Kotani's Agency for finding things [case 2-1]

[Ario]

At an attempt at fanfiction, I decide to write about a musical guy at Yamaku that finds lost things for people while between his musical duties. He does interact with the canon KS cast, and maybe OCs from other fics I like if the author of said fic lets me. I will reference other fics. If I referenced your fic and you want the reference taken out, shoot me a PM and it shall be done. [It's my way of showing that I liked said fic in question but couldn't think of a non-cheesy comment.]

A note: Kotani is a musically inclined OC of mine, and he does go to Yamaku. His disabilities are tunnel vision in his right eye, reducing vision to about 60% there at the current stage in his life, and his arm bones grew oddly at the shoulder joints so they occasionally get stuck in place when he's reaching high up. He also has slight ADHD [causes some absent-mindedness, nothing too serious], though he's got meds for that. For those who like visualizing things, think of him looking like Shaggy [from Scooby-doo] without the beard stubble but always has a black jacket on over his school uniform when not wearing the green one that's part of the uniform. Casual clothes [weekends/solving cases] will always include jeans but the shirt will be different and noted each time.

Case 1: The dog with one eye.
Part 1: The timid girl with purple hair. [This post]
Part 2: The class rep without vision
Part 3: The crazy man with the striped scarf
Part 4: The dog with a hat

Case 2: The rainbow of red
Part 1: The painting of a wizard

<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>

Part 1: The timid girl with purple hair

All was going right today, the only work I had left was to read two chapters in my music theory book before I could go to my dorm. I avoided going there before my work was done so I don't fall asleep... even if a musician's work is never truly done. I like this out of the way room, it's seldom used by anyone who isn't me and it has a nice wooden desk and two big chairs, making it feel like a detective's office.
A timid knock is heard on the door. If I were to be listening to my music instead of reading my book on music right now, I probably wouldn't have heard it.

"Come in." I say to the person behind the door, the door then opening and revealing who had the timid knock.

"K-Kotani?" Her voice is about as timid as her knock, and I can see why.

Mostly. The room's dark, and having lost 40% of the vision in my right eye doesn't help too much, either.

She has the right half of her face covered in her dark hair and, since the lighting is bad, I can't exactly see if there's something under there worth hiding. Then again, I can't see her left side too well thanks to my right eye.

"That's me. Before we go further, may I know your name?"
I get up from behind my desk and pull up the second chair for her to sit in before turning the lights on. As she sits, I notice her hair is purple and it looks like there's scar tissue under the long hair covering her right side. It's Hanako, the shy girl who's dating Hisao, the mid-year arrival. I should have deduced this from her voice, but I never could tell voices apart all that well, and she's not the only timid one in the school.

"H-Hanako. B-but you knew that..." She responds.
She sounds less timid than before, maybe it's because she can see my face? Or would that make her more timid because I can see hers? Well I am good friends with her and Hisao, mostly because she's usually there in the library when I'm reaching a high book and I ask her for help getting my arms re-adjusted. Maybe that's why she's less timid, she must be used to my presence.
Anyway, I have to know why she's here. As I walk over to my desk to sit down, I ask her just that.

"So, Hanako, why are you here?"

"I-I need something t-to be found."
Ah good, maybe this will be a simple one. Not like when Lilly needed to find Shizune at night when Misha was ill. God that one took a while.

"What would that be?" I gently place my book down, eager to hear her story.

"M-My hat and jacket..." Her voice then comes down to a whisper before coming back up to audible levels again. "I c-can't find them anywhere."
She seems to want to continue on, like there's something else she was also missing, but she doesn't want to mention it. Or maybe I’m just a little paranoid.

"Hrm. And you're sure they aren't in your room?"

"I-I just looked there. I wouldn't have c-come here if they were..."

"Ah... and my guess is you don't have the time to try to find them?"

"I-I just need some help... H-Hisao is t-taking me somewhere on the weekend and..."
She nervously blushes and tries to hide her face more. I'm guessing she really didn't want that to be known.

"I understand your situation, and they should be simple to find. I need to know where you've been last time you had them."
She pokes her head up, but doesn't respond.

