Sendai e yōkoso (Welcome to Sendai)

Everleason Police Department, Everleason, Cascoss, June 25th 8:00 A.m

Daniel arrived at the police department. He parked his red car, it looked like brand new, nobody would ever guess that he damaged it himself some time ago in frustration when someone he suspected for a crime appeared to be innocent. He punched it, and kicked it and even snapped the trunk of a thin tree nearby. He, of course, let those memories go. At least his car was all better now.

Dan entered the building.

"Daniel!" Jennifer Tryismo announced with some extreme shock. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Edwin called me in, he said it was a job." Daniel stated.

"Oh! A job, of course, I did have a job too." Jennifer laughed.

"Is it code?" Daniel inquired.

"Yes, we use it when someone who is outside FORMAL jurisdiction hires somebody in FORMAL to do a task. There was a mail room in China that was a huge mess and they called me to go clean it up, they paid me 670 yuan, what a payday it was." Jenifer relayed.

"Oh yes, that's part of the FORMAL policy. I wonder what my 'job' will be."

"Probably won't be as exciting as sorting out a Chinese mailroom, usually they are tidy, but I guess every now and then you will get someone who doesn't follow the stereotypes."

"I guess I should go check it out." Daniel headed off to his office.

Daniel took his office key and Edwin opened the door from the other side. "You don't need to that."

"I was just checking your hearing." Daniel joked. "You called me and told me to meet you in my office. So, here I am!" Daniel announced.

"I see you are quite punctual." Edwin stated and passed him some paperwork that was filled and signed.

"What is all of this?" Daniel asked.

"An outsider wants your help. Someone in Japan wants your detective services." Edwin elaborated.

"I see. Japan is not on board with FORMAL, right?"

"Yes. A Mr. Kawa has asked for you by name, I'm not sure how he learned it, but he wants to meet you at Kinkawa co in Sendai, Japan."

"But since I can't be here during that time, I'm being removed from the payroll." Daniel read the paperwork. "All of this is to make sure my hours won't be revoked; these are informed absence forms."

"Exactly, you're going to be absent, so I have to make sure that everyone knows, can I have those back? I need to take them down to the copy room and make some copies."

"Sorry." Daniel stated and passed the documents to Edwin.

"Oh, one more thing. You're going to be having a special guest for your job." Edwin announced as he started to leave.

"Who?"

"Oh, you'll see!" Edwin closed the door behind him.

Daniel scratched his head in confusion. He knocked on the door on the side of his office. Damien opened the door. "Yes, Dan?"

"Do you have any photos of Sendai?" Daniel asked.

"Did you lose your computer password?" Damien retorted.

"Oh right, the internet! What would I do without you?" Dan asked.

"I don't know, get reminded of the internet by someone else?" Damien joked.

Daniel booted his computer and searched for images of his destination, suddenly his door melted, it was a wooden door, and it melted! Standing in the hallway was a young girl with beautiful blue eyes and her hair was a gorgeous gold blonde that stretched halfway down her body, her face was shaped like a peach, her lips were violet and the only hairs on her face were her eyelashes and eyebrows. She was wearing the Yanaught detective school uniform, and her breasts were small. This young lady was the commissioner's daughter, Cynthia Rodgers.

"Cynthia?" Daniel asked.

"My friends call me CD. But you can call me Cindy if you like." Cynthia replied.

"Isn't Cindy short for Cynthia?" Dan inquired.

"Yes, so, please call me Cindy, it will make me happy." She said and she put her knapsack down and placed her books on Daniel's desk.

"Sorry, Cindy. You may call me Dan." Daniel replied.

"Dan? No, that doesn't sound right coming from my mouth, so I will keep calling you Daniel." Cindy announced.

"So, what is all this?" Daniel asked, his hands gesturing to the books.

"Oh, I'm supposed to make a report on a detective, all of my classmates are doing it. But I'm jealous, my friend Michelle drew David's name."

"Drew?"

"They put names in one of those cylinder things and each student picks the name of a detective. Detectives from all over the universe are in the cylinder. Michelle got David, and I got you."

"But why would you want to be with Lancer? He'd probably be dismissive of you."

