[FFML] [Haruhi] [Dark] Error in Calculation: Chapter 1

[Brian Randall]

*ahem*

This is the actual first chapter of Error in Calculation.  The
previously posted chapter one is actually chapter two.

That's because the last 'chapter one' was in ... um ... Kyon ordering,
yeah.  This is the Haruhi ordering, and....

Sorry about that; this is what happens when I go 2+ YEARS without
posting a fic. -_-

Well, actually, I number my fic chapters starting with 0 if I have a
prologue, so for some reason I went straight from 0 to 2.  In reality,
this was caused by a simple:

     Error in Calculation

     Chapter One: The First Day

    	A 'Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' fanfiction.

	Disclaimer: The novel 'Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu'/'The Melancholy of
Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa.  No disrespect is
intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the
characters or settings involved.  I'm merely dabbling with another set
of paints.  ;)

     Additionally, a character or two is borrowed from Higurashi,
which is the creation of Ryukishi07, but don't read too much into
that.
	---------------------------------
     The first day was exciting, wondering what had happened, if she
could get the Brigade together to sneak into school and find out.  But
stupid Kyon's phone went straight to voice-mail, and the student
directory with his home number was stuck in her desk at school.
Mikuru's phone rang and rang and rang, but no one answered.  Koizumi's
voice-mail said that something urgent had come up, and he might not be
able to return calls for a while.

     Excitement gave way to frustration.

     Haruhi wasn't sure what Yuki's phone number was, so she couldn't
call her, and she didn't have the numbers of anyone else at school.
So a great opportunity almost instantly turned into more boring
sameness.  "What a waste," she grumbled, before further thoughts were
interrupted by a knock at the door.

     When she opened it, there was a rotund man in a black
short-sleeved shirt with a red tie.  His close-cropped white hair went
smoothly up and back in short spikes, and he flicked a cigarette into
a small, lidded metal ashtray, which closed with a loud snap, just as
the door opened.  Behind him were two police officers in normal
uniform, one looking around behind him, the other watching the man in
front.

     "Hello," he said, when she couldn't find anything to say right
away.  "I'm Oishi Kuraudo," he punctuated his introduction by showing
her his badge, "with the Nishinomiya central office.  Are you Suzumiya
Haruhi?"

     "Yes," she managed, a thrill of excitement returning.  "That's
me.  Did you want to come in?"

     "If you don't mind," he said agreeably.  "Your parents aren't home?"

     "Nope."  She gestured him in, pointing to the couch in front of
the television, which currently was displaying news coverage of a
still school gate.  "So, what's going on?"

     "Ah, well," he said, motioning the officers to wait outside
before he entered and sat down.  "Why don't you have a seat?"

     She nodded, still dressed in her uniform, since she hadn't
bothered changing back when she was turned away at the gates.  After
she was sitting, she looked at him expectantly.

     He produced a pad of notepaper from his side, and a pen, then
consulted his notes.  "If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask a few
questions.  You don't have to answer, of course-"

     "No, that's fine!" she said quickly, shaking her head.  "I'm glad
to help.  And if my parents were home, they'd say I should answer your
questions, anyway."

     "Well, that should be fine, then," he said soberly.  "Now, you
have an unofficial student association?"

     "The SOS Brigade!" she countered, scowling.  "That idiot Kyon was
supposed to turn in the paperwork!  What, did he forget?  Man, if he
ever picks up his phone...."  Her voice fled her, trailing off into
nothing when she saw the detective's pained expression.

     "Suzumiya-san, I'd like to show you a few pictures, if you don't mind?"

     She nodded warily.

     He pulled a trio of photographs from a clip beneath the page he
was writing on.  "Do you recognize any of these people?"

     All three pictures were very standard, taken on the same day,
during opening ceremonies.  There was her home-room teacher, grinning
like an idiot with his practiced smile.  There was the perverted
stalker, trying what he undoubtedly thought was a rakish grin.
"Okabe-sensei, Taniguchi, and," she started, before her voice seized
up.  There was her classmate and first club member, giving a mild,
polite smile, like he tolerated it, but didn't really care.  "And
Kyon," she finally forced out.

     "'Kyon'," Oishi repeated, flipping the page back and scribbling
another note.  "Could you tell me where you were yesterday, at five
thirty in the evening?" he asked, putting on a tiny, polite smile of
his own.

