❝ ᴛʙʜᴋ//Detective Daikon ˎˊ-

𝚒𝚡.

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"Agh!" Not long after Tsukasa and Sakura had vanished from the main passenger coach, Yashiro felt a searing pain in her right arm and screamed in pain.

"Yashiro!" Amane quickly sped to Yashiro's side and held up her arm to examine it. "Why are you hurt? What happened?!"

"I don't know!" Yashiro lifted up her sleeve to see what happened to her arm. Much to Amane's horror, a huge wound that looks like it had been stabbed by a small knife sent blood trickling down Yashiro's arm. The sight of blood alone made Amane want to vomit, but he was used to seeing it by now, thanks to his job.

"I think Tsukasa might have stabbed me," Yashiro said, "but I have no idea when! I only felt the pain now."

"Mei-san should know what to do! Mei, what do we-" Amane turned to get the other Wonder's attention, but he forgot that Mei was lying unconscious on the train's floor, her forehead wet with blood. One of the lens in her glasses was broken, and her glasses were resting unevenly on her face.

"Shit, she's unconscious," Amane cursed under his breath. He'd deal with her later - he knew that Mei wasn't someone who died too easily. Yashiro was his priority for now. Amane rummaged through Mei's supplies for bandages (she should be able to have some, she was the Wonders' best healer, after all) and found them on one of her suitcase's pockets. He then proceeded to quickly wrap the bandage around Yashiro's wound, trying hard to ignore her yelps of pain. He should have seen this coming. He should have expected this. Why didn't he? Why did both of them know when it was too late?

"What about Mei-san?" Yashiro's eyes winced in pain. The bleeding in her arm had been stopped... for now.

"You're injured like this, yet you still worry about Mei?" Amane managed to give her a smile. "She'll wake up later. Does it still hurt?"

Yashiro moved around her injured right arm before shaking her head. "Nope, everything seems fine. Thank you, Amane-"

"God, that kid hit me a little too hard on the head..." Yashiro and Amane suddenly tore their attention away from each other to the Wonder who sat upright and gained consciousness.

"Mei-san!" Yashiro embraced her as if she was a friend she knew long ago. "I'm so glad you're awake now!"

"No.7," Mei fixed the glasses atop her nose, "what happened just now? Why the hell is my head bleeding?!"

"Tsukasa knocked Mei out and had Yashiro in a tough position... all done before I even noticed him." Amane said thoughtfully. "Tsukasa and Sakura might still be on this train. We have to find them, quick!"

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"You... bastard..." Kou was sitting on the ground amidst his own puddle of blood. It was a bad idea to attempt fighting this kid. Compared to Mitsuba, he was a lot quicker, and a lot stronger. When Tsukasa stabbed the side of Kou's stomach, Kou knew it was over for him. He had no more strength left to fight.

"You can't get up anymore?" Tsukasa's shadow loomed over the blonde boy. Kou didn't dare look up at those eyes - a feral yellow too creepy to even look at. His eyes alone could tell endless tales of sadism this boy knew over the years. Tsukasa twirled a small knife in his hands. "I thought we could play a little bit more!"

Kou looked helplessly over to Mitsuba, who was looking at him in horror and pity. Kou met Mitsuba's gaze, hoping to get his message through. They had to beat Tsukasa. He remembered that Amane and Nene-senpai were somewhere on this train, looking around. Where were they?! All Kou and Mitsuba had to do was buy time for them to arrive.

Mitsuba lost the "poor puppy" look on his face. The Third Wonder nodded in understanding.

Tsukasa knelt beside Kou, his little knife aimed at the part of Kou's neck where his carotid artery was. "You're a little weak, you know? Might be better if I killed you right here."

So this is how it's going to be, huh? Kou thought bitterly. Any time now, Mitsuba-

"This is not a great time to be dying, hella lame-ass traffic-safety earring!" Mitsuba yelled. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?! I thought you were part of the famed Minamoto family!"

"Mitsuba?" Tsukasa's attention turned to Mitsuba. "What are you doing?"

"This drama is only for the two of us, got that, kid?" Mitsuba, still very scared of the fact that Tsukasa was on a whole other level than he was, tried to act in a sassy way to divert Tsukasa's attention away from Kou. Somehow, it was working.

After all, annoying people and provoking them were a few of Mitsuba's talents.

"Don't you work for me?" Tsukasa threw a dagger towards Mitsuba's direction, but Mitsuba anticipated it and threw one of his own knives to intercept it. The two blades met in mid-air and fell to the floor with a clank. "What are you trying to do here-"

"That's enough, Tsukasa." The door to the A-class compartments suddenly opened. Amane, Nene-senpai, and a girl with glasses and braided hair - who Kou didn't recognize - rushed inside.