The Prodigy and the Rookie

"And I rest my case" You looked down upon the face of the criminal, whose eyes widened in terror and regret as he was being held down by some Tenryou officers.

You had solved a murder case and successfully captured the perpetrator with your ironclad evidence. The suspect then just gave up resisting and glued his sights on the ground while he was being taken away. You on the other hand, took a deep breath as you could feel your legs turning into jello.

"Finally, it's over..." You muttered to yourself as you placed your hand over your chest.

"Way to go, rookie detective! Glad I could count on you!" A woman's voice praised you from behind and you could feel her palm slapping your back, making you flinch in surprise.

"Gah-!?" You slowly turned your head to the side to look at her. "Sango.. Don't scare me like that"

Sango gave a proud grin as she placed her arm over your shoulder. "Cmon y/n! You just solved your first case, you should feel more proud!"

You just sheepishly smiled at your senior detective before letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'll be heading back to the agency now, we should celebrate tonight and invite Ryuuji along" She mused as she pats your shoulder before turning around to make her leave.

You turned around as well to look and watch her leave before you could give your answer.

"Ah– oh well.." You lightly sighed before looking up at the clear sky. "I guess reading will have to wait until the end of the celebration"

You had worked under the Bantan Sango Detective Agency for around half a year now and today was the first time that Sango had entrusted you to solve a case on your own. In previous cases, you were only an assistant detective and you usually just try to help from the sidelines. When Sango finally told you to handle the case by yourself, you were in between excitement and nervousness, you can't tell if you want to throw up or just jump for joy, but everything went well in the end. It was a great challenge and experience for you.

***

You soon arrived back at Inazuma City and started heading for Yae Publishing House.

"I wonder if they have any new mystery novels on sale.." You muttered to yourself as you approached a familiar man by the counter.

"Hey Kuroda" You chirped while slightly waving.

"Oh hey, y/n! Finished solving a case?" Kuroda greeted back with a smile.

"Mhm~ Got any new novels in display?"

Kuroda let off a light chuckle at your enthusiasm. "Why don't you check out that shelf over there?" He pointed at the shelf where all the books were displayed for sale. You then made your way to the said shelf while feeling giddy to see what's in store.

"Hm... Let's see.." You placed a finger on your chin as your eyes scanned all over the shelf, checking on the displayed books one-by-one. You soon found a book that had caught your eye and tried to reach for it.

As you finally reached for that book, you felt another hand that held onto it.

"Eh?" You turned your head to the side and came face to face with a young man about your age with Burgundy hair and a shiny pair of Olive eyes.

"Oh, were you aiming for this book as well?" He tilted his head to the side with a light smile on his face. You swore to yourself that he really has a smooth voice.

"I.." You couldn't stop staring at him for a moment and glanced back at the book with both of your hands reaching for it. You suddenly became slightly flustered and pulled your hand away.

"I-I'm so sorry! Y-you can have it-" You immediately yielded while feeling embarrassed.

The young man responded with a light chuckle. "Oh no, you can have it if you want, don't worry" He kindly insisted. Now it made you feel bad as you waved both of your hands in refusal.

"No, please! Take it- I was just trying to check out the book.. I don't really have any plans on buying it..." You lied, hoping that he would finally take the offer.

"Hmm.." He then placed his hand on his chin while thinking. "Seeing that neither of us will mutually agree on this.. I have a proposal"

"Hm?" You tilted your head in curiosity.

"How about I buy the book then we both share and take turns on reading it every other day?"

You thought for a moment and it doesn't seem like a bad idea either.

"I don't mind.. But are you sure you're fine spending on it? I could pay half the price so you don't have to spend in full.."

"You said you didn't plan on buying the book in the first place, right?" He gave a wry smile.

"Ah.." You ran out of excuses to back you up and sighed.

"Then it's settled!" He snapped his fingers with a close-eyed smile before he grabbed the book and went to Kuroda to purchase it.

You and the odd man walked alongside each other in awkward silence while you both were headed for a bridge.

"Ah right, I didn't quite catch your name yet?" He suddenly spoke as he broke the silence.

"Oh! Uhm.. It's l/n y/n. And you are..?"

"Shikanoin Heizou, sharpest detective of the Tenryou Commission~" He introduced himself in a proud yet soothing voice as he raised his finger.

'The Tenryou detective!?' You were surprised to hear that the man beside you right now is the well-renowned detective of Inazuma.

"Judging from your expression just now, you must have heard of me, hm~?"

You were too dumbfounded at his remark to think of a response for a moment.

"W-wow.. You're as perceptive as they all say..." That was all you could utter out as you looked at him in awe. His response to your statement was a light chuckle as you both halted your tracks in the middle of the bridge.

"I'm flattered by your praise, miss y/n~ Now, how about we meet here again on the day after tomorrow at noon so you could have a turn with this book?"

You nodded your head in agreement.

"I'm glad we finally agree on something here, see you around y/n~" He chirped as he waved farewell and walked away.

'Shikanoin Heizou... He's nicer than I thought...' You thought to yourself as you watched the detective walk away.

You have heard bits of information regarding Heizou from your seniors, Sango and Ryuuji. Although, most of the things you have heard from Sango were negative feedbacks. You then start to wonder if there's any history between them.

***

It's already night time and you were celebrating with Sango and Ryuuji at the agency. The three of you gathered on the table filled with lots of food and drinks.

"Congrats on successfully solving your first case, y/n!" Ryuuji greeted then your other senior, Sango was clinging onto you while all you could do was sheepishly chuckle in response.

"Haha.. Thanks you two.. I never thought that it would end well"

"Hehe~ guess I taught you very well, I'm so proud as your senior~!" Sango chirped while squeezing you.

"Ack- Sango- can't... Breathe.." You struggled to move away from her tight squeeze then she immediately let you go afterwards to have you catch your breath.

After a short chatter, the three of you then started eating.

"Oh right.. Sango... I have something to tell you" You turned your head to your senior as you recalled the events when you arrived back in the city.

"What is it?"

"I uhm.. Met up with someone today.. He said that he's the Tenryou detective, Shikanoin Heizou-"

You then heard the clanging of a dropped utensil, which then turned into an awkward and tense atmosphere.

"Uh oh..." Ryuuji muttered in a low tone as he slowly glanced his female colleague, who seemed to be looking at you with a serious look.

"y/n, we do not speak of that brat here and better yet, you should stay away from him, understood?" She warned.

You just glanced down and nodded quietly. You know that there's no point arguing with Sango so you just immediately try to change the topic before the atmosphere went back to normal.

After celebrating, you soon left the agency around midnight to head back home. Your house isn't far from the agency so you don't have to worry about traveling alone at night.

"I wonder why Sango dislikes Mr. Shikanoin so much.." You then let out a sigh and shook your head lightly. "I doubt I would get any answers from her..."

As you were enjoying your time walking, you then looked up at the evening sky and gazed upon the moon.

"The moon is so bright tonight.."

You then started to think about a certain detective while gazing, once you realized your thoughts, you immediately try to shake it off your mind.

"I only just met him, why am I suddenly thinking about him..?" You muttered to yourself as you finally arrived at your home.