"It's so I may be able to draw a conclusion."

"O-okay... the last I saw of my jacket was when I took it to the laundry room in the girl's dorm. I had thought of washing my hat also but..."

"But?"

"I knew I b-brought it with m-me and placed it on a washer, but w-when I turned around, both were gone!"

"What did you turn around for?"

"T-to get the detergent... o-oddly enough, those were the only two things m-missing."
Hrm. So suddenly it's gone after a quick turn around.

"Was there anyone else in the room?"
She ponders this a moment by putting her hand to her chin, only to take it off when she decided to speak again.

"Um... N-no, there wasn't."

"Was the door left open?"
She perks up at this, as if she had realized something important.

"...Y-yes! ...They passed by and took my jacket and hat in that instance?"

"Whoever they is, yes. It's the only logical conclusion at this point."
I was so thankful Kenji didn't do this with me, he would've said something insane and deny the job because Hanako's a girl and he's a feminist conspiracy guy.

"I say we investigate the girl dorms. ...Once I finish these chapters for music purposes."
As I open the book, I glance over the top and see she's looking at me innocently with puppy dog eyes as if she's saying 'Please, help me, Kotani-san Kenobi, you're my only hope.'
Even though my last name isn't Kenobi. And her hair doesn't look like cinnamon buns... mmm... Maybe I'll get that with dinner... gah-too distracted. Right, desperate girl needing hat and jacket found.

"Alright, I'll read on the way." I get up from my desk, causing her to do the same and follow me out of the room after I close the door.

<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>

Feedback will be welcome, as I'm still kinda new to the fanfic writing shtick.

Edit: fixed formatting. If you don't have a 1360 x 768 resolution and it still looks odd, please notify me.

[Mirage_GSM]

Another OC who is a walking textbook on various medical conditions.
I understand if some people want to give their OCs more than one condition to make them more interesting, but four???

[Ario]

Well he's actually loosely based on myself with tunnel vision added. He only shares my educational interests, music and science. The arm thing is slightly stretched, I can pop them because they grew oddly instead of them getting stuck. I thought it would be boring to write myself as an OC since the one condition I do have doesn't hinder my life enough to justify going to Yamaku. The ADHD is minor enough to not be huge hindrance. ...I just looked up narcolepsy and found I'm defining it wrong anyway, shows how much I know. I'll stop associating him with it since he doesn't have it because I don't.

[Ario]

This chapter was much more fun to write than the last one.

Chapter two: The class rep without vision
<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>

Before going to the girl’s dorm to investigate, I walk into the boy’s dorm to get my packet of notes and beret. Before I can exit the dorm, though, Kenji stops me. Shit, he must have realized I was helping a girl with my detective business.
“Kotani!” He says to me while his arm grabs me.
He was nearly blind even with the glasses, so I can understand the whole grabbing instead of poking concept.

“Yes Kenji?” I pull away from my door to see his arm is poking from the doorway.
Crazy hikokomori, I would wonder if he even came to class if he wasn’t in mine.

“It seems that you’ve taken a case. You wouldn't have the beret otherwise.”

“A simple find lost articles of clothing case.”

“Whose clothing?”

“Hanako’s. She lost her hat and jacket and needs them for the weekend.”

“…Look man, it's your feminist-caused funeral.”

“Will you ever stop with the feminist conspiracy?”

“Not until I reveal it to the world! …I have to get back to work.” He lets go of me, letting me do my own thing. I notice Hisao walking past me, and I hear the sound of him talking to Kenji also. Poor man, having to listen to feminist conspiracies daily.

After that little incident, I meet Hanako at the entrance to the girl’s dorms.

“Alright, the first thing we should do is ask around. Who lives in a room near yours?” I ask her.

“L-Lilly does. Why do you have a beret? I thought detectives had fedoras…” She curiously looks at it.

“I can keep my detective notes in it.” I demonstrate this by pulling my packet of notes out, some already with some known info. “Anyway, we should ask Lilly if she heard anything odd. Or found anything, for that matter.”
Hanako leads me to where Lilly’s room is and knocks on the door.

