Jumping Into The City
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The moment the sun began to set, I headed for a certain location. It was just past sunset when we arrived at an old warehouse in Shibuya Ward that had been converted into office space and apartments.
A few people were still working inside as they prepared dinner or cleaned up after their day’s work; it seemed like everyone else who lived there already left home by now. We went straight upstairs without knocking on anyone first—I didn’t want any of them getting involved with this matter if possible.
That said…it wasn’t exactly easy to get away from someone once you’re standing right next to him/her, so maybe I should have knocked. But then again, what would be the point…?
“This is where he lives,” Kyouhei whispered quietly behind me before opening his door. He’d brought along another guy named Tetsuji Yamamoto (who looked about my age) too. “We’ll wait here until nightfall.”
Kouki opened the front door slowly and peeked out cautiously: no one was around yet, but given how late it got these days, even though most places closed early nowadays thanks to all-night convenience stores popping up everywhere, some shops might not close till ten o’clock or later.
If Kouki saw someone coming down the stairs while looking through the peephole, he could easily hide back under the bed. And since we weren’t planning on staying long anyway, waiting outside wouldn’t really hurt us either way.
Besides, I figured that having two guys guarding the place instead of only one made things safer than leaving everything to just me alone.
So yeah, let’s go ahead and do this! Let’s see whether our plan will actually succeed or fail today!!
As soon as I stepped foot onto the floor above, I immediately noticed something different compared to last time. There were more lights turned on in the rooms, which meant that the residents must’ve returned home earlier tonight. As expected, there was also a TV playing softly somewhere nearby.
This probably means that they won’t notice anything strange happening unless it gets noisy enough to wake them up…but unfortunately, I’m pretty sure we can count on waking those people up sooner rather than later.
So basically, I need to make absolutely sure nobody notices us doing whatever it is we’re going to do here today.
First off, I checked every single room carefully to confirm that none of the doors were open or unlocked and then proceeded onward towards Kouki’s bedroom. Since the apartment building was built underground, each unit had its own private entrance hall leading directly into the living area, kitchen, bathroom, etc., making it impossible to sneakily enter via other units’ entrances.
In fact, the hallway itself felt quite cramped due to the narrow corridor connecting the main staircase to the individual floors, forcing me to walk very closely beside Kyouhei in order to avoid bumping into walls.
Once we reached the end of the short passage, we stopped dead in our tracks upon seeing the door to Kouki’s room wide open. Noticing my gaze directed toward it, Kyouhei quickly glanced over his shoulder to check if anybody was watching us, then nodded silently. Then he took hold of the handle and pulled the door fully open.
There was nothing particularly suspicious about Kouki’s room. Just your average teenage boy’s room, filled with posters plastered across the wall, bookshelves lined up against both sides of the window, and a desk placed near the center.
On top of that, there was also a small sofa sitting opposite the bed—the same kind of furniture used in hotels and hostels. However, unlike the rest of the house, this particular piece of furniture was covered entirely by thick layers of dust. No wonder why it hasn’t been moved anywhere recently.
On closer inspection, I realized that the sheets covering the mattress were stained dark brown, indicating that they hadn’t been changed for ages. Even worse, the pillowcase was completely blackened, almost resembling charcoal briquettes, and smelled strongly of mildew.
It definitely looks like whoever slept on the bed never bothered changing the sheet ever since the stains appeared.
Judging from the condition of the room, I guess Kouki has been sleeping on the couch lately. Or perhaps he doesn’t sleep much at all anymore? Either way, I don’t think he spends many nights lying down on his bed. Which makes sense, considering how filthy it is.
While staring intently at the dirty bedsheets, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind me. Turning around, I found myself face-to-face with a middle-aged man wearing glasses and holding a broomstick in hand.
His hair was neatly combed back, and he wore a white lab coat over his clothes, giving him the appearance of being somewhat professional despite appearing to be relatively young. Judging by his attire, I assumed he worked part-time cleaning jobs during the day.
But what caught my attention the most wasn’t his uniform; it was the large wooden mallet hanging loosely from his belt. That thing isn’t exactly standard equipment you would find in any normal household.
The man stared blankly at me for several seconds without saying anything, then finally spoke up after clearing his throat awkwardly. “…Who are ya?”
I gave an awkward smile in response. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…”
“Oh no, nothin’. You just look kinda familiar.” He scratched his head sheepishly before continuing. “But anyway, who might herself be? Ya got some business with the kid, right?”
