Chapter 3 Part1 (1/2)
”Hey, Chizuru, did you hear? A male student of South Yumoto High was taken in for doing drugs. Four days ago.”
Golden week was close upon them, a calm Friday morning.
Meeting with Chizuru in front of Yumoto Park, Ageha suddenly spouted it out.
”Hmm… now that's surprising.”
”What a light reaction!”
With both hands stuck into his blazer, walking with a bent back, Chizuru received a sharp retort.
”No, of course I'm surprised, but reacting is a pain… South Yumoto High's quite close, isn't it?”
”Right, right. The place Ume-chan goes to.”
Ageha brought up the name of a male student who went to the same cram school.
But Chizuru didn't particularly deepen his reaction, instead letting out a yawn.
”Well, it isn't that rare these days. Even so, Ageha, word spreads to you quickly.”
”Yes, I heard it from Ume-chan… Anyways, the world's a dangerous place.”
Exchanging such a conversation, the two walked down Yumoto Boulevard. Along that path that extended in a straight line from their terminal- Yumoto Station- was Yumoto Academy, the school they attended.
”So maybe because that incident happened nearby, we're apparently having a special a.s.sembly today.”
”Hah? a.s.sembly… what's with that?”
They stopped for a red light. They were close to the school, so the girls and boys wearing Yumoto Academy uniforms around them had multiplied.
”One of those anti-drug abuse seminars. It seems that a dangerous organization selling drugs to middle and high school students has risen in the neighborhood lately. Apparently, the student from South Yumoto bought his off of them too… so aren't they making sure it doesn't happen to our students?”
”Hmm? … I know I'm not one to say it, but our school's students don't feel like the type to be dragged into that sort of thing, do they?”
”Well, I get what you're trying to say. But you don't know where danger lurks. You could be targeted at night on your way home from cram school.”
”Yeah, perhaps.”
The light turned green so the two started forward. Chizuru stifled a yawn.
”Well, in the end, we're safe as long as we don't go out, right?”
Once Sixth period had ended, the students gathered in the gymnasium for an a.s.sembly. It was an anti-drug abuse seminar. Some professor from a nearby college came over, talking on and on about something or another. And as he let it drone on in his ears, Chizuru let sleep's embrace take him as he sat.
”Hey, Chizuru. Properly listen.”
Sitting diagonally behind him, Ageha noticed and poked his shoulder. Pulled back from his slumber, Chizuru rubbed his double sided eyelid-covered eyes.
”I'm sleepy. It's sweltering in here…”
”Endure it. You call yourself a high schooler?”
”I know…”
The bald-headed lecturer swung the mike in one hand during his fervent speech, and Chizuru blankly looked on.
'To summarize… if you use the drug… it will impair your sense of taste! By which I mean to say… by their usage, among habitual offenders are some who claim to no longer able to sense sweetness… putting mountains of sugar in their coffee… there are those who exhibit such behavior, and…'
As the lecturer walked forward, the light of the projector was shaded by his bald head, perfectly cutting out its shape on the screen.
Chizuru looked over it, before falling asleep again.
The request for the case was brought to Chizuru after school.
After the lecture was over and he had returned to the cla.s.sroom, Chizuru chatted with Ageha as he prepared to go home.
”Right. I ended up buying this!”
What Ageha pulled from her bag was a light novel with a tediously long t.i.tle scrawled over its jacket. It was one Chizuru recognized. A work his 'Guardian' had penned.
”Ah, that book. I forgot it existed.”
”You could at least remember a book your own aunt wrote.”
”I'm no good at remembering light novel t.i.tles… did you read it yet?”
”I'm partway through… and anyways! Aren't the main character and his friend Sumi-kun a little too close to one another? They're totally an item.”
”… By my memory of reading it, I get the feeling both the main character, and his friend character Sumi were male.”
”That's right, that's exactly right. But that's what makes it wonderful.”
As Ageha stuck up her thumb, her eyes suddenly locked on the cla.s.sroom's door.
Chizuru followed her gaze to find a single female student standing there. She leisurely walked her way over to them.
Long black hair that reached her hips, slender long arms and legs. While it had been quite hot lately, she wore a vest over her s.h.i.+rt, what's more, she wasn't sweating. A stately woman one could have pulled straight from a silver screen.
”Oh? Kurokawa-senpai. What's wrong? There isn't any club activity today.”
Ageha called out. It seems she was a senior from her club.
”h.e.l.lo, Beppu-san,” the senior faithfully gave her greeting, ”… I came because I had a little something Iw anted to discuss with you.”
It seemed this would take some time, so Chizuru turned his back to leave the scene.
However.
”… A while ago, you said your friend solved a case, didn't you?”
On those words, the receding Chizuru stopped in his tracks. In nine out of ten cases, that would have to be referring to him.
”Ah yes… rather, it's that one over there.”
Ageha pointed at Chizuru. His body stiffened as he slowly turned around.
”I see… so that's him…”
The supposed senior woman slowly wandered over to Chizuru.
”Kiris.h.i.+ma Chizuru-kun, no mistake? I heard from Beppu-san. Your name… and your achievements. The truth is, I have a request for you… would that be alright?”
”Um… sure.”
Chizuru ended up giving a conditioned reply. The way she asked had already pulled Chizuru into taking her request.
Eh? What should I do, this is a pain. Screams echoed through Chizuru's head, but he was already reeled in.
His opponent smiled as she introduced herself.
”Thank you. I'm Kurokawa Kaede. Third year student of the high school decision, and a member of the newspaper club with Beppu-san… for argument's sake, just like you two, I'm in the special cla.s.s. The other day, I happened to hear Beppu-san say you had resolved a murder case, so I thought I'd make a request… she was telling the truth, right?”
”… Yes. There was such a case.”
”First, let's take a seat.”
Forcefully doing things at her own pace. This person was strong, or so Chizuru was certain.
Chizuru, Ageha and Kurokawa Kaede gathered some chairs together and sat down. The cla.s.sroom was air conditioned, but since lessons had been over for a while, the AC had been cut, and it was sultry.
”So what is it? What did youw ant to talk about?”
Ageha asked. Kaede touched her face as she let out a deep sigh.
”I want you to save my friend.”
”… What do you mean by that?”
Chizuru couldn't help but stick in his mouth.
To him, Kurokawa Kaede- a girl he was meeting for the first time, was nothing more that Ageha's senior. Did he really have an obligation to save a friend's senior's friend? He ended up feeling quite unsympathetic.
”Um, from the intent of this request, there's something that's raised my concerns.”
Chizuru searched for the words he wanted to get across.
”… Collatteral, is it?”
Kaede said it clearly. Chizuru ended up nodding.
”That depends on your apt.i.tude as a detective… not that it should matter to you?”
”… That's fine, of course.”
He had confidence in his own performance. Chizuru consented in an instant.
”Then let's get right to the issue. We're short on time… what I'm about to tell me is a story about my friend.”
Kaede lightly went into it.
”She's in the same cla.s.s as me, Toujou Mas.h.i.+ro. A member of the Wind Instrument Ensemble. I've been with her since the middle school division… well, our relations.h.i.+p's one you could call best friends.”
”Oh, so like me and Chizuru. Right, Chizuru?”
Ageha suddenly turning the conversation to him, Chizuru tilted his head.
”Ah, right. That's right. Best friends… that may be true. Thank you?”