Born in Osaka Prefecture. Debuted with Snow, Like the Fragrance of Apples in 2007. Won the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize Newcomer's Award for Small Worlds in 2022, the Seijiro Shimada Romance Literature Award for Stay in the Light in 2023, and the 171st Naoki Prize for Tsumidemic. Also won the Blooming Flower Award (Literary and Other Category) in 2022. Her other works include the Yes, No, or Maybe? series, Parachute with a Parasol, Stardust Sandstorm, and Utakata Mosaic.
Finding myself free of looming deadlines for the first time in almost a month, I enjoyed the atmosphere, alcohol, and snacks of a local bar. I had hoped that the summer heat would have passed during my time trapped at home, but the October night was still muggy. Still, I was happy just being able to go outside without any worries. I stopped by a convenience store, feeling a little bit tipsy, and bumped into my neighbor.
“Oh, good evening, Mr. Arisugawa.”
“Good evening. Hope life's treating you well.”
I greeted Saori Mano, who wore a mid-length dress and a light jacket, as I conspicuously looked away from her shopping cart. I wasn't comfortable prying into the life of a single woman. It was awkward enough running into a woman who looked like she was on her way home from work while I was flush-faced and dressed like I was on my way to bed. It's fine, you were only released from that writing desk you were chained to 24/7 a few hours ago – even though my brain knows that, my self-employed sense of guilt still acts up now and then. If I'd gone straight to becoming a writer without ever experiencing the office life, I might not feel that way. But I think it was good for me to experience the strictness and people-oriented approach of being a corporate employee as well as the freedom of self-employment.
“These new cookies that just came out are really good. They pair well with both tea and coffee.”
Saori, unaware of my feelings, cheerfully launched into a spiel. I had only been intending to buy some bread and eggs for breakfast tomorrow, but her recommendation succeeded in making me curious.
“Oh? I might have to try some then.”
“You really should. My students told me about them, and I immediately got hooked.”
“You were working until this late today? That's rough.”
I'd thought she was busy coming up with exams, but Saori told me “The school festival is coming up. I'm substituting as advisor to the drama club while the usual teacher's on maternity leave. We're working on the final stage of rehearsals.”
Even though I didn't have any particularly proud memories of my own school events, just hearing the words “school festival” set my heart racing.
“Ooh, ooh, what's the play? Something English, maybe?”
“I'd love if that were the case, but we are going to be performing for parents and children.”
“Ah, right.”
“We're going to do a rather tragic take on the Tono Monogatari with a modern twist.”
“Oh, that sounds interesting.”
I wasn't lying, per se, but I was just making conversation. But Saori suddenly perked up and asked me “You really think so?”
“Eh? Uh, yeah. I mean, I only read the Tono Monogatari in school, so I'm not that familiar with it...”
Had I said something wrong? Her reply was hesitant.
“Mr. Arisugawa.”
“Yes?”
“There's something I'd like to talk to you about. Could you lend me a bit of time after this?”
It was after 10:00 P.M., but I wasn't very tired. The memory of an incident Saori had asked me to get involved in six months ago flooded back to me. Although the mystery had been solved, the pain of those left behind had remained. I didn't want to go through that again, but I couldn't refuse without even hearing the details. I had no choice but to respond “If it's something I can help with.”
I hadn't given my room a proper cleaning in some time due to the deadline crunch, and I wasn't comfortable going to Saori's room late at night, so I listened to what she had to say in the entrance lobby of the apartment building. We sat in the small reception area, where two armchairs sat facing each other, and I placed my plastic convenience store bag in my lap. For some reason, Saori, who was holding a tote bag and a reusable shopping bag, giggled.
“Is something funny?”
“I'm sorry. There I was in the convenience store, lost in thought... I was hoping I could get your opinion on something, and you chose that exact moment to arrive.”
“Maybe you unconsciously summoned me.”
I regretted the awkward joke as soon as it came out of my mouth, but Saori nodded happily, so I guess it was okay.
“If you'd bought frozen goods, I'd have felt bad about keeping you, but when I saw all you bought was bread, eggs, and cookies, I did a little fist pump.”
Not that it felt bad – in fact, it felt pretty good – but I was a bit worried that she relied on me too much. I deliberately tensed my facial muscles.
“So, what was it you wanted to ask me about?”
“Like I told you earlier, I'm filling in as advisor to the drama club, but there's been some trouble...”
Saori paused, and then spoke quietly, even though there was no one around to overhear.
“Last week, a uniform was stolen.”
“A student's uniform?”
Of course it was, stupid. What other possibility is there?
“That's right. It belonged to a third year club member, and the stolen uniform still hasn't been found.”
“Was it stolen from on school grounds?”
“Yes. Everyone changes into tracksuits during club activities. They do things like running and stretching and working on props. But the athletic clubs have priority for the changing rooms, so for meetings and script readings, we use regular classrooms. Apparently, when she went to change back into her uniform after practice, it was gone.”
“Was it locked up?”
“No. Everyone was in charge of looking after their own possessions, so everyone either leaves their uniform behind or takes it with them to the practice area. It might sound careless, but I swear we've never had a problem with theft before. We lock things up now, though. Even thought the other members all complain about it.”
“This is pretty basic, but have you alerted the police? This is a theft case, after all.”
Saori shook her head, looking downcast.
“The school doesn't want information leaking to the outside. If this were to become public, it could tarnish the school's reputation, and it might have a negative impact on the third year students preparing for their entrance exams. There's also the question of how we'll respond if it turns out the culprit is a current student. For now, we've instructed all of the drama club members to keep quiet, and to be sure to lock up all of their belongings during club activities.”
“Well, I can kind of see where they're coming from, but...”
“I feel the same way.”
Saori clutched both her bags tightly.
“When the vice principal started talking about 'the school's image', I felt pathetic. But she said that if this resulted in any public scrutiny, the drama club would have to be shut down... The school festival is the third years' final performance. I can't let that be taken from them, and one student in particular – the victim – begged me not to cause a scene. She was the one to write the script, so it's only natural she feels strongly about the performance.”
“I see... the victimized student.”
“Her name is Shigeho. Shigeho Tazuhara.”
“Are Miss Tazuhara's parents okay with this? Maybe I'm just a cheapskate, but school uniforms are expensive. If one was stolen in the fall of their daughter's third year and they had to buy a new one for all of one semester, I can't imagine they'd keep quiet.”
“Oh, they're fine. There's a system at the school called the 'uniform bank' where departing students donate their uniforms when they graduate and give them to new students who want free uniforms.”
“Oh, I've heard about that being done with school backpacks and stuff. It's probably real good for the school's SDG.”
“Yes. This is just my experience over the past few years, but the number of people who want to take advantage of the program has increased. Even if tuition fees are reduced, it's still a private school, so the costs of uniforms and extracurriculars are both high. So we want the students to take care of their uniforms for three years and then donate them, but some students secretly have their uniforms embroidered, or put pins and badges in them, or resell them online... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling.”
“Embroidered? Things like 'Ride or Die' or images of skulls or that cool S?”
I genuinely didn't understand, but Saori lowered her head and shook with poorly suppressed laughter.
“That's a bit much... Their initials, their boyfriends' initials, or the names of people they like in tiny letters.”
“Oh, right... sorry.”
Saori taught at a classy private all-girls school; there's no way there would be delinquents there. At least not ones concerned with branding.
“No, it's my fault for getting off topic... Tazuhara has been provided with a new uniform from the uniform bank. In the first place, her stolen uniform was already a hand-me-down, so she doesn't seem to mind.”
Even after hearing that much, I wasn't sure what it was Saori wanted to ask me. Surely she wasn't expecting me to find the culprit with that little information. Even Himura wouldn't be able to do that... would he? No, there's no way.
“Mr. Arisugawa.”
Saori was completely serious.
“Yes?”
“Could you please talk to the club members?”
