Sorry for the super long hiatus, people! I've run clean out of ideas for this story! So someone had been asking me about the DDS cases for this story, and I'll appreciate some ideas for that, as I am not that great of a mystery writer to think up of complicated cases for the DDS team to handle. Also, I've changed Yuri's name to Yuri, as I think that it suits her personality more.

Warnings: AU Universe. Gender switch. Character deaths.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Academy Q or any of the characters, but I do own the OC characters

Chapter Three: Kamikakushi Village

Renjou Yuri was very relieved when it finally came time for her to alight from the bus that would take them to the Kamikakushi Village – a village known for it's mysterious disappearances where at least seven people have disappeared from for the past ten years.

Yuri had always known that life as a detective is going to be challenging and tough, but she had been ready for the challenges lying ahead. Nearly two months ago was when Dan-sensei has gathered the two classes of A and Q to some island where they were to 'investigate' a case of Jack the Ripper from years ago. But then, the bodies of the students of A class were found mysteriously butchered.

It was difficult for them to investigate in the beginning, as tempers were at an all-time high, and not to mention that suspicions were running high and wild, but the Q class had managed to work together in the end, and have managed to figure out that the 'murders' were all just part of a test put together by Dan-sensei to test them, as the members of Q class were all part of the 'Qualified Class', and were put in the running to be his heir.

That had been nearly two months ago, and the two months that had followed after that was filled with case after case. Like the case of the death of the spirit medium when an old classmate of Ren and Yuri's had approached them, asking for their help, as a spirit medium had came to her house, claiming to be sent by her mother before her death in a plane crash. Then the case of the dead body of the doctor discovered within the depths of the sea whose murder had been a cleverly planned trick.

And for the first time, all Q class members (sans for Ren) discovered just how terrified Yuri had been of the water when Kinta had accidentally pushed her in. Ren had nearly killed Kinta when he had practically half-drowned Yuri until Ryu had regained his bearings and his senses before anyone else, and had pulled her out.

Now, nearly four months after having joined the Dan Detective School, the Q class were all on their way to the mysterious Kamikakushi Village, being sent by Dan-sensei to investigate the mysterious disappearances that have taken place there during the past seven years.

"Alright, where to next?" Kinta asked, stretching to get the kinks and knots out of his body for sitting too long on the bus.

"We have to pass through a long tunnel in order to get to Hyoutan Village," said Megu, pointing towards some random direction, and which they have all started walking towards.

Ren who had been the unofficial information specialist of the Q class had been the one always gathering information on things like that during their cases, being assisted by Kazuma. The pink haired girl had seen the information on Ren's laptop in the classroom when both the silver haired teen and the brunette have been investigating Hyoutan Village and Kamikakushi Village when they were informed by Dan-sensei to investigate the disappearances occurring in the village.

The fact that the small village wasn't really listed in any guidebooks set aside, both Ren and Yuri seemed to be rather concerned about the disappearances. The both of them, along with Ryu, have the sharpest senses and instincts among the group, and the rest of Q class have long accepted to accept their lead, though most of the time, it is Yuri who is leading the investigation.

"Yeah well, the disappearances set aside, Kazuma and I came across some weird legend and religion about the old Japanese army's treasure during the war." Ren added, glancing at the brunette.

"Come to think of it, isn't there some rumours flying around on the Internet about that lately?" Yuri pondered. "Some of the other classes have been talking about it, particularly the A class."

At the mention of their self-proclaimed 'rivals', the rest of Q class frowned. "Religion and a legend about a treasure?" Kinta echoed.

"It's actually a legend called 'Eki Shin Kyou'." Ren explained. "Apparently, the village worship a god of plagues who brings about epidemics. As far as I know, the history dates back as far as the end of the war."

"God of epidemics, huh?" Ryu mused.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I've read in the newspaper about there being a cult boom recently." Megu pondered. "Many young people have started to live in the village as a result. The missing college student that Dan-sensei have told us about came here on a field trip with the university's 'torehan' club."