     "I was at the corner market, getting things for dinner," she said
quietly, tingles running up and down her spine, but no longer from
excitement.  "I skipped the club meeting.  I ... got into an argument
with ... Kyon."

     Oishi scribbled more notes down.  "An argument?  What about?"

     "He was telling me stuff ... about me being stupid for ...
wanting something mysterious to happen.  That I should calm down and
find a boyfriend."  She blinked, staring at the table between herself
and the detective.  "I was stupid."

     "Well, that kind of thing happens from time-to-time," the
detective muttered, still taking notes.  "Did Kyon have any enemies
that you know of?  Or any other good friends?  Maybe a girlfriend?"

     "He ... had lunch with Taniguchi," she answered.  "And Kunikida.
I don't think he had any enemies.  Why would he?  I mean...."  She
swallowed.  A small part of her mind noticed that he wrote down the
second student's name, but not the first.  "He wasn't seeing anyone.
Um, what happened to Kyon?  Is he okay?"

     "I can't really say anything about that right now," Oishi said,
shaking his head.  "Anyway, which market was this?"

     She numbly told him the address.  When he asked for her phone
number, she gave him that, too.  More questions followed, which she
answered in the same distant, numb manner.

     "Thank you, Suzumiya-san.  If I have any more questions, I'll
give you a call."

     "How....  How long before I can find out?" she asked quietly.

     Oishi rose to his feet and gave a very deep sigh.  "I don't
know," he said softly.  He looked away from her eyes.  "Take care,
Suzumiya-san."

     She nodded, feeling remote, as though she was doing it from far
away.  She walked him to the door, where he paused.

     "Your school will be closed for the next day or two, at the very
least," he said.  "And from this point forward, I strongly suggest
that you walk to school with some friends, for at least a while."  He
hesitated a moment longer, then added, "I'm sorry."

     She nodded again, wondering why her vision was blurry and
wavering.  He left, and she closed the door, taking a seat at the
couch and staring at the news report without seeing it.

     The next day was not going to be exciting at all.

     ***

     She stood on the street corner and looked at the school.  Law
enforcement officials had blocked the entrance, their vehicles parked
in front of the gate as they turned students away.

     An internal notification warned her that standing and staring had
a high probability of being misconstrued, and would be
attention-gathering behavior.  She abruptly turned on one foot and
began walking back to the building she had left earlier that day.  Her
face betrayed no expression as she communed with her directive forces.

     The consensus had been broken.  The irregularities would be
sorted out, but in the meantime, verification and understanding would
be prerequisites.  If factors failed to align, her objectives would
not be met.  Furthermore, searching through references suggested that
maintaining functional observation distance with her subject would be
socially acceptable.

     That thought in mind, she changed course, turning away from the
building she had left that morning.  It didn't take her long to
reroute to the observation subject's home.  As she approached, she
observed more local law enforcement, a director of some sort exiting
the building.  He saw her, and she determined that his gaze lingered
on the crest on her uniform momentarily before he approached and asked
her for her identification values.

     She answered his questions quietly.

     Would she be more comfortable talking in his car?  He had air conditioning.

     Irrelevant.

     The man made an offhand comment about taking the opportunity to
at least smoke, and lit a cigarette.  She watched the process
curiously, not having directly observed it before.  After a few
breaths, he showed her some visual representations, and asked if she
could identify them.

     She could.

     Where was she yesterday, at five thirty?

     Halfway down the hill to the train station.

     Outside of the club, did Kyon have any other close friends?

     She didn't know.

     Did he have a girlfriend?

     She didn't know.

     Did he have any enemies?

     She gave him the same answer.

     After checking her name off a list, he asked for her phone
number, which she gave him.  After that, he closed his notepad.  Her
references suggested that this meant the interview was over, but she
continued observing him anyway.

     "Is Suzumiya-san your friend?"

     She blinked at him, submitting several clarification queries.
The lost consensus was not able to route them in a time that her
social monitor deemed adequate for the situation.  Their relationship
was not accurately described in those terms, but she nodded anyway,
terminating the previously launched queries.

     "Did she like Kyon?"

     She blinked again, not submitting any data, relying on internal
analysis alone.  Suzumiya Haruhi was interested without question.
Chemical triggers in Suzumiya Haruhi's brain were present uniquely in
proximity to him, according to her observations.  Her reference list
suggested that her behavior thus far did not agree with the chemical
observations, however.  She could only say she was uncertain.

