Desperate times call for desperate measures

•Chapter 1•

Shuichi would get up every morning, before his uncle, and probably before the neighbourhood. The clock ticked. 6am sharp. His uncle didn't get up for another half an hour, and they didn't get on the bus until 7. It was Shuichi's downtime before the loud rush at work and the amount of cases he still had to file. It was his calm before the storm, a peace of mind he felt in preparation for what's to come. Early morning colours of scarlett, gold and apricot flooded the room and gave Shuichi an appreciation for the little things in life. The colours engulfed him and made him feel warm and tranquil. A perfect way to start the day.
The kettle hissed in the kitchen. Nearby, sat a teacup with earl grey inside. Amongst the rustic hanging pots, pans and clutter was Shuichi's phone. His uncle had gotten it for his birthday a couple years back. He wasn't a big fan of modern phones, but he couldn't turn something his uncle gave him. After all, he's the only family he keeps in touch with nowadays. He walked towards the kettle and looked at his phone case. Specifically, the photo inside it. It was a photo of him and his friends, Kaito and Maki, at graduation. He regretted not talking to them as much as he could've. Now they could be doing whatever and Shuichi wouldn't know, because he didn't speak to them much anymore. He sighed and put the kettle down. He was about to take a sip of the tea, when his phone started vibrating.
He turned it over to see a call from an unknown number, but yet still one he recognised, "Hello?"
"This is the supreme leader of D.I.C.E calling once again! What's cooking, Mr Detective?" Shuichi exhaled. It had been a few days since he started getting calls from D.I.C.E. Asking his colleagues, they're a local prank group. Harmless, of course, but not worth his time.
"Please stop calling this number. This is the fourth day in a row now. I don't know what you want from me. I don't even know how you got this number." Shuichi had wrongly assumed that it was originally a prank call but after it repeated for a few days, Shuichi wondered if they wanted them to get caught. Not to mention that they knew he was a detective but decided to call his personal phone rather than the firm.
"That doesn't matter, detective! Anyway, you want to play a game?"
"No. I don't. I have half an hour before my work begins. I don't have time for your stupid calls."
"Nooo detective!" His whiny voice stung Shuichi's ears, "My calls are not stupid! You make me sad!"
"Whatever. If that's all, I will be ending this call. Have a good one."
"WAIT!"
"..Is something the matter?"
"If you win the game, I'll take a request from you!" This was Shuichi's chance. If he won this "game" (depending on what it was, obviously), he could request that he stops calling. Then he could go back to his untroubled mornings.
"Fine. What's this game?"
"Well, it's less of a game and more a riddle! I'll call you at the end of the day for your answer and - if you get it correct - your request!"
"Go on."
"Okay, okay, imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out? I'll see you later, detective." And then the call ended.

Shuichi had been thinking about the current case that affected a neighbouring city and that could affect their city in the near future more than the riddle the prank caller gave to him. He was told he'd have to gather alibis from suspects, any notes from the victim's families and just anything that seems suspicious around the area. What's worse is that he wasn't assigned a partner for this task. It was a poor decision on his firm's part but Shuichi didn't speak up about it.
The killer was extremely crafty, Shuichi would give him that. He'd killed 7 women over the course of a week, no evidence left behind. It was almost impossible. In fact, everyone thought it was impossible until it happened. And out of 8 billion people on the planet, one person had to find them. Alone. It seemed like a puzzle, but a puzzle that was way too big for anyone to complete.
Shuichi had decided to go on lunch break. Looking for similar cases for two days and coming out empty handed every time was getting tedious. His colleague came by to have tea with him.
"Still nothing in the killer's case?" She said, sitting on a chair opposite.
"Nothing."
"That's unfortunate. And you have to go and investigate in the city tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. They still haven't assigned a partner, either, so I'm going in there alone. Although, this is our job."
"Well, at least you didn't get a prank call this morning. D.I.C.E, was it?"
"Already got it earlier today, before work. I have to solve a riddle apparently."
"Is he threatening you or something similar?"
"No, but he did say he'll take a request from me if I completed it and I do want him to stop calling so I took him up on it."
"You're so gullible, Shuichi. What is it?"
"'Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out'"
"Hey!" Shuichi's uncle walked over to where they were sitting. They worked at the same firm and Shuichi felt lucky to have him. He kept him on the right path, "There's my favourite nephew! You two seem to be deep in conversation. You don't mind if I steal away Kirumi for a few minutes, right?"
"Oh yeah, talk about me like I'm not here." Kirumi replied, snarkily. She put her teacup down and got up to join Shuichi's uncle for whatever he needed, "We'll talk about it later, alright, Shuichi?"
"Yeah..yeah.." But Shuichi never went back to Kirumi. He still had a lot of work to do. He worked for another 5 hours on the murder case and he couldn't figure anything else out. No leads, nothing. Going to the city tomorrow would be a struggle. He ruffled his blue hair just before his uncle came to go to the bus stop since they both worked the same hours.
It took about 2 hours to get back home since they worked right in the middle of the city and they both lived on the outskirts, not to mention rush hour so it could take longer. This was a perfect opportunity to consider what the hell the prank caller's riddle was.
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
They got on board the train.
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
"What do you want for dinner tonight, champ?"
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
"We might have to stop at the supermarket tomorrow. We're out of milk."
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
"Is your show on tonight, or is it on tomorrow?"
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
"How's Kaede doing? You visited them on the weekend, right?"
Imagine you're in a dark room. How do you get out?
"You were quieter than usual at work today. I get it, the case is hard work, especially by yourself. I tried asking the boss if I could come with but he said no. It doesn't make sense to me, but I guess I got to listen to him."
Just stop imagining.