“The door is unlocked; you can come in, Hanako.”
Taking that as a sign of allowance, we step into the room to see Lilly reading a book in Braille while sitting on her bed.

“I b-brought Kotani with me… h-he has some questions for you.” Hanako sits next to Lilly after saying this.

“My my, the detective has come to me?” She puts a bookmark in her book and sets it down. “So what is it you need?”

I sit in a chair in the room and take my notepad out. “Hanako has lost her jacket and hat, I want to know if you s- heard anything suspicious... was it today or yesterday?” I turn to Hanako as I ask this. She looks much calmer, but it must be because the two of them are good friends.
“T-today. It was when I was doing the laundry.”

“Right. So did you hear or feel anything out of the ordinary earlier?” I get my pencil ready for some notes.

“Well I knew Hanako was using the laundry room, but right before she started the washer, I heard something in the ceiling.” She then turns to Hanako. “You didn’t panic when you saw your things were missing?”

“W-well yes…” She then turns to me. “B-but I was trying to keep my voice d-down, you may not have heard my s-sudden gasping.”

“You would be right about that, my dear.”

“So something was in the ceiling. Hrm. Hanako, do you know of any ceiling vents that are easily accessed?”

“E-every room has one, including the laundry room.”

“Hrm. Anything else unusual, Lilly?”

“I did find something on the floor when walking past the laundry room.” She gets a very lacey purple bra out from under her pillow. “Might this be yours, Hanako?”
Hanako’s face turns beet red when she sees the bra and instantly takes it from Lilly. “L-Lilly! K-Kotani wasn’t supposed t-to see th-that!”

“It’s alright; it’s not something I’m making a note of. I’ll probably forget it exists in like a day or two.” Though I may tell Hisao…
Nah, the shock will be enough to make him feel like a very lucky man for not only seeing something like that on her body, but also for his heart not exploding. I can feel my cheeks getting slightly rosy, but I get back to the task at hand.
Hanako has concealed her face with her hair, probably extremely embarrassed at the fact that I saw it.

“Hanako, you can go put that in your room, I still need to ask Lilly some questions.”
She nods and shakily leaves the room, doing her best to hide the bra in question.

“My my,” Lilly starts. “I never thought she would be that embarrassed over a bra…”
I don’t think I should tell her how lacey it was. “I think it was meant for Hisao’s eyes only.”

Now her face gets a little red after hearing this. “Oh my, it was that kind…” She clenches her lips together, trying to not make some kind of facial expression. I think it’s somewhere between proud, embarrassed, and laughter, that her face would have to be.

“Kyaaaa!”
Well, that’s one good way to break the mood. We both spring up instantly, recognizing it as Hanako’s voice.

I kick open the door to her room after Lilly kindly points it out for me. Hanako has look of terror and sadness on her face, looking at an empty spot on a shelf.
“Hanako, what’s wrong?” Lilly walks over to her and grabs her by the shoulder. This doesn’t scare her much, but there is a slight flinch.

“N-Niji’s g-gone…” Her voice sounds heartbroken. This must have been something dear to her that's missing.

“Who’s Niji?” I flip to a new page of notes.

“M-my plush dog that we g-got at the arcade…” She shakily sits down on the bed.

“You mean you and Hisao?” I walk over to the empty space.

“Y-yes… I-it’s really Lilly’s now, b-but I sometimes k-keep him when I w-want to practice s-singing.” Lilly sits on the bed next to her before retracting her cane.
I notice something at the empty space…
It’s not empty.
There’s a splash of liquid dripping from the ceiling. I also take note of the ceiling vent above said spot. I put my finger into the liquid and bring to my nose to sniff it. “…Alcohol…” I take a second sniff. “And it’s not the rubbing kind.”

Hanako stiffens up at this. “W-what?”
I lick it off my finger, trying to figure what kind it is. A strong spirit, and one my mother likes to drink. “…Whiskey. Whoever took Niji left a splash of whiskey behind.”

“Whiskey? It wasn’t Akira then. She would have asked anyway.” Lilly then turns to Hanako. “You aren’t drinking are you?”