"Because I like his in-your-face attitude. My father says his putting on a show, which is great, because I like theatrical performances." She laughed.

"Speaking of your father, why is he so mysterious? I only know him by his last name, is he afraid of something?"

"No, his mysteriousness is a reminder."

"A reminder?"

"To help detectives remember that they are here to solve the mysteries of the world, when people think of him, it helps them focus, it seems to be working, since he became commissioner, productivity has increased dramatically."

"I suppose he showed you charts?" Dan asked.

Cynthia grabbed a glass of water from Daniel's personal water cooler and drank some of it. "He did indeed show me charts."

"So, you're joining me in Japan?"

Cindy spat out her water. "Japan? No way! I always wanted to go, but all I know is (Hello, good morning, thank you!)"

"Well, you know more than I do."

"Well, come one let's go! I'm very excited."

"Um, one thing before we go."

"What is it?"

"The door."

"Oh, right!" The liquid rose and filled in the hole and turned back into a solid piece of wood, the handles and lock were back in place and it looked like new. "I detected a few cracks and fixed them with some wood from home."

"How did you do that?"

"State shift, I can change the state of any object. I can turn people into puddles and turn them back into people."

"Doesn't that kill them?"

"No, they lose consciousness when you melt them, but they start to recover after getting them solid. But my dad says not to use it on people so I don't get sued."

"Ah yes, illegal use of powers, you can only use state shift to turn people into liquid if your life is threatened or if you have been given express permission to do so."

"Well, now that I fixed your door and told you about my powers, can we go to Japan now?"

"Ah, of course." Daniel stated, and he got a teleportation crystal out of the drawer that contained them. "Once we get to Sendai, we will have to look for Kinkawa co."

"Why not take a more direct route?"

"What do you mean?"

"My dad said you should check your emails."

Daniel nodded and checked his emails, there was one from Kinkawa co, he opened it up, it was full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, it was clear that the sender didn't have a great grasp of writing in English. Daniel found an image in the email with the receptionist area of the Kinkawa building. Daniel nodded. "Thank you. Now we don't have to scour the whole city to find this place."

"You're welcome."

Daniel pictured the receptionist area and threw the crystal at the wall and a portal to the receptionist area appeared.

Daniel and Cindy proceeded through it.

#

Kinkawa co, Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, June 25th, 1:00 P.M

Aiko Maruyama, the receptionist saw a blue portal appear in the middle of the room, she didn't seem surprised as she was told to expect some visitors.

"Hello lady, we have an appointment with Mr. Kawa." Daniel stated.

Aiko looked confused, her English was terrible, she could barely understand what Daniel was saying.

"Um, can you speak English? I'm Dr. Smith, I'm here for a meeting." Daniel reiterated.

She shook her head. She couldn't understand.

Daniel put his hat on the desk. He pointed at the lettering. "D. S Smith, see. Look it up."

This time she understood. She entered Daniel's name in the computer and saw that D. S. Smith had an appointment.

"(Follow me.)" She said and gestured kindly to follow him, "(Oh, and don't point, we hate that.)"

Daniel shook his head, he knew that he had to follow her, but her words were lost on him.

Aiko sighed and just led the way, Daniel and Cindy followed her. Aiko opened a door and nodded her head to tell them to get in. Dan and Cindy entered and two men were waiting. The taller man was Daichi Kin and his friend was Yoshi Kawa.

"Hello Dan. (Nice to meet you.)" Yoshi stated.

"Uh... (Nice to meet you?)" Daniel stated.

"(He doesn't know our language, why did you bring him here?)" Daichi stated in a very stern and angry voice.

"Smith-san, do you need a translator to help you understand us? We can assure you our English is very good." Yoshi added. "My name is Yoshi Kawa, I am the CFO of this establishment and this is my business partner, Daichi Kin, his father founded us and Daichi is the CEO."

"It's a pleasure meeting both of you. May I say how handsome you both look?" Daniel stated.

"Thank you for your compliment, Smith-san." Daichi announced. "You humble us well." He bowed.

Daniel nodded his head.

