Chapter Text
It started on a Monday morning.
The hallway buzzed with the usual Monday morning routine. Students hurrying between classrooms, locker doors slammed shut, and conversations blended into a constant hum.
Shuichi adjusted the strap of his school bag as he walked beside Kaede, who was humming Clair de Lune under her breath.
"So," Kaede said, nudging him lightly with her elbow, "did you finish the history worksheet?"
Shuichi nodded. "Last night."
"I knew it." She sighed dramatically. "One day you'll procrastinate like the rest of us."
"I don't think that's something to be proud of." Shuichi chuckled
"It builds character."
"I'm pretty sure it builds stress."
Kaede giggled. "There it is! You made a joke!"
"It wasn't a—"
"It absolutely was."
Shuichi couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
They reached the row of lockers, and Shuichi stopped in front of his. But as soon as he pulled the locker door open, something pink slipped free and drifted to the floor.
"...Huh?" Shuichi looked at the envelope curiously before bending down and picking it up.
His name was written neatly across the front.
To Shuichi Saihara.
Kaede leaned over his shoulder curiously
"Ooooh."
Shuichi looked at her.
"'Ooh'?"
"'Ooh,'" she repeated with a grin. "Open it."
"Maybe something from the student council?”
She gave him the look. "Come on, Shuichi. In a pink envelope? With your name handwritten on the front? This is definitely straight out of a romance movie."
Shuichi hesitated before carefully opening the envelope. Inside was a folded piece of paper. He continued to unfold it.
"‘Dear Shuichi,
I’ve always had the biggest crush on you for the longest time!
But where’s the fun telling you straight up? You’re the ultimate detective so let’s make this interesting.
The mission is simple: figure out your secret admirer.
If you do, you win a prize!
(The prize being me, obviously!!)
But if you can’t…
I’ll stay as your mysterious admirer forever.
You have till Friday.
Good luck, detective!!
Signed,
Your Secret Admirer ♡’"
Shuichi stared.
"..."
"..."
Kaede stared too.
Then she grabbed his shoulders.
"SHUICHI."
"I know."
"YOU HAVE A SECRET ADMIRER."
"I noticed."
"No, you don't understand." She was practically bouncing. "Someone wrote you an actual love letter!"
"I... can see that."
She snatched the paper excitedly exclaimed "You have to figure out who wrote this!"
Shuichi was playing with the strap of his school bag with a nervous expression.
"What’s with the nervous look?" She asked curiously
“I don’t know, Kaede. This could just be some prank by some upperclassmen. I don’t want to waste my time." Shuichi answered
"Come on!" Kaede laughed. "Imagine if it's real! Someone likes you enough to write an actual love letter, and your first instinct is, 'This is probably fake.' That's kind of sad, Shuichi."
Kaede’s expression then turned serious. "Maybe it is a prank. Maybe it's a real confession. But either way, someone went through the trouble of leaving it in your locker. Doesn't that make you want to know why?"
Shuichi glanced back down at the letter.
...She had a point.
"We're going to find out who wrote this." She stated determinedly
Whether it was genuine or not, someone had slipped it into his locker without being seen. That alone made him curious.
He carefully folded the letter back into its envelope.
"...Alright," he sighed. "Let's assume it's real. Where do we start?"
Kaede squeaked excitedly
Little did Shuichi know...
The person who wrote the letter was already watching from the other end of the hallway.
Smiling to himself as the detective unknowingly accepted his very first case.
- - - -
The moment class began, Kaede took out a sheet of notebook paper and took out her pencil.
“Okay,” she whispered. “We need to narrow this down.”
Shuichi blinked. “You’re still treating this like a case.”
“It is a case,” Kaede said while writing on the sheet of paper "A very important one.”
Across the top, she wrote:
SECRET ADMIRER INVESTIGATION
Shuichi sighed quietly. “…You titled it.”
“Focus,” she said.
“How are we suppose to figure out who it is? It could be anyone in the school” Shuichi asked
Kaede tapped her pencil
“We need to establish a timeline. When exactly did you get this letter?”
Shuichi thought for a moment. “I did stay behind after school yesterday. Before leaving, I went to put my textbooks away in my locker. There were only staff around, so I would assume it would be sometime this morning before homeroom.”
Kaede grinned “Great! This narrows it down."
“How does that narrow it down?”
Kaede tilted her head. “Okay think about it logically.”
Shuichi frowned slightly. “I am thinking logically.”
She sighed "This is why I’m helping,” she said quickly. “Now, how did the letter get into your locker?”
Shuichi hesitated. “Well I think we have established sometime before homeroom.”
“Right,” Kaede said. “So that means the writer had access to the school early in the morning.”
Shuichi nodded slowly. “Which already excludes anyone who arrives after classes start.”