     "Well, anyway ... looks like you and your friend are both in a
bad state over this.  Why don't the two of you stick together for a
while?  It'll probably be on an official bulletin later, but advice is
for students to travel in groups for a while anyway."

     "Understood," she answered him.  "I will watch Suzumiya Haruhi."

     She approached the closed door to her observation subject's home.
 Airborne particles conveyed a rich tapestry of information to her.
She tagged and recorded the unique scent of the detective, and the
less unique profile of his cigarettes.  Suzumiya Haruhi's own scent
tag was there, relaying hormonal information.  Her internal library
matched the profile with the emotion of sorrow.

     She knocked quietly on the door.

     "Y...yes?" Haruhi answered, body-language hints showing surprise.
 "Nagato?  What are you doing here?"

     Her social monitor tried an automated query, but she killed the
process before it externalized.  "Club meeting," she answered.

     Haruhi's expression twisted to something the local library could
not adequately classify, before it shifted to show more generally
recognized characteristics.  Eyes oriented down, lids narrowed,
red-rimmed as though from minor inflammation, jaw semi-slack, corners
of the mouth turned down; sorrow again.  "Well, come in."

     She stepped into Haruhi's living quarters, her eyes fixed on the
observation subject.  Haruhi closed the door and took small steps
towards the couch.  Discrepancy; Suzumiya Haruhi's movements were
atypical of her standard behavior.

     An urgent warning came through her uplink from her faction, was
processed, replied to, and then discarded.  Directing more process
focus to her immediate task, she accessed several databases
simultaneously, changing many local attribute and characteristic tags.

     "What was that?" Haruhi asked, looking back over her shoulder,
paused before reaching the couch.

     Her social monitor was still not processing adequately, but
advised not staring at Haruhi any longer.  "Nothing of import," she
answered, taking a seat next to the observation subject and orienting
her gaze towards the television screen.  Her internal reference still
assigned a social-neutral value to staring at the device in most
situations.  Likely, this would apply as well.

     "Hey, Nagato, do you know what happened at school?"

     An automated process she had spawned earlier reported in at the
trigger conditions; the consensus was still lost.  Internal reference
and logic systems suggested multiple possible theories.  "No."

     "I ... think it involved Kyon."

     She didn't consult any external sources, instead just giving a
tiny nod, which her social monitor suggested would be adequate.

     "You, too, huh?"

     She remained physically still, except to blink.

     "Hey ... Nagato ... my parents are out of town this week.  D...do
you want to stay over, since I can't get a hold of the rest of the SOS
Brigade?"

     She considered the logistics of the situation.  Maintaining
proximity to Suzumiya Haruhi at all times was now a high priority.
Even so, the current location was only barely secure for her purposes,
and wouldn't do for long term.  Still, the social monitor advised
against insisting on a safer location immediately.  "Yes," she
answered.  "Tomorrow, come to my home."

     "Yeah," Haruhi said, the modulations of her voice suggesting
anxiety, and an attempt to hide it.  "That's fine.  You didn't bring
anything to change into, did you?"

     "I am fine."

     "I'm sure I have some old pajamas that will fit you for tonight, at least."

     She gave her minimal nod in response again.

     ***

     Koizumi Itsuki sat at attention, sitting in an uncomfortable pipe
chair before a circular table.  Seated directly across from him was
the woman he typically reported to, Sonou Mori.  Dressed in somewhat
rumbled business casual, she flipped through a short stack of papers,
then studied a laptop that hummed quietly next to the papers.  She
flipped them back, rubbing at her temples with one hand.

     Her brown hair was matted, as though she had been up all night --
all of them had, of course.  Her light eyes were shadowed beneath a
furrowed brow, and when she finally broke the uncomfortable silence,
all she said was, "Fuck."

     Itsuki looked away, staring at the floor.  The room had no windows.

     "Okay," her voice called out again, resignation and exhaustion
running through it.  "You still have a link to her mental state?"

     "Yes," Itsuki said quietly.  "She's upset.  Apprehensive.
Something happened recently to stabilize her somewhat."

     "The Tamaru brothers tell us that Nagato Yuki is with her
presently," Mori said with a sigh.  "We can probably assume that
whoever did this, they wanted to see her reaction, not directly harm
her."

