"My dealings with the Daidouji family are, well, quite restricted," began Toshiko. Oh, there was that little thing with the one Daidouji daughter, but... well, they didn't have to know about that, did they? And frankly, she still didn't know much about the full extent of the family, or which branches were the most vicious out of all of them. "I do know that it's not beyond at least some of the branches to hire someone, as Amjad-kun suggests. And perhaps it was ghosts, I know that they can be convinced to aid the living. Even if that would make are job considerably more difficult."

The redhead paused for a moment, taking a long drag on her cigarette. Removing it from her mouth, she blew out the smoke and it curled into the air, like hazy fingers. "The branches are many and frequently as vicious towards one another as they are numerous. I have no doubt that they would use any deceitful method they could think of to attack the other branches. As for going anywhere, well... to start with, we're going to be heading to the Daidouji estate. Well, one of them. You see, they've been rather tight-lipped about the heirloom in question. I have a feeling they're not going to tell us until we get there."

Toshiko held her cigarette aloft. The smoke curled away from it into the air.

"As for your theory, Akihiko-kun... I wouldn't rule out the possibility," she added, "It's not as if the Daidouji family's feuding is a secret. However, I can't say for certain if there has been anything... more devastating then usual between them recently. In any case, we'll have to get going."

Toshiko's red van was parked in the agency's garage. It was a suitable transport that would fit her employees well.

There was simply too many possibilities and little information to possibly help at this point, so it was pointless to bother with any more questions. It was best to use this visit to Daidoji estate and hope to discern some clues that could help move this case on. This heirloom certainly had to be important if the various branches of the family were willing to fight over it, though, possible that an outside thief used the family's feud to sneak in and swipe this mysterious item, which the family was going to great length to keep a secret.

Whatever the case, their job was simply to find the one responsible and to return the heirloom; Nex could care less what it could be and simply wanted to get this case over with. Like the others, he would make his way out to the garage where the red van would be waiting for them, which was luckily big enough to accommodate all of them. Still, another vehicle or two would be better for in case of more members or emergencies, but at least for now the van would do.

Upon reaching the van, Nex would make his way to the furthest seat in the back and once settled in, would fold his arms while leaning back to relax. Thinking this would be a good chance to take a brief nap; closing his eyes to soon drift off into a light sleep.

"Alright, time to go go GO!" Jun quickly made some typical preparations including taking two ofuda out of a trenchcoat pocket and slipping them into his shoes underneath his feet, then another stuck to the inside of the jacket itself. With those tasks completed, the boy onmyouji raced outside to Toshiko's van and jumped inside. Once within the vehicle Jun suddenly became very serious, making sure to buckle his seat-belt and adjust it with utmost precision and care.

Next and perhaps a little strangely, Jun took an Ofuda and applied it to the seatbelt, causing both to momentarily glow. Smiling as his security measures went into place, Jun settled in with a mixture of relaxed comfort and extreme excitement. He couldn't normally afford such good entertainment. Not only did they have a genuine intrigue between families for today's mystery, but he was getting to go for a ride with Toshiko, which was itself a slightly worrying source of excitement.

There seemed to be someone actually [i]sleeping[i/] in the middle of all of this. Jun had no idea how he managed it. If nothing else he must clearly have never ridden with Toshiko before. Well, he would learn soon enough just why Jun had made the safety arrangements he had, and then they'd be underway.

Akihiko smiled at Eika when she turned to look at him after speaking with Ando-sama. He rather liked that she was branching out a bit, not feeling constrained to solely himself. Though to be frank, he'd much have preferred Eika speaking to more people than just him and Ando-sama, but it was a little bit of progress at the very least! It wasn't as if someone could comfortably go from introvert to extrovert over night after all.

A moment passed and their employer spoke once more to lay their concerns to rest as best she could. Unfortunately there weren't any definitive answers to be dispensed, just some details that could possibly become relevant later on. Best to keep track of them just in case. Even if they might not turn out to be relevant in the end, there was still the possibility, and like hell he was going to end up with an unsolved case all because he couldn't remember a few details.