"'Torehan'?" Kinta echoed, question marks nearly floating above his head.

"'Toreja-hantingu'." Yuri was the one to explain. "It is a term used to describe a club that hunts for treasure." She then frowned. "And I don't about you guys, but I think it best if we say that we came here as a torehan group too. I don't like the feeling that I got about this case. All the disappearances… I don't think that any of them are alive anymore."

A deathly silence fell among the group before Ryu broke the uneasy silence. "Well, I guess that you've got a point there," he said. "Whoever the culprit is, he had made a person's disappearance look like 'Kamikakushi' – a disappearance as if someone had been abducted by a God or some unknown force. If whoever is behind it discovers that we're investigating the case, we might be the next to disappear too."

Finally, after walking for about ten minutes in deathly silence after Ryu's proclamation, all six teens (with one pre-teen among them), came across the mouth of a dark tunnel in front of them. Kinta frowned, scratching his head. "So this is the tunnel that Megu is talking about," he said. "The tunnel that leads to Hyoutan Village."

"Let's go," said Ren bravely before leading the way into the tunnel, followed by the rest of his classmates.

The tunnel was dark and lit with the occasional lights on the walls for people passing through the tunnel to see their way. But apart from that, there wasn't really anything at all.

"This is a pretty long tunnel, isn't it?" Megu stated.

"It fits perfectly with the village and a creepy case like the 'Kamikakushi'." Kinta reasoned. He then spotted a bright shaft of light ahead of them. "Oh, there's the exit!"

And the lot of them emerged out onto bright sunlight, where they have to blink their eyes several times to get used to the sudden brightness after having been in darkness for the past ten or so minutes. A large signpost in the shape of a gourd hanging on the wall was the first thing that greeted them.

Yuri blinked slowly as she read the words on the signpost. "'Welcome to Hyoutan Village'?" she echoed.

"That's kind of disappointing…" Kazuma muttered.

"Well, what were you expecting, Kazuma?" Ren asked, turning towards the youngest in their group. "Demons and snakes, maybe?"

Kazuma blushed as the others laughed. Ryu smirked to himself in amusement before turning away. "Come on, let's go."

It was a relatively quiet and peaceful village that greeted them as they walked through the streets, with not a single soul in sight. They soon found the inn that they were supposed to be staying in for the night, with the words 'Ryousanpaku Main Building' written on the signboard above the doors.

"That should be the hotel that we're going to be staying in tonight." Kinta reasoned.

"Ren, you placed this in my bag by mistake," said Yuri with slight annoyance, sliding opened the shoji door to Ryu and Ren's room in the hotel ten minutes later. "Don't leave such an important item lying everywhere, would you?"

They have met a television crew filming for a new show earlier, with the lot of them scaring them nearly all out of their wits with the masks with the purple spots that they were wearing. They have then met the hotel owner and the two waitresses later on, and were then assigned to their rooms. Megu and Yuri, being the only girls there, were sharing a room together. Ren and Ryu were sharing another one together, and so were Kazuma and Kinta.

"Ah. Sorry." Ren apologised, taking his notebook in which was written all the notes and details of everything that he'd ever researched from Yuri, with the occasional tabs marking some of the pages.

Ryu who was sitting at the table thinking hard about something looked up in surprise just then. "In your bag?" he echoed.

"Hmm?" Yuri turned towards Ryu, noticing a semi-strange look in his eyes that was gone the next moment that she could only wonder if it is a trick of the light. "Oh. Ren lived next door to me, and I was helping him pack last night, or he'll probably realise that he had forgotten to pack this or that once we're here."

"Oh." Ryu said, sounding oddly relieved. "I'm glad that you're here, Yuri." Yuri raised a confused brow. "What do you think about those masks from earlier?"

"The ones that the TV crew were wearing earlier?" Ren questioned, flipping through his notebook even as Yuri sat down at the table that the two boys were sitting at, and Ryu nodded. "The masks kind of look creepy." He admitted.

