A few days passed before word about the meeting came back to Hyde. The TGA planned to meet in Kameoka's city hall a week from now to discuss the problem of Soap. The way Yamiko worded it for Hyde was slightly vague and weird but he shrugged it off nonetheless.

A week seemed a bit far and having to live a regular student life in the meantime was a bit boring. That was until Midare wanted to train Hyde and Mary by giving them a practice investigation(her dirty work) to test where their skills were. They entered a hotel where a murder took place.

They both stopped away from a crowd of police officers to collect their thoughts. Hyde had his arms crossed while Mary’s legs trembled. The nervous redhead girl rambled on to herself about calming down.

“What are we going to do? Uuu... this is so nerve racking, what if we end up being murdered-- ugh, this makes me sick to my stomach…”

They wore a badge that was attached to their shirt. Their division’s insignia which was a crown above a dragon. The badge of the Detective Agency, royal division.

“How do we even conduct an investigation? Midare didn’t give us any information beside there being a murder in this hotel. Goodness… I hope this doesn’t end up like a horror film. I haven’t gotten a boyfriend yet..!”

Hyde groaned and glared at Mary “Will you calm down already? We’ll fail with that attitude of yours.”

“So you’re nervous too? L-look, your arm’s trembling!” Mary responded. It was true, his hand was shaken but not because of the investigation that was forced upon them. Instead it was his worry of having to use the wakizashi they were given. They had no clue what or who they would encounter…

After their talk, they approached a group of police officers blocking off a black haired girl dressed in a high waist skirt and black dress shirt with a small tie.

“I’m telling you the culprit is here tampering with the evidence as we speak!” she exclaimed “They haven’t escaped the building yet so now is the perfect chance to catch them.”

Mary hid behind Hyde as he spoke “What’s going on here?”

The male police officer eyed Hyde and Mary’s badge “Oh, apart of the Detective Agency I see. Can you do us a favor and remove this little girl? She claims the culprit who murdered one of the TGA officials is still lurking about.”

“It’s true! You said yourself the scene was tampered with after you returned from searching the third floor.” the black haired girl pleaded.

Hyde looked at the girl who was almost his height thanks to her heeled boots and black tights. He didn’t know how to handle a case and this girl certainly knew a lot more than he did. “You seem to know a lot. What’s your name?”

“Ibuki Belvedere. I'm waiting for Midare to interview me for the agency. I never got a badge like you guys." She dropped a sweat,

"I know it’s risky to come here but I want to prove myself to the Blue Corps so I can join them!” Ibuki then started to explain what she knew so far about the murder. Once filled in, Hyde began to rub his chin in thought.

“So if the culprit is here, then he’s still somewhere on the third floor right?” Mary asked.

The male police officer nodded. "Some investigators are still at the scene with the other officers. You can check it out if you want but I doubt the lazy detective agency has reliable members."

Hyde shrugged off the comment and motioned for the others to follow him, taking the stairs to the third floor as it was much faster. When they arrived in the hotel's hallway, they were met by an officer accompanied by a male male black hair covering his eyes and a black fedora, as well as a dark coat. He had an unlit cigar in his mouth.

"Ah, members of the lazy detectives. You're a bit late. I've already inspected the scene of the crime."

"What did you find?" Hyde asked.

"Nothing but the corpse of the victim. It was recent too. Very strange…" the man shook his head "There's nothing here for us. The suspect likely has escaped already."

Mary pointed past the group "S-someone is there!"

Their eyes were drawn to another police officer leaning on the wall for support as he slowly inched towards them. He held his bleeding stomach with blood leaking out of his mouth as he spoke softly. “S-someone’s...here…” he then fell over.

The fedora wearing man and police officer rushed past Hyde. They discussed amongst each other away from the three.

Ibuki groaned, rubbing her head “See? The killer is still here.”

“Aaaah! This is too scary!” Mary cried. Hyde winced “ Maybe we should leave this to the professionals.”

Ibuki dropped a sweat, “We are the professionals.”

"You three!" The fedora wearing man called out to them. "Go home. This isn't a place for children to be."

Ibuki slouched her shoulders. There wasn't much they could do and with an active killer about it was too dangerous to stay. Hyde was opposed to evacuating now. Around that hallway corner had to be the killer. They had a chance to get a glimpse, no matter how small if they hurried.

Hyde went alone and turned around the corner to see… nothing. What about a clue? A sound? Nothing but the blood on the ground from the wounded police officer.

The man with the fedora touched Hyde's shoulder "That was dangerous of you to run off like that."

Hyde crouched down to inspect the blood. He didn't want to touch it or get too close because it was blood. The smell of it partially dried on the rug was disgusting, Hyde had to back away. When Mary caught up he shrugged. "Seems like he really got away."

Mary had her nose covered. "The others are waiting for us in the lobby. They took the injured officer with them. Hopefully he survives."

"The smell here is awful. Come, we should hurry back." The fedora wearing man said.

────── 〔✿〕──────

On the lobby floor, Hyde and Mary met up with one of the remaining police officers who didn't leave with the others to watch over the injured officer when they were taken away by an ambulance.

"So…" Hyde awkwardly spoke "How is the officer's condition?"

"They said he fainted from shock. We didn't have time to get a close examination of the wound." He explained.

"Midare's gonna be disappointed with us…" Mary frowned.

"Mind doing me a favor? I've been looking for a way to get in contact with Midare to join the detectives. Can you deliver this to her?" Ibuki took out a letter.

Hyde took the letter and nodded.

"It's difficult to schedule things with the little time I have. Farewell." Ibuki waved before leaving.

Upstairs they found Midare typing rapidly on her computer. "What."

"Ring ring! You have mail." Hyde held up the letter.

Midare stopped typing and walked over to Hyde. She grabbed the letter "This?" And immediately tossed it in the trash can by her desk.

"Midare you didn't even look at it!" Mary angrily complained.

Midare returned to her seat, "I have a lot of fans." She opened a drawer revealing a bunch of letters cramped inside. Hyde and Mary leaned over the desk to see what they would consider a messy desk.

"None of these people concern me." Midare said.

"These letters are important! How can you just plainly ignore them?" Mary grabbed a random letter. "Look you- ...you didn't pay your tax returns?"

Midare swiped the paper from her hands and shoved it back into the drawer before closing it. "That letter is old."

"You're setting a bad example for us Midare." Hyde snickered. Mary shot a glare at him then picked Ibuki's letter from the trash. "This girl is different. She helped us at the hotel."

"Fine I'll read it. Just leave it on my desk and remove yourself from my office." Midare resumed typing. Mary placed the letter on her desk and left the room. Hyde placed his hands in his pockets, "Will we ever get paid?"

"You get paid for usefulness."

Hyde smirked. "I've been fairly useful. Y'know, helping you twice."

Midare gave him a disapproving stare and he took the message.

"Right…" Hyde dropped a sweat and walked out of the room.

Mary let out a depressed sigh "I can't stand her sometimes."

Hyde shrugged "It takes some getting used to. Let's just continue to work hard."

Suddenly the two were tossed blue aprons by Levin who passed them. "Enough sulking. Help Ruudachi and I out with the cafe."

Ruudachi, the maid, pushed Mary forward. "Hurry now. Today is a busy day."

"H-hey give me a second to put this on!"

It wasn't detective work but actual work. The boring kind. Whatever, if Midare's interest in Ibuki's offer grew then their next investigation could be soon. Later on, Hyde would tell Mikael about the new member.