In other news, the theory Akihiko was unsure about wasn't immediately shot down, which was reassuring. They were also to go out in the field and investigate the scene proper. That would be fun and useful. Perhaps they could mooch free food off of the family to alleviate the amount of money to get groceries themselves, but that was neither here nor there.

The agency's transportation was what one would expect from a group advertising themselves as supernatural detectives. He would've assumed they'd have a more stereotypical vehicle, like an unmarked black car or SUV. Maybe a helicopter if they wanted to seem pretentious. The red van wasn't bad - it served its purpose well enough - it was just... underwhelming?

Nevertheless, Akihiko took a seat and buckled up in preparation for their field trip.

Nothing was said from Amjad after his initial musing, listening to the ideas and suggestions of others. This speculation jam was good. One of the key skills to being a successful detective was reasoning - the ability to avoid illogical jumps and conclusions. It helped keep one another on their toes in that area, it's surprisingly easy for people (read: others) to grow complacent and let that skill go rusty.

Not quite the case for Amjad given his condition, but it didn't hurt to make sure he was on the ball.

Amjad really didn't want to leave his work-in-progress just sitting around. He reached down to grab the aforementioned jar, bringing up to his gaze and giving it an appreciative look over. Who knew what misfortune could befall it if he left it alone in the agency.

Well not much could happen to it, but that wasn't going to stop Amjad anyway.

The boy stored away the insciption tools into their polished oakwood container, packing it away into his black and blue backpack, taking the jar under arm and the bag on his back and joined the others in the red van. He huddled up onto his own seat as he did inside the agency, resting his chin on his knees.

"How many other incidents like this have happened in the past year? Between the branches?"

The boss ordered everyone to head on over to the red van for the Daidouji estate, and the fact that she took his suggestion made Jeffrey very pleased. He lingered behind the group slightly, gobbling down some rolls before prancing out of the house and into the car. He made sure that he took the passenger seat right next to Toshiko; after all, he wouldn’t mind having a crimson-haired beauty to be at the convenience of the corner of his eye. He glanced at the rear view mirror, and noticed how most everyone already took their seats and buckled their belts; the younger of the two kids under Toshiko’s care, though, performed some kind of spell incantation that made his strap glow eerily. For some reason, this stirred his gut greatly, but he paid no heed to his assumed baseless anxiety, and offered out two sushi rolls to the people behind him, “Anyone hungry?”

A tilt of the head followed. Red eyes turned to the exit of the building after everything was said and done and the Familiar was left to a terribly grumpy look as they all began to file out into the van. Pushing herself up from the seat she'd so happily claimed for the moment, she stepped over to the big, bright, uncouth vehicle of choice that the company adopted as the "Mystery Van" of sorts and waited to the side until everyone else had filed in so that she could crawl in to the very back -- on the van's "ground" and as back as what could be considered the trunk as possible.

Being around the other members didn't seem quite the warm and fuzzy feeling that one could get from talking to other people. Instead, for her...Out of sight, out of mind worked better and she'd been sticking to it since she'd followed Akihiko in this business-

...Sushi?

It took a searing pain against her bottom lip to make her wise up to what she was doing as she stared at the rolls offered. The realization of her teeth sinking so hard into her bottom lip to keep her quiet that it was physically harming her caused her to scoot up and cough a little in an attempt to keep herself from asking. ...Like or not, she didn't wanna chance any bad reactions...Oh well. Joy to whoever got it.

Toshiko climbed in the driver's seat.

One of the notable things about Toshiko, and her vehicle, is that as distinct as it was it seemed... hard to notice. At least when she didn't want it to be. One would think a large red van would draw attention, but somehow it simply didn't. This suited Toshiko's needs so perfectly there was absolutely no way it wasn't engineered by her. The other notable thing about Toshiko(and more her driving then her car) is that she entirely lacked a driver's license. No, the redheaded mage was self-taught when it came to controlling vehicles.