Yuri sighed. Something had been bothering her ever since she had seen those masks. "Those purple dots… I think those masks represented smallpox," she said, and Ryu nodded in agreement with her. Ren only blinked in surprise. "It's a horrible epidemic which has existed ever since the birth of Christ. Pus-filled blisters appear all over the body, and more than half of the people who contracted this disease died. Back in 1980, it was announced that it was eliminated, but even now, supposedly, some countries were studying it as a biological weapon. It's the strongest and worst virus ever, as it's airborne."

Ren frowned. "If those masks represented smallpox though, why would they put it on masks?" he questioned.

Ryu frowned. "Maybe in their religion, they believe that the smallpox epidemic is the work of their god, so it's probably a form of worship," he answered. "Such cursed gods exist all over the world."

"I don't know about you, but on the way here, I've noticed lots of mysterious things in this village," said Yuri with a frown. She started to tick the points off on her fingers. "The legend of the treasure that the old Japanese army left behind, and the Eki Shin Kyou religion that this village supposedly worships, with those weird masks."

"And the 'Kamikakushi' in Kamikakushi Village." Ryu finished. "Something's definitely up."

XXXXXX

And so, that night, all six members of the Q class were gathered in the girls' room that night, with several bags of chips opened on the table that they were all seated at, with cups of green tea in front of each of them. Kazuma and Ren both have their laptops opened on their laps, with Ren having his ever eternal notebook in one hand, with a pen in the other.

"So what's our next plan of action then?" Kinta asked.

"According to the data that DDS had provided us with, the hotel where the student had stayed is in Kamikakushi Village on the other side of the tunnel, through the annex to this hotel." Kazuma stated, glancing at the information currently displayed on his laptop's screen.

"I've done some asking around earlier when you were all unpacking." Yuri piped up just then. "Apparently, there's a rule in this village."

Megu raised a confused eyebrow. So that explains just why Yuri had disappeared for about an hour earlier that day when they were all unpacking their stuff in their rooms. "Rule?" she echoed.

Yuri nodded. "Apparently, in order for us to be able to get into Kamikakushi Village, we need to put on those masks. You know, those masks that the TV crew have scared us with earlier this afternoon?" she questioned. "The TV crew have borrowed most of the masks from this hotel, and only three masks are left now. And no one in the village would willingly loan us their masks."

"How about taking another route to sneak into the village?" Kinta suggested.

Kazuma nearly sighed at this. "Kinta, have you even been listening to Ren when he was explaining the layout of the two villages before we came here?" he questioned, exasperated, and question marks nearly appeared over Kinta's head. The brunette sighed. "Why do I even bother?" He nearly groaned, and Megu giggled. He then turned his laptop around so that the screen is facing everyone else, with the diagram of both Hyoutan Village and Kamikakushi Village visible on the screen. "Hyoutan Village and Kamikakushi Village are both like solitary islands, surrounded by cliffs on every side. There's no other way to get there except through the tunnel." Kazuma jabbed his finger at the diagram of the tunnel that connects the two villages together.

Everyone was silent as they pondered on their next act of action before Ryu spoke up, having been rather silent all this while. "Let's split into two groups," he said. "Among the six of us, three of us will borrow the masks and go to Kamikakushi Village. That's the only choice that we have."

"But who should go?" Kazuma asked in confusion. "It'll be difficult to decide, and not to mention that it's going to be dangerous. I mean, the murderer might be hiding there after all."

"You've got a point there." Megu said nervously, chewing on her bottom lip.

Yuri 'hmmed' before looking at her classmates. "If you guys may hear me out for a second?" she asked, only to have her five classmates turning their attention towards her. "I think that Ryu and Ren should both go to the village." She turned towards the blue haired teen who is like the unofficial second leader of the Q class, with a wit and intellect sharp enough to match hers. "You want to go as well, don't you?"

