The Tsuwabuki Investigative Advisor, henceforth referred to as Asagumo-san, wrote two big words on the whiteboard: “Intel” and “Prep.” She circled them.
“Two things you absolutely must prioritize are intelligence gathering and preparation. But more important than even those are…” she wrote “Goal” next, “to share a common purpose. Riko-san, when is the ceremony?”
“Oh, next Saturday.”
Nine days from now. The weekend immediately following Golden Week.
Asagumo-san nodded and proceeded to fill the board with every day until the ceremony. “You have a firm deadline, so your progress will be best tracked via task completion as opposed to milestones. By sharing what intel you currently have, the tasks that need doing will reveal themselves, and seeing as Golden Week begins the day after tomorrow, you’ll have five whole days to focus on them.”
Who would’ve thought that my Golden Week this year would culminate in a crime. Life worked in mysterious ways.
She finished outlining our calendar before facing us again. “You have a clear objective: Take wedding photos with Tanaka-sensei on the day of the ceremony. Plus one condition: Do so in complete secrecy.”
That condition was the hard part. We had a clear path to success but a treacherous one.
I glanced around at the silent audience before raising my hand. “Uh, what if circumstances demand that we change our objective in the moment?”
“Even so, it doesn’t change what needs to be done. That being gather information. Let’s go over what you know so far.” Asagumo-san signaled to Kaju, who switched on a projector. A bird’s-eye map of the city covered the wall. The wedding venue was situated near the center, close to Mukaiyama Oike and Kirinoki High School. “The venue is closed to the public, meaning our only means of learning its layout is via their own photos. Unless you have anything to add, Riko-san.”
She shook her head.
“Then that will take priority,” Asagumo-san continued. “On this matter, I cede the floor to my assistant.” She stepped to the side, making way for Kaju.
“I completed a preliminary examination of the facility early this morning,” she said.
“What? How?” I asked. “When did you do that?” She’d made me breakfast and laid my clothes out and everything.
She only winked at me. “I met the manager outside, whom I spoke with. They host garden weddings at a rate of no more than two events per day, and by reservation only. Exclusive use. No partial rentals.” She tapped her phone, and the projector image changed. “They’re surrounded by walls on all sides for privacy, making the front entrance the only means of ingress. It’s likely Riko-san is the only one who would be allowed in on the day of.”
That certainly complicated things. We wouldn’t be able to fake being there with some other group if reservations couldn’t be concurrent.
“This manager,” I cut in. “You got all this without tipping them off?”
“Not at all. He was quite the gentleman. I even got his business card.”
A gentleman, eh? A gentleman? Not that I cared.
“Let me see it. You didn’t give him your information, did you?”
I started to stand, but Yanami forced me back into my chair. “Down, boy. So, Sis, how’d it look? Unrelated to the plan, I mean.”
“Oh, it was lovely!” Kaju raved. “I would love to have a ceremony there! Absolutely!” She clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled. For some reason, they were directed at me.
The president, surprisingly quiet this whole time, crossed her legs. “Hrm. So investigating this venue ought to be our first step. This is your territory, Kaju-kun. Any ideas?”
She nodded. “They’re holding an open house the day after tomorrow, on Saturday. One group canceled, so they had an opening. I’ve already filled it for you.”
Thorough. We already had our in.
“Wait,” I said, “can we even tour a wedding venue if we aren’t planning a wedding? We’re high schoolers.”
Asagumo-san smiled confidently. “But you won’t be forever. Now, which of you will be attending?” She looked us over.
“Yanami-san, why are you standing?” I asked.
“Uh, obviously because the most adult person here oughta go. Duh.”
“Sit down.”
I racked my brain. We needed someone mature. Someone who could carry themselves as an adult. But those were exceptionally rare qualities among high schoolers.
“What? What is it?” questioned the president as every pair of eyes went to her.
Asagumo-san approached her. “What do you say? Will you attend the open house?”
“I would very much love to, but I unfortunately have a memorial service to attend that day. It’s my great-grandfather’s fiftieth death anniversary, you see. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Her eyes shimmered. She would be weird enough to like those things.
“It is what it is, I guess,” I said. “Yanami-san, sit.”
More complications. If not the president, then who?
Noticing my agonizing, the president suggested, “How about Shikiya? She’s as tight-lipped as they come, after all.”
Shikiya-san. She certainly had the maturity, but she still worried me. For a whole host of other reasons. Kaju wrote her down on the whiteboard anyway.
Asagumo-san put her finger to her chin and thought. “Now, who best to send with her? Does anybody spring to mind as a suitable partner?”
Someone who wouldn’t draw too much attention. Someone who wouldn’t be amiss next to a girl like her. Who could possibly fit that bill?
“What about Ayano?” I proposed. “He’s got adult vibes. All he needs is a suit.”
“Vetoed,” Asagumo-san sternly refuted.
“But why? He—”
“Vetoed.” She grinned at me. But there was nothing happy about it. “He will have plans that day. We might just hold a memorial service for you.”
“All right, not Ayano! President, do you know anyone?”
She shrugged. “I’d rather not involve more people than we already have, frankly. Someone of the literature club or student council would be best.”
Tamaki-senpai? No. His girlfriend would raise hell. Didn’t want to be the instigator of a massacre.
“Why doesn’t Nukumizu-kun friggin’ do it?” Yanami grumbled.
“Huh?”
“You’ve got such a problem with me, you must be so much better.” She sullenly started on her third breakfast just fifteen minutes after her last one. A sandwich this time.
“You can’t be serious. I can’t pretend to be an adult.”
“She might be on to something,” the president said.
“How?”
She stood and put her hand on my shoulder. “You’re on the taller side. With the right outfit and makeup, you just might pull it off. Thoughts?”
Kaju was the first to shoot her hand up. “I want to see my Oniisama in a suit! In fact, I might as well go with him! I nominate myself as partner!”
Yeah, right. I stood and put her in a chair in the corner. “You have plans with friends. You’re going to an amusement park in Hamamatsu, aren’t you?”
“No,” Kaju mumbled, avoiding my gaze.
I took my phone out. “Our calendars are synced. Can’t lie to me.”
“But our wedding!” Kaju objected.
The one that would never happen?
“If there are no objections, then we’ll move forward with Nukumizu-san as our number two,” Asagumo-san said, writing and circling my name. She admired her work, then nodded. “Okay, so our next goal is to prepare for the open house this Saturday. I can provide the tools we’ll need to conduct a thorough examination, but I’ll have to ask the parties involved to arrange their own clothing.”
A suit, I assumed. I could borrow one of my dad’s, but that didn’t make me any less of a high schooler.
“Guys, I’m not sure—”
The president clapped her hands, silencing me. “It’s going to get busy now! Riko-kun, will you be able to acquire a wedding dress?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I actually just found a used one that would be perfect.” Her voice suddenly dropped. Then, just as suddenly, she sprang to her feet. “President!”
“Yes?”
“Why are you doing all this?” The president didn’t immediately answer. Shiratama-san stepped closer. “You have college exams, and you’re the president of the student council for crying out loud. You can’t have time for this, can you? You can’t risk this. You have too much to lose. Don’t you?”
Finally, she smiled. A defeated gesture. Then she stood before us. The ones with nothing to lose. “I told you. I admire you as a woman. We’ve all been burned by love in some way, have we not?”
“But if we mess up, you could get in serious trouble.”
“Then we won’t mess up.” The president took a lock of Shiratama-san’s hair in her hand and let it fall through her fingers. “I look forward to seeing your dress.”