And so the only appropriate way to describe the ensuing trip to the Daidouji mansion was 'harrowing'. Technically Toshiko had done nothing that violated driving laws. The lights, for example, did not have enough time to tell her to stop, so she didn't crash them. And, technically, she was just at the point where her violations of the speed limit were not long enough to draw any attention. At least this meant that they arrived quickly, and when the mansion came into view Toshiko slowed down. Well, there it was... the Daidouji mansion. One of them. This branch's.

It was a large building, styled after a Western mansion. Full of peaked roofs, and plenty of red on the exterior. Really, it was instantly recognizable. Toshiko reflected on the fact that her own family's mansion was much the same... though she hadn't been there in years. And she hardly had any intention of paying them a visit. "Well, here we are."

Toshiko's van pulled up in front of the mansion, and the redheaded woman stepped out. Without pause, she headed right for the door and knocked sharply on the door... and she was almost immediately greeted, not by one of the Daidouji family, but by a maid.

She was a rather small and nervous-looking girl, averting her eyes from directly looking at Toshiko. Really, she had a sort of cuteness about her, but now wasn't the time for that. "A-ah... are you the detectives Daidouji-sama hired?"

If anyone paid close enough attention to Amjad, they'd notice a very odd quirk: he slept with his eyes open, staring blankly forward with lidded eyes. Comical almost as his head slumped to the side at Toshiko's driving, bringing him back into the concious world for an instant before falling back to sleep. Being in any form of seated transportation put Amjad to sleep in a couple of minutes at most, it was amazing how he could go from being definitely awake to out cold in a few moments once a vehicle got going. Even with Toshiko's driving, at that.

When the van was finally brought to a halt the artificer awoke once more, for good this time. He looked around the van with a dopey expression, his hands reaching out to squeeze the shoulder of someone near him, Akihiko being that person. Amjad stared at him for an uncomfortable moment, crimson eyes squinted in intense scrutiny... before nodding. He unbuckled and then nearly stumbled out of the van to follow his boss.

What was that about?

"Too big."

That was Amjad's first observation of the mansion, speaking his thoughts aloud at the door of the mansion. With a place this big, there was bound to be some sort of security detail watching the grounds and an area around it, right? He made a mental note to see if he could inquire to things happening around the mansion rather than on its grounds.

The door opened to to a girl, one which stirred an unknown sensation in the head and chest of the issue-riddled craftsman. He couldn't identify what these kinds of things were, nor display them - it'd always been that way. From the thing people called anger to that wondrous thing known as happiness, they did not exist within the boy. Only one unidentifiable sensation which sometimes felt a little bit different from the last time he felt it.

He didn't have to be able to identify or telegraph his feelings to know that this Alexithymia business was horrible.

Amjad distracted his gaze from the maid by trying to look past her and into the mansion, letting others do the talking for now.

"Hoooo~ I wonder how many paychecks it would take to buy a house like this~?" Sokichi wondered while following Toshiko to the mansions frontdoor. He stopped behind Toshiko waiting her to perform the introductions when the maid answered the door.

Jun's reaction to Toshiko's driving was mainly a lot of saying "Whee!~" and enjoying himself immensely. With the safety spell he'd placed on the seatbelt beforehand, even Toshiko's wild driving was nothing more than a roller coaster ride for free. This was in fact one of the most enjoyable parts of going out on a case to Jun, given the lack of any sort of entertainment he'd had when he was growing up with his family and Toshiko's alleged 'cheapness' when it came to her TV and such. As things were now, the boy got nothing but enjoyment out of the reckless driving experience.

When the mansion first came into view, Jun's eyes bugged out of his head and went sparkly with amazed enthusiasm. Sure, his family had lived on a fairly expansive estate, but a lot of that was adapted from the traditional properties his family had owned for centuries, with little in the way of modern amenities. Even then, most of Jun's time in his ancestral home was spent training and studying onmyoudo and various types of Youkai, hardly the pampered existence one would expect from the child of an old family like his. All in all, he'd never seen anything quite like the massive Western-Style mansion of the Daidouji Family. Jun quickly suppressed his urge to squee in joy and amazement however. After all, they were there to help the Daidouji Family and a real Detective had to get used to meeting all sorts of people.