"Dan, you are in Japan now, when one bows to you, you must bow in return or it is considered rude." Yoshi explained.

"My apologies." Daniel bowed.

"(This guy doesn't know our customs!)" Daichi announced.

"(It's okay, let me handle this.) I anticipated your lack of knowledge so I made a pamphlet of dos and do nots." Yoshi stated and handed Daniel a thick pamphlet.

Daniel looked at it. "How many rules do you guys have? Do you have a copy for her?" Daniel gestured toward Cynthia.

"Yes, I need to know this stuff too." Cindy stated.

"We were only expecting one person to show, but I can get another for you." Yoshi stated and he left the room.

"What's your name and what is 'Yanaught detective school?'" Daichi asked Cindy.

"I'm Cynthia Rodgers, it's nice to meet you Mr. Kin." Cynthia stated.

"Cynthia? Is that a beautiful name?" Daichi asked.

"I don't know, maybe?" Cynthia replied.

"You have a beautiful name, and you smell like sakura."

"Sakura?"

"Cherry blossoms, you smell like April."

"You mean like Spring?"

"April is my favourite Spring month."

Cindy nodded. "Oh, thank you."

"You seemed to have calmed down." Daniel noted.

"Yes, young ladies are always getting my attention. I should better myself." Daichi announced.

Finally, Yoshi returned. "(Kin-san, you seem to be blushing, did the young lady make your heart flutter?)" He stated and then laughed.

"(Why don't you write a haiku about it?)" Daichi stated in an angry tone.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting young lady, this was not easy to put together." Yoshi stated, and handed a copy of the pamphlet he handed Daniel earlier. "I never got your name."

"My name is Cynthia." Cindy stated.

"That's a beautiful name, and you have a good taste for shampoo, your hair smells like cherry blossoms." Yoshi stated.

"So, what is this all about? Why did you call me here?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot. (Call in the sergeant.)" Yoshi stated.

Daichi exited the room and returned with another man by his side.

"Daniel Smith, this is sergeant Daisuke Taniguchi, he handled all the necessary papers for us. The Japanese police don't usually work alongside FORMAL officials, so when I wanted to hire you, I needed to get all my ducks in a row, that is what the English say, right?" Yoshi explained.

"Yes, we do say that, a lot." Daniel chuckled.

"Good, very good. Anyway, we'd like you to look into a murder." Yoshi stated.

"Can you even do that? I mean legally?" Daniel asked.

"The victim was one of our employees." Daichi elaborated. "When they told us what happened we figured it would not be an easy case to solve, besides we want the right man behind bars, the Japanese police have a record of false arrests. So, Yoshi asked if we could hire you, and they said that we have to pay your fee and they will get everything in order so you can investigate like you were one of them."

"Should you be saying that in front of a sergeant?" Daniel asked.

"Don't worry, he doesn't speak a lick of English." Daichi laughed. "(Can you give him the stuff; Yoshi will tell Daniel what you are giving him.)"

Daisuke nodded and went to Dan; he began to hand out a few things.

"What Daisuke is giving you are a few things, the first item is a transport pass that will give you free passage on all services, the police are also happy to provide you with free rides if you prefer that, the next is a document giving you permission to investigate the murder. That is all."

"Thank you, Daisuke, you were very helpful." Daniel stated.

Yoshi giggled. "That's a good thing to say Daniel, since Daisuke means 'great helper.'" He laughed. Daisuke seemed confused. "(He said you are a great helper and I told him your name means 'great helper.')"

Daisuke laughed. "(He's a comedian!)"

"Are most of the people I'm meeting in this case going to be speaking Japanese?" Dan asked.

"Oh, right, you can't speak Japanese, we have a translator. Daichi, would you get Kippu-san up here please." Yoshi asked.

"Ok, but remember, I'm the CEO here." Daichi stated. He then left the office.

"We would get our Auditorium, Ami Fuse to help." Yoshi explained. "But she is really busy at this time."

Daichi returned and bought in a man that was wearing a beige suit and a grey tie, the man was taller than Daniel by 12 centimeters, and he had a beard and tired eyes, his hair looked like it had been in a hurricane. He was wearing a facial mask that covered his mouth and nose.

