A Challenge

 " Kath, those were some fine wounds you got there. I bet you were about to chop one of your fingers clean off. No, maybe you should have done so. I would then experiment with my ability more."

Kath didn't bother with listening to her at all as she laid her head on her desk, drained both mentally and physically. The shimmering of her face must have been a telltale that she had endured several cuts and ripping by Yosano because Rampo, Tanizaki, Kenji, and Kunikida all gave her sympathizing looks as they passed her.

Right beside her was another victim who endured the same torture as her that day. It was Atsushi who was brought back suffering from serious wounds from an explosion. Yosano deemed them not serious enough for her ability and proceeded to dissect him using her chainsaw.

" Hey there, you look awful, Atsushi-kun."

" You look even worse, Hanazawa-san."

The night had fallen beyond the windows of the agency. Kath busied herself with admiring the twinkling stars before she mustered enough willpower to push herself off the desk and stretch up. She felt for every part of her body, as if making sure nothing was left behind on Yosano's dissection table.

She then looked back at Atsushi and leaned her face on her left palm. " I got the guise of it earlier from Kunikida-sensei. I take it that you already spoke to the president on your way here."

Atsushi nodded, still having no will to sit up straight.

" I'm surprised it came from you of all people," Kath hummed as her eyes trailed back to the far window, taking in the dim lights of the still-recovering city of Yokohama. " You know that it's quite the farfetched request, right? Even if they think of Yokohama the same way we do, they still view us as the enemy here."

" But it's worth trying." Atsushi sat back in his chair, his face sullen and serious. " There is nothing to regret from that."

" True," Kath admitted. A moment of silence went by, with both of them dwelling on their own thoughts.

" Hanazawa-san…"

" Hmm…"

" About Kyouka-chan…" Atsushi looked down, his eyes bore a deep regret. " The last thing I remember is fainting on her when we faced the Guild's leader…"

" All we know for now is that she was captured and locked within an unmanned jet flying around. That's usually the way of dealing with dangerous gifted. There is no way for us to track or establish a connection with that airplane without some higher-up permission." Her eyes fell on Atsushi's clenched fists. " Hey, you don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. Plus, the situation being what it is now, it's the safest place for her. We don't want her to get caught up in our Agency's problems."

" But she is a part of this agency."

Kath bit her lip as she looked at him. " Listen, as much as I like Kyouka-chan and would want her to be around, but she is not a member, yet…"

" Huh?" Atsushi was truly puzzled by her words. Before she even got the chance to explain to him how it worked, Rampo called out for her.

" Kath, I would like to borrow you." Katherine looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. She didn't think it was time for him to look for cases to solve like he usually does. Rampo only held up a sheet of black paper with gilded letters and frame before her. As she skimmed through it, a solemn nod was her answer.

✦ -─────────- ✦

They ended up leaving quite early in the morning all while borrowing Haruno's car again. The location was a well-known castle, three to four hours drive from the agency. The property was put up for sale from before Kath had left for the UK, and yet, no one was able to buy it.

A quick research before leaving confirmed that the castle was purchased the day before by none other than their rich enemy. " To buy a whole castle just to have a meeting place, that's quite exaggerating," said Kath, her eyes fixed ahead as the car sped through the highway.

" I quite like it." Rampo smiled broadly as he held the letter before him. " If you wish to challenge the greatest Detective in the world, such preps would be required."

Kath chanced a glance back at Yosano in the back seats. " Seems his pride swelled more because of it."

Kath gave a sigh as a response before driving into the divergent path, and exiting the highway.

✦ -─────────- ✦

The place was old, as if someone had conjured it from some medieval book, yet it was rather clean and well cared for.

As Rampo and Yosano entered, the latter hauling her torture medical bag in tow, Kath lingered by the doorway. Something about the heavy atmosphere of the old fortress weighed on her. Maybe it was a hunch, or maybe because of her hours of reading about medieval wars and murders in books that she unconsciously connected the castle with an ominous murder.

Shaking her head to empty her mind, she stepped in and followed after her seniors. " Now thinking about it, it's been a while since all three of us went out on a mission on our own."

She tried to strike up a conversation, an effort to keep her mind in check. The last thing she wanted was for her to start making up ghosts and wraiths out of thin air. Blame the last book she was reading about three kids fighting unnatural Visitors in a similar mansion.

" True. I don't go on missions usually, not unless someone is guaranteed to be cut in half and my help is needed on the spot." Yosano was inspecting the black invitation that Rampo had gotten, turning it around as though trying to figure out some missing lead.