“Wait, you aren't actually asking me to solve the case, are you? That's impossible.”
It was a request I had no choice but to reject immediately.
“The school doesn't want this to become public knowledge, right? If I go sticking my nose in unnecessarily, it might put you in a bad position, Ms. Mano. And besides, there's no way an outsider could go investigating in the first place. A high school girl and a middle-aged man is the most inappropriate combination there is.”
“The school festival is next weekend. You can come if you have an invitation, so I'll give you one. You graduated from Eito University, didn't you, Mr. Arisugawa? Some of our club members are hoping to get into Eito University, so I think we can arrange to let you talk to them under the pretext of asking about life on campus.”
“I graduated over a decade ago, so my info might not be up to date... besides, there's no way I can ask about the case with it being suppressed like this. I don't think I'd be much help.”
“But I'm only a substitute advisor, so I can't give advice about the play and I'm not sure I've built up enough trust with the club members.”
“Ms. Mano... Do you think one of the club members stole the uniform?”
“To be honest, I'm not sure... That's why I want your help, Mr. Arisugawa. You can see things I can't.”
“You're exaggerating.”
“But you advised me about Hirosawa's case before.”
“That was... I know it's pointless for me to say this now, but I feel like what I did was unnecessary. Nothing I did made any difference to the outcome of that case. Mysteries are cruel. Even if, after solving them, you regret what comes next, it's already too late.”
“That's true. There are some things better left unresolved. I don't know what the right answer is.”
Saori gave a deep nod.
“But,” she continued, “I wanted to come to you with this because you're the sort of person who always thinks of things like that.”
I crossed my arms and looked up at the ceiling. After about ten seconds, I looked back, unfolded my arms, and asked:
“Can I bring my friend?”
“...So. You want me to accompany you while you go undercover in an all-girls' school?”
“It's an official visit approved through official channels.”
“You realize that bringing a second old guy will only make you look more suspicious – Hey! Stop it, you'll tear my clothes.”
The man was only half listening to me as he played with his cats.
“It would look more natural as a college visit if I bring an associate professor with me. You're used to dealing with young girls at the university.”
“Don't just lump them all together as 'young girls'. People that age turn into completely different animals after only two years.”
“See? Those kinds of insightful remarks just come out of you.”
I was answered with a profoundly dignified yawn. Oi.
“So what exactly is it she wants from you? As I understand it, even if you do identify the thief, they're going to handle everything in-house to make the whole case disappear, right?”
“We still want to know who did it. I promised Ms. Mano, the victim, and the original advisor who's on maternity leave I'd help. As teachers, they seem more concerned with the 'why' than the 'who'.”
“Hmm. Well, I guess I could go along. I did want to give you a souvenir from my business trip to Iwate.”
“You went to Iwate?”
“Yeah, I was invited to give a lecture. I went to see a special exhibition on the Tono Monogatari and sorcery.”
I had wanted to go to that event, but my schedule and the Katagiri in my head wouldn't let me, so I'd reluctantly given up. Hearing that Himura had managed to go made me want to drop to my knees.
“Well, even for someone who isn't interested in folklore, it was interesting. And the jingisukan in Tono City was delicious.”
“You're talking a lot of shit, Himura...”
“That drama club is also doing the Tono Monogatari, right? I'd like to see it.”
I was grateful enough that he agreed to the request that was only kind of fieldwork that I could – eventually – swallow my envy. We decided on a meeting time and place.
“The drama club's performance starts at 2:00 P.M., and they'll have some free time afterwards. Let's meet up at a local coffee shop around 1:00.”
“Roger that.”
Before I shut the door behind me, I heard a cat's meow and a voice saying “Did Grandma give you a treat? She did, didn't she? Oh yes she did...”
Himura's souvenir from Iwate turned out to be an illustrated catalog for a special exhibition about crimes that had taken place in Morioka during the Edo Period. Apparently that was where he'd given the lecture.
“I though it might be good research material for you.”
“Even if it isn't, it still sounds interesting.”
I'm the sort of person who's more interested in headlines reading “Aristocrat Beheaded In Bed” and “The Gatekeeper Was Asleep” than tales of folklore. I have to be, I'm a mystery novelist. It even came with a complete map of Morioka Castle in the appendix. It was the sort of thing I could easily spend an entire night pouring over with a stiff drink. But when I started looking through it, Himura scolded me “Not now.”
“Tell me about the theft.”
“Sorry.”
I put the catalog down and recited the incident summary I'd gotten from Saori.
“The incident occurred on Friday two weeks ago, on a rainy day. After a club meeting, the drama club members all did rehearsals and worked on props in the gym starting at around 3:45 P.M. Apparently, they took turns with the choir club doing rehearsals, and when they didn't have access to the stage, they went down underneath to paint backdrops and sew outfits. The club has 35 members, only one of whom was absent that day, a second year who was out with a cold. At around 5:00 P.M., they took a 15 minute break. Shigeho Tazuhara said she was going to take out the trash and go to a convenience store while she was out and left the gym by herself. According to her, she'd left her wallet in her school bag, so she returned to the third floor classroom they were using as the changing room that day. However, she didn't pass anyone on her way there, so we only have her word for that. She threw the trash in the dumpster behind the school building, left through the rear gate, went to the convenience store, which is a three minute walk from the school, and returned with a cafe au lait in a paper carton.”
“Aren't there any stores or vending machines on campus?” Himura asked. “It was raining pretty hard that day. I remember staying late at the university because I didn't want to go out in it. Would she really have gone out like that?”
“I didn't ask, but the same thought occurred to me. She had to take out the trash anyway, and maybe the sort of cafe au lait she liked was only sold at that one store. What, do you suspect Tazuhara?”
“You're the one who made her sound suspicious. What else?”
“When Tazuhara returned, she didn't go back to the classroom, but went straight back to the gym and returned just as the break ended. When one of the other club members chided her for being late, she replied 'I was just checking out the new snacks they had'. Several other club members besides Tazuhara left the gym for bathroom breaks and such, but we don't have an exact number. Club activities ended at 6:00, and everyone cleaned up and left the gym. At that time, Akane Murayama, another third year, asked Tazuhara to 'give back that mirror I lent you'. They were classmates, and apparently Tazuhara had borrowed a compact mirror during lunch break and left it in her uniform's skirt pocket. When the club members returned to the classroom, they found Tazuhara's uniform missing. A first year girl went to call Ms. Mano, who was locking up the gym, and Ms. Mano ran to the classroom and ordered a search of everyone's school bags there in the classroom, without finding the uniform. There's another questionable point here, as apparently she didn't actually go through the bags herself, but just ordered the girls to 'make sure there was nothing in them'. The school bags are basic shoulder bags. They're pretty wide, and students put their gym clothes and heavy textbooks in them, so it's not impossible that something could be hidden inside. By the way, the uniform itself is a navy blue sailor fuku. The ribbon is white, and it looks the same for all three grades. If it didn't, the hand-me-down system wouldn't work. They go for about 80,000 yen in online auctions.”
“You even looked into that?”
“It's just what Ms. Mano told me. It could have been stolen for resale. However, it seems no new uniforms have appeared online since the theft. Of course, it could always be on the dark web or a private SNS circle.”
“Or they just took it to a physical pawn shop.”
“That day, Ms. Mano talked to the head of the grade, but it was late and some of the club members had to leave for cram school, so she just told everyone not to talk about the case and let them leave. On Saturday, the teachers and staff did a search of the school, but with no results, so they had a staff meeting and... well, the order not to report it came straight from the top. Incidentally, the janitor found the mirror lying in a flower bed on school grounds Monday morning. Since the school is closed on weekends, we aren't sure when it got there. But at least the mirror was returned.”
“Are you certain it's the same mirror that belonged to Akane Murayama?”
“It was a limited edition item that came as part of a gift she got from her boyfriend last Christmas. Oh, the gift was a cosmetics set.”
