Not far from the academy, Daniel and his newly formed team stood together. "I'm Nana, and I'm going to be your senior instructor," she introduced herself to the three. Ando was still in a rugged mood, Daniel was indifferent, and Yuki seemed to be the one who would be burdened with watching over the two.
"I'll be conducting a simple test to gauge your standing. For the entirety of today, I'll be hidden somewhere in this village. I'll be leaving small clues for you to use to find me. If you fail, then that's the end of this team. But if you pass, then we'll be continuing from today," Nana explained. She vanished immediately, not giving her students time to even prepare.
"Guess this is supposed to be a team mission," Daniel sighed, scratching his head.
"Alright then, if that's the case, I'll take charge," Ando declared. "Okay, now let's go this way," he marched off.
"Um, will you be coming?" Yuki asked, her voice soft yet not lacking in confidence.
"Oh boy," Daniel stroked his head. "Don't follow that idiot. If you remember carefully what we learned, what should we do in investigation cases?" Daniel sighed, stopping Yuki from following Ando. This was not the plan, as Daniel wanted to go solo after graduation, but he decided to go along with it for now.
"Right. We should first check to see if there are any clues here," Yuki responded, putting her brain to use.
"See, if you follow that idiot, you'll only lose brain cells," Daniel replied. Ando, who hadn't gone far, heard this and strutted back in rage.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Ando ranted, flailing his hands.
"I'm not going to put up with this," Daniel murmured as he went to a shrub nearby and picked up something. "See, this metal block is most likely our first clue. And look, there's a note just under it," Daniel said in a sarcastic tone.
"Che! I knew the clue was here too," Ando replied.
"Must be sad," Daniel muttered as he opened the note. Yuki moved and stood next to Daniel, also trying to read.
"In a tranquil place, where a mat so blue lies, the second clue awaits hidden from view. Seek the water's edge," Yuki read.
"The hell is this, Detective Conan?" Daniel muttered, withholding the urge to crumble and toss the note.
"What will we do now?" Yuki asked as she started thinking. Ando, after hearing the note, didn't understand at all. He stood quietly, trying to analyze it.
"How sad indeed," Daniel sighed as he walked.
"Wait, where are you headed?" Yuki asked, following behind.
"The park, of course," Daniel answered as he walked.
"The park? There aren't any mats or carpets there, though," Ando voiced, slowly following.
"A mat of blue! Maybe it's referring to the pond," Yuki concluded as she caught up to Daniel.
"By the way, what do you mean by saying 'how sad'?" Yuki asked as they walked.
"Don't worry about it," Daniel brushed it off, looking at Ando following along.
"We're here, so what now?" Ando asked, still puzzled.
"Let's check the pond first," Yuki marched. "The other clue should be around here," she said as they searched. Thirty minutes passed, and nothing was found.
"I don't get it," Yuki stated. "The clue should be here," she added. Daniel, sitting by the bench, watched as they searched.
"Hey! Don't just sit there like that. Can you help? We're in a bind here," Ando yelled.
Daniel responded by standing up and walking sluggishly to the edge of the pond. *Poof* He created a clone using the Shadow Clone Technique. "Fetch," he said, kicking the clone into the pond. Yuki and Ando were puzzled by his actions, but Daniel's clone returned, throwing a red cube along with a note inside a transparent plastic, then puffing out of existence with a displeased scowl on its face.
"It's not abuse if I'm doing it to myself," Daniel shrugged, thinking to himself. "Here," he presented the findings to Yuki, ignoring Ando's rage.
"You could've done that earlier," Ando fumed.
Daniel ignored the mob character and handed the note to Yuki.
Yuki, clearly not pleased by Daniel's actions, kept her silence as she opened the note. "Now venture into the bustling bazaars, where both near and far merchants hum. Amidst the chaos, I stand day and night pointing. Find the place for which I long," Yuki read, leading the team to head to the marketplace.
"This one is easier. I think we should look for a sign that looks like it's pointing to something or somewhere," Yuki stated as the trio entered the bustling bazaars.
"Look for a sign..." Ando pondered as he looked around, but it was too crowded for him to focus.
"Look," the pale blue-haired girl pointed. It was an arrow on the sign of a stall. They headed there, looking around but finding nothing. The stall owner was even bothered by the youngins and chased them away. They looked and looked but didn't find any clues.
"We've looked for a while now. The only place that's left is... That can't be!" Yuki muttered.
"Let's check it out," Daniel said as they went. Ando, ever slow, followed along, not catching on. Poor NPC, he was really dragging the team before they were officialized.
"Try our latest product; it won't disappoint. Wait, you can't be serious," Ando read the sign of the stall they came to.
"It's here," Yuki grabbed the clue as she stood on top of the building, jumping down and reading the note. "Where majestic statues guard time," Yuki puzzled, flipping the note, hoping for more, but nothing was there.
"How are we supposed to find something like that? With the time we spent here, we won't even pass the test," Ando complained.
"Relax, the sun hasn't set," Daniel replied.
"Oh really? You haven't even been putting any effort into this. You might not care, but the rest of us do," Ando grabbed Daniel by his shirt. A cold glare emanated from Daniel's face, but Yuki responded before Daniel could act.
"Fighting won't solve anything!" she yelled. "Now if we just calm down and gather our thoughts, maybe we can solve it," Yuki voiced as she separated Ando and Daniel. "I don't know what your goal is, but if you want to pass this test, we'll have to work together," Yuki said to Daniel.
"Honestly, I'm not that interested in working with a bunch of kids. Maybe I should drop out and just solo things from now on," Daniel thought, his gaze shifting to a building nearby. "It probably refers to those stone faces," Daniel pointed as he walked towards his place. The other two went there, with Ando not very pleased. Yuki stopped as she saw Daniel not going along with them.
"I'm not coming. Don't ask me why," Daniel said before Yuki could even say a word. She clasped her hands by her heart, walking the opposite way. The two arrived, seeing Nana standing there, ready to congratulate them.
Walking home, Daniel had a bored expression on his face. "Haaa," he sighed.
"That's some skill," Nana appeared behind Daniel in the rather empty street, with the orange glow of the setting sun shining over the village. "To think you'd sense me at the bazaars, watching over you guys," she praised.
"Why'd you give up?" she asked.
"Nothing really. I prefer running solo, that's all," Daniel replied.
"Someone sounds confident," Nana responded. "What if I tell you I'm not failing any of you? In fact, if I were to fail some, it'd be... Well, you know," she said. Daniel stood silent, ever serious.
"I see. How 'bout we make a deal?" Nana asked, seeing Daniel's resolve.