Ryu smiled and nodded. "You've read my mind as always," he said. "That's right, I want to go. Like you've said, Yuri, there certainly is something weird about that isolated village. I want to know the truth, no matter how dangerous it seems."

Yuri sighed. "Not that I want to blow my own horn, but all of you knew that apart from me, Ryu is the only one who might probably be able to piece the pieces together if something ever happens over there. That's why I think that Ryu should go."

"And Ren?" Kinta questioned.

"Well, apart from Kazuma, he is the only one that excels at information gathering among us." Yuri reasoned. "Furthermore, he can take care of himself, or have you forgotten about how he had disabled the culprit during the site incident?" Kinta looked embarrassed at that.

"Then who should be the third person?" Kazuma asked with interest, looking at their unofficial leader.

Yuri 'hmmed' before turning towards Megu. "Megu, would you mind going?" she asked, and the only other girl apart from Yuri blinked owlishly.

"Me?" Megu nearly squeaked.

Yuri nodded. "Ryu and Ren might both need your photographic memory over there," she said. "Besides, if something happens over here whilst the three of you are over there, I'm pretty sure that we can handle it with me, Kazuma and Kinta."

"Alright, the groups are decided then." Ryu stated. "So Ren, Megu and I would head over to Kamikakushi Village tomorrow morning. By the way, Yuri, I think it'll put all of our minds at ease, Ren's especially, if you room in with Kinta and Kazuma during the rest of our stay here. We don't know where the murderer is hiding after all."

Yuri nodded slowly, but Ren didn't look too pleased at having a lone girl room in with two boys. Kazuma is another matter, but Kinta is a healthy eighteen-year-old high school student after all. "Kinta, if you do anything to Yuri whilst she is rooming in with you both, I'll suggest you run. Run as fast as you can." The silver haired teen warned, and Kinta gulped.

"G-Got it," he squeaked.

"Well, Ryu, Yuri and I all have cellphones with us, so we'll be able to contact each other if we ever need to," said Ren, pulling his cellphone out of his pocket, and Ryu and Yuri followed suit.

"That decides the groups then," said Megu with a nod. "I don't have to say this for Ryu, Ren and me, but be careful, the three of you." She turned towards the three who would be remaining in Hyoutan Village. "Looks like this is going to be one complicated and dangerous case."

Kinta grunted. "We know that!"

XXXXXX

Later in the night, Ryu who was passing through the hallways of the hotel to get a quick drink raised a curious eyebrow when his sharp ears caught the sound of light clacking on the keys of a keyboard out in the main hall of the hotel where there were a few couches for visitors to relax in for a few moments.

Megu and Yuri have both spoken to the hotel owner about the rooms once Megu, Ryu and Ren would be departing to Kamikakushi Village the next morning, and the owner didn't have any problems with letting three kids room in with each other, as long as they don't get up to anything funny.

It was rather late in the night after all, and the lights of the hotel were mostly dimmed, as most of the occupants were already asleep, even the owner of the hotel and the two waitresses. Ryu followed the sound of the light tapping on keyboard keys to the main hall, only to see Yuri curled up on one of the couches in the main hall, a laptop opened on her lap, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Yuri?" Ryu called out, and Yuri gave a light start before turning around to face him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He approached Yuri before sitting in the couch next to her. "What are you doing up this late? Not sleeping yet?"

Yuri smiled weakly at Ryu. "No. I can't get to sleep, and I thought that I should do some research on my own about the Kamikakushi cases, and about the two villages," she said. She then frowned. "I don't know about you, but something bothers me about the two villages. As far as I know, the two villages were built during the war, but villages back then are usually built in populated areas, right? Not in isolated places like in the middle of a mountain, for example."

Ryu sighed. "Yeah, something bothers me about that too," he admitted. "And I know that Ren thinks the same. Apart from us two, I think that he's the only one who feels that something is wrong. And not to blow my own horn, but the three of us are probably the sharpest in both wit and intellect among us six."