He quickly got out of the car and ran to keep pace with Toshiko and the others. As the maid opened the door rather nervously, Jun gave her his best and most disarming smile and took advantage of his short height so that when she averted her eyes from Toshiko, he caught her gaze instead. He made sure to speak in his most polite and formal language

"That's right, ma'am! We're professional detectives here to assist the Daidouji Family in recovering their heirloom. If you don't mind, we'd like to start getting examining the crime scene and the house as soon as possible, please!"

He finished it off with the sort of small, overly polite and earnest bow that he knew adults usually found rather cute. Jun always did like maids and servant types and his mother had always told him to treat them with as much respect and kindness as possible. Plus, he'd learned by now that servants tended to know more than almost anyone else about a house, and getting on the good side of potential witnesses was always good.

To say that her driving made Enoch's hair stand on end was an understatement. There are very few things that he is afraid of though Toshiko's driving was worse than any monster guarding valuables or an angry father who chased him across the street while the cat burglar was only dressed in his boxers and an open buttoned shirt. Long story, don't ask. "Boss one of these days you are gonna kill all nine of my lives." He said partly jokingly as they were hurdling down the streets.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the van finally slowed down when the mansion was in sight. This was not really outstanding to him, after all when you rob these kind of places as often as he had then it get's rather old after awhile. If there was one thing he never understood is why do the wealthy tend to buy these over the top houses that seem to be more like castles. Is it a status symbol, showing that they are superior due to their wealth? Or is it because they have so much stuff that they needed a home that in comparison to other houses is four times their size? To be honest, he really didn't care what the reason was as long they have something valuable to steal though don't let Toshiko catch him saying that or else he'll be charred.

He stepped out of the car and glanced around the area though his eyes stopped upon a lone maid that must've been waiting for their arrival. Enoch chuckled at Jun's over enthusiastic greeting, finding him to be quite the charming little detective though he needs a lesson in speaking formally. "As this little ball of energy said, we're here to help the Daidouji Family. It would helpful if we are given the ability to search for clues in your employer's estate. If you have anything to say, let us know. We have complete confidentiality and if you want we can interview at our base of operations." Enoch smiled charmingly at the maid, a natural born gift that is useful for situations.

The loud screech of tires followed by honks and shouts of disdain from fellow drivers; angered by Toshiko's reckless driving. Such driving that normally made the passengers bounce around in their seats with sharp, sudden turns, which made it all the more amazing that the woman had not been arrested already for frenzy driving on the road.

Yet, through all of it, Nex slept with arms folded; not bothered in the least about it and as long as there was no immediate danger to his life. Then even her reckless maneuvers wouldn't bother him for he had been in far rougher trips than this.

Not till the van came to a stop did his eyes open to the sight of the Daidouji mansion and the relieved expressions on the others faces. Like so, he stepped out of the van and was one of the last to get out as he trailed behind everyone. He always preferred to keep to the back as it allowed him a better view of the area, that and to keep the others in his sight at all times. His eyes fell onto the large mansion, but had no opinion for he didn't care one way or another about it and simply took the time to search the building and surrounding area. Gazing over the area to find anything out of place or didn't belong before the group reached the main door where a shy looking maid would be waiting for them. Peering at the woman with cold, glaring eyes; studying her expression and bodily movement as to Nex, everyone was suspected as an enemy until proven.

The maid swallowed, hard. Toshiko could tell that she was not exactly the most well-equipped at dealing with social situations, and she certainly didn't need to be a detective to do so. The maid was clearly trying her hardest, that much was certainly clear. She simply rattled off(or rather stammered out) what was likely a response she had been told to repeat when they arrived. "Daidouji-s-sama had to leave on u-urgent b-b-business... D-Daidouji T-Tomoko-sama and O-ojou-sama are here, though. I-I'll take you to T-Tomoko-sama."

The maid turned on her heel and began to head inside, shaking as she did. Toshiko frowned, slightly. Why was she so nervous? Whatever the case, she began to head inside. If anyone was late... they'd have to catch up on events from here, Toshiko couldn't wait much longer.