     "Do we think it was the integrated thought entity?" Itsuki asked,
shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.  There was unattended closed
space, but Mori had insisted he speak with her.  The others were
dealing with closed space without him, and even if they might be
adequate, he didn't like being unable to help.

     Mori's eyes flashed.  "_I_ don't think it would be the integrated
thought entity," she said.  "But I can hardly speak for everyone
else."

     "I apologize," he mumbled, unable to put on his fake smile.

     One of the woman's eyebrows twitched, and she took a deep breath.
 "Sorry," she said.  "This is very stressful for all of us.  Come with
me, let's get a cup of coffee."  She snapped the lid of her laptop
down, rising to her feet and gesturing him to follow.

     He dutifully trotted along at her side as she left through the
dark room's only door, into a windowless, empty hallway.  Down the
hallway to another door, which opened to a small, windowless
break-room.  Mori muttered to herself darkly as she poured two cups of
coffee, adding cream and sugar to both without asking him if he cared
for it.

     He nodded his thanks anyway when she offered him a cup, burning
his tongue with the first scalding sip.

     "You're out," she said, shaking her head and marching back to the
empty conference room.

     He followed, feeling robbed of choice, but nodding.  That's all
he really was, anyway.  A mindless yes-man.

     "We've sent your double to Canada.  Paperwork for your transfer
will go through...."  She trailed off and made a vague gesture.  "That
wasn't my call."

     The tiniest trickle of relief flowed through his mind.  At least
it wasn't just Mori pulling the strings.  "This is too much attention
for us, and I think too much stress for her," she sighed, rubbing at
her eyes.  "As you may or may not know, we recently approached the
Tsuruya family, hoping to ally ourselves with a relatively influential
household in the area."

     It was news to him, but he did his job anyway: He nodded again.

     "The head of the family, even after witnessing a demonstration of
closed space, said that it didn't concern them, and while it might
amuse them on occasion to assist us, they weren't interested in an
alliance."

     Itsuki blinked at that.  The 'closed space' demonstration was
typically the key to gaining assistance ... it was the only real way
to prove that the esper powers were real, that the threat they faced
wasn't imaginary.  He had to do it himself several times -- in point
of fact, he remembered only two short years ago, taking Mori's hand
and showing her closed space himself.  Never once had he heard of
someone witnessing it and then pleading indifferent.

     There was shock, denial -- which was fine.  The goal wasn't to
force people into helping.  But if they didn't want to believe, and
rationalized it away, it was a simple matter not to deal with that
person again.  Someone who witnessed, evidently understood ... and
just didn't care?  What kind of person was the head of the Tsuruya
family?

     "The Tsuruya family has ties with the yakuza," Mori continued,
sipping her coffee.

     He raised his own to his lips and pretended to drink, nodding
again.  A few yakuza families were in the Organization; they had well
placed eyes-and-ears, access to questionable resources that could be
useful, and a sort of Japanese social invisibility because of who they
were.

     "It's also theorized at this point because of the amount of money
the Organization deals with, that the national police are going to be
involved.  There's too many suspicious circumstances for this to be
overlooked."

     Itsuki made a face, shaking his head.  He only knew about
Organization agents who were relatively common, or branches they had a
high level of infiltration on.  It was a reasonable guess they had
no-one inside the National Police Agency.

     "And that makes you a likely suspect in this whole mess."

     "Me?" Itsuki protested, nearly dropping his coffee cup.  "But I
didn't--  I was here when it happened!  With you!"

     "I know that, but how does this look from the outside?  Orders
came down that you had to be pulled out, because the attention that
this brings onto us ... is going to be too much for the Organization
to remain hidden."

     "At least I'm still somewhat valuable," he remarked with a bitter
grumble.  "I should be glad I wasn't just killed and left by the
wayside."

     Mori's unsettling stare did not wave.  "Yes, you should be glad,"
she agreed.  "I don't know how much time we have ... but this could be
causing a fracture at the highest levels of our Organization.  No
telling who's going to be the lizard's tail, and who will slither off
to fight another day."

     A loud crash echoed from upstairs, and Mori was out of her seat
in an instant, dashing to the door and throwing the bolt with a curse.
 "We don't have much time," she continued quickly, turning.  "Is there
closed space here?  In this room?"

