Twisted Innocence

The Strongest Detective

"The greatest victory is that which requires no battle."

- Sun Tzu (The Art of War)

~oOo~

        The Black Lizard...

The Armed Detective Agency was attacked by the Port Mafia's military squad, the Black Lizard.

        Everybody was now currently cleaning up the mess that resulted from the brief scuffle between the Agency and the Black Lizard. Atsushi was picking up some fallen books, while Seiko stood beside him organizing some papers and placing them on a desk.

But Kunikida-san, Yosano-san, and Kenji-kun crushed the entire team with ease. 

        Atsushi gulped in awe at the memory of witnessing his seniors' strength.

Such is the might of the Armed Detective Agency. 

        The sound of something rattling caught the boy's attention before he turned his head to see Ranpo rolling a marble inside the glass bottle he was drinking from earlier. "Hey, hey, Harunocchi ~ " The spiky-haired man addressed the brunette secretary, holding out the glass bottle. "Can you take the marble out of this bottle?"

        "Sure, right away." Haruno smiled, taking the bottle in her hand. 

        Atsushi sweatdropped with a twitching eyebrow as he watched. "A marble?" He deadpanned. 

        "I wonder how it got in there in the first place ~ " Seiko mused, looking up from her work at Ranpo curiously. 

        A few minutes later, Haruno managed to free the marble by smashing the glass bottle with a hammer, before later holding out the transluscent sphere to Ranpo. "Is this what you wanted, Ranpo-san?"

        "Yes," Ranpo nodded as he took the marble in his hands. "Marbles are nice, aren't they ~ ?"

        "Yes, marbles are nice." Haruno agreed with a smile. Atsushi watched the rather random interaction with a sweatdrop before sliding over to Kunikida, who was placing some books back on a bookshelf. 

        "Um, isn't Ranpo-san going to help?" Atsushi whispered to the man. 

        Before the glasses-wearing man could respond, Ranpo suddenly called as he inspected the marble with a smile, "Kunikida-kun ~ "

        Atsushi fumbled with the books he held out of shock from the sudden voice before managing to prevent them from falling to the floor. "I have to head off to a job soon." Ranpo informed, jumping off from his desk and standing up.   

        "Oh, what kind of job is it this time, Ranpo-san?" Seiko asked, approaching the male while holding a few books to her chest. 

        "It's a little too heavy for you to know, Seiko-chan ~ " Ranpo cheekily replied, ruffling the whining ravenette's hair. "But if you're really so curious..."

        "I am, Ranpo-san!" Seiko enthusiastically chirped, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "What kind of case is it?!"

        "A murder case." Ranpo casually said. Despite the ominous fact, the little girl was unusually enthralled as she looked up at the man with a sparkling aura. 

        "Woooow ~ And you're gonna help investigate?" She asked excitedly. 

        "Yup ~ !" Ranpo confirmed, popping the 'p' as he placed his hands on his hips. "Indeed, the police in this city can't capture even a single criminal without my help."