“…Yeah,” I replied simply while averting my eyes slightly. The guy seemed friendly enough, but I still couldn’t help feeling uneasy when talking to someone so close to Kouki. After all, I’d already seen firsthand how easily Kouki could get violent whenever somebody tried to mess with him.
And judging by the state of Kouki’s room, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if this person ended up getting hurt somehow. Still, I needed to keep calm and act naturally. If things went south, I’ll have to rely on Kyouhei to save the day.
After another long pause, the man eventually asked: “What did ya want ta talk ’bout?”
Well, now that he mentioned it, I suppose it does feel weird having such a casual conversation with someone standing outside Kouki’s room. Maybe I should’ve come here first instead of barging inside unannounced… Oh well, too late to change plans now. Besides, I’m sure nobody will mind as long as I explain everything properly later. So let’s just go ahead and tell them what happened today.
Taking a deep breath, I began explaining the situation. First came the details of the incident earlier that afternoon, followed by the events that transpired afterward. By the time I finished recounting the whole story, I noticed that the man had gone pale and started sweating profusely.
Apparently, he knew something about what happened between Kouki and Satsuki, which made me even more nervous than usual. Wasn’t expecting that reaction.
When I was done speaking, the man looked at me expectantly, waiting for further explanation. As expected, he probably wanted to know where the hell Kouki disappeared off to last night. Well, that shouldn’t take very long to answer either. All I need to do is show them the letter he left behind.
As soon as I opened my mouth again, however, the man immediately interrupted me. “Wait, hold on! What’re ye sayin’?! Yer telling us tha—”
Before he could finish his sentence, I quickly grabbed the front of his shirt collar, forcing him into silence. Then, using only two fingers, I gently pressed down on his Adam’s apple until his entire body became rigid. At the same time, I whispered directly into his ear. “Listen carefully, because this is important. Do you understand?”
He nodded silently, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“Good. Now listen closely. This morning, I received a phone call from Kouki asking me to meet him somewhere. When I arrived there, I saw him walking away with a girl dressed in red. They both vanished out of sight within minutes, leaving nothing behind except their footprints. Understand?”
His expression remained unchanged throughout my speech, but his breathing grew heavier and faster. Eventually, he managed to force himself to speak once more. “Ya can’t possibly be serious!”
“Of course I am. Why else would I make such a big deal out of it?”
That question took me completely by surprise. Did he really believe I was making this up? It certainly sounded like he thought I was joking or pulling his leg, given how hard he was trying to deny reality.
In fact, I felt pretty confident that I hadn’t said anything wrong yet, since I was able to accurately describe every single detail of what happened yesterday. Even though they were all rather vague descriptions, none of those facts contradicted each other.
But regardless, he continued denying the truth despite being unable to refute any part of it. That must mean he truly believed I was lying, huh…?
In order to confirm whether he actually understood what I told him, I decided to ask him a follow-up question. “So, why exactly are you refusing to accept the truth?”
This time, he responded instantly, almost sounding annoyed. “Because it doesn’t matter! We don’t give a damn about whatever happens over there! Just leave it alone already!!”
The way he yelled at me made it clear that he wasn’t going to back down anytime soon. I guess I won’t be able to convince him after all. Guess I’ll just have to wait till tomorrow to find out what Kouki has planned next. For now, I think I’ll try to sneak past him without causing trouble.
Once I released him, the man turned around and walked towards the door. Before opening it, however, he stopped abruptly and glanced at me briefly. “…You better not be lyin’, kid.” With that, he finally stepped through the doorway. After closing the door quietly behind him, he proceeded to walk straight across the hallway before disappearing out of view.
I waited patiently for several seconds, hoping he’d return so we could continue our discussion. However, when no one showed up, I reluctantly headed downstairs myself. Once I reached the entrance hall, I found everyone gathered together near the staircase. The moment I spotted them, I hurried forward toward the group.
Kouichi and Satsuki stood side by side while facing the opposite direction, staring blankly at the wall. Aiko sat cross-legged on the floor, her eyes closed tightly. And then there was Shizuku, who seemed to be talking to herself. She kept repeating the name “Satsuki,” perhaps still confused about what she meant to say.
Finally reaching the end of the line, I placed a hand against the railing beside Satsuki’s shoulder and called out to her. Her head snapped sideways, revealing an exhausted look on her face.
“…What…are you doing here?”
Her voice was surprisingly hoarse; apparently, she didn’t get much sleep last night. Not surprising considering everything that went down during dinner. Still, if anyone should’ve been tired right now, it definitely wouldn’t be me. Besides, I’m sure I got plenty of rest thanks to my nap earlier today.