     "Y...yes," he said, nodding, eyes wide as he leapt to his feet.
"There's closed space all over."

     "Good," she said, relaxing slightly.  "Now, you'll need to leave
before they get here, but what I want you do to--"

     "Screw your heroic sacrifice," he snarled, holding one hand
towards her.  And screw being a mindless yes-man.  The chips were
down, and it was time to be a man, not a puppet.  "I'm not doing this
alone.  If it's worth dying for, it's worth living for!  Come with me
right now; this is the world we live in, not a 'B' movie."

     Her eyes widened, conflicting emotions flickering across her face
before it smoothed into an amused, worn smile.  "Well....  Fine.  I
... didn't even think of that.  Alright, Koizumi-kun," she agreed,
reaching out to take his hand as heavy footsteps shuddered down the
hallway towards them.  "I'm putting my trust in you."

     He was aware of the heavy door behind Mori splintering as he
pulled her through that odd division of real space and the sealed
reality of that other, more alien space.

     ***

     Bylaws prevented smoking in public buildings, much to Oishi's
annoyance.  So after handing the accumulated reports to his
under-staff, he stepped out onto a balcony on the upper floors of the
main administrative building, lighting a cigarette and considering the
investigation.

     He was alone for less than a minute before the door opened, and
he glanced over his shoulder to see his chief secretary, Mizuno Aida,
stepping out with a short stack of papers, neatly clipped together.
"Something new?" Oishi asked around the brand in his lips.

     "No, sir," Aida responded quietly.  "I just thought you might
want the executive summary."

     He snorted, sending twin streams of smoke from his nostrils.
"Might as well.  We have until this evening to submit our reports to
the brass.  Alright, what do we have?"

     "We have a dead high school student, a lack of significant
suspects, and a murderer who was capable of covering their tracks."

     "Eh, accuracy aside, could you rephrase that in a way that makes
us look competent?  The mayor is going to be at the board I'm
submitting this report to, and I don't think he'll be pleased with
that analysis."

     Aida coughed politely.  "Based on our current investigation, the
only fingerprints on the note belonged to the victim.  There were no
prints on the knife.  All blood so far has been matched to the victim.
 There were no traces of DNA underneath his fingernails, and the
incident happened after daily cleaning duties, so any loose hairs on
the floor would have been more conspicuous, but we found none.  The
victim's body was still warm when SOCO conducted their initial
examinations, and barring an unusually elevated body temperature
before the murder, we're still reasonably sure that the assault
happened at around five thirty in the evening."

     "Sounds about right," Oishi grumbled.  "Taniguchi?"

     "Well, you interviewed him yourself, sir," Aida said, shrugging.
"As well as our profiler and psychologist.  His trauma seems genuine
and he volunteered for a polygraph, even though we don't have that
equipment."

     "I remember.  Too many police dramas."

     "Perhaps you are correct, sir.  However, he is currently the only
person known to be in range of the classroom, and it's possible that
his role as discovery witness is feigned."

     "Okabe's just as likely in those terms."

     "Technically correct, sir.  In either instance, we have not yet
established a motive."

     Oishi ground his cigarette out and drew another from his pack,
twirling it in his fingers absently.  "Aida, act as a sounding board
for me.  I work better when I can voice my thoughts.  Do you mind?"

     "Of course not, sir.  That's why I came out here."

     Oishi snorted.  "We've worked together too long.  Anyway, that's
what's bothering me the most about this," he sighed.  "Usually, in
this type of case it would be a revenge attack.  But by all accounts,
Student K -- the entire school knows him by his nickname, even Okabe
-- was generally unremarkable, except that he kept a cool head and was
genial to everyone.  His academic profile has nothing alarming or
astoundingly interesting in it either.  Adequate grades, fairly
average athletic scores.  The most remarkable thing about him was his
association with a specific classmate."

     "A murder with no motive?"

     "No discernible motive to kill him directly, at any rate.  I
tried to interview all the class 1-5 students personally."  He broke
off momentarily to stop playing with the new cigarette, and lit it
with a slow draw.  "I also encountered a student from a different
class ... 1-6, I think, as I left Suzumiya-san's house.  So I'll be
going through the other interview records later.  However, among those
students I interviewed, I found only a few things of note."

     Aida inclined his head politely, adjusting his glasses and
remaining silent.

