhiko thought for a second. "Maybe we can be."

Ayumi blinked. "What do you mean?"

Mitsuhiko smiled determinately, already forming a plan in his mind. "I mean, if we become friends with her, she could teach us what she knows, and we could form a detective group!"

Genta and Ayumi were immediately on board. "That's a great idea! But, what should we call ourselves?"

"Oh, how about the Unajuu Seekers Club!"

Mitsuhiko wasn't at all surprised. "I was thinking more along the lines of the Shounen Tantei-Dan."

"Shounen Tantei-Dan? You mean like in Edogawa Rampo's stories?"

"Yep, that's the one."

Within the next few seconds, Ayumi had scooped him up into a big hug. "You're so smart, Mitsuhiko-kun!"

While said Mitsuhiko was blushing like crazy, Genta glared at him, jealous that he wasn't receiving the same attention.

"I still don't understand why you guys had to follow me here. I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself."

The three of them nervously laughed. "We only want to help with the case."

Ayumi explained. Knowing there was nothing she could really do about it, Ai sighed and turned her attention to the librarian. "Excuse me, Obaasan."

The librarian looked at her and smiled. "Yes dear, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know if a girl came in here around eight to check out some books?"

She smiled wider. "Yes, she did. I even have data in the computer."

The librarian pulled up the recorded data on the computer and showed it to the group. According to the information, she had checked out two books, one called "Namesake," and the other called, "Stand Still, Stay Silent."

Ai nodded. "I see. Thank you for telling us."

The woman smiled. "You're welcome."

As Ai and the group walked towards the door, the shrunken Shiho noticed something on the ground. She bent over to pick it up, using her handkerchief, as it looked familiar. "Jump rope fibers?"

Ayumi looked back. "What's that, Haibara-san?"

The boys were staring at the rope fiber as well, wondering what it might mean. Finally, Ai looked up at the group. "So, why were you really following me?"

The three of them tensed up, looking to each other for answers. Finally, Mitsuhiko explained, "Well, we saw you handling the situation back in the classroom, and we figured it would be a good idea if you taught us how to be real detectives."

Ai blinked. "You mean, like taking you all in as my apprentices?"

"Um, actually we were thinking we could form a detective group." Genta added.

Ai had to think about this for a second. She knew she wasn't supposed to get attached to any of the other kids here, but these three sounded so sincere and friendly. She didn't think that she could turn them away so easily. And besides, going though Elementary a second time would be much easier with someone to share it with. After a deep breath, she sighed. "Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

The other three got so excited that they cheered out loud. "Our first debut as the Shounen Tantei-Dan!"

Ai blinked. "Shounen Tantei-Dan?"

"E-Er, do you not like it?"

Ai only smiled. "It's perfect."

After the three of them had cheered themselves out, Genta asked, "So, what should we do next to solve the case?"

"In my tour of the school, I was shown a science lab. That's our next stop."

"Um, but why?" Ayumi asked, confused.

"Unlike professional thieves, a kid wouldn't think to wear gloves in order to hide their fingerprints. I'm going to teach you how to find and differentiate different finger prints using forensic science."

When the three of them had heard this, they turned to face each other. "That sounds so cool!"

Ai smiled at this, thinking that this first day wasn't so bad. Although with a case in need of solving, she knew it wouldn't end just yet.