“Well…” I tried giving her some kind of excuse, but I couldn’t come up with anything good enough to satisfy her. So instead, I simply shrugged my shoulders and replied honestly: “Just came to see what was happening.”
She gave me a suspicious glare. “And what did you learn?”
It looked like she wanted to know what had transpired between Kouki and me. Well, let’s start off with something simple first. “Nothing new. He refused to tell me where he was heading afterward, which means he probably intends to do something tonight. If I knew what he intended to accomplish, maybe I could help stop him somehow. But unfortunately, I haven’t figured that out yet.”
After hearing my explanation, Satsuki sighed heavily. Then, as if coming to a decision, she slowly opened her mouth again. “Then I suppose I will go ahead and explain things to you anyway. You might want to sit down for this, okay?”
Without waiting for confirmation, she began speaking. As expected, I immediately followed suit.
***
When I heard Kouki’s story, I was shocked beyond belief. At the same time, I also realized that I needed to take action quickly. There was only one problem—how in the world was I supposed to reach him?
My initial plan involved sneaking into his room using the window, but that obviously wouldn’t work anymore. Since he locked the door from inside, even if I broke it open, I doubt I’d manage to enter undetected. Plus, I don’t have any tools capable of breaking glass windows.
If I attempted to break the lock, he most likely would hear the noise and wake up instantly. While I could easily overpower someone half my size, it was doubtful he’d fall asleep instantly upon waking. That being said, I can’t imagine him sleeping soundly once he realizes what happened. In fact, I suspect he’ll be more than ready to fight me.
That leaves us with two options left. Either we attempt to make contact via phone or text message, or we send someone else to meet him. Unfortunately, neither option seems very promising. It’s hard to believe that he’d answer either of those methods. Even if he does pick up the call, how am I supposed to persuade him to listen to reason? What exactly is he planning to do anyways…?
As I pondered these questions, Satsuki suddenly spoke up. “So basically, your goal is to prevent him from leaving the mansion?”
I nodded silently.
“In other words, you’re trying to keep him safe until morning?”
Yes, precisely. Although I hadn’t thought too deeply about it beforehand, I ended up agreeing with her suggestion completely. Of course, there were many reasons why I chose this particular method, including the possibility that he may actually succeed in stopping his father. After all, if Kouki managed to convince him not to leave, then there wasn’t really anything wrong with keeping him around for another day or two.
However, before making such a drastic move, I decided to ask Satsuki whether it was truly necessary. To begin with, I asked her point blank: Is it possible that Kouki won’t try to escape after seeing his parents’ faces? Or are they going to force him to stay regardless?
The latter scenario sounded far less plausible to me. The moment Kouki saw them, he’d realize just how serious their intentions were. His mother especially would never give up so easily. No matter how desperate she became, she’d find a way to drag him back home no matter what. Thus, I doubted that she’d ever agree to let him run away.
But despite my best efforts, I failed to elicit a response from Satsuki. Instead, she merely stared straight forward without saying a word. Eventually, she turned towards me and continued speaking: “…You seem awfully confident that he’ll change his mind at the sight of his family.”
Confident? Me? Why would I say something like that?! I mean, yeah, I guess I feel pretty certain that he’ll refuse to return, but still! How dare you accuse me of having confidence when I clearly lack any sort of knowledge whatsoever regarding the situation!?
Sensing my growing agitation, Satsuki finally responded by shaking her head slightly. She seemed genuinely surprised that I felt so strongly about the subject. However, rather than apologizing for doubting me, she simply smiled wryly and added: “Oh well… Guess I shouldn’t expect much from an amateur detective who doesn’t understand the basics of human psychology.”
“…What?!”
Her comment caught me totally off-guard. Wasn’t she the one questioning my ability to solve this case right now? And here she goes insulting my intelligence again!!
At least, that’s how I interpreted her statement. Apparently, however, Satsuki didn’t intend to insult me personally; instead, she meant to criticize my inability to read people’s emotions properly.
To put it bluntly, I’m terrible at reading others. This isn’t some kind of skill reserved exclusively for detectives, though. Anyone can learn to recognize facial expressions and body language. But unfortunately, I’ve always been bad at doing both.
For example, whenever I see someone smiling, I automatically assume they must be happy. If someone looks angry, I tend to think that person has probably done something wrong. A lot of times, I end up getting myself into trouble because of this habit.
It’s true that I know better nowadays, but I haven’t quite gotten over the damage already inflicted upon me during childhood. As long as I live, I will continue to struggle against this weakness of mine.
The End