     After a quick puff, Oishi said, "First off, Kunikida, associate
of Student K and Student T.  By his testimony, Student K had an
interest in 'strange girls'.  Kunikida and Student K had gone to
middle school together, and also attended the same cram-school."

     Aida nodded again.  "Is he a suspect?"

     "Potentially, but I still can't pin a motive on him directly.
So, no more or less than any other student."

     After consulting briefly with his notes, Aida looked at Oishi expectantly.

     "Secondly, Suzumiya Haruhi, who hosts what's an unrecognized club
by the school -- the 'SOS Brigade', according to a flier we have."

     "'SOS'?  If I'm not mistaken, isn't that English for the maritime
help request code?"

     "Eh, her meaning was different.  She took the English letters
from the words for ... well, it goes something like, 'save the world
by overloading it with fun, Suzumiya Haruhi's brigade'," Oishi said,
frowning at the glowing tip of his cigarette.  "There's an original
and several photocopies of her club flier in the case files."

     "I see."

     "At any rate, her disciplinary record stands out, at least from
middle school.  Behavior issues, vandalism of the school on multiple
occasions, disregard for dress code.  She's already gotten notices at
her new school as well -- improper dress and solicitation.  Rumor says
she's responsible for blackmail, but no one is willing to step
forward."

     "Meaning...?"

     "Eh ... at a cursory inspection, based on her records I would say
she lacks empathy."

     "You would say, she's a psychopath?"

     "Well.  I can't make that determination, and our entire
department would be destroyed the instant I tried to pin that label on
a minor."  Oishi gave a pointed stare at Aida.

     Aida bowed his head.  "Sorry."

     "No, I put the evidence before you, and you drew a potentially
reasonable conclusion.  Not one we can state, however.  In any case,
Suzumiya-san offered an alibi, and the store she was supposed to be at
during the time of the murder is outside of reasonable travel range
for the murder's time-frame.  We should have their security camera
tapes in evidence later today."

     "Conveniently timed.  So she's a suspect?"

     "Our best suspect at the moment," Oishi agreed.  "But I don't
want to say she's a 'prime' suspect yet.  Despite her disciplinary
record, she has near perfect grades and an impeccable athletic
record."

     "So she would be intelligent enough to plan it and capable of
executing the assault?"

     "Restraining someone the size of Student K and brutalizing him?
Physically, perhaps.  Emotionally ... I don't think she behaved in a
manner consistent with the image I gathered from her records."

     "Oh?"

     "Naturally, I couldn't reveal Student K's current state and role
in the investigation.  But she became obviously and almost immediately
despondent at the implication that he was involved in a police
investigation.  And despite procedure, there's little question what
we're really asking about."

     "So you don't think she did it?"

     "I think the security camera footage will prove she wasn't at the
school," Oishi clarified.  "But I'm also certain she was involved.  No
one of the students interviewed so far could say that Student K had a
girlfriend, per se, but almost all students that were aware of him
associated him with Suzumiya-san.  Add in Kunikida's statement that
Student K liked 'strange girls', well, Suzumiya-san is a strange girl
for certain."

     Aida stared, narrowing his eyes.  "You think Student K was killed
to try and send a message to her?"

     "It's possible," Oishi said with a shrug, taking another deep
draw.  "Moving on, class 1-6, Nagato Yuki.  She's another member of
the club that Suzumiya Haruhi hosts.  Actually, according to records,
Nagato Yuki is the only genuine member of the Literature Club, which
is the room the SOS Brigade uses, but she's considered a member from
what we can gather.  Flawless academic record, perfectly average
athletic record, no disciplinary records whatsoever.

     "Her manner of speech betrays no emotion.  If I were to apply one
of those forbidden labels that we cannot use to minors, it would most
certainly be to her over Suzumiya-san."

     "Perhaps she has a motive?  If Suzumiya Haruhi took over her club
room, and she wanted to extract some form of revenge...?"

     Oishi grimaced and stubbed his cigarette out.  "Possible motive,
but I have a hard time imagining her physically overpowering anyone.
She's athletically average, and very small in stature.  If it was her,
I would think she would require accomplices."

     "Suzumiya Haruhi and Nagato Yuki are our prime suspects, then?"