“Even I could have figured that much.”
“Well, it isn't available anymore, and apparently there was a printed sticker of a photo of her with her boyfriend on the back. So we're pretty sure.”
“I see.”
“So? What do you think?”
“What?”
“Has this story brought you any closer to the truth...?”
“There's no way.”
“I figured as much.”
“Why do you look happy about that?”
“You're just imagining things.”
“I still have a few questions. First, could this have been the work of a culprit from outside the school?”
“There are security guards at both the front and rear gate. It's a big school, so it wouldn't be impossible to climb one of the side walls and sneak in, but it would be tough to get inside without being seen. Especially since it was a rainy day, so the number of people indoors was higher than usual, what with the sports and athletic clubs all running in the halls and up and down the stairs.”
“Well, it's hard to imagine a literal outsider breaking in just to steal one uniform. That would mean the culprit is a student or a faculty member, but... Ms. Mano must already have some ideas if she asked for your help, I take it?”
“Yeah. It seems relations within the drama club weren't great, which is what has her worried.”
Himura nodded with a sigh. “I understand. Even in my smaller seminars, skirmishes break out now and then.”
“Well then, how do you calm things down?”
“The basic strategy is to wait and see. If you're asked to intervene, then sit and listen. I think Ms. Mano took a similar approach.”
“Yeah. She was just the acting advisor, and apparently she was so busy providing logistical support that she didn't have much time to talk to the club members one-on-one. But now she's worried that passive attitude might have resulted in this case.”
“Sounds serious. What does Ms. Mano think happened?”
“As I understand it, Shigeho Tazuhara, the girl whose uniform was stolen, was fighting with another girl named Rio Komiya. Tazuhara is a soft-spoken girl who is more interested in scriptwriting and directing than being on stage, but Komiya was the sort of glamorous natural-born leading woman who demanded attention.”
“So it wasn't a rivalry over a role, then.”
“No. Actually, she isn't sure why it started. Whatever the reason, Komiya considered Tazuhara an enemy, constantly belittling her as sad and lame and needing to wear makeup, and the other club members who looked up to her played along... It sounds like terrible bullying when I put it like that, but by all appearances Tazuhara herself wasn't affected, and there were several other club members on her side, plus many who just didn't get involved... And thus, the balance of power was maintained. Komiya was the one who started it, but like I said, Tazuhara ignored it, and since everyone knew her scripts and directing were the best in the club, it's not like they could have risked truly antagonizing her.”
“Just listening to this is making me nervous. So, any reason you're referring to our leading lady in the past tense?”
“The truth is, Rio Komiya transferred schools.”
“What's the story there?”
“It was in June of this year, so Ms. Mano doesn't personally know the details. She's planning to hear it from the advisor out on maternity leave today.”
“We can't rule her out as a suspect yet. A young woman in a uniform would have an easy time sneaking in.”
“Right, and she didn't donate her uniform to the bank. She would also know the date of the school festival and the details of their practice schedule, and she could have easily found Shigeho Tazuhara's uniform, since each member had an agreed upon place to put their clothes. When she stole the uniform, she noticed the mirror that didn't belong to Shigeho Tazuhara, and since she was her only target, she left it in the flower bed where it was sure to be found. Did she know that it wasn't hers, or did she only realize when she saw the sticker on the mirror?”
“We still need to ask what her motive would be.”
“We still don't know why they were fighting in the first place, but I wonder if their feud didn't gradually grow into harassment. They put up with each other this long because they were in the same school club, but now that they're apart, maybe she could resort to bolder tactics. And yet, I feel like this still isn't a very hurtful move. Even if her uniform was stolen, she could always go home in her tracksuit, and Tazuhara's uniform was a hand-me-down, while the school's already offered a replacement. As a former student, she should have known all that already. Tazuhara might have been weirded out for a moment, but I'm not sure if this case really hurt her...”
“That's probably why she hasn't reported it. It's almost time, we should get going.”
“Alrighty then.”
About a ten minute walk from the coffee shop, the all girls' high school came into view. An archway decorated with pink balloons had been set up at the gate, and the walls were covered in hanging banners reading things like “Class 2-3 – Crepes” and “Basketball Club – Haunted House”. I hoped the members of the drama club enjoyed their school festival. Because this specific festival was something they'd never get to experience again.
“Himura, let's buy some vouchers.”
“You gave me them when we entered.”
“Those were our invitations. We need vouchers to exchange at the stalls.”
“We're not here to enjoy ourselves.”
“Come on, the proceeds are supposed to go to charity. We got the invitations for free, we could at least contribute something.”
“If you really insist...”
We paid 1,000 yen each and received a book of ten perforated vouchers. They had quite elaborate designs that made them look like coffee vouchers from a coffee shop. We changed into indoor slippers and passed through the school building to the gym. Most of the guests looked like family or friends of current students, so the two of us, at the awkward age of 34, stood out.
“Ah man, I feel awkward.”
I rubbed the center of my chest with my palm.
“Girls' schools sure have a unique atmosphere. I don't mean to be weird, but it smells feminine.”
“Ugh...”
Himura frowned deeply and took a step back.
“Wait, wait, wait, don't abandon me here!”
“Yes, this man right here, officer.”
“It's not like that! The air is filled with the smell of flowers and cosmetics, it makes my nose feel funny. I feel like I'm going to sneeze any moment. Mr. Katagiri demanded that I make note of things like this...”
What about a story of sisterhood set in an all-girls' school?, he'd said. As an editor, he was always on the lookout for new material.
“This could be a good chance for you to widen your horizons, Great Author Arisugawa.”“Don't you think it'd be a bit... weird for me to write about an all-girls' school?”
“Why would it? Nobody would think anything if Ms. Asai wrote about an all-boys' school.”
“Ms. Asai can write about high school boys realistically enough, but it's difficult for a middle-aged man to write about the subtleties of young women.”
The area around us was filled with the sounds of laughter, calling, cheering, and the occasional broadcast over the school's P.A. system. Announcements came on a regular schedule.
“Everyone at the school festival, are you having fun? The drama club's performance will be beginning in the gymnasium at 2:00 P.M., so be sure not to miss it! It's autumn, but it's still so hot outside, we'd like to play you a song that fits the summer! This request comes courtesy of Ms. Mizoguchi from math class! Who would have thought Ms. 'Guchi's a bona-fide otaku!? This is Nogizaka46's Girls' Rule!”
As the song about the friendship between girls reached its chorus, Himura suddenly stopped and said “Listen.”
“What is it?”
“There's a grown man putting the feelings of young girls into lyrics.”
“He's a professional.”
“Is he now?”
“Yes.”
We arrived in the gymnasium five minutes before curtain, finding it nearly full. I managed to find us two empty seats in the back row and sat down. The room was already dark, and when a voice started making announcements to turn off our cell phones, I felt a rush like I was in a real theater.
The curtain rose. In the middle of a spotlight shining from downstage, a figure stood in a baggy white raincoat and white boots. Their face was obscured by the shadow of the hood.
The coated figure began to speak in a sonorous voice.
“Once upon a time, there was a poor girl. She had no mother and lived with her father – or rather, her father and their horse.”
The neigh of a horse echoed throughout the room.
“In her village, horses weren't viewed as mere working animals. The people had stables inside their homes, and they treated their horses like family.
It's Oshirasama, I thought to myself. The story of a girl who falls in love with a horse and their ascend to godhood after a tragedy is among the most famous legends contained in the Tono Monogatari, but, as Saori had said, it was significantly modified for the play.
In this story, the girl grew up ostracized by the other girls for her shabby clothes. Her father never listened to her, only ever telling her to stop playing and go help in the fields. The girl poured out her feelings of loneliness to her horse.
“It isn't my fault that I have no mother. It isn't my fault my family is poor.”
