The Search of a Lifetime

Chapter 1: F You, Watson

*BREAKING NEWS: 5 OF THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS HAVE ESCAPED FROM A PRISON OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN*

The TV is loud. Here in California, everything's loud. The city, the people, and I guess the TVs too. Although my eardrums are going to burst open any time soon, this bit of the news is important. Finding out who the baddie(s) we gotta go after in our field of work are is somewhat important, in my opinion. My boss also believes the same, having started to resea-

*BANG!* The door flies open. There stands my boss, wearing her typical detective's uniform. Yes, before you ask, my boss is Amelia Watson. We're a small detective agency based in Los Angeles, where the crime is high and the influencers are higher. The eccentric detective barges into the room, sheets of paper flying from her hands.

"Hi!" Very passionate. She cares about this job too much. "I've got us a case here, from a Mr. Yagoo. Take a look!" She hands the papers to me with her usual vigor, her smirk plastered on her face as she watches me. She knows what she's doing, bugging the hell out of me for no good reason. And she loves it. I stare at her for a few seconds before looking at the papers.

"Dear Ms. Amelia Watson and Co.,

I have a case for you all. There are 5 people I wish for you to track down. It is very risky. However, if you agree to this proposition, I will pay you handsomely. Please message mumeiisthefavoriteholomem(at)gmail.com with your confirmation.

Sincerely,

Yagoo"

It seems that there is a small coincidental correlation between the 5 notorious criminals being plastered on screen and the 5 inconspicuous people mentioned in this man's letter/email/whatever it is. Use your imagination here. Unlike me, Watson seems incredibly excited by the whole ordeal. "I already emailed Yagoo saying we'd do it. Isn't this great? We get to go out and explore! Except I've got something else to do this week, so you're going alone."

"Wait, what?" The hell is that woman on!? I never agreed to this! Why would I want to go out and hunt down the most despicable people known to mankind? I'm not nearly as powerful as Watson - I'm gonna get folded in a heartbeat! I was not mentally prepared for this sort of burden. Watson's devilish grin as she watches me slowly unfold from a stoic moyai to what is the equivalent of watching your best friend get knocked in the diddles proves that she planned this from the start.

"You bastard. You planned this!"

"Go outside and do something without me dragging you along for once!"

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Fine. Where do I go?"

Her phone buzzes. A response from mumeiisthefavoriteholomem(at)gmail.com.

"Thank you for the agreement. The coordinates of the place in question is 19°16'51.5"N 166°38'54.3"E."

Goddammit. She read that out in such a smug tone that it makes me depressed. I have no choice except to go on the trip and deal with it. I can only hope that I won't be brutally obliterated by any of the 5 deviants if I end up encountering them head-on. Before I'm able to voice the pains I feel, Watson shoves even more papers in my hands! They're pictures of the criminals. Damn... let's see. We've got:

Ken-Kaneki type goth girl who raided Hot Topic before getting arrested (Shiori Novella)!

Rock princess child thing (Koseki Bijou)!

Bird MILF (Nerissa Ravencroft)!

Cocomelon dogs (Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssguard)!

...This is gonna suck. I'm going to take a gander and say that they can all butcher me one way or the other. Yeah. I've basically signed a death wish here. Thanks, Watson. Speaking of which, she's already gone, having left me about $823 to traverse towards the coordinates described. What do I do now? Buy a plane ticket, of course. I hope you're not expecting any funny references during these travels. There's nothing besides three dots.

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Huh. It's a random island in the middle of nowhere. The prison itself is extremely intimidating from the outside. A massive stone-walled behemoth which towers over everything else in the immediate vicinity. Not much of a flex, since it's just barren trees around the area, but still. It's definitely abandoned, from the looks of it. Not a single soul remains in the desolate depths of what looks to be a complete hellhole for everyone involved. The metal doors are ginormous, which makes it even more impressive that they're both cracked. The inside of the prison looks torn apart from what I can see through the doors. Were the 5 criminals the only ones that escaped, or was it every person in the prison...? Were there even more than 5 people in the prison? Where are the guards? I've got a lot of questions about this place. Thank God I can probably answer them while I'm here.

I walk through the doorway. The sounds of my shoes hitting a concrete slab of a floor reverberate throughout the reception room. It's so... empty. There's a couple cabinets that've been... rummaged through... but other than that, it's oddly empty. You'd think a prison containing the media-dubbed 5 worst people in the world would have a bit more decoration and, for lack of a better term, pizzazz. It's lonely here. The prison does look solidly sound, but I still wish to find the weakness that let the 5 people escape-

*BANG! THUMP! POW! OTHER NOISES!*

There's noises coming from further within the prison. Wow, it's like a cliche fanfiction where the protagonist meets the romantic interest at the most inopportune time! This is not looking good for me, considering that there are a total of 6 other characters in the story with 4 of them being known criminals! I dare not expose myself to whatever demonic being lies within this haunted heresy of a prison. Instead, I carefully slink my way around to NOT get utterly decimated where I stand! After the reception room, the main cell blocks sit pretty in the middle of the prison. Damn, there's not that many. This must be where the bad bad people go. The noises only continue to flow from the room down yonder. My footsteps can surely be heard at this point, right? What should I do? Should I just pull out my beautiful Glock and fire shots through the wall? Should I be stealthy? I dunno. I'm already decently quiet as-is (retconning the previous statement), so fuck it. Stealth time!

I manage to make it to the doorway of the next room, the aggressive tossing and slamming only continuing. This is a good sign. For the uninformed, it means I didn't attract attention. I peer over the edge of the doorway. It's dark. There's a figure in what seems to be a library, tossing books around and rummaging through even more cabinets. They definitely don't know I'm here- they're staring right at me. Ohhh shit. I'm fucked! I leave all my possessions to my dog, Ferdinand. He's a majestic boy, and should be able to live off my savings.

The figure stands up from their crouched position, their head tilted to the side as their eyes furrow. Even in the dimly lit room, the golden eyes shine brightly - making it all the more intimidating. The bulb above them flickers on and off, giving me a semblance as to who the figure actually is. It's a woman with bi-colored hair, white on the right side and black on the left. I don't exactly know what I'd call her clothing style, but I see a heavy jacket and a series of items that look like they came from Hot Topic. Wait... oh shit. Genderbent Ken Kaneki if he decided to raid a Hot Topic, AKA Shiori Novella. One of the 5 people I was meant to look for, and subsequently one of the 5 criminals broadcasted on live television.

Fuck you, Watson.