     "I don't want to call either of them that, but Nagato-san seems
more likely than Suzumiya-san in motive, though it's the other way
around in capability.  And while Nagato-san could have killed Student
K for revenge on Suzumiya-san, Nagato-san was on her way to visit her
friend with the school closed.  It's possible she was there to gloat,
but she seems far too intelligent to do that.  More likely, if either
of them did it, they were co-conspirators."

     "Hmm."

     "My initial theory was that Nagato-san, just like Suzumiya-san,
was distraught over what had happened to their friend, and they were
just looking out for one-another.  Even so, also from 1-5, there was
one other interview that stuck out to me.  Asakura Ryouko, class
representative.  She says she was just leaving school at the time of
the incident."

     "As the class representative, did she have additional insight?"

     "Unsurprisingly.  What did strike me as odd was that she never
stopped smiling when I questioned her....  She had a cheerful demeanor
the entire time.  Of course, she could just be slow to pick up hints,
but given that every other questioned student seemed to have a very
good idea of what was going on, that seems unlikely.  But then we run
into the evidence issue again ... and there's nothing on her, and no
discernible motive."

     "Student K's parents?"

     Oishi grimaced, hand reaching for a third cigarette before he
stopped himself, pulling a pen from his pocket and chewing on the cap
thoughtfully instead.  "Terrible interview," he sighed.  "First thing
this morning.  They gave an extensive list of his middle-school
friends, mentioned that he'd recently joined a club, and denied he'd
ever had any enemies -- or even gotten into a fight at school.  Which
is consistent with his academic records.  There was one interesting
side-note to the girlfriend question with his family...."

     "Oh?"

     "Eh.  Student K's mother suspected that he was initially
interested in Suzumiya Haruhi, as her name had come up in casual
conversation previously, but recently the name of Asahina Mikuru had
come up more often."

     "Asahina-san is...?"

     "Second year student.  Also a member of the SOS Brigade -- she
was involved in Suzumiya-san's last scheme, and had gotten her first
disciplinary mark for it.  No answer on her cell phone, and for
whatever reason, no voice-mail.  We cited emergency purposes, and her
apartment's landlord let us into her rooms.  Nothing out of the
ordinary -- no signs of struggle or foul play.  But no Asahina-san,
either."

     "Her parents?"

     "Disconnected number and invalid address," Oishi sighed, looking
over the edge of the balcony to the distant street below.  "Asahina
Mikuru, Asakura Ryouko, and Nagato Yuki.  Three high school students
with unreachable parents, evidently living on their own, all of them
tied to fellow student and SOS Brigade leader Suzumiya Haruhi."

     "Are there any other club members?"

     "Koizumi Itsuki, also unreachable, though his parents insist he's
on an out-of-country trip to Canada.  The ticket registry puts him as
leaving the country for Canada late last night."

     "That seems suspicious."

     "It does ... but a suspicion is not evidence.  We can prove he
left the country, and the ticket was bought less than an hour before
the flight took off.  And well after the murder.  The situation is
consistent with fleeing the scene of a crime, but in any case, Canada
will extradite if more information comes to light, and Interpol has
him on a watch list.  He's not escaping anything, if he did it."

     "The club members make the most likely suspects," Aida ventured.
"But I can see your hesitance to label any a prime suspect."

     "Despite all that ... it was Asakura-san's behavior that I found
the most unsettling," Oishi murmured.  "Something about her ... was
just off.  I felt something similar from Nagato-san ... but I can't
put 'strange feeling' into a report."

     "I see....  What do we report to the seniors at tonight's meeting, then?"

     "We can keep most of our speculation to ourselves," Oishi sighed.
 "We're going to be in trouble on this one; it's a given that the
national police will be involved, since an Interpol flag was raised.
Pull phone records for the entire club.  Forget preparing for the
meeting, I'll bull through it -- instead, I want you to prepare a
briefing for the national police who will be joining our investigation
... or taking it over."

     "Understood," Aida replied, bowing.

     "Oh," Oishi said, as his assistant was reaching for the door
handle, "don't let me forget, Aida ... thanks for hearing me out."

     "I'm glad to be helpful, Oishi-san."

     Oishi grunted in response, staring out at the glittering city
lights.  Overhead, an out-of-season storm-front loomed ominously.
"Lightning weather," he murmured.
     ---------------------------------
     Author's notes: I really didn't expect the police angle to chew
up as much text as it did.  But I find myself strangely engaged in
writing it, perhaps because I've never tried crime drama before.
-- 
Brian Randall