Yuri giggled. "Don't let Kinta hear you say that, or you'll never hear the end of it," she said. She then turned back towards her laptop, and started tapping away on it again. "I'm not so much as a computer genius like Ren and Kazuma, but I'm still good enough at computers to find information about Kamikakushi Village and Hyoutan Village."

Ryu frowned, thinking back on what Dan-sensei have briefed them on, and he then pulled out his notebook from his back pocket. Ever since their 'test' on that island, he and Yuri have both started developing the habit of writing every single detail on any case that they're investigating in a little notebook. Probably a habit that Ren had passed onto them. Megu doesn't need to, as with her photographic memory, she can remember everything clearly. And Ryu doesn't know about Yuri, but he finds that he can think things clearly if he wrote everything down.

"Hey Yuri." Ryu spoke, his eyes scanning down the contents of his notebook, and Yuri 'hmmed', not looking up from her laptop. "What do you think about this case, really?"

The tapping stopped, and Yuri looked up. "I was hoping to get either you or Ren alone so that we could talk about this without the others hearing," she admitted. "I am a little worried. My instincts haven't failed me yet, and I got a pretty bad feeling about this case. There is something more to it than mere disappearances. And even so, what is with the disappearances? Whoever the culprit is, why is he doing this? I've checked on the seven disappearances as well. There is no known connection between them, sans for the fact that nearly half of them came here for treasure hunting."

"That's a good question," said Ryu with a frown. "Ren asked me the same thing before he fell asleep. But if we don't know the answer, then it'll be our job to figure that out, right?"

Yuri smiled. "Yeah," she said with a nod. "Also, I've been researching on Kamikakushi Village and Hyoutan Village." She gestured towards the screen on her laptop, and Ryu scooted over next to her, inviting a faint blush from the dark haired girl. "There is some rumour going around about the missing college student that Dan-sensei had told us about. A rumour that stated that the college student seemed to have noticed something about the secret of the treasure that the old Japanese army had hidden away after the war. He left a memo behind, right? Well, this is the memo. An old contact of mine sent me this. It looks awfully like the infinity symbol, yet I have a feeling that it is not."

Ryu furrowed a brow at the scribble of the college student's memo – the infinity symbol. He blinked just as Yuri looked over her shoulder towards the direction of the hot springs just then, frowning slightly. "What's wrong, Yuri?" he asked, perplexed.

Yuri blinked before turning back towards him, shaking her head slightly. "N-No, it's nothing. I thought that I heard something from the gardens near the hot springs," she said. "It's probably just my imagination. Now where were we?" She pondered, before her memory came back to her. "Oh right. This memo. I got a feeling that the college student drew this with a meaning in mind. Just what exactly, I don't know."

Ryu frowned. Let's not mention Yuri being confused, even he himself can't make out the meaning of the drawing. "Did you show this to Ren?" he asked, and Yuri nodded.

"Yeah, I did. He doesn't know what it is either," she said.

Ryu then frowned, thinking about something unrelated to the case. "Hey Yuri, I know that I'm the newest to the Q class, and that I don't know the rest of you that long yet, but I've been wondering… You and Ren seemed awfully close. You both dating or something?"

Yuri nearly choked on empty air just then, and she turned towards Ryu, confusion written all over her face. "What in the world gives you that idea?" she nearly squeaked.

Ryu blinked, and something in him can't help feeling relieved at Yuri's outburst. "You mean… You both aren't going out?"

"Hell no!" Yuri nearly squeaked. "We're childhood friends. He is almost like a brother to me. We knew each other ever since our kindergarten days." She relaxed slightly. "I don't know if Ren told you this, as I know for a fact that he never like to announce it. Even Megu, Kinta and Kazuma don't know, as Ren doesn't like people pitying him. But you both seem pretty good friends already, so I guess it wouldn't hurt if you know." Ryu blinked. Know what? "Ren is an orphan. Both his parents died not long before I met him – when we're about five or six or so. As he has no other relatives, a guardian was assigned to him, and they both moved in next door to me. That's how I met him, and we even attended the same school and class all the way to middle school. His guardian passed away due to health complications a few years back, and the court then declared him as an emancipated minor, as he has no other relations to speak of."

