Prologue: Brand New Days

Sunday, May 15, 2011, Afternoon, Cloudy, Shirogane Residence

Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi, Yukiko Amagi: Three victims, all found hanging from telephone poles. Cause of death unknown… Dammit, how is this even possible? How could a killer commit three murders and not leave a single shred of evidence? There's just no way. It's not possible.

But… It happened anyway… The perfect, unsolvable crime…

…

No. Come on, Naoto, snap out of it! Every crime is solvable! Now, we know that Yamano-san was staying at the Amagi inn before her death, so if-

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by someone knocking on my door. Dammit, who's looking for me this time!? Ok, be calm, Naoto, just send them away quickly and be done with it.

I grabbed my gun off the table, just in case, and went to the door. When I opened it, I saw a face that was all too familiar. A face that really shouldn't be here right now.

"Afternoon, Shirogane! Still hard at work, eh?" He greeted me. Ryotaro Dojima. The one person on the force who can look past my age and see me for my ability. It's nice when he drops by, but… What was so important that he needed to leave Inaba now of all times and come here?

"Dojima-san… Shouldn't you be in Inaba right now?"

"Well, yes, but… Look, can I come in? There's something we need to talk about. It's about the murders." Dojima said grimly. Of course. What else could this be about?

"Of course, come in." I let him inside and showed him to my work room. It was only then when I realized how messy and cluttered my space has become. Papers had been strewn everywhere and many empty cups of coffee lay about the room, long since finished. I really need to clean this room up someday. We sat in some chairs sitting in the corner of the room, the awkward silence only increasing the tension. "So… Another victim, I'm assuming?" I started.

"Well, no. Er, yes, but… Well… Not yet. We have no proof, but we think we know who the next victim will be." He explained with a serious look on his face.

What!? Dojima-san, have you gone mad!? "This must be a mistake. Absurd as it may be, the killer left no evidence on any of the bodies or at any of the scenes, and no one else in Inaba had connections to Yamano-san. How could you possibly make a prediction with nothing to go on?"

"Funny story about that. Taro Namatame, you know, the man who had the affair with Yamano-san? He moved back to Inaba some time ago. Something about working for his family's delivery business. But that's not who I'm here to talk about. Here."

He handed me a large folder stuffed to the limit with papers with the name 'Kanji Tatsumi' on the front. His mugshot greeted me when I opened the folder. Short, bleached blonde hair, a scar near his eye, and way too many piercings, with a face that glared back at me from the page. What's with this guy? He's so angry…

"This is him, huh? You know him?" I asked, flipping through the folder. Inside were police reports of all of the many, many felonies and misdemeanors he committed. So this delinquent is our next victim, huh? Great…

"A little, yeah." He said dryly. "I've dealt with him down at the station quite a bit. He has good intentions, but he can be a bit… aggressive."

"I've noticed." I responded, still flipping through the mountain of police reports. It's gonna take me days to look through these. "So, why do you think he's the next victim?"

"Well, it's mostly speculation, but we think it's because he appeared on the news two nights ago." Really? That's it? So much for 'Ace Detective'.

"It might not sound like much, and it really isn't, but it happened to all of the victims shortly before they disappeared, and quite frankly, we don't have much else to go on," He explained. It's better than nothing, but is it really enough? We're still just speculating at this point.

"So, we think he's the next victim, right? So why are you here telling me this? Shouldn't you be protecting him in Inaba? You didn't have to tell me in person."

"Actually… I did. See, Kanji has… A bit of a violent streak. He's not gonna believe us if one of us in Inaba approach him about this. So… I was wondering if… you know… you… uh..." He chuckled nervously.

"Get to the point, Dojima-san. I have work to do."

"Ok, ok. Look, If we approach Kanji, he's going to retaliate because he knows who we are and doesn't trust us, but he doesn't know you. He's never seen you before, and he's around your age. I was thinking that, because of this, you would be able to protect him better than we can." His logic isn't making much sense. Then again, it makes just about as much sense as the rest of this case. It might work, but…

"I'm still on the force, though. Won't he realize that?"

"You would be going undercover, say, as a first-year transfer student to the local high school. To him, you'll just be another student… If he ever stops skipping class…" he grimaced.

Back to school, huh? This just keeps getting better and better… "So, let me get this straight. You want to take me out of my home to Inaba, on the off chance that this prediction is right and you need me to act as this delinquent's bodyguard? And I'll have to go back to school while doing so?" I guess I'll do it. If it will help solve the murders, I'll do anything.

"Well… yes. You always wanted to investigate this case in person, right?" He stood up and reached his hand out to me. "Well, this is your chance." It's time, Naoto. Let's do this.

"I'm in." I declared, grabbing his hand, sealing my fate. "Let's do this."

"Then we have no time to waste. If we leave now, then we should arrive in Inaba by evening. Are you ready?" This is it. There's no turning back. This is my case now.

"I'm always ready, Dojima-san."

We got into the police car and set off to Inaba. I was excited, yet nervous. What is Inaba going to be like? What kind of life will I live? How am I supposed to be a student and investigate the case? Will I be able to do it alone? Will I be able to do it at all? Am I in over my head? Eventually, my worries faded as sleep overtook me, preparing me for the trials ahead. It will be difficult, but I think I'll be able to handle it.

I am the Detective Prince, after all.