"Daniel," Daichi announced, "this man is the head of our international communication subdivision, he is really helpful to our overseas investors, which you know is very important to a trading company. He has a good resume too, he worked for other insurance companies all over USA."

"Hello," stated the man in a mid-tone voice. "I'm Alan Ticket, but everyone here calls me 'Kippu-san' which is a Japanese way of saying Mr. Ticket."

"Really, how so?" Daniel asked.

"Because kippu is the Japanese word for 'ticket.'" Alan explained.

"You're in good hands Daniel." Daichi stated. "This guy knows Japanese better than I do, and I've been alive 34 years." Daichi laughed.

"Alan, would you ask the sergeant how the victim was killed?" Dan asked.

"I suppose." Alan turned to Daisuke. "(The detective wants to know how the victim was murdered.)"

"(He was shot, and his not going to believe where the crime scene is.)" Daisuke stated.

"He said the guy was shot and that the scene's location will surprise you." Alan stated.

"Really now, where's the scene?" Daniel noted with some anticipation.

"(Where's the scene?)" Alan relayed.

"(The crime occurred on the bullet train.)" Daisuke replied.

Alan looked surprised. "It happened on the bullet train." Alan stated.

"Huh, a bullet fired on a bullet train." Cindy noted with a giggle. "Maybe you guys should have called it something else."

"Actually," Yoshi elaborated, "we always refer to it as Shinkansen, I believe it was the English that first called it that, so if anyone is to blame, it is you."

"(Bullet on a bullet train!)" Daichi stated. "(That is a good title, we should make this affair into a book and call the book 'bullet on a bullet train,' we'd make millions as it would fly off the shelves!)"

"Um, Daniel, would you mind sharing your story with us when you finished the murder case?" Yoshi asked.

"I'm not well versed in Japanese law, but on Rhombodian, you can't discuss cases until they become public record, which usually happens after the conclusion of a trial." Daniel explained.

"Oh right, I forgot about that. (See if you can get exclusive rights to the story idea so that nobody else can steal our thunder when the case becomes public record.)" Yoshi announced.

Daichi nodded and bowed and Yoshi bowed in return, but before Daichi left he had one more thing to say. "Talking about stealing, you should tell Smith-san about our big issue."

"I'm sorry, big issue?" Daniel asked as Daichi left the meeting room.

"We are having an issue with insider trading, we don't know who's doing it, we believe they are recording the info and using public pay phones, we believe that Ezume found out about it and that is why he was killed." Yoshi explained.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind." Daniel announced. "Sergeant, do you mind if these two come with me to the crime scene?"

"(He wants to know if the girl and I can go along with him to the crime scene, just in case he needs me to translate.)" Alan relayed.

"(But why does he need the girl? Is that his wife, or another officer, she looks like neither and that outfit looks like a school uniform.)"

"He wants to know why you want to bring your friend." Alan stated.

"Her name is Cynthia and she's doing a report on me and my work for detective school." Daniel explained.

"(The lady's name is Cynthia, she is a student at a detective school and they asked her to make a report on Mr. Smith.)" Alan relayed.

"(That explanation is acceptable, I'll call ahead and tell them that Mr. Smith has a plus one and a plus two.)"

"He gave us the go ahead." Alan announced.

"Oh good, this case would have been very difficult without you, Alan, and now you'll have something to write about Cindy." Daniel stated.

"Wait, I thought her name was Cynthia." Alan retorted.

"My name is Cynthia, I asked Daniel to call me Cindy, you may call me Cynthia or CD." Cynthia explained.

"Now that we have that out of the way, let's start investigating. Alan, would you ask the sergeant to take us to the crime scene?"

"(Take us to the crime scene please.)" Alan stated.

"(Follow me.)" Daisuke announced and he began moving.

"Fellow him.' Alan relayed and followed Daisuke. Daniel and Cynthia followed behind Alan. Soon they arrived at Daisuke's car, they entered it, and Daisuke began driving them to the crime scene. Daniel and Cindy studied their pamphlets so that when they got there, they would be able to act properly.