[Claudia POV]
This is just a precaution.
It's not very likely, but it's just
in case Fumio wants to corrupt Hanabusa-chan, to make sure that it'll be
useful.
I sent her a message first thing in
the morning and arranged to meet her during lunch break.
The place was the landing of the
stairs leading to the rooftop.
The excuse was to ask for advice.
As long as I say this, girls usually
take it as a love talk, and as I expected, Hanabusa-chan's reply came soon.
Of course, she said yes.
At first, I was going to visit her
classroom directly, but Fumio stopped me.
**a
Speaking for myself, I surely stand
out. I'm a gaijin, after all.
Fumio says that there is a girl in
his class who is in contact with Shiratori, and if this girl finds out about
it, there is a possibility that Shiratori will tell her.
It seems that Fumio is suspicious of
Shiratori.
I am emotionally happy about this
situation, but rationally, I think it's a very bad idea.
Although Shiratori is an annoying
person, I personally do not want to antagonize Shiratori.
I know it may be called a loser's
spirit, but because of the way she beat me to a pulp, my sister and I are now
treated as domesticated animals, less than human beings.
Though I don't really mind that now.
「Minami, can you come with me because
I'm going to talk to Hanabusa-chan, who said she was a victim of bullying?」
When I told her this as soon as lunch
break started, Minami looked puzzled.
「What kind of change of mind? Last
time, you said I should just leave it alone」
「The situation has changed. This is
Fumio's order」
Minami's expression turns grim.
「Why's that guy getting involved in
the basketball club?」
At times like this, a woman who
hasn't fallen properly is a pain in the ass.
But Fumio says to do it. There is no
need for any more reason than that, but I have to convince her every time.
「That's because Hanabusa is Fumio's
beloved little sister's best friend.」
「Don't tell me... is he going to
poison Hanabusa-san, too?」
Minami revealed caution, to which I
responded with a sigh.
「You know, Minami, you are already
Fumio's girl. I hope you understand that, but as for Hanabusa, I don't think
Fumio has the slightest ulterior motive.」
「Who's that guy's girl!」
Minami shouts out in a reflexive
voice, then looks around hurriedly. Knowing that she was in a panic, I
whispered softly into her ear.
「But, didn't you already made love to
Fumio last night, while you were fantasizing about him raping you?」
「A-Are you an idiot! Of course not!」
The color that clings to her words is
red. Why didn't she just be honest?
**b
「Well, anyway, Fumio has no intention
to touch Hanabusa. He just wants to protect his little sister's best friend.」
「Wanting to protect... isn't he a bad
guy?」
「Fumio is that kind of a guy. For
example, if someone does something bad to Minami. Like hurt you, or hurt you
violently, or whatever. If that happens, I'm sure Fumio will crush them
thoroughly.」
「You mean for my sake?」
「Yes, it's not only Minami, but even
me, who's treated like livestock. Fumio is a tyrant, but he takes good care of
his things.」
Minami looks as if she has a wet rag
pressed on her face, and we leave the classroom.
When we arrived at the meeting place,
Hanabusa-chan was already there waiting for us.
「Oh, sorry I'm late」
「Ah, it's nothing... more importantly,
who's this?」
Hanabusa-chan asked as she glanced at
Minami.
「Minami is my classmate and a member
of the public morals committee」
At the mention of "a member of
the public morals committee," Hanabusa-chan looked as if something struck
her.
She had probably seen Minami's face
at least once before, when there was an inspection of students' belongings at
the school gate or something.
「So... Claudia-senpai, what did you
want to talk to me about?」
「Well, I'm going to ask you straight
out, Hanabusa-chan, are you being bullied in the club?」
When I said this, Minami raised her
eyes at me.
It's a common practice in
interrogation to start with a small talk to lighten up the conversation, but
for me, it's a waste of time.
「Ah, geez... Senpai, that's not
true...」
Her smile is somewhat hard.
And the color that clings to her
words is red.
I look at Minami. Then, she gently
handed a piece of letter paper to Hanabusa-chan.
**c
「I received this letter addressed to a
member of the public morals committee. This is about you, isn't it,
Hanabusa-san? Don't worry, we don't intend to make it a big problem. We will
try not to cause any trouble to the club」
Hanabusa-chan stared at the letter
paper and then opened her mouth as if she was resigned to the situation.
「I'm sorry... Actually」
Her story can be summarized as
follows.
Kaitou, the ace of the club, has left
the club. She directly nominated Hanabusa-chan to be a regular member of the
team, even though she is a first-year student.
The uniform for the game is a
hand-me-down from Kaitou, and it has her ace number on it.
After practice on her first day as a
regular, she returned to the locker room to find that the match uniform was
missing.
「So, did you find the uniform?」
When Minami asked her, Hanabusa's
voice trembled slightly.
「Yes... It was cut into pieces and stuffed
in the toilet」
「...That's terrible」
Minami covered her mouth, but I let
my thoughts wander.
I'm a detective, after all. I can at
least guess the mind of the culprit.
It's jealousy, no doubt. The fact
that the culprit cut it into pieces, instead of hiding or stealing it, seems to
be a very impulsive act.
As for the clogged toilet, it seems
more likely that the culprit tried to cover it up by flushing it down the toilet,
rather than harassing the victim.
So far, the color of her story is
"blue".
She wasn't lying.
However, there is a discrepancy with
what Fumio told me.
「Wait, wait a minute! I heard that
Hanabusa-chan still wears the uniform for the match to the practice.」
「Uh... The one I'm wearing now is a
replica. When I found the uniform in the restroom, Sakon-san was with me, and
she is an extremely devoted fan of Kaitou-senpai, and she had a replica of the
uniform with Kaitou-senpai's number on it...」
「A replica...?」
「Yes. Sakon-san said, "I couldn't
allow anyone to oppose Kaitou-senpai's decision," with an angry look on
her face... Then, she gave me that replica. She said she had two more replicas.」
「That's not the level of a fan
anymore...」
「I was angry too, and I wanted to show
the cowards that I won't let that beat me...」
「So you started practicing in that
uniforms for the match.」
「That's right.」
「...I see.」
**a
Minami makes an indescribable face,
and Hanabusa-chan smiles.
「Thanks to that, the second-year
seniors don't like me because they think I'm trying to be mean to them, and
even the manager is kindly scolding me not to provoke them.」
So far, her story is all blue, with
some shades of gray. I am sure this is the truth.
「Do you have any idea about this
letter?」
Minami asks, and Hanabusa-chan opens
her mouth with some difficulty.
「Maybe... I think it might be
Sakon-san's... She was very worried about me... and the handwriting looks like
hers.」
「So, Hanabusa-chan, who do you think
is the person who cut up your uniform?」
At my question, Hanabusa-chan's eyes
swam for a while, then she opened her mouth slowly with her eyelashes down.
「...I don't have any proof, but I
think it might be Mimura-senpai (Mimura Doremi/The boob girl)」