The inside of the mansion was... big. The entry hall alone was a vast room, with staircases heading to the second level of the mansion flanking a long, red carpet. That wasn't the only feature, however. Everywhere within the mansion, there were maids. There were five in the entry hall alone, not counting the girl leading them. Sweeping on the stairs, dusting...

Curious. This many maids should have made it difficult for someone to enter the mansion completely unnoticed... Toshiko had her eye out for clues, any sign of anything that could be out of place in even the most remote of ways.

Jun stared around wide-eyed at the huge western-style mansion. The Iwajima family home had been been what some people might have considered a mansion, it having been a fairly well maintained and modernized noble's residence dating back to the heian period before it was abandoned. Still, even though it hadn't been that long since he was last in his old home it felt like a lifetime ago and his memories of it seemed small and simple compared to this massive structure.

He only spent a little time awestruck, instead trying his best to act mature and focus on detective work. The sheer amount of maids struck him as odd, but he supposed that a family as rich as this might have a lot of maids anyway. But he found it odd that they didn't seem to have any security personnel. Oh sure, they were a family of high accomplished magic-users but he still thought it was unusual that they might rely on that alone.

Well, since they were here to investigate he might as well test the defenses a little. He had a set of paper tags slipped into his shoes for emergencies, and as they toured through the hallways he tried his best to discreetly activate them, though the next part would definitely be noticeable.

"Speed nine!"

As he dashed through the halls of the mansion, he would try to do the one thing that immediately came to mind to simulate the seriousness and volatile, emotional response of an attack without actually doing anything that might hurt anyone.

He tried to flip up the skirts of every maid in the mansion as quickly as he could. The fact that he was giggling like a loon the entire time probably helped sell his performance.

"Hmm? Sure Fajardo-san! I'll have some of th- aaaaaaaah!"

And just like that, they started and ended a road trip that was more akin to high-speed road chase than a controlled outing. Akihiko clung to the bottom of his seat, nails digging into the material, body tensed, and eyes widened, staring at the windshield with a slight twitching motions. Well, at least it was over for now. Nevertheless, he made a mental note to prepare a shielding or stability spell for the return trip. He'd survived this round, but better safe than sorry. His body slowly relaxed as Akihiko reached for his seatbelt, unbuckling it before a sudden grip was felt on his shoulder. He tensed up again before turning his head behind him at the Arabic artisan staring at him.

Akihiko blinked.

Amjad-kun stared.

The moment of silence was defeaning.

Amjad-kun nodded and brushed past Akihiko, who blinked once more.

'...That was weird,' the Japanese theurge thought before following the peculiar child out the door and towards the Western mansion. Honestly, he would've expected more of a traditional Japanese household, what with the name of Daidouji and being an old, big family. Then again, a traditional Japanese house wasn't all that good comparatively in the security department, so it made enough sense to him. The doors opened to reveal a girl that gave off the same vibe and acted quite like someone he knew from his old school. A guy that sat in the mid-back, studied diligently, and wasn't too good with class presentations. Of course, she was obviously much cuter than him, but the point stood.

As they were guided through the mansion, Akihiko had to note how obviously large it was - surely bigger than his modest former home- as well as the omnipresence of maids running about. Akihiko let his thoughts wander, since not much was really happening.

'...Maybe one of the maids did it? There was always something weird in those mystery books ("budget mystery solving theory/training") from the library about butlers and crimes. Could this be a case of gender inversion?!'

'...No wait. That was a dumb idea.'

'But wait! Perhaps these were all mundane maids who didn't know much about magic, and thus were susceptible to the effects ofwhattheheckisIwajima-kundoing?'

Nex studied the maid closely as she stammered that the master was away on some immediate business while her body shook. Odd that the master would leave when such an important and priceless heirloom was taken; having learned that rich families like this often had big ego's and hated losing anything and with a cluster of families fighting over it, only made it even more strange. That and how scared the maid looked seemed suspicious as well, while most would think he would be overthinking things, but a detective is one who thinks of all possibilities and looks for anything that could be a motive or was out of place.

