At six o’clock in the morning, Ren opened the second lock successfully. “You said it’d take five hours for each one, but you’ve already done two. That was fast.”
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“I’m doing this for my team.”
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Ren hadn’t said he was doing it for Kazutaka. Perhaps he was merely being honest, but Kazutaka felt slightly hurt anyway.
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“Oh really? I thought you were trying really hard to impress Fuwa-san, Ren.”
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A hard fist immediately cuffed Kazutaka’s head. The impact of the knuckle hitting Kazutaka’s skull made a low thump but surprisingly, he didn’t feel much pain. Kazutaka assumed that Ren had pulled his punch. He had earlier suspected that Ren was attracted to Fuwa and that was why he worked so intently. Kazutaka now knew he might be correct in his assumption.
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Come to think of it, Ren hadn’t slept all night. He’s been working on unlocking the case the whole time. Ren never said anything unless it was necessary. He wasn't one for idle chitchat. Kazutaka had, however, sensed Ren’s tension whenever Fuwa came near.
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Because of his occupation, Kazutaka often saw adolescent romances blossom. He had a sort of sixth sense about such feelings and sometimes could sense who was attracted to whom quite clearly. The teens tried hard to conceal their emotions but Kazutaka could sense the truth.
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Some kids acted gruff towards the person they were interested in. Others called people ugly when they thought they were cute. Very occasionally, kids would confess their honest feelings. Though in those cases, their words were often taken as a joke and not seriously at all. Adolescent romance was very tricky. Young people were innocent, yet awkward and clumsy. Their relationships could be more complicated than those between adults.
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Looking closely, Ren exhibited the signs of a man who had a secret crush. To Kazutaka’s eyes, chief Fuwa was an elegant, stylish and mature person who acted very gentle and considerate. Kazutaka wondered how old Fuwa-san was. He guessed him to be over thirty. Maybe Fuwa was the type of person who became more and more attractive as he aged.
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Kazutaka thought Ren, on the other hand, was probably about the same age as himself. But because Kazutaka looked rather young for his age, Ren probably thought Kazutaka was younger. He thought about asking Ren his age, but then he had second thoughts. Why ask the age of a thief? Ren’s age was none of Kazutaka’s business anyway.
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Ren worked silently. Kazutaka could only see Ren’s head, forehead, and eyes. The bottom half of his face was behind the small screen shaped like a TV. Kazutaka could see the reflection of the screen display in Ren’s eyes. His dark, earnest eyes glittered beautifully.
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Kazutaka wondered what motives they had for stealing the jewelry. Fuwa had explained that he was the thief and the others were just helpers. The distinction between the principal culprit and accomplices might matter to them, but they were all just criminals regardless. Kazutaka wanted to know why they broke the law to obtain what was inside the case.
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At seven o’clock in the morning, Ren called somebody while still watching the monitor.
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“Hello, Ōkuni-kun. I’ve been kind of tied up since last night. It’s a rush job. So, can you handle the factory alone today? Remember the security verifications and design tolerances. Also, don’t forget the safety check list. Today’s jobs are continuations of yesterday's jobs, like polishing the gears and the platform of that spectrometer. If everything goes right, I’ll be back by evening. Be there as soon as I can. Thank you. ”
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Kazutaka guessed that Ren normally worked in a machinery factory.
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At nine o’clock in the morning, Fuwa gave Kazutaka permission to call the board of education since two out of four locks had already been opened. Kazutaka asked for a day off, saying he wasn’t feeling well. They simply told him to take care.
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“I’m actually missing but nobody seems to know that, Fuwa-san. It must be true that Shīno hasn’t notified the authorities. If the police had started an investigation, the board of education people would have asked me a whole bunch of questions.”
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Fuwa nodded, looking a little stern.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m guessing Shīno was the only one who knew that Kazutaka-san was transporting the jewelry to the police station last night.”
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“What about the driver of the security company?”
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“No one is watching the driver, but most likely, he isn’t taking any action. Either Shīno hushed him up afterward or...”