Kaede smiled. “Exactly. Now add something else.”
She tapped the desk lightly.
“The letter was not sloppy. It was folded neatly, placed carefully, and your name was written correctly. No hesitation.”
Shuichi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he followed the logic. “So the writer is familiar with the school environment… and had enough time to do it without being rushed.”
Kaede nodded. “And most importantly—”
She leaned in slightly.
“—they know where your locker is at. They know you always get your textbooks before homeroom. They know you have someone to walk with to your locker so you are distracted to not notice who was nearby."
Shuichi went quiet.
Those details mattered.
“…So it wasn’t left randomly,” he said. “It was timed.”
“Yep,” Kaede confirmed.
A pause.
Then Shuichi added, more quietly:
“…Which means it had to be someone who sees my routine often enough to time it perfectly"
Kaede pointed at him like he’d just solved it.
“And who do you spend your school day around? Which person can see through the window what you do before homeroom?"
Shuichi didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze drifted across the classroom.
Kaede answered for him anyway. "Our class.”
Shuichi blinked. “…That narrows it down to just—”
“—people who share your schedule, your breaks, and your access to the hallway at the same time you get here,” Kaede finished.
She smiled.
“So yes. It’s not everyone in the school.” She tapped the paper once. "It’s just the people sitting in this room.”
Kaede began writing down their classmates names as Shuichi went quiet.
The classroom suddenly felt smaller. Not because anything changed but because now, logically, it couldn’t be anyone else.
And somewhere in that same room someone already knew Shuichi had figured that much out.
Kaede broke the silence "We can begin to narrow down people in our class.
Shuichi hesitated. Then carefully began.
“Kaito and Maki are already dating."
Kaede hummed.
Shuichi continued. "Tenko is clearly only interested in girls. It is unlikely she wrote a romantic confession to me.”
Kaede made a small sound of agreement. “Mhmm, now you’re getting it”
Another name crossed off.
Shuichi exhaled slightly. "Gonta can be crossed off. He struggles with reading and writing complex sentences. A handwritten letter like this would be difficult for him.”
Kaede crossed it off.
Shuichi continued ”Lastly, Ryoma. He is shorter than average. It would be difficult for him to place the letter inside my locker discreetly at his height without either being noticed or requiring extra effort that would increase the risk of being seen. He also doesn’t seem like the type to write this."
"That’s fair” she said while crossing off his name.
Kaede scanned over the suspect list one more time before tapping her pencil against the desk.
"So... anyone else?"
Shuichi looked down at the names. Then back up at her.
"...Actually."
Kaede smiled. "Yeah?"
"I should probably ask."
She tilted her head.
"Kaede...did you write the letter?"
Silence.
Kaede blinked."…What?"
"I'm eliminating possibilities."
Another blink.
Then she burst into laughter.
The whole room went quiet. Their classmates looking at them curiously. Shuichi becoming flustered by the attention.
The teacher peeked up from the desk."Wanna share something with the class Miss Akamatsu?"
Kaede’s coughed and quickly said.”I’m sorry, won’t happen again." The teacher looked downed again continuing to type on the laptop.
Kaede looked back at Shuichi and whispered."Shuichi. You seriously just looked me in the eye and asked if I wrote you a love letter?"
"...Yes."
She covered her face, laughing quietly."You’re not even a little bit embarrassed!"
"I don't see why. It's a reasonable question."
"It is not a reasonable question!"
Shuichi frowned slightly.
"We've agreed the writer is likely someone in our class."
"Right..."
"You've known my routine since the beginning of the school year. You have access to my locker and know where it’s located."
"...Uh-huh..."
"And you've been encouraging me to investigate from the moment I found the letter."
Kaede stared."…Wow."
Shuichi tilted his head.
"What?"
"You really made a case against me."
"I wasn't accusing you."
"You absolutely were!"
"I was possibly listing a suspect."
Kaede crossed her arms with an exaggerated huff.
"Well, Detective, your deduction is wrong."
"...So you didn't write it?"
"No."
"...You're certain?"
Kaede gasped dramatically.
"Shuichi! If I had a crush on you, I'd just tell you!"
"...That's fair."
She grinned."Besides..." She leaned in with a mischievous smile.
"If I had written it, do you really think I'd help you solve the mystery?"
Shuichi paused."…Probably not."
"Exactly!"
She gently flicked his forehead.
"Now quit accusing your investigation partner and find the real culprit."
Shuichi rubbed his forehead.
"Though," she added with a teasing grin, "I am a little flattered I made it onto the suspect list."
Shuichi blinked."…Why?"
She quietly chuckled. "It means you think I'm capable of writing a decent love letter." Her expression then changed "Anyways, we have 9 suspects now."
Shuichi glanced around nervously. Who could have possibly wrote him that love letter?