However, as the girl grew up to become beautiful, the eyes of the villagers who had once mocked her began to change. The men tried to woo her with gifts of hair ornaments and rouge, but she rejected them all, saying “They can only see my looks.”
“I don't need hair ornaments or rouge. I hate all the men who approach me without seeing beyond my appearance, and I hate my father most of all. You're the only one I need. What would happen to me if the world learned I love you more than any human? Even though I haven't done anything wrong, I'm not even allowed to admit my own feelings...”
The girl gently embraced the horse. Soon, she was placed in an arranged marriage.
“You're more than old enough to get married. Stop playing around with that horse.”
“Why? You always used to get so angry whenever I so much as spoke to a man, so how could you say something like that? I don't want to get married! I want to decide my own fate!”
“How dare you, you ungrateful child! Children should listen to their parents, and when a woman gets married, she should listen to her husband!”
Despairing, the girl tries to elope with the horse, but her father realizes what's happening and forces her into the marriage, then kills the horse by hanging it from a mulberry tree. On the night of her wedding, the girl, still wearing her pure white wedding kimono, runs away and clings to the horse's body, sobbing.
“You foolish girl, how many times must I tell you!?”
The father swings an axe and chops off the horse's head, and the girl escapes, clutching the head. It was a spectacular scene, as the pure white wedding kimono was instantly painted red with (what I assume was) fake blood. The girl wandered the mountains, holding the horse's head all the while, and eventually stumbled upon a house. At that moment, the figure in the raincoat, who had thus far only been portrayed as the narrator, appeared.
“You poor thing. You should wash the horse's neck with the water from this bowl. Now, you must be hungry. Can I interest you in something to eat?”
“No.”
“In that case, I will give you this bowl. If you take it and return to your village, you will never have to worry about your livelihood. You will be able to live without relying on your father or any other man.”
The girl shook her head and again said “No.”
“A rich life or a fine home are meaningless without my partner. That is why I wish to give this bowl to my father... My father, who will be left all alone. I could never make my father happy, but I did all I could to make myself happy. Farewell.”
The daughter ascended to heaven alongside her horse, and as her father wept with regret for his actions, a vermilion lacquered bowl floated to him on the river.
“And strange as it was, when he filled the bowl with rice, it never emptied again. The girl's father was blessed with good fortune and obtained great wealth, but loneliness and regret followed him for the remainder of his days. He never again wished for anything but the happiness of his daughter and her horse, who had become husband and wife in the land of the gods.”
The same spotlight from before slowly dimmed as the curtain fell. The audience exploded into applause.
“That was impressive.”
Himura exhaled.
“I agree, it was a fascinating performance.”
As the light in the gym came back on, we made our way against the flow of the leaving crowd and approached the stage, where Saori was coming down from the stairs on the stage's side.
“Mr. Arisugawa, I can't apologize enough for dragging you out here today. Is this Mr. Himura? A pleasure to meet you, I'm Mano.”
“I'm Himura. And not at all, the performance was wonderful.”
“Oh, you're just saying that...”
Saori's eyes were red and her voice sounded choked up. She pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes in embarrassment. “Even though I've seen the full rehearsal so many times, I still got so overwhelmed with emotion during the performance. All the students laughed at me.”
“It was an incredible performance.”
“Thank you, but please tell them that.”
“Ms. Mano, is it okay if we move the students to the classrooms now?”
Another female teacher, who looked to be a bit older than Saori, emerged from the wings. She looked to be about my and Himura's age.
“Oh, yes, thank you for all your hard work.”
“Understood. Come on everyone, stop hanging around and leave. The chorus club will be here soon.”
The murmur of the students gradually faded away into the opposite wing. The door outside must have been that way. The female teacher walked over to Saori and said “If we leave them to their own devices, they'll keep talking forever.”
“They're just excited. Ms. Koumoto, this is the author Alice Arisugawa, who I told you about the other day, and Professor Himura, an associate professor at Eito University.”
“I'm the club's advisor, Akiko Koumoto. Thank you for coming here. I'd be grateful if you could talk to the students and let me know if you notice anything.”
“I'll help if I can.”
Himura gave a measured answer.
“Whatever you can offer is fine. I'll be happy if you just give them honest career advice. It isn't often you get the chance to hear directly from a professor from Eito University. And Mr. Arisugawa?”
“Yes?”
“If I tell them you're a mystery novelist, the girls might get a bit defensive. Can you give us a false name and keep your identity a secret?”
“Oh, I see. Then how about I call myself Uemachi?”
“Uemachi, spelled the same as Uemachi Plateau, very good. Then I'll introduce you as two seniors from my own university days.”
As she'd said, Akiko was also a graduate of Eito University, being a year younger than Himura and I, so she wasn't lying. Before we entered the classroom, I spoke to Akiko in the hall outside the gym.
“I understand there was a member of the club that didn't get along with Tazuhara.”
“Komiya. She would pick fights with her and, while it would be a bit much to call it a 'clique', she did have some other girls at her side. Her behavior was quite conspicuous. After every school festival or recital, she would take her friends out to a family restaurant or Starbucks for a party and gift everyone with makeup.”
“That's pretty generous.”
“Well, when I say makeup, I mean cheap drugstore products. It's tricky, if they were in elementary or middle school, I would warn them against making friends like that, but high school students... I think trying to lure people in with things is a sign of insecurity, really. She put up a front of confidence, but she was really a lonely young woman. Meanwhile, I think Tazuhara, who was modest and level-headed, saw through her bravado and didn't think much of her. It's difficult for someone like Komiya to ignore that.”
Rio Komiya was superficially successful, but Shigeho Tazuhara was too mentally strong to fight. Listening to Akiko's story, it seemed unlikely that Rio Komiya would have the guts to steal a uniform. The biggest obstacle to the investigation was still that she'd already transferred schools. We had no way to talk to her, let alone get our own read on her personality.
“Even if it was completely one-sided, why did Komiya go after Tazuhara to begin with? Did they just mesh that poorly?”
Himura asked.
“I haven't confirmed this with them myself...”
Akiko began hesitantly. “Their older sisters were both alumni of this school, and they were the best of friends.”
“What?”
Saori, who hadn't heard this before, was also surprised.
“They were three years apart, so they graduated the same year their sisters first came to our school. Miho Tazuhara and Rina Komiya. Miho was a quiet girl in the drama club. Just like her sister, she'd didn't like being in the spotlight. She was especially good at making costumes, and could arrange clothes she'd brought from her home into evocative outfits, to the point where the other girls asked her to do their home economics assignments for her. Yukatas, scarves, things like that... It was Rina who would stand up for Miho, who was bad at telling people no, and say 'Go do it yourself'.”
“So was Rina also in the drama club?”
“No, she wasn't in any clubs. She had a weak body and had to miss school often. Like Rio, she was a beautiful, charismatic girl, so I wanted her for the club. But she said that even though she was interested, she didn't want to cause trouble for others if she suddenly collapsed. But whenever she felt up to it, she would hang out with the drama club and help Miho. She was a club member in all but name.”
“The two older sisters getting along doesn't explain why the younger sisters butted heads so often.”
“It's probably because of what happened between Rina and Miho just before graduation.”
Akiko told us that Miho got accepted to a scholarship program to go to a university in the United States. But Rina hadn't heard that her best friend had even applied and believed that they'd go to the same local college. And in fact, that had been Miho's plan if she didn't get accepted for the scholarship. The recipients of the scholarship weren't announced until after the end of Japanese college entrance exam season, and what's more, Rina learned about it from a third party.
“Even though she shouldn't have, one of the teachers told Rina 'Your friend is incredible. She's going to America on a full ride scholarship'. That teacher was probably just happy that Miho's hard work had paid off. She never could have imagined that Rina didn't already know. But she was deeply hurt.”
“It's terrible, to have a falling out over something like that.”
Saori frowned, looking hurt herself.
