I
don't feel like seeing anyone, but I can't just use the answering machine when
my eyes meet someone's.
Therefore,
I put on a light cardigan over my pajamas and walked down the stairs and walked
out the front door.
Outside
the gate, Shiratori-senpai is standing there in her school uniform, looking
sullen as usual.
As it
is still morning, the school is still in the middle of classes.
「Um...
w-what's the matter? Shiratori-senpai」
When I
asked her, she acted as if she hadn't heard my question at all.
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「It's
so hot, I'm sure I'll collapse from heat stroke if I stand here like this. I
wonder if someone would be kind enough to let me cool off in an air-conditioned
room...」
「...Please
come in」
「I'm
sorry if I sounded like I urged you」
（No
matter which way I look at it, you're urging me...）
After
swallowing such thoughts, I invited Shiratori-senpai into the house and led her
to the living room.
This
is not the first time Shiratori-senpai has been in my house.
That
being said, she doesn't seem to have any reservations at all, and as if it is
her own house, she puts on my brother's slippers without permission, and
occupies my brother's place on the sofa.
While
I stood in the kitchen turning on the air conditioner, slightly annoyed, she
took the remote control and lowered the room temperature.
（I
wonder... is Shiratori-senpai such a rude person?）
I
think it's because I'm mentally weak, but I feel like I'm being provoked, and
it's really irritating.
「...I'll
make you some cold barley tea」
「Don't
bother, I'll just have a cider or something」
「I'm
sorry, Onii-chan and I don't drink much juice」
「I
see.」
（Don't
be annoyed. Anyway... let's make her cool down quickly and ask her to leave）
With
that though, I take out some ice from the freezer and throw it into a mug-sized
glass. Then I let out a sigh as I take out a pot of barley tea from the fridge.
（I
know she's not a bad person, but it's quite tense being one-on-one with
Shiratori-senpai without Sato-chan or Takasago-senpai... Even now, I can't tell
what she's thinking at all）
When I
poured the pot, the barley tea flowed into the glass sliding on the ice. As I
watched the scene, I asked.
「Anyway...
what's the matter? The class is still in session, isn't it?」
「Sorry
to hear that. I thought Kizuna would be absent today」
I stop
pouring the tea.
After
that, silence descend and in the glass, the ice clinked.
When I
look up, Shiratori-senpai looks back at me too and opens her mouth without
moving an eyebrow.
「Are
you happy that you've gotten rid of Kobayashi-sensei?」
The
sound of the air conditioner's breeze is unusually loud.
Without
realizing it, I gulped.
「...Um,
what are you talking about? What's wrong with Kobayashi-sensei?」
Then,
unusually, an expression other than sullenness appeared on Shiratori-senpai's
face. It's like she's making fun of me.
「I'm
not trying to trick you, and I don't need to」
I
can't keep my cool either.
（I
wonder how much she knows...）
I
glanced at the table, at the position of the fruit knife, and walked up to
Shiratori-senpai, leaving the barley tea still poured.
「Please
leave. I'm not feeling well...」
「Well,
I understand that. If you're not a psychopath and you're involved in a murder,
you'll get sick. It's nothing to be ashamed of」
I felt
as if a cold object had been thrown down my spine, and I jerked back.
「P-Please
don't make any crazy accusations. Like murder...」
My
voice rasped. My breathing becomes erratic. I glance toward the fruit knife
again. Shiratori-senpai follows my gaze and lets out an exasperated voice.
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「Oh...
well, even that fruit knife over there is enough to kill me. But is that okay?
After all, you've made it this far without getting your hands dirty. Still, all
that hard work will be for naught」
「What
are you saying?」
「It's
easy to kill a man, but it's hard to hide a body. You know, there was that host
murder case a few years ago? The killer boiled the body in pipe cleaner until
it was completely liquefied and poured it down the drain. And even after all
that, he was caught. The silver tooth stuck in the back of the drain was the
key」
I
avert my eyes from the fruit knife and give her a fake smile.
「I-It's
too rude... S-Senpai, you're joking too hard...」
Then Senpai
smiled, a rare thin smile, and spoke.
「Yes,
I'm joking. I also don't think Kizuna is the kind of person who can kill people」
「Of
course not, geez...」
As I
let out a sigh of relief, Senpai said in an indifferent tone.
「What
you've done is just contract killing... or at least exploitation. Whatever it
is, you got in the middle of an exchange and used it. Well, the most you could
be charged with is aiding and abetting murder」
「!?」
I
tensed up involuntarily.
（Why? How
does she know?）
My
teeth are stuck together.
I
can't breathe.
I feel
like I'll fall to my knees if I'm not careful.
With
my eyes on her, Shiratori-senpai proceeded to talk on her own.
「As
soon as I found out that it was Kobayashi-sensei who was using Shibata-senpai
as a toy, I knew you would do something. Kizuna loves her big brother, after
all」
「I...