“N-no! I-it’s already b-bad enough w-with wine…” She lowers her head a bit. She must have had a bad hangover caused by wine, but that’s neither here nor there.
“I’m not going to inquire on why that is, but the whiskey is a very huge clue.” I take a second notepad out, this one with profiles of various students. One in particular stands out.
“I know who did this. Lilly, you’re welcome to come along.” The three of us get up and walk out of the room.

<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>
If any formatting problems are prevalent, please notify me.
Bonus: try and find the other fics I alluded to.

[Guest Poster]

The pluche dog thing sounds familiar to me. It's from my Sisterhood story. Feels kinda weird to suddenly stumble upon it somewhere else.

[Mirage_GSM]

“My my,” Lilly starts. “I never thought she would be that embarrassed over a bra…”
I don’t think I should tell her how lacey it was. “I think it was meant for Hisao’s eyes only.”

Shouldn't Lilly be able to feel that?

[Shizune]

[You're still writing this.
Please stop.]

[OtakuNinja]

Don't stop writing this, it's awesome.

I put my finger into the alcohol and bring to my nose to sniff it. “…Alcohol…”

Shouldn't it be liquid?

[Ario]

Don't stop writing this, it's awesome.

I put my finger into the alcohol and bring to my nose to sniff it. “…Alcohol…”

Shouldn't it be liquid?

Good catch, I usually miss things when re-reading, and thank you.

[Shizune]

Don't stop writing this, it's awesome.

[Admittedly, I may be a tad biased, given that I can't stand to read anything with Hanako in it.]

[Guest Poster]

That's all? That's a pretty large amount of fics (regardless of the quality) you write off with that criterium in mind.

[Shizune]

That's all? That's a pretty large amount of fics (regardless of the quality) you write off with that criterium in mind.

[I couldn't even finish her route. I don't know what it is, but something about her character repels me.
On a slightly more on-topic note, I'll probably end up reading anything in this that doesn't have Hanako playing a major role, so keep writing!]

[Ario]

That's all? That's a pretty large amount of fics (regardless of the quality) you write off with that criterium in mind.

[I couldn't even finish her route. I don't know what it is, but something about her character repels me.
On a slightly more on-topic note, I'll probably end up reading anything in this that doesn't have Hanako playing a major role, so keep writing!]

And that's the thing: she's just the client for this case, clients usually have a major role in detective/crime-fighting stories. I'm planning to do at least one case for each character, so she won't appear as much if it's not her case.

[OtakuNinja]

In that case I suggest Kotani helps Kenji find his mind... 'Cause he lost it way back!

[Ario]

Heh, the Kenji's sanity/mind thing may show up later.
Also, I'm trying to cut down on my usage of the enter key.
Anyway, here’s part 3.

The crazy man with the striped scarf.
<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>
All the facts added up.
The feminist conspiracy theories he made.
The fact he thinks all women are feminists.
The fact he liked placing bugs in things.
His general insanity.
It all pointed at one man.

I knock on his door once I get to it. “Kenji Setou, open up. It’s me, Kotani.” I failed to mention that Hanako and Lilly were still in earshot, he wouldn’t have opened the door by a crack otherwise.
He looks me over before shutting it and undoing the ungodly amount of locks on his door.
“Sup man. Had to make sure you weren’t a robot.”
“You know robots can’t play brass instruments.”
“Not yet they can’t. So what are you here for?”
“Getting Hanako’s stuff back from your place.”
“What makes you think I have it?”
“You left whiskey at the scene.”
“What?”
“Here’s how it happened.” I put my arms together like a detective with multiple disorders.

“You thought Hanako would be an easy person to put bugs on. Always wears dark clothing, easily concealing a bug. You had followed her movements in the ceiling with a camera to the laundry room. As soon as she turned her head, you picked up her hat and jacket, slipping away back into the ceiling without being noticed, or so you thought. Lilly had heard you in the ceiling. You also dropped a bra that was in that bundle, which Lilly picked up later. After walking by her room and realizing she had a plush dog, you thought it might be easier to take that instead and maybe even put a camera in one of the eyes it had. You took the dog like you took the clothes, but you had been drinking whiskey before you got the chance to pass the time and a bit of whiskey spilled from the vent to the scene of the crime.” I cross my arms and get a smug grin on my face. “Am I right, Kenji?”