“It is. Sooner or later, we all go our separate ways in life. As we grow and change, it's inevitable that our relationships change as well. We, who've all experienced that, view it as something inevitable, but for a girl that age it must have felt like her entire world was falling apart. This is just my personal speculation, but I think Rina took pride in how much she'd supported the shy Miho. For a sickly girl, who was so restricted, it may have even become part of her self-image. But the real Miho didn't remain in Rina's shadow, but found the strength to forge her own path.”
It was probably because Miho had such inner strength that she couldn't tell Rina about her decision, which could have broken her heart. It was a sad story where neither side was in the wrong. If the timing or the way they'd learned had been a bit different, they could have still been best friends today.
“Do you think that's why their sisters' relationship is so bad?”
Akiko nodded at Himura and said “Probably. When Rio introduced herself, she said she wanted to join the drama club because she admired her sister. She often brought up Rina in everyday conversations, so I assume they're close. But Shigeho has never mentioned her older sister, so...”
“I think she knew,” Saori said in a soft but confident voice. “Tazuhara is an honor student, but she seems somewhat distrustful of adults. I thought it was because I'm young and don't seem trustworthy as a teacher, but it might be because of what happened with her sister.”
“You mean she's angry at the teacher who let it slip.”
“I wouldn't go so far as to call it 'angry'.”
The number of characters kept increasing. The sins of the father are repaid upon the child, or rather, the sins of the older sisters and repaid upon the younger sisters. Rio Komiya regarded Shigeho Tazuhara as an enemy, and Shigeho Tazuhara didn't resist, as though she were taking on her sister's burden. Even so, two and a half years is a long time to endure misplaced resentment. As an only child, I couldn't understand their feelings. If it were me, I probably would have snapped and said “Enough is enough” before long.
It wasn't like I'd never imagined it before, though. What if I got caught up in some incident? My first impulse would be to call Himura. Himura would uncover the truth, but what if someone got caught up as a result, was hurt somehow, and came to resent me?
“If only you hadn't called that man. It would have been better if the truth was never uncovered.”
I knew I would have no response.
“Shall we go to class now?”
Akiko's voice brought me back to reality.
“Sorry, but one more thing first. Is it possible that the stolen uniform was handed down from Miho? Miho donated it to the uniform bank, and by coincidence, Shigeho just so happened to be the one to inherit it...”
“They're sisters, why wouldn't they just hand it over directly? Why go through the bank?”
“Maybe she got rejected at first and accepted that she'd go to public school, but then a vacancy opened and she got in?”
“No that isn't possible.” She denied it at once. “Miho also took her uniform from the bank. The clothes were already three years old when she took them, so after six years, the wear and tear would be obvious. It was still usable, but we don't want there to be gaps between the students who buy new uniforms and those who use the bank. So we have a rule that uniforms can only be handed down once, then they're donated to outside organizations.”
“I see, that makes sense.”
As we walked behind Saori and Akiko, Himura asked in a low voice “Did you get another strange idea?”
“I don't know if it's strange, but... You said you went to an exhibition on sorcery? So I thought that might have something to do with it.”
“You mean the culprit wanted to nail the uniform to a tree in the middle of the night?”
“If they believed in it, they'd do it. Komiya wanted revenge on Tazuhara – there's the motive. But she'd gone to America and was beyond her reach, so she tried to curse her with her uniform. It's a lower hurdle than stealing her hair or nails. The culprit was her younger sister, Rio. But since the hand-me-down theory has been denied, it's still just a hypothesis.”
“Even if it was a hand-me-down, the fact that her younger sister had been wearing it for two and a half years makes its purity as a piece of black magic paraphernalia questionable.”
“Well, their DNA is similar.”
“I see you're in top form today, Alice.”
“Please don't look at me like I'm a puppy that just fell down some stairs.”
Or maybe Rio wanted to curse Shige – but before the thought was even finished, we arrived at the classroom. Maybe it was better if I didn't say that.
When we entered, the seated girls all turned to Himura and I with looks of curiosity and gave us a hearty greeting. As expected of the drama club. I stood next to Saori and Akiko, who stood at the podium, like a transfer student.
“Thank you all for your hard work on the first day of the school festival.”
Saori's voice had completely changed in tone. This may have been a rare chance to see my neighbor acting professional.
“Ms. Koumoto was able to come watch, and she said it was a wonderful performance. Tomorrow will be the last performance for the third years, so let's make it an even better one so we don't have any regrets.”
“Yes!”
Many loud voices overlapped.
“...So I'm sure you've all been wondering about this for a while. Today, we have a special guest. Ms. Koumoto's-”
“Husband!” someone shouted.
“What, both of them?”
“Maybe the other is Mano's boyfriend, I don't know.”
Laughter erupted like bubbles from a soda, and Akiko quickly started scolding them. “Stop it. These two are my seniors from college. From the left, Mr. Uemachi and Mr. Himura. Mr. Himura is a professor at Eito University. Mr. Uemachi...”
Akiko's eyes started wandering. This plan hadn't been very well thought out.
“...I'm just a humble salaryman.”
With no other choice, I took over, and more snickering could be heard here and there. It sounded friendly enough, but it made me break out in a cold sweat.
“Mr. Uemachi, what did you think of our members' performance?”
“It was incredible. There were many scenes that touched my heart, and even if it didn't have a happy ending, I wanted to sit and bask in the way it made me feel.”
“Thank you,” they responded as one.
“Thank you, Mr. Uemachi. What about you, Mr. Himura?”
“I agree with Mr. Uemachi, I was fascinated by the story. It was an interesting script that combined elements of Oshirasama and Mayohiga, filtered through a more modern writing style.”
“Adults do like that kind of thing.”
Someone mumbled that. I couldn't tell who. Himura continued, ignoring her.
“If you decide to use the Tono Monogatari as a motif again, I think Tennyo would be a good choice.”
Tennyo? What was that? It sounded like the name of a monkey. Wasn't there a story about a monkey's teachings? Whatever the case, Himura must have had some motive for saying that now.
“Thank you both very much. Now, the third year students in particular are at a period in your lives where you need to start thinking seriously about your futures, so I wanted to give you a chance to talk to adults other than your teachers. That's why I invited these two men today. We're going to set up a little advice corner next door. Of course, first and second years are also welcome, so please feel free to ask any questions you like.
Suddenly, chatter filled the room.
“Huh?”
“What should we do?”
“If I ask, will he tell me the answer to the entrance exam questions?”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“It'll be first come, first served. Now, Mr. Uemachi, Mr. Himura, please go to the classroom next door.”
“Ah, right.”
Just as I turned towards the door, a student stood up.
“Oh, will you be asking for advice, Tazuhara?”
Ah. That was her. Her bobbed hair covered her ears, and her face was cool and mature. I felt a deep emotion at finally seeing Shigeho Tazuhara, who I'd only been able to imagine based on Saori and Akiko's words, but I tried not to let it show on my face. Shigeho, who had no idea what was going through my head, said “No” in a high-pitched yet measured voice. “I have to go back to class now.”
“But this is a rare opportunity.”
Saori gently tried to stop her.
“That's right, Tazuhara. It isn't often you get a chance to talk to a university professor.”
Despite Akiko's assistance, Shigeho's face didn't change, and she said “I'm not interested” and left the classroom. Her comment had felt beyond annoyed, almost malevolent. Saori looked at me apologetically, but there was nothing to be done now. When we went to the next classroom, there were two desks faced the other way, which appeared to be reserved for Himura and I.
“What'll we do? Shigeho Tazuhara and Rio Komiya, the key people, won't talk to us.”
“If the police were involved, we'd be able to just hold interrogations and get all the facts.”
“I'm suddenly thankful the police exist...”
“Well, stop. That's a dangerous belief. For the time being, just act as the author Arisugawa, researching the circumstances of modern high school girls.”
“By the way, what was that tennyo thing you mentioned earlier?”
“Oh, that-”
“Um, may we come in?”