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“Or what?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Fuwa was thinking that Shīno had planned all this from the beginning. The driver had probably been instructed in advance not to say anything to anybody no matter what happens.
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“What is Shīno thinking?”
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“He gave us this attaché case as a decoy and he’s keeping the real goods, probably.”
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“If that’s the case, isn’t Shīno committing a crime?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Not exactly. He might lose a friend, though.”
✦ ✦ ✦
It was shocking to Kazutaka to think that Shīno looked on him as a disposable friend.
✦ ✦ ✦
As if to confirm their suspicions, the lookout called to inform them that the Shīno Jewelry store had not opened at 10 a.m. as scheduled.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka attempted to call Shīno at home and at the store. No one answered and the call went straight to the answering machine both times.
✦ ✦ ✦
“No answer. What’s going on? Did Shīno take off somewhere, Fuwa-san?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Since he got home from the police station last night, Shīno hasn’t stepped outside. He has to be home.”
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“Why the answering machine then?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Suspicions about Shīno began to spread in Kazutaka’s mind. Suspecting his friend while trusting the thieves seemed a ridiculous notion at first, but all of these suspicious activities made Kazutaka believe Fuwa’s story.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren was still operating the equipment to open the case. It was now more than five hours since he'd started working on the third lock. Ren couldn’t figure out the correct frequency even despite having checked into the far-infrared range.
✦ ✦ ✦
“This is not working,” Ren muttered with a serious look. Kazutaka grew nervous.
✦ ✦ ✦
“If the contents are fake, what’s going to happen to your plan, Yuri? What does Bud say about that possibility?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“The deal will be off. He’s supposed to call the other party around noon tomorrow. No harm done if we call it off.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Is the other party already in Japan?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“They are. I think they're standing by at a hotel in Okinawa. We're to contact them to determine the rendezvous point. The final details regarding the deal will be discussed then.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka had no clue what they were talking about. The only thing he understood was that the contents of the attaché case were to be used in some kind of deal.
✦ ✦ ✦
“If Shīno gave me the fakes and is trying to run away with the real stuff, you shouldn’t be here, Fuwa-san. You should go after the jewelry Shīno has, right?” That was the best scenario Kazutaka could come up with. Since he was not a thief, his idea probably sounded quite naive, but Fuwa reassured Kazutaka with a broad smile.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You don’t have to worry about us, Kazutaka-san. When one deal falls through, we can always look for another.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ah.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“You’ve been up all night. You must be exhausted, try to get some rest.”
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“I'm okay. I'm used to getting little sleep. But I would like to get back to work as soon as possible. There are only two full-time teachers for our class. We’re always in need of more hands. This time of year, I have career counseling to do and there is paperwork that needs preparing. It’s a very important time. I don’t know what’s going through Shīno’s mind, but I only want to get back to the school for my students.”
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“You're a nice teacher, taking good care of your pupils.”
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“It’s the end of the school year, a tough time for the kids. If they have no place to go, or no place to be after graduation, they lose hope. Without hope, they lose ground. I consider it to be part of my responsibilities to find places where the students can belong and feel secure.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Fuwa nodded. He put the straw from the sports drink into Kazutaka’s mouth and sighed softly.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kazutaka was watching Fuwa sidelong and thought he was kind of sexy. When Kazutaka looked away, Ren was frowning and still glaring at the camera. Ren was still trying to figure out the reason he couldn’t find the right frequency. Ren looked very serious and handsome. Kazutaka felt an urge to cheer him up.
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“Have you seen the Teardrop of the Nile before, Ren?” Kazutaka tried to strike up a conversation. Ren took his eyes off the screen and shook his head.
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“I’ve never seen the actual jewel, not even a picture of it. I have heard the name, though. What about you, Kazutaka? You’ve seen it, right?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“No, I haven’t. I only saw a black bag. I never got to see what was inside of it.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Ren went over to the table and picked the magazine up. He brought it over and opened it to the correct page for Kazutaka to see.