Silently following the others inside where as expected was large as looked from the outsides as he saw multiple maids working. Something was stolen and with the risk of it being an inside job, one would normally keep a tight leash and make sure all workers were closely watched, unless these women didn't know anything about magic or the heirloom.*Tch..I hate large places like this. Makes searching far more a hassle.*He thought to himself and with far too many variables right now; this case seemed to get more difficult over time unless they solved things quickly, this case could end up being a dead-end.

Not until he heard the screams of maids who were forcing down their skirts with flushed, embarrassed faces and would scan each of them for their reactions. Searching for if any would react differently than expected when having a skirt flipped, though of course only a child would think of attempting such a method.

...Hum...

She'd trailed behind. Probably not the best idea, but it was easier to slip off and look around that way,

So, far in the back, silent steps from the Familiar replaced a general curiosity in the area around them over that of the timid maid that'd begun guiding them in. She didn't need to really be here for their little discussion, right? The unsettling behavior that came off of them was enough to keep her on alert, but the main person she was concerned with was surrounded by quite a few other people -- thusly, she waited until the rest of them had gone off to see the lord of the house-

...What in the world was that human doing?

...Was he...

Flipping up their skirts?

...Yeah, no.

Eika shook her head and slid off to begin her own little snooping whilst that unfortunate concurrence was being made -- literally at that note, eyes scanning over and searching for any hints of demons that could have left a trace around the inside of the manor. If there was even the smallest thing here, she should be able to figure it out....Spot it and bring it to appropriate attention as such. It'd at least give the detectives a concrete start line to go from...And that was better than nothing at all, so she'd just duck into rooms when she could and try her damnedest to avoid any of the other workers as best she could. No need to go around being associated with the serial flipper, now.

Something did smell awfully foul though... What was it?...

"Jun!" cried Toshiko, reaching out in an attempt to grab the child before he got too far. However, she was only a second too late. The maid leading them, when she felt her skirt flip, immediately went bright red and yelped, pushing her skirt down and trembling even more then she was already. Toshiko sighed, and immediately took a step forward. What was Jun doing? Just running off and flipping the maid's skirts? Well, Toshiko couldn't argue that he was doing it very well with a good application of his onmyodo, but now wasn't really the time for such things. Toshiko would never consider preforming such actions on the job.

Starting into her pursuit, Toshiko stopped when an arm suddenly sprang out of a doorway in the hall ahead and grabbed Jun... and lifted him clear off the ground. Toshiko took another step forward... and then the figure that appeared from behind the door was a maid. She was fairly tall, though not unusually so, and had short, dark hair. She had an air of elegance, or would have if she hadn't had an expression of mild annoyance more fitting on a street thug then on an elegant maid. In a similar manner to Toshiko's cigarettes, she had a stick of pocky in her mouth.

"Ahh... what do we have here? Harassing the other maids?" the maid inclined her head to the side. "That's not good... I don't like it when people cause trouble for them, do you understand?"

Toshiko stepped forward. "He's with us. We're the detectives investigating the case."

The maid turned. "Eh? Oh... Well, I guess you're lucky, kid. Don't go bothering my fellow maids again, alright?"

She placed Jun back down. Toshiko's eyes narrowed. Not because of her treatment of Jun, he'd been behaving pretty badly and had gone unharmed... but the skill to grab someone moving that fast, and pick them up one-handed(even if they were a child)... Toshiko was beginning to think these maids weren't just maids.

The maid who had led them had recovered by now. "I-I... I... um... I... T-T-Tomoko-sama i-is th-this way."

She beckoned down another hallway.

---

Eika had indeed found something. Though it was difficult to tell if it was a clue.

She was a black-haired girl, not looking any older then sixteen. She wore a rather elegant dress, and she was sitting near a large window. For a moment, she seemed distracted and rather bored, before realizing that someone was actually here. She turned, inclining her head to the side of the sight of this new person. Her boredom seemed to give way to curiosity.

"... You're not one of our maids..." she said, leaning forward inquisitively, "At least, you're not dressed yet if you are... the white hair is appealing, though."

She gave a small smile for a moment. "I certainly wouldn't mind you as a new maid."

Then it faded. "Really, though... why are you here?"