User blog:Seieireppa/Nanako’s Magical☆Mystery☆Adventure, part 2

When last we met, Nanako had happened upon the murder of Julius Visconti, Blood’s former leader. With all the members of Fenrir’s Far East Branch gathered at the scene, Nanako prepares to hand down her verdict…

“You are the culprit!!!”

Now, let us examine the day leading up to this moment, the tumultuous sequence of events that led to Nanako formulating the one theory she never thought she would have to consider…

-

“Big trouble!” came a frenzied cry that echoed through Anagura’s halls. “There’s seriously some seriously big trouble!”

The elevator’s doors opened, discharging one Kota Fujiki into the foyer of the floor occupied by members of Blood since their transfer from Friar. One of these rooms was being used by Nanako, Blood’s current leader, and it was on this door that Kota knocked with a fervor to rival Marduk’s own rage.

As Kota stood outside the door anxiously, its opening caught him by genuine surprise for a number of reasons – most notably among these the fact that Blood’s leader had elected to answer the door dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel. Nanako made it a habit to go on predawn runs every day, returning to her room for a shower before heading downstairs to the lounge for breakfast, homemade by Mutsumi. While this normally proved to be a wholesome routine, there were always variables for which Nanako could not account… such as someone demanding the door be opened while Nanako was in the middle of her shower.

“C-C-Captain,” Kota stammered, his anxious disposition compounded by the sight of a dripping wet, towel-clad beauty directly in front of him, “th-th-th-th-there’s been a, um, er, a bit of an incident…”

“First of all,” Nanako replied, “you need to calm yourself. If you have something to say, it can wait until you’re composed enough to deliver it to me, whatever it may be, without taking five hours to say just as many words.”

Kota, however, could not wait.

“B-but Captain… it’s Julius, he’s…”

“What’s the former Captain want this time? Does he want to see me for another briefing?”  Nanako was puzzled; he usually waited until after breakfast to go over the day’s plans with Nanako. “It’s a bit early, isn’t it…?”

By this point, Kota was more than a little exasperated. “It’s not that, Captain. It’s, well… I think you’d better see for yourself.”

“Alright,” Nanako replied, “but can it wait until I’ve at least made myself somewhat more presentable?”  As Kota was quickly made aware, Nanako was still wearing nothing but her towel, having just stepped out of the shower.

“…fine,” Kota begrudged, “but please PLEASE hurry it up. It’s really urgent!”

-

By the time Nanako had finished dressing herself, a good five minutes had passed, and both Nanako and Kota could plainly see that a crowd was beginning to amass nearby on the Blood floor.

“Oh geez, I was worried about this,” muttered Kota under his breath. “Anyway, I’m sure they’ll let you through at least. If anyone can figure out what’s happened here, it’s gotta be you…”

Nanako moved through the crowd, pushing her way through the likes of Lindow Amamiya, Yuno Ashihara, and even Dr. Paylor Sakaki. It seemed like everyone in Anagura had gathered here, and Nanako was about to find out why.

“This is Julius’ room, alright,” noted Nanako, taking notice of the nameplate on the door. “What exactly happened here?”  Nanako turned towards the crowd and addressed no one in particular.

“Julius… oh, Julius…”  A sobbing voice came from within the crowd. Nanako followed the source of the voice and found that it came from one Nana Kazuki. Nana had always been close to Julius ever since she joined Blood, so to see her this devastated meant that clearly something serious indeed had happened.

“Nana, can you tell me what—“ Nanako began, but she was cut off by the calm, collected voice of Paylor Sakaki, Branch Director of Fenrir’s Far East Branch. “It’s best not to disturb her,” advised Sakaki. “She’s been this way ever since they found the body.”

Body?

''Had Nanako heard that correctly? A body? Had Julius—''

There was no time to think. Nanako pushed towards the door and turned the handle with a sense of urgency and impending dread, only to be faced with her worst fears realized — the body of Julius Visconti, slumped lifelessly over the edge of his bed.

Just to be sure, Nanako examined his neck for a pulse, her hands shaking all the while. This served only to confirm her suspicions — Julius Visconti was truly dead.

Rising to her feet, Nanako turned to exit the room, closing the door behind her. “Who,” Nanako began, “was the first to discover the body?”

The crowd turned collectively towards Kota, who answered Nanako’s query with a shaky reply of his own. “I… I found him about an hour ago. I wanted to share plans for joint exercises between Blood and the First Unit with him, so I knocked on his door first thing in the morning, but I didn’t get a reply, which was weird, since he’s usually up by then. I went to get a key from Sakaki’s office to unlock the door, and when I did, well…” Kota cut himself off, electing to glance nervously away with a frightened expression on his face. “Of all the things to happen here at Anagura, I never once thought that murder would be one of them! What the hell is this?”

Kota turned back towards Nanako and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. “You’re the Captain of Blood, right? In that case, you’ve gotta find out who did this! Please, Nanako! You’re our only hope!”

-

How will Nanako begin her investigation? Who will she interrogate? What sort of sinister plot is afoot within the halls of Anagura? Find out next time on the next installment of Nanako’s Magical☆Mystery☆Adventure!