Muto grabbed my shoulder, waking me up.
“. . . ?”
Crap. I was completely out of it. The clock has advanced quite a bit. It’s already five.
Muto must have run all the way back here because he was out of breath. It doesn’t look like he’s mad about me sleeping on the job. What’s going on?
“What’s up?” I frowned at Muto and he pointed at the cell phone in my pocket.
“Case D7. We’re in the middle of a Case D7.”
The drowsiness I was feeling disappeared instantly. Case D7 is a code word that means some kind of incident had occurred on campus during the Adsiard. But in the event of a Case D7 however, the facts of the incident aren’t made clear right away and only certain people are notified. Additionally, in order to ensure the safety of people who needed to be protected, we were prohibited from creating a scene unless there was good reason to do so. The Adsiard is to proceed as planned and the situation must be resolved in secret. Taking out my cell phone, I saw that a notification e-mail had indeed arrived while I was asleep.
I blew it.
I hadn’t noticed because my phone was in manner mode. There were a few incoming calls from Muto as well. I wondered what could have happened, but before I could read the notification, Muto lower his voice to a whisper told me.
“It looks like Hotogi disappeared. No one’s been able to contact her since a little past noon.”
“…Disappeared?”
I quickly looked at my phone to check the e-mail Butei High sent to us, and I noticed that a single message had arrived from Shirayuki. The blood in my veins froze upon reading what it said.
“Kin-chan, I’m sorry. Good-bye.”
It was odd. Being her childhood friend, I could tell. There was something peculiar about this message. I’m pretty sure she hadn’t run away because things got awkward between us yesterday. What happened at the artificial beach was put behind us when I sent her that e-mail yesterday. There was no way for me to know what was actually going on inside her head, but I did know that she was an obedient person. If I said it was over, then she would act like it was over. She wouldn’t keep obsessing over the matter. She’d act like it never happened. Not only that, Shirayuki had a strong sense of responsibility. She would undoubtedly finish the duties she had to perform during the Adsiard until the closing ceremony came to an end. That’s probably why Butei High issued a Case D7 alert when Shirayuki disappeared without warning. I could tell. This wasn’t just a disappearance. Something had happened to her!
At this point, everything was just an excuse. Neither Shirayuki, nor I had felt any danger whatsoever. Even Aria, who from the very beginning was so cautious of our surroundings, wound up abandoning her mission. Even so … I was being too careless. I had let my guard down. There was the possibility that someone might have actually been targeting Shirayuki. I brought to mind what I told Aria the other day.
“You thought to yourself that you wanted him to exist. And now you’ve deluded yourself in thinking he really does!”
It might have been just the opposite. I was thinking to myself that it would be better if he didn’t exist. … And somewhere along the line, I convinced myself that he really didn’t. I had stepped out into the walkways of Butei High, but without any clues, the only thing I could do is roam about and keep my eyes open. Muto and I agreed to split up and search for Shirayuki, but how in world am I supposed to find her?! I don’t even know where to start—not in my current state!
And I had to keep in mind that the situation was D7. If I went around indiscreetly inquiring people about Shirayuki, there was the chance that contrary to my intentions, I would actually be putting her in danger. None of my calls to Shirayuki were getting through so I tried calling Aria, but for some reason I was unable to reach her as well. In her case there was a ring tone, so she should have responded.
Aria!
If the two of us had been guarding Shirayuki just like the plan originally called for, this might not have happened. But it was my fault that Aria left the picture. I didn’t take her warning seriously, and I didn’t believe in her intuition. As a result, I pretty much forced her to stay uninvolved.
I … was being the absolute worst idiot possible! And Shirayuki said she believed in an idiot like me. That night I started guarding Shirayuki on my own, she told me she believed in me. And yet … I betrayed that trust!
I ran through the streets like an animal on the loose and checked around every alley I came across. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. The time just continued to pointlessly tick away.
Am I… this incompetent? Can I not even protect one single girl the way I am now? I am just … so … helpless! But … even so, I have to do something! If it’s come to this, I’ve got no choice but to find some sort of lead even if I have to scour every corner of Academy Island to do so. I’ll search everywhere. That’s all there is to it. That’s all I can do. Shirayuki. I’m not the kind of hero you say I am. I’m a worthless low-life who fell asleep when you were in trouble. But even a worthless low-life like me has to live up to the expectations of the person who placed her trust in me! … If I don’t, then I’m even less than worthless!
Short on breath, I was running through the southern area of Butei High when an incoming phone call caught my attention. I snatched up my phone and placed it to my ear.
“Kinji. This is Reki. I have you in my sights.”
… Reki!
“It seems we have a D7. I saw the message on my cell phone during the intermission of the sniping contest.”
“Y-Yeah.”
That’s right. I heard Reki would be participating in the Adsiard as a representative of Japan.
I could hear the voices of people yelling angrily in the background, saying things such as “What are you doing, Reki?!” or “You were just about to set a world record!” Reki said something, but her voice was cut short by those around her.