Grant took the other man’s hand firmly. “A pleasure, Detective Murakami.”

An exhausted sigh escaped his lips. ”It seems nothing other than a microwave and a few cords were taken. Doesn’t seem like the thief was an amateur, either- so it probably wasn’t a disgruntled neighbor or prank from a kid. I just don’t understand why a microwave of all things..”

He ran a hand through his long hair, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before looking back up at Tobias. ”Maybe we can canvas the neighborhood? See if anyone else saw anything?”

If the crime weren’t so odd, Grant would have an easier time mapping out his gameplan. It was hard to think of a motive for why someone would steal a microwave and nothing else. If they literally just needed a microwave, it would’ve been less work to steal money or something valuable and pawn it. They took seemingly random cords from the junk drawer as well.

”Whoever our thief is, they’re focused on electronics. Maybe our caller isn’t the only victim.”

Grant craned his neck to look over his new companion’s shoulder, calling out to the old man. ”Has anyone else in the neighborhood complained about their electronics going missing? Cords? Batteries?”

”How the hell should I know?!” The older man snapped.

Laughter came from deep within Grant’s gut. ”Right, Zebras!” he smirked. As he pulled himself back together though, it became clear that the strange fellow wasn’t joking.

It didn’t help that he referred to people as Alices, either. Come to think of it, hadn’t the performer referred to him as Alice too?

Pieces of a puzzle snapped into place, and Grant found himself isolated. At least, that’s how it felt- considering this fellow clearly wasn’t all there. His presence was more like a collection of impressions and fancies, though a name helped ground him back to reality.

”A pleasure to meet you, Pim.”

At the very least, this Pim character didn’t seem to have any evil intent. Tall? Sure. Strange? Definitely. Hostile? Not really. The guy was harmless- at least towards Grant, anyway. Perhaps it was just behavior typical of his position. After all, it wasn’t exactly a secret that actors tended to be a bit more…eccentric.

”I’m sure he’ll be happy to help. Just let me do the talking.” He spoke almost as though it were a question, his eyes pleading with Pim. The last thing he needed was for his new companion to freak anyone out.

A small bell rang as they entered inside, the difference in temperature sending a chill down Grant’s spine. He wasn’t made for the cold, but it wasn’t like he had to dwell here any longer than necessary.

”Excuse me, sir!” he called out, approaching the counter. ”Grant Moore, private investigator. I’d like to take a look at the tapes from your CCTV. I believe they may contain information pertinent to my investigation. I won’t need more than a few minutes.”

The man in question, an older fellow in his forties, snorted derisively in response. He was larger than Grant, standing at a solid six foot tall, and clearly didn’t think highly of the two mutant freaks who’d stepped into his spick and span jewelry store.

”No.” he answered, glaring at Grant.

”I understand this must seem like a strange request, but I assure you-”

”You’re scarin’ my business away. Get the hell outta here. Go try your scam somewhere else.” The older man crossed his arms, clearly not willing to budge on the topic.

A bead of sweat dripped down Grant’s forehead. He’d talked a big game about his position as a private investigator, and already he was getting held up by tired prejudices. He glanced at Pim, a nervous smile on his face, as if to assure him that there was nothing to worry about.

”If you would just give us a moment of your time…” he tried to plead with the larger man.

Once the asshole started reaching for something under the counter, Grant immediately threw his hands up in surrender.

”No worries! We’ll be on our way!. My apologies for the, uh, disturbance…” his voice trailed off, clearly defeated.

Once he and Pim had exited, Grant would lean against a nearby wall. A tired sigh escaped his lips. It was neither the first time he’d experienced such unpleasantness, nor would it be the last. Still, it had been his first time meeting with such blatant disrespect and hatred since moving to Tokyo. He’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

Well, that was a lie. He’d never forget what it felt like. There were scars on his heart that wouldn’t allow him to.

”I’m terribly sorry about that. If you give me just a few minutes, I’m sure I can think of an alternative plan.” He offered sheepishly, eyes desperately darting around in search of another lead.

The tension in Grant’s shoulders slackened. It seemed he wouldn’t be trounced for his transgressions today.

Hand met chin in thought at the performer’s suggestion. Normally the idea of someone using a quirk to make a hat grow legs would be nonsensical, dismissed by any normal person out of hand. However, this had now turned into a mystery- a case, and no theory could be thrown out until evidence suggested otherwise.