Ryu blinked slowly. So that's why… When he had first met the silver haired teen, he had felt a connection to him immediately, not quite like the one that he with Yuri. He felt as if Ren could understand him, and vice versa, and the two could quite easily carry on conversations that can last for hours.

"We should turn in soon," said Yuri, closing her laptop. "We still have a long day tomorrow, and you, Ren and Megu still have to head to Kamikakushi Village in the morning."

"I know," said Ryu as they both got up from the couch. "I'll walk you back to your room. You'll be rooming in with Kinta and Kazuma after tonight, right?"

"Yeah," said Yuri as they approached the room that she shared with Megu. "Ryu, keep an eye on Ren and Megu for me whilst you're over at Kamikakushi. I don't know why, but I feel like I can count on you to keep them both safe."

Ryu blushed slightly, fortunately unseen due to the darkness of the hallway. "S-Sure."

XXXXXX

All six members of Q class were awake and having their breakfast at eight in the morning in the girls' room before Ren, Ryu and Megu would head to Kamikakushi Village. Yuri was currently absent, as she's currently at the receptionist desk to turn in the stay of two of the rooms that they've occupied last night.

"Where's Yuri?" asked Ren as both he and Ryu walked into the room, both with their bags slung over one shoulder, settling down in two of the empty seats, tucking into their breakfast.

"She's at the receptionist desk," said Megu. "Both of you packed?"

Ren nodded. "Naturally."

The shoji door slid opened once more, and Yuri entered, a puzzled look on her face. "Hey, did something happen with the TV crew that I wasn't aware of?" she questioned, closing the door behind her.

Megu blinked slowly. "Not that I'm aware of. Why?" she asked.

Yuri tilted one thumb over her shoulder. "I've overheard them arguing when I'm making my way over here from the receptionist desk," she answered, and both Ren and Ryu perked up at that. "One of them had gone missing. I think that it's the reporter lady with the purple hair. Azegami Rio-san, I think is her name." She said slowly.

Kinta grinned, resting his cheek on one hand. "It can't be another 'Kamikakushi' incident, can it?" he joked.

The remaining five looked at each other, their faces pale, before Ryu, Ren, Megu and Kazuma rose from their places, causing Kinta to blink. "O-Oi, where are you going?"

XXXXXX

Megu was startled when a cup of green tea was shoved into her vision, and she looked up only to see Yuri offering a warm cup of green tea.

"Yuri-chan…" Megu muttered.

"Have something warm to drink," said Yuri. "It'll make you feel better."

Megu nodded hesitantly before taking the cup with shaking hands. "T-Thank you," she muttered.

"But really… Things have gotten serious, don't they?" Yuri muttered, dropping into the couch next to Megu in the main hall of the hotel.

The Q class members, along with the TV crew and the hotel owner, Kurozumi Kogorou – an old man that seemed to be in his late sixties, have gone searching for the missing reporter, only to have the search lead them all the way to the gardens behind the open-air hot springs where Kazuma had used oxydol, also known as hydrogen peroxide, to search for blood stains. They have then discovered the dead body of Azegami in one of the graves in the village's graveyard, clutching a piece of paper containing a similar diagram that Ryu and Yuri have both seen just the previous night – the memo that the missing college student had left behind before his disappearance. And it was then that the hotel owner's son, Kurozumi Ryou had made his appearance, bringing with him a cryptic message.

"'This is only the beginning. It's a warning from the god of epidemics'." Megu repeated the words of Ryou slowly. She then turned towards Yuri. "What does it all means, Yuri-chan?"

Yuri shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted.

A/N: As you might have figured out by now, I'm skipping over the earlier cases before they were sent to the island for the 'Jack the Ripper' case. I'll be focusing more on the more serious cases in the anime, and maybe making a few up myself. As far as romance goes, I'll be taking it slow.

Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!