DESPITE THE CURFEW, KOKORO AND the others wanted to stay on and talk. They all lived so close to each other. And they all were at the same school, knew the same school buildings and grounds and gym and bicycle parking area. How incredible that they were all so familiar with it!
Kokoro suddenly felt much closer to them. They probably all went to the same convenience store, shopped at the same supermarket, even at Careo. They were almost neighbours.
The clock was ticking towards five.
They wanted to say more, but instead they obediently trooped back to the line of mirrors. One thing in particular had been on Kokoro’s mind, and she turned to Ureshino as he was about to pass through his mirror.
‘Tell me,’ she began, ‘was the teacher who listened to you at the School called Ms Kitajima?’
Ureshino halted and blinked his eyes so slowly, she felt she could hear them moving.
‘The Free School. I was thinking you’d gone to the same place as me.’
‘Oh, yeah. Her name was Ms Kitajima.’
Ureshino looked as if a great tension in him had been released.
I thought so, Kokoro said to herself.
‘Was it the same teacher?’ Fuka asked. She must have overheard them. ‘That’s amazing. You really do live close.’
‘Yeah. She’s so pretty, Ms Kitajima.’
Kokoro said this casually, but Ureshino tilted his head. ‘Pretty?’
Kokoro had been vaguely thinking that Ureshino, with his inclination to fall in love, would have been aware of Ms Kitajima’s looks, but she found his reply a little unexpected.
She remembered the teacher’s hands when she’d offered Kokoro the teabags; slender fingers and neat nails. She’d worn a wonderful perfume, as well.
Did anyone else know Ms Kitajima and the Classroom for the Heart? Masamune had referred to it as a private support group, as if keeping his distance from it, so he might never have actually visited it.
How about Aki and Subaru? Kokoro looked over at Subaru, just as he turned to face Aki.
‘Aki-chan, can I ask you something?’
‘What?’
Kokoro was certain he was going to ask something about the School, but he didn’t.
‘Why are you in your uniform today?’ he continued. ‘Did something happen?’
Aki seemed to freeze.
‘I went to a funeral.’ There was an audible intake of breath. Aki’s cheeks were pale and drawn. ‘It was my grandmother, who I lived with. My cousins and I were told to wear our school uniforms.’
‘Didn’t you need to go home afterwards?’ Fuka asked. ‘Is it OK that you were here with us?’
‘Well, that’s …’ Aki said, her voice cracking. She seemed about to launch into her usual bold front and say something like It’s none of your business or It doesn’t matter.
But Fuka had no ulterior motive in asking; she was simply concerned about her. ‘It’s fine,’ Aki answered. ‘It’s better being here with all of you.’
When Kokoro had arrived at the castle that day, Aki had been crouching on the sofa, alone. She had her own room in the castle and could have shut herself away. Instead, she was in the Game Room, face pressed into her knees. Kokoro remembered Aki’s face and the look in her eyes, and felt a stab in her chest.
‘I see,’ Subaru said lightly, finally breaking the silence. ‘Were you close to your grandmother?’ He asked this quietly, as if it wasn’t important.
Subaru said he’s living with his grandmother and grandfather, Kokoro thought. Without his parents, just his older brother. Only he could have asked that question.
A surprised look surfaced in Aki’s eyes. Her lips tightened, and she didn’t respond immediately.
‘Um,’ she said finally, her voice small and husky. ‘She could be strict sometimes, and I never really thought about whether I loved her or not. But now I realize I really did.’
‘I’m so glad you wore your uniform,’ Subaru said. ‘Thanks to that, now we know we all go to the same school. If not, March would have arrived without anyone saying anything.’
Aki’s eyes seemed to tear up. Kokoro spoke up quickly. ‘Yes. Thank you, Aki-chan.’
‘It just happened,’ Aki said, and turned away.
That’s when they heard it.
Aooooooooooooooooo.
Aooooooooooooooooo.
The noise rang through the castle. It was the warning howl they’d heard earlier, but much, much louder.
‘Whoa!’ they shouted. The air shook, the floor began to sway, and they were rocked off their feet. They knew exactly what was in store.
It was five o’clock.
‘Let’s get out of here!’ shouted Rion.
Kokoro stumbled and grabbed at her mirror. She saw the others doing the same. But as a huge tremor struck, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. The quaking was so vigorous, she’d lost control of her facial muscles.
She grabbed the mirror’s frame tightly, trying to crawl inside. The rainbow-coloured light beyond it was wavering. ‘Wait! Don’t go away!’
With all her strength she heaved herself through.
✦ ✦ ✦
WHEN THE SHAKING STOPPED, KOKORO found herself back in her own room.
The same bed, her familiar desk, the usual curtains.
Even though they were closed, she could sense how the atmosphere of the city had changed, now that it was November and winter was coming.
Her back and forehead were bathed in sweat; her heart was still pounding. She knew she was lucky. She’d only just escaped being eaten.
She looked over at her mirror – it was no longer glowing. Her knees shook as she remembered that deafening howl. Her bones were still reverberating.
She wondered whether the others had made it through.
She parted the curtains and spied a graceful crescent moon in the evening sky. For the first time in for ever, she slid open the window, and leaned out for a better view of the city.
Houses just like the one she lived in; tall condos, apartment buildings that looked, from where she stood, like matchboxes. In the distance, she could catch the lights flickering in the supermarket.
They are all out there somewhere.
Every one of them, in the same district as her.