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Masonite blinked. Yuma Kokohead, who had seemed scared just a second ago, stood in a different spot, looking confident as ever. Her mind still racing, she stood up. Yuma was talking to the man in the trench coat, though she couldn't make it out.
I'm doomed, she thought. I'm gonna get arrested. What is he doing?
Lost in her own thoughts, she snapped back to reality upon feeling the Peacekeepers undo the handcuffs she had been locked in.
"Huh?"
Some blue haired man had walked in and was talking to trench coat. She ran over to Yuma, who looked just as confused as she did. Only thing she knew was that the blue man was leaving, and she should follow him.
"Yuma! What happened back there?"
Yuma looked at her and opened his mouth, but then stopped as if someone tapped him on the shoulder and told him not to.
"Well, apparently they... found another person who was more likely to have done it." He seemed unsure about the answer, but Masonite took it anyway.
He looked to the man who saved them and then back at her.
"I'm just glad he came and saved us both, honestly... I don't know what would have happened."
Masonite held her fist up, and Yuma reciprocated it.
"If you hadn't stood up from me, he would have gotten there too late. You did good." He smiled.
"Thanks, Mason."
The man stopped suddenly in his tracks.
"Alright, you two. Figure it's time I explain. The names Yakou Furio, World Detective Organization."
"WDO!" Masonite blurted out. "Sorry. Continue."
Yakou laughed a little. They started walking again.
"As you two should know, the WDO dispatched tons of detectives here to Kanai Ward. Uhhhhh-nfortunely, seems like someone doesn't want people to investigate this place, since most of our detectives have gotten lost or, like yours, killed."
Masonite and Yuma's lips tightened as they shared the same thought. Why them? Why were they, of all people, left alive? He led them under a bridge as they marinated in their thoughts. He stopped and turned around again, gesturing to the large boat behind him.
"Here it is. Welcome to the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Let's get out of the rain, shall we?" And he led them inside.
"I brought the last two," He hollered to some people inside that the two newbies couldn't see. "Let's see. Out of the around 50 detectives sent, and they sent extra in case this exact scenario happened, we're left with... 6."
Yuma and Masonite finally were able to get a look into the room. There's a couple of miss-matched couches, a desk, and 4 other detectives talking and playing some sort of game.
"I'm sure we can do whatever the WDO has assigned us to do. Natural selection, right? Make yourselves at home."
Masonite and Yuma went off to introduce themselves.
-
Finally, after an eventful conversation, an exhausting conversation, and a pretty boring and one-sided conversation, there was only one conversation left to be had.
Masonite approached the last person, the one she had been intimidated by from first glance. She tucked her lime green moneypiece behind her ear, and it hid itself behind the brown of the majority of her head.
"Hey!" She starts the conversation with.
"I'm Masonite Osamu. You can call me Mason."
"Halara Nightmare. You can call me anything. I don't bother with silly things like labels." They shift in their seat, holding their lollipop out and gesturing with it.
"So I can call you Lara?"
"No. My name is Halara. That one is set in stone." The thrust their lollipop towards Masonite, annoyed, before putting it back in their mouth.
"Alright, Lara. So, what's your Forte?" They take it out of their mouth again.
"It's called Postcognition. I can see how a past crime scene looked. What might yours be?"
"Funny you should ask, Lara -" They glare at Masonite again - "It's called Psyche-Swap. If I have something of someone's, I can swap our minds."
"Seems risky."
"It is."
"Counterintuitive. If you ever need to secretly investigate, you may be in trouble."
Masonite scoffs. "Says you."
Halara crosses their legs. "I despise you."
"Despise is a strong word."
"You're wasting my time. I expect payment if this drags on any longer."
"Am I keeping you, your majesty?"
"Yes." They stand up and make their way out the main door. "I'll be going back to my hotel room. Notify me when they actually give us an assignment."
They exit. Mason stares at the door, bewildered by the strange person. But regardless, she can't help but smile at the thought of them.