Yukiko hadn’t become an idol because she wanted to be one. The talent agency had decided that was what she was going to do. It wasn’t an idea that had come from within her. “Pop idol” was simply a role for her to fill. But as her fans’ outpouring of excited kinetic energy washed over her, for the first time, she felt glad she had become an idol. Now it was her turn to repay them by putting on the very best show she could. She focused her mind on the show, and determination filled her completely.
As long as she was an idol, she would always have followers who weren’t normal. Unbalanced fans would be drawn to her—and perverts, too. Some might try to threaten her like the man in the rabbit suit.
Yukiko drew strength from the cheering crowd and redoubled her resolve. I refuse to let them beat me!
A single plainclothes policeman stood at his post next to the freight elevator at the rear of the event hall holding Yukiko’s exhibit. His job was to check every person who went in or out of that elevator.
But he hadn’t been given any concrete details from his superiors—he was only told to watch for “suspicious-looking individuals.”
He knew that a popular idol singer named Tsukioka Yukiko was making an appearance up on the roof, but as far as he knew, he wasn’t there for her protection. His best guess was that he had been posted in case there was a stampede and mass panic.
This is an awful lot of fuss for just one girl, he thought. He was supposed to have had the day off and wasn’t especially happy about being forced to work an overtime shift instead.
The policeman had seen Tsukioka Yukiko sing on television once. She looked mild-mannered and mostly unremarkable, and he remembered her voice as being nothing special, either. So why on earth were so many people coming to see such an ordinary girl?
The world is full of things that don’t make any sense, thought the officer, who was atypically closed-minded for a man only in his mid-twenties.
That was when it happened.
The freight elevator’s rusty metal doors groaned open with a terrible scraping sound. For a moment, the policeman’s body went rigid. From the first moment he saw the figure that stepped out from the elevator, he thought he sensed a malicious presence—something too horrifying to be witnessed by the human eye. But what emerged was nothing but an adorable animal mascot—a rabbit in overalls. Its ears stood straight up.
It’s just someone in a costume, he thought in a mixture of relief and anticlimactic disappointment. The rabbit was probably part of the rooftop amusement park.
The policeman let out a deep sigh. When he was in college, he took a job as a mascot for just a single day. He had been a rabbit, too. It had been a sweltering day in the middle of summer break, and the inside of the costume had been hotter than hell. Just one hour wearing it put him in a state of dehydration.
With the wistful remembrance of a hardship passed, the policeman watched the rabbit walk by. It gave him a slight bow and walked toward the emergency staircase that lead up to the back end of the roof.
Noticing that patches of the rabbit’s fur were knotted up, the policeman muttered, “Someone oughta clean that thing.”
He must be headed up to the roof to give out balloons to the kids, he thought.
But something still bothered him. Why had he felt that momentary terror at seeing the rabbit? As he tilted his head in bewilderment, he kept his eyes on the door to the staircase where the rabbit had gone.
With a deeply concerned expression, Yoriko said, “It’s not too late. Can’t we still call this off somehow?”
“Yoriko-kun,” Kanda said with a not-this-again scowl, “why do you always have to be like this? You know we can’t cancel the show now. You’ve been in this business long enough to understand full well what would happen if we did. Besides, Yukiko is standing by, ready to go, and in good spirits.”
Kanda and Yoriko were seated in the small rooftop level office Yukiko was using for a green room. From the window, they could see the singer standing in the stage wing, waiting for her cue.
“Of course, I know what would happen,” Yoriko said, “but I still say we need to cancel it. Call it a woman’s intuition. I can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen.”
Kanda let out a heavy sigh and pressed his palms against his knees. “Let me guess—that phantom rabbit will appear again. And he’ll attack Yukiko like he did Shimizu-kun.”
“I don’t appreciate you making light of this,” Yoriko said. “I’m serious. I’m deeply worried about what could happen to Yukiko-chan.”
Kanda put his hand on her shoulder. “Listen. I understand how you feel. I wasn’t joking. I really do think that rabbit got Shimizu-kun. That’s why I convinced my police chief friend to give us three plainclothes officers for the day. Yukiko’s volunteer guards are operating in groups of two, and I’ve assigned them posts throughout the event space. The department store’s security and staff are on alert, ready to act the moment anything happens. Even if that rabbit does show up, he won’t be able to lay a finger on Yukiko.”
Yoriko felt somewhat reassured by his words, but her expression remained unconvinced. “I am worried about that rabbit,” she said, “but that’s not all I’m afraid of. What really concerns me are all those people.”
She turned her eyes to the sea of Yukiko’s fans that filled the roof.
“What are you talking about?” Kanda said with surprise. “We should be glad they’re here. No idol inspires this much excitement these days. We need to nurture that kind of audience, not fear them.”
Yoriko’s face remained grim. “There could be a panic.”
“A panic?”
“That’s right,” Yoriko said. “Think about it. The roof is packed to the brim. If there are police officers here, they sure aren’t enforcing the fire code for capacity.” As she spoke, she became more and more agitated. “The crowd stretches all the way down the staircase. And they’re all here with one single-minded purpose—to see Yukiko-chan. Even the smallest accident could turn into a catastrophe.”
Her bleak tone unsettled Kanda, but he said, “You’re overthinking things, Yoriko-kun. Anyway, the show will start in a matter of minutes, and it’ll all be over within an hour. Can’t we just cheer up a little for her big moment?”