”We won’t rule it out. However, when you hear the sound of hooves, do you think horse, or zebra?” he asked. ”For the time being, the most likely theory is that one of the members of your audience took it for themselves. After all, you were preoccupied with your performance and had gathered up a not insignificant sum of money into that hat.”

His eyes darted around them, taking in everything he could. Unfortunately, his laser-like focus had been on the show itself, so he could hardly recall any faces or distinct appearances among the throng of people. Still, not all hope was lost. Eventually they landed across the street, towards a jewelry store. A CCTV camera hung in the corner, pointed out towards the door…and directly at where the show had been.

”The camera- it might’ve caught who took it. We’ll head inside and see if they’ll let us go over the footage.”

In his embarrassment, he was unable to lock eyes with the performer. ”My name’s Grant Moore, private investigator. I’m sorry about ruining your show, but I can make it up to you by helping you track down the money you earned for your theater.”

Grant had only been in Tokyo a few months now when he received the strangest case of his career.

On the force back in America, his small town hadn’t dealt with much crime. It was mostly just a bureaucratic slog; things like speeding tickets and stopping fights at dive bars.

As a private investigator, his career had mostly been tracking people down on behalf of jilted or jealous lovers. Occasionally, he’d get a call about a theft that the police weren’t taking seriously enough- which was exactly what had brought him out to this modest suburban home in the bay.

Nothing valuable had been stolen though. The only object that had been taken was the microwave and a few old power cables from a junk drawer.

With quirked up villains on the loose, the police only had so much time for something so trivial, apparently assigning minimum support to the case. And so he’d been contacted by the owner to get to the bottom of this.

As Grant arrived, he was greeted by a cantankerous old man who spent the first five minutes or so loudly complaining about police response and the state of society. Once he’d calmed down a little, Grant managed a few words.

”And you said nothing else was taken, correct?”

”Yes, none of my late wife’s jewelry was stolen. My lock box was untouched too. Just the goddamn microwave and a few random cables! Weren’t you listening?”

Grant put his hands up in a placating motion. ”Yes, I understand. Do you know of anyone who’d hold some sort of grudge? Perhaps an upset neighbor, or a child playing a prank?”

The older man only seemed to grow more frustrated. ”No!” He exclaimed. ”I don’t have any fucking problem with my neighbors. Are you gonna figure out who did it or not?”

Sighing in resignation, Grant put his fingers to the bridge of his nose. ”I’ll do everything I can. May I come inside and look around?”

The owner simply swung the door open and Grant stepped in, taking his boots off at the entrance before making his way towards the kitchen.

Normally, passing through Shinjuku was something that Grant tried to accomplish as quickly as possible- especially when he wasn’t on his motorcycle.

Today, something had kept him there. An odd crowd had started to gather around a little theater setup. Strange, he hadn’t read about any kind of theater performance here in the news. Usually that kind of sanctioned activity would pick up local attention. Perhaps this wasn’t exactly on the books, then?

He would’ve left it then and there if it weren’t for the distinct scent of tea and matcha. He could use a cup to soothe his nerves from the crowd.

That thought carried his legs into the throng of people, pushing and shoving as they tried to get a better look. As a courtesy, Grant dropped a few hundred yen coins into the hat on the ground and decided to see what the deal was.

—--

He found himself quickly enraptured. In the modern day, he had never heard the original Alice in Wonderland story. He and everyone else had probably seen or heard of the reimagined variations in passing, but something about this version felt so… simple. Satisfying.

Engaging.

A seemingly whimsical fantasy tale with something under the hood giving it a little more oomph. Really, it was a story about growing up, about identity, and of course, about curiosity. Though admittedly, something wasn’t adding up. Grant was aware that fantasy stories weren’t always explicitly world built to account for everything, but Alice in Wonderland distinctly started in the real world. Despite having an underlying theme of growing up and changing, the backdrop was a bizarre fantasy world of seemingly ‘mad’ chaos. It just didn’t gel right- until it finally clicked.

The ending he arrived at may have been a tad disappointing, but his enjoyment of the story and performance overshadowed it. Without even thinking, the moment the pieces clicked in his mind, he opened his mouth and pointed to the stage.

”A dream! That’s it, it’s all a dream- that’s what the doorknob is going to tell her!” he shouted.

His cheeks flushed pink as he realized what he’d done. Aside from making himself the center of attention, which was bad enough, he’d basically ruined the ending for anyone else who’d found themselves drawn into the world of the story.