Saori lightly knocked on the half open sliding door at the front of the classroom.
“Some students want to consult with you... so long as it isn't too much trouble. You can keep it brief.”
“Come right in.”
After giving us as much smile as she could muster, she told Himura “I'm counting on you.”
“I don't know anything about modern college entrance exams, so I'm trusting you to be honest here.”
“Is that really a good idea?”
“Excuse me.”
As we whispered to each other, three students came in. All of them were third years who said they were hoping to get into Eito University.
“I get nervous when I'm alone, so is it alright if we sit together?”
“Of course. Please, sit wherever you want.”
The three of them asked us about the atmospheres of our respective departments, our employment histories, and even our recommendations off the cafeteria menu. Himura, as I'd requested, answered honestly. I observed Himura's carefree teaching method, casually absorbing his tone and mannerisms. Not because Katagiri had asked me to, but because I wanted to make use of this interaction with people I didn't come in contact with in the course of my everyday life.
“By the way...”
Once the atmosphere had lightened, Himura spoke up “You said your name is Saki Kihara? You mentioned something about the script earlier.”
The girl in the middle of the group looked awkward. Ah, so it was her. I hadn't realized which girl had made the comment in that crowd, but Himura seemed to have found her easily.
“It was nothing, really...”
“I don't want to admonish you or anything. I was just curious.”
Himura spoke to the stammering Saki Kihara in a voice so gentle it was almost unpleasant. “You said 'adults like that kind of thing', didn't you? As an adult, unworthy as I am, I want to know young people's honest thoughts. My job involves interacting with young people, after all.”
“U-Unworthy?”
Saki Kihara hesitated, but when Himura said “I promise not to tell Ms. Koumoto and the others,” she seemed encouraged and spoke smoothly enough.
“They put messages about gender and class struggles in the forefront, but it's so obvious. They know that if they put in that sort of messaging, they'll be praised for 'updating it for the modern age', but it's all so hamfisted.”
The students on either side of her agreed vehemently. Himura didn't agree or disagree. He just nodded and said “I see.”
“The scriptwriter, Tazuhara, is the one who left earlier. Wasn't she rude? But Ms. Koumoto and Ms. Mano are always too easy on her. She's a real sneak.”
“A girl left the club because of Tazuhara.”
“Well, I can't very well ignore that.”
Himura leaned forward. He wasn't lying.
“Right? She was in the same year as me, but last June she quit the drama club and transferred to another school.”
Rio Komiya was driven away by Shigeho Tazuhara? What did that mean? I held back the urge to jump in and watched in silence.
“And you're saying that was Tazuhara's fault?”
“Rio – she's the girl who quit – told me in secret. She said she didn't want to see Tazuhara's face anymore.”
“I wonder if there was some trouble between them.”
“She didn't tell me that. But she's been depressed ever since the beginning of the semester. Rio's birthday is in May, and we celebrated by going to a sweets buffet last year and the year before, but this year, nothing... I really think something happened.”
“Well, being looked down on is stressful enough.”
“So true.”
Perhaps getting herself worked up, Saki Kihara continued “This is also a secret, but the other day, Tazuhara's uniform was stolen.” When Himura went “Eh?” in a perfect mimicry of surprise, the girl raised her chin and looked smug... for some reason.
“Oh, it's not like we did it. You wanna know what I think? I think Tazuhara did it herself. She was getting a lot of hate over what happened with Rio, so maybe she just wanted some sympathy. The school gave her a replacement uniform for free.”
“She was pretending to be all flustered.”
“It was really gross.”
After saying what they wanted to say and calming down, the girls seemed to realize they'd gone too far, and begged us not to tell anyone what they'd said before leaving. After the sounds of footsteps and laughter had faded away, I whispered “Hey”.
“What?”
“You did say 'unworthy'.”
“Okay.”
Himura grumbled and fiddled with his tie, which was tied tighter than usual. “You can't get information unless you pretend to be soft,” he said. “Acting tough just makes suspects clam up.”
“Well, you sure did look soft.”
“But far from getting us closer to the solution, a new piece has appeared on the board.”
The reason Rio Komiya had transferred, and the suspicion that Shigeho Tazuhara had staged the case herself.
“We'll hear about the former from Ms. Koumoto later. Oh, another person's coming. I'll leave things to you, Professor Soft.”
“You're going to pay for this, you know that?”
After a few (ordinary) consultations, and just as it looked like Professor Himura's Career Counseling Service was about to take form, a third year student introduced herself as Akane Murayama. She was the one who'd lent her mirror to Shigeho Tazuhara. Himura and I exchanged a quick glance.
“I really want to go to a co-ed university, but my parents insist I go to an all-girls' university. How can I convince them?”
“Why does it have to be coeducational?”
“It's not like I want to get a boyfriend or anything, it's just that the relationships at all-girls' schools are so tense... It's suffocating.”
“You mean within your class? Or in the drama club?”
“The drama club. Oh, I mean, normally everyone's really nice.”
“I heard a rumor that Miss Tazuhara's uniform was stolen.”
Even though Saki Kihara had asked him not to tell, Himura casually brought up the incident. Was it okay to keep our sources secret? Akane Murayama just smiled and said “Everyone's so talkative.”
“That day, the teachers told us all not to tell anyone, but by the beginning of next week, most of my classmates knew. Well, that's how it always goes.”
I got the impression that she was mature in a different way from Shigeho Tazuhara.
“Miss Murayama, your mirror was also thrown away, right?”
“Yes. It was my favorite, so I'm glad it was found. Though at first I was a bit worried because I didn't know who'd touched it.”
“I'm sure Tazuhara was relieved that you at least found the mirror.”
“Yeah, Tazu is usually really calm, but she was totally freaked out back then. She kept apologizing, saying she should have returned it sooner. I kept having to remind her that she was the one who'd lost something big.”
“Are you and Miss Tazuhara close?”
“We get along. We talk a lot during club activities. She's stubborn and unsociable, so it's easy to misunderstand her, but she's really earnest... I feel like I can trust her. If she asked to borrow money, I'd lend it to her.”
“Thank you for being so clear. So, about your question... What do you think, Mr. Uemachi?”
“Huh?”
I'd forgotten my own fake name, so I was confused for a second. Revenge was swift.
“Well... First of all, I don't think that just because there are boys there, that tension will disappear. I don't think there is such a thing as a relationship without friction, regardless of gender. But university is a lot more free than high school, so you can go to seminars and club activities, and interact with other universities. I think it would be a good idea to find a place that suits you based on what you want. First, narrow down which university you want to apply to based on your grades and your hopes, and if it is a co-ed school, ask your teachers for advice in how to present it to your parents. I think they'll understand if you make it clear that you don't 'want to go to a co-ed school', but 'want to go to this school because it's worthy of providing your education'.”
“I see, I'll think about that. Thank you.”
“It was nothing.”
As soon as Akane Murayama left the room, Himura shot me a suggestive look.
“What is it?”
“From 'unworthy' to 'worthy'.”
“Well, I'm not like you, after all.”
Saori popped her head in.
“Thank you both. There's no one else after Murayama.”
Even though she was probably just being polite, I admit, it felt good when I heard “Everyone was happy, you were very helpful”. Even though it was mostly Himura's doing.
“I'm sorry about Tazuhara. I didn't expect her to reject you like that, and I couldn't persuade her to change her mind.”
“That's an understandable reaction to two suspicious old men suddenly appearing. Where's Ms. Koumoto?”
“She's already gone home, actually. Her husband was taking care of the baby, but she said he called her, begging for help.”
“Oh, that must be rough.”
“She said she was grateful and gives you two her best regards.”
“I don't think it's cause for concern, but something about what Kihara said bothers me.”
When we asked about Rio Komiya's transfer, Saori tilted her head and said “I don't think that's possible. I don't know the details, but I was told she moved due to family circumstances. It's hard to imagine that her relationship with Tazuhara was so bad that she'd change schools partway through her final year over it, and I can't imagine her parents would have stayed quiet if it was.”
