“Yeah, yeah,” she agreed with a sigh. “Hey, Sousuke. I think you’ve got the wrong idea here. Could you maybe knock it off? Shirai-kun didn’t write that graffiti.”
“Of course you’d say that,” he retorted suspiciously. “You’re afraid of me learning your secrets.”
“I don’t have any freaking secrets!”
“Are you sure about that? There’s not a single thing you’re hiding?”
“Geh...” Memories of a little accident she’d had last fall rose up in Kaname’s mind. She’d started a campfire in the forest behind the school to roast sweet potatoes, which had quickly gotten out of control until the fire department got involved. She and her friends had fled the scene, and they’d never been fingered for the crime.
“As I expected,” he said. “You do have a dark secret.”
“Oh, c-come on... Stop imagining the worst!”
Sousuke waved his hand as if to dismiss any further argument, then turned back to Shirai. “Leave now, Chidori,” he advised her. “What’s about to happen won’t be suitable for women or children to witness. Now, Shirai, was it? Tell me her secrets.” He resumed his bizarre interrogation.
“Cut it out already!” Kaname protested again. “Hey, Sousuke, are you listening to me?” As she tried to move closer—
“Stop it!!” A girl pushed past Kaname and ran into the stall. She was short, with medium-length hair in a bob cut and eyes that were childishly round, yet intense. “What’s wrong with you people?” she demanded. “What are you doing to my Shirai-kun? It’s awful, just awful! Shirai-kun, speak to me!” She threw herself on Shirai (whose head was still in the sack), weeping hysterically.
“Geh... Mizuki? What are you doing here?” Shirai asked.
“I heard Sagara from Class 4 was manhandling you,” she said. “Are you okay?!”
“Yeah, think so...”
The girl named Mizuki heaved a sigh of relief.
Kaname looked at her suspiciously. “And you are...?”
“Shirai-kun’s girlfriend!” Mizuki declared. “We’re totally in love! And you’ll pay for messing with him!”
Hearing this, Sousuke’s eyes glinted. “Girlfriend,” he noted thoughtfully. “In love. You’re Shirai’s woman, then? Perfect. I can use you as leverage—”
As Sousuke reached for Mizuki, Kaname slammed him in the back of the head with her bag. “Just shut up a minute, okay?” she said in disgust, then turned back to Mizuki. “Look, I’m really sorry about all this.”
But Mizuki met her sympathetic gaze with a glare. “You’re Chidori Kaname, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah...”
“You’re a horrible person. Just because someone’s spreading mean rumors about you is no reason to treat Shirai-kun like a common criminal! And you get this... lackey or boy toy or whatever of yours to assault him!”
“Huh?” Kaname stared in confusion.
But Mizuki continued to lay into her. “Everyone knows what a slut you are. And my father’s friends with the principal! You’d better get ready, because you’re going to pay for this!”
“Hang on a minute. I was just—”
“Shut up, whore!”
Kaname was speechless.
Mizuki continued triumphantly. “You really are disgusting. I’d bet at least half of what they wrote about you was true. Getting a sugar daddy to buy you that watch... It’s definitely way too expensive to— ow!” Mizuki shrieked as a fist conked her on the crown.
Kaname stared in wonder at her fist, curious about how it had moved on its own like that. “Sorry,” she said, “but could you not insult my watch?”
“Y-You hit me!” Mizuki wailed. “My own father never hit me! You’ll pay for this!”
“Um, y’know... I could just hit you again?” Kaname suggested next.
As the tensions between the two women escalated, Sousuke, currently collapsed outside the stall from the earlier bag-slam, stood up abruptly and approached.
“Stay down already. And get away from me; you stink,” Mizuki scoffed at him as he closed in.
“My scent isn’t relevant at the moment,” Sousuke said. “I’m more concerned with you. Mizuki, was it?”
“Don’t you use my first name!” she hissed as she folded her arms defensively. “You can use my surname, Inaba.”
“Inaba Mizuki, then. You were just talking about Chidori’s watch. Who told you about that?”