" I would have gone all on my own, but the challenger being the enemy, the president insisted I take you both as well," Rampo stated nonchalantly.

" Aw. You mean you really don't want us tagging along."

" Don't twist my words, Kath."

The woman gave a short, barely audible giggle as she picked pace, walking right in between Yosano and Rampo, and her mind calmed. For her, that was the safest place in the world. Ever since the day she was picked up by the older man, the day she lost everything for the second time, or she thought she did, being with those two always helped her be at ease.

The three of them halted in front of a large mahogany wooden double door. Right across its slit, a paper was taped with symbols and words, a puzzle.

" Three circles is three squares. Three circles is not three squares." Kath tilted her head to read it.

" I guess he wants you to fill in the blanks," Yosano voiced out. " Not that I have any idea."

" Um, you know we just can peel the thing off and walk right through the door," Kath pointed, not understanding why anyone would even bother with doing such a thing.

" Where's your manners, Kath? This is a challenge. And a real detective never ignores one." Rampo wore a confident smirk as he pulled out his glasses. " Do any of you have a pen?"

Oh boy.

The door creaked open and they stepped inside. A circler room with a high ceiling came into view. The only light came from a single high window there. In its center, sitting at a desk with his back to the window and facing them with a book laid open before him and a confident smirk, was their host. The challenger. There was also an empty chair, facing the man, standing still and waiting for someone to sit on it, probably Rampo.

Kath took the man's appearance in. She could have sworn he was magically pulled from a mystery novel, his outfit reminded her of the ones she saw in history books, his hair disheveled and untamed, covering his eyes, and on his shoulder… She blinked twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Yup, definitely on his shoulder was some kind of a feral animal, probably a raccoon.

" Who are you?"

The man collapsed at Rampo's question. He definitely didn't expect that kind of reaction from him, obviously pained at not being remembered. Kath gave a side chuckle, for she knew Rampo doesn't bother with remembering people who don't seem to interest him.

" I am Poe! Detective and master of intellect. You defeated me six years ago."

Oh my, the start of a long monologue…

Kath rolled her eyes but Rampo wasn't as considerate and flat out said that he was getting sleepy. " I'm leaving."

Poe was flustered. " This is a detective game! Read this detective novel I've prepared for you, and determine the identity of the serial killer." He held the book up, and Kath could read its title, written in bloodied letters. ' The Murders in the Rue Morgue '.

" One point decked." He was taken by surprise when Rampo spoke up. " You wouldn't have become a detective if you were content with novels."

" I expected that reply. How about if you win, I tell you the Guild's weakness?"

Here it comes.

Frankly speaking, Kath was wondering all along why Rampo accepted the challenge in such a time of conflict, more even surprising was the fact that the president agreed. But knowing Rampo, she had a hunch he would be able to get something from it.

A folder was pushed towards them, stamped with a ' Top Secret' red stamp across it.

" One point granted. But why such a silly challenge?"

" The Guild's operations are barbaric and unbearably boring."

" Barbaric, I get you, they turned the whole city into some Zombie land and had the people kill each other. Boring, I fear to know how it would be if they were any more creative." Kath couldn't help but interrupt at that.

" In other words, this is your idea of fun, huh?" Yosano questioned.

" The only thing humanity ought to have interest in is your gift, Ultra Deduction. Am I wrong?"

" He's luring him," Yosano whispered.

" Definitely, something is wrong here. But I'm sure Rampo-san already figured it out."

" Five points granted!" Rampo announced joyfully as he snatched the book from the table, like a kid who was promised treats if he finished his homework. " I'm game."

Kath and Yosano shook their heads in disbelief at their coworker's childlike act.

" Well, it's just a book. What harm could it do?"

A lot. Kath wanted to say, but that was no time to explain how books could have an impact on whole nations.

Rampo slumped on the velvet-cushioned chair with such eagerness it toppled slightly backward. Kath and Yosano peeked down at him from either side as well, wanting to get a better look at the book.

" The story begins like this," Poe began to narrate. " One night, once upon a time, a band of visitors were trapped in a mansion due to a snowstorm. On the night of their stay, the protagonist, a private detective, is awakened by a strange noise coming from one of the rooms."

It's a good entry, have to give him that.

However, her thoughts were cut when the pages began to glow a pale yellow, the words swirled and slithered on the papers then out, surrounding them. Kath felt a strong gust of air pushing her from behind, urging her towards the book. Her eyes widened as she felt herself being sucked inside, the bright light blinding her. As she was swallowed she could hear Poe declaring his ability victoriously.

He got us!

" Welcome to the house of tragedies."...