I don't know anything...」
「When
you went to tell Kobayashi-sensei's wife, did you think that would be enough?
But she seems to have been a very peculiar person. It seems that she was ready
to set up a woman who was going to make a move on her husband」
「The
other day, you mentioned that I was the one doing it...」
「That's
just a guess. I think the first cat that claimed to have been thrown in was
owned by his wife. The second and subsequent cats were probably bought from a
pet store. After all, it's not easy to catch a cat. Moreover, it is hard to
believe that it was a student who solved the problem with money. Pets are
expensive. That's why it's very likely that his wife made the whole thing up.
Well, keeping a pet to kill it is probably bizarre, but...」
Shiratori-senpai
raised a finger in a playful tone.
「Kizuna
must have thought. If this continues, Shibata-senpai will be treated as a
stalker and a criminal. She'll never get back together with your brother. The
source of the problem must be cut at the root! ...right?」
「Please
don't falsify what's in people's heads!」
I yell
out.
I
can't laugh it off because I actually thought so.
「By
the way, what Kizuna does... I noticed it when I met you at the aquarium」
「...Aquarium?」
I
panicked and looked back at my actions. But I don't remember doing anything
strange.
「Your
bulging wallet. I saw a bunch of identical cards in there. Membership cards for
a famous chain of Internet cafes, with no cameras in the stores and lax
identity verification, and if you made one card for each store with a fake
name, there must have been at least five」
「T-Then...
what's wrong with that? I, too, have secret hobbies, you know. I secretly look
at erotic things...」
「Anonymously
go to five internet cafes and look at erotic stuff? You're an incredibly lewd
person. I never thought of that」
With
that, Shiratori-senpai twists the edges of her mouth in amusement.
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「Anyway,
I dug into the depths of the net, looking for traces of Kizuna. Well, this one
was easy. All I had to do was find Kobayashi-sensei's name. After that, all I
had to do was find Kizuna's posts thoroughly and pull up the responses」
「No,
that's a false accusation! F-F-First of all! All those places are anonymous,
right? So why are you looking for my posts?」
「I
know. The way you mark punctuation and break up sentences. Even if you change
your choice of words and tone, anyone can tell which post is from the same
person. Unless you deliberately disguise that part. Next time, you should be
careful to disguise that part as well」
She's
bluffing. That's what I thought, but I couldn't speak. Even though the room
temperature is getting lower and lower, sweat is beading on my forehead.
「But...
you've changed my mind, Kizuna. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be so cunning」
「W-What
is it? Please, no more accusations!」
「I
didn't think you'd be able to pull off a double homicide... There are countless
BBSes out there, but I've picked out a couple of potential double homicides.
That's right. Let's say A and B」
Shiratori-senpai
gets up from the sofa and pretends to be a university professor giving a lecture.
「You
have “A” kill the person “B” wants to kill, in this case a receptionist. You
made him kill her. Normally, you would have to kill the person “A” wants to kill,
but you left it alone. It looks like you transferred a lot of money as a
deposit to get “A” to kill first. Although “A” was pissed off that it wasn't
worth it」
I shut
my mouth and just stare at Shiratori-senpai.
That's
all I could think of.
「Next,
you pressured “B” to kill Kobayashi-sensei. He killed him like you wanted. But “B”
refused to fulfill the contract. It's quite interesting to see Kizuna's
impatient ranting and raving on the BBS. Then, "by chance", I
followed your link and "by chance" found an article about a
receptionist whom “B” wanted to kill who had been stalked and a transcript of
the trial. There is a name of a person who seems to be that person. The name is
“Aota Seiji”」
「H...
how far you know...」
「Up to
here. Up to the point where Kizuna tells him that you know who he is, and tells
him when and where the murder will be executed, all the while going out of his
way to call you "Sage". And just to make sure that Kobayashi-sensei
was absent from school, you came to the murder scene... well, that's how it is」
「What's
the proof?」
「In
fact, Kizuna left too many traces. I feel sorry for Tachioka. He seems to have
found an ally in Fukuoka, but when he comes back, she's a cuckolded and his
sister has been sent to a girls' reformatory for abetting murder... there's no
hope for him」
The
image of my brother sagging down in his sleep flashed through my mind.
I
unconsciously clutched the hem of my cardigan and shook my shoulders.
「H-How
much... do I have to pay you to keep quiet?」
「Don't
get me wrong」
Shiratori-senpai
held my shoulders. She held me like a friendly scout on the street.
「I'm
not going to sell you to the police. But the Japanese police are very good.
Someday they'll get to Kizuna. That's why I'm here, to protect you」
「...protect
me」
「Yeah,
I'll introduce you to someone who can protect you. Of course, you'll have to
pay a price, but I'm sure you'll be completely and utterly protected. Your life
with Tachioka will continue as before. That is, if you don't change your
mind...」