“Nobody told me,” she denied. “I saw it in the bathroom. It’s written all over. What a laugh!”
“Hmm. Yes, it is indeed humorous...” Sousuke quietly pushed her aside to enter the stall where Shirai had been chained. “Come here, both of you.” He beckoned to Kaname and Mizuki.
“What the heck?”
“What is it, Sousuke?”
They both leaned forward as he reached for the “Please keep the bathrooms clean” notice posted on the stall wall by the student council. “Look at this.” He tore down the newly applied sign. Behind it was the graffiti written in red marker. And it said...
Chidori Kaname (2-4) has a sugar daddy who bought her that Cartier watch.
Inaba Mizuki’s jaw dropped and her face went pale.
“It’s curious,” he continued. “I wonder how you could have seen this graffiti, when it was posted in the boys’ bathroom.”
“Er... ah... well...” Mizuki’s mouth began to flap helplessly.
“The graffiti was written this morning, during class,” he pointed out thoughtfully. “Which means the culprit most likely bowed out of the classroom for an hour or so during that time, using health concerns as an excuse.”
“Y-You can’t prove—”
“An investigation will quickly bring the truth to light,” Sousuke went on. “Attendance records, the suspect’s bag, desk, locker... Your mouth gave you away, Inaba Mizuki.”
Shirai, overhearing their exchange, stared disbelievingly into Mizuki’s panicked face. “Mizuki... you did this? Why?”
“Because she deserved it!” she screamed back with tears in her eyes. “You tried to pick her up at the station! I saw it!”
Now it was Shirai who went pale. “What? I... I didn’t...”
“What, I’m not good enough for you anymore?” Mizuki pushed back. “You creep! I bought you a PC-FX for your birthday. I made you lunch. I bought you tickets to that JB concert!”
Shirai was suddenly rolling his eyes. “Just because you bought me a PC-FX...”
This snippet of conversation was enough to give Kaname a very clear idea about the strained nature of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Sousuke had pulled out a new set of handcuffs. “There have been numerous twists and turns, but we know the true culprit now,” he declared. “Inaba, please tell me Chidori Kaname’s terrible secret.”
“Are you still on that?” Kaname looked at him in disgust, and Sousuke seemed to have his worldview shaken for once.
“So... it wasn’t blackmail?” he asked cautiously.
“I’ve been saying that this whole time!”
Sousuke reluctantly seemed to accept it. “Hmm... But the crime of spreading false rumors remains. Should we refer the case to the staff and have her suspended?”
The word “suspended” sent a shudder through Mizuki.
Kaname made a face. “No, c’mon.”
“Then shall we slander her in the bathrooms in exchange?” he suggested next. “‘Inaba Mizuki is a Communist,’ perhaps?”
“No way,” Kaname denied. “And boy, the punishments you think of are on another level...”
“Then what shall we do?”
“Nothing,” she told him. “Just let it go.”
A faint expression of surprise appeared on Mizuki’s face. “Huh?”
“I’m saying we’re letting it go,” Kaname said easily.
She genuinely understood how Inaba Mizuki felt. The girl must have really and truly loved Shirai... and Kaname honestly found herself a little envious of how honestly she expressed her feelings. So, it was fine.
Yeah... she told herself, deeply lost in thought. Because I can justify it to myself...
But Sousuke doubled down. “Still, it’s necessary to set an example for others,” he insisted. “Some kind of harsh punishment is required.”
Kaname suddenly felt the vein in her forehead throbbing. “For the love of... Don’t you ever think about my feelings, or matters of feminine delicacy?” she asked.
“Eh? What are you talking about?”
She thought about smacking Sousuke one, but swallowed her frustration and said, “Anyway, Inaba-san. Do you feel better? I’m really not interested in dating Shirai-kun. You can rest easy.”
“R-Rest easy?” Mizuki turned her tear-stained eyes to Kaname. “Chidori Kaname! You are truly the most irritating woman, especially at times like this! Just because you’re a little popular with the boys, you act like you’re the queen of the world or something! This isn’t over!”