243,189 words later and Hakuba has finally made an appearance. I present to you the first paragraph that I ever wrote for my favorite british detective:
… Meanwhile, the dark permeated everything that a young detective knew. Saguru Hakuba became aware of the cold cement as soon as he regained consciousness. He did so in a way that allowed him to maintain his slumped posture, eyes closed and head drooped with his chin against his chest. Doing so allowed him to observe without calling attention to himself. The pain and pressure on the back of his head confirmed that he had, indeed, been hit by that blighter in the study. Where he was now was indeed a mystery, but not so alarming as one might think.