Fatality: William is Instantly Blamed

Five years passed; William traversed the rocky roads of puberty with little success. He kept out of trouble as much as he could. Although on occasion he was still hounded by bullies, Albert, his monobrowed nemesis, had developed a paralysing fear of black birds, and thus was stopped in his tracks many a time. Howeber, William was unable to permanently evade the grasp of his bullies, and often came a-cropper.

You see, by this age, William was really something of a nerd. Pokemon had become too uncool even for him, and so he buried himself in the digestion of manga of all origins and genres. He even read shounen ai, for want of other material. He also occupied himself in his study, and by the age of sixteen was indeed fluent in both Japanese and English, written and otherwise. Although of coure these skills were virtually useless, since no one would talk to him.

One day, February 2nd 2007 in fact, was what would later be engraved upon his mind as an unforgettable date. He was studying alone in the library, working hard so that he could complete all of his exams early and thus go to university. Albert, that monobrowed meanie, being quite a failure in the field of mathematics, had spent all of his lunch money on a dirty magazine and thus was now unable to purchase food for his ever-expanding stomach (a key feature of many diabolical bullies; but do not be fooled, at least part of this flab was really muscle in disguse). As a direct result of this, Albert went to the library, to seek out that moneybag known to all as William Xiu.

"Oi, William!" He called out provokingly, as an inefficient librarian flitted around trying to shush him. "How much money do you have today?"

Now, this really was an unfortunate situation. William, you see, had been saving up. He wanted to buy the Complete Edgar Allen Poe in English, but that was rather pricey in China, and import costs were not much better. He had been saving up for a while, eating as little as possible (the training of his infant years proved to be essential here), in order to afford it; and today he had finally gathered the correct amount. Today he intended to purchase that book.

"Just... the usual, Albert." William replied timidly, hoping that his lie was not too obvious.

"Give us your wallet, then." Albert retorted, and with a sigh of despair and a sinking feeling, William removed said object from his pocket. It clinked tellingly, and Albert smirked. He snatchd it out of William's hand and looked inside.

"Oh ho ho!" He said. "Oh ho ho! Just the usual? This will do very nicely."

And with that, he walked out of the library, leaving William sunk at the bottom of his hope, unable even to raise a shudder of disappointment. He had so been looking forward to that book.

Several hours later, William finally left the library, although he now saw no reason in hurrying anywhere; after all, the bookshop was out, and his route to his dormitory would take him straight past the very door of that most hated boy, Albert. Alas, being a friendless nerd he soon ran out of any other options, and had to turn his steps in that feared direction. Just as he was passing Albert's room he grew very tense, hoping that Albert or another of his cronies would not exit the room and see him there; but instead a shrill, loud shout burst through the air, making him jump almost out of his skin. He thought nothing of it however, and hurried on his way, wanting to be as far from Albert as possible.

Others had heard the scream, though, and they soon came running to find the source. After some knocking on the door, which was unanswered, one enterprising young lad saw fit to kick his way into the room. William had unfortunately been grabbed by one of Albert's friends as he tried to get away, and thus was forced to stand and watch. A horrified call beckoned the bystanders closer, including the one that still had hold of William; and so it was that he, too, saw the terrible sight of the corpse of Albert. His eyes were missing, his throat was a bloody mess, and his clothes were ripped all over. On the floor nearby lay a solitary black feather.

"IT WAS HIM!" The original explorer shouted in deathly tones, turning to point at William; and all those around him moved away, as if he might kill them where he stood. He swallowed nervously, becoming quite pale in the face, and attempted to shake his head in denial; but it was no good. They were quite certain as to who was responsible.

*

A matter of not many hours later, and a visitor arrived at the school. He greeted the headteacher, who immediately grew angry at said visitor's use of a cigarette. He had had a new no-smoking sign installed in his office, and as the visitor stood before him he tapped this sign pointedly.

"Baka," The visitor muttered; this, as I am sure our learned readers will know, being the Japanese word for 'idiot'. The visitor left the office, and headed for his destination.

William sat glumly in a study room, near the library. A knock at the door caused him to lift his head, and a wave of fear swept through him. Perhaps now he would be taken away.

"Hello? William Xiu?" A voice called out. "May I enter?"

Swallowing in trepidation, William stood and approached the door. Wondering briefly what would happen if he refused, he pushed this notion away and turned the handle. As the door swung inwards, he looked into a face he recognised well. The Japanese accent of a charming voice filled the room.

"Hello, William. You may remember me. My name is Inspector Mike Kevinson."