“You’re half-right at best, Kotani. I did steal the hat and jacket, but I didn’t bug them. Nor do I have them with me.”
I swear to god if this were an anime I would have fallen over.
“WHAT.”
He puts an arm up before talking. “Let me explain. I was told by someone anonymous to steal the shirt and hat, afterwards to leave them outside of my room. About an hour later, they were gone and a bottle of whiskey was left in their place, just as they said would happen. Though I do know what happened to them and the dog. Come in.”
Before walking in, I silently give Hanako a hand motion to tell her and Lilly to stay put.

As I walk in, I notice he has multiple television screens, each one of the security cameras in the school… and a very strong smell of whiskey and old pizza… with anchovies. God, that’s just wrong. “And this isn’t illegal how?”
“They allow it as long as they can use it when they need maintenance in the main security room.”
I could tell he was bluffing, there’s no way. I’m not going to bother him about it; this will probably help me solve this case. I am never coming back in here unless absolutely necessary. Using video cameras takes the fun out of solving the case, even if it is useful.

“Look, I can see the hat and jacket, as well as the dog.” He points to a screen which shows two people, one of them with a sewing kit.

The one with a sewing kit is a girl with blue-green (teal maybe?) hair and a knee brace. I can’t see who she’s talking to, but it looks like he has brown hair. The lighting is terrible in this room. He hands the Jacket, hat, and dog over, before walking backwards out of the room. If only I could have seen his face, then this crime would be that much easier to solve.

“What room is this?” I take my notepad out, ready to write it down.
“It’s the sewing club’s storage room. It’s right across from newspaper club.” He then points at the room number in the corner, prompting me to write it down.
“Hey Kenji, how did you not find out who gave you the note?”
“Whoever it was managed to temporarily disable the security camera.”
“Alright, I’ll try and figure that out for you also, then.”

I leave the room and pass by Hanako and Lilly, motioning them to come with me.
“W-well?” Hanako is clinging to Lilly, probably to help her walk.
“We found the jacket, hat, and Niji. Sewing club storage.”
“But not the panties?” Lilly bluntly asks, making Hanako blush very brightly and stopping me in my tracks.
“…They match the bra, don’t they?” Hanako gives a very embarrassed nod at this, prompting me to turn around and force Kenji’s door open.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, MAN?” He jumps at me but misses by about a foot.
“You have something else that was stolen. Something that you kept because your anonymous request person didn’t need it.” I point a finger at him like I’m a dramatic lawyer. “You have Hanako’s panties!”
He gets up groggily and looks at me through his inch-thick glasses. “And so what if I do? If I did I would be bugging them to get audio on the conspiracies.”
A clever idea pops into my head and I start grinning on the inside. “What if they’re already bugged and have been recording everything you’ve said?”
His pupils dilate to pin holes. “OH FUCK. SHIT, FUCK, FUCKING HELL! THEY KNOW!” He suddenly opens a drawer and shoves the panties into my hand. “Put some false info into this, STAT! Shit, I need to recode everything I’ve done in the past 24-no, 48- hours! Shit! Good thing you told me this before I said my plan out loud! Now get out!”

I run out of the room and hear his door close shut violently before hearing more locks than he had unlocked to begin with. Hanako and Lilly look completely dumbfounded.
“W-what just happened?” Hanako says before seeing my hand has her purple lace panties in them. “H-hey! Th-those are mine!” She takes them from me and runs off with a very prominent blush on her face.
“Did she run off again?” Lilly asks, not being able to hear her footsteps.
“Yeah. You should go get her and tell her to meet me here. I’ll go get her jacket, hat, and Niji.”
She nods at me before extending her cane and walking out of the boy’s dorms.

So, Kenji wasn’t the culprit. But who’s the anonymous requester? And why are the articles of clothing and Niji in the Sewing club’s supply room, nearby a girl with blue hair and a knee brace? And what do those two have to do with Hanako? This mystery has suddenly gotten a bit deeper.

<=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=>

But it’ll have to be solved in the next chunk I write.