I considered the possibility that Shigeho Tazuhara had been collecting evidence of Rio Komiya's bullying and used it to blackmail her into transferring schools. She'd been facing it as the consequences of her sister's actions, but her patience finally ran out. If that evidence had been made public, it could effect her university entrance exams, so Rio's parents had kept quiet as they accepted her request. In that case, was the theft Rio's revenge, or, as Saki Kihara had said, a fake to deflect criticism? Since the premise of the question was my imagination, I kept quiet.
“Well, why did she transfer schools and lie about the reason?”
“I think she was probably upset.”
“About transferring schools?”
“Yes. I think the drama club was an important place for Komiya. She must have felt bad about having to leave, which made her feel like she was surrendering it to Tazuhara. The girls who had been fawning over her might have become friends with Tazuhara. So she took one final shot... That's just what I think, though.”
“No, I think it's very likely.”
“So Kihara and the others aren't taking it that seriously, either. They're just repeating it out of a kind of obligation to an old friend... I don't like them spreading rumors, though.”
“Is that it? The feelings of young girls sure are complicated. To a thoughtless middle-aged man like me, it’s at once mysterious and intriguing... By the way, where did Komiya move to?”
“It's possible her homeroom teacher knows, but nowadays that sort of information is strictly managed.”
“That it is.”
“Yeah...”
Saori's gaze was modest, but she was clearly expecting something from us. I'm counting on you, Himura. I sensed that from all our conversations.
The voice in her mind that was counting on him didn't reach the man himself.
“Do you mind if I just wander around the school for a bit? I don't want to waste all these vouchers.”
Why was he acting so casual at a time like this?
“Go right ahead, please enjoy yourself.”
Saori gave a gentle smile that prickled my conscience.
“Well, right away then. If anything happens, tell Arisugawa.”
I had to raise my voice to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the festival. “Did you notice something?” Himura did the same to reply. “I suppose so.” “It's a bit noisy out here. It looks like we can go to the rooftop, want to check it out?”
On the fenced roof of the school building, the calligraphy club had been working since morning, and a huge piece of paper the size of three tatami mats now bore the words “Youth is the scent of ink” in bold strokes. Himura squinted at the afternoon sun and spoke an impossible dream: “I really wish I could smoke right now.”
“More importantly, have you found the uniform thief yet?”
“When I namedropped Tennyo earlier, only one person reacted.”
“Yeah, I was going to ask, what's tennyo?”
“You definitely already know.”
“Don't take that for granted.”
“I'm telling you, you do... While a tennyo, a celestial maiden, was bathing in a pond, a fisherman stumbled upon her clothes and took them for himself. Without them, the tennyo wasn't able to return to heaven, so she was forced to make a deal with the man.”
“Ah, that's Tennyo no Hagoromo.”
“To be precise, it's not from the Tono Monogatari, but the Tono Monogatari Shui.”
I must have read it a long time ago, but I didn't remember it well.
“I see, so you were telling them 'I know you did it' in a roundabout way.”
“I couldn't just come out and say it. The culprit is the only girl whose face tensed up, Shigeho Tazuhara.”
“Isn't that just because she was the victim of the case? It's possible the culprit didn't know that story.”
“But there was something unusual about her reaction. And then she rejected us and left...”
“So Saki Kihara's nonsense theory was right? Why'd she do it? And where's the uniform now?”
“That's what I'm trying to find out.”
The wire mesh creaked against Himura's back. I leaned against the fence and looked up at the October sky. The sun shone rainbow against the clouds. It was beautiful. Maybe that was how the story of Hagoromo was born.
“Does the Tono version end with her becoming the man's wife like in the picture books?”
“No, it's a bit different. The man lies and says he already presented the garment to his lord. So the tennyo rents a rice field, plants lotus flowers, extracts their thread, and weaves a new robe.”
“She makes it herself? She's tough.”
“Eventually, the man does present the stolen clothes to his lord, and the tennyo weaves a mandala and – try and make sense of this – also gives it to the lord. The lord is attracted to the tennyo's beauty and makes her his concubine, but she’s miserable every day. Then, when the summer comes and the dry season arrives, the tennyo finds her clothes hanging out to dry, puts them on, and flies straight back to heaven.”
“In the end, the result was the same.”
“It must have been a real pain for the tennyo, though.”
“Now that you mention it, schoolgirl uniforms and celestial robes have a lot in common. You need them to enter the sacred land – be it heaven or school.”
“Yes, a tennyo's robe would probably sell for a high price online.”
“I wonder what it is people who buy school uniforms do with them.”
“Ignorance really is bliss...”
Suddenly, Himura bolted up hard enough for the fence's recoil to hit me.
“Himura?”
“Well... I think it's about time we got going.”
“Going? Where?”
“Classroom 3-2.”
“Why there?”
“It's Shigeho Tazuhara's homeroom. There was a badge with 3-2 on the breast pocket of her blouse.”
“There was? Or, no, wait, have you solved it?”
“Not everything.”
Himura answered, already walking.
“I'm not as imaginative as you, Mr. Uemachi.”
“Oi.”
“We don't have any evidence, so improvise.”
“That isn't like you, Great Detective.”
“This place is practically another world for people like us. The rules don't apply anymore.”
In front of class 3-2 was a sign reading “Fortune Telling Hall”. For 500 yen, you could chose from horoscopes, palm readings, or tarot cards. Next to the tarot cards, the name “Fortune Teller SHIGEHO” (“SHIGEHO” being written in English) was written. When a student told us we could come in, Himura handed over ten vouchers and said “For two.”
“I'd like tarot cards, if it's okay.”
“Of course. Two customers!”
The doors and windows were covered with blackout curtains, and the room was only lit by flickering indirect lighting, creating a mysterious aura. The fortune tellers' booths were separated by partitions, with space between, likely due to privacy considerations.
“Hello.”
When Himura called out, Shigeho Tazuhara, who was shuffling a deck of tarot cards, started and stared at him. She was wearing a black robe over her uniform, making her look like a witch.
“Can I get my fortune told?”
Even though he didn't believe in those sorts of thing at all, he sat down in the chair across from Shigeho. Shigeho didn't even try to hide her wariness as she asked “What would you like me to tell?”
“Well... An acquaintance I've always been on good terms with asked me for help with something. Should I help out?”
“Huh?” I immediately blurted out, shutting my mouth a second too late. Shigeho scowled in fury.
“What do you want?”
“To ask you a question.”
“...Did Ms. Mano tell you about the uniform? I can't believe she'd tell us to keep it a secret and then go blab herself. Teachers really can't keep their mouths shut.”
“That's not true.”
I had intended to stay behind Himura and watch quietly, but I just couldn't. “Ms. Mano was heartbroken. She thought it was her failings as a teacher that caused all this. She was worried that you or someone else may have been suffering in silence. I know better than to try and psychoanalyze an author using their works, but I can't believe someone who could write that script is totally oblivious to the feelings of a woman who was reduced to tears by the play.”
Himura suddenly shut me up, raising his index finger at me. Shigeho had both hands on the stack of cards on the desk and looked down. Her fingers were trembling. “Miss Tazuhara,” Himura spoke in a gentle voice.
“You loaned your uniform to Rio Komiya, didn't you?”
Shigeho nodded slightly.
“Why did she do that?”
“You said it yourself earlier, what is a uniform used for? It is a form of identification, but it's also a convenient form of all-purpose dress that can be worn for weddings, funerals, and other formal events, even outside of school. Of those, the most urgent is a funeral. Komiya needed a uniform for a funeral.”
“Didn't she have her own? Did she donate it to the uniform bank?”
“This is just a guess, but I think she sold it. She suddenly transferred schools due to 'family circumstances', and even though she always acted like she was well off, she didn't hold a birthday party this year and was acting depressed... It makes sense if you conclude she couldn't maintain her lifestyle due to financial difficulties.”
Himura continued.
“She really needed a uniform, and the only person she could think of who would lend her one and keep her secret was Tazuhara. Ironically, she was the only person Komiya could trust. On Friday two weeks ago, Tazuhara left school on the pretext of going to the convenience store. If she wore a bulky raincoat like the one used in the play, nobody would notice if she hid her uniform underneath it. If she was taking out the trash, she'd have both hands full carrying a trash bag or two, so she'd have to use a raincoat instead of an umbrella. Tazuhara met Komiya outside the school, handed over her uniform, and went back. After practice, she was planning to quickly leave in her tracksuit, claiming some urgent business. The uniform would be returned on Monday. What she wasn't counting on was the mirror she'd borrowed from Murayama. Thanks to that, it was revealed that she no longer had her uniform.”
And that was why Shigeho had been so panicked. The moment her secret with Rio Komiya was discovered by a third party, their trade became “an incident”.
“...I was so worried.”
Shigeho muttered, still not lifting her face. “What if they called the police? When the school decided to cover it up, I was so relieved.”
“So I'm right, then?”
“Yes. Komiya's father's company has been steadily losing profits since last year, so they had to sell their house and move. I heard her sister dropped out of college to start working last year, too. She must have pushed herself too hard; she wanted her little sister to be able to graduate and go to college, but she was already so weak... One day, at the station, she suddenly collapsed. It was a cerebral hemorrhage...”
Rina Komiya was dead. Even though I'd never even seen her face, I felt a shock and pain like a heavy blow to my heart.
“I was surprised when Komiya called me on Thursday night. She said her older sister had passed away, and the wake was the next day. I also heard about all her family circumstances at home. She said that some relatives who her father had borrowed money from would be attending the wake and the funeral, and that she really wanted to wear our school uniform so nobody would know that she transferred schools. I thought that sort of vanity was typical of her. I snuck out of the school and gave it to her... She returned the mirror on Sunday, and I put it in the flower bed Monday morning. I felt bad for Akane, but I didn't have any other ideas.”
“Why didn't she return your uniform afterwards? If the wake was on Friday, than the funeral would have been over by Sunday.”
Shigeho seemed to come to a resolution, and looked straight at Himura.
“She didn't have my uniform anymore.”
“What?”
“It was placed in her sister's coffin. The uniform I had before that day was a hand-me-down from Komiya's sister.”
“So that's it,” Himura muttered.
“Did you know about that beforehand? How are you sure it was Rina Komiya's?”
“There was a small bit of embroidery on the skirt. It was hidden in the folds of the pleats, so it wasn't visible from the outside. When the school gave me this uniform, they asked me if it bothered me, and I said no, so it was kept as it was. It was so pretty, I didn't want to remove it. But that was something my sister did for Komiya's sister... Komiya had seen it many times, and she told me she noticed it as soon as she put the uniform on. My sister and I aren't that close, so I was surprised; I didn't know she was the one who'd done it. Apparently her sister had begged mine to do it in secret between costume making sessions. But then they had that falling out over university, and her sister donated the uniform. Maybe she thought that would hurt Miho more than just throwing it away.”
“May I ask what the embroidery was of?”
“It was English. It said 'Dearest R'.”
Dearest R... R for Rina.
“It was embroidered in threads of many different colors. It was beautiful.”
“It might have also been meant as a 'Dearest's Ring',” I said. “Diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, sapphire, tourmaline. If you line up their first letters, you get all the same letters as in the word 'dearest'. Were the threads color coded to the stones?”
“Ah... I think so. The D was definitely done in white, and the Es were both green.”
It was like the tennyo's robe. A garment filled with secret feelings, passed from Miho Tazuhara to Rina Komiya. And from there to Rio Komiya, who no longer had clothes of her own.
“I heard that, shortly before she collapsed, Komiya's sister was saying how much she regretted blaming my sister and giving up her uniform. Maybe facing that difficult life made her long to return to her high school days with my sister. So she would have wanted to be cremated in it... I think the uniform has returned to where it belongs.”
“Thank you for telling us this.”
Himura's voice was heavy and sure. “It must have been a heavy burden to bear alone.”
Shigeho's eyes wavered, but she steeled herself and shook her head.
“I have no regrets. But I am sorry I upset everyone in the club and caused the teachers so much trouble.”
“We aren't in any position to say anything, so could you please talk to Ms. Mano about what happened? I'm sure she won't blame you.”
“Yes.”
Shigeho nodded obediently. Just as she was about to stand, I asked her the question that had been bothering me from the start.
“Why were you so desperate to protect Komiya's reputation? I don't think it would be strange if you hated her after the way she treated you over something that happened between your sisters.”
“I agree, she can be annoying sometimes. But... how should I put it? The way she uses things to buy friendship and puts up such an obvious false front because she's so timid is... cute. That's a form of humanity I don't have, and whenever I watched her, ideas for scripts just started flowing out of me. When she called me that day and begged for help on the verge of tears...”
Shigeho laughed and said “It wasn't fair,” and somehow, it looked like she was floating.
The first thing Saori said after hearing Shigeho's story was the same as Himura: “Thank you for telling me.”
“As a teacher, I can't approve of this, but... if our positions were reversed, I might have done the same thing.”
Per our original plan, we decided to share the truth with Saori and Akiko and not report it to the wider school. The students would soon forget the theft had ever taken place, and no one would mention it again.
As we left the school gates, Shigeho ran after us.
“Excuse me, Mr. Arisugawa.”
“Eh?”
“I'm a big fan of your novels.”
“You don't mean... did you recognize me from the start?”
“Yes. You gave a fake name, so I realized you must have come to find the truth, and I was actually really nervous, thinking a mystery novelist was going to make a real deduction.”
“I see, it was Ms. Koumoto's mistake to not anticipate that one of Mr. Arisugawa's countless fans would be in her class.”
Himura said with a mock-serious face.
“Quiet, you.”
“Well, you must have at least some fans. The world is so vast, after all.”
“Stop it.”
“Hehehe... But Mr. Himura was the one who actually revealed the truth, so I was caught off guard.”
I was embarrassed.
“May I get an autograph next time? I'm afraid I didn't bring any books to sign today.”
“Any time, just ask Ms. Mano.”
“Hooray! And, um... there's also something I'm having a hard time deciding.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think I should tell my sister about Rina Komiya's death? Or do you think it's better to not say anything?”
Right at the end, she'd ambushed me with the hardest question she could. I looked at the sky that was starting to darken to pale orange. There were no shining clouds up there.
“I don't know if it’s my decision to make, but... I would tell her. Because I want her to know that Rina didn't die hating her. Of course, there will be sadness, and regrets, but the memories between them will remain warm.”
Shigeho listened to me without blinking.
“Thank you, Mr. Arisugawa. You said that you can't judge an author by their work, but I think you're disproving it now. That's exactly what I'd expect from the author of those novels. I'm glad I discovered your books, Mr. Arisugawa. I'll keep reading them.”
“...Thank you.”
“My dream is to work in theater someday. May I adapt one of your works for the stage?”
“Wow, that sounds cool. I wonder how it would turn out.”
“It's a musical.”
“A mus-!?”
“Ah, but I'll save the details until that day comes.”
Well, that was something to look forward to.
“Did I ever write a book that would work as a musical?”
“Don't ask me. I'm sure it will be reimagined for the modern age. You and I just have to wait.”
“You're right. I'll do my best to keep weaving until then.”
Now, what kind of thread, and what kind of pattern? I don't know if it will be up to the lord's standards, but I'll keep weaving together mysteries and secrets. I'm living the future I dreamed of back when I wore a uniform. I pray the girls I met today will be able to spin bright futures of their own. I looked back at the school building one more time, and the entire window reflected the sunset like a mirror.